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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f221043 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #52210 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52210) diff --git a/old/52210-8.txt b/old/52210-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7924996..0000000 --- a/old/52210-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10330 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Hispaniola Plate, by John Bloundelle-Burton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Hispaniola Plate - (1683-1893) - -Author: John Bloundelle-Burton - -Release Date: June 1, 2016 [EBook #52210] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISPANIOLA PLATE *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by -Google Books (Harvard College) - - - - - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: - 1. Page scan source: Google Books - https://books.google.com/books?id=oCQNAAAAYAAJ - (Harvard College) - 2. The diphthong oe is represented by [oe]. - - - - - - -THE HISPANIOLA PLATE. - - - - - - -The Hispaniola Plate. -(1683-1893) - - -BY -JOHN BLOUNDELLE-BURTON - - ---------- -"We passed the tropics, as near as we could guess, just where the -famous Sir William Phips fished up the silver from the Spanish Plate -wreck."--DEFOE ("Colonel Jack"). ---------- - - - -NEW YORK -THE CASSELL PUBLISHING CO. -31 Union Square, North - - - - - - -Copyright, 1895, by -THE CASSELL PUBLISHING CO. - -_All rights reserved_. - - - - - - -To those -OFFICERS OF THE ROYAL NAVY -WITH WHOM I HAVE, FOR SOME YEARS, -SPENT MANY PLEASANT WEEKS ANNUALLY DURING THE -NAVAL MAN[OE]UVRES, -WHILE ACTING AS SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF -_THE STANDARD_, -I VENTURE TO INSCRIBE, -WITH GREAT CORDIALITY, THIS STORY-- -PARTLY TRUE AND PARTLY FICTITIOUS--OF -Captain, Sir William Phips, R.N., -And of -Lieutenants Nicholas and Reginald Crafer, R.N. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -Most of the maps of the West Indies published during the first half of -the present century and anterior to that date mark distinctly the spot -where the following story principally takes place. Thirty miles due -north of Cape Français, on the north coast of San Domingo, is a reef -entitled "Bajo de la Plata, or Phips's Plate," while more modern maps -simply describe it as "Silver Bank." - -This is, of course, the spot where Sir William Phips--a now forgotten -figure in history--obtained the plate mentioned by Defoe; and, so far -as I am aware, there is but one detailed account in existence of how -he found and secured that plate. This account is contained in a -duodecimo volume entitled "_Pietas in Patriam_: the Life of Sir -William Phips," published in London in 1697 anonymously, but -guaranteed as accurate by several people who knew him. A production -entitled "The Library of American Biography," edited by one Jared -Sparks, also professes to give an accurate biography of Phips, but it -is simply a garbled and mangled copy of the London publication. I -should also mention that the "Biographia Britannica" refers to the -expedition in the article on "Christopher Monk, second Duke of -Albemarle." So does a work of the last century entitled "The Lives of -the Admirals," by Lawrence Echard, and so also do some encyclopædias; -but all of them undoubtedly derive their information from "_Pietas in -Patriam_." - -This work I have myself carefully followed, because in it alone are to -be found the descriptions of the "Frygate Algier Rose," her eighteen -guns and ninety-five men, of the various mutinies, of Alderly's -arrival on the scene, of the second voyage with the tender, and so -forth. Indeed, beyond the requirements of fiction the account is -absolutely an account of what happened until the chase after Alderly -by Nicholas Crafer, when fiction itself becomes predominant. Alderly, -I should add, was as real a character as Phips himself. So was the -carpenter who discovered the second mutiny. The rest, with the -exception of the Duke of Albemarle, are imaginary. - -I may add, in conclusion, that "The Hispaniola Plate" appeared -originally in _The St. James's Budget_. - - - - -A NEW NOVELIST. - - -Nothing is more notable in recent literature than the sudden renewal -of interest in the historical novel. Mr. Stanley Weyman is the most -successful of this group of younger writers, but there is now treading -on his heels another young novelist, whose work shows such splendid -promise as well as such remarkable achievement, that he bids fair to -outstrip Mr. Weyman and come first to the goal. This is Mr. John -Bloundelle-Burton, whose story, "The Desert Ship," created such a stir -in London a short time ago. - -Mr. Burton was born in 1850. His parents intended him for a military -life, but when at twenty-one he came into a comfortable inheritance, -he determined to see something of the world. Already familiar with the -Continent, he turned to fresher pastures and came to Canada; then -running over the border into the "States," he lived down South for a -considerable period. In Baltimore he first contracted the writing -habit, sending an article to a paper there, which accepted it with -thanks, but with nothing else. While down South he fell in with "Red -Cloud," an Indian chief, picking up much information that was strange -and new, and that was later to be utilized in "The Desert Ship." Going -back to England, he flitted between London and Paris, the latter being -his favorite abode. In the Place de la Madeleine he lived with a -company that contained representatives of every class and country. -Describing them Mr. Bloundelle-Burton says: "One of our number was a -Scotch duke; another a tailor's son, enormously rich and not a bad -fellow; another a Spahi, home on leave from Africa; a fourth a -Spaniard, rolling in money; another an American, who afterward died in -prison while awaiting his trial for killing--absolutely killing--a man -in a duel. They could not get over that in Paris; indeed, as a -Frenchman said to me, it really looked as if the American had fully -intended to murder his countryman." - -Living in this way in Paris, our author began to write more and more; -first for foreign papers, then for English ones. He began a connection -with Galignani, which lasted intermittently for a long interval, and -brought him acquaintance with many notable men, among them Jules -Grévy, several years later President of the Republic. His next venture -was sending English papers news from different popular resorts on the -Continent--Switzerland and the Tyrol, Italy and the Riviera. Later on -he helped edit a paper called _The American Visitor_, which told rich -Americans where they could spend their money most rapidly, and where -they had the best opportunity for catching a glimpse of fashionable -society in England and on the Continent. - -Mr. Burton's first long story was "The Silent Shore," which had quite -a career under several different guises. Originally published in -volume form, it later appeared as a play at the Olympic Theater, then -ran as a serial in Spanish in a South American paper, and ended up as -a serial in several English provincial papers. His next story was, -"His Own Enemy," in the author's opinion, the best novel he has yet -produced, "though not, I hope, the best I shall write," he adds. - -"The Desert Ship," Mr. Burton's next book and the first to bring him -genuine fame, was published by Hutchinson & Co., in London. It was -received with a burst of praise from the critics, even Mr. -Labouchere's sarcastic and hard-to-please paper, _Truth_, declaring it -to be "an enthralling story and a book which will mark a period in the -existence of anyone who is fortunate enough to get it. It is," the -paper added, "as exciting as anything Verne ever wrote, and with the -reality of Robert Louis Stevenson." Nothing succeeds like success, as -Mr. Burton rapidly learned; editors with orders up their sleeves -dropped in upon the rising young author, and he found it hard to -satisfy all the demands made upon him. All this solicitation for the -work of his pen resulted in a sudden literary output. Two stories -appeared in quick succession: "The Gentleman Adventurer," which ran in -_Young England_, and "The Adventures of Viscount Annerly," which was -published in the _People_. - -"The Hispaniola Plate," Mr. Burton's last and strongest book, is a -semi-historical story. The scene is laid in the West Indies. The two -principal characters belong to the Royal Navy, one living in -Cromwell's, Charles II.'s and James II.'s reigns, the other in the -present day; and the way in which the two periods are blended into the -one book exhibits masterly skill. Mr. Burton is a passionate lover of -the sea. Descended from a line of ancestors that acquired fame in the -British Navy--his grandfather, Lieutenant Jermy, was a noted old -commander of English ships and participated in the battle of New -Orleans in 1814--he has in his blood a taste for the salt sea wave, -and this gives his stories their breezy, out-of-door atmosphere. - -Mr. Burton has a pleasant home just out of London at Barnes Common. -Like so many other Englishmen of prominence in these days, he is -married to an American woman. He is a large, broad-chested man, -standing six feet, two inches and a quarter, in his shoes, with dark, -piercing eyes. Mr. Burton has decided views about the true methods for -literary work. He does not believe in fixing on a good subject for a -novel, then selecting a picturesque period, and, after making yourself -thoroughly acquainted with the manners and customs of that epoch, -planting your characters in it, as is the habit of certain novelists. -The story must come to you, you cannot go out and bring it in. "I -never think," he says, "of producing a story laid in a period (or -about persons) which I have to read up--to 'mug' up, as we used to say -at school. But I have been an ardent reader of history and memoirs all -my life, and the story arises naturally from periods and incidents -with which I am well acquainted." - -"I mean," he adds, "that the story should fit into an intimate -acquaintance with the _mise-en-scène_, not that the _mise-en-scène_ -should be hunted up to fit the story." - -No one who reads this exciting story, "The Hispaniola Plate," and who -is held captive by its vivid scenes, its deep, rich coloring, its -overmastering air of reality, but will wish long life to this strong -and original talent, which already has behind it such remarkable -achievement. May we have many such books from his pen! - - - - -CONTENTS. - -CHAPTER I. - Nicholas Crafer's Strange Will - -CHAPTER II. - An Old Bit of History - -CHAPTER III. - The Vanished Mr. Wargrave - -CHAPTER IV. - Cazalet's Bank - -CHAPTER V. - Captain William Phips - -CHAPTER VI. - The Beginning of a Mutiny - -CHAPTER VII. - The Ending of It - -CHAPTER VIII. - The Second Mutiny - -CHAPTER IX. - And the Preparations Against It - -CHAPTER X. - And How It was Ended - -CHAPTER XI. - They Have to Desist - -CHAPTER XII. - The Bark "Furie" - -CHAPTER XIII. - The Old Man's Story - -CHAPTER XIV. - The Wreck is Found - -CHAPTER XV. - What the First Search Revealed - -CHAPTER XVI. - An Honest Man Arrives - -CHAPTER XVII. - An Alarm from the "Furie" - -CHAPTER XVIII. - Treachery and Flight - -CHAPTER XIX. - The "Honest Man" in His True Colours - -CHAPTER XX. - A Fight - -CHAPTER XXI. - The Villain's Den - -CHAPTER XXII. - Mad! - -CHAPTER XXIII. - The Treasure House - -CHAPTER XXIV. - What was in the Treasure House - -CHAPTER XXV. - The Middle Key - -CHAPTER XXVI. - Nicholas Leaves the Island - -CHAPTER XXVII. - The Narrative Ends - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - Off to the Virgin Isles - -CHAPTER XXIX. - Drawing Near - -CHAPTER XXX. - Out of the Depths of a Far Distant Past - -CHAPTER XXXI. - Some Light upon the Past - -CHAPTER XXXII. - The Solitude is Interrupted - -CHAPTER XXXIII. - The Island's Owner - -CHAPTER XXXIV. - Joseph Alderly - -CHAPTER XXXV. - Danger Impending - -CHAPTER XXXVI. - Beware! - -CHAPTER XXXVII. - "And Death the End of All" - -CHAPTER XXXVIII. - The Owner of the Treasure - -CHAPTER XXXIX. - The Approaching Search - -CHAPTER XL. - The Search - -CHAPTER XLI. - The End - - - - - - -THE HISPANIOLA PLATE - -CHAPTER I. -NICHOLAS CRAFER'S STRANGE WILL. - - -"Gray's Inn Square, Oct. 20th, 1892. - -"My Dear Sir,--In answer to your request, I beg to inform you that the -terms by which you inherit 'Phips House,' at Strand-on-the-Green, from -your late uncle, are as follows--the statement being taken from the -last will and testament of your ancestor Nicholas Crafer, made in the -year 1695:-- - - -'And I do hereby will and bequeathe that ye house called Phips by me, -after my late captain and commander, Sir William Phips, when I -purchased yt from Mr. Clitherow of Branford, do forever remaine in the -possession of some descendant of mine, male or female, the former for -choyce and preference, yet not also debarring, in fault of any bearing -the name of Crafer existinge, those descending from the female side to -succeed. That is to saye, it is to so remaine forever unless through -it whoever doth succeede shall thereinto find the means whereby to -obtain unto themselves a fortune of and equivalint unto the summe of -Fiftie thousand guineas, the which I do hereby testify the meanes are -forthcoming. After whych the house may be disposed of as best -beseemeth those who have so found ye fortune. This, therefore, I say, -"Seeke and ye shall find, knocke and yt shall be opened unto you."' - -"This will, in spite of its quaintness, has ever, and will probably -always, hold good, although not law, until one thing occurs of two: -either that the house falls down of old age (which it seemed very -likely to do when I inspected it after your late uncle's decease) or -that some descendant of Commander Nicholas Crafer shall find the means -of making the fortune of 50,000 guineas in or through it--a most -unlikely thing to happen. For, as you know, many generations of -Crafers have searched through the house from basement to garret, -imagining that the original testator meant to hint that somewhere -about it, was hidden away such a sum of money as he mentions; and -always without result. Nor has the ingenuity of one generation after -another ever been able to hit upon any hidden meaning which might be -contained in the words of the will, or to find anything excepting the -scrap of paper once discovered, of which you know; while certainly the -land on which it stands--something under three acres--can hardly ever -become of such value, or one-twentieth part of it. - -"But as you know as much about your ancestor as I can possibly tell -you, I need not write further, and I have only to state that, during -your absence abroad, everything has been done to facilitate handing -over the house to you on your return, and I now propose to prove your -uncle's will, and, after the usual formalities, to put you in -possession of Phips House and other property left by him.--Yours -faithfully, - -"A. Bentham." - - -This was the letter which Reginald Crafer read at his breakfast, one -fine autumn morning, as he sat in that good old hostelry, "The -George," at Portsmouth--a letter which he had found at the Naval Club -after his early morning walk on the Battery--a walk taken with the -view of aiding an already exceedingly good appetite, and of having a -look at the waves dancing out at the Nab and sparkling in the bright -October sunshine. - -A better specimen of the young lieutenant of to-day than Reginald -Crafer (with "N" after his name to show that he had taken up -navigation as his branch) you might not see in any of her Majesty's -ships. Tall, but not too tall for a sailor; close-shaven, as becometh -the young naval officer of to-day, yet with excellent features that -required nothing in the shape of whiskers or moustache to set them -off; with clear grey eyes and a wholesome sunburnt skin--what more -could a young man desire in the shape of personal gifts? Nay, what -more pleasing a sight to gaze upon than this smart, good-looking young -officer could the heart of a maiden desire? - -Now Reginald Crafer--whom at this present moment you see eating -buttered toast and a fried sole, as he reads his lawyer's letter--had -just come home from the China Station in the _Ianthe_ (twin-screw -cruiser, first-class, armoured, 8,400 tons); and she having been paid -off, the young man was on leave for the time being. He had slept at -"The George" overnight for two reasons (ordinarily the naval officer -rushes to London by the first train that will bear him, when once he -has set foot on shore), one being that he wanted to go to a ball at -the Commander-in-Chief's to which the officers of the returned cruiser -were mostly invited; the other, that he expected to find a letter from -the solicitor, Mr. Bentham--which, as you have seen, he did find. - -This letter was in reply to one that Reginald had sent to the lawyer -from Hong Kong, which in its own turn had also been a reply. For to -the young lieutenant there had come at the Station a letter from Mr.. -Bentham, stating that his uncle--also a Reginald Crafer--was dead, -that he had left the younger Reginald a few thousand pounds (the -principal part of his income having been derived from an annuity and a -government pension) and "Phips House." Then Reginald had written back -for further details, had received the above-quoted answer at the Naval -Club this morning, and--_voilà tout!_ - -Of course, he knew as much about the mysterious entailment of Phips -House as the lawyer did; it would have been strange had he not done -so. Eleven different Crafers had held possession of it since Nicholas -departed this life in King William III.'s reign: eleven different -Crafers, all of whom had sought high and low for the fortune it was -supposed to contain, or for some clue as to how the fortune of "Fiftie -thousand guineas" was to be obtained; and of those Crafers many had -torn their hair in vexation, and others had stamped their feet -and cursed and sworn--or, perhaps I had better say, grumbled and -growled--at finding nothing. Of such irate descendants the last, the -late lamented Reginald, had, however, not been one. Perhaps because he -thought that if his ten predecessors could find no fortune in the -house, he was not likely to do so; or perhaps because he was himself -very comfortably off with his annuity and his pension from a -Government office, and his few thousands of invested money--which -Lieutenant Crafer now came into--he bothered his head not at all about -the chimera of the house at Strand-on-the-Green. Certainly he cursed -not over it, neither did he swear--unless it was at the damp from the -river!--and, being bald, he had no hair to tear; and he never tapped -panels nor prodded walls nor looked for secret doors in the house, -contenting himself with letting young "Reg" do all this when he came -to stay with him. For the rest, and being a bachelor, he spent much -time at his club; he took a faint interest in the curiosity which the -legend of Phips House excited in the minds of his friends, as well as -of the waterside loafers of Brentford, Kew, Mortlake, and all the -immediate neighbourhood; he would even go so far as to invite people -to stay with him and hunt about the house for themselves, when they -were not enjoying the prospect from the windows of the market-gardens -across the river. But of excitement in the legendary fortune, this -bald-headed and comfortably situated ex-Civil Servant could get up not -one jot; and when a burglar broke into the house, determined on -finding, as he informed the barrister who defended him, "the blooming -fortune if it was to be found," he went to see him at Pentonville -after his trial and told him he sincerely wished he had found it. -Thus, to him, the fortune of Phips House was but an allegory or a -myth, which he regarded but as a grown-up child regards a fairy-tale; -and so, unbelieving in all that pertained to it, he passed away to -Kensal Green and Reginald the Second ruled in his stead. - -But he, when he was a child--being of a romantic nature--did believe -in the fortune of Nicholas Crafer; and when he was a man--being a -sailor--had not lost all faith in the romance. - -Whether that faith was justified, you who read on shall see. - - - - -CHAPTER II. -AN OLD BIT OF HISTORY. - - -Who is he, especially of the London brood, who knows not -Strand-on-the-Green? Who knows not that it lies below the choice and -savoury town of Brentford and below Kew Bridge also, on the Middlesex -shore; that it is composed of a long, straggling row of houses, many -of them old and most of them quaint, which are of all shapes, sizes, -and uses? One there is in which once dwelt Zoffany, the painter; hard -by is a waterman's cottage, where the succulent winkle or shrimp may -be purchased and eaten--the former with a pin supplied by the vendor; -then comes a row of comfortable houses panelled and wainscotted -within, then more tiny shops (with, interspersed all along the row, -the genial public-house); then more private houses; and so on to Phips -House--old, quaint, gabled, and mullioned, panelled also, and -wainscotted. In it are fireplaces in the corners of the rooms--sure -proofs of the early Charles II. period; it has also carved wooden -doors and carved balustrades and banisters; there are balconies to the -front windows having bulging rails to fit the hoops of women belonging -to long-forgotten days; and all about it is that genuine look of -latter Stuart times which may still be found in very many houses in -this locality. - -"What did it appear like when Nicholas first bought it?" mused -Reginald Crafer to himself a few evenings later than the day he -breakfasted at "The George." "Even if it hasn't altered, its -surroundings have." Then he turned his eyes around and went on, gazing -down the river meanwhile. "The 'White Hart' at Mortlake was there, I -think--I have read of Jacobites taking boat from its steps; and so was -the Duke of Devonshire's and old Chiswick beyond, with wicked Barbara -Villiers standing at the window of her house and shrieking for the -return of her lost youth and beauty. But not much else! No main -drainage then, no horrible gasworks, no District Railway bridges! It -must have changed a good deal since Nicholas hid his fabulous fortune, -or the story of it, in the house--if it is fabulous." - -He put the key into the door and entered, musing still. - -"I wonder what Nicholas did to pass his time? There was no 'Packet -Hotel,' no 'Indian Queen,' no 'Star and Garter' then." These places -are, it should be told, hostelries of more modern date. "There was not -much for him to do to amuse himself," he went on. "He was too late to -know Kinde Kit of Kingston, who lived here; too early for the Georgian -revels at Kew. Yet he might have often seen William of Orange (it was -hard by here they attempted to assassinate him); he might have smoked -and drunk at the 'Three Pidgeons,' at Brentford, and known the -daughter of Shakespeare's brother-actor, Lowin, who kept the place. -Who knows?" - -This young man, you see, was well acquainted with the history of the -neighbourhood in which stood the house he had now inherited. It was -not remarkable that he should be so. From his earliest childhood his -fancy had been strongly taken by all the gossip connected with the -property that must some day be his if his uncle remained unmarried, -and never did he by haphazard see the names of Brentford, Kew, or -Strand-on-the-Green printed but he studied every word in connection -with them. Thus, he was neither erudite nor pedantic, but only very -interested in all that concerned the spot, and, therefore, very well -informed about it. - -What he did not know was--in common with his forerunners--much about -the mysterious Nicholas Crafer, who had contrived, by arousing the -curiosity of his descendants through the medium of his strange will, -to keep his memory very green. And not only the curiosity of his -descendants, but also of most people brought into the slightest -connection with the spot. The waterside hands, the barge-loaders and -the lookers after private skiffs and gigs, the keepers of local -refreshment-houses, whether "publics" or those chaste bowers which -have upon their fronts the mystic legends, "Tea and hot water 9_d_." -(how can there be tea-drinking without hot water?); even the hands of -the steamers passing up and down--of the _Cardinal Wolsey_ for Hampton -Court (which place it reacheth not without arduous struggles and -terrible delay), and the captains of the _Bridegroom_ and the _Wedding -Ring_ (graceful names well suited to riparian jaunts!)--all knew the -legend of Phips House as well as its new owner. So, too, did the -dwellers on Kew Green, the respectable City men who resided on the Kew -Gardens estate and were on familiar terms with the parson, and the -City clerks who abode in great numbers in modern Gunnersbury and -modern Chiswick. All knew, I say, the legend of Phips House; all had -heard of Nicholas Crafer, who was considered to have been a pirate and -buccaneer; all--watermen, City men, and City clerks--were proud of -their local history of Nicholas and their--in a way--connection with -him. - -What was, however, really known of him by the family--reduced now to -Reginald alone--what had filtered through the eleven generations with -regard to him, was no more than this: He had been an officer in the -navy of the Commonwealth, being but a lad at that time, and serving -under Blake during its last two years of existence; then under Charles -II. in the royal navy; and then under James II., in whose first year -of misrule he retired. Many a fight did he engage in in those days, as -was well known to his descendants: he was in the destruction of the -Spanish ships at Santa Cruz in 1657, and at the defeat of Van -Wassenaer by James, Duke of York, in 1665, in the "four days' fight" -in 1666, and he assisted in the capture of the _Golden Horse_ corsair -in 1681, and many other valiant deeds besides. - -Yet were none of these martial feats so romantic as one other thing he -did, or, rather two other things. He accompanied Sir William Phips, -then plain Captain Phips, in both his expeditions for the fishing up -of the Hispaniola Plate--the second attempt proving successful. Now, -as not all the world knows, but as his descendants of course knew, -'twas in the _Algier Rose_ that Phips made his first attempt to get -this plate in the reign of that most high and puissant prince, King -Charles II., of ever-gracious memory. 'Twas that great monarch who put -at his disposal the _Algier Rose_, after listening to Phips's tale in -the embrasure of a window at Whitehall--what time he was playing with -the silky ears of a spaniel on his knee and leering at a young country -lady fresh come to Court--a tale narrating how the Spanish plate ship, -or carrack, was sunk off Hispaniola--or, as we now call it, San -Domingo and Hayti; and how he, Phips, felt sure he could fish it up. -But Phips came back without the plate, and the august Charles, being -dead, could help him no more, nor would the saintly James, his -successor, do so. - -Phips was therefore now on what he would, perhaps, have called his -"beam-ends," and so were some of his officers, including Nicholas -Crafer; and on them he would doubtless have remained had not his good -fortune thrown in his way at this moment a friendly patron. This was -none other than Christopher Monk, second Duke of Albemarle, a nobleman -who loved much the bottle--which fondness led to his death shortly -afterwards, when Governor of Jamaica--and who also took great interest -in stories of buried treasure, and listened to tales of such things -with eagerness. To him, therefore, Phips opened up the subject of the -Spanish plate. He swore that though he had failed once in finding it -he would never fail again; and he so much impressed his drunken Grace -with his energy and sincerity that, at last, he sailed once more for -the West Indies as captain of a private ship commissioned to hunt for -the plate, and with him Nicholas sailed too as second officer. Much -money had been advanced for the quest; Albemarle taking six -shares, while three were allotted to Phips, one to Nicholas, and -one between the other officers, and the remainder amongst those -adventurer-merchants who had assisted in finding the necessary -capital. - -All this is matter of history, which may be grubbed up by the student -with little pains; so, too, is the fact that Phips did come back with -the plate, having gone through some considerable dangers and hardships -to secure it. Then the saintly King, James--who took a tenth as his -royalty for granting the patent--was advised to seize all the plate on -the ground that "one half of what had been in the Spanish carrack was -missing," and that, consequently, Phips had secreted that half -somewhere for his future use. But the King, contrary to what might -have been expected of him, refused to believe such to be the -case--perhaps because he had been a sailor himself once, and a good -one, too!--and, instead, ordered the money to be divided and -apportioned as had been at first arranged, and also, at the request of -the graceless but goodhearted Duke, knighted the captain, making him -thereby Sir William Phips. - -So Albemarle got his six shares, Phips got his three, and Nicholas his -one: but as to how much each got considerable doubt has ever existed, -since some historians say the plate realised only £90,000, and some -say £300,000; though it was thought that Phips got £16,000. But -whatever it was it was sufficient to assist the Duke in ruling -royally over his colony (for a year, when the bottle finished him!), -to support Phips until the time came when he was made Governor -of New England, and to enable Nicholas to buy his house at -Strand-on-the-Green. - -But than this no more was known, except that Nicholas lived some years -after the making of his will, since he did not die until 1701, when -the smallpox carried him off. And of what he did in those years -neither was anything more known, nor of how he and Phips really got -the treasure, what adventures they went through, or what hardships -they then endured. - -Yet, as will now be seen, the time was at last at hand when Reginald -Crafer the second, twelfth in descent from Nicholas, the so-called -pirate and buccaneer, was to find out all that there was to be -discovered about him. He was soon to learn the reason of Nicholas's -strange will and testament. - - - - -CHAPTER III. -THE VANISHED MR. WARGRAVE. - - -Now, in the letter of Mr. Bentham, the lawyer, to the present -Reginald, mention was made of "a scrap of paper once found," of which -the young man knew. And that he did so know of it was most certain, as -all who came after the fourth Crafer in descent from Nicholas had -known, for it was in the time of that fourth Crafer and in the first -year of the reign of George III. that it had been discovered. Only, -when it was discovered it told nothing, since on it were simply -the words, "My friend Mr. Wargrave has the papers that will tell -all.--NICHOLAS CRAFER." - -Nothing could very well have been more disheartening than this; and I -fear that the fourth Crafer in descent, whose Christian name was -David, must, when he discovered that paper, have been one of the -family who indulged in hair (or wig) tearings and in strong language. -He was himself a doctor--for the eleven descendants of Nicholas had -among them embraced all the professions and callings fit for -gentlemen--having a fair practice in the neighbourhood of Brentford -and Chiswick, and was consequently a stay-at-home man. And during his -home-keeping life, while having a few alterations made to what was in -those days called the saloon, or withdrawing room, he found the -useless piece of paper. It was in the leaves of a Wagener, always -called by sailors a "Waggoner" (a book of charts, or _routier_, much -used by old navigators), that the scrap was discovered pasted--between -the cover and the title-page. The book itself was in a little wooden -cupboard, not a foot square, that had always been evidently regarded -as a secret receptacle and hiding-place, since over and in front of -the cupboard-doors, which had an antique lock to them, the -wainscotting was capable of removal. Yet, when last the wainscotting -had been put over that cupboard, it was easy enough to perceive that -the person who had so closed it up had intended it should not be -opened again for some time, since the wood of the wainscot had been -glued in some manner to the cupboard-door. Then, in the passage of -time between Nicholas having closed up the cupboard and the epoch of -David Crafer arriving, when the builder's man lighted on it--which was -a period of over fifty-five years--some stamped hangings of floss and -velvet had been placed over the wainscot by another owner; so that at -last the little cupboard with its contents was entirely hidden away. -That Nicholas could have ever intended his scrap of paper--if the -information was really of any use in his own day, or in days near to -his time--to be so lost, it was of course impossible to decide. -Doubtless he never dreamt that the panels would be covered up by the -hangings, and perhaps thought that, therefore, sooner or later, some -curious eye would observe that there was a difference in their size -where they enclosed the cupboard. However, whatever he thought or did -not think, the builder in making his alterations had unearthed the -paper. - -Only, as David Crafer remarked, it was of no use to him now it was -found and never would be; which was the truth, for when he in his turn -went the way of those before him he had never so much as really and -positively found out who Mr. Wargrave was. - -Yet he had tried hard to do so in the time that was left him. Knowing -his ancestor to have been a sailor, every record bearing on the -sailors of the past fifty years was searched by him or those employed -by him, but there was no Wargrave who had ever been heard of. The -Admiralty officials of those days swore no Wargrave had ever served in -the navy; whoever he was, they said, one thing was certain--he was not -a King's officer. Then David Crafer got the idea that the man was, -after all, a lawyer whom Nicholas confided in; but again he found -himself at bay. The records of dead-and-gone lawyers, even when they -had been famous, were scanty enough in the early days of last century; -when they had not been famous--above all, when they were only -attorneys--those records scarcely existed at all. So, at last, David -Crafer gave up the law in despair. If there had ever been a Wargrave -in that profession, he, at least, could find out nothing about him. -Next, he tried the City, which was not a very large place in his own -day, and had been smaller in the days of Nicholas. Yet it was -difficult to glean any information of the City even in those -times--especially since the information desired was nearer sixty than -fifty years old. It is true there was, as far back as the period of -Nicholas Crafer and the mysterious Wargrave, a London Directory (such -useful volume having been first published in 1677), yet in the copies -which he could obtain a sight of--which was done with difficulty, -since reference books were not preserved with much care in those -times, and those which he did see were neither consecutive nor in a -perfect condition--he found no mention of the name of Wargrave. - -So time went on, David Crafer grew old and feeble, and had almost -entirely desisted from the search for the name of Wargrave--the man -himself must, of course, have been dead for some decades--and had long -since come to the conclusion that he would never find out anything -about him. Then, all at once, when visiting a friend in the City, and -while turning over a volume in that friend's parlour, he lighted on -the name and possibly the person. The book was entitled "A Compleat -Guide to all Persons who have any Trade of Concern within the City of -London and parts adjacent;" and peering into it in a half-interested, -half-hopeless, and half-hearted manner, old David saw the name of -"Samuel Wargrave, silversmith and dealer, Cornhill." Moreover, he saw -that the book containing the name was published in 1701, the year when -Nicholas died. - -Therefore he thought he had found his man, or, at least, had found the -chance of gleaning some information about him. But, alas! the year -1701 was a long way off the year 1760, when the paper was discovered -in the little cupboard, and still longer off the year 1768, at which -period David had now arrived. Moreover, David was, as has been said, -grown old and feeble; "he did not know," he told himself that night as -the coach took him back to Strand-on-the-Green, "if he cared overmuch -now to go a-hunting for a dead man, or even for the knowledge that -dead man might have possessed of Nicholas Crafer's treasure." - -Yet, old as he was, being now turned seventy, he took the trouble to -make some inquiries. He had a son, an officer, away serving in the -American colonies, himself no longer a very young man; if he could -find something more to leave him than the money for which he had sold -his practice and his little savings and the old house to live in, why -it would be well to do so. So, once more, armed with the knowledge -that Mr. Wargrave had been a silversmith in Cornhill, he began further -inquiries--which resulted in nothing! At least in nothing very -tangible, though they proved that the man who was in the "Compleat -Guide" had once lived where he was stated to have done. The parish -books to which David obtained access showed this; and they showed also -that he must have been the tenant of the whole house--even though he -let off part of it, as was likely enough--since he was rented at £133 -per annum, a good sum in those days even for a City house; but they -told nothing further. No one could be unearthed who remembered -Wargrave the silversmith, no one who had ever heard of him. Nor did -his business appear to have survived him, since, in the half-year -following his last payment of rates and taxes, the next occupant of -the house was a mercer, who in his turn was followed by a coffee-house -keeper, who, in David's own day--as he saw with his own eyes--was -succeeded by a furniture dealer. - -And then, as the old man reflected, this Mr. Wargrave might not be, -probably was not, the man who was Nicholas's friend. - -At this period David Crafer died; and ere his son, the officer in the -American colonies, could be apprised of his death he too was dead, -being shot through the heart in a skirmish with some Indians near -Boston. Confirmation being received of his death, the property passed -to another Crafer belonging to the elder branch, which was still -existent in Hampshire; and by the time he in his turn had passed away -the finding of the scrap of paper in the Wagener, and the hunt for Mr. -Wargrave, were almost forgotten, if not entirely so. In fact, as -generation continued to succeed generation, not only did these -incidents become forgotten but the whole thing became almost a legend -or a fairy-tale. One inheritor even went so far as to scoff at the -will of Nicholas, saying that he was a romantic old sea-dog who had -taken this manner of keeping his memory before his descendants; while, -as you have seen, the late Reginald regarded the whole story with a -pleasing indifference. But the present Reginald, who was himself of a -romantic tendency, could by no means regard the story in anything but -the light of truth, and, if he ever indulged in any hopes at all, they -were more that the mystery might be cleared up in his time than that -the fortune of £50,000 should come to him. - -And it is because in his time the mystery was cleared up, that the -whole story of what Nicholas Crafer did leave behind him "equivalint -unto the summe of fiftie thousand guineas" can now be told. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. -CAZALET'S BANK. - - -Now this is the manner in which the mystery was at last cleared up in -the time of Reginald Crafer, Lieutenant, R.N. - -There was, and still is, in the neighbourhood that lies between -Chancery Lane and Cheapside, an ancient banking establishment that is -as old as the Bank of England itself--if not some years older--and -that has, from its creation, been known as "Cazalet's." Yet there has -been no Cazalet in the firm for nigh upon a hundred years, but, -instead, the partners--of whom there are now two--boast the ancient -patronymic of Jones. These Joneses are descendants, on the female -side, from the last Cazalet, and in this way have become possessed -of the old business; and it was when their father--for they are -brothers--died, at almost the same time that Reginald's uncle passed -out of existence, that a change took place, which led in a roundabout -way to the writing of this narrative of "The Hispaniola Plate." - -Old Mr. Jones had, I say, been gathered to all the other Joneses who -had gone before him, and the two young Messrs. Jones--one aged -forty-five and the other thirty-nine--decided that his decease marked -a period in the existence of Cazalet's when a change ought to be made. -That change was to take a shape, however, in the first instance, which -caused a vast number of the people who banked with them, as well as -all their senior clerks--many of them nearly as old as the late Jones -himself--to shake their heads and to wonder why that late Jones did -not burst forth corporeally from his grave, or, at the very least, -appear in the spirit, to forbid the desecration that was about to take -place. For the old house was to be pulled down--ruthlessly sacrificed -to the spirit of the times, and a bran-new one was to be built up in -its place! - -"Well," said the ancient chief cashier--who had been there boy and man -since 1843, and had grown old, and also tobacco-and-spirit-stained, -during the evenings of a life spent in the service of Cazalet's--when -he received the first intimation of this terrible news, "if that's -going to happen it's time I was off. Lor' bless me! a new house! Well, -then, they'll require some new clerks. They don't want a wreck like me -in such a fine new modern building as they're going to shove up." - -"Why, Mr. Creech," said a much younger _employé_ of Cazalet's, a youth -who came in airily every morning from Brixton, and was supposed to be -the best lawn-tennis player in that suburb, "that's just why you ought -to remain; you'll give the new show a fine old crusted air of -respectability; you're a relic, you are, of the good old days. They'll -never be able to do without you." - -But Mr. Creech only grunted, and, it being one o'clock in the day when -this conversation took place, he lifted up the lid of his desk, took -some sandwiches out of a paper packet, and, applying his lips to a -small flask, diffused a genial aroma of sherry-and-water around him. -Yet, as he thus partook of his lunch, he wagged his head in a -melancholy manner and thought how comfortable he had been for the best -part of his life in the old, dingy, dirty-windowed house; it having -been a standing rule of Cazalet's that the windows were never to be -cleaned, and rumour had it that they had not been touched since the -house was built. - -That the firm "would never be able to do without him," as his -cock-a-hoop junior had remarked, seemed, indeed, to be the case, and -received exemplification there and then. For at that moment a bell -rang in the inner sanctum where the brothers sat, and a moment -afterwards the office-boy who had answered it told Mr. Creech that the -"pardners wanted to see 'im;" whereon he gulped down a last drop of -the sherry-and-water, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and -went in to them, wondering "what was up now?" - -"Sit down, Creech, sit down," said the "pardners" together, "we want -to have a talk with you about the new house." Here Creech grunted. "Or -rather," the elder one went on, "the old house;" whereon the cashier -smiled, as much as to say that that was a far more congenial subject -to him. Then Alfred, the elder brother, continued: - -"You know more about this house, Creech, than anybody else." Creech -gave a grunt again here, which tailed off into a sigh. "Why, bless -my soul! you've been here five years longer than I've been in -existence--there's no one else knows as much about us as you do." - -"I came here a boy of sixteen," said Creech, looking at the clock on -the wall as though it was a kind of calendar of his career, "and I'm -sixty-five now. That makes forty-nine years. Come Easter, I've been -here fifty years. It's a long while!" - -"It is a long while," said the younger partner, Henry. "But you're all -right, you know, Creech. Cazalet's look after those who have served -them long and well. When you feel like retirement and a pension, you -say so. Only, I don't know how we shall get on without you. However, -the retirement is a long way off yet, I hope. Let us talk about the -present." - -"What we want to know is this," said Alfred, "and you're the person to -tell us. What is there stored away down in the vaults below the strong -room? We haven't been down there for years; not since we were boys and -our father used to let us go down sometimes. There seemed to be only -an awful lot of mouldering rubbish, and it'll all have to be gone over -and either destroyed or fetched up before the builders go to work on -the foundations." - -"So there is a lot of rubbish," replied Creech, "though I haven't been -down there myself for over twenty years. The last time I was down was -when the Prince o' Wales went to return thanks at St. Paul's. I -remember it because I found a bottle of port wine on a ledge, and we -drank his health as he went by. I told your father about it -afterwards, and he said it must have been some of the Waterloo port -his father had had given him." - -"What else is there?" - -"A lot of rubbish," repeated Creech. "There's several old boxes, most -of them burst open, with leases, I should say, belonging to dead and -gone customers of the bank, and a heap of broken old furniture that -belonged upstairs when the family lived over the bank. I found a fine -copper warming-pan, that Mr. Jones made me a present of; and I think -there's an old spinet down there, and broken chairs and tables, and -office stuff, and a basket full of broken glass and crockery, and that -sort of thing." - -"Humph!" said the elder brother. "Leases, eh? We ought to look into -those. If they're ours we ought to preserve them, and if they belonged -to customers who have left descendants, they should be returned. They -may still be of the greatest value. Who can tell?" - -"_My_ wife," said the younger, "has been filling the new house at -Egerton Gardens full of the most awful-looking gimcracks I ever saw. -She'll want that spinet directly she hears of it, and if she could -only find another warming-pan she'd hang it up in the bedroom passages -as an ornament." - -"_My_ wife," said Creech, "warms the beds with ours in the winter. -It's a very good one, but I'll send it back if Mrs. Jones wants to -decorate her landing." - -"No," said Jones Junior, "we'll say nothing about it. There's far too -much rubbish in the house already. Suppose," to his brother, "we go -down into the vaults and have a look round." - -This was agreed to, so down they went, after Creech had armed himself -with a large paraffin candle and had rummaged out a bag full of keys -of all sizes and shapes, while the elder Jones carried with him the -more modern and bright keys that opened the safes and strong room. -This latter they were, of course, in the habit of visiting every day, -but the trap door leading to the vaults below--which was in the floor -of the strong room--testified to the truth of Creech's assertion that -it possibly had not been opened for twenty years. First of all, when -the key was found, the lock was so rusty that it could not be turned -until some oil had been brought, and then the door had stuck so that -the two brothers--for Creech was no good at this work--could hardly -pull it up. However, at last they got it open, and then they descended -the stone steps one by one. - -The place--as seen by the light of the candle--was, as the old cashier -had described it, an _olla-podrida_ of all kinds of lumber. The hamper -of broken glass and crockery was there, so was the spinet, looking -very antique and somewhat mouldy--a thing not to be wondered at, -seeing that the Jones family had not lived over the bank during the -present century. The broken chairs, stools, and tables were all piled -in a corner--in another stood the boxes, some of them burst open, of -which Creech had spoken. And around and about the vaults there -pervaded the damp atmosphere which such places always have. The -cashier had brought a second candle in his pocket, which he now lit, -and by this additional light they saw all that there was to be seen. - -"A lease of a farm in Yorkshire," said Alfred, taking up the first one -that lay loose on the top of the first box, whose rusted padlock came -off it, nails and all, as they touched the lid, "called Shrievalls, -from the Earl of Despare to Antony Jones. Lor' bless me! Why, -Shrievalls has been in our family for any amount of time, and I never -heard of the Earl. I suppose we bought it afterwards. That's no use to -anyone. What's this? A covenant of the Earl of Despare to pay an -annuity to Ambrose Hawkins for the remainder of his life, made in the -year 1743; that covenant has expired! That's no use to any one, -either. A bundle of acceptances by Sir Marmaduke Flitch to Peter -Jones--our great-grandfather. Flitch! Flitch! No knowledge of him -either. An authority from Annabella Proctor to pay to her brother, so -long as he holds his peace--humph!--ha!--well, that's an old family -scandal--we needn't read that just now. Transfer of a lease from Mr. -Stringer, son of Sir Thomas Stringer, a judge of the King's Bench, to -Mr. Samuel Wargrave, late silversmith and jeweller, of Cornhill, now -of Enfield, dated 1688. I suppose one or the other of them was a -customer of the bank." - -"Then it was Wargrave!" exclaimed Creech. "I've seen that name in some -of our old books. At least, I think I have. Let me see--Wargrave. -Where _have_ I seen it? I know it somehow." - -"It can't matter," said the younger Jones. "There has been no Wargrave -on our books for a long while." - -"A bundle of letters," went on the elder, taking them up, "from the -Lady Henrietta Belville to Bartholomew Skelton, Esquire, at the -University of Leyden, with one beginning, 'My dear and only -love,--Since my 'usband is away to York'--Oh, dear! dear! we needn't -read that now." - -"I should think not," said the younger brother. "The Skelton family -still banks with us. We had better send the letter back intact. -Bankers should keep secrets as well as lawyers." - -"Wargrave," mumbled Creech to himself, as he leaned against an antique -office-stool minus a leg. "Wargrave! Where have I heard the name?" - -"An account book with no name in it but a date. And written therein, -'On behalf of the Earl of Mar, his expedition.' Humph! ha! well, we had -a good many Jacobites among our old customers. What's this? A glove -with a lot of tarnished silver fringe about it, a woman's--these are -romantic finds!--a bunch of withered flowers, almost dust, and a -little box----" - -"That's it," exclaimed Creech, "a box with the name of Wargrave on it. -That's it!" - -"On the contrary, Creech, there is nothing on it; but, inside, a paper -with written on that, and badly spelt, too--'His hair. Cut from his -head by a true friend after his death at the Battle of Clifton Moor.'" - -"No, no," said Creech, "I don't mean that box. I mean there is a box -somewhere in this vault--a small one, with the name of Wargrave on -it." - -"There are a good many boxes with names on them," said one of the -brothers, glancing round; "and I doubt if any speak more pathetically -of the past than this one with its wisp of withered hair and its -label." - -But Creech was hunting about in the rubbish by now, and at last, -exclaiming, "That's the one I mean," seized on a small iron box a foot -square and brought it to where the partners and candles were. - -"That," he said, as he plumped it down on the spinet, which emitted a -rusty groan from its long-disused keys as he did so, "is the box I -mean. I remember seeing it years and years ago. Look at what's written -on it." - -In faded ink, brownish red now instead of black, on paper a dirty -slate colour instead of white, were the words:-- - - -This box is to be given to any descendant or representative of -Lieutenant Nicholas Crafer who is alive at my death. To be given at -once after, but not before.--SAMUEL WARGRAVE. - -_Nota Bene_.--I do believe it is very important. - -_January_, 1709. - - -"And," exclaimed the younger brother, "being so very important it has -lain here for over 180 years. We _have_ been assiduous for our -customers." - -"But why," said the elder brother, "when you saw it years ago, Creech, -was nothing done? Why did not you, or my father, find out some -Wargrave or some Crafer? There must be some left." - -"Your father said he would make some inquiries; but I don't know -whether he ever did or not. At any rate, it went clean out of my head. -I was just off on my holidays, I remember, when I happened to see it; -and, to tell you the truth, I never thought any more about it from -that day to this. And I shouldn't have done so now if it hadn't been -for that transfer you read out a minute ago." - - * * * * * * - -A fortnight later the box was in Reginald Crafer's possession, with an -apology from Messrs. Cazalet and Co. for the long period in which it -had lain unattended to in their hands. They had discovered him by a -reference to the suburban directory, after a search through the London -and also several county directories, and Mr. Bentham's name had been -quite enough to assure Messrs. Cazalet and Co. that he was the -rightful person to whom to entrust the box. - -The lock--a most excellent one, considering when it was made--had to -be burst open, for no key could be found to fit it, and then Reginald -saw what were its contents. First, there was a piece of paper on which -was written:-- - - -I do feel so sure that Mr. Wargrave will carry out my instructions -after my death that I leave this pretious legacy to him in all good -faith, and to you my descendant to whom it may after come, with all my -love and good wishes; and so I say, May what you find herein prosper -you. N. C. - - -Then, in a neat roll, tied up with black ribbon, was a vast number of -sheets of paper covered with writing, some of it being very neat, some -of it very ungainly, with many words scored out and others inserted, -and also many misspelt, and some not spelt twice alike. - -And Reginald Crafer, after an early meal, sat himself down to a -perusal of those closely written sheets which had been at last -unearthed after lying in the vaults of Cazalet's bank so long. - -This is what they told him. - - - -_The History of -NICHOLAS CRAFER, Lieutenant, -and the Search for -THE HISPANIOLA PLATE, -with all that occurred during that search -and followed after it. -As told by him_. - - - - -CHAPTER V. -CAPTAIN WILLIAM PHIPS. - - -There will be but little need that I ask pardon of him or her who -receives this paper from Mr. Wargrave, since if he who does so shall -have courage, or she who receives it have an honest friend to depend -upon, they will have no reason to reproach me for what I have done. -The finding of it will tell him or her how they shall become possessed -of a fortune; and those who have gone before them and after me can -never know how they have missed it. That it is not well for any Crafer -to find this paper near unto my time is the reason why, with great -care and pains, I have so bestowed it in my friend's hand, and, better -is it that I shall have laid in grave a hundred years or more before -it is discovered, than that any coming close to me should light upon -it. - -Now, you who so receive my writing shall understand the reason whereof -I say this. Because it partly relateth to a large amount of plate, of -jewels, of gold and coins, all of which did indeed belong to the -Spanish Carrack which my commander, Phips, digged or rather fished up, -from the bottom of the sea where it had lain forty-four years, or, as -some did aver, fifty, and because it was the rightful property of him, -of the Duke of Albemarle who had a share therein, of King James who -had a tenth, and of many others. For some of this money and valuables -was all stolen by a thief who was ever a rogue in grain, and what is -true enough is, that there was a many suspicions when the finders came -back to London that one half of this treasure was missing. As indeed -some was, tho' not stolen by him whom the accusers pointed at. For -Phips, who was an honest-born New England boy--one of twenty-six -children--who had been bred a shepherd and had then become a sailor, -was indeed no thief, but ever an honest man, as James declared, who -was himself none too honest. Yet, as I say, when the ship with the -treasure came back to England, there was a cry that one half was -missing, that Phips had left me and others behind to hide away that -half, and that, indeed, we were all thieves--tho' we were none, or -only one of us, and that was neither Phips nor I. - -Now, if so be that the house which I called after my dear and honoured -friend, and superior in rank tho' not in birth--for the Crafers have -ever been gentlemen of repute and of good descent from an ancient -family in Hampshire--be not burned down or falleth not down from age, -and our line dieth not out, and the paper telling where these writings -are be not doomed to be found by a stranger, then must a Crafer be the -one to read them. And he will find strange matter in it who doth so -read. For in the long winter evenings which are before me--since I -have begun to write this narrative in the month of November, 1700, and -trust to finish it with the incoming of the New Century--I do propose -to tell you who may open the packet all that befel our voyages to find -the contents of the Hispaniola Plate Ship, which was sunken off "The -Boylers," a reef of shoals a few leagues off of the island of Aiitti, -as the natives call it; but known generally by its Spanish name of San -Domingo. - -And being but a poor penman I mean to divide my story into heads, -thusly. - -First, I mean to tell you of my acquaintance with Phips at the time he -approached The King, I mean Charles; then of how he sailed in the -_Algier Rose_ for Hispaniola, and of two mutinies. Then, how after -four years, we again sailed in the Duke's ship, or _Furie_, and what -happened to us in the fishing up of the plate. But more than all this -is to tell you of shameful villainies and thievings that took place, -and of how the chief villain was frustrated so that not he but another -was to be benefited. And who, think you, my descendant whom I know -not, is that other? You may think Phips, you might imagine myself or -the Duke, you might suppose some of the other adventurers. Yet 'tis -not so. 'Tis no less an one than _you--you, yourself_. That is if you -have a manly heart, or, being a woman, a man to help you. For as I -have writ--and if I repeat myself you must forgive me, for we sailors -who fought battles almost weekly had but little enough time to study -the art of writing; and you will find your reward by reading this--it -is you who are to benefit. You are to have the fortune which the thief -was possessed of, tho' not what he stole. - -Therefore, having made this introduction, I proceed to tell my tale. -And as I have, although a sailor, been ever a God-fearing man, I pray -that it shall be a Crafer who receives this from where I have disposed -of it. For it was I who gained it all from him, and tho' I shall never -see you who come after me, you may well suppose that I would sooner, -far sooner, that the fortune came to one of my own flesh and blood -than to one no way allied to me. - -So I begin. - -'Twas in the year of our Lord 1682, and during the visit of Prince -George,[1] son of the Elector of Hanover, that I made the friendship of -Phips, then Captain of a private ship hailing from Boston. I was -ashore from the royal yacht that had brought the Prince over, and, -insomuch as I now sought another ship, had gone into lodgings in -Spring Gardens, both because of the freshness of the air over that of -the city and its nearness to the Admiralty office. And it was at this -latter, where there had creeped up again a good habit of the Admirals -of meeting their officers frequently, that I encountered William -Phips. A brave, topping gentleman he was, too,--for all he was a -Puritan, tho', I think, ever in his mind a sailor first--then -thirty-two years of age, fine and big and well dressed. Now, as a -colonist and but a private sailor man, Phips was inferior to all of us -who sailed for the King, yet he won soon upon us. He was brought in by -Matthew Aylmer, then holding the rank of commander, though destined -for much higher things, as I have lived to see; and soon we were told -what his business was. This was no less than to get the King to give -him a ship in which he had a mind to go treasure-hunting. Yet this was -not a vision neither, for says he to us, - -"Gentlemen, I know what I speak of and 'tis not foolishness. In -Hispaniola--where I have been many a time--there is a place called -Porto de la Plata. Surely some of you King's officers have heard tell -of it!" - -Two or three amongst us nodded of our heads with assent at this, and -he continued:-- - -"Well gentlemen, do you know why 'tis so termed? No? Then will I tell -you. Forty-four, or as some say fifty years agone, there came ashore -at that spot--which then had no name at all--a shipwrecked crew in an -open boat, in which there was no room for them to lie down, so stuffed -full was it of plate." - -Here one or two of us laughed, and some seemed much aroused, while -Phips continued:-- - -"They were saved from the great Spanish plate ship which had sunk some -leagues out when striking on a reef, and what they brought with them -was all that they could save. This was well known all over the island -shortly afterwards, and is spoken of now, even unto this day." - -He had told this tale before to Aylmer, as afterwards I learned from -him, and a few moments later he told it to the King, being taken over -to him by his friend and introduced. Now, it is not for me to write -down the grievous faults and failings of Charles--he is gone before -his Judge!--but I will say this, that, with all his errors, he had a -mind beyond the common. Therefore he harkened unto Phips, and later on -he called his brother James, whose faults were greater than his, but a -good sailor, and asked him what he thought on't? - -James was at once all for it and hot upon the idea, for it seemed that -it was not the first time he had heard of the sunken plate ship, and -he was taken with Phips--as, indeed, were all who met with him. So, to -make what would be a tedious story short, Phips received a commission -from the King to go out in command of the _Algier Rose_, with orders -to find the wreck and bring all away in her if he could. And it fell -out to my great good fortune that I went too. To my good fortune as it -came later, tho' not then, for it was not on this journey that we -found the treasure, as you shall soon know. - -Yet we hoped to find it, and so I was glad to go. It was in the "Dog" -tavern at Westminster, where many naval men did, and still do, resort, -that I got my appointment to the _Algier Rose_, Phips, who had taken a -fancy to me, swearing that he would not sail without me. So there I -made interest with several from the Admiralty, who would come to the -"Dog" for half a pint of mulled sack, or a dram of brandy, and at last -received my commission as first lieutenant to the frigate. A better -ship never swam than she, carrying eighteen guns and ninety-five men, -and when we took her out early in '83 I can tell you that the brave -hearts on board of her were joyful. - -In 1683 it was when we dropped down on the tide, with a lusty cheer or -two from the King's ships lying in the river off Bugsby's Hole--for -they knew our intent--and another from the old man-of-war, the -_Jerzy_, in which I had served as a young lieutenant; and so away out -to sea with light canvas all in aloft, and just a single reef in our -tops'ls, and off we went to find the great Hispaniola wreck. - -And so I put down my pen awhile. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. -THE BEGINNING OF A MUTINY. - - -Now it happened that at the "Dog" tavern one day there came in, -when we were sitting there, an astrologer, or geomancer, as 'tis -called--namely, a caster of figures--who marking out Phips (perhaps -because of his uncommon and striking appearance) seized upon him to -tell his fortune, which he, having ever a mind turned towards fun, was -well disposed enough to. - -So the cheat, as I thought him to be--though found afterwards he spake -true--catching holt upon Phips's hand, looked long and fixedly at it, -after which he said that much money should be found by him. - -"In very truth," called out Phips, while all around did laugh, "'tis -that I go to seek, friend; nor, since every drawer in this tavern and -ragamuffin 'twixt here and Charing Cross knows as much, art thou so -wondrous a necromancer? Go to! your divinations are not worth a -piece." - -"Yet, stay," said the caster, speaking up boldly to him--"stay. What -you go to seek you shall not find." - -"Ha!" exclaimed Phips, looking at him. "Not find it?" - -"Nay, not yet. At present you are thirty-two years of age; it wants -five ere you shall get that you seek. Then shall you obtain your -desires." - -"Tis well," exclaimed Phips, "and therefore must I stay the five -years where I go, for find it I will. Yet, harkee, friend, put not -such reports about in this neighbourhood, or I will slit thy nose for -thee. I am a captain of a King's ship now"--as indeed he was, for his -commission was made out--"and a good ship too. I want not to lose it -through the chatter of any knave." - -"Moreover," went on the geomancer, taking no more heed of what he said -than tho' he had never spoken--"moreover, this is not all." And as he -spake he pricked with a pin a number of little dots on the table, -where the drink stood. "This is not all. You shall do more." - -"Ay," exclaimed Phips, "I shall! Maybe I shall have thee whipped. Yet -continue." - -"You shall rule over a large country, though never a King, and you -shall die"---- - -"Stop there," called out Phips, "and say no more. What thou hast -promised is enough. As for my death, when it comes, it comes; that -also is enough. Now go." And as he spake he picked out from a handful -of elephant and other guineas, as well as some silver-pieces, a crown, -and tossed it to the fellow, who, pouching it, went off. - -Yet, afterwards, when we were well on the road to Hispaniola, Phips -would talk with me on this astrologer, and would discuss much his -promises. "For," said he, "there have been many such who have told -truths. My mother had a paper written down by one which worked out so -truly year by year, that at last she flung it in the fire, saying she -would no more of it. And a mighty marvellous thing it was! Year by -year she bore my father a child for twenty-six years, and the -astrologer's paper had so stated, as well as what the sex of the child -should be, yearly. And also did it state that I--her ninth--should -some day command a King's ship, which led to my always aspiring to do -so; and as I now do the _Algier Rose_"--and he stamped on the -poop-house where we stood, as though to confirm his words. - -By this time it had arrived that we had passed thro' the Gulph Stream -and were well on our way for Hispaniola, so that 'twas very hot. -Sharks passed near us often, but gave us good heart, since never did -they follow us. Portugee Admirals sailed by on the water, their -pretty forms dotting the tranquil waves--'tis ever tranquil in these -regions--like flowers, and the voyage was a good one. Of our crew also -there was nought to complain, the ninety-five men who composed it -being all sailors who well knew, their work. 'Twould have been strange -had they not known it! Many of them had been fighting the French and -the Dutch for the length of their lifetimes; but 'specially had they -fought the French, which seems to be what an Englishman is ordained, -for; and they had lived all those lifetimes on the sea. Yet, as you -shall learn ere long, they were soon to give us much trouble, and, -later, to give us more. - -Now, as I have writ, and as, indeed, the Geomancer rightly forecast, -it was not to be that the treasure should be found by those who sailed -in the _Algier Rose_. Therefore should I not have written down here -this our first cruise in search of that treasure, had it not been that -what happened on that voyage has much to do with what happened on the -second one, when we did indeed find all. To do, that is to say, with -the stealing of a great portion of the treasure by a thief, and how it -came about that he could so steal it. But I wander from what should be -a plain record, and will now proceed. - -When once we were safe anchored in Balsamo Bay, which is near unto St. -Jago, and not far from the reef called by us the "Boylers," but by the -Spaniards and Portygees the "Bajo"--wanderers on the seas who have -late been there tell me it is now called the Bajo de la Plata,--we set -to work at once; but our efforts met with no success. Of divers we had -procured two, one a Portygee mulatto, the other an African negro--the -largest and most hideous brute in the form of man that I had ever set -my eyes upon. Day by day we sent them down, and day by day they -returned, swearing that they could find nothing of the Plate ship--no, -not so much as a spar or a block. At first we thought they lied, as, -indeed, we ever did, until at last the wreck was found, and then we -knew they had spoken truth; for, having floated off, as we once -thought, she was three cables--but you shall see. - -Thus we worked, fishing ever and catching nothing, for two years, in -which time we endured many hardships. To begin with, the Spaniards -harassed us much, in spite of our not having been at war with them -since '60, and endeavoured to drive us away from the neighbourhood of -the Reef. But them we defied, and, on their sending out at last a -bomb-ketch to attack us, we first of all spoke it fair, and, on that -being no good, blew it out of the water; whereon we heard no more of -them, perhaps because just now they were busy with the French, who had -for the last six or seven years gotten holt of the part called Aiitti, -and wanted the rest. - -But now trouble bred amongst us, as, alas! it will do in any number or -body of men who, after long seeking for a thing and finding it not, -grow moody and heartsore. - -For the men began to mutter between themselves and to say that we -should never find the sunken ship, and that, since we had a fine -frigate of our own, well armed and manned, why not put it to some -purpose, and go pirating and buccaneering in the Southern Seas? The -first to hear of this was the carpenter, a straightforward honest man -of good grit; the last, of course, was the captain. But being myself -forewarned by this man, whose name was Hanway, I soon went and spake -to the captain, telling him what was going forward and below; and -marvellous calm he was when he did hear it. - -Being evening, he was sitting in his cabin under the poop, and, for -coolness, had divested himself of his coat and waistcoat, and was -refreshing of himself with a drink of rum sangaree. Then, when he had -passed me over a glass and I had told my tale of what the carpenter -had repeated to me, says he, mighty easy:-- - -"They wish me to go a-pirating in the Southern Seas, do they? And how -do they mean to sound me, Crafer?" - -"They are going to put it to you first," says I; "then, if you deny -them, they mean to seize the ship." - -"So, so," replied he, "that is their intention! Well, we will see. -What are they at now?" - -"Standing about the forepart and in the waist," said I, "talking to -each other and doubtless concocting their precious schemes. What is -best to be done?" - -"Action," says he, "action, Crafer;" and he made for the cabin door -that opened on to the quarterdeck. - -But here I exclaimed, "What will you do? You have neither coat nor -waistcoat, pistol nor hanger; will you go forth and beard mutineers in -such a garb as this?" - -"Ay! will I," he says, looking for all the world like a great -lion--"Ay! will I. And you shall see. In half an hour there will be no -mutineers in the _Algier Rose_." - -And then, as I regarded his face--on which there was a dreadful -look--and observed his great muscular form, I thought what a grand man -he was and of what a good breed these New Englanders were. And a few -minutes later I had reason for my opinion. - -Now Phips had ever treated his men like brothers, never setting them -to work he would not put his own hand to, never cursing or swearing at -them as so many of the dandy captains and soldier captains--who, good -Lord! in those days were sent to command ships at sea--used to do; but -ever kind and gentle to them, besides helping them with a turn at -their labour. Therefore, as you may think, I was rightly astonished -when, on our going on deck, his manner was all changed, so that the -William Phips I knew was no longer to be perceived. - -"Ho! there, you men," says he, in a voice that neither I nor they had -ever heard before; "ho, there, you skulking dogs, what are you doing -forward? Come here, all on you, to the quarterdeck. Come here, I -say." And with that he stood in his shirtsleeves, looking for them to -come forward. Very startled, they did so; coming slow, however, so -that Phips hurried them by bawling, "Faster, faster, damn you, or the -bos'un shall hase you." Which words from him made them all to look out -of the tail of their eyes, but yet to come faster. So that, ere long, -he had got half a dozen of 'em ranged up in front of him and a dozen -more behind, looking on, moody and dark, as though afraid that -whatever project they had formed was nipt in the bud. - -"Now," says he with another oath--which never did I expect to hear -from him, a New England Puritan and ever a God-fearing man--"now, -who's captain of this King's ship, the _Algier Rose_, eh? Speak out." - -"You are," they muttered, surlily enough. - -"Louder," says he, "louder. You hain't lost your voices, have you? You -can make the devil's own noise when you're singing and bellowing your -profane ballads in the fo'castle. Speak up!" with still another oath. -"Who's captain of this ship, I say?" - -"You are," they answered louder, yet looking black enough. - -"Very well," says he. "Now listen to me, you lubbers, and listen -well." - - - - -CHAPTER VII. -THE ENDING OF IT. - - -"Now," he went on, "you're talking about mutiny, I hear, and pirating -in the Southern Seas. Well, who's going to begin the mutiny, eh? Which -of you? Let him come forward so that I can catch holt of him, and -string him up to the fore-top-sail yard with my own hand. Come, which -of you is it, to commence with?" - -And again he glared terrible fierce at them. - -Then says one of them--poor fool!--"We shall never find no plate here; -what's the good, captain, of our stopping here?" - -In a moment that man was upon his back with the blood pouring from his -face, the captain having felled him like a butcher fells an ox, and -"Fling him overboard to the sharks," says he. "Quick, or some more of -you go, too. I'll have no mutineers here and no talk of the Southern -Seas. Over with him, I say!" - -But not one of them all moved. - -"What," he roared, "it is a mutiny, then! Therefore, let's see the -means to quell it. Crafer, call up all the officers. And now, you -hounds, you who don't want to go to the Southern Seas, stand on the -larboard side. Jump, skip, damn you! All who are on the starboard side -when I have counted ten shall be treated as mutineers. Now." - -Some did jump and skip in verity, hopping over to the larboard as -quick as ever they could; for his wrath was awful to see; while for -those who moved slower--though they, too, meant to go--the punishment -was terrible. He sprung amongst them like a lion, as I have said; he -struck and beat them with his fists, bruising and blackening of their -faces; he kicked them like dogs, until every man who had come up to -the quarter deck was over on to the larboard side--some of them -bellowing with pain, some trying to staunch their bleeding wounds, -some leaning over the bow muttering curses in their agony. - -Meanwhile the officers had all come up. - -"Over with them to the sharks," he cried. "Over! Over! Send other men -forward to help bind them and fling them forth. And this brute first," -said he, pointing to the man he had first knocked down. - -"Mercy! Mercy!" they screamed now, while the other men forward, who -were not disaffected, or, at least, had not shown their disaffection, -came hurrying aft at the double whistles of the bo'sun and the -bo'sun's mate. "Mercy! Mercy! Kill us, but give us not to the sharks. -Mercy!" - -I whispered to him, "Surely you will not do this thing, sir?" and was -eased by a glance from him and a word to the effect that he meant not -to do so, yet to scare them, especially the first one, or leader, so -that they should have had their bellies full of mutiny; and, -meanwhile, the poor piteous wretches were howling and weeping, some -calling on their God and some on their mothers, while all the while -their comrades bound them tight. - -"Now," says he, and at his words there went up a shriek more dreadful -than before, "Now, fling over some jerked pork whereby the sharks may -be attracted. 'Twill be a fitting prelude to a better meal." - -Thereby they roared and roared again until, in very truth, I wonder -the Spanish did not hear them on land--and "Over with the lines ready -to lower those dogs," says he, "and, meantime, I will go and wash -their filthy blood off my hands;" and away he went into his cabin. -Then, we who remained on deck saw to the pork being thrown over, what -time I found opportunity of telling my officers that he might not yet -carry out his dread sentence--and, presently, we saw the most horrid -sight that any sailor is ever doomed to see. We perceived in the dim -grey of the coming night that terrible heave of the water that the -shark maketh, we saw the ripple caused by many fins, we even saw plain -enough the evil, squinting, and upturned eyes looking for more prey. -They had come for their suppers and wanted it--they wanted their -victims; and the victims, gasping and sweating with fear, saw them as -well as we did and knew their wants. - -One fell down on deck and died with very fright all in his cords as he -was bound, the others shuddered and shrieked again as Phips's voice -was heard from the poop, and then he came forth once more. - -"Are the sharks here?" he roared, "are they come?" - -And as he spoke his eye lighted on him who had fallen dead, and he -turned him over with his foot to see if he were truly so. - -"A pretty mutineer," then says he, "a pretty mutineer! Well, he is -dead, so over with him--he assoils his Majesty's deck; over with him." - -In a minute that dead body was cast over the bows and went splashing -into the sea. Then we saw the waves all tumbled and tossed as though a -seaquake had taken place, or a whale had disturbed them in its -passage; we saw the ripples made by the fins of the brute down there, -and the silver glisten of those fins--we saw the water tinge from -green to pale pink and then to red, until, at last, the dead man's -blood had overmastered the sea's natural colour. - -Meanwhile still the rebellious ones shouted and bawled; while some who -were older cursed and blasphemed, another wept, and still another--the -first one whom Phips had beat down--tried, all bound as he was, to -rush at him and strike him with his manacled hands, or bite at him. - -But now the captain paused, though ever with his eye on this fellow, -and spake and said: - -"Well, my hearts, how like you mutineering against the King's Grace, -eh? and against me who stand here for the King? 'Tis profitable, is it -not--far more so than hunting for the plate-ship, with three good -meals of jerked pork and drink into you every day? What say you?" - -All but that mad and furious one shouted still for mercy--he standing -apart glowering--and clasped their hands and said that, if he would -but spare them, never more would they think of aught but their duty to -the King and him--"only, only," they wailed, "not the sharks, not the -sharks!" - -"Well," says he, at last, "since you are but beaten hounds and know -it, it shall not be the sharks this time--only, henceforth, beware! -For if ever again one of you so much as mutter a word of disaffection, -so surely shall your blood tinge the waters round as the blood of that -mutineer tinges it now. You hear?" - -They said they heard, and that there was no fear that ever would they -offend more, no, not if the _Algier Rose_ stayed there a century, so -then Phips spake again, while 'twas noticed by us officers that never -did he include the first man--whose name was Brooks--in his address, -nor did he cast his eyes once towards him now. - -"So be it," he said, "and so it must be. For remember ever, 'tis not -against me you offend and rebel, who am but a servant like yourselves, -and was, a few short years ago, but a poor sailor also like -yourselves; but against the King and the country, who, sending us -here, believe and confide in us. Therefore, to mutiny is to commit -treason, and for both of these the punishment is Death. But, since -this is your first offending, I spare you death--yet must you be -punished. Therefore, now listen. Until the frigate touches English -waters once again, or until we strike soundings in the Channel, all of -you rebels must take a double night-watch, at sea or anchor, and no -drink must you have whatsoever, nor ever any leave. Are you content, -or have you a better mind for the sharks?" - -Poor, wretched fools! What could they say but that they were -content--and so they were unbound and set free. - -Then, turning to Brooks, and with those fierce and terrible eyes upon -him, he continued-- - -"For you, you are but as a savage beast, and unrepentant. Therefore, I -still mean to fling you to the sharks, or to, perhaps, maroon you. Yet -will I decide nothing in haste; the sharks," he said, very grim, "are -always there, so, too, are many islands on which to cast you alone. I -will take time to think how to punish you." - -Can it be conceived that this idiot and wretch, even at such a moment -of peril as this, should be still so hardened as to defy Phips! Yet so -he did. First he gnashed his teeth at the Captain, and then he swore a -great oath that, were he free, he would kill him. And, though he -muttered this under his lips, yet Phips heard him. - -For a moment he paused, looking fixedly at him, then he called up some -of the men who had retreated forward, and said: - -"Lower him over to the sharks." And all of us, officers and men, did -shudder as we heard the order. "Only," he went on, "since still am I -merciful, remembering that I am naught but the servant of the King, -lower him by degrees two feet at a time. Then, if by the period he has -reached the water's edge he sues not for pardon, let the sharks have -him;" saying which he turned on his heel and entered again his cabin. - -It was done, amidst the curses of Brooks and his fightings to be free. -Longwise, he was lowered, face downwards, and, although twice the -lines were lengthened so that, from being twelve feet above the waters -he was at last but eight, still only would he revile the King, the -captain, and all. - -"Thou fool," I called down to him, as, indeed did his shipmates, -"recant, and sue for pardon." But still he would not, raving ever. - -"Lower," I commanded to the men--"two feet more;" and by two feet so -much nearer was he to the beasts below, who now began to disturb the -water once again and cause it to heave, and to show their fins and -hideous eyes. Still he would not and so, with another order, down he -went to four feet from the surface. And now the water was all ruffled -and bubbling as though boiling, or as 'tis when a child throws a cake -to the trouts in a fishpond, and the eyes of the man looking down into -the sea were looking into the eyes of the horrid things gazing up. Yet -still, though he was now silent, he would not call for mercy. - -The sweat was standing at this time on all our brows and, in very -truth, our hearts were softened towards him--for if a villain he was a -brave one--and almost did my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, -for the time had come for a fresh order that would bring him to two -feet. So I paused, hoping he would plead, yet he did not. - -"Brooks," I called now, very low, for I wished to spare the man, and -wanted not Phips to hear me. "Brooks, this is, indeed, your very last -occasion. Will you yield?" - -_He answered not_. - -Then, as I was about, perforce, to do my duty, the water heaved and -surged more than before, and, leaping up from the sea as leaps the -grayling from the pool to take the fly, there came two great monstrous -sharks, their loathsome jaws extended so that the yellow teeth were -quite visible, they evidently driven beyond endurance by the sight of -the tempting bait so near. In that instant all shuddered and drew -back, daring not to look below, the sweat poured out all over us now, -and from the side there came a fearful, piercing scream of agony and -the voice of Brooks calling, "In God's mercy draw me up, oh! draw me -up. I am penitent. Pity! Pity!" - -The sharks in their frenzied leap had struck against each other and, -instead of seizing their victim, had but hurled each other back into -the sea, and thus he was spared. So we drew him up, and with this -ended the first mutiny of the _Algier Rose_. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. -THE SECOND MUTINY. - - -And now I commence again. - -Two years more had passed, and still we had not found the plate. - -Very disheartened were we all by now, you may be sure, perhaps the one -who kept himself best being the captain, who still hearkened after the -astrologer's prophecy. Yet this, while still he did so, he chided -himself for, saying that it became not a Puritan of New England to -believe in any such things. - -"For," says he, "in my colony they are now burning witches and -wizards, geomancers, astrologers, and those which pretend to be Cabala -with the stars, to say nought of quack-salvers and saltim-bancoes, so -that I am but a degenerate son. Yet not of my mother neither; for she, -as I have told you, Nick"--as now he called me--"bought an -astrologer's pricked paper and found it come true. Still, wrong -as I do, I cannot but think the caster was right. Then, if so, -must we wait another year; for by that time I shall have arrived -at my thirty-seventh." - -That he would have waited had not the King--but you shall hear. - -We had now arrived, as I have said, at our fourth year out, and at -this time Phips, who had one moment, as I have also writ, the idea of -staying until his thirty-seventh year, and at another the mind to take -the frigate home and confess to the King that he had failed, decided -to have the ship's bottom cleaned, or, as 'tis called, breamed. -Therefore, for this purpose we moved her somewhat away from the -"Boylers" to a little island, of which there is a multitude -hereabout--for we would not go to the mainland for fear of a broil -with the Spaniards--and there careened her. - -Now, a sweet little isle this was as any one might wish to see--though -very small, and on the charts tho' not the maps,--all covered over -with a small forest in which grew the palm, the juniper, the caramite -and acajou, as well as good fruits, such as limes, toronias, citrons, -and lemons. Also, too, there were here good streams of fair fresh -water all running about, at which one might stoop to lave themselves -or to drink their fill. Ofttimes we had been over there before, -especially to fetch in our boats the fresh water and the limes, for -since our tubs of beer[2] had long since run dry this was our only -beverage. Moreover, here we came in boats when we took our spells of -leave, and, lying down in the little forest, would try to forget the -tropic heat of where we had now been stationed so long, and would send -our minds shooting back to memories of cool English lanes all shotted -with the sweet May and the Eglantine, of our dear grey skies and our -pleasant wealds. - -But now we were come in the ship to work and not to take our ease, for -breaming is, as sailors know, no lightsome task. Yet, too, there was a -pleasant relaxation even in this, for, since the frigate was not -liveable when careened over, all of us were bestowed ashore. So, too, -were the remaining stores, of which in most things we still had a -plenty, and so, too, were the great guns, they being placed around our -encampment as though a fort. The ship herself was hove down by the -side of a rock which stretched out from the land a little way; and, so -that we could come at her and go to and fro with greater ease, we had -constructed a bridge made of a plank leading from the summit of the -rock to the shore, just above high water. 'Twas not long to the -beginning of the rock from the land, being some thirty feet, but once -on the rock itself one had to walk some hundred feet to reach where -the frigate was. - -Now Phips, as ever, setting a good example, had with his own great -strong hands helped at hauling the ship over, and ashore he had -assisted in cutting down trees to make our encampment palisadoes, our -cabin roofs and wooden walls, and so forth. Never did he spare -himself, and thus endeavoured to keep harmony and good will among all, -officers and men alike. - -As to the mutiny, 'twas now forgot, or at least we thought so. Brooks, -who had been the ringleader in it, seemed quite broken since the -episode with the sharks, and, perhaps, also a little with the -treatment since accorded him. Never had the Captain relaxed on -him--and but little on the others, tho' somewhat--and never had he -been permitted so much as an hour's leave or a sup of the beer while -the casks lasted, or to take more than one watch and one dog watch -below in the twenty-four hours. I say it broke him, yet I liked not -the look to be seen sometimes on his face; and 'twas more than once -that I bid the Captain observe him well, as also I did the subaltern -officers. But Phips only laughed, saying: - -"Tush, Nick! We have scotched the villain; have no fear; what can he -do? Moreover, is not old Hanway a watch dog that never looses his eye -from him? And, as he knows, his friends the sharks are ever near." - -So the memory of the mutiny slumbered or awakened but little, and time -went on and the breaming of the ship was a'most finished. We got her -clean at last, by a plentiful kindling of furze and oil and faggots, -so as to melt the old pitch about her, and were rapidly getting her -re-pitched and caulked, coated and stuffed, so that when we went back -to fish for another year she would be so clean and neat that, when we -upped anchor, we should be ready for home at once. Also we had righted -the ship again so that some few could live in her, and soon we meant -to bring back the stores, great guns and other things. - -But now we were to learn over what a masked mine we had been -slumbering, and we were to see once more how the hand of Providence -was always guarding us, as, I thank God, it has ever done where I have -been concerned. - -There were seven of us in the frigate one most glorious Sunday -afternoon--namely, the Captain and myself and five men, when, sitting -on the poop under an awning, he and I saw Hanway being supported -between two others from the little wood to the plank that reached the -shore. The man seemed sick enough by the way he dragged himself along -between those two, and we, wondering what ailed him, went up on to the -rock and so on to the hither side of the plank, and the Captain hailed -to know what was the mischief with him? - -"Sir," calls back a sailor, one of those leading him, "he is took very -ill with a colic and wishes to go aboard to get a dram and rest. Will -you permit his coming?" - -"And welcome," says Phips. "But how will it be for him to pass over -the plank?" - -"We will come fore and aft of him, sir," says the man, "so he shall -not fall." - -Receiving permission to do this, they started to reach the rock; and -by the foremost man walking backwards--which a sailor can do as easily -as a cat--and the other propping him up behind, they gotten him along -the plank. - -"What ails you, man?" says the Captain kindly to him then, when he was -there, but Hanway only groaned and placed his hand on his stomach, so -that, sending the sailors back to the isle, we took him between us, -and so got him into the captain's saloon. - -"A dram of brandy," says Phips, "is the thing for you, my man," and -with that he makes to call for his servant; when, to our extreme -astonishment, Hanway puts up his hand to stop him, and stands up, as -straight and well as ever he was. - -"What foolishness is this?" asks Phips, with his brow all clouded; -"what mean you, Hanway, by this conduct?" - -"Hush," says he, glancing round the cabin. "Hush! It means--there is -no one by, I trust!--it means _mutiny_ again, Captain. That's what it -means!" - -"Does it so?" says he, all calm in a moment, though his eye wandered -to his sword and pistols hanging over the table--"does it so? And when -and how, Hanway?" - -"To-night," says the carpenter; "and from the isle. I have heard it -all, though they know not I have heard one word. See, Captain, it was -thus. I was lying in the grass under a bush but an hour ago, when -there comes that most dreadful wretch, Brooks, with half a score -more, and sits himself down on the other syd, behind a clump of -cabbage-palms that grew next the bush. And so I heard all. Says he, -'Now, lads, to-night is our occasion, or never. To-night I must have -my account with Phips and Crafer, so that there shall be a new captain -and a new commander to the _Algier Rose!_" - -"And who," asks Phips, "are to succeed us, Hanway?" - -"Brooks, it seems, is to be captain in your place, sir," goes on the -carpenter, "and the master-at-arms, Taylor, is to be commander. For -the rest I know not; but, sir, let me tell you that, excepting -yourself and the officers, myself and the bos'un, all are mutineers, -and they mean to get the frigate if they can and go a-buccaneering to -the South Seas, as has been ever their intent since we could not fish -up the plate." - -"Tis well, very well," says Phips, "but how will they do it? Can you -tell us that?" - -"Brooks gives them this scheme, sir," continues Hanway. "'To-night, my -hearts,' said he to them, 'there is no moon. Therefore, what easier -than to take the ship? We can outnumber them quite easy--the big guns -are all ashore, there is not so much as a carronade in her. So, too, -are the small arms, the powder and ball; yet, since we must not injure -the _Algier Rose_, we must not fire into her, nor need we do so. For,' -says he, 'at about dawn, or a little before, we can all pass the plank -and reach the rock, when we can descend on the ship and put every one -to death that is not for us. And I,' says he, 'will particularly kill -Phips, whom I do hate most deadly.'" - -Phips smiled and nodded his head pleasantly at this, for all the world -as though he had heard the dearest news, and then he says, "And, how -much more, Hanway?" - -"Only this, sir," goes on the carpenter, "that Brooks knows not what -will be the distribution aboard and ashore of the men, and fears -therefore that he may get brought into the ship for the night--while -the officers may be ashore with the other mutineers." - -"He need have no fear," says the captain, very sinister; "when the -muster is called it shall be arranged to suit him to his exact -pleasure. Now, Hanway, go you back ashore, mingle freely with them, -and trust to me and Mr. Crafer." - -Then, when the carpenter had returned ashore, saying he had had a dram -and his pains were eased, Phips and I held a long consultation -together, and our plan was formed. How it worked you shall soon read. - -But ere I go on I must rest my hand. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. -AND THE PREPARATIONS AGAINST IT. - - -It was an hour before sunset that the order was usually given to the -bos'un to pipe all hands to muster, and on this fair Sabbath evening -you may be sure it failed not. Now, since so much of the ship's -company was ashore it was the habit for the few in her to go also -ashore, so that the whole roll might be called. Therefore, on this -occasion we in the frigate went by the rock and plank to land, leaving -the vessel alone save but for two men on watch, and at once began the -muster. - -The officers were partly divided, some to remain on the isle, some to -be in the frigate, I being of the former, the captain of the latter. -Now this plan had been communicated to all officers previous to the -muster; since Phips had asked two or three of them to supper with -him--of whom I was not one, but had, instead, gone on shore--and there -he had divulged the whole wicked story. There was not any more danger -to those who were ashore than to those in the ship, since Hanway had -gathered from some source that the officers on land were not to be -despatched until the ship herself was taken, and it was thought she -could be easier taken and with less noise than they could be murdered. -So that was to be done. Moreover, likewise had Hanway learned that -Brooks hoped some of the mutineers would be told off into the ship, -whereby they might lie in wait to spring out and assist their -brother-scoundrels when they boarded her, and this, on hearing, Phips -again said should be done. - -"For," says he, "since they would have some of their comrades in the -frigate, they shall be obliged. Only, they will not know that when the -rounds are gone those choice companions will be prisoners all, with -bilboes on their feet and gags in their mouths." - -And now, all arrangements being made, ashore we went to call this -muster. First I called the officers, naming for the shore myself, a -lieutenant, and the master's mate; for the ship, the Captain, the -second lieutenant, another mate, and the two gentlemen-midshipmen we -carried (we had three, but one was drowned coming out); these being, -when they joined the ship, little lads of eight and nine years, scarce -better than babes, but now grown big boys. Then, this done, I passed -to the others, bringing the carpenter and his mate into the frigate, -and likewise the bos'un and his. Next Brooks was called for the shore -with most of the known mutineers, excepting only some others of their -gang and companions in guilt into the ship. And when this was done -there was to be observed, by those who looked sharply, a glance pass -between them. - -So 'twas arranged, and all was well for the foiling of these villains. -And thus, having well concerted our plans, we all went to our various -stations, the Captain walking back to the frigate with his complement, -and I in command of the shore party. And now must I relate all that -happened both with them--which I gathered afterwards--and with us on -land, which I saw. But first for the ship. - -At sunset, which comes fast in these parts, the Captain, after -the rounds, stationed in his cabin on each side of the door the -bo'sun--who was enormous in size--and the carpenter, Hanway; then, -sending for each of the known mutineers one by one into the cabin, he -had them knocked on the head as they came in, bilboes put on their -feet, and they carried down amongst the ballast. With them he put a -good guard, who had orders that should they cry out--tho' if they did -none could have heard them on the isle--they should instantly be -despatched; so they were safe and secure, and henceforth he had but to -deal with those ashore. Next he sent for the midshipmen, who, coming -into his cabin, he demanded of them which was the lightest in weight; -for, said he, "I have work for one of you young lads to-night that -shall make a mate of you if you do well." - -Now, of these boys--one named Fanshawe, the other Caldwell (who as I -now write commands the _Lizard_, of twenty-four guns, he having been -promoted out of the _Richmond_)--the latter was by far the lighter, he -being very lean and spare. Therefore, to him says Phips: - -"My boy, you must do a good service to-night, so I hope you have a -strong heart;" to which the lad said he hoped indeed he had; tho', -later on, he told me that at that moment his thoughts went flying off -to home and to his mother, who had cryed so bitterly when she brought -him down to go to sea. - -"Well," says Phips, "now this you have to do. We will get from Hanway -a bolt--such as those of the big guns--and what you must perform is -this. To-night at the darkest you shall creep from the rock to the -plank, and so to the middle of it, and, when there, you will first fix -a staple under the board, then through that you will run the bolt. -Next, where its head will enter you must make a mortise--another -staple will do very well--and then when all is fixed you shall, with a -bradawl and a gimlet, so bore the board that t'will yield to any -weight when the bolt is unshotted. You understand, my lad?" - -The boy's eyes sparkled, for he was stout of heart, and he answered -readily that he comprehended; and so Phips goes on: - -"Then, when all this is done, to the eye of the bolt you shall attach -a line and so bring it back under the plank to the further end of the -rock, where some one or other shall take it from you. Now, my boy, -there is little of danger to you if you are careful. And, remember, -first fix your staple, then your bolt, and, last of all, pierce and -bore the plank and do it well, and so shall you earn your higher rank. -Now go, sleep until we wake you." - -The lad told us afterwards he slept not in his hammock at all, but -rather repeated to himself his instructions again and again, so as to -be perfect; and thus the time wore on, and, at last, there was that -thick inky darkness that comes in tropic nights. Then Phips summoned -him, repeated to him once more his orders, and the boy prepared to -speed on his work. - -"I cannot, my little lad," said Phips, "go with you, nor send the men; -the plank would not bear our big forms when bored, and they might see -us. Otherwise, and if I could do it, I would not send one of such -tender years as thou art. So be brave, and so fare-ye-well and a -speedy return." - -He laid his great hand on the boy's shoulder as he spake, and bid him -again "God speed;" and then the child went forth, his little heart -quite brave and cheerful. Only, when he was gone, they found he had -left upon his sea-chest, writ large, the place where his mother lived -and to where she might be addressed if he came back no more; and also -he had writ a little prayer to Phips that he would speak well of him -to her, and say that he died in his duty. - -That he might so die all knew; and from his writing they learned he -knew it, too. For there were many ways to it. The mutineers would -doubtless shoot him if they saw him on the plank, and so begin their -wicked work at once, or the plank might fall under him, or he fall off -it in the dark, when it was well possible--the water being deep -enough--that the sharks should have him. - -So he went forth, and, of those who saw him go, one or two crept along -the rock after him to watch and see if all was well, and they -observed, and told afterwards, how he never faltered in his task. -Through the darkness of that black night he creeped upon the plank, -making no noise, and, laying himself flat out upon it, went to work. -Once those behind said they heard the muffled sound of the screws as -he fixed tight the staples--though those who knew not what was a-doing -might have thought 'twas but the creaking of the board! And once they -heard him let fall a screw into the water that plumped in with a -little splash. But that was all, and presently by his breathing they -heard him coming back. He had done his work--the springe was set! He -had done that work well, too, only, so wrought upon was his mind, -that, when he once more stood upon the deck of the frigate, he -fainted, and fell into the Captain's arms as the latter spake -approvingly to him. - - -Now, therefore, there was nought for them on the ship to do but to -wait the coming of the dawn--tho' all in her hoped the mutineers might -make their attack ere then. For, if they came when the dayspring was -about, it was possible they might perceive the piercings of the plank: -while, if they came earlier, they could see nought. - -And so, I say, the night went on and the stars above began to -pale--the great Southern Cross turned from her deep crimson to a -white, and the dews from the little island sent forth innumerable -scents and perfumes. Meanwhile, nought could be heard from the shore -by those in the ship, for all was still as death; while on the water -round the rock a gentle splash alone was heard, telling that those -watchers of it, the sharks, were looking ever for some prey. And, by -now, several of the ship's company, headed by Phips, had creeped along -the rock towards where the plank was, and, heavily armed, and hidden -as much as possible, were waiting to see what movement was forthcoming -and when the attack was to be made. - - - - -CHAPTER X. -AND HOW IT WAS ENDED. - - -And now must I return to the party on shore, with which I was. - -The watch being set--which throughout the night I took very good care -should be composed of those whom I had reason to consider the worst of -the mutineers--we, the officers, turned into the hut that had been -constructed and set apart for all of that rank. Of course we knew what -the intention of the Captain was as to the sawing of the plank, and, -indeed, were quite cognizant of when young Caldwell was at work on it, -though none of the rebels were so. Moreover, when I had reason to -suppose he was at his business, I, affecting a merciful disposition -towards them which I did not in any way feel, went out to where they -lay and told the men on watch to turn in awhile, as I and one of the -lieutenants would take the look out for a spell. - -Now this I had not planned with the captain previously, it being an -afterthought, yet I took credit to myself for its being an excellent -one. For see what good came of it! Firstly, it removed the mutinous -watch from the open where they might have seen or heard the lad, since -the encampment lay but a hundred yards or so inland from the beach; -and, secondly, it played the game, as they say, into their hands. For -they minded not for us, the officers, to be on the alert at this early -part of the night, but would, as I knew, rather have it so, for they -wanted us asleep in the latter part when they meant to set about their -dirty work. And it lulled them, as after-events showed, into false -security; for, seeing that we treated them so kindly, they never -dreamed we had one idea of all their treachery. - -And to further this idea in their minds, after eight bells had struck -from the frigate, and a fresh watch set, I went in to the men in their -huts, and seeing Brooks sitting up and looking very wideawake, I said -to him--though in my mind I would sooner have thrust my sword through -his heart: - -"Brooks," I said, "we are all sleepy now; therefore we will turn in. -And since there is scarce any necessity for caution here--none being -able to attack this little isle of ours--relieve your watch somewhat." - -"Ay, ay, sir," says Brooks, while yet by the oil flame I could see the -devil's light shining in his wicked eye. "Ay, ay, sir. What shall I -do?" - -"Let most of the watch rest themselves. What need that all should -labour? We fear nought here. Leave but two men on watch--the frigate -is herself a guard-ship--and let us take some repose. Only, as I and -the other officers are very sleepy, call us not until the day watch; -let us not be disturbed." - -"I'll warrant you, sir," said Brooks, and positively the fiend hid his -head in the shadow so that I might not see the grin on his face, -though I saw it well enough, be sure. "I'll warrant you, sir, you -shall not be troubled." Whereon I bade him good night, and so back to -our hut. - -"Now," says I to my comrades when I entered, "all is indeed well. We -have but to keep quiet, and these wretches will go to destruction -their own way. For, see now, they must be caught between two fires! -Once they are on the plank, or some of them, they will be in the water -the next moment if Caldwell has but done his work well. And even -though he has not, what matters? From the rock they will be shot down, -and from the shore by us, while we have this hut for a fort if needed. -So now, while we pretend sleep, let us be watchful and await the good -time." - -Then, very quietly, we saw to our arms, the bite of our swords and the -priming of our pistols. Also had we in the hut some musketoons, very -good ones, each loaded with five ounces of iron, which had been -brought in from the ship when careened and placed here to guard -against rust, as well as some peteraroes loaded with old broken iron -and rusty nails, which could well be fired through the doorway. - -And now we three put out our light, wishing each other "Good night" -somewhat loudly, so that if any were creeping or crawling about they -could not but hear, and at intervals of our long vigil we would snore, -sometimes in concert, sometimes singly, so as more to deceive them. - -And in this manner passed the night, we hearing and counting all the -bells as they struck in the ship. - -At last there was a stir. Soft as was the grass around, we could hear -stealthy footfalls; presently in the open window-frame--purposely left -open by us the better to deceive these villains--we saw a face look in -on us and again withdrawn, we heard a whispered talk outside, and then -they went away. We knew the attack was about to begin. So, when the -footsteps had retreated and we imagined that by now they must have -gotten down to the beach (and, indeed, silently as they went, we could -hear the pebbles crack and rustle beneath their bare feet), slowly I -rose and glanced out from the side of the window. But only to draw -back my head on the instant, for there, they not being such fools as -might have been supposed, were two of the mutineers on guard, one on -each side of the window. At present, 'twas evident they thought not -that we were awake, since each was leaning with his back to the walls -of the hut gazing after his companions, and I had time to ponder on -what I must do. - -First, I had the intelligence to say nought to either of my comrades, -while for sign I could give none, seeing that, as yet, the day was not -come--though afar off a saffron tinge in the sky heralded its near -approach--and then I took time to reflect. Now, had there been but one -man he had been soon despatched, for I could from the window have run -him through, or cut his throat ere he could make any noise. But with -two it was different. So, I say, I pondered deep. Yet, soon, this was -what I resolved to do. I would go again to the window and then would -remain there, a pistol in each hand, and, the moment I heard any -scuffle or noise from the neighbourhood of the rock, would fire into -their heads. Meanwhile, should they discover that we were awake, yet -would I do the same thing--and the noise would but serve to warn our -friends over there. So now I crept to the lieutenant and the master's -mate, and, touching them gently in the dark, put my fingers on each of -their lips, and then away again to the window. - - -So I was there, ready for them, for though they had each in their -hands a musketoon there was nought to fear. Ere they could lift them -the brains would be out, they would be gone--but at this moment up -came the sun as it had been promising, and in a moment all was flooded -with light. And at the same moment they saw me and gave a shout at -seeing my face close to them, and the two pistols to their ears. Poor -wretches! all rebels and mutineers as they were, what gain had they in -their evil? Ere the shout had finished they were dead outside the hut; -even dead before the report had ceased to ring. Yet I had spoilt -nothing by my haste, for as now the daylight poured over all I saw -that the attack on the rock had begun, and, a moment afterwards, we -had rushed pell mell from the hut to assist in taking the mutineers in -the flank. And, now, I will write down exactly how our position was. -On the rock there stood Phips with all his men by his side, on the -plank were two or three of the mutineers with Brooks at their head, -and smiling quite gay was Phips, as he called out. - -"And 'good morning' to you, Captain Brooks, as I hear you are to be -to-day. My compliments to you, Captain Brooks, for a better frigate -than the _Algier_----" - -"To, hell with your compliments," howled back Brooks, "and your -scoffs. Yet we mean to have the ship, anyway; so come on. We are -eighty to ten so you must yield." - -"Must I, indeed," says Phips, "well, we will see for that." - -Meanwhile I had perceived what was my office, and so, going back with -the lieutenant and the master's mate--all unperceived by the -mutineers, who had been quite engrossed wyth those on the rock, so -that they saw not our sally forth--we dragged out the peteraroes and a -little old Lombard we had, very good for throwing a big shot, and -lighting our fuse we gave them a rousing broadside and did good -execution. The Lombard crashed down four of them, while the peteraroes -did great slaughter, and we gave them a volley from the musketoons, -and so in amongst them with our cutlashes and very busy. - -Meantime Phips and his party were firing into them from the -rock--though not at Brooks and those on the plank, which was shaking -under their weight as they advanced; and now the captain shouted to -him, "Come on, Captain Brooks, come on and take command of your ship. -Come on, I say." - -And on Brooks went, hurling oaths like a tempest howling across the -sea, and followed by the others; while, now and again, he yelled out, -"We are betrayed; we are betrayed," and so got fair into the middle of -the plank. - -And then he saw, but too late, the snare in which he had been taken. -For it bent so under their weight and also gave so that, looking down, -he saw it was all bored and pierced so as to be by now almost apart, -and kept up only by the great gun-bolt. - -"Back! back!" he screamed then to the others. "Back! See, oh God! see, -the plank gives, it yields, we are undone!" And then from him there -came a worse cry, a thrilling blood-curdling shout, for he saw what -was below him. The sharks which do infest all parts of these waters -had come again--attracted, doubtless, by the blood of the killed and -wounded and the dead bodies in the water, which already they were busy -at; and with them and fighting them for the prey, were fierce -crocodiles--or, as they are called by the Spanish, the allagartos. -"For God's sake, back!" he howled, "back, I say!" But those behind -could not turn back because we were there, and so they met their doom. -With one more scoff and jeer Phips and a sailor pulled at the line, -the great gun-bolt came forth from the mortise, or staple--the boy had -done well his work overnight!--the plank broke with a crash, and down -they went. - -And as they went we saw the great snouts of the crocodiles come at -them, and tear them below with a snapping dreadful to hear, we saw the -sharks heave over on their sides to take their prey, we heard one wild -and awful yell from each of these villains, and all was over with -them. As for the others who were not killed, they threw down their -arms and implored mercy, and so were bound and carried away for the -time. - -And in this way ended the second and last mutiny in the _Algier Rose_, -wherefore I will again rest awhile. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. -THEY HAVE TO DESIST. - - -Now, by this time Phips was within a month of his thirty-sixth year, -and we had been out on our fishing expedition four years almost, it -being the end now of 1686 of our Lord. - -"So," says Phips, "another month will see me into my thirty-seventh, -and then, Nick, we must have the plate." - -"Whereby you mean to say," I observed, "that you do, indeed, believe -in that Jack Pudding's prophecy that at that time you shall find it. -Yet I should scarce have thought, sir, that so stalwart a sailor as -you would have hearkened much to such as he." - -"I hearkened to him," replied he, "because I am a sailor, and -therefore, like unto you, Nick, and all of us, given unto believing in -auguries. Yet, reflect also on what other reasons I have. First, there -was my dear mother, whose doings were most rightly foretold; and next -was there the vow I always made that, some day, I would command a -King's ship. Well, that have I done, though without finding the -plate-carrack, and therefore I am positive that when my thirty-sixth -year is past I shall do so." - -"I trust you may," says I, "yet in four years it has not been done; -how, therefore, shall it now be done in one?" - -"We will fish in other waters," says he; "we will try another side of -the reef. We will have it, Nick--have it somehow." - -Yet, as you who read this paper shall see, it was not until his -thirty-seventh yeare came--proving thereby, alas! that wizards and -astrologers, who are the children of the devil, can speak truth -sometimes--that it was to be taken from where it had lain for its -forty-four or fifty years. Meanwhile I must perforce write down all -that happened before that time. - -To begin, therefore, the mutiny was, as you have seen, over, and so -rooted up and crushed down also were the men that it was impossible -there could be another. Of killed there were thirty-one, including -Brooks and the man who was to have had my place, and there was -something like twenty-five prisoners; the remainder of the crew, -though but few, being tried men and loyal to us. Some of the dead we -took into the middle of the beach and buried, while the sharks and -crocodiles provided the graves for the others without any trouble to -us; and then, all being done that was necessary, we left this sweet -little harbour of ours, which, had it not been stained by the horrid -mutiny and its outcome, we should have turned away from with regret. -But, considering what had happened there, we went back to the blazing -sea quite joyfully to begin once more our search. - -For those mutineering ruffians who were not killed, it would have been -easier to them if they had been. They worked now under the boiling -tropic sun in chains, their hands alone being free wherewith to assist -the divers; they were given no more food than would actually keep them -alive and enable them to work; they had but one watch off during the -twenty-four hours, and over them ever was an officer with a loaded -pistol to his hand, ready to shoot them down. And, worse than this, -whenever we should return to Spithead there they would be hanged to -the yard-arm, as they would have been ere this to the yard-arm of the -_Algier Rose_, had they not been wanted to work the ship home when her -time came to go. Verily, they had gained little by their wicked -foolishness! - - -So in this way the weeks slipped by and still we found no plate, yet -was Phips firm. His commission was for five years, which would carry -him well into that thirty-seventh year for which he longed so, and -that commission he fully meant to serve, when, lo! there happened a -thing that for a time changed all his plans, though not for long, -owing to Providence, as you shall read. - -One morning when the day broke, the lookout descried, some two -leagues from us and our reef, a great frigate sailing very free and -bearing down towards us, while to our joy we saw that she carried our -own dear English colours. Now, in all the three years and a half that -had passed, or nearly four, no ship of our own country had come -anywhere near us, although often enough had we thought we saw them -pass afar, as, indeed, they must have done on their way to some of the -West Indie Islands. Yet, as I say, none had come to us, and so we had -no news from the world without. But that this frigate was making for -us there could be now no doubt; already, she was so near that she was -shortening her sail, and, not long afterwards, she fired a salute, -which we returned with joyous hearts. Then she hove-to, and signalled -to us that the Captain was to go aboard. - -You may be sure that he went very willingly, the ship proving to be -the _Guinea_, and an old Commonwealth frigate I knew very well, and a -good sailer; and brave enough did Phips look as he took his seat in -his boat, all adorned in his best scarlet coat and his great wig; -"for," says he, "hot as the morning is, and will be hotter, I will not -go to greet a brother-captain foully dressed." - -That we in the _Algier Rose_ waited impatiently enough for the news -you may be sure, and, since 'twas long a-coming, that impatience -became very great. Indeed, 'twas not till night was near at hand that -we saw the boat coming back to us, while at the same time we saw the -great frigate's topsayl fill, and observed her slowly gather way and -steer towards the west. Then, a while later, the Captain came aboard, -and, sending for me into his cabin, he said, while I noticed that his -face was grave and sad: - -"Nick, we have to give up the search; we shall not get the plate now. -The frigate was, as doubtless you made out, the _Guinea_, on her way -to Jamaica to relieve the _Constant Warwick_, and brought me my orders -to go home." - -"But," said I, "the commission was for five years; they are not yet -expired." - -"Nay," says he, "that matters not. The King is dead, and has been so -for a year, and the Duke of York has succeeded him. And he believes -not in putting the ships of his navy to treasure hunts, deeming such -things better for private adventurers. Moreover, he says the _Algier -Rose_ can do better service at home against his enemies--of which the -Captain of the _Guinea_ says he has a many--than in fishing for plate. -So, to-morrow, Nick, we will take in water from the island, and away -to England." - -"'Tis pity," says I, "a many pities. Yet the King's orders must be -obey'd. And the plate--I wonder who will get that?" - -"I shall," said Phips sharply, "and you, Nick, if you will follow me. -For the very moment I give up my command of this ship, I shall seek -out those private adventurers of whom the new King speaks. I would -pawn my life the thing is there, and I will have it. Am I a man to be -thwarted?" - -Indeed, he was no such a man--only, as I whispered to him, he must, if -still he believed in his Geomancer, be very sharp. He would be in his -thirty-seventh year by the time he set foot on English ground again. - -"Ay, ay," says he, while he took a great drink from his cup and passed -it to me, "and so I shall, But before the thirty-seventh year is gone, -I shall be back again--and you shall be with me, Nick, an' you will." - -For myself 'twas very easy to say I would come. If James was king now, -then he would have for officers of his ships all those who had served -him when he was a sailor, and never had I been one of those. Moreover, -I had no interest with either Edward Russell--who is now as I write -Earl of Orford--or with Rooke, both of whom were like to be the King's -great seamen; so that there was little enough likelihood that I should -get another ship. There were just now hundreds of worthy sailors -waiting for appointments, and I had no better chance than, if as good -as, they. Also was I gone my time, having been now at sea since 1656, -when I went a boy of eight, so that I was nigh forty years of age, and -was never like now to be a captain, being but a plain sailor and no -gentleman courtier or page of honour. Had I been that and not known -the maintruck from the keel, then, perhaps, might I have gotten a ship -at twenty. But enough of this, only I had a mind to come out with -Phips if he came again as an adventurer; and that we should see when -we got home. - -A week later we had wooded and watered from our isle, and the wind -being fair away we went, while the last piece of counsel we received -came from the beastly great negro of whom I have writ before. This -creature's name was Juan, he having been born at San Domingo city, a -Spanish slave, which he no longer was, and as we had always thought, -though we were never convinced thereof, had egged on Brooks and the -others to mutiny by telling of them that we were a-fishing in the -wrong pool--as anglers at home say--but that if they could take the -frigate from Phips, whom he hated, he could show them where the plate -really was. - -So now he shouted to us from his periaga, as 'tis called there, - -"_Adios, Don Phipo, adios_. Berry sorie, Massa, you no find platy, but -you look not in proper place. You ever come back again, which not -berry like, you send for Juan and pay him better, he show you many -tings if he not show it someone else firsty. _Adios, Don Phipo, adios -cada uno_, I hope you berry nice cruise to Englishy waters. _Adios_," -and with that he hoisted his little sail and was gone. - -Phips scowled at him first and then burst out a-laughing, while one of -the sailors flung a musket ball at him, and so we sailed away -disappointed men. - -"A very nice cruise" it was not our good fortune to have, for we were -teased and pestered with contrary winds and storms all the way. Then -we got into the Horse latitudes--where the Spanish used to throw their -horses overboard on their way to the Indie Islands, to lighten their -ships so that they could move in the calm--or called by some the -Doldrums--and here we lay for some weeks. There we suffered much in -every way. The sea is here like glass, there is not a wind to stir a -sa'l nor to refresh the panting men, and the air is like a furnace. -Moreover, here the seams of a ship will yawn, the meat become rotten, -and the hoops shrink away off the casks so that they burst and leak, -letting out the water--of beer we had naturally none left. The sea, -too, looks lyke oil and not water, while the setting of the sun gives -one the idea that the whole world is a-fire. Great crimson fleaks of -flames blaze all across the heavens, then tinges of saffron, green, -and pink shoot up, and then comes the grey darkness, as though 'twas -the smoke after the fire. - -And while we who were free all this time suffered so, 'twas far worse -and more terrible with the condemned mutineers, for, being down in the -ballast, since there was nought for them to do on deck while we lay -still, their agonies from the heat were insufferable. Five of them did -die--even though at the last they were fetched above--and so 'twas -better for them, since had they lived there was nought but the hanging -at Spithead before them. - -Thus, when at last we got a wind which took us home--and a roaring, -tearing wind indeed it was, that sent us often under bare poles with -fear every moment that our crazy frigate with her open seams must go -to the bottom--we worked very short-handed. Yet home at last we did -get, looking like scarecrows in a field, and so yellow that those who -knew us said that, if we had found no silver, at least we had brought -a plenty of gold on our faces. Yet right glad were we to see old -England again after so long, and to sleep once more in a good English -bed. - - - - -CHAPTER XII -THE BARK "FURIE." - -Now I will not write down much as to how we found the state of things -on our return, yet somewhat must I say. - -To begin with--all of which was very bad for our hopes of getting -another ship--we found the King a dreadful declared Papist and with -most of the nation against him. Moreover, he was passing daily laws -and regulations for the oppression of the Protestants, so that he was -much hated, and all the world wagged its head and said that so extreme -a tyrant must ruin England unless a change came. And some there were -who even went so far as to say he had poisoned King Charles--though -this was never proved, and concerns not my history, to which I now -return. - -When the _Algier Rose_ was paid off (which was done in a way shameful -to our navy--namely, by giving us but half of what was due and the -other half in promises, which were not fulfilled until the next King's -reign, and then only with difficulty to us) Phips and I, who went to -live together near the Strand, saw very soon that we should get no -other King's ship to go back to Hispaniola. His Ministers laughed at -us when we sounded them; one old nobleman asking us if we thought his -Majesty had not enough to do with his vessels, without sending them on -any such fool's errand as this? And, indeed, he was right, for things -were thickening round James, we being come to the year 1687. People -had not forgot the Monmouth rebellion and its brutalities, of which we -heard now for the first time; they hated the King's doings and his -mass in the chapel, and although he had a great big army at Hounslow -this year--which Phips and I rode down to see--all the soldiers had an -aversion to his religion, excepting the few Papists among them. On the -sea he was not very busy just now, and no fighting done since we went -away; yet it was ever thought that trouble would come--as indeed it -did, though not in the way expected. - - -So, therefore, as now you will see who read, we had to turn our -thoughts to other ways, and at once we began to look about for some -proprietors who would send us forth to look again for the Hispaniola -plate. - -At first we had no success. Indeed, in the City, to which we resorted, -the project was treated by the merchants and goldsmiths with extreme -contempt, they jeering at us; while one of the latter told us he had -gotten together more plate than he desired, and would cheerfully sell -us some. But this was not our business, so we looked again. And now, -at last, we heard of one who we thought would do for us--our knowledge -of him being produced and brought to us by a friend who knew what we -were seeking for. And the person to whom he pointed was Christopher -Monk, the second Duke of Albemarle. - -This nobleman had in no ways ever done aught to carry on the great -reputation of his father; but, instead, he had, on coming into a most -enormous fortune at that father's death, twenty years ago, given -himself up to loose and vicious courses, as well as having a -ravenous liking for drink. Yet one fancy he had which improved on -this, and was very good for us and our desires--viz., he loved to hear -of treasure-finds, of the sacking of cities for plunder: such as those -of Drake in the Indies in the Great Queen's reign, or of Sir Henry -Morgan, the buccaneer who sacked Panama and Porto Bello, wherefore the -late King gave him the government of Jamaica, which Albemarle was -afterwards himself to have; and, above all, of the digging up of -hidden wealth. So to him, having obtained a letter introducing us, -away went Phips and I to see what might be done. - -He listened very attentively to us and, when Phips said he did in -truth believe there was three hundred thousand pounds under the water, -he sighed and said he would he could have some of it, for he wanted -money badly. This we could well believe; for though his father left -him so vast a fortune, he was a heavy gambler, and his Duchess--a -half-witted creature, granddaughter of the Duke of Newcastle, to whom -he was married before his dying father, as he lay on his bed--had -ravaged him with her extravagance and debts. - -So says Phips to him: - -"Then, your Grace, if you will have it you shall. Find me but a ship -well fitted and this very year--no other--it shall be yours. It is -there, I know; I have much evidence it is; and though I have fished in -the wrong place hitherto, yet now will I find it. And, as I say, it is -my year." - -"Why, sir," said the Duke, "why this year more than any other?" - -Yet this Phips would not tell him--confiding in me afterwards that, -though he believed in the astrologer, he was ashamed of his belief. -So, then, next says the Duke: - -"But why seek not the Spanish, or the French, who have now gotten -possession of the North of Hispaniola, if not all of the island, for -this plate? 'Tis worth their while, if 'tis worth mine." - -"Your Grace," says Phips, "it is not possible they should seek for it. -Ever and always are they fighting together for possession, when not -massacring of the natives--of whom three millions have been slain -since Columbus's day--and truly they have neither time nor -inclination, even if they believe, which all do not. Then, for private -adventurers, there are none among them who can or will risk the money; -so that if any find it it must be an Englishman." - -In this way, and with many other arguments and proofs, did Phips press -it on the Duke--particularly leaning on the boat that came ashore, -after the wreck of the carrack, full of plate; so that, at last, he -said he would think well upon it, and bade us come again in a week's -time. - -"For," says he, "of myself I cannot now do it, though I could very -well once"--and here he sighed--"when I had my father's fortune. But -now I am no longer rich and am even petitioning the King for -employment, and have the promise of Jamaica. Still I will see among my -friends, and I will ask the King's permission. He, you know, must have -a tenth and adventure nothing." - -"Let his Majesty have it," says Phips, "and then I'll warrant your -Grace there shall be enough to satisfy all." - -"Sir, you are very sanguine," says the Duke. "But there, come in a -week and you shall hear." - -So we made our bow and left him. - -Now, I have so much yet to write of the finding of the plate and then -all that followed, as well as to tell you, who may read, how you shall -also find a fortune if you will seek, that I must waste no space, but -crowd on with my story. - -So I will briefly write down that, when the week was past, we went to -the Duke's again, and he coming up to us--a little flustered with his -morning tankard, as I thought, though no ways drunk--takes Phips by -the hand and then me, and says he: - -"Gentlemen, I think it is done, and we must send you out. So now -listen to what I have attempted." - -And with that he bade his serving-men begone and see he was not -interrupted till he called. Then he went on: - -"I have gotten," he said, "a ship for you, not so good as a King's -ship, yet well found, of a good burthen. The crew you shall pick up -yourselves--God knows there are many sailors now in London wanting -bread! Then, as for repayment, you and Captain Crafer"--for so he -called me, though I was no captain--"must be willing to be paid by -return, or what the merchants call a 'per centum.' Now, are you -willing to do this?" - -We said we were very willing provided we were put to no expense for -provisions or furnishing of the ship, which we could not do, and he -said that matter should be arranged, as well as the payment of the -sailors, which must be part now and part hereafter, when we returned, -out of the proceeds. So after many more particulars we agreed to all, -and we left the Duke to go into the city and see the merchants, and -then to attend to fitting of the ship. - -She was, we found, when we got to her in Limehouse Pool, after we had -spoken with the merchants very satisfactory, a good bluff-bowed bark -named the _Furie_, who had been employed in the slave trade, about -which we did not inquire too curiously, knowing very well what uses -the Guinea merchants put such ships to. Suffice it, therefore, if I -say she was large and roomy for her size, with many good cabins, -especially on the deck, a good main cabin, and a clear fo'castle. And -so we set to work to pick up a crew. - -Now, as the Duke had truly said, there was no want of sailors just -now; for, firstly, we were not at war with any power; and, secondly, -the men went in but slowly to the King's ships of war because their -pay was so uncertain; and, thirdly, because all were against him, -hating the Papists he had gotten both into the navy and army, and -hating him too, as well as his Papist Queen, who had passed off -a false heir on the nation, as they said; and also his beastly -mistress, Sedley, now made Lady Dorchester. So when we went about the -taverns of Blackwall and Wapping, we soon picked up a likely crew -enough, and when we told what our cruise was for--namely, to get up a -treasure-ship--they were all eager to come. Therefore, at last we did -get more offers than we could well accept, seeing that we wanted but -twenty, and so made a good pick. Of them some were old King's men who -had seen much service like myself, two had taken part in Sir Robert -Holme's "bonefire," when he burnt up the Dutch ships, some more had -fought under Prince Rupert--as I did--when he beat De Ruyter, others -had fought against Selvagees' Armada, and all were of much experience. - -Now, therefore, we had but to victual the bark and to put in our beer -and water, and all was ready; so to it we went, the merchants behaving -very generously. Yet, since Phips felt sure--owing to his belief in -his precious geomancer, who was doubtless hanged for a knave ere -now--that we should not be gone a year, we by no means overloaded her. -Still, all was very well; we went out with a plenty of beef and pork, -a gallon of beer a man every day for some months, with, after that, -some spirituous liquors, and with good pease and oatmeal as well as -bread. Also, which was of equal need, we had good arms, taking -with us new cutlashes and muskets, several cannon, including two -thirty-two-pound ones and a twenty-four, some pierriers, or -swivel-guns, very useful, and several others. And, since this time we -hoped not to fail, we took all applications for diving, such as a -bell, pumps, bladders for the head, and so forth, such as was used at -Mull for fishing up part of the Spanish Armada in the beginning of the -late King's reign. - -And so we went away again to find, as you shall read, the Hispaniola -Plate. But to set it down baldly and to say only that we did so find -it, would be to give no help to those who shall come after me, -whensoever that shall be. Therefore, when next I take up my pen I must -tell of all our doings, of the way in which the treasure was gotten, -and of that uncommon villain who was soon now to appear amongst us, -and who did, in very truth, by his extreme villainies, lead to my -crowding the paper as I do for the benefit of those who follow me. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. -THE OLD MAN'S STORY. - - -Now, therefore, we are again at Hispaniola and have got near unto the -Bajo de la Plata, or Boylers, once more, having made an extreme good -cruise from England. The _Furie_ was indeed, we found, a good little -barky, she sailing well on the wind, which was ever most favourable -for us, and so bringing us across the ocean in twenty-four days. - -But ere we went out to the reef there were some things that passed -which I must write down. First, we anchored off Porto de la Plata, -which, as I have writ, was so named from the boat that went ashore -full of plate from the wreck fifty years--or now more--before, and -which is now the port of St. Jago de los Cavalleros; and here we -purchased a tender which it was our intention to use, so that there -might be two searchings made for the lost ship. Also we meant to have -some canoes, or periagas, so that they could go where neither the ship -nor the tender could go themselves, and thereby we did intend to scour -all the water round about the reef. - -But, Lord! who would not have been discouraged by all the merriment -that our return caused--who, I say, but Phips? For those who lived at -Porto did openly make mock of us, jeering at us for our coming back, -and calling of us the mad Englishmen; while, if it may be believed, -people did even come over from St. Jago, which is inland, to see us -and our silly ship, as they called it. Now, the people here were of -all kinds--there were Spaniards and Portugees, and also some French -who had by now gotten all that part of the isle to the west of Monte -Christo on the N. and Cape Mongon on the S., though no legal -settlement until later, as well as Creoles and mulattoes, and many -more. And with one accord all laughed at us, saying, "There is no -plate, be sure, or we would have had it long ago." - -Yet still Phips, and with him all of us, believed it was there. - -But now there came and sought us out the great monstrous negro diver, -Juan, who, after finding through me that Phips bore him no ill-will -for his last fleering farewell of us, said that he had somewhat to -tell us if we would hearken to him. So I gave him an appointment to -see the Captain the next day, and a promise that he should be safe -from any harm; and so he came out in his periaga to where we lay a -league off shore. And he brought along with him the queerest of old -men that ever I did set eyes on--an old shrivelled-up Portugee who -looked as though he was an hundred, half-blind, and with a kind of -shaking palsy all over him. - -Then, when I took them into the cabin where Phips was, he, being ever -of a jocund vein, called out: - -"And good morning to you, Signor Juan, and how do you do? You see you -were no true prophet, since here we are come back again." - -The hideous negro made a shambling bow, and hoped his honour was well, -and then in a jargon of Spanish and English, very hard for me to -understand, and not to be faithfully written down, he said: - -"Masser Phips, I bery sorry I larf at you when you went away. But I -never tink, no never, that you come back again. But since you come, I -tell you many tings I have founder outer. Sir, this old Signor, he -know much, he berry old"--and here the brute opened and shut his great -hands nine times, very quick--"he have see ninety summers." - -"Has he, indeed?" says the Captain, "that seems a long while to me who -have seen but thirty-six as yet. And what has the Signor seen in all -that time?" - -"He see many tings. He see the boaty come ashore with the silver -plate--beautiful plate, many candlestickies, bagges of pieces, -salivers and lumpes. All gone now!" - -Then here the old Portuguese screamed out, also in a sort of English, - -"Yees, yees. All gone now, Spanish sailors drink all up, then die. Die -very soon afterwards. Drink all day and danze with the girls, then -die." - -"Well," says Phips, "what good's that to me? If the drink and the -girls got all, I can profit nothing." - -"He, he," laughed the old man, till he nigh choked, "got all that came -in the boat, not all under the water. No, no!" - -"Plenty more under water," grunted Juan, "so he say. Plenty more. Only -no one able to get it and no one believe. He poor old Portygee, me -poor negro, so no one believe." - -"What, does he know?" says Phips, "and, if you knew, why had you no -mind to speak when first we came here and I employed you?" - -"Signor Phips," said the black, "then I knew of nothing; I only -suspect you fished in wrong place. Then when you go away to English -land there make much talk about you, and all ask me if English captain -find much? And I say, no, and don't tink anyone find anyting. Then old -man here--he ninety summers old!--then old man, Geronimo, he come in -from mines of Hayna in middle of country, where he lived forty year, -and hear of talk about you and the silver, and of me the Buzo" (which -means a diver), "and he say he wish he come back sooner much, because -he know where carrack lie, where shift off reefy." - -"Shift off the reef!" exclaimed the Captain and myself together, with -a glance at each other. "Is that so indeed?" - -Then the old Portygee burst out laughing and then choking, and then -when he found his voice again, he said, - -"Yees, yees; that so. I see sailors come ashore with plate. I drink -with them, I danze with girls, too, only I not die. That very long ago -now; girls all dead, too. He! he! Oh!" and again he had his spasms. - -Then once more he went on: - -"And so, Signor, because I was a fisherman, I go out to the Bajo and I -look about, only I fear Tiburons (sharks), and once when water very -low I see down deep a cannon, then I know the ship had shifted. So -another day I go look again, and there floated up a piece of the ship, -a rail, so I know for certain she move. Then I speak to many and I say -I know where carrack is, but they believed not and would do nothing. -And now they all dead, too, like the sailors and the girls. He! he! -Ha! ha! Oh! oh!" - -We talked long with this miserable relic of the past--who so angered -Phips with his recollections of the dead and the gone, especially the -girls, that he almost ordered him out of the ship--and, indeed, it did -seem as if at last we had lighted on some good news. He said, when he -could persuade no one to believe or lend a hand to search further, he -went away to the mines of Hayna, in the interior, where a fresh find -of gold was made, and there he stayed for all the years, making a -little livelihood and forgetting all about the plate ship. Then, -having at last struck ninety--on which he laid great stress, as though -an action of credit done by himself--he came back to Porto where he -belonged, and fell in with Juan. And this black told us that when he -did, indeed, come back and heard that we had been and gone, he fell -into such a paroxysm of rage and grief that he nearly died, "for now," -said he, "my chance is gone." - -So the old figger thought all was lost to him, and bemoaned his fate -and nigh went mad, until one day the Buzo went off to find him and -tell him that the Captain Phips was come once more back, but in -another ship. Whereupon he did once more go nearly mad, this time with -joy, and then made Juan bring him out in his periaga to us. - -So, after hearing all this, Phips says to him: - -"Supposing you put us in the way to find this plate, what terms are we -to make? What do you want?" - -"Half," says the old man. "I am now ninety years of age. I want to be -rich for the rest of my life." - -"Tush!" says the Captain, "this is foolishness. Why should I give you -half? I know now the carrack has shifted; I can find it for myself. -You shall have nothing." - -"No, no!" screamed the old Portygee, while the big black negro began -to mutter; and then Geronimo as he was called, threw himself down on -his knees with most marvellous dexterity for his great age. "No, no!" -says he, "not that. I will tell you, and you shall offer me what you -will. Me and Juan. Give us what you will." - -"Indeed I shall," says Phips, "seeing that you came to me, and not I -sought you. Therefore, let us see. How much think you there is below -the water?" - -"The Saints only know," said Geronimo, "but since she was taking home -to Spain the fortunes of many from Cuba, as the sailors told me, she -must have been full. Oh! Signor Capitano, promise me something, give -me something!" and he clasped the Captain's legs about and wept. - -"Well, now," says Phips, "see what I will do for you. You and this -negro diver shall tell me exactly where she lies, or as near as may -be, and if I find her you shall have this." - -"The Saints bless you, capitano; I am nearly ninety years." - -"Be still. You shall have this between you, the negro to dive for me -with my own English diver. You shall have for every five pounds of -silver or of gold, one ounce, no matter whether we find much or -little. Are you content?" - -At first both of them began to grumble, saying it was not enough. But -soon Phips persuaded them to reason in a way that was all his own. - -"Then," says he, doing so all in an appearance of sudden violence, -"begone out of my ship. Away with you! What! shall I come from England -twice to find what I knew of a surety five years ago was here, only to -traffic with such as you, and you?" pointing his finger at each. "Nay, -never! We will find it by ourselves. Begone, I say!" - -But to begone was not their purpose, since very well they knew that -without us they could do nought. Strange as it may seem--and very -strange it was--none in Hispaniola would hearken to the story of the -plate ship lying so near--for the Boylers are not a dozen leagues out -from the island--and so would do nothing, and therefore they could do -nought themselves. For to do anything a small vessel at least was -wanted, and the means wherewith to dive--and certainly the Portygee -had no money for this, while the black was little than a beggar. -Therefore, at once they sang another song, becoming directly very -lowly, and saying, "Well, then, they would take the Captain's offer," -only I liked not the look on the face of Juan, the Buzo, and from that -moment determined to watch him well. - -Now, therefore, I have to say that all terms were made, and we were -ready to go out to the reef. We bought a tender, and we meant when we -got to our little isle of old, where the second mutiny was, to make -some canoes of some excellent cotton trees that were there, with which -we could go about, and see better when near the reef down into the -water. - -The negro Juan was to come, first as diver, next as on behalf of -himself and Geronimo to see we played fair, and he it was also to whom -the Portygee confided the exact spot where he had seen the rail float -up years ago, since he would not tell us, saying Juan would take us to -the place. - -So we went away, being delayed, however, two days by the accursed -Blackamoor, who we thought at first had played us false--perhaps, -indeed, found new employers who would pay him better. However, at last -we saw him coming out in his periaga--and none too soon neither, since -we meant to go without him next morning if he came not, and try our -luck alone--and when he and his craft were gotten aboard, he excused -himself by saying he had been having a _festa_ on shore and getting -drunk with some of his friends. - -"Good," says Phips when he heard this, "only, my black treasure, -remember there is no drunkenness for you here. Because, you see," he -went on, "I'm Captain aboard this craft, and if anyone displeases me I -let them understand it. So, if you want to keep your brains in your -head and your ebony skin whole, remember that. And now, bos'un," says -he, "pipe all hands on deck and loose sail for the reef." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. -THE WRECK IS FOUND. - - -And now I have to write down what we found, only, as such long writing -is even now difficult to me, I must do it in my own fashion. And that -fashion is, that I can do nothing except by proceeding leisurely and -describing each incident as it came about. Which I now again attempt. - -The soft wind carried us out past the Boylers the next day at -noontide, and then, as we went by, we parted with our tender, the ship -going on to our little isle of old. For 'twas here we meant to -construct the cotton-wood canoes, to take in some of the island -water--the sweetest I ever tasted, which caused us to take it -from there--and to leave some stores. The tender which we left -behind--though not very far, since the isle was but three leagues -beyond the Bajo--was in charge of our master mate, as he was rated, an -old King's man like myself, and, like myself, sick of the King's -service. He was a good sailor and named Ayscough. His orders were to -proceed to whatever point near that the African should suggest as the -reputed place where the carrack was shifted to, to anchor if possible, -or, if not, to put out the floating anchors, and there to remain until -we returned. But no matter what was perceived, even should it be the -carrack herself at the bottom, neither our own diver nor the Black was -to be allowed to descend, especially not the last. - -Then, having given these orders, we did remain on our isle two days, -what time Phips worked as hard as any man in the ship with his own -hands, shaping and arranging of the cotton-wood canoes, inspiring -every one with his ardours and cheering them on. What, however, did -not cheer any of us, was a-finding that some of the bodies of the -mutineers of the isle had the sand blown all off them where they were -buried on the beach, and that their skeletons were lying white and -bleached before us. Verily, a dreadful memorial of their wickedness! - -Moreover, another thing we saw which we liked not any too well; -namely, we found drawn up in a little cove a ship's boat, with on it -the name, "The _Etoyle_, Provydence," and in it many ropes, hooks, and -head-bladders, all carefully wrapped up and evidently for use in -diving. - -"Now," says Phips, "this is not well. There is nought to dive for here -but one thing--the Plate Ship--therefore it seems to me that someone -else has been about our office. Yet it is certain they have not been -successful. Had they been we must have heard of it at Porto. What -think you, Nick?" - -"That depends," says I, "on which Provydence those who own the boat -hail from. If 'tis that of the Bahamas, then 'tis very well, since -they are ours again since '66, and as King James takes his tenth of -our find, we have the precedence of all. So 'tis, if it's that by -Connecticut, which is but a hamlet. But if 'tis that off Honduras, -then 'tis bad, since 'tis inhabited by buccaneers only, if inhabited -at all; and, if them, we may have some trouble." - -"Well, well," says he, "we must see. Meanwhile I incline to it hailing -from the Bahamas. For look you, Nick, 'Provydence' is good English and -not Spanish, as most of the buccaneers are. And by the same token it -may be the Provydence in our own American colonies. Moreover, the -buccaneers as a rule put no markes in their crafts." - -"Etoyle," says I, "is not English, though!" - -"Neither," replies he, "is it Spanish. And," with his fierce lion look -upon his face, he went on, "belong it either to English, French, or -Spanish colonist or to pirate, they shall not have our treasure while -we are above water." - -So, all being done, we went back to rejoin the tender. - -Now, when we got to her we heard that the Blackamoor had directed that -she should proceed to a spot immediately on the other, or eastern -side, of the reef, from which we had previously fished, since there it -was that the old man, Geronimo, had laid down that we should find the -wreck. So Ayscough had taken her to this spot, namely, half a league -away from the Boylers, and we found all preparations made for a -descent, Juan, the Buzo, being particularly keen to go down at once. -But now we summoned our own diver--a straightforward, honest -Englishman, whose name was Woods--to come and confer with us, and -asked him what he thought. Then he told us that the soundings were -good enough for a descent, since the bottom was not more than twenty -fathoms below where we were anchored, and that the tallow brought up -soft sand and limestone, which showed a good bed. - -"Therefore," says Phips, "you can reach the bottom, can you not?" - -"If not, sir," says he, "I can at least descend so far as to see the -bottom, and if then I find the wreck it shall go hard but that I will -get down to her. My diving chest can sink easily to forty feet, and -with Mister Halley's[3] new dress I am confident I can touch the -bottom here." - -"So be it," says Phips, "and now about the Black. Here you, sir," then -he calls out to Juan, who was even now leaning over the gunwale, -peering down into the hot sea, "come here and tell us how you propose -to reach the bottom." - -"That very easy, sir," answered he; "I have new dress Massa Woods lend -me, which I am sure I manage very nicely. I go down if the Signor -Capitan wish me." - -"No," says Phips, "Woods shall go down first. And since 'tis a calm -morning, get you ready now, Woods." - -At once the man did this, going forward to where he berthed in the -ship, and returning presently a strange figure to behold, since now he -was all enveloped in Mr. Halley's new improved dress, all over cords -for lowering and pipes for a-taking in the air. - -"For," says he, "I will try this, sir, now, and see how far I can go -down." - -You may be sure all watched him with eagerness. For besides that we -hoped he should find below what we sought, but a few of us had ever -seen this dress before, and were almost afraid of what might come to -him. Yet, he assured us, we need to have no fear; he had made many -experiments and descents as trials at home in the sea and river -Thames, and was confident of what he could do. So, as calmly as if he -were going down the stairs of a house, he bade the sailors lower him -over from the gangway, and descended by the lines he had arranged and -was gone beneath the sea, and in a few moments there was nought but a -few bubbles to mark the spot where he had been. - -Presently we knew by a signal agreed upon with those who held the -ropes, that he had reached the bed, and then by the paying out of his -pipes that he was moving about. And so he stayed thus for some twelve -minutes, when we also knew he was returning to below the ship, and -then there came the next signal to haul him up again, which, being -done, his great helmet with its fierce goggle eyes appeared above the -water once more, he following. - -Tied on to him he bore two things, one a great beam of wood in which -was stuck pieces of jagged rock, which looked for all the world like -the great teeth of some beast that had been fastened in't and then -broken off--they were indeed bits of the reef--the other a great piece -of limestone as big as my head, all crusted and stuck over with little -disks or plates, which were, we found, rusty pieces of eight. - -"A sign! A sign!" says Phips, taking them from him; "now get your -breath, Woods, and tell us what you have found," and this the man did, -puffing and blowing freely for a time ere he could speak. - -Then he said, "Of the wreck, sir, I have seen nought, but surely I -have found the track. All the bottom of the sea is scored as though -some great thing had passed over it, and everywhere there lie great -lumps of limestone such as this, and great beams such as that." - -"Ha!" says Phips, and with that he takes the diver's axe and splits -open the lump, and there, wedged in all over it, were many more rusty -old pieces. "Ha! she has left a silver track as she passed along. Go -on." - -"So I do think, sir," says the diver, "and she cannot be afar off -where I descended, unless she is all gone to pieces. And even then the -bed of the sea must be full of all she had gotten inside her. But, -sir, I think this is not so; I think she has been brought up short, -for, close by, as I gather, is another reef." - -"How far off? How far off?" suddenly called out the captain, full of -strange excitement. - -"Not two cables off, I think, sir," replies Woods, "since the bottom -where I was begins to rise towards it, and therefore--" - -"And therefore," exclaims Phips, "it is the reef itself! Marvellous -strange it seemed to me that a great Spanish galleon should have -shifted at the bottom of the sea--whoever heard of a ship that moved -below the water!--yet all would have it so; even you, Woods, thought -so yourself! But now I know all. She struck upon a spur of the reef -and not the reef itself, and she has never moved. In which direction -does the rise of bottom of which you speak begin?" - -The diver look't round, tracing his course beneath, and then, pointing -to the Boylers, or Bajo, said, "There, sir." - -"Why, so 'tis, of course," says Phips. "And, as I say, her keel took -the first, or outside spur of the reef as she passed along, and she -never got nearer to the main one. She is there! She is there! Hearts -up, my lads, we have found the treasure ship!" - -I gave the word and up went a roaring cheer from all, one for Phips, -one for the galleon, and one for what she had got in her, or about -her, if she had broken up. Then Phips, all alive now, gives an order -to shift the tender to the spot where Woods did consider the ridge of -the spur should be, and bade the diver come along with us in it to go -down again. Though, a moment afterwards, he paused, saying in his -kindly way, - -"Yet no, Woods. You have done enough work for to-day. You shall rest -easy. Now, where is that Blackamoor? He shall go." - -The negro came forward, his eyes glistening--perhaps with the hope of -what he should find--and to him says Phips, - -"Get you into the dress, or, since you are new to that, into the -diver's chest; that shall do very well for finding of the reef, and, -perhaps, the carrack--she cannot be afar. Come, away with you." - -So, into the tender got the captain and I and the negro, and the -sailors told off to her, and in a few moments we were apeak of -the spot where Woods said the reef must be. And then to our -astonishment--for we had never been this side of the Boylers before, -and, consequently, had never seen any shoal water--of which, indeed, -there was little ever--on looking down we saw, not three feet below -the surface, the long sharks-toothed back of the spur. - -"Great Powers!" says Phips, "'twas here all those years we wasted on -the other side, and we never thought to even come round to this. -Fools! fools! that we were. We might have had the treasure back into -London long ago. Now," says he, turning from his meditations to -actions, "now," to the black, "into your tub and down with you." - -Nothing loth, for the great beast was as eager for gain as any of us, -into the chest did he get and was lowered away, but scarce had the top -of it sunk beneath the water when the rope quivered, then the signal -was given to haul up, and back he came, and, jumping out of the chest, -or bell, exclaimed excitedly, - -"Oh! Signor Phips. Oh, Signor Capitan Commandante. The shippy all down -there. Fust ting the chest knock on cannon sticking up in water, then -against her sidy, then I bery much frighted, for I see dead man's head -looking at me out of hole. Oh! Capitan Commandante, the shippy there, -and she full of dead men. Oh! capitan, send Massa Woods down to see if -I speak truf." - -So you see we had found the ship - -"And," says Phips, that night, as we drank together, "it is my -thirty-seventh year!" - - - - -CHAPTER XV. -WHAT THE FIRST SEARCH REVEALED. - - -Now, therefore, have I to write down of all that, having found the -ship, we found in her. Yet how shall I begin? - -Firstly, let me describe how it was with the carrack herself. - -She lay canted right over on to her larboard side, the whole of her -larboard forepart broke away and stove in, and crushed as would be an -egg beaten in with a hammer. And in the fifty years--if it were so -long--in which she had been there she seemed to have grown so much to -the reef, or the reef to her, that they seemed part and parcel of one -another. She must, we could see at once, have struck full head on, and -the wicked teeth of the rock had torn her forepart to pieces. Whether -at once she heeled over and sank was never to be known now, or whether -she filled and sank after a while. Perhaps 'twas the latter, since, -otherwise, it was not to be understood how those sailors whom Geronimo -had known and danced with, and sang with, could, had she turned over -in a sudden shock, have ever collected together the plate they had, -and have gotten away in the open boat. - -Aft, from the beginning of her waist above, she was not broken into at -all, being quite sound Od her starboard side as she lay, though, as we -found, her larboard side aft, which lay on the bottom, had rotted -somewhat and bulged away, so that what was in her on that side was, -indeed, lying on the sea's bed. Her masts and yards were all broke off -short, and the broken pieces, into which the limestone had not wedged -itself and so held them down, had doubtless risen and floated. And -this must have been the case with the stern-rail which the old -Portuguese had seen, though why that went adrift we never rightly -understood, since no other part of the stern was gone. We found all -this out later on, as you shall see, when we determined what we must -do; but now Phips and I went apart to hold a conference, the first -thing he said being, - -"Nick, we have found the plate ship, therefore is one, nay, the -greatest, of our difficulties over. But with this begins the necessity -for great caution. For, see you, Nick, we cannot trust the overhauling -of this ship to the two divers alone. We must know all that is in her, -and we must see that all comes safe up and into our hands. What, -therefore, shall be done?" - -"Easy enough," says I, "to answer that. It's for you or me, sir, who -are the responsible officers, to be divers too." This I said, for I -had quickly caught his meaning. Then I went on, "As for myself, I will -cheerfully go down." - -"Have you ever dived?" asked he. - -"No," I replied, "but I can soon learn myself to do so. Woods had -never used this dress until a little while ere he came aboard the -_Furie_; yet, now, see what he can do; and what he can, so can I. -Therefore, unless you go I will." - -He thought a little while--perhaps communing with himself as to -whether 'twas not his duty to go--but at last he said, - -"Well, that way is p'raps best. You shall go, but to-day--since it -grows on apace--there shall be no new descent. To-night we will rest, -and then begin the work to-morrow. That shall suffice." - -So we did no more that day, only we signalled for the bark to come -nearer to us and so anchored her a little closer to the Bajo, and then -all who were in the tender went off and into her for the night, the -spot by the reef being buoyed, though there was little enough need for -that, since, now we knew where to look, we could easily see the shoal -water. - -One thing we desired to know, so sent for the black to tell -us--namely, what he meant by saying that he saw a dead man looking at -him from a hole. - -"Oh! signor," he said, when he had come in to us, "oh, signor, I see -him berry plain. He leanie right out of big porthole, his body half -way out, his bony hands holding to the sides, his bony skull turned up -to me." - -"Nonsense," says Phips, "his hands and head would have fallen off long -ago. You dreamed it, man!" - -But the black asseverated that he had not dreamed it, and so we left -it until to-morrow to see. - -Now, when the morning came, at once we made our preparations for the -descent. Woods and I were to go down first, he telling me that it was -nought to do; that to begin with I should feel a suffocation which -would soon pass away, and that, excepting I would seem to be -surrounded by green glass full of bubbles, 'twould not be so very -strange. Moreover, he told me to fear nothing, no, not even a shark if -he came near me, for he would be more affrighted than I, since he knew -not what I might be. - -So down to the carrack we descended. - -First went Woods, saying he would wait for me at the bottom to set me -on my feet, and so, as easy as ever, over he went and disappeared from -all sight, and then my turn came, and the sailors lowered me from the -gunwale. - -In a moment I was sinking through the waters, all blue and green and -bubbling, passing as I went the cannon sticking up from its port--it -had been left run out when the ship sank, and was a long Spanish one, -its muzzle formed like a snake's mouth, and looking three times the -size it really was, since the water much magnified it--and so down, -seeing fishes dart all around me, looking with frighted eyes at my -strange figure. Then I felt my feet clasped by Woods and placed firm -upon the bottom, and I was there. - -And what a strange sight did meet my eyes! Firstly I perceived I was -not on the bottom at all, but standing on the upturned starboard side -of the ship, quite near by the great cannon, and also to an open port. -Yet, as she was not entirely canted over but lay at an angle, 'twas -very hard work to support oneself steady, and I was very glad to cling -to a stanchion for the time. But, now, Woods taking me by the hand did -lead me up the chain wales and so over the bow, until I stood with him -upon the deck, which was here not difficult; and then I look'd around. - -The first thing to be perceived was that the whole of the deck was -swept clean of most that had been on't, except such things as the -hatch-hoods which were fixed, the after bittacle, the stumps of the -broken masts, and so forth. The cannons, too, had slid down owing to -the incline of the wreck, and did all lie huddled on the lower, or -larboard side, and the hatches were mostly open. Wedged in among the -cannon were some bones and a skull, so that now I knew that the negro -had seen this in his descent, and had thought the black muzzle of the -cannon was a porthole. - -And now, Woods making to me a sign to follow him and pointing to my -air-pipe--which, he had told me before he came down, I must by no -means get twisted, or the air would cease--he set his foot upon the -after hatch-ladder, and, so, slowly descended, I following. So did we -go down to the middle deck, around which were placed the cabins or -berths. And now I was to see a sight enough to freeze anyone's blood, -even though so old a sailor as myself. For first we went into the main -or living cabin, and there we observed what Death had done in its most -grisly way. We saw huddled into a corner of it the clothes of a man -and woman, within them still their bones, and they were, or had been, -locked in each other's arms--the long hair of the woman lying close -by the fleshless head. Then did we see in another corner another -woman--her mass of hair pale and golden, like to an Englishwoman's, -and in her bony arms she held also some little bones and a skull, -which told a sad tale--it was a mother and her poor babe, who had -perished together. And, around and about all, there swam and darted -away as we drew near hordes of fishes, though 'twas long since they -had made a meal of these poor dead things. - -But now I could stay no longer, being as yet not used to my strange -head-dress of copper, so I made to Woods a sign that I must go above, -and so we went forth, and, giving of the signal, were drawn up to the -surface again. And once more I breathed the air of Heaven and was very -grateful therefore. - -Then Phips took both me and Woods aside, asking us what we had found, -and we told him--he sighing at the sad news from below--and also did -we tell him how, as yet, we had done no more; so says he, - -"Well, courage, Nick; when next you go down you shall find better than -these poor dead ones--what think you, Woods?" - -"I hope so, sir," says he, "since all around the main cabin are many -sleeping ones in which there should be some sort of things of value, -and then must we break away the middle-deck to get to the lower, where -the plate, if any, should be." - -"If any!" exclaims Phips. "Why, now, I do believe from all reports -I got from Cuba years ago, that she is full of it! She was, -besides being a galleon, taking home the Adelantado, or Governor, -and his family, and also some others. If we find not a hundred -thousand's-worth at least 'twill be little enough good for me." - -Woods opened his eyes at this, for tho' all knew we sought for -treasure, none knew that she might have so much within her; indeed, -none had been told what she might contain. And, now that both ship and -tender were apeak over the wreck and nothing could be brought up -without being seen by all in them, there was no longer any secret to -be made. - -Soon again, after we had refreshed ourselves, we were ready once more -to go down, and Juan the Black was to go with us, only both I and -Woods were ordered by Phips to keep an eye on him. This brute was, as -we knew, a Coromantee, and, from all accounts, they are not only the -biggest thieves of all the Blacks but very ferocious as well. -Moreover, neither the Captain nor I fully believed in his keeping us -waiting off Porto only so that he might get drunk, and we knew not if -he and the old Portyguese, or he and some other villains, might not -have been concocting some precious scheme to defeat us. - -But we had no dress for him, only a copper bladder-head, which, -however, would do very well, since the creature was ever naked and -certainly wanted no garments in which to enter the water, and was so -strong that he said the water could not press on him to hurt; and so, -taking the longest air-pipes we had for all of us, again down we went, -all arriving on the middle deck one following the other--Woods first, -I next, and the negro last. As we passed into the main cabin we saw -the Black's great copper head bent over to the dead where they lay -huddled, and then suddenly darted back, so we knew--or, at least, I -did know--that to his other qualities he added that of fear and -timorousness. - -And now, seeing that on the bulkheads, or on the cabin doors, could be -still read the painted names, such as "Capitan," "Teniente Po,"[4] -"Pasagero,"[5] and others, I motioned to Woods to burst open with his -axe the captain's door and let us see what was within. This was soon -done, since in nature the woodwork was somewhat rotten, and, moreover, -'twas not fast, and so we entered, or clambered, into it. The bed, or -bunk, which was very large and roomy, we could observe, even after the -fifty years that had passed, had not been slept in since it was made; -therefore we did conclude the captain was above when the ship struck, -and so was lost. For the rest there were, all shifted into the corner -of the cabin, two great heavy chests clamped with iron, and on them -great padlocks, and these we decided must at once go up to the tender. -So we lifted them up with much ado and affixed them to the slings, and -then they were gotten up. - -And now I was becoming so used to my strange habit that, beyond a -singing in my ears that went and came, I felt no inconvenience, and -was, though not rash, very busy about the main cabin. And in this way -I entered into a berth which we made no doubt was that set apart for -the Adelantado of Cuba, since all showed it to be so. The swords about -the cabin, the rich clothes, though soaked with water, of both a man -and a woman proved this to be the case, as did the great chests that -had slipped about the place and the bed. And herein was another -terrible and ghastly sight. In that bed lay two human forms, or what -had been human forms once, though now but skeletons, the two skulls -being side by side, the woman's hair being a great black mass upon the -coverlet like a pall. So they had died together, he who had ruled -Spain's greatest colony and she who had acted for Spain's Queen. And -this was all left of their greatness! Poor things! - -But we had to see to the chests and what was therein contained, since -doubtless the Governor had much. And since they were bursted open, -perhaps by the shock of the ship striking on the reef, we peered -therein and saw things enough to make one gasp, even more than I did -in my strange head-dress. For, lying in the water of the chests, or -leastways of one chest, were golden plates and ewers and candlesticks -and sockets, all of them set in with pearls and rubies, and there, -too, were caskets, not open, but so firmly fixed and locked that very -well might one guess what should be within. Also on this chest--for -the others contained, as we could see, but wearing apparel for both of -them--were many other choice things, such as comfit boxes, necklaces, -the jewel'd orders of the Adelantado, the gems and brilliants of his -lady, some jewel'd swords and daggers, and several great bags or sacks -full of gold coins. - -Verily it was a great sight for us to see--as for the Coromantee, he -thrust his helmeted head so far into the chest that we had to draw him -back by main force--and I could not but feel joyful that, at last, we -were in a fair way of discovering of all. For it was not to be doubted -that on the deck below we should find the silver itself. - -But now we were signalled to from above to rejoin the tender, so, -sending the black first, since it would never have done to leave him -here a minute by himself, and I going up last, we returned back above -the sea. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. -AN HONEST MAN ARRIVES. - - -Now when we got up to the surface again, I taking with me one of the -bags of gold coins to show the Captain, we were very much astonished -to see that, moored alongside of our ship was another--a small craft -such as is known in England as a "snow," which is generally very fast -in sailing, having a main and a foresail, as well as a trysail mast. -And as I looked round after getting my head free again, I did see on -her stern a great gilt star and the words "_Etoyle_, Provydence," so -now I knew what she was, and, perhaps whence she came, or at least -that she was from one of the Provydences. Leaning over her bows and -watching us as we arose--with a twinkle in his eye, which squinted -somewhat, when he saw the Coromantee--was a man whom I guessed to be -the skipper, a great yellow person with a shock of black curly hair, -so that I thought he must be a Mustee, and with a big slash, or scar, -all along his face. And leaning over, too, were several others, -sailors, all regarding us fixedly. Their eyes were set upon the bag of -coins at once with, as I thought, an eager gleam in them, and then -their Captain hails me and says: - -"What luck below, shipmate?" to which I did but grunt a word, not -knowing how things stood as yet. But now comes forward Phips, who says -to him: - -"Captain Alderly, this is our first lieutenant, who is in charge of -the diving at present;" and then he turns to me and says, "Crafer, our -friend has been here before--that is his ship's boat drawn up on the -isle--and he thinks he should have a share of the spoil, since he -found the wreck before us--_so he says_." - -"Does he, indeed?" I replied; "'tis strange, then, that he took not -away the spoil when he found it;" and I fixed my eye on him to see -what he would reply, for since, as I say, we were moored close -alongside, every word spoken on one deck could be heard on the other. - -"Ay, ay," says that skipper, "and so I should indeed, and came here -hoping to get all. But of what avail is hope? My little snow cannot -fight your great vessel of two hundred tons, and we both sail under -the English flag. And therefore, since I am an honest man and -peaceable, I must, perforce, lose my chance. But your Captain says, -sir," he went on, addressing me, "that I may have a percentum on what -I help to bring up, and that must suffice. Yet, 'tis hard on an honest -man!" - -"Ay," says Phips, nodding his head, though I did observe him closely -and saw that his eyes were ever on the other. "Ay, 'tis hard on an -honest man! Yet, Captain Alderly, I think your percentum will pay you -very well for your trip from the Bahamas." - -"Not so well as the gross," replies the other, "but, as I say, it must -suffice. Yet 'tis hard. I have brought with me--indeed, went back for -him--a most expert diver, who I thought should have gotten me all, and -now he must work for another. 'Tis hard! 'tis hard! Yet an honest man -must not repine so long as he can earn his living in these times." - -Now, that night when we sat as was our custom taking some drink -together, while, since the arrival of our new friend, the watch was -doubled, Phips says to me: - -"Nick, I do believe that honest man is as big a scoundrel as ever hung -at the yard-arm. For, firstly, if he does not come from Provydence -in the Gulph of Mexico--which is infested with buccaneers and -pirates--instead of Provydence in the Bahamas, I am much mistook, and, -secondly, I am certain that he and that infernal blackamoor are known -to one another. I have seen already glances between them, and it is my -belief that when the negro was drinking, as he said, at Porto, he was -devising some scheme with this fellow." - -"But," replied I, "even so, what can they do? Naught can come up from -the wreck unperceived by us, nor could his diver get down by night -without our knowing it. Therefore we are safe." - -"Yes," says he, "we are safe so long as we are never caught asleep. -Now, as for the diving, what we will do is this. His man shall go -always with Woods, and, since you like the office, the Coromantee with -you. What say you, Nick?" - -"I like it very well," replied I; "or all can go down together. If you -are above to see to the hauling up, there can be no picking nor -stealing." - -So this we agreed upon, and then Phips went on to tell me of the -arrival of the _Etoyle_ while I was below. She came, it seemed, round -by our little isle, and, on being challenged by Phips as she drew -near, hoisted a friendly signal, so was allowed to approach, -especially as she flew the English flag. Then the skipper told the -Captain that he was extremely distressed to find so large a ship there -forestalling him, since, having discovered the reef some months ago, -he had gone back to the Bahamas to fetch a diver and to refit, and so -on. - -"However," says Phips, "I soon gave him to see that, even if he had -been here before--which I could not dispute because of the boat at the -isle--he had indeed been forestalled and missed his chance. And also I -told him that we had been for four years searching for this very -wreck, that we held the King's patent for fishing for it, and that we -meant in no way to be thwarted or interfered with. For, says I to him, -even though we had no papers, but were only pirates or buccaneers, -still we would go on with our task and trust to our shotted guns--as -they always are now--to help us. So then," continued Phips, "he sees -that he has no chance, and asks if he cannot help in the fishing, to -which I answered, 'Very willing, if you chose to do so at a fair -rate.' And being anxious to get the work done and to get back home, I -have given to him the same terms as to Geronimo and his sweet -Blackamoor." - -"Tis well, sir," says I, "and now we need fear nought. While, if that -negro in any way plays us false, we will shoot him like a dog. Shall -we not, Captain?" - -"Ay," replies he, "we will, or, since they say the sharks will not eat -black meat, we will make an experiment of him, and see for ourselves." - -So now, therefore, when the morning was come all was arranged, and, to -commence, down went the three divers, and I along with them. Our plan -now was to clear the whole of the middle deck of all in it, and then -to break up the top part of the ship sufficient to get down to the -lower or orlop deck, where the bullion room of the Spanish ships was -ever placed. So we got to work, sending up at once everything found, -and a mighty great find it was. All cabins not in use for the officers -of the ship were full of passengers away home to their country, and -all these were, it was plain to be seen, rich persons. Their bodies -were found frequently--all skeletons, like unto the others--and in -some cases 'twas strange to see how they strived to preserve what they -most esteemed of value. Thus, round one, a female, as again the hair -close by denoted, which was red, slightly fleck't with grisel, there -was on the bony neck a great rope of diamonds, each as big as a nut, -that all sparkled and glistened in the water, and round each wristbone -there was the same in bracelets. Poor thing! perhaps she feared to be -robbed and so slept thus. Then again, there was a bed, or berth, in -another cabin, out of which the body had been cast by the shock and -lay in a disjointed mass of bones in the corner, but in the bed -itself, under a pillow, we found a great pouch of goat's skin all full -of unset diamonds, rubies, and blue stones called sapphires, and also -a belt full of great Spanish pieces of gold, weighing five of our -elephant guineas each. - -And thus we went along, ransacking of every cabin, finding chests here -and coffers there, full of precious stones and jewels, with bags of -money and skins too, as well as, in several cases, parchment drafts -drawn upon the old bank of Barcelona and the Treasury of Castile. Poor -creatures! They had taken all thought to get themselves and their -monies and valuables home to their land in safety. Yet had they not -gotten many score leagues upon their way ere all was lost, life and -everything. Nay, had they made straight for Spain, instead of coming -on to Hispaniola, as they must have done to be here, they had not been -lost at all. - -And now we had done with the middle deck, there was nought more to -take away; for though there were many rich silks and satins, and so -forth, all was spoilt by the water, as was their spirituous liquors -and their wines, of which there was a good supply. So, after going -above for to refresh ourselves, we were now ready to cut away this -deck that we might descend to the place where the plate was. - -"'Tis a good find already," said Phips to me, as I sat at meat with -him, "a fair good find, Nick; and by the time we have got up the -silver we shall well have justified ourselves to our promoters. Of -jewels and coin already sent up by you, there are many thousands of -pounds' worth--and for the plate it shall bring us well up to the -mark." - -Then he went on to ask me, "How I found the divers working, and if I -saw any sign of anything like treachery upon the part either of the -Black or the Provydence diver?" And, since I could not say that I had -witnessed aught that appeared to me suspicious, he said he was very -glad; and so we fell to it again for the afternoon. - -All that time we spent in getting the middle deck cleared away as much -as might be, and in removing a great part of her starboard side, -especially by her orlop beam. Also we did cut away all her timbers -between her lower ports, so as to make a sufficient big opening -through which to enter, and removed all between her fourth and second -futtock. So that now her stern part, or at least all that below her -poop and quarter deck, was open to us and gave great space. And from -here we could progress right below her gun deck and waist and get up -almost to her main wale, or to where her fore part began to be bruised -and smashed on to the reef. - -Now, therefore, we had got her bullion room clear of all encumbrances, -so that there was nought to do but to burst it open--it being most -securely locked with great Spanish locks that looked as though they -would defy all attempts except powder to open them. Yet one thing else -did we see: namely, that down on the larboard side--which, as I have -writ, lay on the bottom--the ship had somewhat bulged forth and some -of its treasures come out. - -For we could observe great bars of silver lying on the bed of the sea, -mostly encrusted with the limestone, yet with some part sticking forth -and glistening brightly. One piece alone, a great sow of silver which -had fallen from the bursted bullion room, was so heavy that all of our -united strengths could not lift it, nor could aught be done until, -with their axes, the divers had broken away its crust accumulated in -fifty years. - -However, at last we got it fastened to the hauling up lines and it was -towed up--not without great fears to us below that it might break away -and fall upon us, smashing in our heads--and when it was weighed that -night we found it to be of about fifty-six pounds. - -And this was the beginning of the fishing up of the plate. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. -AN ALARM FROM THE "FURIE." - - -Now, it would be useless, as well as tedious to my hand, for me to -write down all the little incidents that took place on board our ship -day by day, and likewise to keep accounts of every ounce of silver -brought up from the rich mine we had discovered. Moreover, I have -weighty matters to write about--which shall be the very things to -advantage those who come after me when they read this--so at once I -begin again. - -And, therefore, I now proceed to say that ere we had been many days at -our dredging and fishing, it was come to bringing of the silver up by -tons, so that, at last, our _Furie_ began to sink low in the water -until she almost touched the reef herself, and we became obliged to -discard all ballast and use the silver in its place! I do not say that -tons came up daily--since, indeed, twenty sows of about fifty to -fifty-five pounds each was our usual haul, but we reckon'd now by -tons. And so well had I made my calculations that I considered there -to be in all thirty-two tons of silver, and this was what it -eventually turned out to be. Now, since silver was worth in the London -market at this time sixty pence an ounce, it was therefore very easy -for us to reckon what our find would be worth when we had got all, -exclusive of the jewels, wrought plate, and other things. - -So that, as Phips said, we must one way or another take back with us -something between one hundred thousand and two hundred thousand -pounds' worth. - -"Which," says he, "will be very good for all of us, especially for you -and me, Nick. Perhaps, indeed, we need never go to sea again, though I -think we both love it dearly." - -Though that Phips should ever cease from wreck fishing or treasure -hunting I could not well believe, seeing that such things were ever in -his mind. Even now, when we were doing so wondrous well, and were like -to be, perhaps, the most notorious of finders ever known from any -sunken ship--as, in truth, we did become--he was always a-pondering -over other searches. Thus, he would ever be telling me that, not very -far away from here, there had sunk the ship which was taking home -Bobadilla, another Adelantado (but of Hispaniola), and that 'twas full -of treasure gotten by him. Amongst other things which he said he knew -there were, was a solid gold table of three thousand three hundred and -ten pounds weight[6] and much coin and jewels. And he talked of coming -forth from England after he had once gotten this treasure of ours -home, and seeking for that. But I told him--for we were now as -intimate as brothers--that first let us finish this job, and then time -enough to think of others. - -Now, our next task was to get into the bullion room, and this we did -after very considerable difficulties, seeing that those locks of which -I spake were so extremely strong; but even they yielded to us at last, -and we got to it. And, Lord! what a sight was there! The silver was -packed in bars and sows and bags, tons and tons of it, so that verily -I did come to think that our ship of two hundred tons would never move -again, unless 'twere to sink, and that we should never get all up. -Yet, as it did happen, what we found was less than our ballast, which -for a two hundred ton ship is usually twenty-five tons of iron and -thirty tons of shingle; so in that respect all went very well. - -During all this time Alderly had been behaving in such a manner that -there was no earthly fault to be found with him, and so, it is but -just to say, had our Coromantee. They, the men of Provydence, helped -at the hauling with a good will, working hard all day long, and -singing cheerfully and pleasantly at night, and Alderly even went so -far as to express himself satisfied enough with what was to be his -portion, or percentum. For, he said-- - -"Never did I think there was aught like this in the ship, and, though -I do see very well what I have lost, yet also do I see my gain, and -shall go back to Nassau a very well satisfied honest man." - -And his diver, who was a Bermudan, descended of the early English -settlers in that island--which rich Mr. Waller, whom I had often seen -about the late King's court, a gentleman and a poet, wrote so much -about in its praise--certainly did do his very best, and so did the -negro, both working under Woods. And in this way, though a careful -watch was always kept on all that was found below the surface and all -that came above, they did so manage to delude us and throw dust into -our eyes, that--but this you shall find later. They were villains all, -and they deceived us, yet at last a righteous vengeance was had of -them. So I go on. - -Now it came about at this time that we ran short of fresh water--which -in such a tropic place is above all things the first necessity of -man--and so it was arranged that I should take the tender and go to -our isle in charge of her, leaving Phips to do as he had ever been -doing, namely, superintending the bringing up of the plate to the -surface. In my place as chief diver, or officer in charge of the -divers, there was to go down our bos'un, a worthy, honest man, who -could be trusted in all. The tender was--as Heaven would have it, and -as 'twas afterwards most providentially proved--a very fast, swift -sailer, and was a Dutch galliot that had come to Porto, and had been -seized for debt by the man from whom we bought her. Also she was -armed, or rather fit to be armed, having cannon-ports in her sides -capable of taking small cannon, and, as we never trusted in this -region to chance, I took with me four of our little guns, a swivel -gun, and, of course, our muskets. As you shall see, 'twas well I did. -They were soon to be wanted. - -So we parted from our companions, to be gone from them for two or -three days at most, yet there were some of us never more to meet in -this world. So I parted from my tried friend and comrade, Phips, -thinking that we should sail home together as we had sailed out--yet, -alas! but little more was I to set eyes upon him in this world -neither. Both of us were to succeed and prosper--though he to die -young--yet were we only to come together once again for a short time. -Yet, why digress from my story? Better to go straightforward and -plain, and so make an ending. - -We reached our little isle, and rounding the point to get to our old -landing place, lost sight of the _Furie_, and, taking the boat after -we had anchored her in "Safety Cove," as we called it, all went ashore -but two, being right glad to once more step on land for a stretch. We -meant that day, by Phips' leave, to take our ease, to lie about, and -to gather some of the sweet fruits that therein do grow, and to catch -some fish to take back to our comrades. Then, the next day, we did -intend to fill up our casks, cut some wood for the cook's galley, and -so back. And this we did do, getting yams and shaddocks, and so -forth--and catching of many pounds of what in these parts are called -mullets, though, indeed, they are full-sized trouts, and many crayfish -and some soft-shell'd crabs. So the day went and we lay down to sleep. - -And on the next we fished again and gathered more fruits; we filled -all our casks and carried them in the boat to the galliot; we cut and -corded of the wood, and made all ready for rejoining the _Furie_ at -daybreak, since on that burning sea the first two hours of day are -best and coolest. Then the muskettoes are, I think, not awake, the sun -is not so fierce as later, the air is cool and fresh, with generally a -soft pleasant wind. So that second night, ere we lay down, we put in -all our fruits, our ananas, bananas, toronias, limes, and wild -apricots, as well as some wild parrots we had shot, which are sweet -and good eating, and then all was done and we distributed ourselves -for taking of our rest. Only we set a watch, there being six of us in -all, and so broke the night into three, I and a young lad taking the -first watch. - -'Twas eleven of the clock, as we made it by the nearly full moon, when -we were relieved, and all was most calm and peaceful. The birds of the -isle were all long since hushed to rest, and even the insects that do -here abound disturbed us not. So I and the boy lay ourselves down, and -soon we were asleep. - -How long I so slept I knew not, yet 'twas not day when I awoke, -springing up as did the others, all as though shot, while the watch -came running to us. For through the calm night air--or, rather, that -of the morning, for the chill told us the dayspring was nigh--there -had come the loud booming of a cannon--Once, twice! "What did it -mean?" we asked each other, with wonder starting from our fresh opened -eyes. "What did it mean?" and then all with one voice we exclaimed, -"'Tis from the _Furie!_ from the _Furie!_" - -So, swift as we could run, down we got to the boat, and so by threes -to the galliot--for although we heard no more cannon, we knew that our -place was in the ship at such a time--and getting to her and all in at -last, we dragged up her anchor, pulled in the boat, and, to the fresh -breeze arising with the coming day, shook out her main, her mizen, and -her gaff-main sail. And so out of the cove and away. - -And as we did so, up over the trees of the little isle there went from -the neighbourhood of where the _Furie_ lay two bright blue rockets, -which, as Phips and I had agreed upon, should be the signal for our -immediate return, as well as to warn us to be ready for danger. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. -TREACHERY AND FLIGHT. - - -"What can it mean?" the sailors asked of one another as we got into -the open, while, for myself, I was as lost in wonderment as it was -possible to be. Naturally, my first thought was that the _Furie_ had -been attacked by either the Spanish or the French, the first from St. -Dominic, or the latter from Aittii. Yet I knew not either how this -could be, since the sound we had heard was that of our own cannon, -which I knew well enough, we having practised all of them considerably -on our voyage out. Moreover, two cannon shots, and that from one side -only, do not make a battle, so I was sorely puzzled as I stood at the -tiller of the galliot. - -Yet when we had rounded the point, 'twas pretty easy to perceive what -had happened. - -For in the rays of the waning moon we did see that the Provydence ship -had got away from the _Furie_, and that, with all her sails filled, -she was shaping her course to the south-east. And in another moment -also did we see that the Snow's trysail mast was shotted away--broken -off clean down, leaving but a short stump, and with the sail itself -all a-dragging in the water. And now from us, as we headed for the -_Furie_, arose a babble of talk and questionings as to what this must -mean, while all of us decided that, at least in some way, these -scoundrels had managed to steal some of the sows of silver, or the -bars or bags, and to get away from our bark in the night. - -But ere long we knew how much far worse than these things were; we -knew that we had been robbed of a terrible deal of what was ours. And -soon, too, we knew it. - -For when our course was still set dead for the _Furie_, we did see -coming towards us with great swiftness one of the cotton-wood canoes -we had made--under Phips' direction and partly with his own hands--and -in it three of our men, who instantly signalled to us that we should -come about and pick them up, for, calls out one to me-- - -"You must away, sir, at once after those villains, and we are to -go with you to help. For they have robbed us, the thieves, oh! -treacherously! They are, after all, but buccaneers from the Provydence -in the Gulf." - -So, much startled, we did bring ourselves to, putting our foremast -aback, and throwing off a line to the canoe, and so had them all soon -aboard, and then, losing no time, away after the Snow we went, while -from the _Furie_ we saw Phips standing on the poop a-waving of his -hands as though in encouragement or farewell, and from her there did, -come a ringing English cheer. - -And now we were to hear a story indeed of treachery unequalled, of -villainy extreme. For it appeared, as I did gather from our bos'un, -who had come to join us with the other two, that these scoundrels had -all along been a-planning of their scheme; and thus it happened. - -After we had sailed for the isle, it seems that the bullion room was -rapidly emptied of the plate, so that, at last, there was gotten up -thirty-two tons in all, and then 'twas perceived that below the sows -and bars there was still much else, so that the place was a very -treasure-hold of wealth. For there were more bags of gold pieces and -more of silver, which were at once took up into the _Furie_--and then -underneath them there were two chests marked with the names of the -Adelantado and of his wife. And feeling sure, as they did, that herein -must be great wealth, the curiosity of the bos'un--as, wringing his -hands, he did tell me--was too great for him, and so, not being a -discreet man, which neither was Woods, they opened of the chests and -saw in them a startling sight. For there, free now from the layers in -which once they had without doubt been enveloped, they did perceive -jewels of all kinds, pearls, diamonds, the blue sapphires, and much -else. Then alarmed at having so looked, they decided that they must -not tell the Captain of their curiosity, for fear of punishment. And -neither did they tell him (which, if done, might have saved all that -followed) that both the Black and the Provydence diver had seen -anything. So, saying only to Phips that such chests were down there, -they said no more, and arrangements were made that on the morrow all -should be brought up. And this, 'twas thought, should finish off the -fishing, and soon we should be ready for home. But alas! how far off -from that were we now. - -Therefore, since the plate was being got up on the first day we were -away in the tender, which was the galliot, and also on the second, it -came to be that the chests of which I speak were but discovered too -late that second day to be brought up. Now, on that night the watch -forward was kept by the negro, Juan, and the after-watch by a sailor, -who was a dull-pated, heavy fellow, of little use in a ship at any -time and one who ought never to have been with us. And, as it was -discovered later, Juan had been plying this man with drink which he -had concealed, so that on his watch--as though his stupidity was not -enough--the fellow was flustered and sleepy. - -At midnight Phips went to his cabin all being well, and the master's -mate came forth to take his place--and, terrible to relate, from that -time never was he heard of nor seen again. The bos'un who told me all -this said he thought either that the Coromantee murdered him, or that -one of the crew from the _Etoyle_ got aboard and did do that office; -but, any way, he disappeared. Perhaps he was first stunned and then -given to the sharks. Who knows?--leastways, there was no sign of -blood. - -Then, next, it would seem that from the far side of the _Etoyle_ the -diver of that ship must have been most quietly lowered into the water, -must have passed under our forefoot--I mean of the _Furie_--and thence -to the bullion room of the wreck, and so fastened the lines to the -chests that, with his own help below, they could easily get them up to -the _Etoyle_. - -And then, when this was done, there was but to get up sail as quick as -possible, and away. And that was not so hard of accomplishing as a -sailor might think. For, firstly, the _Etoyle_ was not anchored, but -moored and made fast to the _Furie_, so that, while all were asleep -below, and while the master mate was murdered and gone, the -after-watch drunk and stupid, and the fore-watch a traitor and -conspirator, that Snow might very easily be unmoored. Therefore, it -was but to get up the sails and catch the fast rising morning breeze, -and so off and away. Moreover, so deeply was the plot laid, that, as -'twas found shortly, the door of the captain's cabin was made fast -from the outside, the ladder was set loose of the main hatch, so that, -when the men came tumbling up, it shifted, and they came tumbling down -instead, and two of the cannon's touch-holes were spiked. Yet, whoever -was the wretch who did all this, still was he a fool likewise, since -in his haste he had not spiked the cannon that gave on the bow from -which the _Etoyle_ must move, but on the other. - -But now, as they brailed up their sails they could not disguise the -noise they made, and in a moment Phips heard them, being ever on the -alert, and was at his door, sword in one hand and pistol in the other, -to get out. And, said the bos'un to me, his cries were terrifying to -hear when he did discover how he was trapped. First he smashed with -his fists a panel, all the while he was roaring for his men to come -and set him free, and also for his poor dead master's mate, and then -he flung himself against the door with such fury that it gave way, and -out he came. - -"He look't, sir," said the bos'un to me, as he told all this while we -were tearing through the water after the buccaneers, who I did see -sorrowfully were gaining on us, "he look't like a demoniac. And when -he saw that the _Etoyle_ was already under weigh, his rage was such as -mortal man might indeed fear to see." - -It appeared from this man's account that Phips in his madness -discharged his pistol at Alderly, who was on the poop, and miss't him, -whereupon Alderly returned his fire, missing also; that next the -captain called for the gunner, who could not get his linstock ready -all at once, and by this time the sails of the _Etoyle_ had caught the -breeze and she was under weigh. - -"Haste! haste! man," cries Phips to the gunner, now running with his -light, and snatching it from his hand applies it to the breech -himself, doing no harm with his shot; and then the gunner, having -trained the next gun better on to the fugitives, they did hit their -trysail. This impeded them somewhat, though not sufficient to prevent -them getting away. - -And then, the bos'un went on to tell me, Phips roared for the watch, -calling them, as was his wont in an emergency, dogs and traitors, and -soon learnt that the poor master's mate was slaughtered, or, at least, -had disappeared. - -"And," went on our informant, "then we all trembled. For while the -tears sprang to his eyes, which in an instant he dashed away, he said -also, in now a very low voice which seem'd mighty ominous, 'And the -other watch? The fore and aft watch. Where are they? Bring them to -me.'" - -Then, with a howl, the Coromantee sprang forward--wringing his hands, -imploring pardon, saying he too had been deceived by Alderly, who had -drugged him. - -"Ay!" says Phips, between his teeth, while as he spake he shook the -powder into the pan of his pistol--"Ay! no doubt. Deceived by Alderly. -because he got away and left you behind for me to slay you." - -"No, no!" yelled the brute. "No, no! Signor Capitan. No, Signor Phips, -no slay me!" and he clutched, said the bos'un, at Phips' legs and -tried to seize his pistol hand. - -"Ay, but I will, though," said Phips.--"No man betrays me twice;" -whereupon he drew back from the howling wretch, and seizing his wool -by one hand blew out his brains with the other, so that the deck was -all bespattered with them. - -"Fling him over," said Phips, "and swab up the mess, and now bring -forth the other. Meanwhile, where is Crafer with the tender? She -should be round the point by now." - -Then they brought forth that other poor crazed traitor--weeping and -sobbing with despair, and shrieking as he saw the great negro's dead -body--and to him strides Phips, his sword in hand. - -"You dog," says he, "you have betrayed us too. So must you die also. -They say you drank with the Coromantee and slept on your watch. -Therefore, to the yard-arm with him." - -'Midst his shrieks and howls they dragged him away, calling on his -mother's name, which softened Phips so much that, the bos'un said, he -seemed at one time like to spare him, only he remembered all he had -been robbed of. And then, ere the man was executed, the boat was -lowered that was to bring them to us in the galliot, and so they came -away. - -"And," said Phips to the bos'un, "tell Mr. Crafer that so long as his -galliot will swim, so long as there is a man left alive in it, so long -as he can sail, fight, or move, he is to follow those buccaneers--even -though it be into their stronghold. And while there is one of you left -alive, that one is to attempt it, and is to get back the stolen -treasure. And then, when that is done, the rendezvous shall be -Portsmouth town, to which those of you who live must find your way -back somehow. Now go; do your duty, commend me to Nicholas Crafer and -tell him to do his. And more, say that at the sign of the 'Navy -Tavern' I will leave word for him or he for me--whoever by God's grace -reaches there first. And reach it I pray we all may do." - -Such was the message brought to me, this the duty I had to perform, -this the errand on which now we sped. Ahead of us, and still gaining -on us, went the Snow, _Etoyle_, with the buccaneering thieves on -board, and with them a fourth of our treasure; behind us slowly faded -into dimness the reef and the _Furie_ moored fast to it. That Phips -himself would have given chase had he been able, was certain--only, -before he could have got under weigh the buccaneers would have been -out of sight. For nought was ready, the plate was not bestowed away, -the sails were unbent and all in disorder. - -So, instead, 'twas I got the commission to chase those thieves, to -follow them to their lair, and to wrench back from them the stolen -goods. And as the galliot danced along, following the course they had -betaken--which was now set due east, so that I could not but think -they did mean to 'bout ship shortly and run for Porto Rico, or, -perhaps, one of the Virgin Isles--I took a solemn and a fervent oath -that never would I fail in my endeavour while life lasted to me. If I -could catch and defeat those thieves, I swore to do it, and so upon -that I set myself to see to the arrangements necessary in our small -craft, and to make all ready for what might be before us. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. -THE "HONEST MAN" IN HIS TRUE COLOURS. - - -Now, as I have said, we were--with the coming of the bos'un and the -other two--nine hands in all, there having been six of us who did go -to the little isle in the galliot for wood and water. - -Therefore my first disposition was to arrange ourselves into regular -watches, which was easy enough to do, since three men at any time -awake were sufficient to keep the lookout, to attend to the craft, -and so forth Then next there was the provisioning to be done. Now for -this there was little to disturb ourselves about, since we had all our -island provisions of the fruits, the fish, and the parrots. - -That they should continue their course due east, as it was now set, -was not to be considered, since that way they could encounter no -refuge until they came to the Guinea Coast or, at best, the Cape de -Verd Islands. Such, it is true, was no great run for the Snow, -provided she was well enough provisioned and watered--as might or not -be, for all we knew--but still 'twas not very like to be the case. The -Virgin Islands in the Antilles, most of them little better than Keys, -which are small sandy spots appearing above the surf of the water, -with only a few weeds and bushes a-growing on them, and abounding with -turtle, appeared to my mind to be far more their mark. Most of them -are uninhabited, and one or two there are which are large and even -rocky and craggy, but, in general, as I have said. - -Now, there is no Key, at the present time wherein I set down this -recital, which is not the haunt and hiding place of innumerable -pirates and thieves, and also used as a burying place for their stolen -riches, and here it was most like that Alderly would retreat with what -he had gotten. The ships of war of any countries can scarce chase them -here, the lagoons, harbours, and inlets all about offering to the -smaller craft a natural security, and, if the villains are -encountered, their one excuse always is that they are a-turtling: -viz., catching of the turtle for sale in the larger islands. - -So, pondering thus, I did begin to take my decision, and counsel also -with those under me. For says I to the bos'un-- - -"That they should make for Africa is not to be thought on. Why should -they do so, when all around are innumerable refuges? Therefore, -Cromby"--which was the bos'un's name--"do you know what I will do?" - -Cromby replied--"No, he could not tell, but of one thing I might be -sure: namely, that there wasn't an honest heart in the galliot that -wasn't with me body and bones"; whereon I unfolded my idea. - -"My lads," says I, "we're alone, nine of us, and we've got to do one -of two things. Either catch the _Etoyle_ and make her surrender, or -meet her and fight her until one of us is sunk. Now, listen. Catch her -we never shall; she sails three feet to our two; she's hull down -now--where do you think she'll be at daybreak to-morrow?" - -"On the road to Cape Blanco," replied one, "across the water." - -"Take a turn north in the night," said Cromby, "slip past Abreojo and -Turk's Island, and so for East Florida, or, p'raps, Cuba I doubt their -touching an English island." - -"So do I," I answered; "yet I think you're wrong. The wind sets fair -south, therefore 'tisn't likely they'll try for the north; and as for -a cruise for Cape Blanco, I scarce believe they've either food or -water enough. They borrowed three barrels the day before we went to -our isle--like enough to provide for this jaunt! No, my lads, south is -their course, and the Virgin Isles or Porto Rico their aim. Now, we -shall lose 'em when dark comes on--there'll be no lights on that -piratical bark!--but by the blessing of God we'll find 'em again, and -it will be somewhere between Tortola and Porto Rico's northeast coast -that we shall pick 'em up again, or I'm a Dutchman." - -And now, since the sooner they were out of sight of us, and we of -them, the better--which was nigh on being the case already, so much -had they got the foot of us--we slackened our gaff main sail so as to -fall off still more, and gradually we lost sight of them altogether. - -"So," says I, mighty glad to think such was the case, and knowing well -that though Phips said I was to _follow_ the buccaneers, he would -approve of my plans if he knew that following was an impossibility, -"put her head due south, and let's see what comes of it." - -And thus, that night, just as the sun set, we were off the -northernmost of the islands; we could see Anegada right ahead of us, -and St. Thomas too. We had arrived at the spot where I hoped, ere many -hours were past, we should meet with the villains again. It began to -blow boisterous, however, now, so that we were bound to keep well out -to sea, not knowing what dangers we might encounter if we proceeded -farther. And if there was wanted aught else to make this a dangerous -chase on which we were engaged, it was that--even to help us in fine -weather--we had no instruments whatever in our possession. No, not so -much as a quadrant, a chart, nor even a Waggoner, though we had a -meridian compass. We had no thought of nautical instruments when we -left the _Furie_ for the island; above all, we had no thought of -setting out upon such a cruise as this, to end the Lord knows where. -Indeed, when it came to our getting back to England at some future -time--if ever!--we should have to do it by running down, or rather up, -the parallels, and then make direct casting for home. That would be -our only likelihood, so far as we could now see, of striking soundings -again in our old channel. - -"'Tis indeed getting dirty above us, sir," said Israel Cromby to me, -pointing upwards; "I misdoubt me much of what is coming. And the -current sets in towards the islands. What must we do?" - -"Best run out a bit, so as, at least, not to be dashed on shore. There -is a good moon, which will give some light." - -'Tis true there was a moon, yet so obscured by the storm that now set -upon us that it was but little good except when seen through a rift in -the clouds for a moment, but soon lost again. Then down from the north -there came howling a most fearful tropic gale, beginning first of all -in fitful gusts, so that we were obliged to haul in all our sails and -scud under bare poles--knowing not where we were going, but dreading -every moment to be dashed on to either a rocky bound island or a sandy -Key. In God's mercy, however, it seemed that at this moment the wind -did shift, so that very soon we could perceive we were not being -driven towards the land, but providentially away from it, whereby if -our little galliot would but live we might still weather the storm. - -Over her bows the sea was now coming in in great quantities, so that -we were baling with the canvas buckets we possessed, while another -precaution most necessary was that our powder should be kept dry. If -that was spoiled, then indeed we should be at the mercy of the pirates -if we encountered them. - -At this moment there did come a lull, the clouds broke, and through -them the moon shot down a clear bright ray on the waters so troubled -beneath it, and as we tossed up and down, Israel Cromby whispered to -me-- - -"Look, look! sir, on our larboard bow"--which was the direction I was -not gazing in then--"look, not two cables' length off. There are the -villains!" - -Look I did, and there was the Snow, as he had said, riding up and down -on the crest of the waves, one time up above us and towering over, -another time wallowing down in the trough of the sea, with us above. - -They had seen us as soon as we them; and Alderly, standing forward, -was regarding of us fixedly. - -He shouted forth something which 'twas impossible to hear in the -turmoil of the lapping, swirling waters, while as the Snow sunk and we -rose in those troubled waves it seemed as if he shook his fists at us. - -"He is, I think, a devil," said Cromby to me. "Look, sir, what he is -a-doing now!" - -I did look, and as still we rose and fell upon the troubled waves, I -saw that he was holding up with both hands a casket that looked very -heavy, and shaking it before our eyes, as though to tantalize us with -the sight of the stolen goods. And, meanwhiles, laughing and gibbering -on the deck like so many fiends, as I have heard such creatures -called, the other villains in the Snow were a-stamping and dancing -round him as the vessel rolled and lolloped about in the tumbling -waves. - -"Heavens and earth!" I exclaimed, "why, they are all mad with the -drink! See to those fellows holding the bottles to their mouths. What -a time to be fuddling themselves, when their ship wants all the -knowledge a seaman possesses!" - -Even as I spoke we saw a great wave come along aft of them, break over -the stern of the Snow and then wash right over the decks, knocking the -men down like ten-pins and driving the craft onwards with a boust, -and, as it did so, a new fear sprang to my breast. In their drunken -state 'twas great odds that ere long they would go to the bottom, and -their master whom they served so well, the Devil, would have them, -which was no great matter to us; but what was worse was, the stolen -treasure would go too. - -"We must catch holt of them somehow," said I. "Oh that the waves would -bring us together, that we might grapple and board. Yet, what chance -is there? The wave that rolls us towards them rolls them away from us. -What shall we do?" - -"To board them, sir," said one of the men, "would be fatal to the -treasure. As 'tis, they would throw it overboard. See, sir, what the -madman is doing again." - -The sea was calming as he spoke, so that we now got uninterrupted -views of each other, and then to our affright we did see Alderly -fastening of a cord to the rough-tree-rail at one end, and at the -other round the casket, and then lowering it over the side till it -swung three feet from the top of the waves, which sometimes, as they -burst against the Snow, hurled the box backwards and forwards like -unto a shuttlecock. Then, next, he drew his knife, and making signs to -us of what he would do by laying of the blade on the cord, he stood by -defiantly regarding us. Also the drunken scoundrel and fool had made -up his mind to defy us to the utmost and to be plain with us, as it -was very evident to see. He had run up his colours, so that there -should be no doubt left in our minds about him; on his mizen peak -there flew a black silk flag, with on it a skeleton, or "death," with -cross bones in one hand, and in the other a heart with drops of blood -dripping from it, and also a jack of the same, with a man having a -sword thrust through his body, as later I saw plainly. So he stood -proclaimed a pirate. - -But what was, perhaps, more truly a sign of what this reckless -creature was in reality, was the fact that--doubtless before the storm -came on--he had abandoned the work-a-day dress of the "honest man" -which he wore when first he came alongside of the _Furie_, and was now -bedizened in a lot of finery, none the better for the assaults of the -winds and waves. He was dressed in a rich blue damask waistcoat and -breeches, in his hat a feather dyed red; around his neck was coiled -half a dozen times a gold chain with a great diamond cross on to -it--perhaps he had stolen it from the wreck!--hanging over his -shoulders was a silk sling, with, thrust into it, three pistols on -each side. All this we saw afterwards more plainly than now. - -"I cannot endure this defiance," said I to Cromby; "let him sink his -casket and be damned to him! I have been a King's officer, and will -never submit to the insults of a blackguard scoundrelly pirate. Up -with the mainsail, my lads, haul away, and at him;" and as I spoke I -whipped out my pistol, and, sighting him, fired. - -That I miss't him was none too strange, seeing how both of us were -tumbling about and rolling in the water, no more than that he miss't -me, as, pulling two pistols out of his sash, he fired, one in each -hand. - -Then, when he saw our mainsail go up, he made as though he would cut -the cord to which hung the casket--only a moment afterwards he altered -his mind, and bellowing of an order, which we could very well hear, -since now the waves and winds had abated, soon had his own sail up; -and in a moment his ship had caught the wind and was away. - -That we should ever have catched them sufficient to come alongside and -board, I cannot think, even under the best of circumstances, but this -chance was not to be ours, for our ropes had fouled, so that they -could not be run, and ere we could get them disentangled, the _Etoyle_ -was well off from us. But since again, with the coming of fairer -weather, the wind had northed, we could very well see they were -running for the south. They _were_ bound for the islands! - -But at last we got our ropes free, and away we went too. The morn was -breaking now and the waves abating, so that, though still we tossed up -and down, we could see their horrid black silk flag a-flying on the -mizen peak whenever we rose to the crest; and, with the white spume of -the water dashed in our faces, and reckless now of what might happen -so that we did but keep them in sight, we set all our galliot's -sails--main, mizen, and gaff main sail--and tore after them. - -"We will follow them, my lads," I said now, with my blood up to -boiling heat; "we will follow them to the death! There shall be but -one crew left alive to tell this story." - -And as I spake my men gave three hearty cheers. - -So, having got thus far in my account, I will now rest again for a -while. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. -A FIGHT. - - -Now I go on to narrate the tracking of those thieves and pirates, and -of what thereby followed. - -By midday we were off the islands, with the chase well ahead of -us--yet not so far neither as she had been, since we had sailed faster -than she this time, in consequence, as we soon learnt, of their having -snapped their foremast--and with Negada, or the Drowned Island, so -called because 'tis frequently submerged by the tide, lying not a -league away. - -"I have been here before," says Cromby, "and I doubt their getting -ashore. All around lie sand-banks and shoals that require careful -navigation. If they run in here we shall fight 'em when we are both -aground." - -"Then I do pray they will," says I. "It will be best to land, and no -chance of escape for either. 'Twill suit us, my lads." - -The men answered cheerfully. "So 'twould, and very well!" yet as they -so spake we saw that Alderly meant not to enter there. - -Then said I, "If it be not here, p'raps 'tis Virgin-Gorda they are -for, or Anguilla"--for I, too, had been here before--"yet, 'tis not -very like. There are colonists here, and have been since Charles's -day." - -But another hour showed us that neither were these islands their aim, -but, instead, a little long tract of land that, among all the others, -is not marked on the chart, but is known among mariners by the name of -"Coffin Island," because of its shape. Now, Coffin Island hath on it a -mountain, not so very high, yet near to the beach, being inland about -a quarter of a mile, and from the mountain's base there runneth down a -wood to the sea, with, in it, a channel or river. - -This we learnt shortly, though 'tis fitting enough I set it down here. - -And now 'twas very plain that 'twas for this channel the desperadoes -were making. With our perspective glasses we could see--as we passed -the before-mentioned isles--that they were heading straight for that -inlet; we could indeed perceive them get to its mouth, haul down all -but their trysail, and so into the river, which was broad enough to -let in a bigger ship than theirs. - -"After them we go," I exclaimed, "though they have all the best of it. -Yet"--with a moment's reflection--"it may not be so, neither. If they -get ashore, maybe they cannot take their cannon; if they stay on -board, we are as good as they. How is our powder?" - -The men answered the powder was very well. They had carefully kept it -all dry, so that we should not lack that. Therefore I gave them orders -to carefully prime and load our pieces: namely, the four little guns -and the swivel, and also the muskets. And so we, too, stood for the -channel. - -As we neared it we could very well see up it somewhat, and did notice -that the _Etoyle_ had come to a halt. She was not anchored, but had -drifted a little down again towards the mouth of the inlet, and thus -she was as we passed in, the woods growing thick on either side. And -now was the time when we saw the finery in which Alderly had arrayed -himself. He, as we ran in, was standing by the bows of his ship, and -had in his hand a glass of liquor, and, as we drew close, he shouted-- - -"Trapped! Trapped, by God! You will never get out of this! You cannot -escape!" - -"You beastly pirate!" I called back; "there is no thought of getting -out. We are only most thankful to have got in. Now, will you haul down -those vile rags at your peak, and give up the stolen goods and -surrender, or----" - -"Surrender!" shouts he. "Yes, I will surrender! Like this!" and -stooping down behind his bows for a moment, he picks up what was a -new-fangled sort of grenadoe--being a case bottle filled with powder -and pieces of lead, iron slugs and shot, with a quick match in the -mouth of it--and flings it aboard us. But in a minute one of my men, a -lusty youth from North Berwick, named Fernon, stoops down, seizes on -it, and flings it back into Alderly's ship, where it exploded amidst -their yells and curses. - -"Now," said I, as at this moment our crafts touched, so that the whole -channel was blocked, "over their bows, under the smoke, and among 'em. -Pistols and cutlashes, my lads, will do the business." - -So over we did go, and soon found that we had a tough job before -us. For though the men of the _Etoyle_ did only outnumber us by -five--namely, four men and Alderly--we discovered ere long on what a -dreadful mine we were standing. - -As I cut down one man, giving him a wound in the neck that nearly -sever'd his throat as clean as if he had cut it with a razor, Cromby -whispered in my ear-- - -"Sir, what shall we do? Down below stands a great negro over two -barrels of powder, with a lighted slow match in his hand. 'Tis evident -the instant we are victorious he will blow up the Snow." - -The sweat sprang out all over me as he said this, and, fighting hand -to hand all as I was with now another pirate, I had to pause and -deliberate. Then I said-- - -"If you cannot shoot him we must get back to our own vessel. Try if -you can get a ball into him." - -And now I came against Alderly and rushed at him, when I saw him -settle himself against the tackle of a gun, his hand over his heart. - -"So," I thought to myself, "he has got his death wound. He will fall -dead in a moment. Let us see for ourselves." - -Amidst the smoke, therefore, and firing some shots below into the hold -in the hopes of slaying the negro, we leapt back into our galliot, and -then, before the crew of the _Etoyle_ knew what we were at, we had -pushed ourselves off of them, and, catching a little of the current of -the canal or river, got drifted down some fifty yards. And here, being -safe from any explosion should it take place among the others, we gave -them a broadside from our guns almost before they could know we had -left them. - -But they answered not. We heard our balls crash into the sides of the -Snow, we heard her timbers splitting and bursting, we even heard the -shivering of a mast or yard, and its fall on the deck--but no reply -was made. No ball came back crashing into us, no report echoed ours. -All was still. - -"Let the smoke clear off," I said, "ere we fire again. Meanwhile, keep -your guns loaded. Can it be that all are slain?" - -The smoke did evaporate shortly, and then we learnt that 'twas as we -thought. Either the pirates were all slain or--fled. We had won our -day. From our rattlins, by running up a dozen, I could see on to the -deck of the _Etoyle_, and perceive men lying about dead. Also, too, -could observe the deck stained with blood, the fallen mast bearing the -vile silken flag a-lying across one man--it having smashed his head in -as it fell. But though I gazed at the gun tackle where I had seen -Alderly, he was not there now, neither near it nor by it. Had he -therefore escaped? - -"We must board the _Etoyle_ again," says I; "yet since the negro with -his lighted match may still be by the powder, I will go alone first, -as is my duty. Lower the boat." - -Since I had regained our tender I had been standing enrapt, gazing -with all my might at the smoke first, and then up into the shrouds -again at the enemy, taking no heed of my own craft. But now, as no one -stirred, to my hearing, to obey my orders, I turned round sharply to -chide them, but as I did so I started and felt myself go pale. - -"Good God!" I exclaimed, "good God! What is this?" - -There were but three men, I recollected in an instant, that had leaped -back into the galliot from the Snow, and those three men were here in -the ship behind me. But, alas! two were now dead; the third, Israel -Cromby, was a-lying on his back, gasping out his last few breaths. - -"Oh!" says I, "oh! my poor men--this is a sorry sight for any -commander to see. Cromby, man, it is ill with you, I fear?" - -He opened his eyes, all covered with a film like a poor partridge a -gunner has knocked over, and then he whispered-- - -"Sir, sir. There is a poor old woman down Rotherhithe way--she is--my -mother. She--drawed--my money--tell her--she has no other means -whereby to live--if you--get back, see to----. Sir, I've done my -duty." - -So he died and joined the others, and went his way to meet his God. - -And I was left alone. - -From the _Etoyle_ there came no sound, nor from the woods neither did -any come. So I told myself this would not do. I must be stirring. -Thinking which, I lowered down the boat, having to shift the bodies of -my poor dead men to get at the tackle, and then got down into it, and -so to the _Etoyle_. It was no use wasting time when I got to it, I -reflected; if any were alive of the enemy they must be encountered -soon or late--as well now as then. And the negro I did feel sure was -dead. Otherwise, he would have blowed up the Snow or else come forth. - -Making fast the boat, I clambered up over the side of the buccaneer's -craft, and then I saw pretty quick all that had happened, looking -first to see for the negro. He was done for, as I had imagined, and -was lying flat on his back at the foot of the hatchway, his match -burnt out in his dead black hand, which, I saw later, had been singed -and scorched by the flames; yet that hand had been perilously near to -the powder-barrels while the slow match lasted, as it lay all -stretched out. - -On the deck they laid about, my men and Alderly's, as they had fallen, -and I did perceive that our broadside had finished up one or two at -least of the latter, who were still breathing when I got aboard, -though not long after. Of my six men who had fallen there, I made -instantly a burial, tying shots to them and heaving them over the -side--for I would not have the birds of prey--many of whom were -hovering about the banks of the river--tear and devour them. This I -did do when I felt sure they were indeed dead, but of the pirates I -took no heed--the birds might have their bodies (as I doubted not the -Devil had got their souls by now), for all I cared. - -One thing--or rather two--I did not find which I would very willingly -have done. There was no sign anywhere of either Alderly or the casket -he had flourished in our faces. Now, if Alderly had died before his -men, or some of them, this would not be strange, since I knew--having -hunted pirates before to-day--that the captains had ever the desire to -be flung overboard the moment they were dead, and always in their -finery and adornments. - -And this doubtless had happened to him; that is, if he had not -escaped, which was, of course, possible for him to have done if he had -not his death wound when I encountered him. And the casket might have -gone too--though this I doubted; at least, it would not go while one -man remained alive, and he would not sink it until his last gasp, at -which time he might be then too feeble so to do. - -Yet I resolved to search the Snow, to see if any were lurking about, -or if the casket was hid anywhere. 'Twould not take long to do, and -even though it did, what matter? There was no call on my time. - -Down below, to which I went after carefully scrutinizing the deck, -all was in great disorder; weapons were lying on the cabin table -alongside of food and victuals, and there was a broached barrel of -rumbullion--or kill-devil--a-standing in the middle of the cabin, with -a scooper, or long-handled ladle, hard by, which doubtless they had -drunk from by turns; and since they were drunk when we met 'em in the -night, I supposed they had been drinking ever since they had deserted -us. Leastways, the barrel was half empty, yet none was spilled. - -Here was the body of a man shot into the head, and very ghastly--I -doubted not he had fallen down the hatch when struck, or, may be, run -down for drink to ease him. And now, seeing this corpse set me off -a-calculating how many there had been in the _Etoyle_, and how many -there were now--whereby I should get the difference of those in the -ship, and those who had been flung, or fallen over, or--if it might be -so--escaped. And, at last, I did arrive at the solution that but two -were missing; namely, the villain Alderly and his diver. Therefore, -even allowing them to be alive, all but three of both crafts had been -killed in the fight. - -And if those two had escaped it must be by having leaped overboard in -the smoke and confusion--'twas certain they had not taken their boat, -for it still lay along their deck, upside down, where they always kept -it, as I had seen often when they were moored alongside the _Furie_. -Now it had a shot in it from one of our guns, I did perceive, which -was perhaps the reason it was not used--though their haste to get away -was more like to be the cause. Yet, I pondered, if they had hastened -away, where was then the treasure? The casket alone would almost, I -should judge, sink a man who endeavoured to get ashore with it, though -it was but a few yards to swim--how could it be, therefore, that they -and their stolen prize had got away? The truth, I did conceive now, -was that all, Alderly, diver, and treasure, were at the bottom of the -river. - -But by this time the night was approaching, vastly different from the -former one, it being calm and cloudless; and I was worn out with want -of rest, and with the fighting and excitement. So I resolved I would -take a night's repose, and then in the morning I would explore the -island carefully--'twould not take long, being not a league in length -nor half as broad, as I knew; above all, I would see if I could find -the goods you wot of. As for the two pirates, I feared them not one -atom; face to face, I deemed myself--a king's late officer--the match -for any two dirty pirates that ever breathed. - -So I let go the _Etoyle's_ anchor and made her fast for the night, and -then rowed me back to my galliot and prepared for my rest. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. -THE VILLAIN'S DEN. - - -'Twas as I have writ, a night vastly different from the precedent one, -beautifully calm in this little channel, or river, with the moon -arising behind the wood that bordered its eastern bank, and with a -cool breeze coming from the sea and rustling through the leaves. And -as the moon rose above the treetops she flooded all the river with -light, making a great shadow of the _Etoyle_ on the water, and also of -the galliot. - -I lay me down upon the deck of my craft wrapped in a boat-cloak, as -soon as I had gotten things a little ship-shape for the night (I had -anchored the galliot before I went off to the Snow), but sleep came -not easily. There were, indeed, many things a-running through my -brain. Firstly, there were my poor dead sailors sleeping below in the -water--probably already food for the great variegated crabs that do -here abound--whom I could not but lament, and especially Israel -Cromby, with his dying thoughts of the poor old dependent mother at -Rotherhithe. Then there was the position to be thought of in which I -now stood. I had the galliot to get me away in, 'twas true, to the -adjacent islands, some of which were inhabited by my own countrymen, -and not far off neither--but, supposing I got back the treasure from -the pirates, should I ever get it safe home to England? I knew not, as -yet, how much it was; whether the casket was all or only a portion; -whether also that portion was a huge mass of gold or silver, or a -small one of jewels. Above all, should I get it in any form or shape -whatever? Was it buried in the river ere the last of the pirates died, -or were those two men alive, and had they got ashore and buried it -there? Still my fatigues were such that, in spite of all my -conflicting and unhappy thoughts, I slumbered at last. Long and -peacefully I slept aboard the little craft, which had none other now -but myself for its inhabitant, with the cool night wind blowing all -over me, and freshening me as I lay. - -Yet I awoke ere daylight had come--startled by something, I knew not -what! - -The moon was at her full height now, the channel was as light as day, -'twas that, I thought to myself, had waked me; and I turned over on my -side to sleep again. Yet, as I dozed, and should soon have been gone -again, once more I was disturbed. "Perhaps 'tis a beast," thought I, -"in the wood, crashing through the undergrowth,"--for such I fancied -to be the sound--"perhaps 'tis--"but here I ended my speculations, for -I saw what had aroused me. - -'Twas the two villains, Alderly and his diver, a-standing on the bank -of the river gazing into it. 'Twas their steps I had heard crunching -on the underbrush. - -Now it did so happen that our galliot had a cabin aft, with, cut into -it on either side of the sternpost, two portholes, so that, lying -here, I could very well see through those scuttles what they were -a-doing without their seeing me. Whether they thought I was not in my -vessel I could not guess; or whether they knew I was, having watched -me all the latter part of the day from the wood, but deemed me now -asleep, 'twas impossible for me to tell--yet doubtless 'twas the -latter, since they seemed wary in their movements. - -Yet was it obvious to me, watching them as I did, that both were still -under the influence of the drink; as they stood gazing into the water, -first one would give a lurch, then the other, or one would hiccough, -and the other would curse him under his breath for making of a noise; -and once the diver--whose name I knew not--nearly fell forward into -the river, and would have done so, had not Alderly clutched him and -hauled him back. And all the time the moon enabled me to see the -latter's tawdry finery, all smirched with dirt, with powder and filth, -and his broken feather in his hat, and the stains and grime about him, -while, as for the other, he had nought but the coarsest of apparel -upon him. - -Now, seeing they were still drunk, I did begin to think they had a -resort of some sort in this isle, perhaps comrades upon it from whom -they could get drink, since 'twas hours since they had had any in the -Snow. Which led me to reflect that, if there were more of these -wretches here, my case was a bad one. However, watching of their -actions drove these reflections from out my head, for a time at least. - -Presently, one, Alderly, stoops him down, going on to his hands and -knees and, baring his arm up to the shoulder, thrusts it into the -water, and begins moving it backwards and forwards as though feeling -for something in it. And shortly he found what he wanted, for he -lifted up a stone as big as my head, with round it a rope that ran on, -into, and under the water as he lifted of it up. This was easy to -perceive, for the drops of water sparkled on it like diamonds as he -held it at his end. - -"Ha!" thinks I to myself. "I do guess what's at t'other end now. Well, -well, we will see." Yet, as I so thought, I looked to my priming. I -thought it would not be very long ere I should have to shoot these two -ruffians, and take my chance of there being more of the same sort on -the isle. But the time had not come yet, I did perceive, and meanwhile -I lay perfectly snug watching their doings. - -A moment after Alderly had gotten the stone and rope up, he threw away -the former, and began, with his comrade's assistance, hauling and -tugging at it, and presently they got ashore from under the water a -long box of about four feet--though 'twas not what I expected to see, -namely, the casket. This, I made sure, would have been fished up, but -'twas not. I never did see it again. - -'Twas plain to observe there was no more to come, for no sooner was -this box up than they made as though they would depart, Alderly -letting the rope drop back gently into the water; and then, as I could -see by his gestures, making signs to the diver to pick the box up and -carry it. But this led to an argument between them; I could observe -them shrugging of their shoulders with a drunken gravity, lurching -about now and again as they did so, and stumbling against the box more -than once; and then, suddenly, I perceived Alderly strike the other in -the mouth and knock him down. - -"Now," thinks I, "this leads to more things. If they go on like this, -there will be only one pirate soon for me to contend with, so far as I -know." - -Even as I pondered, my words came true. The diver got up, whips out a -long knife, and made a rush at the other--the weapon sparkling as -though it was dipped in phosphorus in the rays of the moon--and in -another moment they had closed together. - -But Alderly was the best man of the two--which was perhaps why he was -chief of the _Etoyle_--and ere long he had hold of the other's wrist -with one hand and had got him round the body with the other. Then, by -degrees, he did bring the body down until it lay across his own knee, -face upwards, and having, as I did see, the strength of a bullock, or -a vice, he forced the other's arm up and down, directing so his -clenched hand that he compelled him to plunge his own dagger into his -own breast. Once, twice, thrice, he did it!--the diver screaming with -the first plunge of the knife into his bosom, groaning with the -second, and with the third making no noise. Then Alderly lets go the -diver's fist from out of his own, and frees his own body from his -grasp, and down the diver fell to the brink of the river. - -"You slew yourself," says he, looking down at him; "'twas your own -knife that did it, your own hand that plunged it in." And here he -laughed, an awful, blood-curdling laugh. The laugh of a maniac -or a fiend! Then he put his foot to the dead man's body and tumbled -it over into the river, so that I saw it no more. Next, seizing -on to the long box--and nearly falling over it as he did so in his -half-drunkenness--he lifted it on to his shoulder and went into the -wood. Only, as he departed I saw him also lift up his foot and touch -his shoe with his finger, and hold that finger up in the moon to look -at; and then he gave again that awful laugh. He was a-laughing at the -dead man's blood in which he had trampled! - -"Now," says I, "is my time; I will find out if he can also slay me. At -any rate he shall not escape without doing so," and with these words I -lowered the boat again, got into it and went ashore--the distance from -the galliot being not twenty yards. And then, securing of the boat to -the trunk of a small tree by the river's brink, I plunged in after him -to the wood. Only, you may be sure, I had my pistols with me and my -sword. - -At first the little wood was so dark that I could not see, or scarce -see, the moon a-shining dimly through the thickness--a thickness all -made of wild orange, citron, and pomegranate trees, as well as of -campeachy trees, and mountain cabbage palms. Yet soon this wood opened -out somewhat; there rose before my eyes a little glade, on which the -moon did here shine as though on a sweet English field at home, and, -reaching this, I perceived by stopping and looking carefully that my -man had passed this way. The long grass was all trodden down--nay, so -much so, that the two must have also come this way when they set out -as comrades--and, since the imprints of the footsteps were most -uneven and without regularity, I felt sure my drunken pirate had -struggled and staggered along this track. - -So across the little glade I went, following ever the irregular -crushings down of the grass, until I came to where it was bordered by -more thick underbrush and shrub, and then, even had I doubted I was on -the steps of Alderly, I could do so no longer. For now through that -thick brushwood and tangled growth of briar, and lacery of trailing -things, there was crushed aside a most distinct opening through which -a man, or men, must have passed, while, had I desired further proofs -of where the man had gone whom I sought, it was before me. Lying on -the brushwood, catched off and torn by a thorn, was the broken end of -Alderly's red feather, the piece that had hung down over his savage -face as he forced the diver to slay himself, and that gave, even in -that awful moment, an appearance to him of almost comicality. A -comicality, though, to cause a shudder! - -Now did I, therefore, loosen my blade in its sheath and set my pistols -in my belt carefully, for, since by this time I had gone a mile at -least, 'twas not very like I should go much farther before coming on -to the desperado, unless he should have turned off at an angle--a -thing I could not judge he should have any reason to do. And so I went -on very carefully, keeping ever a watch about and around me, so that I -should fall into no trap. - -Soon, however, I did perceive that the path turned, as I guessed it -might perhaps do, and I thought the time was not yet come for me to -get up with my chase, when, to my astonishment--in spite of my former -ideas that there might be other buccaneers upon this isle--there came -to me the sounds of singing and revelling, of shouting and whooping -and drinking of healths, and clapping of canikins or glasses on a -table. - -"The health," I heard a voice shout, "of Winstanley, the diver of -Liverpool, the man who strove to contend with Alderly. His health in -the place where he is gone, and another to his taker off!" And then -there followed the banging and smashing of drinking vessels on the -table again, and huzzas and shriekings. - -Next uprose a voice a-trolling of a song. - - - "When money's plenty, boys, we drink - To drown our troubles, oh-oh! - Carouse, revel, and never think, - Upon the morrow, oh-oh!" - - -"When money's plenty," I heard Alderly repeat. "When money's plenty! -Why, and so it is, my blithe lads. Look here in this box, my hearties. -Here's enough and to spare for all. Diamonds, sapphires, pearls, gold -and silver. Ha! ha! Drink, my lads. Give me the bowl. Peter Hynde, my -lad, drink up, and you, Robert Birtson, and Will Magnus, you, and you, -Petty, and Crow, and Moody, and fat John Coleman. Drink, you dogs, I -say, drink." - -"I have landed on a nest of them!" thinks I to myself. "A dozen at -least, I believe. Well, I will lie hid awhile, and if they o'ermaster -me, why--" - - - "When money's plenty, boys, we drink! - And bring the girls along, oh! - Of blood we've shed we never think, - Midst dance and jocund song, oh!" - - -burst out the ruffian again. Then he yelled out, "A toast! a toast! -The health of Phips and that accursed Crafer, whose blood I've drunk," -at which I started. "So," thinks I, "he deems me dead. 'Tis perhaps -best. Yet shall he learn," I muttered twixt my set lips, "that in -spite of him and his horde I am alive--he shall--" - -"And Bess, my Coromandel girl, bring in the meats!" the villain -now shouted. "Ha! ha! here she comes with the steaming turtle! Fall -to, my boys, fall to; and here comes our Queen of Port Royal, our -golden-haired Barbara who loves us well. My lads! a health to the girl -of Port Royal!" - -And again there came the banging on the table of fists, then cans, and -the voice of Alderly whooping and shouting. - -"I must see this crew," I whispered to myself, "e'en though I die for -it. I must see these ruffians in their den with their loathsome -womankind. I have four shots in my belt, and a good sword. All must be -drunk and _I_ am sober! I will do some execution amongst them." - -So through the brushwood I went a pace or so, parting the leaves as -gently as might be--though that I should be heard there was no fear -amidst the infernal clamour and din and shouting of Alderly. - -Then, next, I saw before me a hut, or big cabin, built of logs, with a -wide, open door and thatched with palm leaves; from out the door there -gleamed the light of a lamp, and as I parted some boughs and bushes to -get me a view, I could see very well into the hut. - -And this is what I witnessed. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. -MAD! - - -Inside the hut ran a long table on trestles; upon that table were -platters and drinking vessels; on it also were some dried fruits, some -pieces of dirty, coarse bread, and also some scraps of jerked beef, -or, as 'tis called here in the Caribbee-Indian, Boucan; and that, with -the exception of some drink in a tub, was all! - -There was no steaming turtle or other savoury viands, neither were -there any women, golden-haired or others, nor a nest of pirates. -Besides Alderly himself, there was in the hut no living soul that I -could see. He was alone! - -Yet, in front of the table, there lay something on which my eyes could -not but fasten, the long box, in which I did believe the stolen -treasure was. And also by its side were three bags, or sacks, bulging -out full of coin--I could see the impress made upon the canvas by the -pieces within--and these I did guess had never come out of the wreck -we had been fishing on. They were, I thought--and found afterwards -that my thoughts were right--spoils from some others than us. The -plunder of another foray! - -But at the time I could do nought but watch the great villain, the -creature whom I could not deem aught but mad, or, at least, mad from -the drink. - -His eyes glistening and rolling like a maniac's, he sat in the middle -of the table, gibbering and grimacing to either side of him, as if the -companions he had named were there; now shouting out a toast, then -banging on the table with both his fists, then seizing a can or mug in -each of them; next calling out in a deep voice "huzza, huzza," and -then altering it to the shrill one of a woman doing the same thing. - -Next, he would seize the scooper of the liquor tub, and, with clumsy -bows to the empty chairs or stools, for such indeed they were, would -fill the glasses standing on the table in front of those chairs, -though they being already full he did but pour liquor upon liquor -until the whole table streamed with it. Then, for variety, he would -tear with his fingers a piece of Boucan off, and with solemn gravity -lay it on some tin plates near him, saying to the vacant space behind -the plate: - -"Barbara, my sweet, 'tis the choicest piece of the haunch; I beseech -of you to taste a little more"; or, "Coleman, my fat buck, take a bit -more of your own kind," and so forth. Or he would crumble off a bit of -his dirty, frowsy bread, and, with his filthy hands putting of it in -his mouth, would say, "The turtles' eggs are at their best now. 'Tis -the season. Ha! They are succulent!" Then he would drink a deep -draught of the spirits by him, call a toast, and begin his bawlings -and clappings again. - -To see the ruffian sitting there in the half-dim light--for his lamp -was none of the best--grimacing and gibbering to vacancy, and -addressing people who existed not, was to me a truly awful, nay, a -blood-creeping sight! For now I knew what I had before me. I knew that -this pirate, this man, whose hands still reeked with the blood of his -comrade--one of those whom he had but recently called on them to drink -a toast to--was mad with long-continued drinking and p'raps scarce any -food since they left the reef; that, indeed, he had the horrors, -called by the learned, the "Delirium." - -Still, all was not yet at its worst, as I found out and you shall see. - -Meanwhile, amidst his bellowings and howlings, which I need not again -write down, since they varied not, I pondered on what I must do. I had -the fellow caged now; if he attempted to come out of the hut I was -resolved to shoot him down or run him through as I would a mad dog; -indeed, any way, I was determined now to be his executioner. He was a -pirate, a thief who had caused us of the _Furie_ much trouble and loss -of good life--and here I thought of Israel Cromby and my other poor -men, all dead!--also he was a secret murderer. He must die by my -hand--but it must not be now when he was mad. I was ordained to be his -executioner, I felt, but I would not be a secret murderer myself also. -No! not unless I was forced to it. - -But, still, I decided now to advance in upon him--the position I was -in was cramped and painful; the hut would be better than this, with -now many night dews arising from the soil and enveloping of me, -and--if the worst came to the worst--I would knock him on the head and -secure him. Also, I remembered, I had the treasure to secure. So I -moved into the path, rounded it, and, pistol in hand, advanced towards -the door of the hut, and, standing in it, regarded him fixedly. - - -At first he saw me not. The light was growing dimmer, so that to me he -looked more like the dull, cloudy spectre of a man than a man itself -as he sat there--perhaps, too, I, with nought behind me but the dark -night, may have looked the same to him. Then, as he still sat talking -to an imaginary figure behind him, his conversation running on the -drinking and carousing he and his supposed comrade had once evidently -had on the coast of Guinea, I said, clearly though low-- - -"Alderly, you seem gay to-night, and entertain good company." - -In truth, there was no intention in my heart to banter the man or jest -with such a brute, only I had to let him know of my presence there, -and one way seemed to me as good as another. - -Instead of starting up, as I had thought he might do, and, perhaps, -discharging a pistol at me, he turned his head towards the door, put -that head between his two hands, and peered between them towards where -I stood. - -"Who is't?" he asked. "I cannot see you. Is it Martin come back from -the isles with the sloop?" - -This gave me an idea that there were some comrades expected--perhaps -from some other villainies! but I had just now no time for pondering -on such things, so I replied: - -"No, 'tis not Martin. But, 'Captain' Alderly, you should know me; you -drank a health to me not long ago. I am Lieutenant Crafer of the -_Furie_." - -"I do not know you," he replied; "I never heard of you. Yet you must -be dry in the throat. Come in and drink." - -In other circumstances I might have thought this to be a ruse--now I -could not deem it such. Beyond all doubt he was mad--my only wonder -was that such a desperado should not be more ferocious. Perhaps, -however, this might be to come. - -I sat me down opposite to him and regarded him fixedly in that gloomy -light, and it seemed as though I brought by my presence some glimmer -of reason to the wandering brain. - -"Crafer!" he exclaimed. "Ah yes, Crafer! Drink, Crafer, drink. So thou -hast join'd us. 'Tis well, and better than serving Phips. We have more -wealth here than ever Phips dreamed of--if we could but get it away. -Away! Yes! away! What might we not do if we could but get it to -England! We might all be gallant, topping gentlemen with coaches and -horses, and a good house, and see ridottos and--but stay, Crafer, you -must know my friends." And here the creature stood upon his feet--I -standing, too, not knowing but what he was going to spring at me, -though he had no such intention--and began naming his phantom friends -to me and presenting them, so to speak. - -"This," says he, "is Peter Hynde, a gay boy and a good sailor. Also he -is our musicianer of nights--he singeth too a sweet song. Stand up, -Hynde, and make your service. And this is Will Magnus, with a good -heart, but ever lacking money till he joined us. A brave lad! 'Tis he -who has cut many a throat! Barbara, my dear, throw thy golden mane -back and kiss the brave gentleman--she was but a child, sir, when we -found her, yet now, now, she--Ha! again that wound! How the thrust of -the steel bites!" - -He sank back into his chair, and tore at his damask waistcoat and then -at his ruffled shirt--yellow with dirt and spilt drink, and dabbled -with thick bloodstains--and so, opening of his bosom, there I did see -a great gash just over the heart, in his left pap. - -And I wondered not now that he was mad with the drink and the fever of -his wound; the wonder was more that he was not quite dead. - -He sat a-gazing at this, with his eyes turned down upon it, and -muttered, - -"One gave it me as from that accursed galliot, as they boarded. It -seemed I had gotten my death. Ah! how it burns, how it throbs! -Barbara! Black Bess! hast thou no styptic for stopping of this flux, -no balm for this pain? Ha! No? Then give me drink, drink; 'tis the -best consoler of all, the best slayer of pain." And here he seized his -ladle, filled a glass from the tub, and drained it at a gulp. Then he -wandered on again: "Barbara, get you up to the chirugeon at Kingston; -tell him I am sore wounded." - -"Jamaica is far away from here," I said to him. "Barbara will scarce -bring you aught from the pharmacie there to-night." Then, bending -forward to him across the table, I said, "Alderly, you are wounded to -the death; that stab and your drinkings have brought you to the end, -or nearly so. Tell me truly, did this," and I kicked the box at my -feet, "and these bags of coin come from the plate-ship? Tell me!" - -He peered at me through the deepening gloom made by the expiring lamp, -as though his senses were returning and he knew me, and muttered: - -"More--more--than the plate-ship--this is a treasure house--" and -then, suddenly, he stopped and, pointing a shaking finger over my -head, stared as one who saw a sight to blast him, and whispered in a -voice of horror: - -"Look! look! behind you. God! I stabbed him thrice. Yet now he is come -back. See him, look to him at the open door. 'Tis Winstanley, the -diver of Liverpool. Ah! take those eyes away from me--away--away! -'Twas your hand did it, not mine," and with a shriek the wretch buried -his head in his own hands. - -That the murdered diver was not there I did know very well, yet the -ravings of the man, the melancholy of the hut in the wood, the dimness -of the lamp, all made my very flesh to creep, and instinctively I did -cast my eye over my shoulder, seeing, as was certain, nought but the -moon's flood pouring in at the door. Yet I shivered as with a palsy, -for though no ghost was there all around me was ghostly, horrible! - -With a yell Alderly sprang to his feet a moment after he had sunk his -head in his hands; his looks were worse now than before, his madness -stronger upon him; great flecks of foam upon his lips, and from his -wound the blood trickling anew. - -"Away! away!" he shouted. Then moaned. "Those eyes! those eyes! They -scorch my very soul. Away!" And he cowered and shrank, but a minute -later seemed to have recovered his old ferocity. "Begone!" he now -commanded the spectre of his distorted vision. "Begone!" and with that -he rushed forward, forgetting in his madness the table was betwixt him -and his fears, and knocking it over in the rush. - -And with it the lamp went too. Only fortunately it was at its end, -there was no longer any oil in it--otherwise the hut would have been -burnt to the ground. - -But all was now darkness save for the moonlight on the floor within -and on the brushwood without, and, as Alderly recovered himself from -his entanglement with the fallen table and trestles, I could see it -shining upon his glaring, savage eyes. And he took me--I having been -knocked to the door by the crash--for the ghost of the diver, the -spirit he feared so much. - -"Peace, you fool!" I exclaimed, "there is no spirit here, nought worse -than yourself. And stand back, or, by the God above, I will blow your -frenzied brains out," and as I spoke, I drew a pistol, cocked it and -covered him. - -With a howl he came at me, missing my fire in his onward rush, dashing -the pistol from my hand with a madman's force, and, seizing me round -the waist, endeavoured to throw me to the earth. Yet, though I had no -frenzy, I too was strong, and I wrestled with him, so that about the -hut we went, knocking over first the tub of liquor with which the -place became drenched, and falling at last together on the ground. And -all this time, Alderly was cursing and howling, sometimes even biting -at me, and tearing my flesh with his teeth, especially about the -hands, and gripping my throat with his own strong hands--made doubly -strong because of his frenzy. I smelt his hot, stinking, spirit-sodden -breath all over me; I could even smell the filth of his body as he -hissed out: - -"I ever hated you, Winstanley; I hated you when I made your own hands -slay you. I hated you in life, I hate you now in death. And as I slew -you in life, again will I slay you in death." - -Then at this moment he gave a yell of triumph. His hand had -encountered the hilt of my sword, and drawing it forth from its broken -sheath, he shortened it to plunge it into my breast. - -But as he did so I got one of my hands released. I felt for my other -pistol, I cocked it with my thumb, when, ere I could fire, the cutlash -dropped from Alderly's hand and he sprang to his feet, his hands upon -his wound. - -"See," he whispered now, "there be two Winstanleys: one here--one -coming through the wood. Are there any more--?" - -Staggering, he stood glaring forth into the wood through the open -door, seeing another spectre, as he thought, there; then slowly he -sank to the ground, letting his hands fall away from the gash in his -breast, from which the tide now ran swiftly. - -"Oh, agony! agony!" he moaned. "Can one live and feel such pain as -this. Nay! this is death. Barbara, draw near me. Listen. This -hut is full of spoil--beneath--none know but I--all mine--now -all yours. The other is buried--elsewhere--Oh! God--the agony! -Barbara--rich--rich--for life--lady--fortune--give me -drink--drink--" Then once more singing in a broken voice, - - - "When money's--plenty--boys--we drink - To drown--" - - -he fell back moaning again. - -And so he died. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. -THE TREASURE HOUSE. - - -So now I was the last of all left who had come away from the _Furie_. -Neither of my crew nor of this dead ruffian's was there any one to -tell the tale but I. A strange ending indeed to such a flight and such -a chase. - -The dead pirate lay upon his back, the blood from his wound trickling -down to mix with the spirit from the overturned cask. The box of -treasure lay at my feet, and, if his dying words were true and not -spoken in his madness, beneath my feet was a vast treasure. - -But ere I thought of that, there were many other things to do. -Firstly, and before all, there was rest to be obtained. I had scarcely -had any for three days--namely, none in the galliot since we were -awaked in our little isle near the reef by the firing of the _Furie's_ -guns; and but an hour or so only before the murder of Winstanley, the -diver. That was all, and now I could scarcely move for fatigue. I must -sleep e'en though I died for it. Only where should I obtain it? -Accustomed as I was to rough surroundings, to fightings and slaughter -after many years of a sailor's life, this hut with its loathsome dead -inhabitant and owner was too horrible and disgusting for me to find -rest in it. I could not sleep there! Yet again, neither would I go far -away. "The hut," the dying villain had said, "was a treasure house"; -he had told the imaginary Barbara--who was she, I wondered, who seemed -to have been the centre of such tragedies?--that she was the heiress -to great wealth contained within it, or beneath it; I must guard that -hut with my life. Especially, I reflected, must I do so since he had -thought me to be "Martin come back from the isles with the sloop." If, -therefore, this was not also part of his ravings, he was expecting -some such person, doubtless a brother pirate--at any moment I might -have to defend the place against another ship's crew of scoundrels. - -Yet I must sleep. I could do nought until I had rested, but I knew -that when such a rest had been obtained, I should feel strong enough -to, or at least endeavour to, hold my own. I must sleep! - -At last I made up my mind what I would do. The door of the hut, I had -learned by my mode of progression, faced to the west, therefore I -would close the door, lay myself along outside it, so that the morning -sun, now near at hand as I guessed, should not disturb me, and thereby -get rest as well as being a guard over the "treasure house." So, -loading and priming my pistols carefully--as well as two of Alderly's -which I took off his body, and which, in his madness, he had without -doubt forgotten he possessed--and placing my cutlash by my side, I -once more lay down to sleep. - -Undisturbed, I must have enjoyed some hours' repose, for when I awoke -the daylight was all around me; the wood outside was bathed in the -rich sunshine, though I was sheltered from the rays by the hut; the -tiny hum-birds were darting in and out of the many flowers about, -thrusting their long bills in them to lick up the honey and the -insects; 'twas a sweet spot. Yet, when I arose to enter the hut, all -the beauty of the morning and of Nature did seem to me blackened and -fouled by that abode. - -"Now," I said to myself, "what shall I do?" And instantly I -resolved that I would, to begin, make an end of Alderly's carcass. So, -having perceived a mattock and spade a-lying in the corner of the -place--"perhaps," thinks I, "'twas with them he did bury his -treasures"--I stooped down to drag him forth into the copse where I -could dig a grave for him. Then, as I bent over him, I saw sparkling -in his breast the diamond cross attached to the chain which he wore in -many folds round his neck. - -I took it off him, and rubbing it and the gold chain clean from his -blood, did go to the door to look at it--flashing it about to observe -the sparkles of the great gems, holding it out into a dark place the -better for to see it by contrast, and so on, as I had seen those do -who call themselves judges of such things--which I, a poor sailor -officer, could not be. And then I observed there was engraved on the -back of the gold-setting some words, which I deciphered to be: - -"Mary Roase, Baroness of Whitefields, from her husband, Bevill. Anno -Dom. 1598." - -"Well," thinks I, "this at least can scarce be from our Spanish wreck. -Mary Rose is English enough, we have had ships so named. I dare say -the villain pillaged that from some descendant of the lady. If ever I -got home I will see if there is any Lord or Lady of Whitefields now." - -Then I went forth to dig the grave, which I did three feet deep, not -far off the hut, and lugging out the body--after I had still more -carefully searched the clothes, and finding a few gold pieces -consisting of some Elephant guineas, two or three French and Spanish -pieces, and also some ducatoons, all in a bag--soon buried him. This -done I went back to the hut, though by now I was hunger-stung and -could very well have ate some food. Though this was not to be yet, -since I must go to the galliot to find any, his being filthy. But of -drink there was a plenty--a sweet rill of cool water running hard by. -There was, indeed, another tub unbroached in the corner of the place, -but I cared not to drink of the ruffian's provision; why, I know not, -since I did not disdain to take his jewels and money. Yet so it was, -and I left it alone, drinking only of the water and laving myself in -it. "And now for the long box," I said; "let us see what they have -robbed us of." For that the box contained what they had gotten up from -our wreck I did never doubt. Yet, as you shall see, I was mistaken. I -do not now believe, nor did I shortly then, that what that box -contained had ever been any portion of our stolen treasure. - -I burst it open very easy with the mattock and there I found a rich -harvest; so that, indeed, the hut was a treasure house when only it -had that box within. Now, this is what I did find, and the list which -I here give you (with the valuations against the items by him) is a -just and fair copy of that which I did show to Mr. Wargrave, the -jeweller and goldsmith of Cornhill (now retired very rich), when I had -gotten home again:-- - - -_List with Mr. Wargrave, his valuation_. _Gs_. - -Two small bags of pearls, weighing with other - pearls therein under fifteen grains, as I - judged from others shown me by Mr. W. 1,250 - -One great pearl wrapped in a piece of damask - brocade, six-eighths of an inch in its - diameter, as I did measure. 2,000 - -Another, the size of a pigeon's egg, full of - most lustrous sheen, wrapped in a piece - of deerskin 3,000 - -A little bag of sapphires, nine in all. 315 - -Some Turkish pieces of gold about the size and - weight of our shillings, twenty-one in all. - These I put in my pocket and did sell - afterwards in Portsmouth for 14 - -Some silver pieces, too cumbersome to carry - and left with other things, perhaps 5 - -A little bar of gold 80 - -Two pistols beautifully inlaid and chased with - silver, having engraved thereon the name - "Marquis de Pontvismes," and date 1589 30 - -A portrait of a girl done as a medallion, with - blue eyes, red gold hair, and a sweet - mouth; perhaps this was Barbara! No - value for selling. - -A child's coral; also a child's shoes; also a - lock of long hair, wheat coloured, wrapped - in silk. No value for selling. - -And a dagger set with little diamonds and - rubies, the blade rusted very much 50 - _____ - 6,744 - _____ - - -I pondered much over these things, for, as I have writ, I am very sure -they never came out of the sunken galleon. There was no sign of wet -having got near unto the box or its contents, which must have been the -case had it been fished up from that wreck, and therefore I thought to -myself, this has perhaps been stolen on some cruise they were upon -between the time they left their boat at our little isle and then came -back to the reef, thinking not to find us, or any, there. Yet this -would not do, neither, for their Snow was no fighting ship--not, I -mean, a ship fit to attack another carrying treasure, which would be -extremely well armed--and she had _not_ fought till we got at her in -the river. That I knew from the wounds and damage, when I boarded and -searched her, being quite fresh and made by us. - -Nor, again, could I deem this box to have been the proceeds of a -recent thieving expedition or attack on some sea-coast town or place, -for there were not enough men in the _Etoyle_ to have adventured such -a thing. They might have attacked a lonely house, or, as the Spaniards -call it, a _villa_, in one of the many islands of this Caribbean sea, -or on the main land of Terra Firma, yet this I also doubted, for the -contents of the box pointed a different way. The girl in the medallion -looked English by her hair, eyes, and colour; the pistols were a -Frenchman's. Moreover, the box, the lid of which was all covered with -beads pasted on to its lid and worked in many forms of flowers, was -likewise English (my mother had just such an one), and to prove for -certain 'twas so, inside the lid was the name of the workman who made -it, "Bird, Falmouth." So at last my conclusion was this, viz., that -Alderly valued the box for some reason of his own, perhaps desired -always to have some goods with him that at any crisis he could -transform into money, and therefore carried it about with him wherever -he went. I never learned that this was so, no more than that it was -not so, and now I quitted thinking how it came to be with him. Perhaps -I judged right, perhaps wrong. But of one thing I am very sure, he had -none of our treasure with him. The casket which did doubtless contain -that treasure, which must have been of precious stones alone judging -by its size, was of a certainty dropped overboard either before we -beat them, or at the last moment of defeat. At least, I never did see -any of the treasure, though in going to find it I found a greater. But -this you will read ere I conclude, as I hope soon to do. I am coming -anigh the end. - -Thinking that "Martin with the sloop," or some other wretches, might -be returning, I next proceeded to bury for a time the box, which I did -by taking it out into the copse and dropping it into a great hollow -cotton-wood tree growing near, which I marked well in my mind's eye. -Then, next, I set off down to the galliot, for now I wanted food so -badly that I could no longer go without it. I had but little fear of -any getting up to the hut unbeknown to me, since, with a seaman's -ideas to help me, I concluded that the canal, or channel, or river, -as, indeed, it was, offered the only safe inlet to Coffin Island. So -if they came they must come the way I was a-going, when I could know -it and either avoid or encounter them as seemed best. - -However, I met none on my way down, and found both the _Etoyle_ and my -ship just as I had left them, and the boat tied to the tree, also as I -had left it. Then I went aboard the galliot, and finding some food and -drink, set to work to stay my cravings. There was none too much, I -found, to last long, though as the men had cooked the fish and birds -they were still fresh enough. Also there was flour, and bread already -made, and some peas, while, for the water, it was nearly all there. -The fruit was quite rotten and not to be eaten, but this mattered not -at all, since, on Coffin Island, I had perceived several kinds growing -with profusion, amongst others many prickly pears. - -And now, as I made my meal, I marked out in my mind what I should do -to draw matters to a conclusion. And this I decided on. - -"It is a treasure house," Alderly had said of his hut, therefore, -firstly, I had got to explore that house, hoping to find therein as -much if not more than we had been robbed of. Then when Phips and I met -again, as I hoped we might, he should decide about that treasure, and -what was to be done with it. But first to find it. Yet, even as I -thought this there came to me another reflection--viz., that I could -not carry it away with me. The galliot would take me to a neighbouring -island inhabited by my own people, but an officer alone in such a -vessel, with no hands to work it but himself, must necessarily lead to -much talk and the asking of many questions--how many more would be -asked if that officer were accompanied by boxes and chests of great -weight? Therefore, that would never do! I must get away alone, leaving -the treasure--if I found any more than I had already gotten--somewhere -secure, and then I must come back again for it, properly fitted out. -Or, if I could reach Phips ere he quitted the reef, we could come back -together in the _Furie_, take off the goods and so home with no need -for further voyagings out and in. - -And, on still reflecting, this was what I had a mind to do. The reef -was not a long way off; a day and night would take me there, with a -favourable wind. Only I must provision the galliot somehow; I must not -go to sea thus; but then I remembered, this was easily to be done -if I swallowed my squeamishness. The _Etoyle_ was full of food and -drink--the former coarse but life-sustaining--if I took that as I took -its owner's hordes, then I could get away. - -Only, first I had to find the treasure, then dispose of it safely. -After that I might go at once. Indeed, if fortune still kept with me, -as she had ever done of late, I might be away from this island within -another thirty hours. - -And so thinking, I finished my repast and set about what I had to do. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. -WHAT WAS IN THE TREASURE HOUSE. - - -Now, the first thing was for me to get into the _Etoyle_, and bring a -fair provision of food and drink, and then, I thought, I would sink -her, or, at least, would get her ready for sinking, so that she, at -any rate, should never go on any more evil cruises. This was, however, -to be done later. - -I went aboard her, therefore, directly I had made my meal, and brought -off from her some Boucan, about ten pounds; some dried neats', or -deer, tongues, a good amount of powdered chocolate, and some boxes of -sweetmeats--the villains seeming to have a dainty taste!--and also I -brought away some bottles of Calcavella, a Portygee sweet wine, and a -small barrel of rum. And also did I take away some cakes of bread, now -very hard and stale, but which, by damping with fresh water and then -placing in the sun, became once more eatable. Likewise I provided -myself with some of their powder and bullets, not knowing what use I -might yet have for such things on the island, or when I was away to -sea again. - -This _Etoyle_ was indeed a strangely laden bark, full of the most -varied things the minds of men could well conceive, and had it been -possible--which 'twas not, being without assistance--I would have had -her taken to one of the West Indy Isles, and her contents there sold. -She had in her, to wit, elephants' teeth and tusks, and some gold -dust--though not much of any, neither--which spoke to me clearly of -some robbings on the Guinea Coast, also some fine English cloths, silk -druggets and hollands, many packs of whole suits of clothes for -wearing; some mantuas, a box of lace, another of ribands (again I -thought of the mysterious Barbara!), pieces of fine silk duroys and -some Norwich stuffs, as well as vast masses of tobacco. Indeed, I -thought, this Snow might have visited half the world for her -cargo--had I not very well known, or guessed, that 'twas all stolen -out of various other ships. - -It took me some time shifting all that was necessary for my -forthcoming voyage--leaving, you may be sure, much behind in the -_Etoyle_--and then ladening myself with some provisions for the hut, I -prepared to depart back to it. - -Yet now more counsel came to me. Supposing, thinks I, that while I am -away at the hut, Martin with his sloop, or some similar villains, -should come into the river! Why! they would at once see all! The -_Etoyle_ they would perceive a battered craft--and doubtless they knew -her very well--and they would see the strange galliot. This would not -do, therefore I must devise some means if I could, not only to remove -all marks of our fray, but, if it might be so, to prevent anyone -entering the river at all. Then, at last, I decided what I would do. - -First of all I took the galliot down out of the river to the sea, and, -with a light sail up, I got her to a little cove a third of a league -away from the mouth, in which I moored her; and this cove had such -projecting spurs that none passing outside would be very like to see -her. Indeed, one would have to pass close by the opening of it to do -so at all. Then, getting to the boat again, I rowed me back to the -river. Next I brought down the Snow to the mouth, moored her fast -across it, it being not more than forty to fifty yards at the opening -and about fifteen fathoms deep, as I did plumb, and going below I -bored a many holes in her sides and bottom so that she began to fill -at once, and in half an hour I, who was a-watching from my boat, saw -her settling down so that, at last, there was no more of her above -water, her masts, as I have writ, being shot away. - -"Now," says I, "if Martin and his sloop come in and draw much water, -'tis almost a certainty that they shall go foul of some part of the -fabric, which may do me a very good turn--if not, then must I take my -chance against them," with which I again prepared for the hut. - -That day I did very little work, though so great was my desire to dig -into and find the contents of the "treasure house" that I could -scarce take my necessary rest. Yet I mastered myself so much that I -forced myself to sleep, determining to work at night when it was cool. -So I lay me down on the east side of the place this time, the sun -having by now gotten to the west, and slept well, awaking not until -night was at hand. - -Now, amidst all my precautions, 'twas strange to think I had forgotten -one thing. I had made no provision for any light at night. The lamp -knocked over by the dying pirate was still there where it had fallen, -'tis true, but the oil was all spilled and I could find no other, -search as I might. Yet I felt convinced there must be oil somewhere, -if I could but discover it. 'Twas not to be conceived that Alderly and -the diver had this lamp with them when they plunged into the river to -escape from the _Etoyle_; therefore, if I sought, surely I should -find. - -Yet how to seek! The tropic darkness came on with swiftness, in a few -minutes the hut was as black as a pocket; and the moon would not rise -for some hours yet! Well! there was no hope for it, I reflected; this -night at least must be wasted, and so I made up my mind to pass it as -best I might. Though my reflections and memories of the previous -night's scene, of Alderly's drunken howls, singings, and toasts, of -the spectre his maddened brain had conjured up, and of his horrid -death, helped me not at all. I saw him over and over again sitting at -the table, filling the cans with liquor for his imaginary guests, -talking to Barbara, shivering at the supposed ghost of Winstanley, -fighting with me--dying. And at last I got the creeps, I started at -any twig that snapped outside or the cry of a night bird, and, -springing up, I went forth and plunged into the thickness, where I -walked about till daybreak. And in that walk I explored the whole of -Coffin Island very nigh, and saw under the moon, when she had risen, -that beyond the river there was no other entrance to it. Nearly all -around elsewhere were craggy cliffs to make landing almost impossible, -saving only one strip of beach. - -Away on Tortola and Negada I saw once or twice lights burning, and -wondered what the inhabitants of those isles thought of their precious -neighbours in this one--I wondered, too, if they knew or dreamed of -what Coffin Island contained! And thus the night passed away, the -dayspring came, and I went back to the "treasure house." - -"Was it to prove such to me?" I asked myself as I made a meal off some -of the provisions I had brought along with me. "Was it to prove such?" - -The question was soon answered, as you, my unknown heir, shall now -see. - -The floor of the hut was a mass of filth that had not been disturbed -for some time, and to this had been added now the spilled liquor from -the tub that Alderly had flung over in his mad convulsions, as well as -some of his blood where he had fallen last. This, therefore, with the -previous dirt, I set to clear away with the spade, after I had removed -the overturned table, the stool, and other things. And the task was -not long. Ere I had been cleaning the floor ten minutes, I came upon -an iron ring--set into a trap-door, immediately under where Alderly's -chair had been placed. It was not--I mean the trap-door--very far -below the surface, not indeed more than three inches, and, even as I -tugged and tugged at it, I could not but ponder over the little pains -taken to conceal such a hiding place. And I did wonder if, when the -villain was away on some of his cruises, he had not many a fear as to -whether his store was not being rifled. - -However, this was no time for such wonderments and speculations, -actions were now all, and so again I heaved at the door. It would not -lift, however, for all my pullings, so I cleared away still more -earth, doing so especially round where it fitted into a frame, and at -last prised it right up with the mattock. And you may be sure with -what eagerness I gazed into the opening. - -First of all I saw that as yet I had not reached the treasure, for -although the trap was no larger than to admit a man's body, there were -still below it some rude steps down into the earth, which opened up at -the bottom of them into what seemed to be a passage. And when I got -down to the bottom of those steps, I saw very well that there was a -passage, or, indeed, a room cut into the earth; a place about six feet -long and five feet deep, being more like a little cabin than aught -else. - -And now I knew that I had got to what I sought; the treasure was here. - -There stood on the floor, and piled up one above the other, four -chests, or coffers, the very workmanship of which told me they must be -old. Certainly, they had not been made in these days or anywheres near -them. They seemed to be of oak full of little wormholes, much carved -and designed, and with inscriptions on them in, I think, Latin, of -which I understood not one word. Moreover, they had great solid locks -to them as well as padlocks, but these had long since been burst open, -the reason whereof 'twas not very hard to seek out. I guessed that -those who took them from their rightful owners could not perhaps find -the keys, and so blew them or forced them thus open. - -I lifted the lid of the nearest and peered in, and there the first -object to meet my eyes was a grinning skull, the bone severed right -across the head as though with a lusty sword cut. - -"Well!" thinks I to myself, as I looked on this poor remnant of -mortality, "well! you are indeed a strange warden of what may be -herein. Yet, p'raps not so strange either if all accounts of piratical -doings be true." For when I was but a lad in Oliver's service, and -a-chasing the rovers not so very far from this spot where I now was, -'twas always said that they would slay a man and bury him over their -hidden treasure, so that he or his ghost should frighten away others -who would meddle with it. And so it might have been here, for, thinks -I, "perhaps as I go on I shall find other parts of a dead man in the -other chests." - -Now, although 'twas daylight above, 'twas almost dark in this vault or -passage, small as it was, so that I shifted the first coffer nearer to -the bottom of the steps, so as to get a full light upon it from above, -and then I went on with my hunt, putting the death's head away for a -while. Beneath him, as he had lain atop, was what I took to be a -piece of yellow canvas, as so it was, though on looking closer I saw -that either dyed into it, or cunningly interwoven, were some flowers -like our irises, and some words all over it faint with age, of which I -could distinguish but the letters "ance" and "smes." Then, when I -lifted this up, I found that the coffer had little enough else in it -but a handful or so of gold coins lying about amongst some old things, -such as a pair of gloves with great steel beads on the backs and tops -of the fingers, some silk cloths, a great parchment in Latin--which I -laid aside--and such like. The gold coins were, however, such as I did -never see before, having on them a head of an old man with a great -brimmed hat, and stamped on them, Charles X., Roi de France,[7] 1589. -And this set me a-thinking. These coins bore the same date as the -pistols, inscribed "Marquis de Pontvismes," and the indistinct words -on the canvas cloth of "ance" and "smes" were the endings of the words -France and Pontvismes. What had I lighted on here? I turned it over -and over in my head all that day, and many a one after that, but it -was very long ere I arrived at any decision. - -There were twenty-seven of these coins and nothing more of any worth -within that strong box, so I hoisted it away and began upon a second. -And in this I found I had indeed come upon a horde. It was full of -sacks or bags of coin of all sorts. Sacks with their mouths gaping -open wide, bags tied up, and also many loose coins all about. And -_they were of all countries_ and dates, there being amongst them -Spanish pieces of eight, Portyguese crusadoes, English crowns, and -many more French coins, as well as hundreds of gold pieces of our -kings and queens, away back to Queen Elizabeth. Later that day I -counted of these pieces up, and made them come to over two thousand -pounds. - -Then next, in the others, I did find as follows, on the list I -enclose; all of which I do reckon, one way with another, bringeth the -gross up to what I have said, namely, fifty thousand guineas. Here is -that list. - -_Note.--Unfortunately it was not here. Reginald turned all the sheets -over and over again, but could not find it. Perhaps by one of those -pieces of carelessness which seemed to have pervaded both Nicholas's -and Mr. Wargrave's system, it had been originally mislaid. But, -however that might be, it was not at this period that the former's -descendant was to learn all the items which went to make up the fifty -thousand guineas.--J. B.-B_. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. -THE MIDDLE KEY. - - -So with this my huntings and findings were all over. I had found a -fortune, while the Lord only knew who would ever enjoy the spending of -it, though, for one thing, I felt very sure it would not be I myself. -There was no likelihood of that. I could never get it back to -England, and, if I did, then 'twould at once be said that I had stolen -it--either with or without Phips' connivance, and that he and I were a -brace of thieves. - -But what use to ponder on such things as these! For aught I knew I -might never get back to England after all; though, somehow, there was -a something in my mind which did ever tell me I should do so. -Meanwhile, the present was enough to occupy my attention. Firstly, the -night was coming on once more and still I had found no oil, so that I -must now cease all labours until the next day. In truth I was ready to -do so, for I was weary again by now, and another thing was also very -certain, to wit, that in this hut I must take my abode. I could not go -a step away with all the treasure there was here. - -So I placed the oblong box down into the vault along with the -other goods, and then, after I had made an evening meal of some -neat's-tongue and bread cake, washed down with the water from the -rill, in which also I laved my face and hands, I looked to the -primings of all the pistols, got out my cutlash, and, stretching -myself across the top of the trap-door, I addressed myself to sleep. -At first it would not come in that horrid spot; again and again I saw -the form of the dying pirate and heard his yells and singings and -toasts. But at last I slept peacefully until the day broke. - -And now I had to set about removing all the treasure from the hole -where it had lain for doubtless so long--for I did not believe that -Alderly was the man who had obtained all this wealth, but rather that -some earlier corsair than he had done so and buried it, and that -Alderly in some strange way had lighted on it. It was necessary that I -should find a new hiding-place for it. "Martin with the sloop" -might--if he were indeed an actual being and not the vision of some -long dead and gone comrade, perhaps of another part of the world, as I -now had a mind to believe--come back at any moment, and also he might -know of the buried wealth in spite of the pirate's words having been, -"None know but I." For 'twas useless to give credence to any of the -utterances issuing from the bemused brain of Alderly--there might be -no Martin, or if there were he might know nothing, or, on the -contrary, he might know all. At any rate, my part was to make -everything safe. - -But how to do it? I must remove it to a hiding-place that would be -always found, that should be marked in a way and manner which time -could not destroy. For who could tell when it might be sought for -again? I had then, or, I should rather say, I was then maturing in my -mind the idea of writing down all this which I have now done--with -great pain and labour to myself!--and that writing might not see the -light again for twenty years, perhaps even longer. Therefore, 'twas -necessary the spot should be such as would never be changing, a spot -which must be the same fifty years hence as it was then. Consequently -a tree, for instance, could not be made a landmark or indicator, for -tempests might blow it to earth, or years rot it away. Then I thought -of a spot on which the sun should fall at a given day, hour, and -minute--which, as I have heard, is the commonest way of all for -persons burying treasure to mark the precise spot--only, supposing ere -the time to come when the hoard should be sought for, something was -builded over the spot, as might very well be if Coffin Island became -settled, as Tortola or Negada and some others are? This risk, -therefore, small as it might be, I would not run. - -Still, what should I do? I must decide quickly, for if Martin and the -sloop were real things and not shadows they might be here at any -moment, and if once my task were finished I should not mind their -coming very greatly. I could, perhaps, avoid them somehow and get -away, leaving the goods safe. Quickly I must decide. Then, as an aid -to my doing so, I determined me to walk round the isle, thinking that -in such a way a spot might be found suitable for my purpose. - -So I set forth, going armed, you may be sure. - -Now, this daylight walk of mine about the island showed to me very -many things that I had not seen on my midnight rounds, when the -terrors and the ghastliness of the hut had driven me forth. I learned -among other things that, not very far from the hut itself, was the -little upland from which one could look down upon the whole of the -isle and all the coast around it, and also I could see down into my -cove where I had anchored the galliot, and did observe her lying there -safe as I had left her. - -Also I found that from this spot I could see for many miles out to -sea, and observe that, at least for the present, there were no signs -of my haunting fear, Martin and his sloop. To the south lay Tortola, -Anguilla, and St. Martin; to the east lay Negada, but away to the west -nought met the eye, Porto Rico being out of vision. And as for those -poor miserables who inhabited the two first above mentioned, if they -were still alive and had not died of melancholy, they gave no signs of -being so; there was no boat upon all the waters, no smoke rising from -hut or cabin; nought gave evidence of the islands being inhabited but -the faint lights I had seen at night. But what concerned me and my -present desires most was that to the north of this, Coffin Island, I -did see some little Keys or sandy spots, covered with their weeds and -bushes, lying out about a hundred yards from my island. - -"Why not there?" thinks I, upon this. "Why not one of those? 'Tis now -the high tide," as I took occasion to observe, "and they are above -water, therefore 'tis not like they will ever be submerged, or, if -even so, they will come forth again. And there are three close -together; it shall be the middle one if on inspection all seems well." - -So, upon this, I got me down to my boat and rowed round from the side -of Coffin Island, where the river was, to the north where the Keys -were, and went on to the middle one. It was, as I have said, covered -with bushes and weeds, none very tall, and it being now the season -there were a-many turtles on it laying of their eggs, as they will do -in any unfrequented and quiet spot. - -"Yes," says I, "this must be the place and none other," and with that -I pulled away at a great bush in the middle of the Key I was standing -on, and on getting it up did see that the soil was nearly all sand. -And again I said, "This must be the place." - -So I went off once more, resolving to get to work this very day, and, -making a journey to the hut, I brought off the spade and mattock and -the least heavy of the coffers--I mean that one that had the Death in -it, and when I was back on the Key I began my digging at once, and the -sand being extremely light I soon had got down some ten feet, so that -at last I had a task to scramble out of the treasure's future grave. -Then I made more journeys, and, in the end, by sunset had gotten all -the coffers as well as the long box on to the Key. And this night I -decided to sleep there, as I would not leave the goods alone until -they were buried--though I do believe that, had I left them there -exposed on the isle until now when I write, they would very like have -remained untouched; for Martin I concluded now to be entirely a myth, -and as for other pirates, they would never come to such Keys as this -when the whole place swarmed with real islands. - -At sunrise I was at it again, having ate some turtle eggs for my -meal--a pleasing change for me--and by midday all was done. The four -coffers and the box went in one atop of each other, the uppermost one -being, at its lid, three feet from the surface, and with on top of -each a turtle shell, of which there were several lying about the Key. -These I put in also because the shells are almost imperishable, and, -should the coffers decay, if they have to lie--as they may, who -knows?--twenty or thirty years in the ground before this my history is -found, the great shells will protect the contents somewhat, though no -harm that I know of can come to coins, jewels, and so forth from -a-lying in the earth. Then, when all was filled up, I did most -carefully arrange the place so that, if by any strange chance anyone -should here land, no signs should be given of a disturbance being -made. I replanted the bush over the spot; with some brushwood and -scrub I removed some spare grains of sand that had been thrown up, and -arranged everything as best I might, going so far as to take some -turtles' eggs and place them about, so that they should give the -idea--if anyone did land here--that the turtles themselves had -disturbed the spot in their crawlings and creepings. - -And now, for your guidance, I will write down how you shall find this -spot, and also will I draw as well as may be a little map. - -First you are to know that--as the hydrographer of his Majesty's -Admiralty hath since informed me--Negada is situated 18° 46' N., 64° -20' W.; Tortola is 18° 27' N., 64° 40' W.; and Coffin Island is -consequently, since it doth lie a little to the north of Negada, as -near as possible 18° 48' N., 64° 20' W. Wherefore, if you make these -degrees, there you shall perceive that isle, shaped as it is named, -long like a coffin, thin at the foot, broad higher up, then somewhat -narrow again, the foot pointing due west, the head due east. Also the -little upland I have spoken of riseth from the centre, perhaps one -hundred and fifty to one hundred and eighty feet. Then, due north of -that and exactly in a line with the shoulder of the coffin-shape, -there are the Keys, and the middle contains the treasure. Now, read -again. From the north side of the middle key to the spot where I -buried all the coffers and the box is fifty-one good strides of three -feet each, from the south side to the same spot is fifty-three -strides, from the east is forty-nine strides, from the west is fifty -strides and a half. Therefore, you shall not miss it if so be that, -when you have taken your first measurement from the spot where you -land, you stick in the ground your sword and there make, or persevere -until you make, all your other strides correspond with what I have -wrote down. And I have made no mistake, for three times did I go over -the ground and all times did the measurements tally. Do you likewise -and you shall find what I did bury. - - -Now here is a little map, rough, as befits a drawing made by me, yet -just and true. - - - 65 60 - _______________________________________________________ - 20 | Key [+ Coffin isle] |20 - | | - | [* Negada] | - |[* Porto [* Tortola] [* Virgin Gorda] | - | Rico] [* Anguilla] | - | [* St Martin] | - | | - | The cross marketh wherein the Key with | - 15| the treasure is. |15 - _______________________________________________________ - 65 60 - - -I shall be dead before you who find this can read it, so that, -perhaps, it boots not very much that I should write down any more. Yet -some things I desire to tell, and some things I think it right for me -to leave on record. - -But first let me say what was the end of my sojourn here. - -When I had buried all of the treasure--excepting those pieces of gold -which I took away with me, not knowing where I might find myself ere I -reached home--if ever--I made for the galliot. For now I had done with -the hut--I never desired to see it again. - -However, so that no signs of disturbance or diggings should be -apparent, should any come after me, I first of all covered up, on my -last visit to it, the spot from whence I had taken the treasure, and, -moreover, I filled in the hiding place with earth fetched from -outside, and also the descent by the steps. Indeed, I would have -burned the place down to the ground, only that I feared to set the -whole island on fire and so attract attention to my presence from the -other isles. And that there should be no more digging, if I could help -it, without great pains, I dropped the spade and mattock into the sea. - -I say that I wished to attract no attention from the isles, the reason -whereof was this, which I had arrived at after many ponderings. If I -were known to be there, or if I went to those isles and showed myself, -I must be subject to many questionings, must explain all and my -chasing of the pirate, and--who knows?--in the course of talk more -might leak out than I should care for. And, therefore, I had taken a -determination; I would not go near the other isles, but, boldly and -without fear, directly the wind was favourable--which it was not -now--I would steer for the reef once more. 'Twas, I did calculate, not -more than ninety miles away; the galliot could sail that very easily -in two days, and, for finding the spot, why that also was very easy to -be done. I could well steer a course by keeping Porto Rico on my -larboard beam, and then, when the great hump of Hispaniola's Northern -Promontory did come into view, could find the road to the reef. - -From there, if Phips was gone, I must to the Bahamas--for I should not -dare to go ashore in Hispaniola now, since the news of the Black's -death, and Geronimo's rage at being defeated of what he thought due, -might lead me to trouble--and I could, perhaps, get to the Inaguas. -These, for there are two of that name, the Great and the Little, are -in the Windward Passages, well known to navigators, very useful for -putting into for refitting and watering, and belonging to our Crown. - -Yet--for so things will sometimes happen--nought went as I had -forecast. And this you shall hear, after which my history is -concluded--for which I devoutly thank the Lord, and shall, on the -Sabbath after it is finished, offer up a special prayer of -thanksgiving in Branford Church that I have been allowed to bring it -to an end--and I shall then have no more to tell. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. -NICHOLAS LEAVES THE ISLAND. - - -Now, when all was prepared for my setting forth and when I had gotten -the galliot ready for her next cruise and had also taken in some fresh -water, a small live turtle, some fruit, and all my bread and peas--now -running very low--chance was against me for a while. Even for three -weeks the wind did blow strong from the northwest, while all the time -I desired a wind from the south-east, and I began to ponder if at this -season of the year it did not perhaps stay in the same quarter -altogether. There was, however, nought to do but to possess my soul in -patience, to keep ever a cheerful heart, and to trust in God, as all -my life I have done. Meanwhile, in some ways the delay was not -altogether to be repined at, for I made, during it, several visits to -the Key in my boat and observed that now there was no sign at all of -the burying I had made. The bush above the spot had taken root again -at once, and was growing and flourishing, some rain storms that had -come had smoothed and made solid the disturbed earth, and the turtles -were laying of their eggs all around as if no human foot had ever -stood upon the Key. - -One thing alone troubled me, and that was food--or rather bread, for -this was now running very short. If I did not get away soon, I should -have to do without it altogether, or go seek for some in Negada and -Tortola. Yet neither, I was resolved, would I do this, but rather -exist without bread at all. I was a sailor, I ever told myself, and a -sailor should be able to endure all hardships. - -But on the twenty-second day since I buried my spoils, a change came. -I was sleeping in the cabin of my galliot, when with the dawn I -perceived it. The northwest wind from which I had been sheltered in -my cove had never disturbed the vessel; now from her starboard side, -which was to the south as she lay, there blew in a hot southern wind, -waves and riplets came into the cove from that direction and lapped -against her bows, and she began gently to rise and fall and heel over -a little from them, as though she were a living thing, impatient to be -off. - -"'Tis come," I exclaimed, springing up. "The hour has come to bid -farewell to this spot. If this wind hold forty-eight hours I shall be -at the Inaguas if I find not Phips at the reef." - -The morn was not yet however, but was anigh as I stepped to the deck; -the breeze sweeping up from the long line of islands to the south was -a-freshening; the stars began to pale, the new moon to wane. No time -could have been better for me than this quiet period before the dawn -to steal away. - -In half an hour I was well outside the cove, the masts stepped, the -sails set--and I at the helm had set forth upon my road home. 'Twas a -strange voyage for one alone to undertake--had there been another, or -even a boy, to relieve me 'twould have been nought; but now 'twas a -voyage without a compass or aught to guide me, nothing indeed to help -me but the mercy of heaven, my knowledge of the sea, and my strong -frame and good health. However, we slipped round Coffin Island a -little later, and I saw for the last time the spot that held the -buried treasure. The little Key was visible beneath the now rising -sun, the sea-birds were wheeling round and about it, and the blue -water rippled on its shores. And so I took farewell of it, knowing -that I should never see it any more. May you, whomsoever you may be -for whom I write this narrative, find it as I left it, unharmed and -untouched. May your eyes gaze upon it and find therein what I left -behind when mine have long been closed in death. - -And now I had nought to do but steer my bark for that easterly point -of Hispaniola called of late Cape Françoy, and so I should come near -to the reef, and this, since the wind was very good and not -boisterous, 'twas easy enough to do. When I was weary I would lower -down the sails, lash the rudder, and so take some rest--doing this, of -course, by day only, since when the night came I must keep good -watch--and then set sail again when refreshed, finding my course easy -enough by the sun and breeze. - -And so the first day passed, and I did calculate that--allowing for my -rest--I had left Coffin Island some twenty to fifteen leagues behind -me, and, so that I should not pass the Bajo and thereby run on to -_Moushoire Carré_, or Turk's Islands, I shortened sail. Yet this I -need not have done neither, for in some way I had not got my -calculations aright. At dawn there was no land in sight as I thought -to see, so that the galliot had not sailed as I guessed, or I had -missed my course. The wind, however, and the sun forbade me to think -this, so I made all sail again and went on. - -At midday I did discover I was on the right tack; Cape Françoy and -Samana rose on my beam end, therefore I knew that by altering my -course a point to the north I must strike the spot where the reef was. -And this I did, judging by the sun that it was four of the afternoon -when first I saw the little shoal waters over it. - -I know not even now if I was glad or sorry to perceive--as I did very -soon--that the _Furie_ was no longer there. Yet I think it was the -latter, for I had hoped to hear the cheery shout of Phips, to see my -brother officers come round me, to hear the welcomes of the men, and -to be able to tell my tale. But 'twas not to be. All around the reef -was as lonely as if no plate ship had ever sunk there, no attempts -ever been made to get up its contents, no horrid tragedy happened such -as that when Phips slew the Black and executed of his companion. Birds -flew about all over it, seeking perhaps for scraps of food where not a -month ago they had found a plenty, the little waves foamed over the -sunken reef where the now emptied treasure ship lay--but that was all. - -No! I forget. 'Twas not all. As I drew near I saw sticking up from the -water--as I had not been able to see before because of the flittings -of the many gulls--that which looked like a jagged piece of mast, or -yard of a ship, with something crosswise atop of it, and my curiosity -being great I got the galliot near to it. I knew I could do this, -since she had gone over the reef often enough when acting as a tender, -and when 'twas done I saw that it was indeed a mast standing up -endwise in the water, the lower part doubtless fixed into some crevice -or hole by the diver ere the _Furie_ left. And the cross-piece nailed -on to the top of the mast was in the form of a big arrow rudely -carved, placed so that it pointed towards where Europe was, and with -on it the words, "To Nicholas Crafer. Make your way home." That was -all, yet it told enough. The _Furie_ had gone home with the treasure; -if I was still alive I was to go too. - - - * * * * * * - - -Let me be brief. That remaining day and night I anchored off our -original little isle, took in some fresher water than I had, and -caught some fishes. Also I once more did cover again the bleached -bones of those mutineers who had endeavoured to surprise and seize -upon the _Algier Rose_--'twas the last time, I reflected, it would -ever be done by me or any. There was no danger of losing the -favourable wind by resting here for these few hours; if anything it -was blowing stronger and fresher from the south-east than before. Nay, -when I put off in the morning for the furtherance of my course, it was -blowing so much in a manner I cared not for, namely in fitful gusts -followed by moments of stillness, that I doubted me if I was overwise -in putting to sea again yet. Moreover, the wind was almost due south -by now, so that to make the Inaguas I should have much more trouble -and work than when sailing large and free before a favourable breeze. - -However, I must go, I would not be detained. Indeed, I had come to -hate all this region so much that, even should a chance arise in the -future for me to come out and bring off all my treasure, I felt as -though I should have no mind to it. Phips might come an he would, and -get it, but, for myself, I wanted not to come again. If the Hispaniola -plate had been gotten back safely, then there would be a share for me -that would keep me from the wolf for the remainder of my days. It -would not be wealth, but would doubtless suffice--and I had finished -with the sea! - -Though not yet. - -When I was two hours out from our little isle, and, as I believed, -near unto _Moushoire Carré_, I did discover that I had been foolish to -put out against so fast rising a wind. For it had now freshened into a -gale due from the south, so that I had to sail close-hauled if I -wanted to pass that place in safety, and also Turk's Islands. Nor even -a little later was this possible, as it blew more and more. I could no -longer manage both sails and helm. So now I had to take down most all -my sail excepting the foresail to steady the galliot, and to put her -head before the wind, abandoning of my course altogether. And not long -afterwards the storm had become a furious one, the whole heavens were -obscured, the sea rose horribly--I saw at this moment a picaroon in -distress a little way off me, and shortly go down--and my galliot did -seem to be doomed. - -And now I never thought but that I had reached my journey's end, that -all was over with me. Huge seas swept over the bows, the vessel soon -began to fill with water, she rolled and tossed from side to side so -that I could not keep my feet, and then I heard a crash, I saw the -mainmast falling swiftly towards me, I felt a blow that shot a -thousand stars from my eyes, and I knew no more. - - - * * * * * * - - -When I again recovered of my senses I understood not at first where I -was, excepting that I was lying in a berth in a dark cabin, that all -my head was swathed in cloths, and that standing near me was an -elderly man, regarding me attentively. - -"Where," I asked, "am I! This is not the galliot." - -"So," he replied in my own tongue, "you are an Englishman! We thought -by the build of your galliot that you were a Dutchman. Who and what -are you?" - -"Lieutenant Crafer, late of his Majesty's navy, and late first -Lieutenant of the _Furie_, Captain Phips. What ship is this?" - -"His Majesty's _Virgin_ Prize, a 32-gun frigate, Captain John Balchen. -Homeward bound. You should know this officer, Lieutenant Crafer." - -"Very well," I answered. "We have served together. Yet 'tis not -strange if he knows not me, no razor has touched my face for many -weeks." - -And so it was that I found myself bound to England in a King's ship, -having for her captain a man whom I had been at sea with ere now, when -he was my subaltern. That I told him all as regards the treasure you -are not to suppose; that secret was locked in my own breast, to be -divulged to one only, Phips. But I did give him a very fair and -considerable history of much that we had gone through, and, living -with him in his cabin and at his table, you may be sure that we had -many talks on the subject of the sunken plate-ship. - -"Yet," said he often, "I misdoubt me if King James will be there to -take his tenths when Phips gets the _Furie_ home. The people will -endure him but little longer--he is now an avowed Papish--and already -there are whisperings of putting one of his daughters in his place. If -'twere Mary all would be well, since she is married to a staunch -Protestant, though the country would scarce accept him, too, I think." - -Yet, as you will see by later day history, James was still there when -I got back. And this I did on Lady Day in the year of our Lord 1687, -the _Virgin_ Prize making Portsmouth a month after she picked me up, a -corpse as they first thought, from the deck of the galliot, which was -cast off after I was rescued. It seemed from their calculations and -mine that I must have been met with some hours only after I was -struck down, and at first they thought I had been attacked by the -picaroon--which ships are generally full of thieves--which they had -been a-chasing. - -So, in this way, I came back from my second voyage to the wrecked -Spanish Plate Ship, and put my foot once more on my native land at -Portsmouth Hard. - -And now but a few words more and I have done. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIL -THE NARRATIVE ENDS. - - -'Twas at the Navy Tavern at Portsmouth that I learned that Phips had -preceded me home but a fortnight, that he had sailed to the Downs with -the _Furie_ and all her contents, and that, most faithful to his word, -he had sent a letter for me. In it he said that he prayed to God I -might some time or other get back safe to England--and that, if he -should be gone away again, he would charge himself to leave my share -of the sale of the treasure in safe keeping, of which I should be -advised both by a letter to the Admiralty directed for me, and also by -another to this tavern. Likewise, he said, he trusted that I had been -able to come up with that most uncommon rogue and villain, Alderly, -that I had taken vengeance of him for his treachery, and that I had -recovered whatever I might find he had stolen from the Plate Ship. And -if, he said, I had been enabled to bring that stolen wealth back with -me, then I was to communicate with his Grace of Albemarle--supposing -him, Phips, gone--who should see that it was properly directed to the -right quarters. - -So there was now nought for me to do but to make for London myself, -after I had slept one night in the old town, changed a few of the gold -pieces I had taken off Alderly ere I buried him, and bought me a fair -decent change of clothes in which to travel and appear in London. And -in fifteen hours I was there from the time of my setting out, and once -more ensconced in an inn I had heretofore patronised, namely, "The -Blossoms," in Lawrence Lane, Cheapside. - -The finding of Phips after this was by no means difficult; even at the -inn they had heard of his arrival: they told me, indeed, that there -was much commotion both on Change as well as in Court and Naval -circles at the amount of treasure he had brought home with him; -while--says my hostess to me-- - -"Might you, sir, be the gentleman they say he left behind to chase -those cruel, wicked pirates who had stolen part of the treasure he did -find?" - -I answered that I was indeed that officer, whereon she told me that -the town talked much about me, that even some of the journals had -written discourses upon my having gone off to chase pirates in nought -but a ship's boat--as they termed it--and that it would be a fine -thing for the gentry who produced those sheets when they should hear -that I was safe back so very little a while after Phips himself. - -However, I wanted to see Phips himself, and this I very soon did, -finding of him by presenting myself at the Duke's house, where I -noticed a most extraordinary bustle going on, and discovered that his -Grace was just about to proceed to Jamaica to take up the governorship -thereof. Poor man! he did but enjoy it a year, all of which time he -was thinking of nought but finding new treasure round about that -island, and then at the end of that his bottle took him off. However, -'tis the present I have to tell of, and will, therefore, but say that, -ten minutes after my announcement, the Duke came to me. - -"Now," said he, greeting me, "this is the joyful day, Lieutenant -Crafer; I do indeed rejoice to see you back safe and sound, and so -will Phips. He is hard by--he shall be sent for." - -Whereon he ordered a man to go to the lodgings and to tell Sir William -Phips that Lieutenant Crafer was gotten home safe and sound. - -"Sir William Phips!" I exclaimed. "Sir William! So! has he come to -such honour as that?" - -"He hath, indeed," laughed the Duke, who seemed more jolly now than -when we went out with the _Furie_--perhaps his new appointment making -him so--"he hath, indeed. The King seemed so well pleased with his -tenth that he insisted on knighting our friend, and hath even silenced -those wretches of the city who say that--that Phips, and--well, no -matter." - -"What do they say, my Lord Duke?" I asked, though I could very well -guess. - -"Oh! 'tis nothing, a trifle! and, since neither the King nor I believe -it, not to be considered." - -"I can imagine what they say, your Grace," I exclaimed. "It is that we -have feathered a nest somewhere--that all has not been brought home -that was found. Yet, 'tis not true----" - -"Tush, man, tush!" interrupted the Duke. "Who shall think it is?" - -"It is not true," I went on. "Every farthing's worth Phips got he -brought home, I will swear--while as for what Alderly stole from the -plate ship, why, they sunk it when we boarded them." - -"Man alive!" exclaimed the Duke, "who doubts it? I do not, who am the -chief concerned, nor will the King hear a word. See, here is a -testimony I mean to give to Phips. A gold cup I have had made out of a -thousand pounds' worth of the treasure. 'Tis for his wife in Boston, -now Lady Phips, to whom he hath sent out instructions to buy a fine -brick house to live in. For, you must know, the King hath promised him -the Governorship of Massachusetts as soon as it falls vacant, when he -will be settled for life." - -I regarded the cup, very costly and beautiful, engraved, "From -Christopher, Duke of Albemarle, to his trusty friend, Sir William -Phips," while the Duke bade his servant bring us a tankard, and at -that moment in came Sir William himself hot haste to see me. - - - * * * * * * - - -"No," he said to me that night, as we sat at wine in his lodgings hard -by the Strand, "no, Nick, that hidden treasure is yours, and yours -alone. It belongs not to our providers here, nor does any share -pertain to me. You it was who found it, you it was who had all the -risk in going to find it. It shall be yours and yours only, since none -other of the galliot's crew are now in existence. Only," he went on, -"as now you are provided for, I would leave it there awhile. Say, for -another generation. For if you go and dig it up now, then will the -merchants say that they spoke truly when they accused us of robbing -them." - -"I shall never go to dig it up," I said, "I will go to sea no more. -The Duke tells me there is four thousand pounds for me at Sir Josiah -Child's--'tis enough to do very well for my life. I will buy me a -little house somewhere, and an annuity from some nobleman with the -rest." - -"And," went on Sir William, "in that little house find out a hiding -place, and leave therein a full description of where your treasure is, -so that those who come after you shall, if they care to be at the -trouble thereof, discover a fortune. You will be marrying now, Nick, -perhaps?" - -"Nay," said I, "I think not. Never now! Once when my heart was young -and fresh I did love a sweet young girl--she was the daughter of a -retired officer of Oliver's, and they dwelt at Kew--but the smallpox -ravaged the land and took her from me. I find myself thinking of her -often now; perhaps 'tis because the time is drawing near when I shall -see her again, as young and fair as she was in those bygone, happy -days; but I shall never have a wife." - -"Poor Nick, poor Nick," said Phips, laying his great hand very gently -on my shoulder. "Poor Nick. So you have had your romance too. Ah, -well! so have most men." Then a little later he said, "You know I go -out again with Sir John Narborough--I cannot rest quietly at home in -Boston till my rule begins in Massachusetts--we shall be near your -little Key--shall I go and dig your spoil up? I would do it most -faithfully for you, Nick, as you know." - -"No," I answered, after pondering awhile. "No, not unless you will do -so and take it, or some of it, for yourself." - -"That," said he, "I will never do. Not a stiver, not one coin. 'Tis -all yours." - -"Then let it lie there," said I, "for those who shall come after me. -There is one other Crafer left in Hampshire, a country gentleman, who -has perhaps some children now. It shall be theirs when I am gone if -they choose to search for it." - -So we parted for the last time, not without tears in our eyes, we -having been so much to each other for so long that we could not easily -say farewell. - -As for him, he went on his cruise with Sir John Narborough, but, as he -after wrote me, he found nothing. - -And then the time came for him to take up his rule in his own land, -which he did wisely and well, and perhaps because of his old belief in -sooth-sayers, and wizards, and geomancers--and, indeed, the knave I -have writ of did tell his fortune most wondrously, even to his -becoming a ruler though not a King--he spared many in New England who -would have been barbarously entreated otherwise. And he took with him -a fine gold medal, which the now fast falling King had had struck in -honour of his finding the galleon's wreck, having on it the words -_Semper tibi pendeat Hamus_, which the curate of Mortlake did -afterwards translate for me as meaning, "May thy fishing always be as -good to thee." - -It bore on it a supposed drawing of the _Furie_, but none too -accurate, though near enough. - -Of the treasure the Duke took £90,000, His Majesty's tenth was -something under £20,000, but not much, and the merchants got many of -them £8,000 to £10,000, for every £100 they had adventured. This is -speaking roundly, as I have heard sums of more and less mentioned in -connection with all concerned. Phips's share, as he told me, was -£16,000, and would have been more had he not out of his own purse paid -to a-many of the seamen some sums which the merchants withheld from -them. Cromby's old mother was dead, I found on inquiring, so that I -could do nothing there. - -Now, 'twas some six years afterwards, and when James had been gone -nigh that time to France, that Phips wrote to me he was a-coming -to England and hoped among others to see me. Yet, alas! we -never met again. I was at this time sore troubled with gout and -rheumatism--though, I thank God, much of both have passed away--and I -could not, therefore, go to see him. Nor, neither was he ever able to -come to me. He had not been in London many days when he catched a -cold, and this turning to a fever he died. And he was buried in the -Church of St. Mary Woolnoth, where, when I was recovered, I went and -said a prayer above his tomb. - -Why should I write a funeral sermon on him for those who never knew -him? Suffice, therefore, if I say that he was honest, manly, and -God-fearing, and a better man did never live. To me, his subaltern, he -was ever kindly, gentle, and friendly, very courteous, yet also, when -we came to know each other, very brotherly; and to conclude, I loved -him. No need to say more. - -Now I have done. Almost all the evenings of four months it hath taken -me to write this story down--I beginning of it in the bleak cruel -nights of winter, and ending of it when the leaves are pushing forth. -And I have written as truly as I know how, telling no lies, and trying -also very hard to make my story understandable to whomso'er shall come -across it. - -My house--which I bought here, because 'twas across the river in years -agone I used to wander with the girl I loved so dear, and because I -can see the paths where we walked when I arise from my bed every -morning--I shall leave to a Crafer for ever, so that some day, if the -line dieth not out, one of that name must find the clue. That it shall -be a Crafer I do earnestly hope, but if not it cannot be helped. And -in conclusion all I will now say is, that I do pray that whosoever -readeth this narrative, and whosoever afterwards shall find the buried -treasure on the little Key, he will use it well and nobly, devoting -some part of it, if not all, to God's service. Amen. - -NICHOLAS CHAFER. - - - - - - -_The Search by Reginald Crafer_. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. -OFF TO THE VIRGIN ISLES. - - -The passengers by the Royal Mail steamer, especially the younger and -fairer members thereof, felt an emotion of genuine regret when -Reginald Crafer left the ship at Antigua, there to make the connection -with the company's vessel, the _Tyne_, which runs to Anguilla and -Tortola fortnightly. - -For like so many, nay, almost all naval officers with but few -exceptions, Reginald possessed those manly and pleasant graces which -soon endear a stranger to any number of persons among whom he may -happen to be thrown; and ere the steamer--crowded with tourists of the -better class who were avoiding the rigour of our winter by a tour in -the West Indian Islands--had been a week out of Southampton, he had -made himself a general favourite. Of course he could dance--when did a -sailor ever exist who could not?--also he could sing; he had seen much -of the world and he was good-looking. Let anyone who has been on an -ocean trip say if these accomplishments and charms are not sufficient -to at once make a man popular in the community assembled on such an -occasion. - -And also there was about him some slight tinge of mystery, some little -reticence on his part, as to what he wanted or desired to do at -Anguilla or Tortola, which added a flavour to the manner in which this -handsome young officer was regarded. For at either of these islands -there is nothing for a man to do at all, unless he should desire to -pass his life in breeding herds of goats, cows, or sheep, or in -fishing, or rearing poultry, or cultivating a little cotton or sugar. -And certainly Reginald Crafer did not seem to be a man of that sort. - -"It can't be to see the bloomin' islands," said a bagman on board who -was not a favourite, though possessing vast information about the -locality, derived from visiting the whole of the Gulf of Mexico and -the Caribbean Sea on business, "because there's nothing to see, and as -a naval officer I'll bet he's seen enough islands. And it can't hardly -be a gal." - -"Scarcely, I should imagine," said a stately young lady, by whom, as -by others, this person's remarks were not much appreciated, "since I -believe there are few gentlemen or ladies there except the Consuls and -their families. Nor do I see that Lieutenant Crafer's business is your -affair or mine," whereon she turned on her heel and left him. - -Meanwhile Reginald, who, perhaps, was not unconscious of the curiosity -he had raised, though taking no notice of it, had plenty to think of -as well as having always to keep a guard upon his tongue. - -Indeed, it would not be saying too much if the announcement was made -that the discovery of Nicholas Crafer's statement had produced a total -change, not only in this young man's method of life, but also in his -mind. - -When he had finished the perusal of that statement (which, you may -remember, he began one November afternoon) another day had come; a -foul, murky, fog-laden atmosphere was doing duty for the dawn. The -river reeked with it, and so did the fields across the Thames. Also -the fire had gone out now, though he had made it up several times -during the night, the lamp had consumed nearly the last drop of oil in -its glass bowl, and he could hear his old housekeeper and general -servant shuffling about upstairs as though preparing to begin the day. -And his eyes were wet with tears--tears which the last page or two of -that finely-written, often misspelt, and sometimes nearly illegible -manuscript had caused to spring to them. For to him, young and -impressive--though as yet his heart had never been fairly touched by -Love's rose-tipped wings--there seemed a sadness inexpressible in the -story of his ancestor's love for the daughter of one of Oliver's -officers who had died so young, and of the manner in which he had -bought the house, so that daily, when he arose, the first place to -meet his eyes should be the spot where they had walked together in -those long-forgotten years. - -"Poor old Nicholas!" he thought, as he went to the French windows and -drew the heavy curtains that protected the room from the river's damp, -and peered across that river to the other side; "poor old Nicholas! It -was there you used to walk with her when you were both young. It was -there, when you had grown old and she had long since gone and left -you, that you used to gaze and dream of her. And," he went on, as he -turned back into the room, "it was here, in this very spot, two -hundred years ago, that you sat night by night writing that story -alone, as I this night have sat alone and read it. I almost wonder -that your ghost did not come forth and stand at my elbow, and peer -over my shoulder at your crabbed, crooked handwriting as I did so." - -He dropped the manuscript in his pocket as he finished his meditations -and, going upstairs, met the old housekeeper coming down. - -"Lawks, Mr. Reginald!" she said with a start, "what a turn you give -me! Whatever have you got up so early for?" - -"I have not been to bed yet, Maria," he said, "but I am going now." -Then, observing her look of astonishment and the shaking of her -head--perhaps she thought he had been wassailing in London and had -only just come down by the early train--he said, "I have been engaged -all night over some family papers. Call me at twelve and get some -breakfast ready by then. I shall go to town directly afterwards. And, -Maria, I shall be going abroad again soon; you will have the house all -to yourself once more." - -"Ha!" she said, with a grunt; "well, who's afraid? I ain't, neither of -ghostes nor burgulars, tho' we had one----" - -But Reginald was on his way to bed before she had finished her -oration. - -"The first thing to be done," he thought to himself, as he splashed -about in his bath after that five hours' sleep--which was enough for -him, since it was more than a watch below--"is to get a promise from -the first Sea Lord, on the ground of 'urgent private affairs,' that I -shall not be called upon to serve for another year. If I can manage -that, then off I go to Coffin Island and dear old Nick's treasure. -Lord bless me! how I would like to have known Nick--as Phips called -him." - -There had come into the young man's heart as he read that paper a -feeling which, I suppose, often comes into the hearts of most of us -who have ever had ancestors--the feeling that we would like to have -known them, to have seen them and to have shaken hands with them, -observed the quaint garb they wore, and listened to their quaint -speech. So it was now with Reginald. He would have liked to have heard -Nicholas tell the story instead of having read it, would like to have -stood by his side when he fought the _Etoyle_, to have been by him -when the drunken and delirious pirate died singing his song, to have -accompanied him on that solitary voyage when he kept--good honest -man!--a cheerful heart and trusted to his God alone to watch over him. - -"I wonder whose treasure it was that he found?" the young man -meditated--"not Alderly's, at any rate. The pirates never buried their -treasure, though the story-books say they did, but rather took it with -them to their favourite haunts to spend in a debauch. Even Alderly was -doing that at the time Nicholas captured him; he had his box with him, -full of ready money for spending purposes. And those others, those -antique coins, those jewels and precious things, what were they? -Buried, perhaps, by some French refugee who had been cast away on -Coffin Island and found by Alderly, or stolen from some French -treasure ship by an earlier pirate than Alderly, yet still found by -him. Shall I ever know?" - -But, whether he would ever know or not was a matter of very small -importance to Reginald Crafer, in comparison with the fact that he was -going to find them again himself, if he possibly could. For that they -should not lie any longer in the middle Key above Coffin Island than -it would take him to go and fetch them, he was very firmly resolved. - -"The Key isn't likely to have shifted," he reflected, "nor to have -become entirely covered by the sea for good and all. And if it has, -why, science has advanced a bit since the days of Nicholas, and we -will have it out. The treasure has been found twice as it has been -buried twice--once by its original owner, as I believe, and once by -Nicholas; I'll make the third finder. There's luck in odd numbers!" -and remembering his Latin, of which he had a better knowledge than his -sailor relative had had, he murmured, "_Numero deus impare gaudet!_" - -The First Sea Lord proved kind, perhaps because Reginald was a young -officer who had done well and was favourably known already, besides -having once served in his own flag-ship and come under his notice; and -though he hummed and hawed a little at first, and talked a good deal -about the shortness of lieutenants, and so many being required to be -called out for the Naval Man[oe]uvres, and so on, at last said that he -thought he might promise that Lieutenant Crafer's services should not -be asked for for another year. Then, next, the young man bought a -chart of the Caribbean Sea, and, as the charts of to-day are rather -better than they were in the elder Crafer's time, he found Coffin -Island marked very plainly, though still not named, thereon; and he -also saw the three Keys dotted on it. "So that's all right and -comfortable," Reginald said to himself, whereon he at once made all -his plans for going on his search, and, as has been told, had by now -arrived at Antigua, whence the _Tyne_ goes fortnightly to Tortola and -Anguilla. - -Yet, when he had settled down here to wait for that vessel's -sailing--which would not be for another forty-eight hours--he scarcely -knew how he should set about his work. Coffin Island might be -inhabited by now, for all he knew, though judging by the little -knowledge possessed of it by any of the _personnel_ of the ship in -which he had come out, it did not appear very probable that it was. -Nobody on board that ship could say whether it was occupied or not, -most of the officers, indeed, being a little hazy as to where Coffin -Island was. - -However, by the next day he had gained one piece of information which -might or might not be true, but that, if the former, was likely to -throw some difficulties in his way. He had learnt that there were -inhabitants--as his informant believed, though he wouldn't be -certain--on the island; for that there was such a place as Coffin -Island was very well known in Antigua, if not in the Royal Mail -steamers. - -He had encountered as he lounged about the hotel in St. John's--which -is the capital of Antigua,--one of those busy gentlemen who are to be -found in almost every part of the world to which strangers come and -go: an American. This worthy person, who was young, tall, and -dandified, having in his "bosom" a beautiful diamond pin, addressed -Reginald the first moment he saw him with such a flood of offers and -questions as almost stunned him; yet so long was the flow of oratory -that it gave him time to collect his thoughts and be wary. - -"If," said Mr. Hiram Juby, as he handed out a big card with that name -on it, "you are thinking of settling here, I can be of assistance to -you. Though, if you're buying land, I should scarcely recommend -Antigua. It is not very remunerative and not cheap. Now, in Dominica, -which has no export duties, sir, Crown land can be obtained for two -dollars and a half an acre. Trinidad is five dollars, St. Lucia five; -Tobago, also without export duties, is two and a half. I am also an -agent for the United States Governmental Insurance Company, patronised -and insured in by the first families of the----" - -"I am not thinking of buying any land, Mr. Juby," Reginald said, -quietly. - -"Then you must be a tourist. Therefore, you will want to know the best -hotels. Now there is----" - -"I shall stay at no hotels," Reginald again replied. - -"Stay at no hotels! Then you are perhaps going to camp out. If so, I -have the agency for some of the best United States tents, utensils, -rifles and guns, hickory fishing-rods, and so forth. Sir, will you -take a cocktail, or shall we try a dish of mangrove oysters? Or, if -you are a conchologist, mineralogist, or botanist, I should like to -show you some collections I have for sale which would save you much -labour and classification----" - -"Sir," said Reginald, "I am none of those things! I am a sailor -amusing myself with a visit to this lovely spot. I want nothing," and -he turned on his heel. - -"Stay, sir, stay, I beg," Mr. Juby said, going after him as he -left the verandah. "You are a sailor visiting this lovely spot, and -you want nothing I can supply you with! Why, sir, I have the very -thing for you--a thing that would have suited nobody but a sailor. I -have a little thirteen-ton cutter yacht--it belonged to Sir Barnaby -Briggs--your countryman, sir, who died of drink, so they said, not I, -in Guadaloupe--but then these French will say anything but their -prayers. And I will let it you, sell it to you, furnish it for you, -find you a sailor man or so----" - -"What," said Reginald, interested now, for he thought perhaps here was -the best way of all in which to visit Coffin Island--"what do you want -for the hire of it?" - -But before even these terms could be arranged, Mr. Juby insisted--and -he would take no denial--that they should be discussed over the most -popular drink in all the West Indian Islands, a cocktail; so on to the -verandah they went to partake of one. And it was among the various -acquaintances to whom Mr. Juby--in thorough American fashion--insisted -on "presenting" Reginald, that he learnt that Coffin Island was -inhabited. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. -DRAWING NEAR. - - -"The Virgin Isles," exclaimed one of these acquaintances as he spat on -the ground after swallowing his cocktail at a gulp, "the Virgin Isles! -Why, darn the Virgin Isles! What can you do there, young fellow, 'cept -go fishing? That is, unless you are a Dane or else a Dutchman "--by -which he meant a German--"then you might trade a bit." - -But here Mr. Juby, who didn't quite approve of his new client being -called "young fellow," explained that he was a gentleman who had -neither come to settle nor travel, but only to see the place -generally. Also, he informed him, as if the whole thing was -settled--which it wasn't--that Mr. Crafer had hired the late Sir -Barnaby Briggs's yacht from him and was going to make some tours in -it. - -"Oh!" said the other, scraping the frozen sugar off the rim of his -empty glass as he spoke, and sucking it off his finger--"Oh! if that's -all, he's welcome enough to go to the Virgin Isles if he wants to. I -thought he wanted to shove some dollars into coco-growing or Liberian -coffee. A tourist, eh?" - -"That's all," said Reginald, "only a tourist." - -"Well! there's good enough sailing round the Virgin Isles or any -others in these parts, if you want to sail; but I thought Mr. Juby -said you were a sailor. Now, if you are, what do you want to go -sailin' about for? Isn't dry land good enough for a sailor off duty?" - -"Do you know the Virgin Islands?" asked Reginald, not caring to notice -the man's cantankerous disposition. - -"Know 'em! I guess I do know 'em! all the lot. And not one worth a -red. Which do you particular want to see?" - -"All of them," replied Reginald. "Perhaps Tortola in particular." - -"Tortola! the rottenest of the lot, except, perhaps, Anegada. Or, -p'raps I'd best say Coffin Island. That is about the--there! -well!----I'll be----" - -"Coffin Island!" exclaimed Reginald, now very wary. "That's a sweet -name! What sort of a place is that?" - -"Kinder place fit to go and die in, to just roll yourself up in and -kick. Kind of a dog's hole, covered with palm trees, gros-gros, -moriches and all, Spanish baggonets and sich like. A place as is all -yellow and voylet and pink and crimson with flowers, and smells like a -gal's boodwar," (this was an awful mouthful for him, but he got it out -safely), "though I don't know much about gals' boodwars neither. My -daughters ain't got none." - -"It must be lovely," Reginald said quietly. - -"Love--ly!" the man echoed. "Love--ly! Bah! there ain't five pounds' -trade in it a year. The oranges and guavas ain't worth fetching when -you can get 'em in the other places without half the trouble, nor more -ain't the nutmegs. Likewise, it's chock-a-block full of tarantula -spiders and centipides." - -"In such a case I suppose it is uninhabited," Reginald hazarded. - -"Well, no it ain't, not altogether," the other replied. "Leastways, -that's to say partly. There's a fisher fellow lives there when he -ain't nowheres else, and he's got a son and a darter. They've been a -living there for over a cent'ry, I've heard tell." - -"What!" exclaimed Reginald and Juby together while others round who -had been listening to the discourse burst out laughing. - -"For over a cent'ry and more," the man went on, "this fellow Bridges' -family have been living there----" - -"Only," chimed in another man, "that ain't the name. It ain't Bridges -at all. It's Aldridge." - -"No," said still a third, "it isn't Aldridge neither, though something -like it." - -"Are you telling the story or am I?" exclaimed the first. "And darn -the name! What do names matter?" Here he was appeased by the -thoughtfulness of Reginald, who suggested some more cocktails round, -after which he went on-- - -"More than a cent'ry, I've heard they've been there. You see, this -family is a bit wrong in their heads, and they've got into those heads -the idea that somewhere in that darned Coffin Island there's a mort of -treasure buried----" - -Reginald was sipping his cocktail as the man arrived at this point, -and his teeth clicked involuntarily against the glass as the latter -uttered the last words; but, beyond this, he did not betray himself -Yet it seemed to him that his heart beat quicker than before. "And, -therefore, if it's to be found," the man continued, "they mean to find -it. Yet no one as I ever heard of, or knew, believes it's there. If it -was to be got, they'd have got it before. They do say they've dug up -half the island looking for it. But there, I don't know, I've never -been ashore in Coffin Island myself." - -"But," said Reginald, "you said just now that the man only lived there -when he did not live somewhere else. Does he leave his island -sometimes, then?" - -"He does and so does the son. You see, mister, up that way the people -are sailors--like yourself!--just because they can't be much else. -And good sailors they are, too, as well as fishermen, so when -they've got no turtle nor fish to take, as happens in some times of -the year, they go off as sailors in any ship in these parts as wants -hands. Now, some of 'em goes down Aspinwall and Colon way--that there -once-supposed-to-be-going-to-be-made Panama Canal took a lot of men -down there--and some goes to the other Islands, even up to Jamaiky and -so on. Well, the old man and his son can't always just live on their -stock-rearing and fishing and turtle-catching, and so off they goes -too, to get a few more dollars to buy a cask of rum or something they -want." - -"But the daughter; she cannot go as a sailor too!" - -"Oh, no! But she can stop at home and look after the shop. And they do -say that she's quite able to do it. She's a caution, I've heard." - -This was all the man knew, and, under the influence of the cocktails, -he would have been very willing to go on telling more, had he had any -further information. And, indeed, considering the distance of Antigua -from Coffin Island, it was extraordinary that he should have been able -to tell so much. Or, rather, it would have been extraordinary, were it -not for the amount of intercourse and communication that takes place -between all the numerous islands in the Antilles, and the gossip that -is carried backwards and forwards, and is for ever floating about -among the sparse population of these, now, much-neglected places. - -By night Reginald had changed his plans; instead of going on to -Tortola in the _Tyne_, he had decided to hire Sir Barnaby Briggs's -yacht, the _Pompeia_, from Mr. Juby, and to finish his journey in her. -To him it seemed the wisest thing he could do. He would attract less -attention at Tortola as a man cruising about for a holiday in the -region; and, by living on board, he would be exposed to little -questioning. Moreover, so good a sailor as he wanted no assistance in -managing such a craft as this; in calm weather he could go about where -he liked, and in bad weather shelter could be run for and reached in -almost half an hour among the continuous chain of islands hereabouts. -And, finally, he could work his way up to Coffin Island, take some -observations of the strange family dwelling thereon, and see if the -Keys looked as if they too had been submitted to the searching -process. - -It was a tough job, however, to bring the astute Juby to terms, even -over so trifling a thing as hiring the _Pompeia_. At first he would -hardly name the sum he wanted, and then, when that was arranged at £20 -a month--which, after all, was not out of the way--he made various -other stipulations, more, as it seemed to Reginald, for the pleasure -of so making them and fussing about, than for any wonderful advantage -to himself. - -"I must have a deposit," he said, adding cheerfully, "yachts do get -sunk even here, and there's no telling what might happen, though I'm -sure of one thing, sir, you wouldn't run away with her. Then she must -be insured in the United States Governmental Insurance Company for the -other half, and----" - -But, to cut Mr. Juby short, Reginald, who had brought a very -comfortable little sheaf of Bank of England notes wherewith to -prosecute his search, consented to his terms, and became the tenant of -the lamented Sir Barnaby's yacht. She proved, when he went down to see -her before finally concluding negotiations, a very serviceable-looking -little cutter, strongly built, having a good inventory, her ballast -all lead, copper all new, a full outfit, and a double-purchase -capstan. And she bore on her the name of a well-known Barbadoes -builder, of whom, probably, the late baronet had purchased her new. - -"I don't mind taking that nigger as far as Tortola," said Reginald, -pointing out a man loafing about St. John's harbour, "if he wants a -job as he says he does, but he'll have to go ashore there. I'm fond of -sailing by myself and shan't employ him regularly, at any rate." - -And in this way he set off upon his journey once more, sailing the -_Pompeia_ himself, and letting the negro potter about, cook a meal or -two, and gossip a little on subjects of interest in the islands, but -of none at all to him. And at Tortola--to which the man belonged--he -sent him ashore, telling him that whenever the cutter came in and out -he could come and see if he was wanted, and perhaps earn a shilling or -two. The weather was everything that could be desired, and, had -Reginald been the most Cockney yachtsman that ever kept a yacht in the -Thames, instead of a skilful sailor, he would have found it all he -wished, while the cruise past the intermediate islands was charming -even to him, who had seen so much of the world. - -The great peak of Nevis interested him by recalling the fact that it -was in this island that Nelson found his wife, when, as captain of the -_Boreas_, he brought his ship here after chasing the French fleet; -while St. Kitt's, with its "Mount Misery," and its claims to be the -Gibraltar of the West Indies, appealed also to his naval mind. And, -when the scarlet-roofed houses of St. Thomas, surrounded by the -glorious foliage of that fair island, hove into sight as the _Pompeia_ -left Santa Cruz on her port beam, he felt a thrill of satisfaction, -mixed, perhaps, with excitement at the knowledge that Coffin Island -was at hand. Another day or so would bring him to the place of which -his relative had, in his quaint style, left so graphic a description; -he would probably come into contact with the strange family that dwelt -in Coffin Island; he would be near his inheritance. - -"Yet," he said to himself, as he set the yacht's head a point further -north, to run up what still retains its old name of "Sir Francis -Drake's Passage"--"yet is it my inheritance? Or does it not by right -belong to this poor family, who, it seems, have for over a hundred -years been searching hopelessly for it? Is it theirs or mine? -Theirs--who, by some strange fate, have come to the knowledge that -treasure is buried here, perhaps was buried by their own ancestors, -who left the story of it--or mine, who am only the kinsman of the man -who lighted on that treasure, but could not take it away with him? -Well! I shall see. Perhaps, when I have met these people who live in -so primitive a state, I shall know better what to do--know whether it -is best to get the treasure and go off with it, or do my duty, and, if -it is rightly theirs, restore it to them." - -So, you will perceive, not only was Reginald a romantic and -adventurous young man, but also a very straightforward one! - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. -OUT OF THE DEPTHS OF A FAR DISTANT PAST. - - -Two days after these reflections the _Pompeia_ was making her entrance -under very light sail into that river--spoken of variously by Nicholas -as a canal, an inlet, and an outlet--in which the fight with the -_Etoyle_ had taken place. And it almost seemed to Reginald as if he -must himself have been a partaker of that fight, so visibly did his -predecessor's story rise before his mind now that he was in the very -spot. - -"It was here," he thought, as he lowered the last remaining yard of -sail, "that the _Etoyle_ was across the stream, there that the -galliot lay before they went at them. Heavens and earth! why does not -Nicholas rise up before my sight with his round face and light bob -wig, as he appears in the little picture at home, and in his scarlet -coat?--but--no, he would not have them on here. Those braveries were -not for cruises such as he was upon." - -Then he looked around again. - -"Which, I wonder, was the spot where Alderly drew up the box from -under the water, and where he murdered the diver? Which the spot where -the path led up to the hut? Why does not some spirit rise to point -these things out to me?" - -All was very calm here now as the romantic young man indulged in these -meditations. There was no sign of life about the island--of human -life; it was as still as though it were uninhabited. Yet all the -tropic life was there, all the gorgeous colouring of which the Yankee -settler--if he were a Yankee--who told him the story of the place had -spoken. The fan-palms, the moriches, and the gros-gros grew side by -side; red poinsettias mingled with wild begonias, purple dracæna and -yellow crotons; the rattans and orchids were tangled together in an -indescribable confusion of beauty. - -"It is the isle of Nicholas's description. No doubt about that!" said -Reginald. "And," he continued, drawing his pipe from his pocket and -lighting it, "I am here as once Nick was here. What a pity there is no -one to represent the murdered diver and his assassin, the drunken, -maddened pirate." - -As he reflected thus he heard the bark of a dog a little distance off; -a few moments later he heard another sound as though branches were -being parted; presently a voice spoke to the dog, and then the foliage -growing down to the river's bank was pushed aside, and a woman came -out from that foliage and stood gazing at him. - -"Who are you?" she asked. "And what do you want?" - -From his cutter to the shore, thirty to forty feet off, he in return -gazed upon her, though his surprise did not prevent his remembering he -was a gentleman, and, from the distance, taking off his hat to her -while he put away his pipe. She stood before him, surrounded by all -that luxuriance of colour and tropical vegetation, a girl "something -more than common tall," and of, perhaps, nearly twenty years of age. A -girl dressed in a light cotton gown--a very West Indian robe, both in -its plain quality and pattern--that hung loosely upon her, yet did not -conceal the shapely form beneath. On her head she wore a large napping -straw hat, but it was not at her hat, but at what was beneath it, that -Reginald looked. Her features were beautiful--there is no other word -but this simple one to describe them--her colouring that which is -often found in these regions, but scarcely anywhere else; the eyes a -dark, lustrous hazel, the eyebrows black, the hair, which hung down -like a mane upon her back, golden, with a tinge of copper red in it. - -"Who are you?" she asked again, though he noticed that her voice was -not a harsh one, nor, in spite of the question, an angry one. "What do -you require?" - -"Pardon me," replied Reginald, still spellbound at her appearance. -"Pardon me. I hope this is no intrusion. I am yachting in a small way -about the islands here. And among other places that attracted my -attention was this river. I trust my presence is not objectionable." - -"No," the girl replied quietly. Then she said, "Do you belong to the -islands, or are you English or American?" - -"I am English," he answered. "A sailor in Her Majesty's service." - -She paused a moment, as though, it seemed to him, scarce knowing what -to say, then she spoke again. - -"Are you going to land?" - -"If I may do so. If it is permissible." - -"Oh, yes," she said. "You may do so. Sometimes people land here." - -He took her permission at once, and, dropping the cutter's anchor, -drew up the dinghy that was aft of her, and, getting into it, stepped -on shore close by her side. And, as he did so, he wondered, "Was it -here that Nicholas landed?" - -Then once more taking off his hat as he came near to her, he said: - -"Why do people sometimes land here? Have you any particular object of -interest in your island?" He would like to have added in a gallant -fashion, and sailor-like, "besides yourself," but, on consideration, -refrained from doing so. - -The girl smiled, as he could see, while she bent down to quiet -the dog that was jumping about Reginald as though welcoming a new -acquaintance. Then she replied-- - -"No, not any particular object. Yet people come here because there is -a history attached to my family, or, perhaps I should say, my family -really has a history connected with this island--though I for one do -not believe it." - -"And that history is?" Reginald asked eagerly. - -"An ancestor of mine was supposed to have buried a treasure, or to -have found one, and never been able to remove it. Yet, since he lived -a wild life--for I fear he was a pirate--he left with his wife, a mere -girl, a full description of where it could be found should he at any -time fail to return to her. He did fail at last to return, and the -place which he had named was this island, the exact spot being a -cellar under a hut." She paused a moment, then she added, "The hut was -found and the cellar, but--the treasure was gone." - -Whether the faintness which came over Reginald at this moment--a thing -he had never experienced before--was caused by the change from the -cool sea breezes to the warmth exhaled by the thick vegetation of the -island and the rich odour sent forth by the flowers, he has never yet -been able to tell. All he knows is that, at her words, the place where -they were standing swam round him, the palms seemed to be dancing a -stately measure with each other and the island spinning, too, while he -heard the girl's voice exclaiming: - -"You are not well. What has overcome you?" - -"I do not know," he replied. "It must be the heat ashore; yet I am -used to all kinds of heat. A little water would revive me. I will go -back to the cutter." - -"There is a rill close by," she said; "come and drink from that." - -He went towards it, following the direction she indicated, his mind -still confused, his brain whirling. "Where had he heard of a rill -before in connection with the island?" he asked himself; yet as he did -so he knew very well it was somewhere in Nicholas's narrative. And the -hut and the cellar beneath! Above all, a girl whose red mane was -thrown behind her! Where had he heard of one such as that? - -He drank from the well and cooled his hands and face--still -remembering that Nicholas had in some portion of his story described -how he had done this same thing--and all the time the girl stood -watching him. - -"You will pardon me this exhibition of weakness, I hope," he said. -"But I am all right now. And your story is so interesting, so much -like a romance, that--if I may stay a little longer--I should like to -hear some more of it. That is, if my curiosity is not offensive." - -"No," the girl said simply, and her very ease before him and her lack -of ceremony showed how much a stranger she was to any worldly -conventionality. "I am very glad to have anyone to talk to. One gets -tired of living always, or nearly always, alone." - -"Alone! But surely you don't live alone in Coffin Island? I had heard -there were at least two--two men here." - -"There are sometimes--my father and brother; but they go away to sea -for weeks together, especially since they have almost abandoned the -thought of our finding the fabulous treasure. They are away now, -though I expect them back soon." - -"And you are not afraid to live here all by yourself?" - -"Afraid! Why should I be? We cannot find the buried treasure, -therefore it is not likely anyone else could do so. And there is -nothing else here to tempt anyone." - -"Was there not?" Reginald reflected. "Was there not?" Yet she seemed -so innocent and simple that he could not tell her his thoughts. He -could not tell her, as he might have told a more worldly girl, that to -many men there was a greater temptation in that graceful form and -those hazel eyes and tawny golden hair than in all the dross beneath -the surface of the earth. So he only said-- - -"But if you found the treasure? What would you do then?" - -"We should go away, I suppose--though I should be sorry to leave this -island. We should go into the world then--perhaps to Antigua or -Trinidad." Reginald here politely concealed a smile, and she went on, -"But I hope we shall never find it. My father and brother are used to -the life they lead here; I do not think the outer world would suit -them." - -"But they are sailors and have seen it, you say?" - -"They are sailors, but not such as you. They are simple, rough men, -scarcely able to read or to write. That was, I think, why they--why my -father--sent me to school at Antigua." - -"But how do you live while they are away?" he asked her now. - -"Very well. I have the hut, and there is always plenty of dried meat -and fresh fruit. And sometimes I fish, or shoot a bird. There are -plenty here of both kinds." Then she stopped and, looking at him, -said, "Would you like to see our home? It is not far." - -The girl's _naïveté_ won on him so that there was but one reply -possible--an immediate and fervent assent to this invitation; and a -few moments later they were treading a path through the wood. - -"The path," Reginald said to himself, "that doubtless he walked, -leading to the hut where he saw Alderly die. The same, yet all so -different!" - -"A little glade on which the moon did shine as though on a sweet -English field at home," he remembered Nicholas had written--and, lo! -they were in it now. "A little glade bordered on all sides by golden -shaddocks, grapefruits, citrons and lime-trees, with, at their feet -and trailing round them, the many-hued convolvuli of the tropics, -passion-flowers and grandillos." Only, instead of seeking for a -bloodstained sea-robber, Reginald was following in the footsteps of -this woodland nymph--this girl whose beauty and innocence acted like a -charm upon him. - -Then, next, they entered the tangled forest that Nicholas had passed -through, and here again all was as he had described it. The gleaming -leaves of the star-apple shone side by side with the palms and -cotton-trees; the fresh cool plantains and the cashews stopped their -way sometimes; the avocados and yams and custard-apples were all -around them. And turning a bend of the path they came upon the hut, -even as, two centuries ago, Nicholas had come upon the hut where -Alderly had played host to the spectres of his drunken imagination. - -Of course it could not be the same; the old one must long ago have -rotted away, even if not pulled down. This to which the girl led him -was a large, substantial wooden building, painted white and green, -with all around it--which made it appear even larger--a balcony, or -piazza, and with jalousies thrown over the rails of the piazza from -above the windowless frames. On the balcony were rude though -comfortable chairs covered with striped Osnaburgh cloths; against the -railing there stood a gun--it was hers!--and there were large -calabashes standing about, some full of water and some empty, with -smaller ones for drinking from. - -"This is my home," the girl said. "And it is here that we have lived -for nearly two hundred years, the house being rebuilt as it fell into -disrepair from time to time. I pray you to be seated. Later, when you -have rested, you shall see where the diggings have been made in the -searches for the supposed treasure." - -"And where," said Reginald, speaking as one in a stupor, "is the spot -you told me of, the cellar where the treasure once had been?" - -"It is below the floor of this verandah we are standing on. Why do you -ask?" - -"Your story interests me so," he replied. "It seems so like a dream. -But," he continued, "later on, another day, perhaps you will tell me -all of it. For instance, I should so much like to know how your -ancestor, who at last never returned, came to possess the treasure and -to leave it buried here." - -"He found it here," she said, "by chance, and ever afterwards he made -this island a resort of his. I have told you he was a bad man--I am -afraid, a pirate." - -Again there came a feeling into Reginald's mind that he was losing his -senses, that he was going mad. And the next question he asked, with -the answer he received, might, indeed, have justified him in so -thinking. - -"Will you tell me," he said, "to whom I owe this hospitable reception -on Coffin Island? Will you tell me your name?" - -"My name," she replied, "is Barbara Alderly." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. -SOME LIGHT UPON THE PAST. - - -Her name was Barbara Alderly! This girl whose beauty was as fresh and -pure as her mind was innocent, the girl who--in spite of being able to -shoot birds for her food and cook them too, or to sail a boat as well -as Reginald himself could do--looked as delicate as any girl brought -up in an English country house, was Barbara Alderly, _his_, the -pirate's, descendant! It seemed impossible--impossible that she could -claim relationship with such as he had been; yet it was so! - -A week passed from the time she had divulged her name, a week in which -they were always together during the daytime--he going to his boat at -night, and joining her again in the early morning--and in that week -each had told the other their story, Barbara being the first to relate -hers. But in justice to Reginald it must be said that, never from the -moment he had heard who she was, had he had one thought of keeping -back from her the secret of where the treasure was hidden, or of -depriving her and her relations of one farthing of it. - -"It must all be theirs," he said to himself, "all, all. I could not go -away from this island with one penny of it in my pocket and continue -to think myself an honest man." - -But first he had to hear her family story--in itself a romance, if -ever there was one--she telling it to him a few days after their -acquaintance, as they sat on the verandah, while he drank some water -from one of the calabashes, flavoured with a dash of whisky brought up -by him from the _Pompeia_, and she played with her inseparable -companion, the dog, Carazo. - -"You must know," she began, "that it was not until some years after -Simon Alderly--who was the man I think to have been a pirate--failed -to return to Port Royal, where he lived, that his still young wife, -Barbara--her name being the same as mine--found the paper telling her -of the treasure in this island." - -"Barbara!" Reginald interrupted, memory recalling Nicholas's words -once more. "Barbara! A portrait of a girl with blue eyes, red gold -hair, and a sweet mouth!" - -"What do you mean, sir?" exclaimed his young hostess, looking at him -for the first time with something like surprise, if not alarm. "How do -you know she was like that? She has been dead for," and she counted -rapidly on her fingers--"for one hundred and seventy years!" - -"Miss Alderly," Reginald replied, "will you believe me if I tell you -that I think I shall be able to throw some light upon your family -history when I have heard it? I have something to tell you as well as -to listen to." - -"Then," said the girl, "your presence here is not due to accident. You -have come purposely to this island in connection with the hidden -wealth it is supposed to contain." - -"Yes!" he said, "yes, I could not tell you an untruth. I have come -purposely here to find out about that wealth. Believe me, my presence -bodes no harm to you or yours, no deprivation of what belongs rightly -to you." - -"Oh!" she said, "how happy that will make father. But will you not -tell me----" - -"With your permission," he replied, "I will not tell you anything -until you have told me your story. Then I will keep nothing back from -you--I will, indeed, help you to recover that which has been sought -for so long----" - -"You know where it is?" - -"I think so. I discovered the secret in England, and I came out here -to dig----" - -"But," she again interrupted, "if you discovered the secret, then this -treasure is yours, not ours." - -"No," he said hastily, "no; it would have been mine had I not found -that there were people in existence who are more righteously entitled -to it. Now I shall find it, if I can, for you. Pray continue your -tale. When that is concluded I will begin mine." - -For some time he could not bring her to do so, his words having caused -her much excitement; but at last she took up the thread of her -narrative--the narrative interrupted so early in its commencement. - -"This Barbara," she said at last--while all the time her clear eyes -had a searching, almost troubled, look, as she kept them fixed on -him--"this Barbara of whom you seem to know, or to have guessed the -appearance, though I cannot say if it is a correct one, had herself a -strange history. Simon Alderly had found her, a child of about four -years old, alone and deserted on one of the Lucayos group, and, since -there was a boat washing about on the coast of the island, he thought -that possibly she had drifted ashore in it, while her parents, or -those who had saved her, had fallen into the sea from the boat after -escaping from some sinking ship. He took her off, however, carried her -to Port Royal, and, after bringing her up, married her when she was -fifteen. Then he left her in charge of his house there, while he, -following the calling of a sea-captain, was frequently away from home, -sometimes for weeks at a time, sometimes for months, sometimes for -more than a year. But whenever he returned he always brought a great -deal of money--generally composed of the coins of several different -nations--half of which he always gave to her for future household -expenses, spending the remainder in great rejoicing while he stayed on -shore." - -"This is, of course, family history," Reginald hazarded, "handed down -from generation to generation? Is it not?" - -"You shall hear, though you have guessed right. Our family records -since that time have been carefully kept." - -"I beg your pardon for interrupting you," Reginald said. "Pray go on." - -"However," the girl continued, stroking Carazo's ears all the while as -she did so, "the time came when he returned no more; he disappeared -finally in 1687." - -"Ah!" exclaimed Reginald involuntarily. - -Again her soft hazel eyes stared full at him as she exclaimed, "You -are aware of that; you know it as well as I do!" - -"Yes," he answered, "I know it. Once more forgive me." - -"Perhaps," she said, "you know as much, or more than I do!" - -"No," he replied, "after that I know no more. After the year 1687 down -to this period I know nothing further of Simon Alderly--indeed I did -not even know that his name was Simon; what you tell me of incidents -after that period will be new to me." - -"And you will tell me all you know when I have finished?" she asked, -looking at him with such trusting eyes that no man, unless he were a -scoundrel, could have had one thought of obtaining her confidence and -yet holding his own. - -"On my honour I will," he answered, "even to telling you where I -believe your wealth is hidden." - -She made a gesture as though deprecating the word "your," and then, -seeing he was waiting eagerly for her to continue, she did so. - -"He disappeared finally in 1687--Barbara never heard of him again. -Then as time went on she grew very poor. There had been a son born to -them whom she had brought up to be a sailor, too, hoping thereby that, -when he also became a roamer, he might somehow gather news of his -father; and by turning the house into an inn, she managed to exist. In -that way years passed and she began to grow old, while her son still -followed the sea, though never rising to be anything more than a -humble seaman. But more years after, when she was getting to be quite -an old woman, her house was blown down in a hurricane--though it had -survived the terrible one of 1722, when all the wharves at Port Royal -were destroyed--and then--she found something." - -"What?" asked Reginald. "What was it?" He remembered what David Crafer -had found under circumstances not dissimilar, and, perhaps, because he -was a sailor--and thereby given even in these modern days to belief in -strange and mysterious things--he wondered if the hand of Fate had -pointed out to that old Barbara some marvellous clue to where the -treasure was. Yet he knew that it could scarce have told her of the -removal of the chests of treasure from the island to the Key. - -"She found," went on the Barbara of to-day, "a little walled-up wooden -cupboard----" - -"Great Heaven!" he muttered beneath his breath, so that, this time, -she did not hear him. - -"Close to the place where he used to sit and drink when at home, but -of the existence of which she was ignorant. Yet, she remembered, he -had often told her that there were secret hiding-places in the house, -and that, if he died suddenly or never came back, she was to search -diligently and she would find them. Especially he bade her search in -that room; but, what with waiting and watching for his return, she had -forgotten his instructions. And now that it was burst open, the wall -that secured it being only a plank of wood which fell out at the first -violence of the hurricane, she found this cupboard full of various -pieces of money, gold and silver, and a paper in his writing telling -her of his treasure in this island." - -"Then it was his!" exclaimed Reginald. - -"By discovery. He wrote that he had put into Coffin Island--as it was -called even so long ago as his time--in a storm, and that, while -roaming about the place, he and his comrades had come upon a hut, old -and long since built, but quite deserted now. Then he went on to -write--my father has the paper now, and I have often seen it--that the -sloop he had was sent to Tortola to fetch provisions----" - -"Was it in charge of a man named Martin, by any chance?" asked -Reginald. - -But now he saw how imprudent he was. As he mentioned that name the -girl started from her seat and retreated from him to the other end of -the verandah. - -"You frighten me," she said. "I do not understand. How do you know -this?" - -"Do not be alarmed, I beg," he answered in return. "When you have told -your story I will put into your hands a paper that has been found, -written by a forerunner of mine who knew Simon Alderly. Then you will -see how I know what I do. Pray feel no alarm. I mean you nothing but -goodwill, nothing. The treasure shall be yours and no one else's. -Will you trust in me?" - -"Yes," she said, once more calmed. "Yes, I will." Then she seated -herself again and at his persuasion continued the narrative, while -Reginald could not but reflect how little fear Nicholas need have had -of "Martin coming back with the sloop." - -The bewildered mind of the drink-inflamed pirate had mixed up two -separate sojourns in Coffin Island! - -"The sloop went to Tortola to purchase provisions, and, since they -were short-handed, there being but three men excepting my ancestor, all -went in her but him. And then it was he found the treasure, it being -in a vault or cavern beneath the floor of the hut. It was the simplest -way in which he unearthed it, he wrote, and had he not been alone it -must have been discovered by the others as well as he. There was a -trap-door in the flooring, with a great ring to it, quite visible to -anyone, and opening easily. And when he went down some steps into the -cavern he found it all--all! Only he had no chance to take it away -then, he wrote to his wife; so, putting a vast number of gold pieces -in his pocket, he carefully closed the trap-door up again and covered -it over with earth, which he stamped down with his feet so that his -companions should observe nothing. And in the paper which he left, -giving such instructions as were necessary, which were not many--the -place was so easily to be found--he wrote down that he had since, -whenever opportunity offered, paid visits to Coffin Island, but, being -always accompanied by comrades, he never yet had had a chance of -removing it. And, he said, if he never brought it home and she found -the paper, then she must go to Coffin Island after his death and get -it for herself. It was a large treasure, a great fortune, he wrote, it -must not be lost." - -"So," said Reginald, "she came here?" - -"She came here," the girl continued, "and with her came her son and a -woman he had married, a Barbadian. But through all the generations -from the day she came--which was in the year 1723--and I am the eighth -in descent from her, they have never found the treasure. The vault was -there, but there was nothing in it." - -"Yet your family have continued to seek for it," exclaimed Reginald. -"I should almost have thought they would have desisted." - -"No," Barbara replied, "they never desisted. For first, they thought -that Simon might have changed the hiding-place after he had left the -paper in Jamaica--the life he led would probably necessitate his -doing so, since his companions might otherwise have also found the -vault--and, next, the island had become their home. Simon's son bought -it for half-a-crown an acre, his wife having some little money, and we -have lived here ever since, while every man who has succeeded to it -has made further search." - -So the tale was told, and now the time had come for Reginald to tell -his. - -And as that night he took farewell of Barbara, he said-- - -"To-morrow I shall tell you why the treasure has never been found by -your family. To-morrow I shall bring you a narrative left by that -connection of mine, saying where the treasure is hidden. He knew Simon -Alderly, and he found out the hiding-place." - -"And was Simon indeed a pirate?" Barbara asked. - -"Would it grieve you to hear he was?" - -She thought a moment before replying, and then she said-- - -"No, for we have always thought him to be one. No, not if it will not -make you think worse of me for having descended from him." - -"I knew that was so," Reginald replied, "when you told me your name. -And I do not think I showed by my manner that I thought any the worse -of you." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. -THE SOLITUDE IS INTERRUPTED. - - -The weather had changed, and, as is always the case in the tropics, -the change was extreme. - -The wind blew now from the northeast, dashing the sea up in mountains -on to the strip of beach around that quarter of Coffin Island, hurling -it with a roar like great claps of thunder over the beach on to the -vegetation beyond it, crashing down trees and saplings, and entirely -obliterating for a time the three little Keys, in the middle one of -which was Simon Alderly's treasure. This Key Reginald had gazed upon -more than once since he had been in the island; he had even pointed it -out to Barbara on the morning after she had told her tale, and had -added the few missing links to the knowledge she already possessed; -and he had also informed her that therein lay her fortune. - -"So," the girl said on that morning, as she gazed down from the cliff -on which they stood to where the already fast-rising waves were -washing over the spot in question, "it is there they ought to have -searched. It has laid there all the time! Yet no one ever thought of -those little islets. Well! I am glad!" - -"Why?" asked Reginald, as he looked round at her. He had given her his -arm to steady her against the fierce wind blowing now under the -purple, sun-coloured clouds rolling up from the northeast, and she -had taken it. Yet, as she did so, she scarcely knew why she should -accept that proffered arm. She was used to all changes of weather in -this, her island; she could stand as easily upon the tallest crags -that it possessed as any of her goats, or even the sea-birds that -dwelt upon them, could do. Yet, still, she had taken it! - -"Oh! I don't know," she replied in answer to his question; "yet--yet, -I think I am. Because--" she paused again, and then went on. "Because, -you see, if any of my people had found it before now--before you came -here--why, you would have found nothing yourself when you arrived, -after you had made so long a journey. And, we should have been -gone--you and I would never have met." - -Something in the sailor's nature tingled as she said those words in -her simplicity--something, he knew not what. Still, in response, he -turned his eyes on her, and gazed into those other clear eyes beside -him, shaded with their long, jet-black lashes. Then he said-- - -"For us never to have met would have been the worst thing of all, -Barbara." - -It seemed absurd to call her Miss Alderly, here in this wild tropical -garden inhabited only by themselves; to give her the stilted prefix -that would have been required in the midst of civilisation. So, not -for the first time, he had addressed her by her Christian name. And to -her--who perhaps in her schooldays only, in Antigua, had ever known -what it was to be spoken of as Miss Alderly--it appeared not at all -strange that he should so address her. - -"But," he went on, "as for the treasure, as for the finding of -it--that might as well have happened fifty or a hundred years ago as -now. It is yours and your family's; not a farthing of it belonged to -my relative, nor belongs to me." - -"That shall never be," she replied. "My father, although a rough, -simple sailor, is an honest, straightforward man; he, at least, would -never hear of such a thing as your not having your share. And for my -brother----" but here she paused. - -"Why," asked Reginald, after a moment had elapsed--"why do you -hesitate at the name of your brother?" - -"Because," she replied, "he is different. He is," and she buried her -face in her hands for a moment and then uncovered it again--"he is a -cruel, grasping man, selfish and greedy. He rules us more as if he -were father than father himself, and he tyrannises even over him. He -takes all the money they both earn while they are away together, and, -generally, he spends it. When they went to Aspinwall, at the time they -were so busy about the Canal, he took all they had both earned and -spent it at the Faro and Monte tables, as they call them down there. -And once he struck father before me, when they were both at home, -because he wanted to go over to Porto Rico, where the Spaniards gamble -day and night, and father would not give him the money for some goats -he had sold to a Tortola dealer. Oh!" she continued, "he is terrible! -and when he takes his share of what is in the Key, I dread to think of -what he will do with it." - -As she finished, the storm increased with such violence that it was -necessary for them to leave the crag on which they stood--otherwise -they would possibly be blown off it ere many moments had elapsed. -Moreover, the hot rain was beginning now--and in these regions only a -few moments elapse between the fall of the first drop and the -drenching downpour of a tropical storm; it was time for them to seek -the refuge of Barbara's home. The thunder, too, was very near now, so -at once they hurried onwards, gaining the desired shelter before the -worst of the storm had set in. - -It was to-day--the day following Barbara's account of Simon -Alderly--that Reginald had promised to read to her Nicholas's -narrative. He had it in his pocket now; indeed he regarded it as too -precious a thing to leave carelessly about, and consequently it was -always with him, and to-day he proposed ere leaving her to get through -some portion of it. He meant to read it all through, partly as a story -that he thought would interest the girl, partly as a justification of -Nicholas. For, he considered, if, since she already believed her -ancestor to be a pirate, he proved to her that he was indeed such, -then Nicholas must be acquitted in her mind for having himself removed -and hidden away that which did not belong to him. So they, having -reached the house, sat themselves down to the narrative, he to read -and she to listen. They were no longer able to sit upon the verandah -since the rain now beat down pitilessly and as though it never meant -to cease, and the wind, even in the middle of the little island, was -very boisterous. And so, when the jalousies had been fastened tightly -to prevent the flapping they had previously made, Reginald began -Nicholas's story, prefacing it with the account of how it had been -found. - -It was about ten o'clock in the day when this young couple, who had so -strangely been brought together in this island, began that story--for -they met and parted early; it was nearly nightfall when Reginald -arrived at the description of how Alderly died singing his drunken -song. And amidst the swift-coming darkness--a darkness made more -intense by the heavy pall of clouds that hung above the island--there -seemed to come over them both that feeling of creepiness, of -melancholy horror, which Nicholas had described himself as becoming -overwhelmed with. - -The girl seemed far more overcome by this feeling than Reginald was. -She started again and again at every fresh gust that shook the frail -fabric in which she dwelt, her eyes stared fixedly before her as -though she saw the spectre of her pirate ancestor rising up, and once -she begged him to desist for a moment from his reading. - -"It was below here," she whispered, "below the very spot where we sit, -that that wretch, that murderous villain, died in his sin. Oh! it is -horrible! horrible to think that we have all lived here so long, that -I was born here. Horrible!" - -"Barbara," said Reginald, "do not regard it so seriously. I was wrong -to read you all I have--yet, think. Think! It is two hundred years -since it all happened--we have nothing to do with that long-buried -past." - -"Yes, yes," she said. "I know that we have not. Yet--yet--this is the -very spot--the very place. That makes it all so much more horrible, so -much more ghostly. And to-night, I know not why, I feel as I have -never felt before, nervous, frightened, alarmed, as though at some -danger near at hand. Let me light the lamp ere you continue." - -"It is the storm has made you nervous," he replied, trying to soothe -her while he assisted her to arrange the lamp. "The air, too, is -charged with electricity--that alone will unstring your nerves, to say -nothing of the darkness and the noise of the tempest. I have done -wrong, Barbara; I have selected the worst time for reading this -horrible story to you. I should have chosen one of the bright days -when we could sit on the crags and have nothing but the brilliant sun -about and over us." - -She glanced up at him with a smile in her clear eyes--the smile that -never failed to make him think that he had lit on some woman belonging -to another world than his, it was so full of innocence as well as a -simple trust that would have well befitted a little child--and laid -her hand upon his arm as though to assure him that he had done nothing -to affright her. But, as she did so, there came a terrific flash of -lightning which illuminated all the tropical wood outside--as they -could see through the slats of the jalousie--and then a roar of -thunder that made the girl scream and let fall the lamp just lighted. - -But Reginald caught it deftly, and placing it on the table said with a -smile-- - -"It would never do for another lamp to be overturned here as one was -so long ago. Come, Barbara, cheer up, take heart! We will read no more -to-night." - -"Yes, yes," she exclaimed. "Read. Go on reading and finish your story. -Besides, we must do something to pass the night--you cannot go to your -yacht, and I--I--; for the first time in my life I fear to be alone. I -dread, though I know not what. I have been alone night after night -here for even weeks and months together, and never feared anything. -Yet, now, I am afraid. Pray, do not leave me to-night." - -He looked at her, admiring, almost worshipping her for the innocence -she showed in every word she spoke, and then he said-- - -"Have no fear, I will not leave you if you wish it. But, Barbara, we -must do something else to pass the hours away than read old Nicholas's -story. What shall we do? Let us have a game of cards." - -There were some packs in her house that they had played with before -now--cards brought from other islands by her dissolute brother, with -which to pass the long nights in, as she frankly owned, trying to get -the better of his father; but she would not play now. - -"No," she said. "Let us come to the end of the tale. I cannot rest -until I have heard it all. Do, do finish it." - -"Very well, if you will," he answered. "And, at any rate, the worst is -told. There is nothing more to shock or affright you. Nothing but the -burying of the treasure in the spot where it now lies, and where we -will dig it up." - -The jalousies rattled as he spoke--yet at this moment the wind had -ceased, and nought was heard but the steady downpour of the rain. - -But, perhaps because of the incessant noise the storm had made for -some hours, neither of them noticed this peculiar incident, though -Reginald glanced up as the blind stirred. - -Then he began again, reading on through Nicholas's strange story, and -doing so with particular emphasis, so that she might grasp every word -of his description as he told how the measurements were to be taken in -the middle Key. And Barbara sat there listening silently. Yet, as he -turned a leaf--having now got to that part of the account where -Nicholas was picked up by the _Virgin Prize_--he paused in -astonishment at the appearance of her face. - -For she was gazing straight before her at the jalousie, her eyes -opened to their widest, her features drawn as though in fright, her -face almost distorted. - -"Look! Look!" she gasped. "Look at the blind." - -And he, following her glance, was for the moment appalled too. - -A large hand was grasping half-a-dozen of the slats in its clutch; -between those slats a pair of human eyes were twinkling as they peered -into the room. - -As Reginald rose to rush at the intruder, whoever he was, Barbara gave -another gasp and fell back fainting into her chair; and then, before -her companion could ask the owner of those eyes what he meant by his -intrusion, the blinds were roughly thrust aside, and, following this, -there came a man of great size, from whom the water dripped as from a -dog who had just quitted a river--a man whose face was all bruised and -discoloured as though he had been badly beaten. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII. -THE ISLAND'S OWNER. - - -"Who are you, and what do you want?" asked Reginald, confronting the -intruder; while, as he spoke, he observed that the coarse and scanty -clothes in which he was clad were drenched with more water than even -the heavens could have poured on him. - -He was a man of great bulk, young as himself, and with a mass of -reddish-yellow hair that hung about his face, matted and dishevelled -from the wet in which it was soaked; and as he advanced into the room -the water dripped off him on to the floor. - -"Want!" he replied, "want! What should a man want in his own house but -rest and comfort after a storm? Master, this is my house! I had best -ask what you want here? And at night--alone with my sister." - -Yet he did not pause for an answer, but going up to where that sister -lay back in the swoon that had overcome her, he shook her roughly by -the shoulder and called out-- - -"Come, get over your fit. I have bad news for you." - -"Be a little more gentle with her!" Reginald exclaimed. "We can bring -her to in a better manner than that;" and as he spoke he went to the -spirit flask he had brought up from the yacht, and moistened her lips -with some of the whisky, and bathed her forehead with water from one -of the calabashes. - -"What the devil is the matter with the girl?" asked her brother. "She -has never been used to indulging in such weaknesses--what does it -mean?" - -"It means," the other replied, "that the storm has frightened her." - -"Bah! she has seen plenty of them since she was born. We are used to -storms here." - -"And also," Reginald went on, "she saw a man--you--outside, listening -to us. She saw your hand on the blind and your face through the slats, -but did not recognise you. It is not strange that she should be -frightened." - -But by this time Barbara was coming round--she opened her eyes as her -brother spoke, then closed them again, as though the sight of him was -horrible to her, and shivered a little. But, after a moment, she -opened them once more, and, fixing them on him, said-- - -"You have come back. Where is father?" - -"He is dead," he said, using no tone of regret as he spoke, and, -indeed, speaking as he might have done of the death of some stranger. -"He is dead not an hour ago. The storm drove us here, brought us home. -But as we reached the shore, for we could not get round to the creek, -the breakers flung our boat over, and us out of it. I was fortunate -enough to scramble on land, but the old man had no such luck. He was -carried out to sea again, and I saw no more of him." - -Barbara had burst into tears at the first intimation of her father's -death, and now she wept silently, her brother sitting regarding her -calmly while he sipped at Reginald's flask as though it were his -own!--and the latter felt his whole heart go out to her in sympathy. -Yet--how could he comfort her? The one whose place it was to do that -was now by her side, but being a rough, uncouth brute, as it was easy -to see he was, he neither offered to do so, nor, it seemed probable, -would he have done aught but mock at any kind words Reginald might -speak. - -"Father! Father!" the girl sobbed. "Oh, father! And I have been -looking forward so much to your return--hoping so much from it. -Thinking how happy we might be." - -Her brother--who seemed to consider that, after having told her of old -Alderly's death, no further remark on the subject was necessary, and -who, if he knew what sympathy meant, certainly did not consider it -needful to exhibit any--had by now turned his back to them and, going -to a cupboard, was busily engaged in foraging in it. Reginald had seen -Barbara take food out of this cupboard ere this, both for him and for -herself--food consisting of dried goat's flesh, cheese and other -simple things--and therefore he was not surprised at the man doing so -now. But he was somewhat surprised at hearing Barbara, while her -brother's back was turned, whisper to him-- - -"Say nothing at present about the Key." - -He nodded, willing to take his line of action from her in anything she -might suggest in the circumstances which had now arisen; yet he felt -that his silence would make his presence there still more inexplicable -But, also, his trust was so firm in the girl that without hesitation -he determined to do as he was bidden. - -Presently her brother turned away from the cupboard, coming towards -them again and bearing in one hand a piece of coarse bread and, in the -other, a scrap of meat he had found. - -"Been here long keeping Barbara company?" he asked, while his -twinkling eyes--how unlike hers! Reginald thought--glistened -maliciously. "We don't often get visitors here." - -"Indeed," Reginald replied; "I have heard differently. I was told in -Tortola that curiosity about the strange history of your island -brought many people here. And, having a little yacht which I have -hired and being a sailor myself, I ventured to pay a visit." - -"Sailor, eh? What line? American and--but, there, it's easy enough to -see you're a Britisher. What is it? Royal Mail, eh?" - -"I am in the Royal Navy. A lieutenant. And my name's Crafer." - -"Crafer, eh? and in the Royal Navy? I don't think much of the Royal -Navy myself. A damned sight too condescending in their ways, as a -rule, are the gentlemen in your line--that is, when they take any -notice of you at all. Well, if you're going to stay I hope you're not -like that. And my name's Alderly--Joseph Alderly. That's good enough -for me." - -"I certainly did hope to stay a little longer. I am on leave and like -cruising about." - -"Your boat's in the river, you say?" - -"Yes." - -"Why don't you live in it instead of in this house, then? Or at -Tortola, where there is a hotel? In some of the islands hereabouts my -sister would get a bad name if it was known she was entertaining young -English officers all alone." - -At his words Reginald sprang to his feet, Barbara also rising, her -hazel eyes, that were usually so soft and innocent, flashing indignant -glances at her brutal brother. - -"You don't know, you don't understand," she began; "if you did you -would behave differently. Mr. Crafer has come----" But Reginald was -speaking also. - -"Mr. Joseph Alderly," he said, "this is the first night I have ever -stayed in your house as late as this. I should not be here now were it -not for the storm. However, I will trespass upon your hospitality no -longer. Miss Alderly, I wish you 'Good-night.'" He touched her hand as -he spoke--not knowing what her glance meant to convey, yet feeling -sure that there must be much she would have said to him if she had had -but the opportunity--and then he turned on his heel, passed through -the jalousie, and so out on to the verandah. - -The storm was ceasing as he went forth, the clouds were rolling away -to the south; around him there were the odours of all the tropical -flowers, their perfume increased threefold by the rain. He knew the -path so well now from having traversed it many times backwards and -forwards from the _Pompeia_, that it took him very little time even in -the dark to reach the bank of the river, to unmoor the dinghy, and to -get on board the craft. Then, lighting his pipe, he sat himself down -in his little cabin to meditate on what this fresh incident--the -arrival of Joseph Alderly--might mean. - -"I should know better what to think," he mused, "if I only knew how -long he had been behind the blind. The brute may have been there for -sufficient time to have heard all the last instructions of old -Nicholas about finding the treasure which I read out. Or he may have -heard only enough to give him an inkling that I know where the -treasure is. Let me see," and he put his hand in his pocket and drew -forth his forerunner's narrative. - -"Yes," he muttered, as he turned over the leaves, "yes, I had got -far enough--having reached the rescue of Nicholas by the _Virgin -Prize_--for him to have heard all if he was there. If he was there; -that's it. Only--was he? or did he come later when there was nothing -more to be overheard than the description of Nicholas leaving the -island?" - -Again he pondered, turning the arrival of Alderly over in his mind, -and then he remembered how the jalousies had rattled at a time when -the wind had lulled, though he had taken little heed of the fact -beyond glancing up from the papers. Yet, as he racked his mind to -recall what they had been saying, or he reading, at the moment, he -remembered the words he had uttered-- - -"There is nothing to tell you now but the burying of the treasure in -the spot where it lies and where we will dig it up." - -These had been his words, or very similar ones. If Alderly had been -there then--if he had arrived on the verandah by the time they were -uttered--he knew all. He had heard the middle Key mentioned, he had -heard how the measurements were to be taken, he knew as much as -Reginald and Barbara knew. But--had he been there? was it his hand -that shook the blind, or was it some light gust of air, a last breath -of the storm? That was the question. - -Still, independent of this--indeed, far beyond the thought of the -treasure, which he had definitely decided he would take no portion of, -since it was not, could not be, his by any right--his mind was -troubled. Troubled about Barbara and her being alone with the savage -creature who was her brother--"Heavens!" he thought, "that they should -be the same flesh and blood!"--troubled to think of what form his -brutality might take towards her if he suspected that she knew where -all the long-sought wealth was hidden away. - -"But," he said to himself, as he still sat on smoking, "no harm shall -come to her if I can prevent it--if I can! nay, as I will. He may -order me out of these moorings since the whole island is his--well, -let him. If he does, I will find out Nicholas's cove and anchor myself -there--or, better still, I will go and lie off the middle Key. And, by -the powers! if he does know that the treasure is there and begins to -dig for it, not a penny, not a brass farthing shall he take away -without my being by to see that he shares fair and fair alike with his -sister. He seems capable, from what I have seen of him and she has -told me, of taking the whole lot off to Aspinwall or Porto Rico and -losing it in one of his loathsome gambling dens, while he leaves her -here alone!" - -He went on deck of his little craft as he made these reflections, and, -more from sailor-like habit than aught else--since no one ever came -into the river--he trimmed his lights and arranged them for the night, -and then went to his cabin and turned in. But before he did so, he -cast a glance up to where Barbara's home was, and saw that on the -slight eminence there twinkled the rays of the lamp through the now -opened windows. All was well, therefore, for this night. - -Yet he could not sleep. He could not rest for thinking of the girl up -there with no one but that brutal kinsman for a companion; with no one -to help her if he in his violence should attempt to injure her--a -thing he would be very likely to do if he questioned her about aught -he might have overheard, and she refused to satisfy him. - -At last this feeling got too strong for him--so strong that he -determined to go and see if all was well with her. Therefore, ashore -he went again, and, making his way up quietly through the glade and -the little wood, he came within sight and earshot of the hut. And -there he soon found that, no matter how fierce and cruel a nature -Alderly's was, he at least meant no harm to the girl herself. - -She, he could see from the close proximity to the hut which he had -attained, was lying asleep upon a low couch on which he had often sat, -a couch covered with Osnaburgh cloth and some skins. Alderly was -sitting at the table, drinking and smoking and occasionally singing. -He had evidently found some liquor of his own--probably stowed away by -him ere setting out on his various cruises--and was pouring it out -pretty rapidly into the mug he drank from. - -"Heavens!" exclaimed Reginald. "How the past repeats itself! Here -stand I, a Crafer, watching an Alderly in his cups, even as, two -hundred years ago, my relative stood here watching this man's. And he -sings there as he drinks, even as his rascally forerunner sang, -too--the one when his father has not been dead many hours, the other -when he had murdered a man! And Barbara,--well, there is Barbara in -place of the fancied Barbara the other conjured up. It is the past all -over again, in the very same place, almost the very same hour at -night. Let us hope that, as all came well with Nicholas afterwards, so -it may with me. And with Barbara, too. Yes, with Barbara, too." - -Whereon, seeing that all was well for the present at any rate, he -moved silently away and so regained his boat. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV. -JOSEPH ALDERLY. - - -In the morning, when he woke and went on to the deck of his little -craft, he saw Barbara standing on the river's brink--evidently waiting -for him to be stirring. Therefore, he at once got into his dinghy and -went ashore to her. - -"What is he doing now?" he asked, as he took her hand and noticed for -the first time the absence of the splendid flush of health upon her -face that was generally there. This morning she had dark purple rings -under her eyes--as though she had not slept or had been weeping. - -"He is asleep now," she said, "after sitting up drinking, singing, and -muttering to himself till nearly daybreak. Oh, Mr. Crafer!" she broke -off, "what is to be done?" - -"What does he know?" asked Reginald in return. "Did he hear any of the -story I read to you? How long had he been at the window before you -noticed him?" - -"I cannot tell. Yet I think he suspects. Before I went to sleep he -asked me what brought you here, and whether you were hunting for the -treasure, and also what that paper was you were reading to me?" - -"And what did you tell him?" - -"I would not tell a lie, therefore I said it was an account of the -island, written by a connection of yours who had been here long ago." -"And then?" - -"And then he said he would like to see it. He said he was sure you -would show it to him." - -"Was he! I am sure I shall do nothing of the kind. Yet I do not know," -and Reginald broke off to meditate. Following which he went on again. -"But he must see it after all. Barbara, the treasure is his and yours. -He must be told." - -"No, no," she said. "It is not his--it is yours--yours--yours. Oh! it -would be wicked, shocking, to think that you, the only person in the -world to whom the chance came of finding out where it is hidden, -should not be entitled to it, or at least to half of it. And think, -too, of the journey you have made, the expense you have been put to, -the trouble you have taken. And all for nothing; to get nothing in -return." - -"I have got something in return," he said. "Your friendship! Have I -not, Barbara?" - -"Yes," the girl whispered, or almost whispered, while to her cheeks -there came back the rose-blush he loved so much to see. "Yes. But what -is that in comparison to what you ought to have?" - -"Everything," he replied earnestly. "Everything. Far more, perhaps, to -me than you think. But now is scarcely the time to tell you how dear -that friendship is. Instead, let us think of what is best to be done." - -"At present," she replied, "I am sure the best thing is to keep the -secret. If he knew it was there he would get it up somehow--and, I -think, he would go away with it. Then you would get nothing." - -"But I want nothing." - -"I don't care," she replied. "I am determined you shall have half. Oh! -promise me, promise me you will tell him nothing unless he agrees to -give you half." - -At first he again refused, and still again, but at last he agreed to -her request, or at least so far consented that he said he would make a -proposal to her brother. He would suggest that, on his being willing -to divide whatever they should find into three parts--one for Alderly, -one for Barbara, and one for him--he would inform him where he thought -the treasure was buried. But that he would take no more than a third -he was quite resolved, he told her. - -"It will be useless," she said, "useless to do that! He will never -consent to my having a third; if he did he would take it away from me -directly afterwards." - -"Would he!" exclaimed Reginald. "Would he! I would see about that." - -"At any rate, he would try to do so. Therefore, it would be far better -for you to insist on one half. By taking one third you would only get -a lesser share, while he would get more." - -At last, therefore, Reginald determined he would go and see her -brother and, as he said, sound him. Only he was resolved on one thing. -Alderly should neither see Nicholas's manuscript nor be told the exact -spot where the buried treasure was until they had come to some terms. - -"And, remember," he said to her, "if I get one half from him, you take -from me what represents one third." To which again the girl protested -she would never consent. - -After this they parted, she going back to the hut, and he saying he -would follow later, since they resolved it would be best to keep the -knowledge of their having met that morning from her brother. - -When, however, Reginald himself arrived at Alderly's house he found -that person gone from it and Barbara alone--standing on the verandah -and evidently watching for his coming. - -"He has gone down to the shore," she said, "to see if he can find -anything of poor father's body. At least that is what he says he has -gone for, as well as to see if his boat is capable of being repaired. -Alas! I fear he thinks more of the boat than of father's death." - -"If he thinks so much of the boat," Reginald remarked, "it scarcely -looks as if he has much idea of there being a large treasure to his -hand. However, I will go and see him. Where did he come ashore last -night?" - -"Very near to the Keys," she answered. "Indeed, close by." - -So Reginald made his way across the island to that spot, and, when he -had descended the crags and reached the small piece of beach there, he -saw Alderly engaged in inspecting the wrecked craft which had brought -him safely back to his island overnight. It had been at its best but -a poor crazy thing--a rough-built cutter of about the same size as the -_Pompeia_, but very different as regards its fittings and -accommodation. It was open-decked, with a wretched cabin aft into -which those in her might creep for rest and shelter, and with another -one forward--but these were all there was to protect them. - -"She is badly injured," Reginald said, after having wished Alderly -good-morning and received a surly kind of grunt in reply. "I am afraid -there is not much to be done to her." - -"Mister," said Alderly, suddenly desisting from his inspection, and -turning round on the other man without taking any notice of his -remark, "I am glad you came here this morning. You and I have got to -have some talk together, and we can't do it better than here." - -"Certainly," replied Reginald. "What would you like us to talk about?" - -"It ain't what I'd _like_ to talk about, but what I am _a-going_ to -talk about as you've got to hear. Now, look you here. I ain't no -scholar like Barb over there--she was sent to school because the old -man was a fool--and I'm a plain man. I've had to earn my living -rough--very rough--and p'raps I'm a bit rough myself. But I'm -straight--there ain't no man in the islands straighter nor what I am." - -"Being so straight, perhaps you will go on with what you have to say. -Meanwhile, Mr. Alderly, let me be equally straight with you. Your -manner is offensive, and, as you say, 'very rough.' Therefore, I may -as well tell you that it doesn't intimidate me. We are both sailors, -only I happen to have been in a position of command, while your rank, -I gather, has been always more or less of a subordinate one. So, if -you'll kindly remember that I expect civility, we shall get along very -well together." - -Alderly glanced at him, perhaps calculating the strength of the thews -and sinews of so finely built a young man; then he said-- - -"This is _my_ island, you know, mister, and all that's in it." - -"Precisely. And you mean that I am in it. Well, so I am. Only, you -understand, I can very soon get out of it. The sea isn't yours as -well." - -"Suppose I wasn't to let you go! Suppose I stopped up the mouth of the -river where your craft is a-lying! Then you'd be in it still." - -"Yes," said Reginald, "so I should. Only, all the same, I should go -when I pleased. I am not a baby--but, there, this is absurd. Say what -you want to say." - -"Well, I will. What was that paper you was a-reading to my sister in -my house last night?" - -"A little history of this island, which a forerunner of mine happened -to visit some two centuries ago." - -"Two cent'ries ago! Oh! It didn't happen to say anything about the -treasure old Simon Alderly had stowed away here, did it?" - -"Since you ask me so directly, and as it is your business, I will -reply at once. It did." - -For a moment Alderly's face was a sight to see. First the brown of his -face turned to a deeper hue, then the colour receded, leaving him -almost livid, then slowly the natural colour returned again, and he -said, huskily-- - -"It did, eh? So I thought, though I don't know why the wench, Barb, -told me a lie." - -"Are you sure she did tell you a lie? I don't think your sister seems -a person of that sort." - -"Never mind my sister. Tell me about the treasure--_my_ treasure. I am -the heir, you know; I am the only Alderly left after two cent'ries -hunting for it--you was right about them cent'ries, mister. Two it -was. Where is that treasure? Go on, tell me." - -"I have not quite made up my mind about doing that," said Reginald. -"It remains for me to decide whether I shall do so just yet." - -"It remains for you to decide whether you will tell me where my -property is! It does, does it? And what else?--what do it remain for -me to do?" and he advanced so close to Reginald and looked so -threatening, both from his angry glances and his great height and -build, that many a man might have been cowed. But not such a man as -Reginald Crafer! - -"What do it remain for me to do--eh?" he asked again. "To kill you, -p'raps." - -Reginald's laugh rang out so loud at this that it might have been -heard on the Keys outside--the Keys whereon the treasure was. And it -made Alderly's fury even greater than before. - -"I _could_ kill you, mister, easy, if I wanted to. And no one would -never know of it except Barb. And if she knowed of it, why, I'd kill -her too. Anyhow, I mean to have my fortune." - -"As to killing," said Reginald, "I don't quite agree with you. You -seem to me a powerful kind of a person, without much knowledge, -however, of using that power." Here Alderly stamped with fury. -"Therefore, you are not so very terrible. However, about _your_ -fortune. To begin with, are you quite sure it is yours?" - -"Why! whose else is it if it ain't mine?" the bully asked, stupidly -now. "Ain't this island mine now father's dead?" - -"You say it is, though I am sure I don't know whether you are telling -the truth or not. It might be as much your sister's as yours." Alderly -burst out laughing, scornfully this time; but Reginald went on. "Your -father might have left a will, you know, leaving her a portion of it, -or, indeed, the whole, if he didn't approve of your general -behaviour." - -Alderly laughed again--though now he looked rather white, the other -thought; and then he said emphatically:-- - -"Father didn't leave no papers. So I'm the heir. Girls don't count, -I'm told." All of which--both laughter, pallor, and remarks--led -Reginald to form a suspicion that whatever papers the elder Alderly -might have left had been destroyed. - -"I think they do," said Reginald, "and certainly Miss Alderly counts -in my opinion. For, if eventually I decide to tell you where your -treasure is, she will have to have her portion." - -"She will have her portion," said Alderly decidedly, "which will be -that I shall look after her. And I suppose you'll want a portion, -too." - -"Yes, rather," the other replied, remembering that he had promised to -make no stipulations about Barbara. So he corrected himself now, and -said, "Of course I suppose you will look after her. Well, remembering -that, I shall want one half." - -"One half!" exclaimed Alderly, almost shouting out the words in his -excitement. "One half! My God! One half of all that treasure! Just for -coming here to tell me where it is! Why! you must be mad, Mr. Crafer, -or whatever you call yourself. Mad! Mad! Why! sooner than do that I'd -fetch a hundred o' my pals and mates from all around, from the islands -and up from Aspinwall and Colon, and dig the whole place up till we -found it. One half!" - -"And dig the whole place up!" repeated Reginald. "Just so. Only, you -know that when your ancestress, the first Barbara, and her son came -here they found the treasure had been removed from the place where -Simon left it, and none have ever been able to find it since. Isn't -that so?" - -"Yes," muttered Alderly, "it is, damn you!" - -"Very well. You don't own all the islands round, of which there are -some scores, inhabited and uninhabited. And, presuming that the -treasure in question has been moved to one of these--and there is no -one knows whether it has or not but myself" (he determined not to -bring Barbara in further than was necessary)--"what good would all the -digging of you and your 'pals and mates' do in this place, Mr. -Alderly?" - -To which the other could only answer by a muttered curse. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV. -DANGER IMPENDING. - - -Alderly was now at bay! - -For a couple of days he raved, stormed, and alternately endeavoured to -extract from Reginald and from his sister a hint as to which of the -islands the treasure had been removed to. But it was all of no avail. -Barbara, whose gentle nature had conceived almost a hatred against her -unnatural brother for the utter indifference he had shown to their -father's fate, avoided him as much as she could, and, when not able to -do so, refused to acknowledge that she knew anything more than that -Mr. Crater possessed the secret of the hidden store. - -While, as for Reginald, he simply said, whenever Alderly sought him -out--which the latter did frequently, since the other would go no more -to his hut,--"One half is what I want if we dig it up together." - -But to Alderly, who among all his other bad qualities possessed that -of inordinate greed, this proposal appeared so enormous that he could -not bring himself to consent to it. - -"And if we don't dig it up together," said Reginald, who had not the -slightest compunction in playing on the fears and covetousness of the -man, "why, I shall have to dig it up by myself--which you cannot -prevent my doing if it is not on your property, you know. Then I shall -take it all, except what I hand over to some lawyer, or English -representative, in one of the islands for your sister's use." - -"But it is mine, mine alone!" the infuriated wretch would exclaim. -"Mine, even if it is outside Coffin Island. Simon was my relative, and -he found it." - -"And Nicholas Crafer was mine," replied the other, "and he found it, -too. It belonged to him as much as to Simon, and, what's more, the -secret belongs to me and not to you. And as you are a card player and -a 'sportsman,' Mr. Alderly, you'll understand what a strong card that -is in my favour." - -It was so strong a card that Alderly acknowledged to himself in his -own phraseology that "he was beat." That is, he was "beat" by fair -means, and, being a brute and a savage in whose nature there seemed to -run all the worst strains of his ancestor, Simon, he soon took to -turning over in his mind how he could win by means that were foul. - -And on how these means could be brought about he pondered deeply, -roaming round the island as he did so, Barbara's gun under his arm -with which to shoot, now and again, a gull or some other equally -harmless or useless bird; or sitting on the crags, or the beach when -the tide was out, thinking ever. And what he thought about more than -anything else was, "How could he obtain possession of that paper which -he had seen in Grafer's hand?" For in that paper lay the secret, he -felt sure, of the spot to which the treasure, _his_ treasure, had been -removed. - -It may be told here that, although he had been outside the jalousie on -the night of the storm which drove him home, and his father to his -doom, for longer than either Barbara or Reginald knew, he had gleaned -but a very imperfect knowledge of what the latter had read out. Some -words he had caught, such as "when you have taken your first -measurement from the spot where you land, you stick in the ground your -sword, and then make, or persevere until you make, all your other -strides correspond with what I have wrote down." Yet this told -nothing. He had not heard nor caught the mention of the Keys, -therefore the measurement might apply to any of the scores of little -islands in the Virgin Archipelago. Also he had heard Reginald read out -from his papers, "now here is a little map, rough as befits a drawing -made by me, yet just and true." But of what use was this map--unless -he could set eyes on it! Ah! that was it. If he could set eyes on it! - -He had heard other sentences, too; a portion of the conclusion of -Nicholas Crafer's narrative, but they would not piece together into -one explicit whole. He was, indeed, at bay. He knew the treasure had -been moved somewhere, and he knew that, in the possession of this -fellow who was now in that gimcrack yacht in the river, was a -description of where the treasure was, as well as a map showing the -spot; but he knew no more. - -And as he thought it all over, sitting upon a crag, he ground his -large white teeth and beat the rock beneath him with the butt of -Barbara's gun in his rage. But, at last, it seemed that he had made up -his mind, had resolved upon his plan; for with a smothered oath--the -use of which expletives he was very frequent in--he sprang to his -feet, while he muttered to himself-- - -"One half! One half! Ho! Ho! No! Not one half, not one shilling, not -one red cent." - -As he rose, there came across the little grassy plateau behind the -crag his sister, Barbara. For a moment she paused and glanced at him, -and, perhaps because she knew him so well and had studied all his evil -moods from infancy, she observed something in his face more evil, more -threatening than usual. Then she said-- - -"I want my gun." - -"What for?" - -"There are some large parrots come across from Anegada. You said you -wanted some for your supper when next a flock came. See, there are two -in the gros-gros down there. Give me the gun," and taking it from his -hand, she cocked it and aimed at the two birds in the palm-tree -half-way down the cliff. - -"What is the use?" he said roughly. "They will fall into the sea below -and we can never get them, it is too deep." - -But ere he could say more she fired, missing her mark, if, indeed, she -had aimed at it. Then she uttered an exclamation and dropped the gun, -letting it fall a hundred and fifty feet below into the deep sea. - -"You fool!" he said, "you infernal fool!" And he looked as though he -were going to strike her for her carelessness. "You fool! it was the -only firearm we had in the island, and now you have let it go where we -can never get it back. Barbara, a beating would do you good. I have a -mind to give you one or fling you over the cliff after it." - -"It kicked," she said, "and hurt me. And, after all, it doesn't matter -much. It was old and scarcely ever shot straight. I could do nothing -with it." - -"I could, though," he replied, still scowling at her. "It would shoot -what I wanted. That was good enough for me." - -And Barbara, as she looked him straight in the eyes, said inwardly to -herself-- - -"I know it would shoot what _you_ wanted. That is why it will never -shoot again." - -He changed the subject after grumbling at and abusing her for some -time longer, and said-- - -"Where's that fellow now, that admirer of yours? I haven't seen him -to-day." - -"I saw his yacht go out two or three hours ago," she said, treating -the remark about Reginald's admiration with infinite contempt--as of -late she had treated most of his speeches. "I suppose he has gone for -a sail. Or, perhaps, over to Tortola or Anegada to buy himself some -food. Since you will not show him much civility, I suppose he does not -want to be beholden to you for even so much as a mango or a shaddock." - -"I've a mind to put a chain across the river's mouth and stop him ever -coming into the river again." But while he spoke he started at a -thought that came into his mind, and said-- - -"My God! Suppose he is gone to the island where he knows the treasure -was removed to! Suppose that! And to dig it up and be off with it. -Barbara!" he almost shrieked, "which is that island--where is it?" - -"Offer him the fair half he requires," she said, "and find out. That's -the best thing you can do." - -People who live in civilised places do not often see a man with the -temper of a wild beast exhibit that temper. There are many men with -such tempers, it is true, in the most enlightened and refined spots; -but their surroundings force them into some sort of decency, however -much they may be raging inwardly. Here, in Coffin Island, civilisation -was, if not nonexistent, at least at a discount, and Joseph Alderly, -who had the disposition of a tiger without the tiger's redeeming -quality--love for its own kind--gave way at Barbara's last remark to -such a tempest of fury as would have disgraced that animal. He rushed -at his sister, howling, cursing and blaspheming, with the evident -intention of hurling her over the cliff, which she--agile as a -deer--avoided, so that had he not thrown himself down violently, he -must have gone over instead; and then he gave his vile infirmity full -swing. Curses on her, on Crafer, even on himself, poured from his -mouth; he dug his heels into the earth and kicked stones and, pebbles -away from him as though they were living creatures which could feel -his fury; and all the time he interlarded his blasphemy with such -remarks as, "It is mine, mine, mine. I will have it, even though I cut -his throat. Mine! mine! mine! One half--my God! One half!" - -Thus the savage exhibited his temper without restraint; it was his -only manner of doing so. Had he been an English gentleman, he would -probably have had just the same temper, only it would have taken a -different shape. He would have browbeaten his wife or female kin, have -bullied his servants, and probably kicked his dog. And then, as -Alderly soon did, he would have calmed down, feeling much relieved! - -Barbara waited until at last he seemed quieter--regarding him with -scorn, though not surprise, since she knew his disposition--when she -said: - -"I don't think you understand Mr. Crafer. Like all his countrymen he -can be very firm, I imagine, and like all English sailors"--and there -was a perceptible accentuation of the word "English"--"he seems very -brave. You won't frighten him." - -He still muttered and mumbled to himself--though it seemed to her he -was meditating something all through the end of his paroxysm--and at -last he said: - -"When is he coming back? I suppose you know." - -"How should I know, and why should he come back? Your welcome has not -been very warm, and, as you say, he may have gone to the other island -where the treasure has been removed to." - -Again at this, to him, awful suggestion, it seemed as if his brutal -fury was going to break out once more, but this time, by an effort -that was no doubt terrific, he calmed himself and was contented to -exclaim: - -"I don't believe that! If he came to fetch it away, why didn't he do -so before now? There was no one to interfere with him. You may depend -it's all a lie--the treasure's here in my island, and he hasn't dug it -up because he couldn't. He was afraid of you before I came back." - -"My admirer--and afraid of me! Well!" exclaimed Barbara, with a -different note of scorn in her voice now. - -"Or he was playing at being your admirer to throw dust in your eyes -and get away with it all somehow." - -Here Barbara shrugged her shoulders; but even that significant gesture -was allowed to pass also without an explosion. He was calming himself, -taming himself, she saw plainly, and she guessed at once that he had a -reason for what he did. What was that reason? She resolved to know. - -"I suppose I must yield," he said, with a strange look in his eyes. -"Barbara, we must give in. You go and see him and tell him I'll go -halves. Though it's a cruel shame, a wicked shame." - -"Is it? I don't think so. He came all the way from England to get it -all for himself, and it was only when he found that there were -descendants of Simon on the island that he resolved to give it--to -share it!" she corrected herself. - -"Well, we must do it. But to think of his taking half away! When will -he come back?" - -"I tell you I don't know." - -Her brother again plunged into meditation. Then he said: - -"You go down to the mouth of the river and watch till he comes in. You -can talk to him better than I can--you're what they call a lady, I -suppose. At any rate, you're edycated. Then tell him what I say--that -I'll give in and go shares--that is, if you can't wheedle him into -taking less. You're a fine-looking girl, Barbara, as good a looking -girl as ever I've seen in Jamaica or Darien, or even up to New York; -if you played your cards right we could get the lot out of him." - -The girl shrank away from him with such a look of disgust--for the -odious leer upon his face told her quite as plainly as his words did, -if not more so, what he meant--that he refrained from continuing. -Whatever plot he was maturing--and he was maturing a deep-laid one--he -saw that this was not the way to work it. Therefore he continued his -instructions. - -"Go down and meet him when he comes in. It will be to-night when the -tide sets here from Tortola. Then come home and tell me. And -to-morrow--" he said the word "to-morrow" slowly, and with a sound in -his voice that roused her--"to-morrow, if he's willing, we'll get to -work. Now go." - -She turned on her heel without a word beyond saying "Very well," and -in a moment she was gone, her lithe form disappearing instantly -amongst the bamboos and Spanish bayonets, the poinsettias and -begonias, that grew up close to the plateau And beyond the chattering -of the aroused _vert-verts_ and _Qu'est-ce qu'il dit's_, there was -nothing to show that she had set out upon her errand. - -He, the savage owner of that beautiful island, sat exactly where he -had been sitting so long, still muttering to himself, laughing once or -twice, and repeating over and over again the words, "To-morrow, -to-morrow." And as he did so, a pleasing vision came before his eyes, -and only once it was marred--by what seemed to be a great wave of -blood passing before them. Otherwise, it showed him all that could -gladden such a heart as his. A southern gambling-hell with the tables -piled with gold, all of which he was winning for himself by the aid of -the vast capital he possessed. A gambling-hell with the lights turned -down low for coolness, and with iced drinks being passed about to all -therein; a place through which the sound of soft music was borne, in -which fair-haired women caressed him, and made much of him. Then, -next, he saw a verdant hill above a summer sea, a villa with marble -steps and corridors; outside, the splashing of fountains amidst the -palms around them. And still the golden-haired women were ever -present, contending with each other for his favours--his, the -wealthiest man in those tropic regions! - -That was the vision he saw, before rising and going slowly down the -path that led to the beach where his patched-up cutter was moored. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI. -BEWARE! - - -The girl went on her mission willingly enough--indeed, had her brother -not ordered her to go and watch for the return of Reginald, she had -quite determined in her own mind some time before to seek him out, and -to wait for his coming back. - -For she, who had observed Joseph carefully all her lifetime, could -read his nature as easily as a book; she knew what those tempests of -fury, followed by an enforced self-subduing, meant. Above all, -she knew what the sudden determination on his part to share the -treasure--or the appearance of sudden determination--meant also. It -meant either trickery, or violence, or murder. Most probably the -latter! - -His greed for money to squander on himself had always been great, even -from boyhood. In those days, and before he could earn anything for -himself, he would rob his father of small sums, pilfering them from -his pocket when he slept, or from places where he kept his earnings; -later on, if a goat or a sheep were taken by him to Tortola and sold, -there would be always some dispute about the price obtained, always -something missing. And when he was a man the scenes between him and -his father, the fights and the ill-treatment to which old Alderly was -subjected, were sufficient to make him stand forth in very distinct -characters. - -Therefore, she knew that he intended something now against Reginald -Crafer--she felt perfectly sure that never would her brother allow the -latter to become possessed of one-half of whatever buried treasure -there might be. What his exact intentions were she could not, of -course, make sure. It might be that he meant to watch him, until, in -some way, the spot where the treasure was should be revealed, when, by -some trickery, Joseph would manage to secure it all; it might be that -he had resolved to do the worst and slay him. For, if he could do -that, then he would become possessed of the papers which told where -the treasure was, and, since he was able to read enough, she thought, -to decipher even the crabbed, indistinct characters in the writing, -as she had seen them to be, to thus possess himself of all. And she -knew, too, that whatever Joseph did would be done by stealth and -craft--the only way in which he ever worked when not consumed by his -passion--and, therefore, he was doubly to be suspected and guarded -against. - -All through the warm tropical afternoon she sat on by the bank of the -river; it was the very spot, as she knew, or thought she knew, where -two centuries ago Simon Alderly had slain the diver--thinking always, -and taking no heed of all the multitudinous animal life around her. -The humming-birds hovered in front of her, bright specks of gorgeous -colour; the butterflies, representing in their brilliant bodies every -known hue, flitted backwards and forwards; sometimes a monkey peered -at her with wide-open eyes from moriche and bamboo, and insects of -numerous varieties crept about the bush-ropes and the fan-palms, while -all around her was the warmth and perfume of the tropics. - -Yet she heeded none of these things. They were the accompaniments of -the whole of her young existence, and--even had they not been--she -would not now have noticed them. Her thoughts were intent on the -saving of a human life--a life she had come to love, the life of the -handsome Englishman who had journeyed from far-off England to her -lonely, desolate home. - -Presently she knew that night was at hand, that it was coming swiftly. -The atmosphere was all suffused by a rich saffron hue, into which the -crimson tints of the sun and the blue of the heavens were being -absorbed; the sun itself was sinking over the mount behind her; even -the air was cooling and becoming fresher. - -"If he would only come," she whispered to herself; "if he would only -come before night falls." - -And then she resolved to go to the mouth of the river and look for -him. To do so meant that she must force her way through a hundred -yards of undergrowth of cacti and all kinds of clinging creepers; yet -she was so anxious to see him and to warn him of the danger in which, -she felt sure, he would stand on his return, that she did not hesitate -a moment. Therefore she plunged bodily in amongst the luxuriant -vegetation, and, after a considerable amount of struggling and a -numerous quantity of scratches received, stood at last upon the beach, -gazing almost south towards Tortola. - -And soon she saw that he was coming back--as she had never doubted he -would come: he had not parted from her in a manner that meant a last -farewell!--he was very near the island now, not a quarter of a mile -away. - -Presently he, too, saw her standing there regarding him, and, as he -did so, took his handkerchief from his pocket and waved it to her. And -five minutes later the _Pompeia_ passed in between the river banks, so -that they could speak to each other. - -"Why! how did you get through the undergrowth, Barbara?" he asked, -astonished to see her on the beach, which, from the landing path, was -almost inaccessible. - -"I wanted to see if you were coming back," she answered, "and so -forced my way." - -"Wait till I have anchored opposite the path," he said, "and I will -come back with the dinghy and bring you off." And so he passed on to -the usual place where he moored the yacht--simply because the path -from the hut to the river came down opposite--and then, anchoring, he -got into the dinghy and went to fetch her. - -"Shall I put you ashore," he asked, "or will you come on board?" - -"On board," she said; "we can talk better there. Ashore there may be -ears hidden behind any palm or under any bush. Take me on board." - -He looked at her with one swift glance, wondering what could have -happened now, but he said nothing; and after a few strokes they stood -on the deck of his little craft. Then he brought her a tiny deck-chair -and bade her be seated, while he leaned against the gunwale by her -side. - -"What is it, Barbara?" he asked, looking down at her. "What is it -now?" - -"I do not know," she said, speaking very low and casting glances over -to the bank of the river, as though doubting whether that other one -might not be hidden somewhere beneath the thick foliage of the shore. -"Yet, Mr. Crafer, I fear." - -"For what?" - -"For you. He is meditating something. I am sure of it. He has bidden -me come to you and say that, to-morrow, he will agree to share the -treasure with you if you will show him where it is. No," she went on, -seeing a smile appear upon Reginald's face, "no, it is not so simple -an ending as you think. I am certain--I feel positively sure from what -I know of him--that he means to do nothing of the kind." - -"Then why the suggestion?" he asked. "What is the use of it?" - -"To gain time, to have the night in which to think over and work out -some scheme. Perhaps," she said, leaning a little forward to him in -her earnestness, so that, even in the now swift-coming darkness, he -could see her large starry eyes quite clearly, "to have the night in -which to attempt some injury to you. Oh! Mr. Crafer, for God's sake be -on your guard. You do not know him as I do." - -"Have no fear," he said, touching her hand gently, as though in thanks -for her warning, "have no fear. Yet I will be careful. But what can he -do to-night, even if he wished to do harm? I am as safe here in this -little yacht as in a castle." - -"You do not know. With him one can never tell what he is thinking of -doing--what his designs are. His life has been terribly rough, and he -has lived among lawless people and in lawless places. And his desire -for wealth is such that, knowing your life is the only thing that -stands between him and a great sum of money, as he believes, he would -hesitate at nothing. No! Not even at taking that life." - -Then she told him of the incident of the gun, and how she had let it -fall into the sea so as to put it--the only firearm in the place--out -of harm's way. He thanked her again for this precaution for his -safety, and then she said that she must go. It was dark now, and -doubtless her brother would be waiting for Reginald's answer, since -she thought it very probable that he was quite as well aware that the -_Pompeia_ was once again anchored in the river as she was herself. - -"Heaven bless you, Barbara, for your kindly, generous nature, and, -above all, for your thought for me," Reginald exclaimed. "That I shall -remember it always you cannot doubt. And be sure I will be very -careful, even here, aboard. Though I do not see what he can do. Our -old friend, Simon, would have attacked Nicholas openly if the -circumstances had been similar, and they would have fought it out to -the grim death. Your brother can't do that, and--short of an open -fight in the river--he can do nothing. Therefore, Barbara, have no -fear for me. And I am armed, too. See!" and with a smile he showed her -a neat little revolver--one of Webley's New Express--a powerful -weapon, though light and handy. - -"God grant it may not come to that!" she answered, with a shudder. -"Bad as he is, it would break my heart if he should die at your -hands." - -"It shall not come to that," Reginald replied. "I only showed it to -you to ease your mind. And you may be sure that since he has no -firearms I would not use one on him." - -Then, as he put her ashore in the dinghy he said that, of course, she -would tell her brother that he was willing to come to terms. "That -is," he explained, "to go halves. Which halves mean that I am looking -after your interests, you know, and----" - -"Pray, pray," she interposed, "do not let us even think of such things -now. If I have misjudged him, as I hope most earnestly I have, then -there will be time to talk about shares and so forth. If I have read -him aright----" but here she broke off with a little shiver, and, -holding out her hand to him as they stood on the river's brink, wished -him "Good-night." - -"Good-night!" he exclaimed. "Good-night! Why, surely, I may accompany -you part of the way at least? I always do so when we are any distance -from your home." - -"No," she answered, "no. Go back at once to your yacht. At once, I -say, and get on board her. Oh! if you did but know the terror I am in -for your safety." - -"Barbara!" he exclaimed. "Barbara! Why! it is a dream, a fantasy----" - -"No," she said, "no. It is no dream, no fantasy. For my sake, for my -sake, I beseech you--go back and make yourself secure. Believe me, I -know him!" and she turned as though to run up the slight ascent. - -"For your sake, then, I will," he said. "For your sake. We will -meet to-morrow. Good-night, Barbara." Then he suddenly asked, -anxiously--"But you--there is no danger to you?" - -"No! no! Good-night," she said, "God keep you. Oh! this dread is -terrible," and then, giving him a sign to go without further loss of -time, she sped up the path. - -He did not share at all in Barbara's dread of her brother, perhaps -because he was a man, and, perhaps, also, because he had not been used -to witnessing years of violence on that brother's part; indeed, he -believed her terrors to be purely feminine--the terrors that many -women feel in all parts of the world for that worst of despots, the -domestic tyrant. But being neither vain nor conceited, he did not for -one moment associate those terrors with any regard she had allowed -herself to conceive for him, nor, thereby, make allowances for them in -that way. Indeed, he had very little idea that she regarded him as -anything more than a stranger, who, by the peculiar knowledge he -possessed of the buried wealth, was far more interesting than the few -tourists were who sometimes visited Coffin Island. Yet he forgot she -allowed him to call her Barbara, while always herself addressing him -with formality. - -He was not, however, so foolhardy as to neglect a caution given him by -one who was not only interested in him but, also, thoroughly well -acquainted with the scheming and violently dangerous nature of Joseph -Alderly. He therefore, on regaining the deck of the _Pompeia_, took -such precautions as were possible. He drew up the little dinghy from -the water and placed it on the deck parallel with the port side, and, -when he entered his cabin, he was careful to leave the door open so -that any outside sounds from either the river or the banks would be -plainly heard. - -Then--since there was no more to be done--he went into the cabin and, -mixing himself some whisky and water, prepared to watch as long as he -could keep his eyes open, making one sacrifice to the supposed -necessity for a caution in so far that he decided not to lie down -during the night. - -"There is nothing else to do," he reflected; "hardly any danger to -ward off. He can't make such an attack on me as I suggested his -ancestor, Simon, would very likely have done, and there is no other -way possible, for he cannot get on board without my knowing it, and, -if he could, I am as good a man as he!" - -Yet still he determined to watch carefully until at least the dawn had -come; for then would be sufficient time to begin considering how he -should meet Alderly and arrange for digging up the buried treasure. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII. -"AND DEATH THE END OF ALL." - - -It was a particularly dark night and all was very calm. The moon did -not top the eastern bank of the river until long past midnight, and -the stars gave but little light. Also, the silence was extreme. -Sometimes, it is true, he could hear the rustling of birds and small -animals in the luxuriant vegetation on either bank, or catch the -whisper of the soft night breezes among the _gros-gros_, the moriches, -and the great leaves of the green bananas; but that was all. And -sparkling all around him, as they whirled in their evolutions, were -the myriads of fireflies that make every tropical acre of ground look -like an illuminated garden; but, beyond these and the dim stars above -the opening between the two banks, there was nothing else to be seen. -Even the great trunks of the trees were shrouded in gloom, and seemed -nothing but dense patches on the sombre background. - -Reginald sat on in his cabin, his pipe in his mouth, his tumbler by -his side, the portholes and the door open for coolness and also for -precaution's sake. And on the table upon which he leant his elbows -there lay the revolver. He had promised, voluntarily promised Barbara, -he would not use the weapon upon her brother, who had none; yet he did -not know but that, should a crisis come, he might have occasion to do -so. If Alderly were the scheming scoundrel the unhappy girl believed -him to be, then it was by no means unlikely that he, too, might -possess, secretly, a similar pistol which he had carefully kept her in -ignorance of. Or, since he was so big and powerful, if by any chance -he could board the _Pompeia_--as he might do by swimming from one of -the banks--it might come to a hand-to-hand fight, in which Alderly -would possibly be armed with other weapons, and thereby force Reginald -to use his own. But he was resolved there should be no use of it -unless absolutely necessary. - -"How quiet it all is," he meditated, as he sat there, "how -undisturbed. Surely Barbara had no need for fear on my account! Why, -Nicholas could hardly have been more secure when he had the island all -to himself after Simon Alderly's death, than I am now." - -And this thought set his mind off into another train, a reflection of -the similarity there was between him and his kinsman, and between -their actions in this spot--in spite of two hundred years having -rolled away. - -"Nicholas had his galliot anchored here," he thought; "perhaps in the -very spot where I am now. He, too, used the path up to the hut--not -far away from here the Snow was sunk--and--and--and----" He gave a -start and shook himself. He had nearly fallen asleep! He was very -tired, for the day had been a long one, what with sailing back from -Tortola--to which he had gone, as Barbara surmised, to purchase -provisions--and his having been now awake and on the stretch for more -than eighteen hours. Therefore, to try and arouse himself, he went on -to the deck of the _Pompeia_, and inhaled the fresh night air as he -peered all around. But there was nothing to be seen, nothing. Nor, had -there been anything out of the ordinary, could he have seen it. The -darkness was intense. - -He sat down again on the locker which ran round the cabin and formed a -seat, sitting bolt upright this time to prevent sleep coming upon him, -though all the while he kept telling himself that such precaution was -unnecessary. Alderly was safe asleep in his own house, he felt sure, -or was sitting up drinking and carousing by himself, as, so Barbara -told him, was always his habit. He would sit and drink, she had said, -and smoke, and as often as not play a game of cards by himself with an -imaginary opponent, and go on doing so far into the night. Then, when -at last he was exhausted and could drink no more, he would roll off -his chair on to the floor, and so lie there and sleep off his nightly -debauch. He was doubtless doing that now. - -As Reginald pondered thus, he again let his elbows rest on the table -and put his head in his hands. - -"The air is so hot!" he murmured, unloosing his flannel shirt-collar -as he did so, "so hot! And--there--is--no--danger. Yet I promised -her," again rousing himself, "yet--yet--Alderly stabbed the diver--if -he had had a revolver--in the casket--Barbara----" - -He was asleep. Asleep peacefully, though wearily, worn out with his -long day; and presently there was no noise in all the tranquil night -but the sound of his regular breathing, and the ripple of the little -river against the bows of the _Pompeia_, as it flowed down to the sea. - -Yet once he started from his slumbers, hearing in them, as he thought, -a distant shriek, and hastily went on deck, wondering if aught could -have befallen the girl up at the hut, but only to find that it was -some night bird that had alarmed him. For in the woods, away -up towards where the Alderlys dwelt, he could hear the macaws -chattering--the birds which occasionally passed from one island to -another--and an owl hooting. - -"It is nothing," he said wearily, "nothing. My nerves are -overstrung--I have heard such sounds often at night since I have been -here. It is nothing. They are fast asleep enough up there. And--and--I -need watch no longer." - -So, utterly overcome now by the desire for slumber that had seized -upon him, and not more than half awakened even by the visit to the -deck, he stretched himself out at full length on the locker to get an -hour or so of rest. Yet he was careful to place the revolver near to -his hand. - -It wanted still an hour to the time when the moon would be above the -fronds of the tallest palms on the eastern bank--a time at which even -all the insect life of the island seemed at last to be hushed to -rest--when, to the ripple of the river and its soft lap against the -yacht's forefoot, was added another sound--the sound, subdued, it is -true, yet still one that would have been perceptible to anyone who was -awake in that yacht--of something disturbing, something passing -through the waters; but, had the sleeper awakened to hear it, he could -have seen nothing. All was still too dark, too profound. - -But he himself was seen--seen by a pair of gleaming eyes staring at -him through the cabin window, the blinds of which had not been drawn, -nor the latchwork closed; a pair of eyes that glistened from out a -face over which the hair, all dank and matted with water, curled in -masses. The face of Joseph Alderly! - -Presently an arm came through the cabin window, an arm long, bare, and -muscular, the hand stretched to its fullest length, the fingers -sinuous as all powerful fingers are, and striving to reach the pistol -on the table, across the body of the sleeping man. Yet soon they -desisted; they were half a foot off where the weapon lay; any effort -to project more of that arm into the cabin would almost certainly -awake the sleeper. So arm and hand were withdrawn, and again the evil -face of Alderly gazed down upon Reginald Crafer. Once, too, the hand -that had failed in its endeavour sought its owner's breast pocket, and -drew forth a long glittering knife; once through the open window it -raised that knife over the other's throat--all open and bare as it -was!--and then the hand was drawn back, the face and arm were -withdrawn; the villain had disappeared. - -And still Reginald slept on, unknowing how near to death he had been, -how near to having the shining weapon driven through his throat. Slept -on and heard nothing. Slept on while the lamp hanging in the cabin -burnt itself out--he had not fed and trimmed it overnight--and until, -above, through the fan-like leaves of palm, bamboo, and cyclanthus, -there stole a ray of moonlight that shone down directly on the -sleeping man's features. - -Half an hour later he began to turn restlessly, to mutter to -himself--perhaps it was the flooding of the rays of the now fully -uprisen moon upon his face that was awaking him--and, gradually, to -return to the knowledge of where he was. Yet still he could not for a -moment understand matters--the lamp was burning brightly when he went -to sleep, and all was dark as pitch outside; now the cabin was -illuminated by the moon, and all outside was light. Then he recognised -he had been asleep, and also that he was in his yacht. - -He turned round to get up and go on deck to see if day was breaking, -and, as he did so and put his feet to the cabin floor, he started. It -was covered with water--water a foot deep--half up to his knees. -Looking down, he perceived it shining in the rays of the moon as a -large body of water always shines beneath those rays. - -"Heavens!" he exclaimed, "she is filling, sinking! She will not float -another ten minutes; the water is almost flush with her deck already." -And he rushed to the cabin door. - -He had left that door open ere he slept, he felt positive. Now it was -shut. - -"She has listed a bit, perhaps," was the first thought that came to -his mind. Yet in another moment that idea was dispelled. The _Pompeia_ -was sinking on as even a keel as did ever any water-logged boat; there -was no list in her. Then, almost feeling sure of what he would -discover a moment later, he tried to open the door. - -_It was fast_. - -"I knew it," he muttered through his teeth, as he shook and banged at -the door--there was no time to be wasted; even now the water was on a -level with the top of the locker on which he had lately slept; a few -more minutes and the yacht must sink--"I knew it. It is the whole -history over again. Phips was locked in his cabin--damn the door and -he who closed it!--and I am locked in here to sink with the boat and -be drowned like a rat. There's no chance--a child could scarcely -escape through those windows! Oh! Joseph Alderly, if I ever----" - -He stopped. Across the stream, from down by the mouth of it, there -came the most awful, blood-curdling cry he had ever heard, the death -cry of one who knew he was uttering his last shriek, knew that his -doom was fixed. A horrid shriek, followed by the words, "Help! -help!"--and then silence--dense as before. - -"Ay! call for help," muttered Reginald. "Whoever you are, you do not -want it more than I. Another five minutes and the end will have come." - -He looked round the cabin in hope of some means of escape presenting -themselves, and his eyes lighted on the revolver. Then he knew that, -if he were but accorded time, only a few moments, he might get free. -But more than two or three such moments would not be his; the water -was nearly to his waist now. Once, twice, thrice, the report of the -pistol rang out from that doomed yacht, each shot shattering the lock -and panels; and then one sturdy push was sufficient to force the door -open against the water, and for him to be standing half in the river, -half out; and at that instant he felt a heaving beneath his feet, he -felt he was sinking to his shoulders, that he was swimming with -nothing beneath him any longer. The yacht was gone; he had not been a -minute too soon! - -The current was strong--the river being swollen with the recent -rains--and it bore him downwards to the mouth, he not struggling -against it, as he knew very well that he could easily land on the -sea-beach outside. So he went with the tide until gradually he reached -the outlet, and there he saw a sight that might well affright him, -even after what he had gone through. He saw the face of Alderly on the -waters, an awful look of fear in the wide-open eyes, and the jaws -tightly clenched, but with the lips drawn back from the white teeth on -which the moon's rays glistened. And he saw that he was dead. - -"My God!" he exclaimed. "How has he died?" And as he so pondered he -swam towards the villain, whose head bobbed about on the water as -though there were no limbs, nor even trunk, beneath. But all the time -as it turned round and round the eyes gleamed with a horrible light -under the moon, and the great strong teeth glistened behind the drawn -lips. - -Another moment, and he knew how Alderly had died. The water in which -he swam towards him tasted salter than sea-water as it touched his -lips, and its clearness was discoloured--crimson! And even as Reginald -seized the head of the now limbless trunk and towed it to the bank, -striking out with all his power for fear of a similar dreadful fate -befalling him--which was probable enough, since the shark is, like the -tiger, eager for more when once its taste is whetted--he thought to -himself: - -"Out of the depths, out of the depths the past rises again and again." - -Then, sweating with fear, he gave one last masterful side-stroke and -landed safely on the shingle, dragging his gory burden after him. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII. -THE OWNER OF THE TREASURE. - - -The white shark--for such it is which is the most terrible in these -regions--that had taken both Alderly's legs off above the knee, so -that he must have soon bled to death, had doubtless done so while his -intended victim was escaping from the trap he had set for Reginald. - -Each bite--for the brute must have given two--was as clean as though -the limbs had been snipped-off by a pair of blunt scissors, and, as -Reginald regarded the mangled trunk in the moonlight, he could not but -thank his Maker that he had not been the next victim, for he -recognised how narrow his own escape was. His experience as a sailor -told him that where the sharks have found one prey they will, -sometimes for weeks, hover about in expectation of another, and -he could only wonder--while his wonder was tinged with devout -gratitude--why he should not also by now be torn in half. - -As he dragged the body up the slope of the shingle, meaning to cover -it over with palm leaves until Barbara had seen the face--the lower -part she must not be allowed to see--and then to bury it, a bundle of -papers fell out of the pocket of the dead man's rough shirt, which he -picked up and put in his own. It must be handed to Barbara, he -reflected, who was now the last of the Alderlys, and consequently the -heiress to all the wealth of the Key! - -"Which is," reflected Reginald, "the very best thing that could -possibly have happened. She will now be able to lead the life so -beautiful a woman ought to lead, a life which she by her education and -womanly ideas is fitted to lead. For her, nothing could be better than -Alderly's death." - -Yet, when he thought of her inexperience--had she not believed that -Trinidad was the world!--and of how she was all alone now without kith -or kin, he could not but wonder what would become of her. - -"At least," he pondered, "I pray she may fall into the hands of no -such an adventurer as this," and he glanced at Alderly's mangled body. -"That would be too awful. Better anything than that, even to finding -her fortune gone when we dig up the Key. Though that would be a -strange climax, too, to all that has taken place. Gone! great heavens, -what an idea! To think of it! To think that when we go to unearth it -we may discover there is nothing to be got. The very thought makes my -blood run cold. But--bah! it is nonsense. It must be there!" - -His blood was running cold, though not from this idea which had come -into his mind, but from the wetting he had received. - -Therefore, as soon as the sun burst upon the island once more, he -stripped himself of his clothes, and, laying them out to dry, -proceeded to dry himself also by the old-fashioned method of running -up and down the beach. Then, when but a short exposure of his garments -to the sun had sufficed to render them once more wearable, he put them -on again and set out for Barbara's home. - -"Though," he said to himself, "it is no easy task to break such news -to her. Alderly was not kind to her, and she knew his failings and -despised him--yet he was her brother, and his death was awful. But it -must be told." - -He made his way with the usual difficulty through all the entanglement -of the luxuriant vegetation that grew down to the beach, and at last -reached the path leading to the hut. Indeed, he was eager to get there -in spite of the fact that he had such dismal news to break to Barbara, -since he was somewhat surprised that he had neither seen nor heard -anything of her now. He had almost feared to denude himself of his -clothes at daybreak, thinking that at any moment the girl might come -down to him--it being her custom to rise at that time--and when an -hour had passed, as it had now done, he was still more astonished at -not seeing her. She must know by now that her brother was not in his -house; she must, have known long ago that he had not sat up carousing -far into the night as was his habit. Where was she? What could have -happened? - -His fears became intensified as her house came into sight. For he soon -perceived that the jalousies were not opened, and that the door on the -verandah was closed--a thing he had never known before to be the case, -from daybreak until late night--nay, worse, more appalling than all to -him, was to see that behind the slats of the jalousie of the front -room there was a light burning--the light of the lamp that stood -always on the table in the middle of the living-room. - -Springing up the wooden steps leading to the verandah, he rattled the -slats in great agitation, and called loudly, "Barbara! Barbara, are -you there?" a summons which, he thanked Heaven, instantly produced a -reply. He heard the bark of her dog, who knew him well now; but no -answer came from her. - -Unable to bear any further suspense, fearing the worst, namely, that -her brother had murdered her before he set forth on his attempt to do -as much for him, and remembering--fool that he was, as he called -himself!--the shriek he had heard in the night and attributed to some -of the disturbed denizens of the island, he tore the jalousie aside -and entered the general room. - -And then he knew why Barbara had not come to seek him at daybreak as -was her wont. - -She was lying on the lounge, or rude sofa, her hands bound in front of -her, her feet tied together, and in her mouth a rude gag made of a -coarse pocket-handkerchief. By her side was the dog, moaning and -whimpering, but making, when he entered, an attempt to jump up and -fondle him. It also was tied, to the foot of the couch. - -"Oh! Barbara!" he exclaimed, rushing forward to her, while he saw with -infinite thanks that her eyes were open, and that she seemed to have -suffered no further brutality than being made a prisoner of. "Oh! -Barbara! that he should have treated you so!" - -Then in a moment he had taken the gag from her mouth and had set her -free, while all the time he was speaking kindly and considerately to -her, and pitying her for having been so treated. And her first words -were: - -"Thank God, you are alive! I have been picturing you to myself for -hours as dead. Did he not try to kill you?" - -"Yes, Barbara," he said, after a moment's pause, almost dreading to -tell her the tale, yet recognising that he must do so. "Yes, he tried -to kill me." - -"How?" - -"By drowning. He must have bored some holes in the yacht unknown to -me, when I slept. Oh! Barbara! I know I promised to keep careful -watch, yet I was so tired, and at last I fell asleep. When I awoke the -yacht was full of water--was sinking. Then----" he hesitated to tell -her of how he had been locked in the cabin--"I--I escaped--I swam for -my life." - -"And he?" she asked faintly, almost in a whisper. "What of him?" - -"He is dead." - -"Ah! yes," she replied, with a shiver. "I know. I heard the report of -your revolver. Then I knew all. Oh! how I wish he had not died at your -hands!" - -"He did not die at my hands, Barbara. He was dr----; he died in the -water." - -"Tell me all," she said, still faintly. "Tell me all." - -Therefore he told her the whole of the dreadful story, omitting only -the most blackening act, the double treachery and attempt of Alderly -to take his life without giving him one chance of escape. - -"I never thought to see you again," she whispered, when his recital -was finished. "Never, never. For," she went on, telling now her -experiences, "I knew by midnight that what I had dreaded he would -attempt was about to take place. At that hour he left off drinking, -having taken much less than was usual all the evening, and rising he -went to the cupboard, from which, though he thought I could not do so, -I saw him take out his long knife. It was one he brought back from -Uruguay, from Paysandu, where they slaughter the oxen wholesale. I -have heard him say more than once that it was too good to slay beasts -with, and more fit to use on men--and once he drew it upon father. So -that I knew he meant ill to you. Then I tried to escape to give you -warning, only he would not let me. He seized me, tied me as you saw, -and gagged me, though I shrieked once, hoping to alarm you--indeed, -he threatened to kill me. And, at last, after he had also tied the -dog--he would have slain that too, I feel sure, had it uttered one -cry--he left me to the horrors of the night. Without one word he went -away, not even saying when he would return. And," the girl concluded, -"when I heard your pistol shots I fainted from fear--fear of what was -going on. Oh! thank God, thank God, that he did not murder you--that -you were not obliged to take his life in self-defence." - -"I am thankful, too," he said; "above all things, thankful for your -sake." After which he added, "Now, Barbara, would it not be best for -you to come with me and see his body? I must bury it, you know, and -then I ought to go over to Tortola and tell the Commissioner. I -suppose he should be informed of his death." - -"I suppose so," she said. "Only--how are you to go? The yacht is -lost." - -"There is his own boat. Where is that?" - -But Barbara could not tell him, and soon after he found out. But now -he prepared to go back to the beach to bury her brother's body, and he -was not altogether surprised when she refused to accompany him. - -"You have told me he is dead and how he died," she said. "That is -enough--what more can I need? And for himself--oh! why should I see -him? He never cared for me as a brother should, his last act was one -of cruelty to me, and he went forth to murder you. Moreover, he was -callous about father's death, did indeed rejoice in it, I believe, -because by it he became master of the place. No, I will not go and see -him; I could not bear to look upon him again. And," she concluded, "my -only regret is that you should have the task of burying him. It would -have been better almost had he sunk to the bottom of the river." - -Therefore Reginald went off upon this duty, but before he did so he -gave to Barbara the water-soaked packet of papers which he had taken -from Alderly's shirt-pocket. - -"They fell out," he said, "after I had brought him ashore. There was -nothing else. The knife you speak of must have sunk to the bottom; -perhaps he even tried to defend himself against the shark with it in -his last moments. We shall never know!" - -Nor did he ever know how that long Uruguay knife had once been nearly -thrust into his breast as he lay sleeping; nor that with the knife, -which had, indeed, sunk to the bottom of the river, had also sunk the -auger with which he had bored half-a-dozen holes (each of the -circumference of an ordinary cork) in the bottom of the _Pompeia_. One -thing did, however, strike him as strange as he meditated over it all, -namely, that from the time when Alderly must have bored those holes in -the yacht to the time when she sank a considerable period had -undoubtedly elapsed. And he wondered if it was during that period that -he had managed to get on board and close the cabin door. Then, as he -was burying him, he knew; he found out that his would-be murderer had -indeed visited the _Pompeia_. - -For he was mistaken when he told Barbara earlier that there was -nothing else on her brother's body. As he prepared to put the trunk -into the hole he had dug for it--while still the fixed open eyes -stared up at him, this time in the morning's sunlight, and still the -beautifully white teeth gleamed in that light--he observed that, -besides the papers which had dropped from his shirt, there were still -some others that had remained within the pocket. - -And drawing them out he saw that, all soaked as they were like the -others, they were the narrative of Nicholas Crafer. - -"So," he thought, while he felt faint and sick as he mused--"so he -was in the cabin, after all! Heavens! he must have crept in while I -slept, have rifled my pockets in the dark when the lamp had gone out, -have--faugh!--had his foul hands all about me! Thank God! he must have -come when the light had burnt out, otherwise he would have seen the -pistol." - -He never knew that the ruffian had, in truth, known the pistol was -there, but had forgotten, or feared to use, it when in the cabin later -on. - -He tossed the remains into the hole he had dug, touching them with the -greatest disgust and loathing, and then covered the spot up hurriedly -and stamped the earth down over it, and took his way back to Barbara. -And, as he went, he determined that he would not tell her of this -further instance of villainy on her brother's part. Henceforth she -should learn no more of the workings of that wicked heart and brain. - -When he reached the hut he saw her on the verandah, seated in the -usual chair and with tears in her eyes. The papers he had given her -were stretched out on a table before her, and, as he mounted the -steps, she held out one to him and bade him read it. A glance showed -that it was a will made by her father, a will properly drawn up and -attested at some lawyer's office in Tortola; a will by which -everything was left to her, including the island and the treasure if -ever found--indeed, all that he possessed. - -"Because," he read, in the cramped legal hand of the person who had -drawn it out, "of the cruelty, the greed and the evil temper of my son -to me, as well as his ill-treatment of me and my dear daughter, -Barbara, I give and bequeath to her all and everything of which I may -die possessed, including Coffin Island, any buried treasure that may -chance to be found," etc., etc., etc. - -"Great heavens!" Reginald thought to himself, as he handed her back -the will, "there was no end to the scoundrel's wickedness. How could -this villain be Barbara's brother?" - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX. -THE APPROACHING SEARCH. - - -Reginald found Joseph Alderly's boat on the same evening, when he was -out on a tour about the coast of the island on the lookout for it. As -he suspected, Alderly had brought it round to the neighbourhood of the -river's mouth, preferring to get at him that way instead of by the -path down from his house. His reasons for doing so might have been -manifold, the young man knew very well--reasons that would, doubtless, -at once occur to such a scheming brain as that of the dead ruffian. -For, independently of the fact that he would have strongly wished to -avoid any encounter with him on shore--and, for aught he knew, -Reginald might be ashore at any period of the night--he might have -brought his cutter to that neighbourhood so as to be able to get away -from the island at once, after the sinking of the _Pompeia_ had been -accomplished. - -For instance, had his plan succeeded he could have sailed to Anegada -or Tortola within two or three hours from the time of the crime being -committed, and, arriving at either place in the night, could have very -easily induced the belief that he had anchored much earlier than he -had actually done. In those spots very little, if any, notice is taken -after dark of what boats are about--especially such boats as -Alderly's, which are common all over the islands--and his _alibi_ -would consequently have held good when Reginald was reported missing. -And even the report of his being missing would not have spread abroad -for probably some time after the event. None but tourists came to -Coffin Island, and Barbara would have been unable to get away from it; -while, since the _Pompeia_ would have disappeared for ever from human -eyes, no one could have absolutely said that her temporary owner was -dead. He might just as well have gone off with her to some other -island as she have sunk to the bottom of the river, and Alderly could, -therefore, have returned without his sister being able to advance one -proof that Reginald Crafer had been made away with. - -"Though," said Reginald to himself, as he mused over the matter while -he inspected Alderly's own boat, "if I had been drowned after she -heard the pistol shots, she would certainly have thought I had died -trying to defend myself. And, had her scoundrelly brother managed to -survive me, Barbara would, if I mistake not, have taxed him very -plainly with my death." - -He found the cutter anchored in about three fathoms of water, and had -to get out to her in such a crazy, water-logged punt--in which Alderly -must himself have come ashore--that he feared every moment the thing -would sink under his weight, and expose him to the chance of a similar -fate to that which had overtaken its owner. However, it was sounder -than it looked, and, on inspecting the larger craft, he came to the -conclusion that she would be navigable across to Tortola if she -escaped bad weather--of which there were no signs now. The dead man -had managed to patch her up in a manner very creditable to his -knowledge of seacraft, and to set right the injuries she had received -when cast ashore; so that, as far as the journey over to the -Commissioner was concerned, he might start at once. - -"Though," he pondered, as he inspected the cutter and found nothing -inside her beyond her ordinary gear but a bottle of rum, some meat and -coarse bread, and a pipe--"though there is no reason why I should -hurry myself. We had better begin to dig up the treasure now, I think, -and, meanwhile, this dog's hole of a boat will serve for my habitation -as well as the poor _Pompeia_, though it's not quite so sweet and -wholesome." - -Whereon he hauled up her anchor, got her round to the river, and -moored her as near as possible over the spot where the sunken yacht -lay. - -"I may have to pay Juby a good deal, for her," he mused, as he went up -the path to Barbara's house. "However, we ought to find the -wherewithal on the Key to do so. I suppose she will give me enough to -do that." And he laughed to himself as the thought passed through his -mind. - -Barbara was eating her evening meal when he reached the hut, and he -sat down to share it with her, telling her that henceforth she would -have to keep him in food as long as they were together. - -"I had loaded the _Pompeia_ up with all sorts of good things such as -are to be procured in the islands and at their stores," he said, -trying to be gay and also to brighten her up, "but I might have saved -myself the trouble. They are at the bottom of the river, and there -they will stay until they are rotten. So, Barbara, I must live on -you." - -She gave him one swift glance from the sweet hazel eyes under the -straight black eyebrows--eyes whose lids were red now from long -weeping--and he understood it well enough. He knew that she would give -him everything she possessed in the world, including her very life, as -well as the fortune that was now to be hers--if old Nicholas had made -no mistake, and if no one had ever lighted on the Key and its contents -between the time of his departure and the coming of the other Barbara. - -"By-the-bye," he said, as they ate their supper side by side, and -Barbara tried to put such choice morsels of her poor plain food as -there were on his plate, which attention he managed sometimes to -avoid--"by-the-bye, we don't know after all what we are really going -to discover. Nicholas managed to lose one of the most important parts -of his manuscript, the list, as he calls it, of part of what he found. -It is a good thing he didn't mislay the description of the Key and the -measurements as well. If he had done that we should have been in a -fix." - -"But," said Barbara, "he has said what is in the long box. We know -that, at any rate. Surely that's a fortune in itself?" - -"What! six thousand pounds! Why, Barbara, when you go out into the -world, the real world, London, the Continent, swagger German and Swiss -places in the summer, and Rome and the Riviera in the winter, you'll -find what a little bit of money six thousand pounds make. No! Nick's -fifty thousand 'guineas' must be found for you before you become -anything like a swell heiress with a romantic history, run after by -all the men for your beauty and your wealth." - -"Don't--don't talk like that!" the girl said. "It pains me to hear you -joking like that. I know nothing of the places you mention, and as to -men running after me--oh, don't, don't! And besides, you have -forgotten--it is not mine." - -"Every penny of it!" exclaimed Reginald, "except what Mr. Juby wants -for the yacht if uninsured." - -"No! no! no!" she said. "Remember, it is not in the island--my island, -I suppose, now. The Keys are as much yours, or anyone else's, as mine. -And if it had been on the island, and we had dug it up, I would not -have taken it. If you would not have shared it with me--I--I--well, I -would have thrown it into the sea." - -"What a nice ending to poor old Nick's troubles and labours here in -finding it, and at home in writing his long account in that queer fist -of his! And also to all that your people have gone through, from your -namesake downwards. No, no, Barbara! We won't throw it back into the -sea, at any rate. And to-morrow we'll dig it up. Shall we?" - -This was agreed upon, and then Reginald prepared to leave her. He -offered to stay in the house if she felt nervous--as she had once -before implored him to do; but now she said, "No, she was not nervous. -She feared nothing now. There was no one else who could come to harm -him or her; the island was theirs and theirs alone." He noticed that -she called it "theirs" and not "hers," but made no remark on the -subject, since an idea had arisen in his mind: he knew now what the -future of the treasure, of Barbara, and of himself must be!--and he -proceeded to arrange for their movements on the morrow. - -"It will be low water two hours after daybreak," he said, "and by that -time I will have brought the cutter and the boat round to the strip of -beach nearest to the Keys. You might meet me there, Barbara, and bring -some food and fresh water, and then we will begin. Meanwhile, let me -have whatever tools and implements you possess for digging. I will -take them with me and bring them in the cutter in the morning." - -In the shed behind the hut they found what was required, an old spade -and a nearly new one, a pickaxe and some ropes--for the Alderlys, -father and son, had had to attend to their garden in this tropical -island almost as much as though they had lived in Europe--and these -would be enough, he thought. - -So, shouldering them, he bade her "Good-night"--it seemed to each as -though their hands were clasped together longer and more tightly now -than they had ever been before!--and went his way down to the river -once more. - -It would have been strange if, to-night--the night before the story, -that his ancestor had written in those long past and forgotten years, -was to be realised--he should not have had a host of thoughts whirling -through his brain; if past and present had not been strangely confused -and jumbled up together in that brain. - -There lay the cutter, a dark indistinct mass, in the midst of the -stars reflected from above; in the very self-same spot where so many -other small vessels, all connected with him, with Barbara, and with -the treasure, had lain before. Itself the property of a villain whose -villainy was inherited through centuries, it occupied the spot in that -little river where once the _Etoyle_ had been moored, where she had -been sunk, and where Simon Alderly and his murdered victim, the diver, -had got ashore. Also there, or close by, had been the galliot of -honest Nicholas with its dying and dead crew, and with Nicholas -sleeping, or trying to sleep, in that place of death, or watching -Alderly in his murderous madness as he slew his companion. And he -pictured to himself the sloop with the unknown Martin having probably -been anchored there before those days--doubtless as full of reckless, -bloodstained scoundrels as was the _Etoyle_ herself; he remembered -how, not twenty-four hours before, the graceful and pretty _Pompeia_ -had ridden at anchor on the river's bosom--and now she, too, had gone -to join the other wrecks below the water. - -He shuddered as these thoughts passed through his mind; shuddered at -all that the treasure had led to in the way of murder and death. - -"It was here, here where I stand," he whispered to himself, "that the -diver was slain; there, in the river, that the bones of the pirates -lie, and also those of the crew of the galliot; above--where she, the -pure outcome of so much evil, dwells--that Simon Alderly died mad and -without time to repent." - -A slant of the rising moon gleamed through the wood on to the bank and -played on the waters of the river lower down; the ray was thrown upon -the very spot where, last night, he had seen the staring eyes and the -glistening teeth of Joseph Alderly, as the limbless body swirled round -with the stream--and he started and shivered. - -"Heavens!" he exclaimed, "it is a charnel-house, a place of horror! -I--I cannot sleep in that boat to-night." - -He turned from the accursed spot--all beautiful as it was now beneath -the rising moon, and illuminated with myriads of fireflies, while -over and above all was the luscious perfume of tropical plants and -flowers--and went his way through the thick underbrush to a part of -the shore beyond the spot, where the body of Joseph Alderly had been -buried, avoiding that place as he proceeded. Then, when he had gone -some distance, he chose a bit of the beach high and dry above the line -of the already receding sea, and, laying himself down upon it, gazed -far over the waters to where a few lights sparkled at intervals from -the little island of Tortola. - -But ere he slept, and when a deep sense of fatigue was stealing over -him, he rose once more, and, kneeling down by the spot he had -selected, he prayed long that, whatever the morrow might bring forth, -at least one thing might be granted. He prayed that all the bloodshed, -and the cruelty that that treasure had been the cause of for more than -two centuries, had ended at last, never more to be renewed--he prayed -that, henceforth, it might bring only happiness and peace in its -train. - - -"For her, for her," he whispered. "For her and for me." - -And, feeling sure that his prayer was heard and would be granted, he -laid himself down again and soon was sleeping peacefully. - - - - -CHAPTER XL. -THE SEARCH. - - -As the dawn came, and a cool wind blew over the water and brushed his -cheek, he arose from a night of refreshing slumber--the first for two -days--and took his way back to the cutter. Then, reaching her, he soon -unmoored, made the boat fast astern, and, getting down the river, -sailed round the island to the spot where the Keys were. - -It took him an hour to fetch the beach in two tacks, and then he saw -that, early as he was, Barbara was there before him, and that she was -seated on the shore, the dog at her feet and a basket by her side. - -This morning her eyes were no longer red--she had done with weeping -for her vile brother, he thought--and her colour, always beautiful, -except since the events of the last few days had driven it all away, -had now come back to her. She, too, he knew, had slept peacefully at -last, and in that peaceful rest all her loveliness had returned. - -"Now, Barbara," he said, after they had exchanged their morning -greetings, he from the boat, and she from the shore, "we'll call the -boat away, and off we go to your inheritance. In a few hours you will, -I trust, be put in possession of it." Saying which, he anchored the -cutter, got into the boat and cast her off, and so rowed ashore for -Barbara. He had found out that the capabilities of this boat--crazy as -it seemed--were quite equal to carrying them, and the implements for -digging, out to the Key a hundred yards off, and he also knew that, by -leaving Barbara on the middle Key when they had found the treasure, he -could convey each of the boxes, or coffers, back to the island one by -one. Then, as to the final removal of them and their owner from Coffin -Island--well, that would all be arranged for later. - -A few minutes only and they stepped out upon the soft wet sand of the -middle Key--they stood upon the place that, perhaps, no other foot had -trodden since Nicholas left it more than two hundred years ago. There -was nothing to bring anyone to that particular atom of an island among -all the thousands upon thousands of islands with which the marine -surface of the world is dotted, not even a search for the turtles and -the eggs they laid. For, in these regions, those creatures are so -common that nobody desiring to procure one would have even troubled to -visit the middle Key while the outer ones were easier of access. - -"I begin to feel very nervous now we have reached here, and the search -is about to begin," Barbara said. "Oh! what shall we find--or shall we -find anything?" - -"Make your mind easy," Reginald replied, although he himself felt -unaccountably excited, too, at what was before them. "The story left -by Nicholas bears the stamp of truth on every line of it; I would -stake my existence on his having buried the boxes as he wrote. And as -to their having been disinterred, why! there is no possibility of -that. Come, let us begin." - -He looked round at the sea as he spoke, and scanned the little -crisping waves as they rolled on to the Key's shore, and, -involuntarily and sailor-like, searched the horizon to see if there -was any sail in sight, any likelihood of their being observed. Yet, as -he knew and told the girl by his side, there was no chance of that. - -"On this, the east side of the Key," he said, "there is nothing nearer -than the Cape de Verd Islands and the African coast, and nothing -passes east or west within twenty miles of this place. We will make a -beginning." - -Then they sat down on the brushwood of the island, disturbing as they -did so a great two-hundred-pound turtle that crawled gasping away, and -Reginald, taking out the now water-stained and blurred pages of -Nicholas, began to read over carefully his measurements and -instructions for finding the exact spot where the buried treasure lay. - -"'From the north side of the middle Key is fifty-one good strides of -three feet each,'" he repeated from the paper; "'from the south side -is fifty-three, from the east is forty-nine, from the west is fifty -strides and a half.' Barbara, let us measure. I will begin from this, -the south side." - -Very carefully he paced out the strides, "good ones," as his -predecessor had directed, only, instead of sticking in the ground a -sword--which, of course, he did not possess here--he put a large white -stone. Then, as Nicholas had himself done, three times did he go over -the ground, making all the strides correspond with the ancient -manuscript; and at last he said to Barbara, "Now we will dig." - -"It is only three feet from the surface to the topmost turtle shell," -he remarked, as he took off his light jacket and rolled up his -sleeves. "Ten minutes will show if we have hit it right." - -At the end of those ten minutes he found that, though he had made a -mismeasurement of a foot and a half from the east to west, he had -otherwise judged his distance with sufficient accuracy. The treasure, -certainly the topmost turtle shell, was there. The spade struck -against the edge of that shell instead of the exact middle of it; in a -few minutes more, by digging the sand up further to the west, the -whole of it was exposed, its convex side rising towards them. - -"We have found it," he exclaimed. "We have found it, Barbara! The -treasure is--yours!" - - - * * * * * * - - -What was in the oblong box has been told by Nicholas himself, -therefore it is not necessary to write down an account of its contents -again. Roughly, too, he has told what he found in the first two -"coffers" or chests, including the "grinning skull," which they, of -course, found also. But Nicholas's list had been lost, therefore one -somewhat more full shall now be given, leaving his account of the -first strong box to speak for itself. And also in the second, "the -Spanish pieces of eight, the Portyguese crusadoes, English crowns, and -many more French coins as well as hundreds of gold pieces of our kings -and queens away back to Elizabeth," were all there as he has -described, so neither need they be again set down. It was when they -came to the third coffer that their curiosity was the most aroused, -for with it began their search for something he had left no account -of, something that was described in that "list" which was missing. -Therefore, they opened it with almost trembling hands--when it had -been brought up to the surface--wondering what they should find. - -On the top lay a deerskin, dressed and trimmed, showing that whenever -it might originally have been put in, it had at least belonged to -people who had some of the accessories of civilisation about them, -since, had it belonged to wild and savage persons, it would have been -hardly dressed at all, nor would it have possessed any trimming at the -edges. This they lifted off, only to come to a variety of smaller -skins, such as those of fox, goat, and sheep, which it was easy to -perceive were simply used as wrappers to large substances within them. - -"These coverings," said Reginald, as he unwrapped one, "seem to point -to England, or at least Europe, as the spot whence they came; well, -let us--ah!" - -There rolled from out the one he was at that moment unwinding a beaker -a foot high, of a dull copper colour, much embossed with leaves and -flowers. Yet, dull as it was, even their slight knowledge was enough -to tell them it was gold. Also its shape was antique enough to show -that it was no new piece of workmanship, even when Simon Alderly had -found it--if he did find it, as seemed most likely; its long, thin -lip, thin neck, and big body proclaimed it of the middle ages at -least. - -"So," said Reginald, giving it a rub with some of the sand by his -side, under which the dim coppery hue turned to a more golden yellow, -"this is Number Three. If the other box is full of such gold -ornaments the find will be worth having." - -In this box itself there were no more gold beakers, only, instead, it -was full of silver plate of all kinds, and all enveloped in skins. -There were also two more beakers, but in silver, many cups and -chalices, some with covers to them and some without, several silver -ewers, a long vase all neck and spout, some extremely ancient -candelabras, and a woman's silver dagger, known in old days as a -wedding knife. - -"Oh!" said Barbara, appalled at the sight of objects so unfamiliar to -her, who had never drunk out of aught but calabashes, gourds, and -cheap earthenware--"Oh! it seems a sin to dig all these beautiful -things up." - -"A greater one to let them lie in the earth," said Reginald with a -laugh. "Come, let's go on to Number Four and see what he has got -inside him." - -"Now, Barbara," Reginald said next, as they began on Number Four. -"Shut your eyes until I tell you to open them." - -The girl obeyed--indeed, all through this treasure hunt, or, as it had -now become, treasure inspection, they were more like a boy and girl -playing with new toys than a grown man and a young woman just about to -leave her teens behind her--and, when he told her to open them, she -saw that he had come upon a number of little plump bags tied at the -neck. These bags were made of a coarse kind of linen cloth, or Russia -duck, and were much discoloured; yet, rough as they were, they did not -prevent the impression of coins being seen inside. - -"Here we come to the money--let's hope it's not copper!" exclaimed -Reginald. - -Again, when they opened the first bag and poured out the contents into -Barbara's lap, it looked as though they had found copper; but again, -as before, what seemed copper was in reality gold. But the pieces -which they saw were such as they had never seen the like of before, -such as they never were able to guess the name of until some time -afterwards, when more experienced numismatists than this young sailor -and the girl by his side had the handling of them. What they -absolutely found was: First, a bag full of Elizabeth "soveraines," -valued in her time at 30s. each, it containing two hundred and six of -these pieces. Then there was a bag full of angels of the same reign, -valued at 12s. each, of angelets at 6s., and of quarter angels at 3s., -there being of these smaller coins three hundred and eleven in the -little sack. The third bag they opened--a larger one--contained fifty -gold crowns of Henry VIII.'s reign, fifty gold half-crowns of -Elizabeth's--the former having the figure of the king on -horseback--and in it, also, were one hundred and thirty rose nobles, -eighty-five double-rose nobles, eighty-three double-rose rials, or -reals, each of the value of 30s., and two double gold crowns, these -two being the largest and most valuable of any of the coins they -found. - -"We are getting on, Barbara; we shall have a nice stock to take back -to the hut," Reginald said, as he tied the bags up again exactly as -before. "However, let's continue. This box is a monster and contains -the most of all." - - -Whoever had put together all this treasure of money--as well as what -was to come--was, it is certain, a methodical person; for, with the -exception of the above coins of Henry VIII. being mixed with those of -his daughter (there was not one of her sister, Mary's reign), the -different monarchs had been kept separate and distinct from one -another. This was shown by the next three bags, two of which contained -gold coins of James I.'s reign, but of no other English king. Of -these, the first had in it two hundred and one spur-rials of the value -of 15s. each--these coins being so called from the rays, issuing out -of the sun upon them, resembling the rowels of spurs--one hundred and -three of the single rose rials, and four single crowns. The second bag -had exactly one hundred single crowns by themselves; the third had two -hundred and two small gold pieces, French ones, they being crowns of -the sun as originally coined by Louis XI., and valued in England in -Elizabeth's time at 7s. each. - -"Well, Barbara," Reginald said, as they finished these bags, "what do -you think of your fortune as far as it has gone? After we have had -some food we will go on and see what more there is." - -"I think," the girl replied, as she opened her basket and took from it -some bread, eggs, a piece of cold roasted goat's flesh, and some of -the fruit which grew in such profusion on Coffin Island--"I think as I -have always thought, namely, that it is not my fortune but yours, and -that----" - -"Ah!" interrupted Reginald. "Well! we won't quarrel over that now. So -I'll put my question in a different way. What do you think of the -fortune as far as it has gone?" - -"I think it is a shame to dig it up. It seems like digging up the poor -dead creatures who put it first in the vault--who wrapped it all up so -carefully, and tied the money up in bags as if they felt sure the day -would come when they, or those dear to them, would inherit it all. And -think of what strangers it has come to, not only now but before! Simon -Alderly had no real right to it, neither had Nicholas Crafer, nor have -you nor I." - -"You or I--you, of course--mean to keep it, though, Barbara. It has -been ours for two hundred years: yours by the first discovery--namely, -by the respected Simon; mine by the second--namely, the worthy -Nicholas; and, in spite of any silly old laws about treasure trove, -why, finding's keepings. Besides, the treasure trove was two hundred -years ago. Our ancestors are responsible for that part of it. We, on -the contrary, can show a two centuries' title--that's good enough for -all the lawyers in the world, I fancy." - -With jokes and _badinage_ such as this the young man passed the -luncheon, dinner, or meal-hour--whichever it should be called--away. -Indeed, at this time, when the long-buried wealth of the past was -being at last revealed to its ultimate heirs and possessors, he was -anxious above all things to keep off the discussion of whose it was, -and who was to have it and who was not. As has been suggested a little -earlier, _he_ saw, _he_ knew--or felt almost positive that he saw and -knew--what was the final disposition of all that the Key was now -disgorging, only--the present was not the time to speak about that -disposition to Barbara. So, as much as possible, he kept to other -matters in connection with the task they were now engaged upon. - -"Whoever they were," he went on meditatively, as the simple repast -drew to an end, "who originally owned it all, they must almost -certainly have been our country people. Although we don't either of us -know what those coins are, we can at least see that they are mostly -English, and all about one period, namely, Elizabeth's and her -successor's, James. Now, let's see. Charles I. succeeded James, eh, -Barbara?" - -"Yes," said the girl. "Yes. At school we thought Charles I. the most -interesting of all the English kings." - -"Ah!" said Reginald; "well, I've heard other people say differently. -Our chaplain in the _Ianthe_, for instance, used to wrangle with the -paymaster for hours about him, and call him all kinds of names. -However, let's put two and two together. Charles's was an -uncomfortable sort of reign, for others besides himself, and all sorts -of rumpusses were going on--people flying from England to America, _et -cetera_. I wonder if the gentleman who owned all these things was one -of those? He might be, you know, and have got drifted down here after -making bad weather of it in the Atlantic; or the pirates--hem!--of -_his own_ day, Barbara--no allusions meant to respected -ancestors!--might have seized on him--or--or--half a dozen things. I -don't suppose we ever shall find out." - -"No," she said, "I don't suppose we shall. Perhaps it's better that we -never should. It might interfere with _your_ enjoyment of it all." - -Whereon Reginald laughed once more, while a beautiful but tell-tale -blush came to the girl's face--possibly it had dawned on her, too, by -now, how the ultimate possession of the treasure might be -arranged!--and then they proceeded to inspect what remained. - - - - -CHAPTER XLI. -THE END. - - -What did remain in this big chest was now to be examined, and they -observed that the same precautions had been taken in the way of -coverings and wrappings as with all the previous finds. - -"Which," said Reginald, descanting thereon as he unwound the wrappers, -"shows one thing, if no more. It testifies that all the spoil belonged -to the same individual, or individuals. But who was he, Barbara, who -was she, or who were they? That's what I want to know." - -It was, however, what neither he nor Barbara nor anyone else were ever -to know--the treasure hidden centuries ago was, indeed, found, but all -knowledge of who or what they were who had so hidden it away was lost -for ever. The treasure of those forgotten ones remained to come to -these young people at last, but all history, record, and memory of the -owners had vanished entirely from the world. - -"What's this?" exclaimed Reginald, unwinding a roll as they continued -their inspection--"what's this?" while, as he spoke, there was -revealed to him a band of metal that looked as though it was a portion -of some circular object. It was, in truth, the front part of an -ancient coronet, or crown, having set into it five rubies and a -diamond, the gold being in this case far more yellow and less coppery -looking than that of the coins had been. And as Reginald turned the -thing about in the glowing light of the Caribbean Sea, the gems -sparkled and winked and flashed their many-coloured rays in their -eyes, as though they themselves were pleased once more to be free from -the darkness in which they had lain so long. - -"Swells in their day, no doubt," said the young man, referring to -those who had once owned all these valuables, "to have worn such -things." And again he exclaimed: "Who on earth could they have been?" - -The next things they unrolled were five bars of gold, or rather lumps -of gold, since instead of being of the shape and form bars are now, -they were in cubes, though one was triangular. "A quarter of a pound -weight each, Barbara," the young man said, balancing them on his hand. -"A quarter of a pound each, if an ounce. I wonder the Respected One -could refrain from carrying all this wealth off to his own particular -Barbara, or that old Nicholas didn't try to get it away in the -Galliot." - -Barbara only smiled--indeed, at this moment, woman as she was, she was -trying the effect of the front part of the coronet as a bracelet on -her arm, and was turning her wrist about to observe the flashing of -the stones--and then Reginald proceeded with his inspection. - -"Hullo! what have we got now?" he exclaimed, as he unfolded the next -object that came to hand. - -What he had got now proved to be a sword-handle, cross-shaped and -broken off sharp about an inch below the silver guard-plate. In this -handle, which itself was massive silver, roughly fretted so that a -firm grasp might be obtained, were more precious stones, mostly -diamonds, but with one or two missing from their sockets or settings. - - -"Undoubtedly swells," murmured Reginald again, "or else freebooters. -Fancy, Barbara, if, after all, the original depositor of these things -was a sea-robber or pirate himself! One would imagine he could hardly -have got such a collection of things otherwise. Unless, on the other -hand, he had been a pawnbroker, called, I believe, in those days a -Lombard merchant. What do you think?" - -"I am getting tired of finding these things," the girl said, -listlessly. "I hope there are not many more." - -"We'll soon see." - -They had, however, nearly finished their work by now; the remainder of -the chest's contents were soon examined. They found, to conclude, a -little bag of unset gems--a handful of rubies and diamonds; they found -also a gold musk ball, and a little silver casket full of musk, the -aroma of which had long since departed, and they also discovered a -small iron-bound box full of gold dust. Some drinking cups, very small -ones, they likewise found, and some pieces of ivory sawn into slabs, -several extremely curious and very unwieldy rings with precious stones -in them, a pouncet box in gold, and various pieces of antique lace, -black with age. - -And this concluded their find - -"Altogether," said Reginald, "I'll bet that Nicholas was not far wrong -in his computation of the value of the things in his own day, and, I -expect, even in these times, the contents of the oblong box and the -chests won't fall far short of his 'fiftie thousand guineas.' But one -thing we ought to keep for luck, Barbara, and never part with--and -that's the skull, or 'Death,' as Nick called it. It kept its watch and -ward well through all the years." - - - * * * * * * - - -That evening, as the sun dipped below Porto Rico, they sat once more -together, as they had so often sat in the last month, upon the -verandah of Barbara's house. Within, in the living-room, were piled -the chests and the oblong box, all having been brought from the Key to -the shore, and from the shore to the building, by their united -efforts. And on Barbara's face there was a look of sadness pitiful to -see, and in her eyes the signs that the tears were not far away. - -"It seems," she said, speaking very low, "as though with the finding -of this treasure my life is finished, even as the quest of my family -is finished, too. There is nothing more to be done." - -"Is there not, Barbara?" asked Reginald, also speaking low, and with -more seriousness in his tone than had been apparent since they had -grown such friends and intimates. "Is there not? Is there not a long -lifetime before you in which to enjoy your new-found wealth--the -wealth that has come to you after two centuries of search for it?" - -"Oh!" she exclaimed, springing to her feet and standing before him, -"why speak in that way? Why say such things? The wealth is yours, -yours only, and you know it. It was you who brought it to light. It -was your ancestor's, who might have taken it away with him for ever -had he chosen. And when it was at last found, where was it? Not even -on our land, on the property that is mine. What part, what share have -I in it?" - -"I will tell you, Barbara," he said, rising himself, also, and -standing by her, while, if possible, his voice became now more deep -and earnest. "I will tell you what part and share is yours. The share -not only of all that we have to-day unearthed, but of my life. The -share of everything I have in this world, even this treasure, if it is -rightly mine. My sweet, I loved you almost from the very first, I -loved you beyond all doubt from the time that _he_ came back, and I -knew that, together, we must protect ourselves from him. Barbara, I -love you now, and shall love you all my life until I die. Will you not -share that life with me, share all with me for ever?" - -His arm stole round her as he spoke and he drew her softly towards -him, while, as he did so, her golden head drooped to his shoulder, the -soft eyes looked up at him from beneath the dark lashes, and, for the -first time, their lips met. - - - -FOOTNOTES - -[Footnote 1: Afterwards King George I. of England.--Ed.] - -[Footnote 2: The drink of the Navy prior to the introduction of rum by -Admiral Vernon.] - -[Footnote 3: He was Astronomer Royal from 1719 to 1742, but in Phips' -time had made many improvements and suggestions in the necessary -apparatus for divers.--J. B.-B.] - -[Footnote 4: 1st lieutenant.] - -[Footnote 5: Passenger.] - -[Footnote 6: Peter Martyr calls it a solid piece of gold, and says -more than a thousand persons had seen and handled it.--J. B.-B.] - -[Footnote 7: This would appear at first sight to be an error on the -part of Nicholas Crafer. It was not so, however; Cardinal Bourbon was -elected King of France by the league in 1589 (against Henri IV.), -under the name of Charles X., and some coins were struck by -him.--J. B.-B.] - - - -THE END. - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Hispaniola Plate, by John Bloundelle-Burton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISPANIOLA PLATE *** - -***** This file should be named 52210-8.txt or 52210-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/2/1/52210/ - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by -Google Books (Harvard College) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James"> - -<meta name="Publisher" content="George Routledge and Sons Limited"> -<meta name="Date" content="1903"> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> -<style type="text/css"> -body {margin-left:10%; - margin-right:10%; background-color:#FFFFFF;} - - -p.normal {text-indent:.25in; text-align: justify;} -.center {margin: auto; text-align:center; margin-top:24pt; margin-bottom:24pt} - - - -p.right {text-align:right; margin-right:20%;} - -p.continue {text-indent: 0in; margin-top:9pt;} -.text10 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:10%; margin-right:0px; font-size:90%;} -.text20 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:20%; margin-right:0px; font-size:90%;} - - -.poem0 { - margin-top: 24pt; margin-left: 0%; - margin-right: 0%; text-align: left; - margin-bottom: 24pt; font-size:90%} - -.poem1 { - margin-top: 24pt; margin-left: 2em; - margin-right: 10%; text-align: left; - margin-bottom: 24pt; font-size:90%} - -.poem2 { - margin-top: 24pt; margin-left: 20%; - margin-right: 20%; text-align: left; - margin-bottom: 24pt; font-size:90%} - -.poem3 { - margin-top: 24pt; margin-left: 30%; - margin-right: 30%; text-align: left; - margin-bottom: 24pt; font-size:90%} - - - - - -figcenter {margin:auto; text-align:center; margin-top:9pt;} - - -h1,h2,h3,h4,h5 {text-align: center;} - -span.sc {font-variant: small-caps; font-size:110%;} -span.sc2 {font-variant: small-caps; font-size:90%;} - -hr.W10 {width:10%; color:black; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt} - -hr.W20 {width:20%; color:black; margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt} - -hr.W50 {width:50%; color:black;} -hr.W90 {width:90%; color:black;} - -p.hang1 {margin-left:3em; text-indent:-3em;} -p.hang2 {margin-left:3em; text-indent:0em;} - - -</style> - -</head> - -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's The Hispaniola Plate, by John Bloundelle-Burton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Hispaniola Plate - (1683-1893) - -Author: John Bloundelle-Burton - -Release Date: June 1, 2016 [EBook #52210] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISPANIOLA PLATE *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by -Google Books (Harvard College) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<p class="hang1">Transcriber's Notes:<br> - -1. Page scan source: Google Books<br> - -https://books.google.com/books?id=oCQNAAAAYAAJ<br> - -(Harvard College)</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h3>THE HISPANIOLA PLATE.</h3> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h3>The Hispaniola Plate.</h3> -<h4>(1683-1893)</h4> -<br> - -<br> - -<h5>BY</h5> -<h4>JOHN BLOUNDELLE-BURTON</h4> -<br> - -<br> - -<hr class="W20"> -<p class="normal">"<i>We passed the tropics, as near as we could guess, just -where the famous Sir William Phips fished up the silver from the Spanish Plate -wreck</i>."--</p> -<p style="text-indent:60%"><span class="sc">Defoe</span> ("Colonel Jack").</p> -<hr class="W20"> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>NEW YORK</h4> -<h3>THE CASSELL PUBLISHING CO.</h3> -<h4>31 Union Square, North</h4> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h5><span class="sc">Copyright, 1895, by</span></h5> -<h4>THE CASSELL PUBLISHING CO.</h4> -<br> - -<h5><i>All rights reserved</i>.</h5> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<p class="center"><b>To those</b><br> - -OFFICERS OF THE ROYAL NAVY<br> - -<span style="font-size:smaller">WITH WHOM I HAVE, FOR SOME YEARS,<br> - -SPENT MANY PLEASANT WEEKS ANNUALLY DURING THE<br> - -NAVAL MANŒUVRES,<br> - -WHILE ACTING AS SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF<br> - -<i>THE STANDARD</i>,<br> - -I VENTURE TO INSCRIBE,<br> - -WITH GREAT CORDIALITY, THIS STORY--<br> - -PARTLY TRUE AND PARTLY FICTITIOUS--OF<br> - -Captain, Sir William Phips, R.N.,<br> - -And of<br> - -Lieutenants Nicholas and Reginald Crafer, R.N.</span></p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>PREFACE.</h4> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Most of the maps of the West Indies published during the first -half of -the present century and anterior to that date mark distinctly the spot -where the following story principally takes place. Thirty miles due -north of Cape Français, on the north coast of San Domingo, is a reef -entitled "Bajo de la Plata, or Phips's Plate," while more modern maps -simply describe it as "Silver Bank."</p> - -<p class="normal">This is, of course, the spot where Sir William Phips--a now forgotten -figure in history--obtained the plate mentioned by Defoe; and, so far -as I am aware, there is but one detailed account in existence of how -he found and secured that plate. This account is contained in a -duodecimo volume entitled "<i>Pietas in Patriam</i>: the Life of Sir -William Phips," published in London in 1697 anonymously, but -guaranteed as accurate by several people who knew him. A production -entitled "The Library of American Biography," edited by one Jared -Sparks, also professes to give an accurate biography of Phips, but it -is simply a garbled and mangled copy of the London publication. I -should also mention that the "Biographia Britannica" refers to the -expedition in the article on "Christopher Monk, second Duke of -Albemarle." So does a work of the last century entitled "The Lives of -the Admirals," by Lawrence Echard, and so also do some encyclopædias; -but all of them undoubtedly derive their information from "<i>Pietas in -Patriam</i>."</p> - -<p class="normal">This work I have myself carefully followed, because in it alone are to -be found the descriptions of the "Frygate Algier Rose," her eighteen -guns and ninety-five men, of the various mutinies, of Alderly's -arrival on the scene, of the second voyage with the tender, and so -forth. Indeed, beyond the requirements of fiction the account is -absolutely an account of what happened until the chase after Alderly -by Nicholas Crafer, when fiction itself becomes predominant. Alderly, -I should add, was as real a character as Phips himself. So was the -carpenter who discovered the second mutiny. The rest, with the -exception of the Duke of Albemarle, are imaginary.</p> - -<p class="normal">I may add, in conclusion, that "The Hispaniola Plate" appeared -originally in <i>The St. James's Budget</i>.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h3>A NEW NOVELIST.</h3> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Nothing is more notable in recent literature than the sudden renewal -of interest in the historical novel. Mr. Stanley Weyman is the most -successful of this group of younger writers, but there is now treading -on his heels another young novelist, whose work shows such splendid -promise as well as such remarkable achievement, that he bids fair to -outstrip Mr. Weyman and come first to the goal. This is Mr. John -Bloundelle-Burton, whose story, "The Desert Ship," created such a stir -in London a short time ago.</p> - -<p class="normal">Mr. Burton was born in 1850. His parents intended him for a military -life, but when at twenty-one he came into a comfortable inheritance, -he determined to see something of the world. Already familiar with the -Continent, he turned to fresher pastures and came to Canada; then -running over the border into the "States," he lived down South for a -considerable period. In Baltimore he first contracted the writing -habit, sending an article to a paper there, which accepted it with -thanks, but with nothing else. While down South he fell in with "Red -Cloud," an Indian chief, picking up much information that was strange -and new, and that was later to be utilized in "The Desert Ship." Going -back to England, he flitted between London and Paris, the latter being -his favorite abode. In the Place de la Madeleine he lived with a -company that contained representatives of every class and country. -Describing them Mr. Bloundelle-Burton says: "One of our number was a -Scotch duke; another a tailor's son, enormously rich and not a bad -fellow; another a Spahi, home on leave from Africa; a fourth a -Spaniard, rolling in money; another an American, who afterward died in -prison while awaiting his trial for killing--absolutely killing--a man -in a duel. They could not get over that in Paris; indeed, as a -Frenchman said to me, it really looked as if the American had fully -intended to murder his countryman."</p> - -<p class="normal">Living in this way in Paris, our author began to write more and more; -first for foreign papers, then for English ones. He began a connection -with Galignani, which lasted intermittently for a long interval, and -brought him acquaintance with many notable men, among them Jules -Grévy, several years later President of the Republic. His next venture -was sending English papers news from different popular resorts on the -Continent--Switzerland and the Tyrol, Italy and the Riviera. Later on -he helped edit a paper called <i>The American Visitor</i>, which told rich -Americans where they could spend their money most rapidly, and where -they had the best opportunity for catching a glimpse of fashionable -society in England and on the Continent.</p> - -<p class="normal">Mr. Burton's first long story was "The Silent Shore," which had quite -a career under several different guises. Originally published in -volume form, it later appeared as a play at the Olympic Theater, then -ran as a serial in Spanish in a South American paper, and ended up as -a serial in several English provincial papers. His next story was, -"His Own Enemy," in the author's opinion, the best novel he has yet -produced, "though not, I hope, the best I shall write," he adds.</p> - -<p class="normal">"The Desert Ship," Mr. Burton's next book and the first to bring him -genuine fame, was published by Hutchinson & Co., in London. It was -received with a burst of praise from the critics, even Mr. -Labouchere's sarcastic and hard-to-please paper, <i>Truth</i>, declaring it -to be "an enthralling story and a book which will mark a period in the -existence of anyone who is fortunate enough to get it. It is," the -paper added, "as exciting as anything Verne ever wrote, and with the -reality of Robert Louis Stevenson." Nothing succeeds like success, as -Mr. Burton rapidly learned; editors with orders up their sleeves -dropped in upon the rising young author, and he found it hard to -satisfy all the demands made upon him. All this solicitation for the -work of his pen resulted in a sudden literary output. Two stories -appeared in quick succession: "The Gentleman Adventurer," which ran in -<i>Young England</i>, and "The Adventures of Viscount Annerly," which was -published in the <i>People</i>.</p> - -<p class="normal">"The Hispaniola Plate," Mr. Burton's last and strongest book, is a -semi-historical story. The scene is laid in the West Indies. The two -principal characters belong to the Royal Navy, one living in -Cromwell's, Charles II.'s and James II.'s reigns, the other in the -present day; and the way in which the two periods are blended into the -one book exhibits masterly skill. Mr. Burton is a passionate lover of -the sea. Descended from a line of ancestors that acquired fame in the -British Navy--his grandfather, Lieutenant Jermy, was a noted old -commander of English ships and participated in the battle of New -Orleans in 1814--he has in his blood a taste for the salt sea wave, -and this gives his stories their breezy, out-of-door atmosphere.</p> - -<p class="normal">Mr. Burton has a pleasant home just out of London at Barnes Common. -Like so many other Englishmen of prominence in these days, he is -married to an American woman. He is a large, broad-chested man, -standing six feet, two inches and a quarter, in his shoes, with dark, -piercing eyes. Mr. Burton has decided views about the true methods for -literary work. He does not believe in fixing on a good subject for a -novel, then selecting a picturesque period, and, after making yourself -thoroughly acquainted with the manners and customs of that epoch, -planting your characters in it, as is the habit of certain novelists. -The story must come to you, you cannot go out and bring it in. "I -never think," he says, "of producing a story laid in a period (or -about persons) which I have to read up--to 'mug' up, as we used to say -at school. But I have been an ardent reader of history and memoirs all -my life, and the story arises naturally from periods and incidents -with which I am well acquainted."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I mean," he adds, "that the story should fit into an intimate -acquaintance with the <i>mise-en-scène</i>, not that the <i>mise-en-scène</i> -should be hunted up to fit the story."</p> - -<p class="normal">No one who reads this exciting story, "The Hispaniola Plate," and who -is held captive by its vivid scenes, its deep, rich coloring, its -overmastering air of reality, but will wish long life to this strong -and original talent, which already has behind it such remarkable -achievement. May we have many such books from his pen!</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CONTENTS.</h4> -<br> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER I.<br> - -Nicholas Crafer's Strange Will</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER II.<br> - -An Old Bit of History</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER III.<br> - -The Vanished Mr. Wargrave</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER IV.<br> - -Cazalet's Bank</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER V.<br> - -Captain William Phips</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER VI.<br> - -The Beginning of a Mutiny</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER VII.<br> - -The Ending of It</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER VIII.<br> - -The Second Mutiny</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER IX.<br> - -And the Preparations Against It</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER X.<br> - -And How It was Ended</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XI.<br> - -They Have to Desist</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XII.<br> - -The Bark "Furie"</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XIII.<br> - -The Old Man's Story</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XIV.<br> - -The Wreck is Found</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XV.<br> - -What the First Search Revealed</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XVI.<br> - -An Honest Man Arrives</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XVII.<br> - -An Alarm from the "Furie"</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XVIII.<br> - -Treachery and Flight</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XIX.<br> - -The "Honest Man" in His True Colours</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XX.<br> - -A Fight</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXI.<br> - -The Villain's Den</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXII.<br> - -Mad!</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXIII.<br> - -The Treasure House</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXIV.<br> - -What was in the Treasure House</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXV.<br> - -The Middle Key</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXVI.<br> - -Nicholas Leaves the Island</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXVII.<br> - -The Narrative Ends</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXVIII.<br> - -Off to the Virgin Isles</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXIX.<br> - -Drawing Near</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXX.<br> - -Out of the Depths of a Far Distant Past</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXXI.<br> - -Some Light upon the Past</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXXII.<br> - -The Solitude is Interrupted</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXXIII.<br> - -The Island's Owner</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXXIV.<br> - -Joseph Alderly</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXXV.<br> - -Danger Impending</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXXVI.<br> - -Beware!</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXXVII.<br> - -"And Death the End of All"</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXXVIII.<br> - -The Owner of the Treasure</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XXXIX.<br> - -The Approaching Search</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XL.<br> - -The Search</p> - -<p class="hang1">CHAPTER XLI.<br> - -The End</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h3>THE HISPANIOLA PLATE</h3> -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER I.</h4> -<h5>NICHOLAS CRAFER'S STRANGE WILL.</h5> -<br> - - -<p style="text-indent:30%">"Gray's Inn Square, Oct. 20th, 1892.</p> - -<p class="normal">"<span class="sc">My Dear Sir</span>,--In answer to your request, I beg to inform you that the -terms by which you inherit 'Phips House,' at Strand-on-the-Green, from -your late uncle, are as follows--the statement being taken from the -last will and testament of your ancestor Nicholas Crafer, made in the -year 1695:--</p> -<br> - - -<p class="normal" style="font-size:smaller">'And I do hereby will and bequeathe that ye house called Phips by me, -after my late captain and commander, Sir William Phips, when I -purchased yt from Mr. Clitherow of Branford, do forever remaine in the -possession of some descendant of mine, male or female, the former for -choyce and preference, yet not also debarring, in fault of any bearing -the name of Crafer existinge, those descending from the female side to -succeed. That is to saye, it is to so remaine forever unless through -it whoever doth succeede shall thereinto find the means whereby to -obtain unto themselves a fortune of and equivalint unto the summe of -Fiftie thousand guineas, the which I do hereby testify the meanes are -forthcoming. After whych the house may be disposed of as best -beseemeth those who have so found ye fortune. This, therefore, I say, -"Seeke and ye shall find, knocke and yt shall be opened unto you."'</p> - -<p class="normal">"This will, in spite of its quaintness, has ever, and will probably -always, hold good, although not law, until one thing occurs of two: -either that the house falls down of old age (which it seemed very -likely to do when I inspected it after your late uncle's decease) or -that some descendant of Commander Nicholas Crafer shall find the means -of making the fortune of 50,000 guineas in or through it--a most -unlikely thing to happen. For, as you know, many generations of -Crafers have searched through the house from basement to garret, -imagining that the original testator meant to hint that somewhere -about it, was hidden away such a sum of money as he mentions; and -always without result. Nor has the ingenuity of one generation after -another ever been able to hit upon any hidden meaning which might be -contained in the words of the will, or to find anything excepting the -scrap of paper once discovered, of which you know; while certainly the -land on which it stands--something under three acres--can hardly ever -become of such value, or one-twentieth part of it.</p> - -<p class="normal">"But as you know as much about your ancestor as I can possibly tell -you, I need not write further, and I have only to state that, during -your absence abroad, everything has been done to facilitate handing -over the house to you on your return, and I now propose to prove your -uncle's will, and, after the usual formalities, to put you in -possession of Phips House and other property left by him.--Yours -faithfully,</p> - -<p style="text-indent:60%">"<span class="sc">A. Bentham</span>."</p> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">This was the letter which Reginald Crafer read at his breakfast, one -fine autumn morning, as he sat in that good old hostelry, "The -George," at Portsmouth--a letter which he had found at the Naval Club -after his early morning walk on the Battery--a walk taken with the -view of aiding an already exceedingly good appetite, and of having a -look at the waves dancing out at the Nab and sparkling in the bright -October sunshine.</p> - -<p class="normal">A better specimen of the young lieutenant of to-day than Reginald -Crafer (with "N" after his name to show that he had taken up -navigation as his branch) you might not see in any of her Majesty's -ships. Tall, but not too tall for a sailor; close-shaven, as becometh -the young naval officer of to-day, yet with excellent features that -required nothing in the shape of whiskers or moustache to set them -off; with clear grey eyes and a wholesome sunburnt skin--what more -could a young man desire in the shape of personal gifts? Nay, what -more pleasing a sight to gaze upon than this smart, good-looking young -officer could the heart of a maiden desire?</p> - -<p class="normal">Now Reginald Crafer--whom at this present moment you see eating -buttered toast and a fried sole, as he reads his lawyer's letter--had -just come home from the China Station in the <i>Ianthe</i> (twin-screw -cruiser, first-class, armoured, 8,400 tons); and she having been paid -off, the young man was on leave for the time being. He had slept at -"The George" overnight for two reasons (ordinarily the naval officer -rushes to London by the first train that will bear him, when once he -has set foot on shore), one being that he wanted to go to a ball at -the Commander-in-Chief's to which the officers of the returned cruiser -were mostly invited; the other, that he expected to find a letter from -the solicitor, Mr. Bentham--which, as you have seen, he did find.</p> - -<p class="normal">This letter was in reply to one that Reginald had sent to the lawyer -from Hong Kong, which in its own turn had also been a reply. For to -the young lieutenant there had come at the Station a letter from Mr.. -Bentham, stating that his uncle--also a Reginald Crafer--was dead, -that he had left the younger Reginald a few thousand pounds (the -principal part of his income having been derived from an annuity and a -government pension) and "Phips House." Then Reginald had written back -for further details, had received the above-quoted answer at the Naval -Club this morning, and--<i>voilà tout!</i></p> - -<p class="normal">Of course, he knew as much about the mysterious entailment of Phips -House as the lawyer did; it would have been strange had he not done -so. Eleven different Crafers had held possession of it since Nicholas -departed this life in King William III.'s reign: eleven different -Crafers, all of whom had sought high and low for the fortune it was -supposed to contain, or for some clue as to how the fortune of "Fiftie -thousand guineas" was to be obtained; and of those Crafers many had -torn their hair in vexation, and others had stamped their feet -and cursed and sworn--or, perhaps I had better say, grumbled and -growled--at finding nothing. Of such irate descendants the last, the -late lamented Reginald, had, however, not been one. Perhaps because he -thought that if his ten predecessors could find no fortune in the -house, he was not likely to do so; or perhaps because he was himself -very comfortably off with his annuity and his pension from a -Government office, and his few thousands of invested money--which -Lieutenant Crafer now came into--he bothered his head not at all about -the chimera of the house at Strand-on-the-Green. Certainly he cursed -not over it, neither did he swear--unless it was at the damp from the -river!--and, being bald, he had no hair to tear; and he never tapped -panels nor prodded walls nor looked for secret doors in the house, -contenting himself with letting young "Reg" do all this when he came -to stay with him. For the rest, and being a bachelor, he spent much -time at his club; he took a faint interest in the curiosity which the -legend of Phips House excited in the minds of his friends, as well as -of the waterside loafers of Brentford, Kew, Mortlake, and all the -immediate neighbourhood; he would even go so far as to invite people -to stay with him and hunt about the house for themselves, when they -were not enjoying the prospect from the windows of the market-gardens -across the river. But of excitement in the legendary fortune, this -bald-headed and comfortably situated ex-Civil Servant could get up not -one jot; and when a burglar broke into the house, determined on -finding, as he informed the barrister who defended him, "the blooming -fortune if it was to be found," he went to see him at Pentonville -after his trial and told him he sincerely wished he had found it. -Thus, to him, the fortune of Phips House was but an allegory or a -myth, which he regarded but as a grown-up child regards a fairy-tale; -and so, unbelieving in all that pertained to it, he passed away to -Kensal Green and Reginald the Second ruled in his stead.</p> - -<p class="normal">But he, when he was a child--being of a romantic nature--did believe -in the fortune of Nicholas Crafer; and when he was a man--being a -sailor--had not lost all faith in the romance.</p> - -<p class="normal">Whether that faith was justified, you who read on shall see.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER II.</h4> -<h5>AN OLD BIT OF HISTORY.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Who is he, especially of the London brood, who knows not -Strand-on-the-Green? Who knows not that it lies below the choice and -savoury town of Brentford and below Kew Bridge also, on the Middlesex -shore; that it is composed of a long, straggling row of houses, many -of them old and most of them quaint, which are of all shapes, sizes, -and uses? One there is in which once dwelt Zoffany, the painter; hard -by is a waterman's cottage, where the succulent winkle or shrimp may -be purchased and eaten--the former with a pin supplied by the vendor; -then comes a row of comfortable houses panelled and wainscotted -within, then more tiny shops (with, interspersed all along the row, -the genial public-house); then more private houses; and so on to Phips -House--old, quaint, gabled, and mullioned, panelled also, and -wainscotted. In it are fireplaces in the corners of the rooms--sure -proofs of the early Charles II. period; it has also carved wooden -doors and carved balustrades and banisters; there are balconies to the -front windows having bulging rails to fit the hoops of women belonging -to long-forgotten days; and all about it is that genuine look of -latter Stuart times which may still be found in very many houses in -this locality.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What did it appear like when Nicholas first bought it?" mused -Reginald Crafer to himself a few evenings later than the day he -breakfasted at "The George." "Even if it hasn't altered, its -surroundings have." Then he turned his eyes around and went on, gazing -down the river meanwhile. "The 'White Hart' at Mortlake was there, I -think--I have read of Jacobites taking boat from its steps; and so was -the Duke of Devonshire's and old Chiswick beyond, with wicked Barbara -Villiers standing at the window of her house and shrieking for the -return of her lost youth and beauty. But not much else! No main -drainage then, no horrible gasworks, no District Railway bridges! It -must have changed a good deal since Nicholas hid his fabulous fortune, -or the story of it, in the house--if it is fabulous."</p> - -<p class="normal">He put the key into the door and entered, musing still.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I wonder what Nicholas did to pass his time? There was no 'Packet -Hotel,' no 'Indian Queen,' no 'Star and Garter' then." These places -are, it should be told, hostelries of more modern date. "There was not -much for him to do to amuse himself," he went on. "He was too late to -know Kinde Kit of Kingston, who lived here; too early for the Georgian -revels at Kew. Yet he might have often seen William of Orange (it was -hard by here they attempted to assassinate him); he might have smoked -and drunk at the 'Three Pidgeons,' at Brentford, and known the -daughter of Shakespeare's brother-actor, Lowin, who kept the place. -Who knows?"</p> - -<p class="normal">This young man, you see, was well acquainted with the history of the -neighbourhood in which stood the house he had now inherited. It was -not remarkable that he should be so. From his earliest childhood his -fancy had been strongly taken by all the gossip connected with the -property that must some day be his if his uncle remained unmarried, -and never did he by haphazard see the names of Brentford, Kew, or -Strand-on-the-Green printed but he studied every word in connection -with them. Thus, he was neither erudite nor pedantic, but only very -interested in all that concerned the spot, and, therefore, very well -informed about it.</p> - -<p class="normal">What he did not know was--in common with his forerunners--much about -the mysterious Nicholas Crafer, who had contrived, by arousing the -curiosity of his descendants through the medium of his strange will, -to keep his memory very green. And not only the curiosity of his -descendants, but also of most people brought into the slightest -connection with the spot. The waterside hands, the barge-loaders and -the lookers after private skiffs and gigs, the keepers of local -refreshment-houses, whether "publics" or those chaste bowers which -have upon their fronts the mystic legends, "Tea and hot water 9<i>d</i>." -(how can there be tea-drinking without hot water?); even the hands of -the steamers passing up and down--of the <i>Cardinal Wolsey</i> for Hampton -Court (which place it reacheth not without arduous struggles and -terrible delay), and the captains of the <i>Bridegroom</i> and the <i>Wedding -Ring</i> (graceful names well suited to riparian jaunts!)--all knew the -legend of Phips House as well as its new owner. So, too, did the -dwellers on Kew Green, the respectable City men who resided on the Kew -Gardens estate and were on familiar terms with the parson, and the -City clerks who abode in great numbers in modern Gunnersbury and -modern Chiswick. All knew, I say, the legend of Phips House; all had -heard of Nicholas Crafer, who was considered to have been a pirate and -buccaneer; all--watermen, City men, and City clerks--were proud of -their local history of Nicholas and their--in a way--connection with -him.</p> - -<p class="normal">What was, however, really known of him by the family--reduced now to -Reginald alone--what had filtered through the eleven generations with -regard to him, was no more than this: He had been an officer in the -navy of the Commonwealth, being but a lad at that time, and serving -under Blake during its last two years of existence; then under Charles -II. in the royal navy; and then under James II., in whose first year -of misrule he retired. Many a fight did he engage in in those days, as -was well known to his descendants: he was in the destruction of the -Spanish ships at Santa Cruz in 1657, and at the defeat of Van -Wassenaer by James, Duke of York, in 1665, in the "four days' fight" -in 1666, and he assisted in the capture of the <i>Golden Horse</i> corsair -in 1681, and many other valiant deeds besides.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet were none of these martial feats so romantic as one other thing he -did, or, rather two other things. He accompanied Sir William Phips, -then plain Captain Phips, in both his expeditions for the fishing up -of the Hispaniola Plate--the second attempt proving successful. Now, -as not all the world knows, but as his descendants of course knew, -'twas in the <i>Algier Rose</i> that Phips made his first attempt to get -this plate in the reign of that most high and puissant prince, King -Charles II., of ever-gracious memory. 'Twas that great monarch who put -at his disposal the <i>Algier Rose</i>, after listening to Phips's tale in -the embrasure of a window at Whitehall--what time he was playing with -the silky ears of a spaniel on his knee and leering at a young country -lady fresh come to Court--a tale narrating how the Spanish plate ship, -or carrack, was sunk off Hispaniola--or, as we now call it, San -Domingo and Hayti; and how he, Phips, felt sure he could fish it up. -But Phips came back without the plate, and the august Charles, being -dead, could help him no more, nor would the saintly James, his -successor, do so.</p> - -<p class="normal">Phips was therefore now on what he would, perhaps, have called his -"beam-ends," and so were some of his officers, including Nicholas -Crafer; and on them he would doubtless have remained had not his good -fortune thrown in his way at this moment a friendly patron. This was -none other than Christopher Monk, second Duke of Albemarle, a nobleman -who loved much the bottle--which fondness led to his death shortly -afterwards, when Governor of Jamaica--and who also took great interest -in stories of buried treasure, and listened to tales of such things -with eagerness. To him, therefore, Phips opened up the subject of the -Spanish plate. He swore that though he had failed once in finding it -he would never fail again; and he so much impressed his drunken Grace -with his energy and sincerity that, at last, he sailed once more for -the West Indies as captain of a private ship commissioned to hunt for -the plate, and with him Nicholas sailed too as second officer. Much -money had been advanced for the quest; Albemarle taking six -shares, while three were allotted to Phips, one to Nicholas, and -one between the other officers, and the remainder amongst those -adventurer-merchants who had assisted in finding the necessary -capital.</p> - -<p class="normal">All this is matter of history, which may be grubbed up by the student -with little pains; so, too, is the fact that Phips did come back with -the plate, having gone through some considerable dangers and hardships -to secure it. Then the saintly King, James--who took a tenth as his -royalty for granting the patent--was advised to seize all the plate on -the ground that "one half of what had been in the Spanish carrack was -missing," and that, consequently, Phips had secreted that half -somewhere for his future use. But the King, contrary to what might -have been expected of him, refused to believe such to be the -case--perhaps because he had been a sailor himself once, and a good -one, too!--and, instead, ordered the money to be divided and -apportioned as had been at first arranged, and also, at the request of -the graceless but goodhearted Duke, knighted the captain, making him -thereby Sir William Phips.</p> - -<p class="normal">So Albemarle got his six shares, Phips got his three, and Nicholas his -one: but as to how much each got considerable doubt has ever existed, -since some historians say the plate realised only £90,000, and some -say £300,000; though it was thought that Phips got £16,000. But -whatever it was it was sufficient to assist the Duke in ruling -royally over his colony (for a year, when the bottle finished him!), -to support Phips until the time came when he was made Governor -of New England, and to enable Nicholas to buy his house at -Strand-on-the-Green.</p> - -<p class="normal">But than this no more was known, except that Nicholas lived some years -after the making of his will, since he did not die until 1701, when -the smallpox carried him off. And of what he did in those years -neither was anything more known, nor of how he and Phips really got -the treasure, what adventures they went through, or what hardships -they then endured.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, as will now be seen, the time was at last at hand when Reginald -Crafer the second, twelfth in descent from Nicholas, the so-called -pirate and buccaneer, was to find out all that there was to be -discovered about him. He was soon to learn the reason of Nicholas's -strange will and testament.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER III.</h4> -<h5>THE VANISHED MR. WARGRAVE.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Now, in the letter of Mr. Bentham, the lawyer, to the present -Reginald, mention was made of "a scrap of paper once found," of which -the young man knew. And that he did so know of it was most certain, as -all who came after the fourth Crafer in descent from Nicholas had -known, for it was in the time of that fourth Crafer and in the first -year of the reign of George III. that it had been discovered. Only, -when it was discovered it told nothing, since on it were simply -the words, "My friend Mr. Wargrave has the papers that will tell -all.--NICHOLAS CRAFER."</p> - -<p class="normal">Nothing could very well have been more disheartening than this; and I -fear that the fourth Crafer in descent, whose Christian name was -David, must, when he discovered that paper, have been one of the -family who indulged in hair (or wig) tearings and in strong language. -He was himself a doctor--for the eleven descendants of Nicholas had -among them embraced all the professions and callings fit for -gentlemen--having a fair practice in the neighbourhood of Brentford -and Chiswick, and was consequently a stay-at-home man. And during his -home-keeping life, while having a few alterations made to what was in -those days called the saloon, or withdrawing room, he found the -useless piece of paper. It was in the leaves of a Wagener, always -called by sailors a "Waggoner" (a book of charts, or <i>routier</i>, much -used by old navigators), that the scrap was discovered pasted--between -the cover and the title-page. The book itself was in a little wooden -cupboard, not a foot square, that had always been evidently regarded -as a secret receptacle and hiding-place, since over and in front of -the cupboard-doors, which had an antique lock to them, the -wainscotting was capable of removal. Yet, when last the wainscotting -had been put over that cupboard, it was easy enough to perceive that -the person who had so closed it up had intended it should not be -opened again for some time, since the wood of the wainscot had been -glued in some manner to the cupboard-door. Then, in the passage of -time between Nicholas having closed up the cupboard and the epoch of -David Crafer arriving, when the builder's man lighted on it--which was -a period of over fifty-five years--some stamped hangings of floss and -velvet had been placed over the wainscot by another owner; so that at -last the little cupboard with its contents was entirely hidden away. -That Nicholas could have ever intended his scrap of paper--if the -information was really of any use in his own day, or in days near to -his time--to be so lost, it was of course impossible to decide. -Doubtless he never dreamt that the panels would be covered up by the -hangings, and perhaps thought that, therefore, sooner or later, some -curious eye would observe that there was a difference in their size -where they enclosed the cupboard. However, whatever he thought or did -not think, the builder in making his alterations had unearthed the -paper.</p> - -<p class="normal">Only, as David Crafer remarked, it was of no use to him now it was -found and never would be; which was the truth, for when he in his turn -went the way of those before him he had never so much as really and -positively found out who Mr. Wargrave was.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet he had tried hard to do so in the time that was left him. Knowing -his ancestor to have been a sailor, every record bearing on the -sailors of the past fifty years was searched by him or those employed -by him, but there was no Wargrave who had ever been heard of. The -Admiralty officials of those days swore no Wargrave had ever served in -the navy; whoever he was, they said, one thing was certain--he was not -a King's officer. Then David Crafer got the idea that the man was, -after all, a lawyer whom Nicholas confided in; but again he found -himself at bay. The records of dead-and-gone lawyers, even when they -had been famous, were scanty enough in the early days of last century; -when they had not been famous--above all, when they were only -attorneys--those records scarcely existed at all. So, at last, David -Crafer gave up the law in despair. If there had ever been a Wargrave -in that profession, he, at least, could find out nothing about him. -Next, he tried the City, which was not a very large place in his own -day, and had been smaller in the days of Nicholas. Yet it was -difficult to glean any information of the City even in those -times--especially since the information desired was nearer sixty than -fifty years old. It is true there was, as far back as the period of -Nicholas Crafer and the mysterious Wargrave, a London Directory (such -useful volume having been first published in 1677), yet in the copies -which he could obtain a sight of--which was done with difficulty, -since reference books were not preserved with much care in those -times, and those which he did see were neither consecutive nor in a -perfect condition--he found no mention of the name of Wargrave.</p> - -<p class="normal">So time went on, David Crafer grew old and feeble, and had almost -entirely desisted from the search for the name of Wargrave--the man -himself must, of course, have been dead for some decades--and had long -since come to the conclusion that he would never find out anything -about him. Then, all at once, when visiting a friend in the City, and -while turning over a volume in that friend's parlour, he lighted on -the name and possibly the person. The book was entitled "A Compleat -Guide to all Persons who have any Trade of Concern within the City of -London and parts adjacent;" and peering into it in a half-interested, -half-hopeless, and half-hearted manner, old David saw the name of -"Samuel Wargrave, silversmith and dealer, Cornhill." Moreover, he saw -that the book containing the name was published in 1701, the year when -Nicholas died.</p> - -<p class="normal">Therefore he thought he had found his man, or, at least, had found the -chance of gleaning some information about him. But, alas! the year -1701 was a long way off the year 1760, when the paper was discovered -in the little cupboard, and still longer off the year 1768, at which -period David had now arrived. Moreover, David was, as has been said, -grown old and feeble; "he did not know," he told himself that night as -the coach took him back to Strand-on-the-Green, "if he cared overmuch -now to go a-hunting for a dead man, or even for the knowledge that -dead man might have possessed of Nicholas Crafer's treasure."</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, old as he was, being now turned seventy, he took the trouble to -make some inquiries. He had a son, an officer, away serving in the -American colonies, himself no longer a very young man; if he could -find something more to leave him than the money for which he had sold -his practice and his little savings and the old house to live in, why -it would be well to do so. So, once more, armed with the knowledge -that Mr. Wargrave had been a silversmith in Cornhill, he began further -inquiries--which resulted in nothing! At least in nothing very -tangible, though they proved that the man who was in the "Compleat -Guide" had once lived where he was stated to have done. The parish -books to which David obtained access showed this; and they showed also -that he must have been the tenant of the whole house--even though he -let off part of it, as was likely enough--since he was rented at £133 -per annum, a good sum in those days even for a City house; but they -told nothing further. No one could be unearthed who remembered -Wargrave the silversmith, no one who had ever heard of him. Nor did -his business appear to have survived him, since, in the half-year -following his last payment of rates and taxes, the next occupant of -the house was a mercer, who in his turn was followed by a coffee-house -keeper, who, in David's own day--as he saw with his own eyes--was -succeeded by a furniture dealer.</p> - -<p class="normal">And then, as the old man reflected, this Mr. Wargrave might not be, -probably was not, the man who was Nicholas's friend.</p> - -<p class="normal">At this period David Crafer died; and ere his son, the officer in the -American colonies, could be apprised of his death he too was dead, -being shot through the heart in a skirmish with some Indians near -Boston. Confirmation being received of his death, the property passed -to another Crafer belonging to the elder branch, which was still -existent in Hampshire; and by the time he in his turn had passed away -the finding of the scrap of paper in the Wagener, and the hunt for Mr. -Wargrave, were almost forgotten, if not entirely so. In fact, as -generation continued to succeed generation, not only did these -incidents become forgotten but the whole thing became almost a legend -or a fairy-tale. One inheritor even went so far as to scoff at the -will of Nicholas, saying that he was a romantic old sea-dog who had -taken this manner of keeping his memory before his descendants; while, -as you have seen, the late Reginald regarded the whole story with a -pleasing indifference. But the present Reginald, who was himself of a -romantic tendency, could by no means regard the story in anything but -the light of truth, and, if he ever indulged in any hopes at all, they -were more that the mystery might be cleared up in his time than that -the fortune of £50,000 should come to him.</p> - -<p class="normal">And it is because in his time the mystery was cleared up, that the -whole story of what Nicholas Crafer did leave behind him "equivalint -unto the summe of fiftie thousand guineas" can now be told.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER IV.</h4> -<h5>CAZALET'S BANK.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Now this is the manner in which the mystery was at last cleared up in -the time of Reginald Crafer, Lieutenant, R.N.</p> - -<p class="normal">There was, and still is, in the neighbourhood that lies between -Chancery Lane and Cheapside, an ancient banking establishment that is -as old as the Bank of England itself--if not some years older--and -that has, from its creation, been known as "Cazalet's." Yet there has -been no Cazalet in the firm for nigh upon a hundred years, but, -instead, the partners--of whom there are now two--boast the ancient -patronymic of Jones. These Joneses are descendants, on the female -side, from the last Cazalet, and in this way have become possessed -of the old business; and it was when their father--for they are -brothers--died, at almost the same time that Reginald's uncle passed -out of existence, that a change took place, which led in a roundabout -way to the writing of this narrative of "The Hispaniola Plate."</p> - -<p class="normal">Old Mr. Jones had, I say, been gathered to all the other Joneses who -had gone before him, and the two young Messrs. Jones--one aged -forty-five and the other thirty-nine--decided that his decease marked -a period in the existence of Cazalet's when a change ought to be made. -That change was to take a shape, however, in the first instance, which -caused a vast number of the people who banked with them, as well as -all their senior clerks--many of them nearly as old as the late Jones -himself--to shake their heads and to wonder why that late Jones did -not burst forth corporeally from his grave, or, at the very least, -appear in the spirit, to forbid the desecration that was about to take -place. For the old house was to be pulled down--ruthlessly sacrificed -to the spirit of the times, and a bran-new one was to be built up in -its place!</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well," said the ancient chief cashier--who had been there boy and man -since 1843, and had grown old, and also tobacco-and-spirit-stained, -during the evenings of a life spent in the service of Cazalet's--when -he received the first intimation of this terrible news, "if that's -going to happen it's time I was off. Lor' bless me! a new house! Well, -then, they'll require some new clerks. They don't want a wreck like me -in such a fine new modern building as they're going to shove up."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why, Mr. Creech," said a much younger <i>employé</i> of Cazalet's, a youth -who came in airily every morning from Brixton, and was supposed to be -the best lawn-tennis player in that suburb, "that's just why you ought -to remain; you'll give the new show a fine old crusted air of -respectability; you're a relic, you are, of the good old days. They'll -never be able to do without you."</p> - -<p class="normal">But Mr. Creech only grunted, and, it being one o'clock in the day when -this conversation took place, he lifted up the lid of his desk, took -some sandwiches out of a paper packet, and, applying his lips to a -small flask, diffused a genial aroma of sherry-and-water around him. -Yet, as he thus partook of his lunch, he wagged his head in a -melancholy manner and thought how comfortable he had been for the best -part of his life in the old, dingy, dirty-windowed house; it having -been a standing rule of Cazalet's that the windows were never to be -cleaned, and rumour had it that they had not been touched since the -house was built.</p> - -<p class="normal">That the firm "would never be able to do without him," as his -cock-a-hoop junior had remarked, seemed, indeed, to be the case, and -received exemplification there and then. For at that moment a bell -rang in the inner sanctum where the brothers sat, and a moment -afterwards the office-boy who had answered it told Mr. Creech that the -"pardners wanted to see 'im;" whereon he gulped down a last drop of -the sherry-and-water, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and -went in to them, wondering "what was up now?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sit down, Creech, sit down," said the "pardners" together, "we want -to have a talk with you about the new house." Here Creech grunted. "Or -rather," the elder one went on, "the old house;" whereon the cashier -smiled, as much as to say that that was a far more congenial subject -to him. Then Alfred, the elder brother, continued:</p> - -<p class="normal">"You know more about this house, Creech, than anybody else." Creech -gave a grunt again here, which tailed off into a sigh. "Why, bless -my soul! you've been here five years longer than I've been in -existence--there's no one else knows as much about us as you do."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I came here a boy of sixteen," said Creech, looking at the clock on -the wall as though it was a kind of calendar of his career, "and I'm -sixty-five now. That makes forty-nine years. Come Easter, I've been -here fifty years. It's a long while!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"It is a long while," said the younger partner, Henry. "But you're all -right, you know, Creech. Cazalet's look after those who have served -them long and well. When you feel like retirement and a pension, you -say so. Only, I don't know how we shall get on without you. However, -the retirement is a long way off yet, I hope. Let us talk about the -present."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What we want to know is this," said Alfred, "and you're the person to -tell us. What is there stored away down in the vaults below the strong -room? We haven't been down there for years; not since we were boys and -our father used to let us go down sometimes. There seemed to be only -an awful lot of mouldering rubbish, and it'll all have to be gone over -and either destroyed or fetched up before the builders go to work on -the foundations."</p> - -<p class="normal">"So there is a lot of rubbish," replied Creech, "though I haven't been -down there myself for over twenty years. The last time I was down was -when the Prince o' Wales went to return thanks at St. Paul's. I -remember it because I found a bottle of port wine on a ledge, and we -drank his health as he went by. I told your father about it -afterwards, and he said it must have been some of the Waterloo port -his father had had given him."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What else is there?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"A lot of rubbish," repeated Creech. "There's several old boxes, most -of them burst open, with leases, I should say, belonging to dead and -gone customers of the bank, and a heap of broken old furniture that -belonged upstairs when the family lived over the bank. I found a fine -copper warming-pan, that Mr. Jones made me a present of; and I think -there's an old spinet down there, and broken chairs and tables, and -office stuff, and a basket full of broken glass and crockery, and that -sort of thing."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Humph!" said the elder brother. "Leases, eh? We ought to look into -those. If they're ours we ought to preserve them, and if they belonged -to customers who have left descendants, they should be returned. They -may still be of the greatest value. Who can tell?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>My</i> wife," said the younger, "has been filling the new house at -Egerton Gardens full of the most awful-looking gimcracks I ever saw. -She'll want that spinet directly she hears of it, and if she could -only find another warming-pan she'd hang it up in the bedroom passages -as an ornament."</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>My</i> wife," said Creech, "warms the beds with ours in the winter. -It's a very good one, but I'll send it back if Mrs. Jones wants to -decorate her landing."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," said Jones Junior, "we'll say nothing about it. There's far too -much rubbish in the house already. Suppose," to his brother, "we go -down into the vaults and have a look round."</p> - -<p class="normal">This was agreed to, so down they went, after Creech had armed himself -with a large paraffin candle and had rummaged out a bag full of keys -of all sizes and shapes, while the elder Jones carried with him the -more modern and bright keys that opened the safes and strong room. -This latter they were, of course, in the habit of visiting every day, -but the trap door leading to the vaults below--which was in the floor -of the strong room--testified to the truth of Creech's assertion that -it possibly had not been opened for twenty years. First of all, when -the key was found, the lock was so rusty that it could not be turned -until some oil had been brought, and then the door had stuck so that -the two brothers--for Creech was no good at this work--could hardly -pull it up. However, at last they got it open, and then they descended -the stone steps one by one.</p> - -<p class="normal">The place--as seen by the light of the candle--was, as the old cashier -had described it, an <i>olla-podrida</i> of all kinds of lumber. The hamper -of broken glass and crockery was there, so was the spinet, looking -very antique and somewhat mouldy--a thing not to be wondered at, -seeing that the Jones family had not lived over the bank during the -present century. The broken chairs, stools, and tables were all piled -in a corner--in another stood the boxes, some of them burst open, of -which Creech had spoken. And around and about the vaults there -pervaded the damp atmosphere which such places always have. The -cashier had brought a second candle in his pocket, which he now lit, -and by this additional light they saw all that there was to be seen.</p> - -<p class="normal">"A lease of a farm in Yorkshire," said Alfred, taking up the first one -that lay loose on the top of the first box, whose rusted padlock came -off it, nails and all, as they touched the lid, "called Shrievalls, -from the Earl of Despare to Antony Jones. Lor' bless me! Why, -Shrievalls has been in our family for any amount of time, and I never -heard of the Earl. I suppose we bought it afterwards. That's no use to -anyone. What's this? A covenant of the Earl of Despare to pay an -annuity to Ambrose Hawkins for the remainder of his life, made in the -year 1743; that covenant has expired! That's no use to any one, -either. A bundle of acceptances by Sir Marmaduke Flitch to Peter -Jones--our great-grandfather. Flitch! Flitch! No knowledge of him -either. An authority from Annabella Proctor to pay to her brother, so -long as he holds his peace--humph!--ha!--well, that's an old family -scandal--we needn't read that just now. Transfer of a lease from Mr. -Stringer, son of Sir Thomas Stringer, a judge of the King's Bench, to -Mr. Samuel Wargrave, late silversmith and jeweller, of Cornhill, now -of Enfield, dated 1688. I suppose one or the other of them was a -customer of the bank."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Then it was Wargrave!" exclaimed Creech. "I've seen that name in some -of our old books. At least, I think I have. Let me see--Wargrave. -Where <i>have</i> I seen it? I know it somehow."</p> - -<p class="normal">"It can't matter," said the younger Jones. "There has been no Wargrave -on our books for a long while."</p> - -<p class="normal">"A bundle of letters," went on the elder, taking them up, "from the -Lady Henrietta Belville to Bartholomew Skelton, Esquire, at the -University of Leyden, with one beginning, 'My dear and only -love,--Since my 'usband is away to York'--Oh, dear! dear! we needn't -read that now."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I should think not," said the younger brother. "The Skelton family -still banks with us. We had better send the letter back intact. -Bankers should keep secrets as well as lawyers."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Wargrave," mumbled Creech to himself, as he leaned against an antique -office-stool minus a leg. "Wargrave! Where have I heard the name?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"An account book with no name in it but a date. And written therein, -'On behalf of the Earl of Mar, his expedition.' Humph! ha! well, we had -a good many Jacobites among our old customers. What's this? A glove -with a lot of tarnished silver fringe about it, a woman's--these are -romantic finds!--a bunch of withered flowers, almost dust, and a -little box----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"That's it," exclaimed Creech, "a box with the name of Wargrave on it. -That's it!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"On the contrary, Creech, there is nothing on it; but, inside, a paper -with written on that, and badly spelt, too--'His hair. Cut from his -head by a true friend after his death at the Battle of Clifton Moor.'"</p> - -<p class="normal">"No, no," said Creech, "I don't mean that box. I mean there is a box -somewhere in this vault--a small one, with the name of Wargrave on -it."</p> - -<p class="normal">"There are a good many boxes with names on them," said one of the -brothers, glancing round; "and I doubt if any speak more pathetically -of the past than this one with its wisp of withered hair and its -label."</p> - -<p class="normal">But Creech was hunting about in the rubbish by now, and at last, -exclaiming, "That's the one I mean," seized on a small iron box a foot -square and brought it to where the partners and candles were.</p> - -<p class="normal">"That," he said, as he plumped it down on the spinet, which emitted a -rusty groan from its long-disused keys as he did so, "is the box I -mean. I remember seeing it years and years ago. Look at what's written -on it."</p> - -<p class="normal">In faded ink, brownish red now instead of black, on paper a dirty -slate colour instead of white, were the words:--</p> -<br> - - -<p class="normal" style="font-size:smaller">This box is to be given to any descendant or representative of -Lieutenant Nicholas Crafer who is alive at my death. To be given at -once after, but not before.--<span class="sc">Samuel Wargrave</span>.</p> - -<p class="normal" style="font-size:smaller"><i>Nota Bene</i>.--I do believe it is very important.</p> - -<p class="normal" style="font-size:smaller"><i>January</i>, 1709.</p> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">"And," exclaimed the younger brother, "being so very important it has -lain here for over 180 years. We <i>have</i> been assiduous for our -customers."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But why," said the elder brother, "when you saw it years ago, Creech, -was nothing done? Why did not you, or my father, find out some -Wargrave or some Crafer? There must be some left."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Your father said he would make some inquiries; but I don't know -whether he ever did or not. At any rate, it went clean out of my head. -I was just off on my holidays, I remember, when I happened to see it; -and, to tell you the truth, I never thought any more about it from -that day to this. And I shouldn't have done so now if it hadn't been -for that transfer you read out a minute ago."</p> - -<p class="center"><span style="letter-spacing:1em">* * * * * * *</span></p> - -<p class="normal">A fortnight later the box was in Reginald Crafer's possession, with an -apology from Messrs. Cazalet and Co. for the long period in which it -had lain unattended to in their hands. They had discovered him by a -reference to the suburban directory, after a search through the London -and also several county directories, and Mr. Bentham's name had been -quite enough to assure Messrs. Cazalet and Co. that he was the -rightful person to whom to entrust the box.</p> - -<p class="normal">The lock--a most excellent one, considering when it was made--had to -be burst open, for no key could be found to fit it, and then Reginald -saw what were its contents. First, there was a piece of paper on which -was written:--</p> - -<p class="normal" style="font-size:smaller">I do feel so sure that Mr. Wargrave will carry out my instructions -after my death that I leave this pretious legacy to him in all good -faith, and to you my descendant to whom it may after come, with all my -love and good wishes; and so I say, May what you find herein prosper -you. N. C.</p> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Then, in a neat roll, tied up with black ribbon, was a vast number of -sheets of paper covered with writing, some of it being very neat, some -of it very ungainly, with many words scored out and others inserted, -and also many misspelt, and some not spelt twice alike.</p> - -<p class="normal">And Reginald Crafer, after an early meal, sat himself down to a -perusal of those closely written sheets which had been at last -unearthed after lying in the vaults of Cazalet's bank so long.</p> - -<p class="normal">This is what they told him.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<p class="center"><i>The History of<br> - -NICHOLAS CRAFER, Lieutenant,<br> - -and the Search for<br> - -THE HISPANIOLA PLATE,<br> - -with all that occurred during that search<br> - -and followed after it.<br> - -As told by him</i>.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER V.</h4> -<h5>CAPTAIN WILLIAM PHIPS.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">There will be but little need that I ask pardon of him or her who -receives this paper from Mr. Wargrave, since if he who does so shall -have courage, or she who receives it have an honest friend to depend -upon, they will have no reason to reproach me for what I have done. -The finding of it will tell him or her how they shall become possessed -of a fortune; and those who have gone before them and after me can -never know how they have missed it. That it is not well for any Crafer -to find this paper near unto my time is the reason why, with great -care and pains, I have so bestowed it in my friend's hand, and, better -is it that I shall have laid in grave a hundred years or more before -it is discovered, than that any coming close to me should light upon -it.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, you who so receive my writing shall understand the reason whereof -I say this. Because it partly relateth to a large amount of plate, of -jewels, of gold and coins, all of which did indeed belong to the -Spanish Carrack which my commander, Phips, digged or rather fished up, -from the bottom of the sea where it had lain forty-four years, or, as -some did aver, fifty, and because it was the rightful property of him, -of the Duke of Albemarle who had a share therein, of King James who -had a tenth, and of many others. For some of this money and valuables -was all stolen by a thief who was ever a rogue in grain, and what is -true enough is, that there was a many suspicions when the finders came -back to London that one half of this treasure was missing. As indeed -some was, tho' not stolen by him whom the accusers pointed at. For -Phips, who was an honest-born New England boy--one of twenty-six -children--who had been bred a shepherd and had then become a sailor, -was indeed no thief, but ever an honest man, as James declared, who -was himself none too honest. Yet, as I say, when the ship with the -treasure came back to England, there was a cry that one half was -missing, that Phips had left me and others behind to hide away that -half, and that, indeed, we were all thieves--tho' we were none, or -only one of us, and that was neither Phips nor I.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, if so be that the house which I called after my dear and honoured -friend, and superior in rank tho' not in birth--for the Crafers have -ever been gentlemen of repute and of good descent from an ancient -family in Hampshire--be not burned down or falleth not down from age, -and our line dieth not out, and the paper telling where these writings -are be not doomed to be found by a stranger, then must a Crafer be the -one to read them. And he will find strange matter in it who doth so -read. For in the long winter evenings which are before me--since I -have begun to write this narrative in the month of November, 1700, and -trust to finish it with the incoming of the New Century--I do propose -to tell you who may open the packet all that befel our voyages to find -the contents of the Hispaniola Plate Ship, which was sunken off "The -Boylers," a reef of shoals a few leagues off of the island of Aiitti, -as the natives call it; but known generally by its Spanish name of San -Domingo.</p> - -<p class="normal">And being but a poor penman I mean to divide my story into heads, -thusly.</p> - -<p class="normal">First, I mean to tell you of my acquaintance with Phips at the time he -approached The King, I mean Charles; then of how he sailed in the -<i>Algier Rose</i> for Hispaniola, and of two mutinies. Then, how after -four years, we again sailed in the Duke's ship, or <i>Furie</i>, and what -happened to us in the fishing up of the plate. But more than all this -is to tell you of shameful villainies and thievings that took place, -and of how the chief villain was frustrated so that not he but another -was to be benefited. And who, think you, my descendant whom I know -not, is that other? You may think Phips, you might imagine myself or -the Duke, you might suppose some of the other adventurers. Yet 'tis -not so. 'Tis no less an one than <i>you--you, yourself</i>. That is if you -have a manly heart, or, being a woman, a man to help you. For as I -have writ--and if I repeat myself you must forgive me, for we sailors -who fought battles almost weekly had but little enough time to study -the art of writing; and you will find your reward by reading this--it -is you who are to benefit. You are to have the fortune which the thief -was possessed of, tho' not what he stole.</p> - -<p class="normal">Therefore, having made this introduction, I proceed to tell my tale. -And as I have, although a sailor, been ever a God-fearing man, I pray -that it shall be a Crafer who receives this from where I have disposed -of it. For it was I who gained it all from him, and tho' I shall never -see you who come after me, you may well suppose that I would sooner, -far sooner, that the fortune came to one of my own flesh and blood -than to one no way allied to me.</p> - -<p class="normal">So I begin.</p> - -<p class="normal">'Twas in the year of our Lord 1682, and during the visit of Prince -George,<a name="div4Ref_01" href="#div4_01"><sup>[1]</sup></a> son of the Elector of Hanover, that I made the friendship of -Phips, then Captain of a private ship hailing from Boston. I was -ashore from the royal yacht that had brought the Prince over, and, -insomuch as I now sought another ship, had gone into lodgings in -Spring Gardens, both because of the freshness of the air over that of -the city and its nearness to the Admiralty office. And it was at this -latter, where there had creeped up again a good habit of the Admirals -of meeting their officers frequently, that I encountered William -Phips. A brave, topping gentleman he was, too,--for all he was a -Puritan, tho', I think, ever in his mind a sailor first--then -thirty-two years of age, fine and big and well dressed. Now, as a -colonist and but a private sailor man, Phips was inferior to all of us -who sailed for the King, yet he won soon upon us. He was brought in by -Matthew Aylmer, then holding the rank of commander, though destined -for much higher things, as I have lived to see; and soon we were told -what his business was. This was no less than to get the King to give -him a ship in which he had a mind to go treasure-hunting. Yet this was -not a vision neither, for says he to us,</p> - -<p class="normal">"Gentlemen, I know what I speak of and 'tis not foolishness. In -Hispaniola--where I have been many a time--there is a place called -Porto de la Plata. Surely some of you King's officers have heard tell -of it!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Two or three amongst us nodded of our heads with assent at this, and -he continued:--</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well gentlemen, do you know why 'tis so termed? No? Then will I tell -you. Forty-four, or as some say fifty years agone, there came ashore -at that spot--which then had no name at all--a shipwrecked crew in an -open boat, in which there was no room for them to lie down, so stuffed -full was it of plate."</p> - -<p class="normal">Here one or two of us laughed, and some seemed much aroused, while -Phips continued:--</p> - -<p class="normal">"They were saved from the great Spanish plate ship which had sunk some -leagues out when striking on a reef, and what they brought with them -was all that they could save. This was well known all over the island -shortly afterwards, and is spoken of now, even unto this day."</p> - -<p class="normal">He had told this tale before to Aylmer, as afterwards I learned from -him, and a few moments later he told it to the King, being taken over -to him by his friend and introduced. Now, it is not for me to write -down the grievous faults and failings of Charles--he is gone before -his Judge!--but I will say this, that, with all his errors, he had a -mind beyond the common. Therefore he harkened unto Phips, and later on -he called his brother James, whose faults were greater than his, but a -good sailor, and asked him what he thought on't?</p> - -<p class="normal">James was at once all for it and hot upon the idea, for it seemed that -it was not the first time he had heard of the sunken plate ship, and -he was taken with Phips--as, indeed, were all who met with him. So, to -make what would be a tedious story short, Phips received a commission -from the King to go out in command of the <i>Algier Rose</i>, with orders -to find the wreck and bring all away in her if he could. And it fell -out to my great good fortune that I went too. To my good fortune as it -came later, tho' not then, for it was not on this journey that we -found the treasure, as you shall soon know.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet we hoped to find it, and so I was glad to go. It was in the "Dog" -tavern at Westminster, where many naval men did, and still do, resort, -that I got my appointment to the <i>Algier Rose</i>, Phips, who had taken a -fancy to me, swearing that he would not sail without me. So there I -made interest with several from the Admiralty, who would come to the -"Dog" for half a pint of mulled sack, or a dram of brandy, and at last -received my commission as first lieutenant to the frigate. A better -ship never swam than she, carrying eighteen guns and ninety-five men, -and when we took her out early in '83 I can tell you that the brave -hearts on board of her were joyful.</p> - -<p class="normal">In 1683 it was when we dropped down on the tide, with a lusty cheer or -two from the King's ships lying in the river off Bugsby's Hole--for -they knew our intent--and another from the old man-of-war, the -<i>Jerzy</i>, in which I had served as a young lieutenant; and so away out -to sea with light canvas all in aloft, and just a single reef in our -tops'ls, and off we went to find the great Hispaniola wreck.</p> - -<p class="normal">And so I put down my pen awhile.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER VI.</h4> -<h5>THE BEGINNING OF A MUTINY.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Now it happened that at the "Dog" tavern one day there came in, -when we were sitting there, an astrologer, or geomancer, as 'tis -called--namely, a caster of figures--who marking out Phips (perhaps -because of his uncommon and striking appearance) seized upon him to -tell his fortune, which he, having ever a mind turned towards fun, was -well disposed enough to.</p> - -<p class="normal">So the cheat, as I thought him to be--though found afterwards he spake -true--catching holt upon Phips's hand, looked long and fixedly at it, -after which he said that much money should be found by him.</p> - -<p class="normal">"In very truth," called out Phips, while all around did laugh, "'tis -that I go to seek, friend; nor, since every drawer in this tavern and -ragamuffin 'twixt here and Charing Cross knows as much, art thou so -wondrous a necromancer? Go to! your divinations are not worth a -piece."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yet, stay," said the caster, speaking up boldly to him--"stay. What -you go to seek you shall not find."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ha!" exclaimed Phips, looking at him. "Not find it?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay, not yet. At present you are thirty-two years of age; it wants -five ere you shall get that you seek. Then shall you obtain your -desires."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Tis well," exclaimed Phips, "and therefore must I stay the five -years where I go, for find it I will. Yet, harkee, friend, put not -such reports about in this neighbourhood, or I will slit thy nose for -thee. I am a captain of a King's ship now"--as indeed he was, for his -commission was made out--"and a good ship too. I want not to lose it -through the chatter of any knave."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Moreover," went on the geomancer, taking no more heed of what he said -than tho' he had never spoken--"moreover, this is not all." And as he -spake he pricked with a pin a number of little dots on the table, -where the drink stood. "This is not all. You shall do more."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay," exclaimed Phips, "I shall! Maybe I shall have thee whipped. Yet -continue."</p> - -<p class="normal">"You shall rule over a large country, though never a King, and you -shall die"----</p> - -<p class="normal">"Stop there," called out Phips, "and say no more. What thou hast -promised is enough. As for my death, when it comes, it comes; that -also is enough. Now go." And as he spake he picked out from a handful -of elephant and other guineas, as well as some silver-pieces, a crown, -and tossed it to the fellow, who, pouching it, went off.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, afterwards, when we were well on the road to Hispaniola, Phips -would talk with me on this astrologer, and would discuss much his -promises. "For," said he, "there have been many such who have told -truths. My mother had a paper written down by one which worked out so -truly year by year, that at last she flung it in the fire, saying she -would no more of it. And a mighty marvellous thing it was! Year by -year she bore my father a child for twenty-six years, and the -astrologer's paper had so stated, as well as what the sex of the child -should be, yearly. And also did it state that I--her ninth--should -some day command a King's ship, which led to my always aspiring to do -so; and as I now do the <i>Algier Rose</i>"--and he stamped on the -poop-house where we stood, as though to confirm his words.</p> - -<p class="normal">By this time it had arrived that we had passed thro' the Gulph Stream -and were well on our way for Hispaniola, so that 'twas very hot. -Sharks passed near us often, but gave us good heart, since never did -they follow us. Portugee Admirals sailed by on the water, their -pretty forms dotting the tranquil waves--'tis ever tranquil in these -regions--like flowers, and the voyage was a good one. Of our crew also -there was nought to complain, the ninety-five men who composed it -being all sailors who well knew, their work. 'Twould have been strange -had they not known it! Many of them had been fighting the French and -the Dutch for the length of their lifetimes; but 'specially had they -fought the French, which seems to be what an Englishman is ordained, -for; and they had lived all those lifetimes on the sea. Yet, as you -shall learn ere long, they were soon to give us much trouble, and, -later, to give us more.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, as I have writ, and as, indeed, the Geomancer rightly forecast, -it was not to be that the treasure should be found by those who sailed -in the <i>Algier Rose</i>. Therefore should I not have written down here -this our first cruise in search of that treasure, had it not been that -what happened on that voyage has much to do with what happened on the -second one, when we did indeed find all. To do, that is to say, with -the stealing of a great portion of the treasure by a thief, and how it -came about that he could so steal it. But I wander from what should be -a plain record, and will now proceed.</p> - -<p class="normal">When once we were safe anchored in Balsamo Bay, which is near unto St. -Jago, and not far from the reef called by us the "Boylers," but by the -Spaniards and Portygees the "Bajo"--wanderers on the seas who have -late been there tell me it is now called the Bajo de la Plata,--we set -to work at once; but our efforts met with no success. Of divers we had -procured two, one a Portygee mulatto, the other an African negro--the -largest and most hideous brute in the form of man that I had ever set -my eyes upon. Day by day we sent them down, and day by day they -returned, swearing that they could find nothing of the Plate ship--no, -not so much as a spar or a block. At first we thought they lied, as, -indeed, we ever did, until at last the wreck was found, and then we -knew they had spoken truth; for, having floated off, as we once -thought, she was three cables--but you shall see.</p> - -<p class="normal">Thus we worked, fishing ever and catching nothing, for two years, in -which time we endured many hardships. To begin with, the Spaniards -harassed us much, in spite of our not having been at war with them -since '60, and endeavoured to drive us away from the neighbourhood of -the Reef. But them we defied, and, on their sending out at last a -bomb-ketch to attack us, we first of all spoke it fair, and, on that -being no good, blew it out of the water; whereon we heard no more of -them, perhaps because just now they were busy with the French, who had -for the last six or seven years gotten holt of the part called Aiitti, -and wanted the rest.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now trouble bred amongst us, as, alas! it will do in any number or -body of men who, after long seeking for a thing and finding it not, -grow moody and heartsore.</p> - -<p class="normal">For the men began to mutter between themselves and to say that we -should never find the sunken ship, and that, since we had a fine -frigate of our own, well armed and manned, why not put it to some -purpose, and go pirating and buccaneering in the Southern Seas? The -first to hear of this was the carpenter, a straightforward honest man -of good grit; the last, of course, was the captain. But being myself -forewarned by this man, whose name was Hanway, I soon went and spake -to the captain, telling him what was going forward and below; and -marvellous calm he was when he did hear it.</p> - -<p class="normal">Being evening, he was sitting in his cabin under the poop, and, for -coolness, had divested himself of his coat and waistcoat, and was -refreshing of himself with a drink of rum sangaree. Then, when he had -passed me over a glass and I had told my tale of what the carpenter -had repeated to me, says he, mighty easy:--</p> - -<p class="normal">"They wish me to go a-pirating in the Southern Seas, do they? And how -do they mean to sound me, Crafer?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"They are going to put it to you first," says I; "then, if you deny -them, they mean to seize the ship."</p> - -<p class="normal">"So, so," replied he, "that is their intention! Well, we will see. -What are they at now?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Standing about the forepart and in the waist," said I, "talking to -each other and doubtless concocting their precious schemes. What is -best to be done?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Action," says he, "action, Crafer;" and he made for the cabin door -that opened on to the quarterdeck.</p> - -<p class="normal">But here I exclaimed, "What will you do? You have neither coat nor -waistcoat, pistol nor hanger; will you go forth and beard mutineers in -such a garb as this?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay! will I," he says, looking for all the world like a great -lion--"Ay! will I. And you shall see. In half an hour there will be no -mutineers in the <i>Algier Rose</i>."</p> - -<p class="normal">And then, as I regarded his face--on which there was a dreadful -look--and observed his great muscular form, I thought what a grand man -he was and of what a good breed these New Englanders were. And a few -minutes later I had reason for my opinion.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now Phips had ever treated his men like brothers, never setting them -to work he would not put his own hand to, never cursing or swearing at -them as so many of the dandy captains and soldier captains--who, good -Lord! in those days were sent to command ships at sea--used to do; but -ever kind and gentle to them, besides helping them with a turn at -their labour. Therefore, as you may think, I was rightly astonished -when, on our going on deck, his manner was all changed, so that the -William Phips I knew was no longer to be perceived.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ho! there, you men," says he, in a voice that neither I nor they had -ever heard before; "ho, there, you skulking dogs, what are you doing -forward? Come here, all on you, to the quarterdeck. Come here, I -say." And with that he stood in his shirtsleeves, looking for them to -come forward. Very startled, they did so; coming slow, however, so -that Phips hurried them by bawling, "Faster, faster, damn you, or the -bos'un shall hase you." Which words from him made them all to look out -of the tail of their eyes, but yet to come faster. So that, ere long, -he had got half a dozen of 'em ranged up in front of him and a dozen -more behind, looking on, moody and dark, as though afraid that -whatever project they had formed was nipt in the bud.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now," says he with another oath--which never did I expect to hear -from him, a New England Puritan and ever a God-fearing man--"now, -who's captain of this King's ship, the <i>Algier Rose</i>, eh? Speak out."</p> - -<p class="normal">"You are," they muttered, surlily enough.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Louder," says he, "louder. You hain't lost your voices, have you? You -can make the devil's own noise when you're singing and bellowing your -profane ballads in the fo'castle. Speak up!" with still another oath. -"Who's captain of this ship, I say?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"You are," they answered louder, yet looking black enough.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Very well," says he. "Now listen to me, you lubbers, and listen -well."</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER VII.</h4> -<h5>THE ENDING OF IT.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">"Now," he went on, "you're talking about mutiny, I hear, and pirating -in the Southern Seas. Well, who's going to begin the mutiny, eh? Which -of you? Let him come forward so that I can catch holt of him, and -string him up to the fore-top-sail yard with my own hand. Come, which -of you is it, to commence with?"</p> - -<p class="normal">And again he glared terrible fierce at them.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then says one of them--poor fool!--"We shall never find no plate here; -what's the good, captain, of our stopping here?"</p> - -<p class="normal">In a moment that man was upon his back with the blood pouring from his -face, the captain having felled him like a butcher fells an ox, and -"Fling him overboard to the sharks," says he. "Quick, or some more of -you go, too. I'll have no mutineers here and no talk of the Southern -Seas. Over with him, I say!"</p> - -<p class="normal">But not one of them all moved.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What," he roared, "it is a mutiny, then! Therefore, let's see the -means to quell it. Crafer, call up all the officers. And now, you -hounds, you who don't want to go to the Southern Seas, stand on the -larboard side. Jump, skip, damn you! All who are on the starboard side -when I have counted ten shall be treated as mutineers. Now."</p> - -<p class="normal">Some did jump and skip in verity, hopping over to the larboard as -quick as ever they could; for his wrath was awful to see; while for -those who moved slower--though they, too, meant to go--the punishment -was terrible. He sprung amongst them like a lion, as I have said; he -struck and beat them with his fists, bruising and blackening of their -faces; he kicked them like dogs, until every man who had come up to -the quarter deck was over on to the larboard side--some of them -bellowing with pain, some trying to staunch their bleeding wounds, -some leaning over the bow muttering curses in their agony.</p> - -<p class="normal">Meanwhile the officers had all come up.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Over with them to the sharks," he cried. "Over! Over! Send other men -forward to help bind them and fling them forth. And this brute first," -said he, pointing to the man he had first knocked down.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Mercy! Mercy!" they screamed now, while the other men forward, who -were not disaffected, or, at least, had not shown their disaffection, -came hurrying aft at the double whistles of the bo'sun and the -bo'sun's mate. "Mercy! Mercy! Kill us, but give us not to the sharks. -Mercy!"</p> - -<p class="normal">I whispered to him, "Surely you will not do this thing, sir?" and was -eased by a glance from him and a word to the effect that he meant not -to do so, yet to scare them, especially the first one, or leader, so -that they should have had their bellies full of mutiny; and, -meanwhile, the poor piteous wretches were howling and weeping, some -calling on their God and some on their mothers, while all the while -their comrades bound them tight.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now," says he, and at his words there went up a shriek more dreadful -than before, "Now, fling over some jerked pork whereby the sharks may -be attracted. 'Twill be a fitting prelude to a better meal."</p> - -<p class="normal">Thereby they roared and roared again until, in very truth, I wonder -the Spanish did not hear them on land--and "Over with the lines ready -to lower those dogs," says he, "and, meantime, I will go and wash -their filthy blood off my hands;" and away he went into his cabin. -Then, we who remained on deck saw to the pork being thrown over, what -time I found opportunity of telling my officers that he might not yet -carry out his dread sentence--and, presently, we saw the most horrid -sight that any sailor is ever doomed to see. We perceived in the dim -grey of the coming night that terrible heave of the water that the -shark maketh, we saw the ripple caused by many fins, we even saw plain -enough the evil, squinting, and upturned eyes looking for more prey. -They had come for their suppers and wanted it--they wanted their -victims; and the victims, gasping and sweating with fear, saw them as -well as we did and knew their wants.</p> - -<p class="normal">One fell down on deck and died with very fright all in his cords as he -was bound, the others shuddered and shrieked again as Phips's voice -was heard from the poop, and then he came forth once more.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Are the sharks here?" he roared, "are they come?"</p> - -<p class="normal">And as he spoke his eye lighted on him who had fallen dead, and he -turned him over with his foot to see if he were truly so.</p> - -<p class="normal">"A pretty mutineer," then says he, "a pretty mutineer! Well, he is -dead, so over with him--he assoils his Majesty's deck; over with him."</p> - -<p class="normal">In a minute that dead body was cast over the bows and went splashing -into the sea. Then we saw the waves all tumbled and tossed as though a -seaquake had taken place, or a whale had disturbed them in its -passage; we saw the ripples made by the fins of the brute down there, -and the silver glisten of those fins--we saw the water tinge from -green to pale pink and then to red, until, at last, the dead man's -blood had overmastered the sea's natural colour.</p> - -<p class="normal">Meanwhile still the rebellious ones shouted and bawled; while some who -were older cursed and blasphemed, another wept, and still another--the -first one whom Phips had beat down--tried, all bound as he was, to -rush at him and strike him with his manacled hands, or bite at him.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now the captain paused, though ever with his eye on this fellow, -and spake and said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well, my hearts, how like you mutineering against the King's Grace, -eh? and against me who stand here for the King? 'Tis profitable, is it -not--far more so than hunting for the plate-ship, with three good -meals of jerked pork and drink into you every day? What say you?"</p> - -<p class="normal">All but that mad and furious one shouted still for mercy--he standing -apart glowering--and clasped their hands and said that, if he would -but spare them, never more would they think of aught but their duty to -the King and him--"only, only," they wailed, "not the sharks, not the -sharks!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well," says he, at last, "since you are but beaten hounds and know -it, it shall not be the sharks this time--only, henceforth, beware! -For if ever again one of you so much as mutter a word of disaffection, -so surely shall your blood tinge the waters round as the blood of that -mutineer tinges it now. You hear?"</p> - -<p class="normal">They said they heard, and that there was no fear that ever would they -offend more, no, not if the <i>Algier Rose</i> stayed there a century, so -then Phips spake again, while 'twas noticed by us officers that never -did he include the first man--whose name was Brooks--in his address, -nor did he cast his eyes once towards him now.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So be it," he said, "and so it must be. For remember ever, 'tis not -against me you offend and rebel, who am but a servant like yourselves, -and was, a few short years ago, but a poor sailor also like -yourselves; but against the King and the country, who, sending us -here, believe and confide in us. Therefore, to mutiny is to commit -treason, and for both of these the punishment is Death. But, since -this is your first offending, I spare you death--yet must you be -punished. Therefore, now listen. Until the frigate touches English -waters once again, or until we strike soundings in the Channel, all of -you rebels must take a double night-watch, at sea or anchor, and no -drink must you have whatsoever, nor ever any leave. Are you content, -or have you a better mind for the sharks?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Poor, wretched fools! What could they say but that they were -content--and so they were unbound and set free.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, turning to Brooks, and with those fierce and terrible eyes upon -him, he continued--</p> - -<p class="normal">"For you, you are but as a savage beast, and unrepentant. Therefore, I -still mean to fling you to the sharks, or to, perhaps, maroon you. Yet -will I decide nothing in haste; the sharks," he said, very grim, "are -always there, so, too, are many islands on which to cast you alone. I -will take time to think how to punish you."</p> - -<p class="normal">Can it be conceived that this idiot and wretch, even at such a moment -of peril as this, should be still so hardened as to defy Phips! Yet so -he did. First he gnashed his teeth at the Captain, and then he swore a -great oath that, were he free, he would kill him. And, though he -muttered this under his lips, yet Phips heard him.</p> - -<p class="normal">For a moment he paused, looking fixedly at him, then he called up some -of the men who had retreated forward, and said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Lower him over to the sharks." And all of us, officers and men, did -shudder as we heard the order. "Only," he went on, "since still am I -merciful, remembering that I am naught but the servant of the King, -lower him by degrees two feet at a time. Then, if by the period he has -reached the water's edge he sues not for pardon, let the sharks have -him;" saying which he turned on his heel and entered again his cabin.</p> - -<p class="normal">It was done, amidst the curses of Brooks and his fightings to be free. -Longwise, he was lowered, face downwards, and, although twice the -lines were lengthened so that, from being twelve feet above the waters -he was at last but eight, still only would he revile the King, the -captain, and all.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Thou fool," I called down to him, as, indeed did his shipmates, -"recant, and sue for pardon." But still he would not, raving ever.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Lower," I commanded to the men--"two feet more;" and by two feet so -much nearer was he to the beasts below, who now began to disturb the -water once again and cause it to heave, and to show their fins and -hideous eyes. Still he would not and so, with another order, down he -went to four feet from the surface. And now the water was all ruffled -and bubbling as though boiling, or as 'tis when a child throws a cake -to the trouts in a fishpond, and the eyes of the man looking down into -the sea were looking into the eyes of the horrid things gazing up. Yet -still, though he was now silent, he would not call for mercy.</p> - -<p class="normal">The sweat was standing at this time on all our brows and, in very -truth, our hearts were softened towards him--for if a villain he was a -brave one--and almost did my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, -for the time had come for a fresh order that would bring him to two -feet. So I paused, hoping he would plead, yet he did not.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Brooks," I called now, very low, for I wished to spare the man, and -wanted not Phips to hear me. "Brooks, this is, indeed, your very last -occasion. Will you yield?"</p> - -<p class="normal"><i>He answered not</i>.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, as I was about, perforce, to do my duty, the water heaved and -surged more than before, and, leaping up from the sea as leaps the -grayling from the pool to take the fly, there came two great monstrous -sharks, their loathsome jaws extended so that the yellow teeth were -quite visible, they evidently driven beyond endurance by the sight of -the tempting bait so near. In that instant all shuddered and drew -back, daring not to look below, the sweat poured out all over us now, -and from the side there came a fearful, piercing scream of agony and -the voice of Brooks calling, "In God's mercy draw me up, oh! draw me -up. I am penitent. Pity! Pity!"</p> - -<p class="normal">The sharks in their frenzied leap had struck against each other and, -instead of seizing their victim, had but hurled each other back into -the sea, and thus he was spared. So we drew him up, and with this -ended the first mutiny of the <i>Algier Rose</i>.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER VIII.</h4> -<h5>THE SECOND MUTINY.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">And now I commence again.</p> - -<p class="normal">Two years more had passed, and still we had not found the plate.</p> - -<p class="normal">Very disheartened were we all by now, you may be sure, perhaps the one -who kept himself best being the captain, who still hearkened after the -astrologer's prophecy. Yet this, while still he did so, he chided -himself for, saying that it became not a Puritan of New England to -believe in any such things.</p> - -<p class="normal">"For," says he, "in my colony they are now burning witches and -wizards, geomancers, astrologers, and those which pretend to be Cabala -with the stars, to say nought of quack-salvers and saltim-bancoes, so -that I am but a degenerate son. Yet not of my mother neither; for she, -as I have told you, Nick"--as now he called me--"bought an -astrologer's pricked paper and found it come true. Still, wrong -as I do, I cannot but think the caster was right. Then, if so, -must we wait another year; for by that time I shall have arrived -at my thirty-seventh."</p> - -<p class="normal">That he would have waited had not the King--but you shall hear.</p> - -<p class="normal">We had now arrived, as I have said, at our fourth year out, and at -this time Phips, who had one moment, as I have also writ, the idea of -staying until his thirty-seventh year, and at another the mind to take -the frigate home and confess to the King that he had failed, decided -to have the ship's bottom cleaned, or, as 'tis called, breamed. -Therefore, for this purpose we moved her somewhat away from the -"Boylers" to a little island, of which there is a multitude -hereabout--for we would not go to the mainland for fear of a broil -with the Spaniards--and there careened her.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, a sweet little isle this was as any one might wish to see--though -very small, and on the charts tho' not the maps,--all covered over -with a small forest in which grew the palm, the juniper, the caramite -and acajou, as well as good fruits, such as limes, toronias, citrons, -and lemons. Also, too, there were here good streams of fair fresh -water all running about, at which one might stoop to lave themselves -or to drink their fill. Ofttimes we had been over there before, -especially to fetch in our boats the fresh water and the limes, for -since our tubs of beer<a name="div4Ref_02" href="#div4_02"><sup>[2]</sup></a> had long since run dry this was our only -beverage. Moreover, here we came in boats when we took our spells of -leave, and, lying down in the little forest, would try to forget the -tropic heat of where we had now been stationed so long, and would send -our minds shooting back to memories of cool English lanes all shotted -with the sweet May and the Eglantine, of our dear grey skies and our -pleasant wealds.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now we were come in the ship to work and not to take our ease, for -breaming is, as sailors know, no lightsome task. Yet, too, there was a -pleasant relaxation even in this, for, since the frigate was not -liveable when careened over, all of us were bestowed ashore. So, too, -were the remaining stores, of which in most things we still had a -plenty, and so, too, were the great guns, they being placed around our -encampment as though a fort. The ship herself was hove down by the -side of a rock which stretched out from the land a little way; and, so -that we could come at her and go to and fro with greater ease, we had -constructed a bridge made of a plank leading from the summit of the -rock to the shore, just above high water. 'Twas not long to the -beginning of the rock from the land, being some thirty feet, but once -on the rock itself one had to walk some hundred feet to reach where -the frigate was.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now Phips, as ever, setting a good example, had with his own great -strong hands helped at hauling the ship over, and ashore he had -assisted in cutting down trees to make our encampment palisadoes, our -cabin roofs and wooden walls, and so forth. Never did he spare -himself, and thus endeavoured to keep harmony and good will among all, -officers and men alike.</p> - -<p class="normal">As to the mutiny, 'twas now forgot, or at least we thought so. Brooks, -who had been the ringleader in it, seemed quite broken since the -episode with the sharks, and, perhaps, also a little with the -treatment since accorded him. Never had the Captain relaxed on -him--and but little on the others, tho' somewhat--and never had he -been permitted so much as an hour's leave or a sup of the beer while -the casks lasted, or to take more than one watch and one dog watch -below in the twenty-four hours. I say it broke him, yet I liked not -the look to be seen sometimes on his face; and 'twas more than once -that I bid the Captain observe him well, as also I did the subaltern -officers. But Phips only laughed, saying:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Tush, Nick! We have scotched the villain; have no fear; what can he -do? Moreover, is not old Hanway a watch dog that never looses his eye -from him? And, as he knows, his friends the sharks are ever near."</p> - -<p class="normal">So the memory of the mutiny slumbered or awakened but little, and time -went on and the breaming of the ship was a'most finished. We got her -clean at last, by a plentiful kindling of furze and oil and faggots, -so as to melt the old pitch about her, and were rapidly getting her -re-pitched and caulked, coated and stuffed, so that when we went back -to fish for another year she would be so clean and neat that, when we -upped anchor, we should be ready for home at once. Also we had righted -the ship again so that some few could live in her, and soon we meant -to bring back the stores, great guns and other things.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now we were to learn over what a masked mine we had been -slumbering, and we were to see once more how the hand of Providence -was always guarding us, as, I thank God, it has ever done where I have -been concerned.</p> - -<p class="normal">There were seven of us in the frigate one most glorious Sunday -afternoon--namely, the Captain and myself and five men, when, sitting -on the poop under an awning, he and I saw Hanway being supported -between two others from the little wood to the plank that reached the -shore. The man seemed sick enough by the way he dragged himself along -between those two, and we, wondering what ailed him, went up on to the -rock and so on to the hither side of the plank, and the Captain hailed -to know what was the mischief with him?</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sir," calls back a sailor, one of those leading him, "he is took very -ill with a colic and wishes to go aboard to get a dram and rest. Will -you permit his coming?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"And welcome," says Phips. "But how will it be for him to pass over -the plank?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"We will come fore and aft of him, sir," says the man, "so he shall -not fall."</p> - -<p class="normal">Receiving permission to do this, they started to reach the rock; and -by the foremost man walking backwards--which a sailor can do as easily -as a cat--and the other propping him up behind, they gotten him along -the plank.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What ails you, man?" says the Captain kindly to him then, when he was -there, but Hanway only groaned and placed his hand on his stomach, so -that, sending the sailors back to the isle, we took him between us, -and so got him into the captain's saloon.</p> - -<p class="normal">"A dram of brandy," says Phips, "is the thing for you, my man," and -with that he makes to call for his servant; when, to our extreme -astonishment, Hanway puts up his hand to stop him, and stands up, as -straight and well as ever he was.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What foolishness is this?" asks Phips, with his brow all clouded; -"what mean you, Hanway, by this conduct?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Hush," says he, glancing round the cabin. "Hush! It means--there is -no one by, I trust!--it means <i>mutiny</i> again, Captain. That's what it -means!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Does it so?" says he, all calm in a moment, though his eye wandered -to his sword and pistols hanging over the table--"does it so? And when -and how, Hanway?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"To-night," says the carpenter; "and from the isle. I have heard it -all, though they know not I have heard one word. See, Captain, it was -thus. I was lying in the grass under a bush but an hour ago, when -there comes that most dreadful wretch, Brooks, with half a score -more, and sits himself down on the other syd, behind a clump of -cabbage-palms that grew next the bush. And so I heard all. Says he, -'Now, lads, to-night is our occasion, or never. To-night I must have -my account with Phips and Crafer, so that there shall be a new captain -and a new commander to the <i>Algier Rose!</i>"</p> - -<p class="normal">"And who," asks Phips, "are to succeed us, Hanway?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Brooks, it seems, is to be captain in your place, sir," goes on the -carpenter, "and the master-at-arms, Taylor, is to be commander. For -the rest I know not; but, sir, let me tell you that, excepting -yourself and the officers, myself and the bos'un, all are mutineers, -and they mean to get the frigate if they can and go a-buccaneering to -the South Seas, as has been ever their intent since we could not fish -up the plate."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Tis well, very well," says Phips, "but how will they do it? Can you -tell us that?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Brooks gives them this scheme, sir," continues Hanway. "'To-night, my -hearts,' said he to them, 'there is no moon. Therefore, what easier -than to take the ship? We can outnumber them quite easy--the big guns -are all ashore, there is not so much as a carronade in her. So, too, -are the small arms, the powder and ball; yet, since we must not injure -the <i>Algier Rose</i>, we must not fire into her, nor need we do so. For,' -says he, 'at about dawn, or a little before, we can all pass the plank -and reach the rock, when we can descend on the ship and put every one -to death that is not for us. And I,' says he, 'will particularly kill -Phips, whom I do hate most deadly.'"</p> - -<p class="normal">Phips smiled and nodded his head pleasantly at this, for all the world -as though he had heard the dearest news, and then he says, "And, how -much more, Hanway?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Only this, sir," goes on the carpenter, "that Brooks knows not what -will be the distribution aboard and ashore of the men, and fears -therefore that he may get brought into the ship for the night--while -the officers may be ashore with the other mutineers."</p> - -<p class="normal">"He need have no fear," says the captain, very sinister; "when the -muster is called it shall be arranged to suit him to his exact -pleasure. Now, Hanway, go you back ashore, mingle freely with them, -and trust to me and Mr. Crafer."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, when the carpenter had returned ashore, saying he had had a dram -and his pains were eased, Phips and I held a long consultation -together, and our plan was formed. How it worked you shall soon read.</p> - -<p class="normal">But ere I go on I must rest my hand.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER IX.</h4> -<h5>AND THE PREPARATIONS AGAINST IT.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">It was an hour before sunset that the order was usually given to the -bos'un to pipe all hands to muster, and on this fair Sabbath evening -you may be sure it failed not. Now, since so much of the ship's -company was ashore it was the habit for the few in her to go also -ashore, so that the whole roll might be called. Therefore, on this -occasion we in the frigate went by the rock and plank to land, leaving -the vessel alone save but for two men on watch, and at once began the -muster.</p> - -<p class="normal">The officers were partly divided, some to remain on the isle, some to -be in the frigate, I being of the former, the captain of the latter. -Now this plan had been communicated to all officers previous to the -muster; since Phips had asked two or three of them to supper with -him--of whom I was not one, but had, instead, gone on shore--and there -he had divulged the whole wicked story. There was not any more danger -to those who were ashore than to those in the ship, since Hanway had -gathered from some source that the officers on land were not to be -despatched until the ship herself was taken, and it was thought she -could be easier taken and with less noise than they could be murdered. -So that was to be done. Moreover, likewise had Hanway learned that -Brooks hoped some of the mutineers would be told off into the ship, -whereby they might lie in wait to spring out and assist their -brother-scoundrels when they boarded her, and this, on hearing, Phips -again said should be done.</p> - -<p class="normal">"For," says he, "since they would have some of their comrades in the -frigate, they shall be obliged. Only, they will not know that when the -rounds are gone those choice companions will be prisoners all, with -bilboes on their feet and gags in their mouths."</p> - -<p class="normal">And now, all arrangements being made, ashore we went to call this -muster. First I called the officers, naming for the shore myself, a -lieutenant, and the master's mate; for the ship, the Captain, the -second lieutenant, another mate, and the two gentlemen-midshipmen we -carried (we had three, but one was drowned coming out); these being, -when they joined the ship, little lads of eight and nine years, scarce -better than babes, but now grown big boys. Then, this done, I passed -to the others, bringing the carpenter and his mate into the frigate, -and likewise the bos'un and his. Next Brooks was called for the shore -with most of the known mutineers, excepting only some others of their -gang and companions in guilt into the ship. And when this was done -there was to be observed, by those who looked sharply, a glance pass -between them.</p> - -<p class="normal">So 'twas arranged, and all was well for the foiling of these villains. -And thus, having well concerted our plans, we all went to our various -stations, the Captain walking back to the frigate with his complement, -and I in command of the shore party. And now must I relate all that -happened both with them--which I gathered afterwards--and with us on -land, which I saw. But first for the ship.</p> - -<p class="normal">At sunset, which comes fast in these parts, the Captain, after -the rounds, stationed in his cabin on each side of the door the -bo'sun--who was enormous in size--and the carpenter, Hanway; then, -sending for each of the known mutineers one by one into the cabin, he -had them knocked on the head as they came in, bilboes put on their -feet, and they carried down amongst the ballast. With them he put a -good guard, who had orders that should they cry out--tho' if they did -none could have heard them on the isle--they should instantly be -despatched; so they were safe and secure, and henceforth he had but to -deal with those ashore. Next he sent for the midshipmen, who, coming -into his cabin, he demanded of them which was the lightest in weight; -for, said he, "I have work for one of you young lads to-night that -shall make a mate of you if you do well."</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, of these boys--one named Fanshawe, the other Caldwell (who as I -now write commands the <i>Lizard</i>, of twenty-four guns, he having been -promoted out of the <i>Richmond</i>)--the latter was by far the lighter, he -being very lean and spare. Therefore, to him says Phips:</p> - -<p class="normal">"My boy, you must do a good service to-night, so I hope you have a -strong heart;" to which the lad said he hoped indeed he had; tho', -later on, he told me that at that moment his thoughts went flying off -to home and to his mother, who had cryed so bitterly when she brought -him down to go to sea.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well," says Phips, "now this you have to do. We will get from Hanway -a bolt--such as those of the big guns--and what you must perform is -this. To-night at the darkest you shall creep from the rock to the -plank, and so to the middle of it, and, when there, you will first fix -a staple under the board, then through that you will run the bolt. -Next, where its head will enter you must make a mortise--another -staple will do very well--and then when all is fixed you shall, with a -bradawl and a gimlet, so bore the board that t'will yield to any -weight when the bolt is unshotted. You understand, my lad?"</p> - -<p class="normal">The boy's eyes sparkled, for he was stout of heart, and he answered -readily that he comprehended; and so Phips goes on:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Then, when all this is done, to the eye of the bolt you shall attach -a line and so bring it back under the plank to the further end of the -rock, where some one or other shall take it from you. Now, my boy, -there is little of danger to you if you are careful. And, remember, -first fix your staple, then your bolt, and, last of all, pierce and -bore the plank and do it well, and so shall you earn your higher rank. -Now go, sleep until we wake you."</p> - -<p class="normal">The lad told us afterwards he slept not in his hammock at all, but -rather repeated to himself his instructions again and again, so as to -be perfect; and thus the time wore on, and, at last, there was that -thick inky darkness that comes in tropic nights. Then Phips summoned -him, repeated to him once more his orders, and the boy prepared to -speed on his work.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I cannot, my little lad," said Phips, "go with you, nor send the men; -the plank would not bear our big forms when bored, and they might see -us. Otherwise, and if I could do it, I would not send one of such -tender years as thou art. So be brave, and so fare-ye-well and a -speedy return."</p> - -<p class="normal">He laid his great hand on the boy's shoulder as he spake, and bid him -again "God speed;" and then the child went forth, his little heart -quite brave and cheerful. Only, when he was gone, they found he had -left upon his sea-chest, writ large, the place where his mother lived -and to where she might be addressed if he came back no more; and also -he had writ a little prayer to Phips that he would speak well of him -to her, and say that he died in his duty.</p> - -<p class="normal">That he might so die all knew; and from his writing they learned he -knew it, too. For there were many ways to it. The mutineers would -doubtless shoot him if they saw him on the plank, and so begin their -wicked work at once, or the plank might fall under him, or he fall off -it in the dark, when it was well possible--the water being deep -enough--that the sharks should have him.</p> - -<p class="normal">So he went forth, and, of those who saw him go, one or two crept along -the rock after him to watch and see if all was well, and they -observed, and told afterwards, how he never faltered in his task. -Through the darkness of that black night he creeped upon the plank, -making no noise, and, laying himself flat out upon it, went to work. -Once those behind said they heard the muffled sound of the screws as -he fixed tight the staples--though those who knew not what was a-doing -might have thought 'twas but the creaking of the board! And once they -heard him let fall a screw into the water that plumped in with a -little splash. But that was all, and presently by his breathing they -heard him coming back. He had done his work--the springe was set! He -had done that work well, too, only, so wrought upon was his mind, -that, when he once more stood upon the deck of the frigate, he -fainted, and fell into the Captain's arms as the latter spake -approvingly to him.</p> - -<p class="normal"> -Now, therefore, there was nought for them on the ship to do but to -wait the coming of the dawn--tho' all in her hoped the mutineers might -make their attack ere then. For, if they came when the dayspring was -about, it was possible they might perceive the piercings of the plank: -while, if they came earlier, they could see nought.</p> - -<p class="normal">And so, I say, the night went on and the stars above began to -pale--the great Southern Cross turned from her deep crimson to a -white, and the dews from the little island sent forth innumerable -scents and perfumes. Meanwhile, nought could be heard from the shore -by those in the ship, for all was still as death; while on the water -round the rock a gentle splash alone was heard, telling that those -watchers of it, the sharks, were looking ever for some prey. And, by -now, several of the ship's company, headed by Phips, had creeped along -the rock towards where the plank was, and, heavily armed, and hidden -as much as possible, were waiting to see what movement was forthcoming -and when the attack was to be made.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER X.</h4> -<h5>AND HOW IT WAS ENDED.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">And now must I return to the party on shore, with which I was.</p> - -<p class="normal">The watch being set--which throughout the night I took very good care -should be composed of those whom I had reason to consider the worst of -the mutineers--we, the officers, turned into the hut that had been -constructed and set apart for all of that rank. Of course we knew what -the intention of the Captain was as to the sawing of the plank, and, -indeed, were quite cognizant of when young Caldwell was at work on it, -though none of the rebels were so. Moreover, when I had reason to -suppose he was at his business, I, affecting a merciful disposition -towards them which I did not in any way feel, went out to where they -lay and told the men on watch to turn in awhile, as I and one of the -lieutenants would take the look out for a spell.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now this I had not planned with the captain previously, it being an -afterthought, yet I took credit to myself for its being an excellent -one. For see what good came of it! Firstly, it removed the mutinous -watch from the open where they might have seen or heard the lad, since -the encampment lay but a hundred yards or so inland from the beach; -and, secondly, it played the game, as they say, into their hands. For -they minded not for us, the officers, to be on the alert at this early -part of the night, but would, as I knew, rather have it so, for they -wanted us asleep in the latter part when they meant to set about their -dirty work. And it lulled them, as after-events showed, into false -security; for, seeing that we treated them so kindly, they never -dreamed we had one idea of all their treachery.</p> - -<p class="normal">And to further this idea in their minds, after eight bells had struck -from the frigate, and a fresh watch set, I went in to the men in their -huts, and seeing Brooks sitting up and looking very wideawake, I said -to him--though in my mind I would sooner have thrust my sword through -his heart:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Brooks," I said, "we are all sleepy now; therefore we will turn in. -And since there is scarce any necessity for caution here--none being -able to attack this little isle of ours--relieve your watch somewhat."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay, ay, sir," says Brooks, while yet by the oil flame I could see the -devil's light shining in his wicked eye. "Ay, ay, sir. What shall I -do?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Let most of the watch rest themselves. What need that all should -labour? We fear nought here. Leave but two men on watch--the frigate -is herself a guard-ship--and let us take some repose. Only, as I and -the other officers are very sleepy, call us not until the day watch; -let us not be disturbed."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I'll warrant you, sir," said Brooks, and positively the fiend hid his -head in the shadow so that I might not see the grin on his face, -though I saw it well enough, be sure. "I'll warrant you, sir, you -shall not be troubled." Whereon I bade him good night, and so back to -our hut.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now," says I to my comrades when I entered, "all is indeed well. We -have but to keep quiet, and these wretches will go to destruction -their own way. For, see now, they must be caught between two fires! -Once they are on the plank, or some of them, they will be in the water -the next moment if Caldwell has but done his work well. And even -though he has not, what matters? From the rock they will be shot down, -and from the shore by us, while we have this hut for a fort if needed. -So now, while we pretend sleep, let us be watchful and await the good -time."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, very quietly, we saw to our arms, the bite of our swords and the -priming of our pistols. Also had we in the hut some musketoons, very -good ones, each loaded with five ounces of iron, which had been -brought in from the ship when careened and placed here to guard -against rust, as well as some peteraroes loaded with old broken iron -and rusty nails, which could well be fired through the doorway.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now we three put out our light, wishing each other "Good night" -somewhat loudly, so that if any were creeping or crawling about they -could not but hear, and at intervals of our long vigil we would snore, -sometimes in concert, sometimes singly, so as more to deceive them.</p> - -<p class="normal">And in this manner passed the night, we hearing and counting all the -bells as they struck in the ship.</p> - -<p class="normal">At last there was a stir. Soft as was the grass around, we could hear -stealthy footfalls; presently in the open window-frame--purposely left -open by us the better to deceive these villains--we saw a face look in -on us and again withdrawn, we heard a whispered talk outside, and then -they went away. We knew the attack was about to begin. So, when the -footsteps had retreated and we imagined that by now they must have -gotten down to the beach (and, indeed, silently as they went, we could -hear the pebbles crack and rustle beneath their bare feet), slowly I -rose and glanced out from the side of the window. But only to draw -back my head on the instant, for there, they not being such fools as -might have been supposed, were two of the mutineers on guard, one on -each side of the window. At present, 'twas evident they thought not -that we were awake, since each was leaning with his back to the walls -of the hut gazing after his companions, and I had time to ponder on -what I must do.</p> - -<p class="normal">First, I had the intelligence to say nought to either of my comrades, -while for sign I could give none, seeing that, as yet, the day was not -come--though afar off a saffron tinge in the sky heralded its near -approach--and then I took time to reflect. Now, had there been but one -man he had been soon despatched, for I could from the window have run -him through, or cut his throat ere he could make any noise. But with -two it was different. So, I say, I pondered deep. Yet, soon, this was -what I resolved to do. I would go again to the window and then would -remain there, a pistol in each hand, and, the moment I heard any -scuffle or noise from the neighbourhood of the rock, would fire into -their heads. Meanwhile, should they discover that we were awake, yet -would I do the same thing--and the noise would but serve to warn our -friends over there. So now I crept to the lieutenant and the master's -mate, and, touching them gently in the dark, put my fingers on each of -their lips, and then away again to the window.</p> - -<p class="normal"> -So I was there, ready for them, for though they had each in their -hands a musketoon there was nought to fear. Ere they could lift them -the brains would be out, they would be gone--but at this moment up -came the sun as it had been promising, and in a moment all was flooded -with light. And at the same moment they saw me and gave a shout at -seeing my face close to them, and the two pistols to their ears. Poor -wretches! all rebels and mutineers as they were, what gain had they in -their evil? Ere the shout had finished they were dead outside the hut; -even dead before the report had ceased to ring. Yet I had spoilt -nothing by my haste, for as now the daylight poured over all I saw -that the attack on the rock had begun, and, a moment afterwards, we -had rushed pell mell from the hut to assist in taking the mutineers in -the flank. And, now, I will write down exactly how our position was. -On the rock there stood Phips with all his men by his side, on the -plank were two or three of the mutineers with Brooks at their head, -and smiling quite gay was Phips, as he called out.</p> - -<p class="normal">"And 'good morning' to you, Captain Brooks, as I hear you are to be -to-day. My compliments to you, Captain Brooks, for a better frigate -than the <i>Algier</i>----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"To, hell with your compliments," howled back Brooks, "and your -scoffs. Yet we mean to have the ship, anyway; so come on. We are -eighty to ten so you must yield."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Must I, indeed," says Phips, "well, we will see for that."</p> - -<p class="normal">Meanwhile I had perceived what was my office, and so, going back with -the lieutenant and the master's mate--all unperceived by the -mutineers, who had been quite engrossed wyth those on the rock, so -that they saw not our sally forth--we dragged out the peteraroes and a -little old Lombard we had, very good for throwing a big shot, and -lighting our fuse we gave them a rousing broadside and did good -execution. The Lombard crashed down four of them, while the peteraroes -did great slaughter, and we gave them a volley from the musketoons, -and so in amongst them with our cutlashes and very busy.</p> - -<p class="normal">Meantime Phips and his party were firing into them from the -rock--though not at Brooks and those on the plank, which was shaking -under their weight as they advanced; and now the captain shouted to -him, "Come on, Captain Brooks, come on and take command of your ship. -Come on, I say."</p> - -<p class="normal">And on Brooks went, hurling oaths like a tempest howling across the -sea, and followed by the others; while, now and again, he yelled out, -"We are betrayed; we are betrayed," and so got fair into the middle of -the plank.</p> - -<p class="normal">And then he saw, but too late, the snare in which he had been taken. -For it bent so under their weight and also gave so that, looking down, -he saw it was all bored and pierced so as to be by now almost apart, -and kept up only by the great gun-bolt.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Back! back!" he screamed then to the others. "Back! See, oh God! see, -the plank gives, it yields, we are undone!" And then from him there -came a worse cry, a thrilling blood-curdling shout, for he saw what -was below him. The sharks which do infest all parts of these waters -had come again--attracted, doubtless, by the blood of the killed and -wounded and the dead bodies in the water, which already they were busy -at; and with them and fighting them for the prey, were fierce -crocodiles--or, as they are called by the Spanish, the allagartos. -"For God's sake, back!" he howled, "back, I say!" But those behind -could not turn back because we were there, and so they met their doom. -With one more scoff and jeer Phips and a sailor pulled at the line, -the great gun-bolt came forth from the mortise, or staple--the boy had -done well his work overnight!--the plank broke with a crash, and down -they went.</p> - -<p class="normal">And as they went we saw the great snouts of the crocodiles come at -them, and tear them below with a snapping dreadful to hear, we saw the -sharks heave over on their sides to take their prey, we heard one wild -and awful yell from each of these villains, and all was over with -them. As for the others who were not killed, they threw down their -arms and implored mercy, and so were bound and carried away for the -time.</p> - -<p class="normal">And in this way ended the second and last mutiny in the <i>Algier Rose</i>, -wherefore I will again rest awhile.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XI.</h4> -<h5>THEY HAVE TO DESIST.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Now, by this time Phips was within a month of his thirty-sixth year, -and we had been out on our fishing expedition four years almost, it -being the end now of 1686 of our Lord.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So," says Phips, "another month will see me into my thirty-seventh, -and then, Nick, we must have the plate."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Whereby you mean to say," I observed, "that you do, indeed, believe -in that Jack Pudding's prophecy that at that time you shall find it. -Yet I should scarce have thought, sir, that so stalwart a sailor as -you would have hearkened much to such as he."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I hearkened to him," replied he, "because I am a sailor, and -therefore, like unto you, Nick, and all of us, given unto believing in -auguries. Yet, reflect also on what other reasons I have. First, there -was my dear mother, whose doings were most rightly foretold; and next -was there the vow I always made that, some day, I would command a -King's ship. Well, that have I done, though without finding the -plate-carrack, and therefore I am positive that when my thirty-sixth -year is past I shall do so."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I trust you may," says I, "yet in four years it has not been done; -how, therefore, shall it now be done in one?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"We will fish in other waters," says he; "we will try another side of -the reef. We will have it, Nick--have it somehow."</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, as you who read this paper shall see, it was not until his -thirty-seventh yeare came--proving thereby, alas! that wizards and -astrologers, who are the children of the devil, can speak truth -sometimes--that it was to be taken from where it had lain for its -forty-four or fifty years. Meanwhile I must perforce write down all -that happened before that time.</p> - -<p class="normal">To begin, therefore, the mutiny was, as you have seen, over, and so -rooted up and crushed down also were the men that it was impossible -there could be another. Of killed there were thirty-one, including -Brooks and the man who was to have had my place, and there was -something like twenty-five prisoners; the remainder of the crew, -though but few, being tried men and loyal to us. Some of the dead we -took into the middle of the beach and buried, while the sharks and -crocodiles provided the graves for the others without any trouble to -us; and then, all being done that was necessary, we left this sweet -little harbour of ours, which, had it not been stained by the horrid -mutiny and its outcome, we should have turned away from with regret. -But, considering what had happened there, we went back to the blazing -sea quite joyfully to begin once more our search.</p> - -<p class="normal">For those mutineering ruffians who were not killed, it would have been -easier to them if they had been. They worked now under the boiling -tropic sun in chains, their hands alone being free wherewith to assist -the divers; they were given no more food than would actually keep them -alive and enable them to work; they had but one watch off during the -twenty-four hours, and over them ever was an officer with a loaded -pistol to his hand, ready to shoot them down. And, worse than this, -whenever we should return to Spithead there they would be hanged to -the yard-arm, as they would have been ere this to the yard-arm of the -<i>Algier Rose</i>, had they not been wanted to work the ship home when her -time came to go. Verily, they had gained little by their wicked -foolishness!</p> - -<p class="normal"> -So in this way the weeks slipped by and still we found no plate, yet -was Phips firm. His commission was for five years, which would carry -him well into that thirty-seventh year for which he longed so, and -that commission he fully meant to serve, when, lo! there happened a -thing that for a time changed all his plans, though not for long, -owing to Providence, as you shall read.</p> - -<p class="normal">One morning when the day broke, the lookout descried, some two -leagues from us and our reef, a great frigate sailing very free and -bearing down towards us, while to our joy we saw that she carried our -own dear English colours. Now, in all the three years and a half that -had passed, or nearly four, no ship of our own country had come -anywhere near us, although often enough had we thought we saw them -pass afar, as, indeed, they must have done on their way to some of the -West Indie Islands. Yet, as I say, none had come to us, and so we had -no news from the world without. But that this frigate was making for -us there could be now no doubt; already, she was so near that she was -shortening her sail, and, not long afterwards, she fired a salute, -which we returned with joyous hearts. Then she hove-to, and signalled -to us that the Captain was to go aboard.</p> - -<p class="normal">You may be sure that he went very willingly, the ship proving to be -the <i>Guinea</i>, and an old Commonwealth frigate I knew very well, and a -good sailer; and brave enough did Phips look as he took his seat in -his boat, all adorned in his best scarlet coat and his great wig; -"for," says he, "hot as the morning is, and will be hotter, I will not -go to greet a brother-captain foully dressed."</p> - -<p class="normal">That we in the <i>Algier Rose</i> waited impatiently enough for the news -you may be sure, and, since 'twas long a-coming, that impatience -became very great. Indeed, 'twas not till night was near at hand that -we saw the boat coming back to us, while at the same time we saw the -great frigate's topsayl fill, and observed her slowly gather way and -steer towards the west. Then, a while later, the Captain came aboard, -and, sending for me into his cabin, he said, while I noticed that his -face was grave and sad:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nick, we have to give up the search; we shall not get the plate now. -The frigate was, as doubtless you made out, the <i>Guinea</i>, on her way -to Jamaica to relieve the <i>Constant Warwick</i>, and brought me my orders -to go home."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But," said I, "the commission was for five years; they are not yet -expired."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay," says he, "that matters not. The King is dead, and has been so -for a year, and the Duke of York has succeeded him. And he believes -not in putting the ships of his navy to treasure hunts, deeming such -things better for private adventurers. Moreover, he says the <i>Algier -Rose</i> can do better service at home against his enemies--of which the -Captain of the <i>Guinea</i> says he has a many--than in fishing for plate. -So, to-morrow, Nick, we will take in water from the island, and away -to England."</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis pity," says I, "a many pities. Yet the King's orders must be -obey'd. And the plate--I wonder who will get that?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I shall," said Phips sharply, "and you, Nick, if you will follow me. -For the very moment I give up my command of this ship, I shall seek -out those private adventurers of whom the new King speaks. I would -pawn my life the thing is there, and I will have it. Am I a man to be -thwarted?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Indeed, he was no such a man--only, as I whispered to him, he must, if -still he believed in his Geomancer, be very sharp. He would be in his -thirty-seventh year by the time he set foot on English ground again.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay, ay," says he, while he took a great drink from his cup and passed -it to me, "and so I shall, But before the thirty-seventh year is gone, -I shall be back again--and you shall be with me, Nick, an' you will."</p> - -<p class="normal">For myself 'twas very easy to say I would come. If James was king now, -then he would have for officers of his ships all those who had served -him when he was a sailor, and never had I been one of those. Moreover, -I had no interest with either Edward Russell--who is now as I write -Earl of Orford--or with Rooke, both of whom were like to be the King's -great seamen; so that there was little enough likelihood that I should -get another ship. There were just now hundreds of worthy sailors -waiting for appointments, and I had no better chance than, if as good -as, they. Also was I gone my time, having been now at sea since 1656, -when I went a boy of eight, so that I was nigh forty years of age, and -was never like now to be a captain, being but a plain sailor and no -gentleman courtier or page of honour. Had I been that and not known -the maintruck from the keel, then, perhaps, might I have gotten a ship -at twenty. But enough of this, only I had a mind to come out with -Phips if he came again as an adventurer; and that we should see when -we got home.</p> - -<p class="normal">A week later we had wooded and watered from our isle, and the wind -being fair away we went, while the last piece of counsel we received -came from the beastly great negro of whom I have writ before. This -creature's name was Juan, he having been born at San Domingo city, a -Spanish slave, which he no longer was, and as we had always thought, -though we were never convinced thereof, had egged on Brooks and the -others to mutiny by telling of them that we were a-fishing in the -wrong pool--as anglers at home say--but that if they could take the -frigate from Phips, whom he hated, he could show them where the plate -really was.</p> - -<p class="normal">So now he shouted to us from his periaga, as 'tis called there,</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>Adios, Don Phipo, adios</i>. Berry sorie, Massa, you no find platy, but -you look not in proper place. You ever come back again, which not -berry like, you send for Juan and pay him better, he show you many -tings if he not show it someone else firsty. <i>Adios, Don Phipo, adios -cada uno</i>, I hope you berry nice cruise to Englishy waters. <i>Adios</i>," -and with that he hoisted his little sail and was gone.</p> - -<p class="normal">Phips scowled at him first and then burst out a-laughing, while one of -the sailors flung a musket ball at him, and so we sailed away -disappointed men.</p> - -<p class="normal">"A very nice cruise" it was not our good fortune to have, for we were -teased and pestered with contrary winds and storms all the way. Then -we got into the Horse latitudes--where the Spanish used to throw their -horses overboard on their way to the Indie Islands, to lighten their -ships so that they could move in the calm--or called by some the -Doldrums--and here we lay for some weeks. There we suffered much in -every way. The sea is here like glass, there is not a wind to stir a -sa'l nor to refresh the panting men, and the air is like a furnace. -Moreover, here the seams of a ship will yawn, the meat become rotten, -and the hoops shrink away off the casks so that they burst and leak, -letting out the water--of beer we had naturally none left. The sea, -too, looks lyke oil and not water, while the setting of the sun gives -one the idea that the whole world is a-fire. Great crimson fleaks of -flames blaze all across the heavens, then tinges of saffron, green, -and pink shoot up, and then comes the grey darkness, as though 'twas -the smoke after the fire.</p> - -<p class="normal">And while we who were free all this time suffered so, 'twas far worse -and more terrible with the condemned mutineers, for, being down in the -ballast, since there was nought for them to do on deck while we lay -still, their agonies from the heat were insufferable. Five of them did -die--even though at the last they were fetched above--and so 'twas -better for them, since had they lived there was nought but the hanging -at Spithead before them.</p> - -<p class="normal">Thus, when at last we got a wind which took us home--and a roaring, -tearing wind indeed it was, that sent us often under bare poles with -fear every moment that our crazy frigate with her open seams must go -to the bottom--we worked very short-handed. Yet home at last we did -get, looking like scarecrows in a field, and so yellow that those who -knew us said that, if we had found no silver, at least we had brought -a plenty of gold on our faces. Yet right glad were we to see old -England again after so long, and to sleep once more in a good English -bed.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XII</h4> -<h5>THE BARK "FURIE."</h5> - -<p class="normal">Now I will not write down much as to how we found the state of things -on our return, yet somewhat must I say.</p> - -<p class="normal">To begin with--all of which was very bad for our hopes of getting -another ship--we found the King a dreadful declared Papist and with -most of the nation against him. Moreover, he was passing daily laws -and regulations for the oppression of the Protestants, so that he was -much hated, and all the world wagged its head and said that so extreme -a tyrant must ruin England unless a change came. And some there were -who even went so far as to say he had poisoned King Charles--though -this was never proved, and concerns not my history, to which I now -return.</p> - -<p class="normal">When the <i>Algier Rose</i> was paid off (which was done in a way shameful -to our navy--namely, by giving us but half of what was due and the -other half in promises, which were not fulfilled until the next King's -reign, and then only with difficulty to us) Phips and I, who went to -live together near the Strand, saw very soon that we should get no -other King's ship to go back to Hispaniola. His Ministers laughed at -us when we sounded them; one old nobleman asking us if we thought his -Majesty had not enough to do with his vessels, without sending them on -any such fool's errand as this? And, indeed, he was right, for things -were thickening round James, we being come to the year 1687. People -had not forgot the Monmouth rebellion and its brutalities, of which we -heard now for the first time; they hated the King's doings and his -mass in the chapel, and although he had a great big army at Hounslow -this year--which Phips and I rode down to see--all the soldiers had an -aversion to his religion, excepting the few Papists among them. On the -sea he was not very busy just now, and no fighting done since we went -away; yet it was ever thought that trouble would come--as indeed it -did, though not in the way expected.</p> - -<p class="normal"> -So, therefore, as now you will see who read, we had to turn our -thoughts to other ways, and at once we began to look about for some -proprietors who would send us forth to look again for the Hispaniola -plate.</p> - -<p class="normal">At first we had no success. Indeed, in the City, to which we resorted, -the project was treated by the merchants and goldsmiths with extreme -contempt, they jeering at us; while one of the latter told us he had -gotten together more plate than he desired, and would cheerfully sell -us some. But this was not our business, so we looked again. And now, -at last, we heard of one who we thought would do for us--our knowledge -of him being produced and brought to us by a friend who knew what we -were seeking for. And the person to whom he pointed was Christopher -Monk, the second Duke of Albemarle.</p> - -<p class="normal">This nobleman had in no ways ever done aught to carry on the great -reputation of his father; but, instead, he had, on coming into a most -enormous fortune at that father's death, twenty years ago, given -himself up to loose and vicious courses, as well as having a -ravenous liking for drink. Yet one fancy he had which improved on -this, and was very good for us and our desires--viz., he loved to hear -of treasure-finds, of the sacking of cities for plunder: such as those -of Drake in the Indies in the Great Queen's reign, or of Sir Henry -Morgan, the buccaneer who sacked Panama and Porto Bello, wherefore the -late King gave him the government of Jamaica, which Albemarle was -afterwards himself to have; and, above all, of the digging up of -hidden wealth. So to him, having obtained a letter introducing us, -away went Phips and I to see what might be done.</p> - -<p class="normal">He listened very attentively to us and, when Phips said he did in -truth believe there was three hundred thousand pounds under the water, -he sighed and said he would he could have some of it, for he wanted -money badly. This we could well believe; for though his father left -him so vast a fortune, he was a heavy gambler, and his Duchess--a -half-witted creature, granddaughter of the Duke of Newcastle, to whom -he was married before his dying father, as he lay on his bed--had -ravaged him with her extravagance and debts.</p> - -<p class="normal">So says Phips to him:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Then, your Grace, if you will have it you shall. Find me but a ship -well fitted and this very year--no other--it shall be yours. It is -there, I know; I have much evidence it is; and though I have fished in -the wrong place hitherto, yet now will I find it. And, as I say, it is -my year."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why, sir," said the Duke, "why this year more than any other?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet this Phips would not tell him--confiding in me afterwards that, -though he believed in the astrologer, he was ashamed of his belief. -So, then, next says the Duke:</p> - -<p class="normal">"But why seek not the Spanish, or the French, who have now gotten -possession of the North of Hispaniola, if not all of the island, for -this plate? 'Tis worth their while, if 'tis worth mine."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Your Grace," says Phips, "it is not possible they should seek for it. -Ever and always are they fighting together for possession, when not -massacring of the natives--of whom three millions have been slain -since Columbus's day--and truly they have neither time nor -inclination, even if they believe, which all do not. Then, for private -adventurers, there are none among them who can or will risk the money; -so that if any find it it must be an Englishman."</p> - -<p class="normal">In this way, and with many other arguments and proofs, did Phips press -it on the Duke--particularly leaning on the boat that came ashore, -after the wreck of the carrack, full of plate; so that, at last, he -said he would think well upon it, and bade us come again in a week's -time.</p> - -<p class="normal">"For," says he, "of myself I cannot now do it, though I could very -well once"--and here he sighed--"when I had my father's fortune. But -now I am no longer rich and am even petitioning the King for -employment, and have the promise of Jamaica. Still I will see among my -friends, and I will ask the King's permission. He, you know, must have -a tenth and adventure nothing."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Let his Majesty have it," says Phips, "and then I'll warrant your -Grace there shall be enough to satisfy all."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sir, you are very sanguine," says the Duke. "But there, come in a -week and you shall hear."</p> - -<p class="normal">So we made our bow and left him.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, I have so much yet to write of the finding of the plate and then -all that followed, as well as to tell you, who may read, how you shall -also find a fortune if you will seek, that I must waste no space, but -crowd on with my story.</p> - -<p class="normal">So I will briefly write down that, when the week was past, we went to -the Duke's again, and he coming up to us--a little flustered with his -morning tankard, as I thought, though no ways drunk--takes Phips by -the hand and then me, and says he:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Gentlemen, I think it is done, and we must send you out. So now -listen to what I have attempted."</p> - -<p class="normal">And with that he bade his serving-men begone and see he was not -interrupted till he called. Then he went on:</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have gotten," he said, "a ship for you, not so good as a King's -ship, yet well found, of a good burthen. The crew you shall pick up -yourselves--God knows there are many sailors now in London wanting -bread! Then, as for repayment, you and Captain Crafer"--for so he -called me, though I was no captain--"must be willing to be paid by -return, or what the merchants call a 'per centum.' Now, are you -willing to do this?"</p> - -<p class="normal">We said we were very willing provided we were put to no expense for -provisions or furnishing of the ship, which we could not do, and he -said that matter should be arranged, as well as the payment of the -sailors, which must be part now and part hereafter, when we returned, -out of the proceeds. So after many more particulars we agreed to all, -and we left the Duke to go into the city and see the merchants, and -then to attend to fitting of the ship.</p> - -<p class="normal">She was, we found, when we got to her in Limehouse Pool, after we had -spoken with the merchants very satisfactory, a good bluff-bowed bark -named the <i>Furie</i>, who had been employed in the slave trade, about -which we did not inquire too curiously, knowing very well what uses -the Guinea merchants put such ships to. Suffice it, therefore, if I -say she was large and roomy for her size, with many good cabins, -especially on the deck, a good main cabin, and a clear fo'castle. And -so we set to work to pick up a crew.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, as the Duke had truly said, there was no want of sailors just -now; for, firstly, we were not at war with any power; and, secondly, -the men went in but slowly to the King's ships of war because their -pay was so uncertain; and, thirdly, because all were against him, -hating the Papists he had gotten both into the navy and army, and -hating him too, as well as his Papist Queen, who had passed off -a false heir on the nation, as they said; and also his beastly -mistress, Sedley, now made Lady Dorchester. So when we went about the -taverns of Blackwall and Wapping, we soon picked up a likely crew -enough, and when we told what our cruise was for--namely, to get up a -treasure-ship--they were all eager to come. Therefore, at last we did -get more offers than we could well accept, seeing that we wanted but -twenty, and so made a good pick. Of them some were old King's men who -had seen much service like myself, two had taken part in Sir Robert -Holme's "bonefire," when he burnt up the Dutch ships, some more had -fought under Prince Rupert--as I did--when he beat De Ruyter, others -had fought against Selvagees' Armada, and all were of much experience.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, therefore, we had but to victual the bark and to put in our beer -and water, and all was ready; so to it we went, the merchants behaving -very generously. Yet, since Phips felt sure--owing to his belief in -his precious geomancer, who was doubtless hanged for a knave ere -now--that we should not be gone a year, we by no means overloaded her. -Still, all was very well; we went out with a plenty of beef and pork, -a gallon of beer a man every day for some months, with, after that, -some spirituous liquors, and with good pease and oatmeal as well as -bread. Also, which was of equal need, we had good arms, taking -with us new cutlashes and muskets, several cannon, including two -thirty-two-pound ones and a twenty-four, some pierriers, or -swivel-guns, very useful, and several others. And, since this time we -hoped not to fail, we took all applications for diving, such as a -bell, pumps, bladders for the head, and so forth, such as was used at -Mull for fishing up part of the Spanish Armada in the beginning of the -late King's reign.</p> - -<p class="normal">And so we went away again to find, as you shall read, the Hispaniola -Plate. But to set it down baldly and to say only that we did so find -it, would be to give no help to those who shall come after me, -whensoever that shall be. Therefore, when next I take up my pen I must -tell of all our doings, of the way in which the treasure was gotten, -and of that uncommon villain who was soon now to appear amongst us, -and who did, in very truth, by his extreme villainies, lead to my -crowding the paper as I do for the benefit of those who follow me.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XIII.</h4> -<h5>THE OLD MAN'S STORY.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Now, therefore, we are again at Hispaniola and have got near unto the -Bajo de la Plata, or Boylers, once more, having made an extreme good -cruise from England. The <i>Furie</i> was indeed, we found, a good little -barky, she sailing well on the wind, which was ever most favourable -for us, and so bringing us across the ocean in twenty-four days.</p> - -<p class="normal">But ere we went out to the reef there were some things that passed -which I must write down. First, we anchored off Porto de la Plata, -which, as I have writ, was so named from the boat that went ashore -full of plate from the wreck fifty years--or now more--before, and -which is now the port of St. Jago de los Cavalleros; and here we -purchased a tender which it was our intention to use, so that there -might be two searchings made for the lost ship. Also we meant to have -some canoes, or periagas, so that they could go where neither the ship -nor the tender could go themselves, and thereby we did intend to scour -all the water round about the reef.</p> - -<p class="normal">But, Lord! who would not have been discouraged by all the merriment -that our return caused--who, I say, but Phips? For those who lived at -Porto did openly make mock of us, jeering at us for our coming back, -and calling of us the mad Englishmen; while, if it may be believed, -people did even come over from St. Jago, which is inland, to see us -and our silly ship, as they called it. Now, the people here were of -all kinds--there were Spaniards and Portugees, and also some French -who had by now gotten all that part of the isle to the west of Monte -Christo on the N. and Cape Mongon on the S., though no legal -settlement until later, as well as Creoles and mulattoes, and many -more. And with one accord all laughed at us, saying, "There is no -plate, be sure, or we would have had it long ago."</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet still Phips, and with him all of us, believed it was there.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now there came and sought us out the great monstrous negro diver, -Juan, who, after finding through me that Phips bore him no ill-will -for his last fleering farewell of us, said that he had somewhat to -tell us if we would hearken to him. So I gave him an appointment to -see the Captain the next day, and a promise that he should be safe -from any harm; and so he came out in his periaga to where we lay a -league off shore. And he brought along with him the queerest of old -men that ever I did set eyes on--an old shrivelled-up Portugee who -looked as though he was an hundred, half-blind, and with a kind of -shaking palsy all over him.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, when I took them into the cabin where Phips was, he, being ever -of a jocund vein, called out:</p> - -<p class="normal">"And good morning to you, Signor Juan, and how do you do? You see you -were no true prophet, since here we are come back again."</p> - -<p class="normal">The hideous negro made a shambling bow, and hoped his honour was well, -and then in a jargon of Spanish and English, very hard for me to -understand, and not to be faithfully written down, he said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Masser Phips, I bery sorry I larf at you when you went away. But I -never tink, no never, that you come back again. But since you come, I -tell you many tings I have founder outer. Sir, this old Signor, he -know much, he berry old"--and here the brute opened and shut his great -hands nine times, very quick--"he have see ninety summers."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Has he, indeed?" says the Captain, "that seems a long while to me who -have seen but thirty-six as yet. And what has the Signor seen in all -that time?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He see many tings. He see the boaty come ashore with the silver -plate--beautiful plate, many candlestickies, bagges of pieces, -salivers and lumpes. All gone now!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Then here the old Portuguese screamed out, also in a sort of English,</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yees, yees. All gone now, Spanish sailors drink all up, then die. Die -very soon afterwards. Drink all day and danze with the girls, then -die."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well," says Phips, "what good's that to me? If the drink and the -girls got all, I can profit nothing."</p> - -<p class="normal">"He, he," laughed the old man, till he nigh choked, "got all that came -in the boat, not all under the water. No, no!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Plenty more under water," grunted Juan, "so he say. Plenty more. Only -no one able to get it and no one believe. He poor old Portygee, me -poor negro, so no one believe."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What, does he know?" says Phips, "and, if you knew, why had you no -mind to speak when first we came here and I employed you?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Signor Phips," said the black, "then I knew of nothing; I only -suspect you fished in wrong place. Then when you go away to English -land there make much talk about you, and all ask me if English captain -find much? And I say, no, and don't tink anyone find anyting. Then old -man here--he ninety summers old!--then old man, Geronimo, he come in -from mines of Hayna in middle of country, where he lived forty year, -and hear of talk about you and the silver, and of me the Buzo" (which -means a diver), "and he say he wish he come back sooner much, because -he know where carrack lie, where shift off reefy."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Shift off the reef!" exclaimed the Captain and myself together, with -a glance at each other. "Is that so indeed?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Then the old Portygee burst out laughing and then choking, and then -when he found his voice again, he said,</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yees, yees; that so. I see sailors come ashore with plate. I drink -with them, I danze with girls, too, only I not die. That very long ago -now; girls all dead, too. He! he! Oh!" and again he had his spasms.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then once more he went on:</p> - -<p class="normal">"And so, Signor, because I was a fisherman, I go out to the Bajo and I -look about, only I fear Tiburons (sharks), and once when water very -low I see down deep a cannon, then I know the ship had shifted. So -another day I go look again, and there floated up a piece of the ship, -a rail, so I know for certain she move. Then I speak to many and I say -I know where carrack is, but they believed not and would do nothing. -And now they all dead, too, like the sailors and the girls. He! he! -Ha! ha! Oh! oh!"</p> - -<p class="normal">We talked long with this miserable relic of the past--who so angered -Phips with his recollections of the dead and the gone, especially the -girls, that he almost ordered him out of the ship--and, indeed, it did -seem as if at last we had lighted on some good news. He said, when he -could persuade no one to believe or lend a hand to search further, he -went away to the mines of Hayna, in the interior, where a fresh find -of gold was made, and there he stayed for all the years, making a -little livelihood and forgetting all about the plate ship. Then, -having at last struck ninety--on which he laid great stress, as though -an action of credit done by himself--he came back to Porto where he -belonged, and fell in with Juan. And this black told us that when he -did, indeed, come back and heard that we had been and gone, he fell -into such a paroxysm of rage and grief that he nearly died, "for now," -said he, "my chance is gone."</p> - -<p class="normal">So the old figger thought all was lost to him, and bemoaned his fate -and nigh went mad, until one day the Buzo went off to find him and -tell him that the Captain Phips was come once more back, but in -another ship. Whereupon he did once more go nearly mad, this time with -joy, and then made Juan bring him out in his periaga to us.</p> - -<p class="normal">So, after hearing all this, Phips says to him:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Supposing you put us in the way to find this plate, what terms are we -to make? What do you want?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Half," says the old man. "I am now ninety years of age. I want to be -rich for the rest of my life."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Tush!" says the Captain, "this is foolishness. Why should I give you -half? I know now the carrack has shifted; I can find it for myself. -You shall have nothing."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No, no!" screamed the old Portygee, while the big black negro began -to mutter; and then Geronimo as he was called, threw himself down on -his knees with most marvellous dexterity for his great age. "No, no!" -says he, "not that. I will tell you, and you shall offer me what you -will. Me and Juan. Give us what you will."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Indeed I shall," says Phips, "seeing that you came to me, and not I -sought you. Therefore, let us see. How much think you there is below -the water?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"The Saints only know," said Geronimo, "but since she was taking home -to Spain the fortunes of many from Cuba, as the sailors told me, she -must have been full. Oh! Signor Capitano, promise me something, give -me something!" and he clasped the Captain's legs about and wept.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well, now," says Phips, "see what I will do for you. You and this -negro diver shall tell me exactly where she lies, or as near as may -be, and if I find her you shall have this."</p> - -<p class="normal">"The Saints bless you, capitano; I am nearly ninety years."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Be still. You shall have this between you, the negro to dive for me -with my own English diver. You shall have for every five pounds of -silver or of gold, one ounce, no matter whether we find much or -little. Are you content?"</p> - -<p class="normal">At first both of them began to grumble, saying it was not enough. But -soon Phips persuaded them to reason in a way that was all his own.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Then," says he, doing so all in an appearance of sudden violence, -"begone out of my ship. Away with you! What! shall I come from England -twice to find what I knew of a surety five years ago was here, only to -traffic with such as you, and you?" pointing his finger at each. "Nay, -never! We will find it by ourselves. Begone, I say!"</p> - -<p class="normal">But to begone was not their purpose, since very well they knew that -without us they could do nought. Strange as it may seem--and very -strange it was--none in Hispaniola would hearken to the story of the -plate ship lying so near--for the Boylers are not a dozen leagues out -from the island--and so would do nothing, and therefore they could do -nought themselves. For to do anything a small vessel at least was -wanted, and the means wherewith to dive--and certainly the Portygee -had no money for this, while the black was little than a beggar. -Therefore, at once they sang another song, becoming directly very -lowly, and saying, "Well, then, they would take the Captain's offer," -only I liked not the look on the face of Juan, the Buzo, and from that -moment determined to watch him well.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, therefore, I have to say that all terms were made, and we were -ready to go out to the reef. We bought a tender, and we meant when we -got to our little isle of old, where the second mutiny was, to make -some canoes of some excellent cotton trees that were there, with which -we could go about, and see better when near the reef down into the -water.</p> - -<p class="normal">The negro Juan was to come, first as diver, next as on behalf of -himself and Geronimo to see we played fair, and he it was also to whom -the Portygee confided the exact spot where he had seen the rail float -up years ago, since he would not tell us, saying Juan would take us to -the place.</p> - -<p class="normal">So we went away, being delayed, however, two days by the accursed -Blackamoor, who we thought at first had played us false--perhaps, -indeed, found new employers who would pay him better. However, at last -we saw him coming out in his periaga--and none too soon neither, since -we meant to go without him next morning if he came not, and try our -luck alone--and when he and his craft were gotten aboard, he excused -himself by saying he had been having a <i>festa</i> on shore and getting -drunk with some of his friends.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Good," says Phips when he heard this, "only, my black treasure, -remember there is no drunkenness for you here. Because, you see," he -went on, "I'm Captain aboard this craft, and if anyone displeases me I -let them understand it. So, if you want to keep your brains in your -head and your ebony skin whole, remember that. And now, bos'un," says -he, "pipe all hands on deck and loose sail for the reef."</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XIV.</h4> -<h5>THE WRECK IS FOUND.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">And now I have to write down what we found, only, as such long writing -is even now difficult to me, I must do it in my own fashion. And that -fashion is, that I can do nothing except by proceeding leisurely and -describing each incident as it came about. Which I now again attempt.</p> - -<p class="normal">The soft wind carried us out past the Boylers the next day at -noontide, and then, as we went by, we parted with our tender, the ship -going on to our little isle of old. For 'twas here we meant to -construct the cotton-wood canoes, to take in some of the island -water--the sweetest I ever tasted, which caused us to take it -from there--and to leave some stores. The tender which we left -behind--though not very far, since the isle was but three leagues -beyond the Bajo--was in charge of our master mate, as he was rated, an -old King's man like myself, and, like myself, sick of the King's -service. He was a good sailor and named Ayscough. His orders were to -proceed to whatever point near that the African should suggest as the -reputed place where the carrack was shifted to, to anchor if possible, -or, if not, to put out the floating anchors, and there to remain until -we returned. But no matter what was perceived, even should it be the -carrack herself at the bottom, neither our own diver nor the Black was -to be allowed to descend, especially not the last.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, having given these orders, we did remain on our isle two days, -what time Phips worked as hard as any man in the ship with his own -hands, shaping and arranging of the cotton-wood canoes, inspiring -every one with his ardours and cheering them on. What, however, did -not cheer any of us, was a-finding that some of the bodies of the -mutineers of the isle had the sand blown all off them where they were -buried on the beach, and that their skeletons were lying white and -bleached before us. Verily, a dreadful memorial of their wickedness!</p> - -<p class="normal">Moreover, another thing we saw which we liked not any too well; -namely, we found drawn up in a little cove a ship's boat, with on it -the name, "The <i>Etoyle</i>, Provydence," and in it many ropes, hooks, and -head-bladders, all carefully wrapped up and evidently for use in -diving.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now," says Phips, "this is not well. There is nought to dive for here -but one thing--the Plate Ship--therefore it seems to me that someone -else has been about our office. Yet it is certain they have not been -successful. Had they been we must have heard of it at Porto. What -think you, Nick?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"That depends," says I, "on which Provydence those who own the boat -hail from. If 'tis that of the Bahamas, then 'tis very well, since -they are ours again since '66, and as King James takes his tenth of -our find, we have the precedence of all. So 'tis, if it's that by -Connecticut, which is but a hamlet. But if 'tis that off Honduras, -then 'tis bad, since 'tis inhabited by buccaneers only, if inhabited -at all; and, if them, we may have some trouble."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well, well," says he, "we must see. Meanwhile I incline to it hailing -from the Bahamas. For look you, Nick, 'Provydence' is good English and -not Spanish, as most of the buccaneers are. And by the same token it -may be the Provydence in our own American colonies. Moreover, the -buccaneers as a rule put no markes in their crafts."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Etoyle," says I, "is not English, though!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Neither," replies he, "is it Spanish. And," with his fierce lion look -upon his face, he went on, "belong it either to English, French, or -Spanish colonist or to pirate, they shall not have our treasure while -we are above water."</p> - -<p class="normal">So, all being done, we went back to rejoin the tender.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, when we got to her we heard that the Blackamoor had directed that -she should proceed to a spot immediately on the other, or eastern -side, of the reef, from which we had previously fished, since there it -was that the old man, Geronimo, had laid down that we should find the -wreck. So Ayscough had taken her to this spot, namely, half a league -away from the Boylers, and we found all preparations made for a -descent, Juan, the Buzo, being particularly keen to go down at once. -But now we summoned our own diver--a straightforward, honest -Englishman, whose name was Woods--to come and confer with us, and -asked him what he thought. Then he told us that the soundings were -good enough for a descent, since the bottom was not more than twenty -fathoms below where we were anchored, and that the tallow brought up -soft sand and limestone, which showed a good bed.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Therefore," says Phips, "you can reach the bottom, can you not?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"If not, sir," says he, "I can at least descend so far as to see the -bottom, and if then I find the wreck it shall go hard but that I will -get down to her. My diving chest can sink easily to forty feet, and -with Mister Halley's<a name="div4Ref_03" href="#div4_03"><sup>[3]</sup></a> new dress I am confident I can touch the -bottom here."</p> - -<p class="normal">"So be it," says Phips, "and now about the Black. Here you, sir," then -he calls out to Juan, who was even now leaning over the gunwale, -peering down into the hot sea, "come here and tell us how you propose -to reach the bottom."</p> - -<p class="normal">"That very easy, sir," answered he; "I have new dress Massa Woods lend -me, which I am sure I manage very nicely. I go down if the Signor -Capitan wish me."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," says Phips, "Woods shall go down first. And since 'tis a calm -morning, get you ready now, Woods."</p> - -<p class="normal">At once the man did this, going forward to where he berthed in the -ship, and returning presently a strange figure to behold, since now he -was all enveloped in Mr. Halley's new improved dress, all over cords -for lowering and pipes for a-taking in the air.</p> - -<p class="normal">"For," says he, "I will try this, sir, now, and see how far I can go -down."</p> - -<p class="normal">You may be sure all watched him with eagerness. For besides that we -hoped he should find below what we sought, but a few of us had ever -seen this dress before, and were almost afraid of what might come to -him. Yet, he assured us, we need to have no fear; he had made many -experiments and descents as trials at home in the sea and river -Thames, and was confident of what he could do. So, as calmly as if he -were going down the stairs of a house, he bade the sailors lower him -over from the gangway, and descended by the lines he had arranged and -was gone beneath the sea, and in a few moments there was nought but a -few bubbles to mark the spot where he had been.</p> - -<p class="normal">Presently we knew by a signal agreed upon with those who held the -ropes, that he had reached the bed, and then by the paying out of his -pipes that he was moving about. And so he stayed thus for some twelve -minutes, when we also knew he was returning to below the ship, and -then there came the next signal to haul him up again, which, being -done, his great helmet with its fierce goggle eyes appeared above the -water once more, he following.</p> - -<p class="normal">Tied on to him he bore two things, one a great beam of wood in which -was stuck pieces of jagged rock, which looked for all the world like -the great teeth of some beast that had been fastened in't and then -broken off--they were indeed bits of the reef--the other a great piece -of limestone as big as my head, all crusted and stuck over with little -disks or plates, which were, we found, rusty pieces of eight.</p> - -<p class="normal">"A sign! A sign!" says Phips, taking them from him; "now get your -breath, Woods, and tell us what you have found," and this the man did, -puffing and blowing freely for a time ere he could speak.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then he said, "Of the wreck, sir, I have seen nought, but surely I -have found the track. All the bottom of the sea is scored as though -some great thing had passed over it, and everywhere there lie great -lumps of limestone such as this, and great beams such as that."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ha!" says Phips, and with that he takes the diver's axe and splits -open the lump, and there, wedged in all over it, were many more rusty -old pieces. "Ha! she has left a silver track as she passed along. Go -on."</p> - -<p class="normal">"So I do think, sir," says the diver, "and she cannot be afar off -where I descended, unless she is all gone to pieces. And even then the -bed of the sea must be full of all she had gotten inside her. But, -sir, I think this is not so; I think she has been brought up short, -for, close by, as I gather, is another reef."</p> - -<p class="normal">"How far off? How far off?" suddenly called out the captain, full of -strange excitement.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Not two cables off, I think, sir," replies Woods, "since the bottom -where I was begins to rise towards it, and therefore--"</p> - -<p class="normal">"And therefore," exclaims Phips, "it is the reef itself! Marvellous -strange it seemed to me that a great Spanish galleon should have -shifted at the bottom of the sea--whoever heard of a ship that moved -below the water!--yet all would have it so; even you, Woods, thought -so yourself! But now I know all. She struck upon a spur of the reef -and not the reef itself, and she has never moved. In which direction -does the rise of bottom of which you speak begin?"</p> - -<p class="normal">The diver look't round, tracing his course beneath, and then, pointing -to the Boylers, or Bajo, said, "There, sir."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why, so 'tis, of course," says Phips. "And, as I say, her keel took -the first, or outside spur of the reef as she passed along, and she -never got nearer to the main one. She is there! She is there! Hearts -up, my lads, we have found the treasure ship!"</p> - -<p class="normal">I gave the word and up went a roaring cheer from all, one for Phips, -one for the galleon, and one for what she had got in her, or about -her, if she had broken up. Then Phips, all alive now, gives an order -to shift the tender to the spot where Woods did consider the ridge of -the spur should be, and bade the diver come along with us in it to go -down again. Though, a moment afterwards, he paused, saying in his -kindly way,</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yet no, Woods. You have done enough work for to-day. You shall rest -easy. Now, where is that Blackamoor? He shall go."</p> - -<p class="normal">The negro came forward, his eyes glistening--perhaps with the hope of -what he should find--and to him says Phips,</p> - -<p class="normal">"Get you into the dress, or, since you are new to that, into the -diver's chest; that shall do very well for finding of the reef, and, -perhaps, the carrack--she cannot be afar. Come, away with you."</p> - -<p class="normal">So, into the tender got the captain and I and the negro, and the -sailors told off to her, and in a few moments we were apeak of -the spot where Woods said the reef must be. And then to our -astonishment--for we had never been this side of the Boylers before, -and, consequently, had never seen any shoal water--of which, indeed, -there was little ever--on looking down we saw, not three feet below -the surface, the long sharks-toothed back of the spur.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Great Powers!" says Phips, "'twas here all those years we wasted on -the other side, and we never thought to even come round to this. -Fools! fools! that we were. We might have had the treasure back into -London long ago. Now," says he, turning from his meditations to -actions, "now," to the black, "into your tub and down with you."</p> - -<p class="normal">Nothing loth, for the great beast was as eager for gain as any of us, -into the chest did he get and was lowered away, but scarce had the top -of it sunk beneath the water when the rope quivered, then the signal -was given to haul up, and back he came, and, jumping out of the chest, -or bell, exclaimed excitedly,</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh! Signor Phips. Oh, Signor Capitan Commandante. The shippy all down -there. Fust ting the chest knock on cannon sticking up in water, then -against her sidy, then I bery much frighted, for I see dead man's head -looking at me out of hole. Oh! Capitan Commandante, the shippy there, -and she full of dead men. Oh! capitan, send Massa Woods down to see if -I speak truf."</p> - -<p class="normal">So you see we had found the ship</p> - -<p class="normal">"And," says Phips, that night, as we drank together, "it is my -thirty-seventh year!"</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XV.</h4> -<h5>WHAT THE FIRST SEARCH REVEALED.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Now, therefore, have I to write down of all that, having found the -ship, we found in her. Yet how shall I begin?</p> - -<p class="normal">Firstly, let me describe how it was with the carrack herself.</p> - -<p class="normal">She lay canted right over on to her larboard side, the whole of her -larboard forepart broke away and stove in, and crushed as would be an -egg beaten in with a hammer. And in the fifty years--if it were so -long--in which she had been there she seemed to have grown so much to -the reef, or the reef to her, that they seemed part and parcel of one -another. She must, we could see at once, have struck full head on, and -the wicked teeth of the rock had torn her forepart to pieces. Whether -at once she heeled over and sank was never to be known now, or whether -she filled and sank after a while. Perhaps 'twas the latter, since, -otherwise, it was not to be understood how those sailors whom Geronimo -had known and danced with, and sang with, could, had she turned over -in a sudden shock, have ever collected together the plate they had, -and have gotten away in the open boat.</p> - -<p class="normal">Aft, from the beginning of her waist above, she was not broken into at -all, being quite sound Od her starboard side as she lay, though, as we -found, her larboard side aft, which lay on the bottom, had rotted -somewhat and bulged away, so that what was in her on that side was, -indeed, lying on the sea's bed. Her masts and yards were all broke off -short, and the broken pieces, into which the limestone had not wedged -itself and so held them down, had doubtless risen and floated. And -this must have been the case with the stern-rail which the old -Portuguese had seen, though why that went adrift we never rightly -understood, since no other part of the stern was gone. We found all -this out later on, as you shall see, when we determined what we must -do; but now Phips and I went apart to hold a conference, the first -thing he said being,</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nick, we have found the plate ship, therefore is one, nay, the -greatest, of our difficulties over. But with this begins the necessity -for great caution. For, see you, Nick, we cannot trust the overhauling -of this ship to the two divers alone. We must know all that is in her, -and we must see that all comes safe up and into our hands. What, -therefore, shall be done?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Easy enough," says I, "to answer that. It's for you or me, sir, who -are the responsible officers, to be divers too." This I said, for I -had quickly caught his meaning. Then I went on, "As for myself, I will -cheerfully go down."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Have you ever dived?" asked he.</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," I replied, "but I can soon learn myself to do so. Woods had -never used this dress until a little while ere he came aboard the -<i>Furie</i>; yet, now, see what he can do; and what he can, so can I. -Therefore, unless you go I will."</p> - -<p class="normal">He thought a little while--perhaps communing with himself as to -whether 'twas not his duty to go--but at last he said,</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well, that way is p'raps best. You shall go, but to-day--since it -grows on apace--there shall be no new descent. To-night we will rest, -and then begin the work to-morrow. That shall suffice."</p> - -<p class="normal">So we did no more that day, only we signalled for the bark to come -nearer to us and so anchored her a little closer to the Bajo, and then -all who were in the tender went off and into her for the night, the -spot by the reef being buoyed, though there was little enough need for -that, since, now we knew where to look, we could easily see the shoal -water.</p> - -<p class="normal">One thing we desired to know, so sent for the black to tell -us--namely, what he meant by saying that he saw a dead man looking at -him from a hole.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh! signor," he said, when he had come in to us, "oh, signor, I see -him berry plain. He leanie right out of big porthole, his body half -way out, his bony hands holding to the sides, his bony skull turned up -to me."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nonsense," says Phips, "his hands and head would have fallen off long -ago. You dreamed it, man!"</p> - -<p class="normal">But the black asseverated that he had not dreamed it, and so we left -it until to-morrow to see.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, when the morning came, at once we made our preparations for the -descent. Woods and I were to go down first, he telling me that it was -nought to do; that to begin with I should feel a suffocation which -would soon pass away, and that, excepting I would seem to be -surrounded by green glass full of bubbles, 'twould not be so very -strange. Moreover, he told me to fear nothing, no, not even a shark if -he came near me, for he would be more affrighted than I, since he knew -not what I might be.</p> - -<p class="normal">So down to the carrack we descended.</p> - -<p class="normal">First went Woods, saying he would wait for me at the bottom to set me -on my feet, and so, as easy as ever, over he went and disappeared from -all sight, and then my turn came, and the sailors lowered me from the -gunwale.</p> - -<p class="normal">In a moment I was sinking through the waters, all blue and green and -bubbling, passing as I went the cannon sticking up from its port--it -had been left run out when the ship sank, and was a long Spanish one, -its muzzle formed like a snake's mouth, and looking three times the -size it really was, since the water much magnified it--and so down, -seeing fishes dart all around me, looking with frighted eyes at my -strange figure. Then I felt my feet clasped by Woods and placed firm -upon the bottom, and I was there.</p> - -<p class="normal">And what a strange sight did meet my eyes! Firstly I perceived I was -not on the bottom at all, but standing on the upturned starboard side -of the ship, quite near by the great cannon, and also to an open port. -Yet, as she was not entirely canted over but lay at an angle, 'twas -very hard work to support oneself steady, and I was very glad to cling -to a stanchion for the time. But, now, Woods taking me by the hand did -lead me up the chain wales and so over the bow, until I stood with him -upon the deck, which was here not difficult; and then I look'd around.</p> - -<p class="normal">The first thing to be perceived was that the whole of the deck was -swept clean of most that had been on't, except such things as the -hatch-hoods which were fixed, the after bittacle, the stumps of the -broken masts, and so forth. The cannons, too, had slid down owing to -the incline of the wreck, and did all lie huddled on the lower, or -larboard side, and the hatches were mostly open. Wedged in among the -cannon were some bones and a skull, so that now I knew that the negro -had seen this in his descent, and had thought the black muzzle of the -cannon was a porthole.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now, Woods making to me a sign to follow him and pointing to my -air-pipe--which, he had told me before he came down, I must by no -means get twisted, or the air would cease--he set his foot upon the -after hatch-ladder, and, so, slowly descended, I following. So did we -go down to the middle deck, around which were placed the cabins or -berths. And now I was to see a sight enough to freeze anyone's blood, -even though so old a sailor as myself. For first we went into the main -or living cabin, and there we observed what Death had done in its most -grisly way. We saw huddled into a corner of it the clothes of a man -and woman, within them still their bones, and they were, or had been, -locked in each other's arms--the long hair of the woman lying close -by the fleshless head. Then did we see in another corner another -woman--her mass of hair pale and golden, like to an Englishwoman's, -and in her bony arms she held also some little bones and a skull, -which told a sad tale--it was a mother and her poor babe, who had -perished together. And, around and about all, there swam and darted -away as we drew near hordes of fishes, though 'twas long since they -had made a meal of these poor dead things.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now I could stay no longer, being as yet not used to my strange -head-dress of copper, so I made to Woods a sign that I must go above, -and so we went forth, and, giving of the signal, were drawn up to the -surface again. And once more I breathed the air of Heaven and was very -grateful therefore.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then Phips took both me and Woods aside, asking us what we had found, -and we told him--he sighing at the sad news from below--and also did -we tell him how, as yet, we had done no more; so says he,</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well, courage, Nick; when next you go down you shall find better than -these poor dead ones--what think you, Woods?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I hope so, sir," says he, "since all around the main cabin are many -sleeping ones in which there should be some sort of things of value, -and then must we break away the middle-deck to get to the lower, where -the plate, if any, should be."</p> - -<p class="normal">"If any!" exclaims Phips. "Why, now, I do believe from all reports -I got from Cuba years ago, that she is full of it! She was, -besides being a galleon, taking home the Adelantado, or Governor, -and his family, and also some others. If we find not a hundred -thousand's-worth at least 'twill be little enough good for me."</p> - -<p class="normal">Woods opened his eyes at this, for tho' all knew we sought for -treasure, none knew that she might have so much within her; indeed, -none had been told what she might contain. And, now that both ship and -tender were apeak over the wreck and nothing could be brought up -without being seen by all in them, there was no longer any secret to -be made.</p> - -<p class="normal">Soon again, after we had refreshed ourselves, we were ready once more -to go down, and Juan the Black was to go with us, only both I and -Woods were ordered by Phips to keep an eye on him. This brute was, as -we knew, a Coromantee, and, from all accounts, they are not only the -biggest thieves of all the Blacks but very ferocious as well. -Moreover, neither the Captain nor I fully believed in his keeping us -waiting off Porto only so that he might get drunk, and we knew not if -he and the old Portyguese, or he and some other villains, might not -have been concocting some precious scheme to defeat us.</p> - -<p class="normal">But we had no dress for him, only a copper bladder-head, which, -however, would do very well, since the creature was ever naked and -certainly wanted no garments in which to enter the water, and was so -strong that he said the water could not press on him to hurt; and so, -taking the longest air-pipes we had for all of us, again down we went, -all arriving on the middle deck one following the other--Woods first, -I next, and the negro last. As we passed into the main cabin we saw -the Black's great copper head bent over to the dead where they lay -huddled, and then suddenly darted back, so we knew--or, at least, I -did know--that to his other qualities he added that of fear and -timorousness.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now, seeing that on the bulkheads, or on the cabin doors, could be -still read the painted names, such as "Capitan," "Teniente Po,"<a name="div4Ref_04" href="#div4_04"><sup>[4]</sup></a> -"Pasagero,"<a name="div4Ref_05" href="#div4_05"><sup>[5]</sup></a> and others, I motioned to Woods to burst open with his -axe the captain's door and let us see what was within. This was soon -done, since in nature the woodwork was somewhat rotten, and, moreover, -'twas not fast, and so we entered, or clambered, into it. The bed, or -bunk, which was very large and roomy, we could observe, even after the -fifty years that had passed, had not been slept in since it was made; -therefore we did conclude the captain was above when the ship struck, -and so was lost. For the rest there were, all shifted into the corner -of the cabin, two great heavy chests clamped with iron, and on them -great padlocks, and these we decided must at once go up to the tender. -So we lifted them up with much ado and affixed them to the slings, and -then they were gotten up.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now I was becoming so used to my strange habit that, beyond a -singing in my ears that went and came, I felt no inconvenience, and -was, though not rash, very busy about the main cabin. And in this way -I entered into a berth which we made no doubt was that set apart for -the Adelantado of Cuba, since all showed it to be so. The swords about -the cabin, the rich clothes, though soaked with water, of both a man -and a woman proved this to be the case, as did the great chests that -had slipped about the place and the bed. And herein was another -terrible and ghastly sight. In that bed lay two human forms, or what -had been human forms once, though now but skeletons, the two skulls -being side by side, the woman's hair being a great black mass upon the -coverlet like a pall. So they had died together, he who had ruled -Spain's greatest colony and she who had acted for Spain's Queen. And -this was all left of their greatness! Poor things!</p> - -<p class="normal">But we had to see to the chests and what was therein contained, since -doubtless the Governor had much. And since they were bursted open, -perhaps by the shock of the ship striking on the reef, we peered -therein and saw things enough to make one gasp, even more than I did -in my strange head-dress. For, lying in the water of the chests, or -leastways of one chest, were golden plates and ewers and candlesticks -and sockets, all of them set in with pearls and rubies, and there, -too, were caskets, not open, but so firmly fixed and locked that very -well might one guess what should be within. Also on this chest--for -the others contained, as we could see, but wearing apparel for both of -them--were many other choice things, such as comfit boxes, necklaces, -the jewel'd orders of the Adelantado, the gems and brilliants of his -lady, some jewel'd swords and daggers, and several great bags or sacks -full of gold coins.</p> - -<p class="normal">Verily it was a great sight for us to see--as for the Coromantee, he -thrust his helmeted head so far into the chest that we had to draw him -back by main force--and I could not but feel joyful that, at last, we -were in a fair way of discovering of all. For it was not to be doubted -that on the deck below we should find the silver itself.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now we were signalled to from above to rejoin the tender, so, -sending the black first, since it would never have done to leave him -here a minute by himself, and I going up last, we returned back above -the sea.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XVI.</h4> -<h5>AN HONEST MAN ARRIVES.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Now when we got up to the surface again, I taking with me one of the -bags of gold coins to show the Captain, we were very much astonished -to see that, moored alongside of our ship was another--a small craft -such as is known in England as a "snow," which is generally very fast -in sailing, having a main and a foresail, as well as a trysail mast. -And as I looked round after getting my head free again, I did see on -her stern a great gilt star and the words "<i>Etoyle</i>, Provydence," so -now I knew what she was, and, perhaps whence she came, or at least -that she was from one of the Provydences. Leaning over her bows and -watching us as we arose--with a twinkle in his eye, which squinted -somewhat, when he saw the Coromantee--was a man whom I guessed to be -the skipper, a great yellow person with a shock of black curly hair, -so that I thought he must be a Mustee, and with a big slash, or scar, -all along his face. And leaning over, too, were several others, -sailors, all regarding us fixedly. Their eyes were set upon the bag of -coins at once with, as I thought, an eager gleam in them, and then -their Captain hails me and says:</p> - -<p class="normal">"What luck below, shipmate?" to which I did but grunt a word, not -knowing how things stood as yet. But now comes forward Phips, who says -to him:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Captain Alderly, this is our first lieutenant, who is in charge of -the diving at present;" and then he turns to me and says, "Crafer, our -friend has been here before--that is his ship's boat drawn up on the -isle--and he thinks he should have a share of the spoil, since he -found the wreck before us--<i>so he says</i>."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Does he, indeed?" I replied; "'tis strange, then, that he took not -away the spoil when he found it;" and I fixed my eye on him to see -what he would reply, for since, as I say, we were moored close -alongside, every word spoken on one deck could be heard on the other.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay, ay," says that skipper, "and so I should indeed, and came here -hoping to get all. But of what avail is hope? My little snow cannot -fight your great vessel of two hundred tons, and we both sail under -the English flag. And therefore, since I am an honest man and -peaceable, I must, perforce, lose my chance. But your Captain says, -sir," he went on, addressing me, "that I may have a percentum on what -I help to bring up, and that must suffice. Yet, 'tis hard on an honest -man!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay," says Phips, nodding his head, though I did observe him closely -and saw that his eyes were ever on the other. "Ay, 'tis hard on an -honest man! Yet, Captain Alderly, I think your percentum will pay you -very well for your trip from the Bahamas."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Not so well as the gross," replies the other, "but, as I say, it must -suffice. Yet 'tis hard. I have brought with me--indeed, went back for -him--a most expert diver, who I thought should have gotten me all, and -now he must work for another. 'Tis hard! 'tis hard! Yet an honest man -must not repine so long as he can earn his living in these times."</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, that night when we sat as was our custom taking some drink -together, while, since the arrival of our new friend, the watch was -doubled, Phips says to me:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nick, I do believe that honest man is as big a scoundrel as ever hung -at the yard-arm. For, firstly, if he does not come from Provydence -in the Gulph of Mexico--which is infested with buccaneers and -pirates--instead of Provydence in the Bahamas, I am much mistook, and, -secondly, I am certain that he and that infernal blackamoor are known -to one another. I have seen already glances between them, and it is my -belief that when the negro was drinking, as he said, at Porto, he was -devising some scheme with this fellow."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But," replied I, "even so, what can they do? Naught can come up from -the wreck unperceived by us, nor could his diver get down by night -without our knowing it. Therefore we are safe."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes," says he, "we are safe so long as we are never caught asleep. -Now, as for the diving, what we will do is this. His man shall go -always with Woods, and, since you like the office, the Coromantee with -you. What say you, Nick?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I like it very well," replied I; "or all can go down together. If you -are above to see to the hauling up, there can be no picking nor -stealing."</p> - -<p class="normal">So this we agreed upon, and then Phips went on to tell me of the -arrival of the <i>Etoyle</i> while I was below. She came, it seemed, round -by our little isle, and, on being challenged by Phips as she drew -near, hoisted a friendly signal, so was allowed to approach, -especially as she flew the English flag. Then the skipper told the -Captain that he was extremely distressed to find so large a ship there -forestalling him, since, having discovered the reef some months ago, -he had gone back to the Bahamas to fetch a diver and to refit, and so -on.</p> - -<p class="normal">"However," says Phips, "I soon gave him to see that, even if he had -been here before--which I could not dispute because of the boat at the -isle--he had indeed been forestalled and missed his chance. And also I -told him that we had been for four years searching for this very -wreck, that we held the King's patent for fishing for it, and that we -meant in no way to be thwarted or interfered with. For, says I to him, -even though we had no papers, but were only pirates or buccaneers, -still we would go on with our task and trust to our shotted guns--as -they always are now--to help us. So then," continued Phips, "he sees -that he has no chance, and asks if he cannot help in the fishing, to -which I answered, 'Very willing, if you chose to do so at a fair -rate.' And being anxious to get the work done and to get back home, I -have given to him the same terms as to Geronimo and his sweet -Blackamoor."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Tis well, sir," says I, "and now we need fear nought. While, if that -negro in any way plays us false, we will shoot him like a dog. Shall -we not, Captain?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay," replies he, "we will, or, since they say the sharks will not eat -black meat, we will make an experiment of him, and see for ourselves."</p> - -<p class="normal">So now, therefore, when the morning was come all was arranged, and, to -commence, down went the three divers, and I along with them. Our plan -now was to clear the whole of the middle deck of all in it, and then -to break up the top part of the ship sufficient to get down to the -lower or orlop deck, where the bullion room of the Spanish ships was -ever placed. So we got to work, sending up at once everything found, -and a mighty great find it was. All cabins not in use for the officers -of the ship were full of passengers away home to their country, and -all these were, it was plain to be seen, rich persons. Their bodies -were found frequently--all skeletons, like unto the others--and in -some cases 'twas strange to see how they strived to preserve what they -most esteemed of value. Thus, round one, a female, as again the hair -close by denoted, which was red, slightly fleck't with grisel, there -was on the bony neck a great rope of diamonds, each as big as a nut, -that all sparkled and glistened in the water, and round each wristbone -there was the same in bracelets. Poor thing! perhaps she feared to be -robbed and so slept thus. Then again, there was a bed, or berth, in -another cabin, out of which the body had been cast by the shock and -lay in a disjointed mass of bones in the corner, but in the bed -itself, under a pillow, we found a great pouch of goat's skin all full -of unset diamonds, rubies, and blue stones called sapphires, and also -a belt full of great Spanish pieces of gold, weighing five of our -elephant guineas each.</p> - -<p class="normal">And thus we went along, ransacking of every cabin, finding chests here -and coffers there, full of precious stones and jewels, with bags of -money and skins too, as well as, in several cases, parchment drafts -drawn upon the old bank of Barcelona and the Treasury of Castile. Poor -creatures! They had taken all thought to get themselves and their -monies and valuables home to their land in safety. Yet had they not -gotten many score leagues upon their way ere all was lost, life and -everything. Nay, had they made straight for Spain, instead of coming -on to Hispaniola, as they must have done to be here, they had not been -lost at all.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now we had done with the middle deck, there was nought more to -take away; for though there were many rich silks and satins, and so -forth, all was spoilt by the water, as was their spirituous liquors -and their wines, of which there was a good supply. So, after going -above for to refresh ourselves, we were now ready to cut away this -deck that we might descend to the place where the plate was.</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis a good find already," said Phips to me, as I sat at meat with -him, "a fair good find, Nick; and by the time we have got up the -silver we shall well have justified ourselves to our promoters. Of -jewels and coin already sent up by you, there are many thousands of -pounds' worth--and for the plate it shall bring us well up to the -mark."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then he went on to ask me, "How I found the divers working, and if I -saw any sign of anything like treachery upon the part either of the -Black or the Provydence diver?" And, since I could not say that I had -witnessed aught that appeared to me suspicious, he said he was very -glad; and so we fell to it again for the afternoon.</p> - -<p class="normal">All that time we spent in getting the middle deck cleared away as much -as might be, and in removing a great part of her starboard side, -especially by her orlop beam. Also we did cut away all her timbers -between her lower ports, so as to make a sufficient big opening -through which to enter, and removed all between her fourth and second -futtock. So that now her stern part, or at least all that below her -poop and quarter deck, was open to us and gave great space. And from -here we could progress right below her gun deck and waist and get up -almost to her main wale, or to where her fore part began to be bruised -and smashed on to the reef.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, therefore, we had got her bullion room clear of all encumbrances, -so that there was nought to do but to burst it open--it being most -securely locked with great Spanish locks that looked as though they -would defy all attempts except powder to open them. Yet one thing else -did we see: namely, that down on the larboard side--which, as I have -writ, lay on the bottom--the ship had somewhat bulged forth and some -of its treasures come out.</p> - -<p class="normal">For we could observe great bars of silver lying on the bed of the sea, -mostly encrusted with the limestone, yet with some part sticking forth -and glistening brightly. One piece alone, a great sow of silver which -had fallen from the bursted bullion room, was so heavy that all of our -united strengths could not lift it, nor could aught be done until, -with their axes, the divers had broken away its crust accumulated in -fifty years.</p> - -<p class="normal">However, at last we got it fastened to the hauling up lines and it was -towed up--not without great fears to us below that it might break away -and fall upon us, smashing in our heads--and when it was weighed that -night we found it to be of about fifty-six pounds.</p> - -<p class="normal">And this was the beginning of the fishing up of the plate.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XVII.</h4> -<h5>AN ALARM FROM THE "FURIE."</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Now, it would be useless, as well as tedious to my hand, for me to -write down all the little incidents that took place on board our ship -day by day, and likewise to keep accounts of every ounce of silver -brought up from the rich mine we had discovered. Moreover, I have -weighty matters to write about--which shall be the very things to -advantage those who come after me when they read this--so at once I -begin again.</p> - -<p class="normal">And, therefore, I now proceed to say that ere we had been many days at -our dredging and fishing, it was come to bringing of the silver up by -tons, so that, at last, our <i>Furie</i> began to sink low in the water -until she almost touched the reef herself, and we became obliged to -discard all ballast and use the silver in its place! I do not say that -tons came up daily--since, indeed, twenty sows of about fifty to -fifty-five pounds each was our usual haul, but we reckon'd now by -tons. And so well had I made my calculations that I considered there -to be in all thirty-two tons of silver, and this was what it -eventually turned out to be. Now, since silver was worth in the London -market at this time sixty pence an ounce, it was therefore very easy -for us to reckon what our find would be worth when we had got all, -exclusive of the jewels, wrought plate, and other things.</p> - -<p class="normal">So that, as Phips said, we must one way or another take back with us -something between one hundred thousand and two hundred thousand -pounds' worth.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Which," says he, "will be very good for all of us, especially for you -and me, Nick. Perhaps, indeed, we need never go to sea again, though I -think we both love it dearly."</p> - -<p class="normal">Though that Phips should ever cease from wreck fishing or treasure -hunting I could not well believe, seeing that such things were ever in -his mind. Even now, when we were doing so wondrous well, and were like -to be, perhaps, the most notorious of finders ever known from any -sunken ship--as, in truth, we did become--he was always a-pondering -over other searches. Thus, he would ever be telling me that, not very -far away from here, there had sunk the ship which was taking home -Bobadilla, another Adelantado (but of Hispaniola), and that 'twas full -of treasure gotten by him. Amongst other things which he said he knew -there were, was a solid gold table of three thousand three hundred and -ten pounds weight<a name="div4Ref_06" href="#div4_06"><sup>[6]</sup></a> and much coin and jewels. And he talked of coming -forth from England after he had once gotten this treasure of ours -home, and seeking for that. But I told him--for we were now as -intimate as brothers--that first let us finish this job, and then time -enough to think of others.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, our next task was to get into the bullion room, and this we did -after very considerable difficulties, seeing that those locks of which -I spake were so extremely strong; but even they yielded to us at last, -and we got to it. And, Lord! what a sight was there! The silver was -packed in bars and sows and bags, tons and tons of it, so that verily -I did come to think that our ship of two hundred tons would never move -again, unless 'twere to sink, and that we should never get all up. -Yet, as it did happen, what we found was less than our ballast, which -for a two hundred ton ship is usually twenty-five tons of iron and -thirty tons of shingle; so in that respect all went very well.</p> - -<p class="normal">During all this time Alderly had been behaving in such a manner that -there was no earthly fault to be found with him, and so, it is but -just to say, had our Coromantee. They, the men of Provydence, helped -at the hauling with a good will, working hard all day long, and -singing cheerfully and pleasantly at night, and Alderly even went so -far as to express himself satisfied enough with what was to be his -portion, or percentum. For, he said--</p> - -<p class="normal">"Never did I think there was aught like this in the ship, and, though -I do see very well what I have lost, yet also do I see my gain, and -shall go back to Nassau a very well satisfied honest man."</p> - -<p class="normal">And his diver, who was a Bermudan, descended of the early English -settlers in that island--which rich Mr. Waller, whom I had often seen -about the late King's court, a gentleman and a poet, wrote so much -about in its praise--certainly did do his very best, and so did the -negro, both working under Woods. And in this way, though a careful -watch was always kept on all that was found below the surface and all -that came above, they did so manage to delude us and throw dust into -our eyes, that--but this you shall find later. They were villains all, -and they deceived us, yet at last a righteous vengeance was had of -them. So I go on.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now it came about at this time that we ran short of fresh water--which -in such a tropic place is above all things the first necessity of -man--and so it was arranged that I should take the tender and go to -our isle in charge of her, leaving Phips to do as he had ever been -doing, namely, superintending the bringing up of the plate to the -surface. In my place as chief diver, or officer in charge of the -divers, there was to go down our bos'un, a worthy, honest man, who -could be trusted in all. The tender was--as Heaven would have it, and -as 'twas afterwards most providentially proved--a very fast, swift -sailer, and was a Dutch galliot that had come to Porto, and had been -seized for debt by the man from whom we bought her. Also she was -armed, or rather fit to be armed, having cannon-ports in her sides -capable of taking small cannon, and, as we never trusted in this -region to chance, I took with me four of our little guns, a swivel -gun, and, of course, our muskets. As you shall see, 'twas well I did. -They were soon to be wanted.</p> - -<p class="normal">So we parted from our companions, to be gone from them for two or -three days at most, yet there were some of us never more to meet in -this world. So I parted from my tried friend and comrade, Phips, -thinking that we should sail home together as we had sailed out--yet, -alas! but little more was I to set eyes upon him in this world -neither. Both of us were to succeed and prosper--though he to die -young--yet were we only to come together once again for a short time. -Yet, why digress from my story? Better to go straightforward and -plain, and so make an ending.</p> - -<p class="normal">We reached our little isle, and rounding the point to get to our old -landing place, lost sight of the <i>Furie</i>, and, taking the boat after -we had anchored her in "Safety Cove," as we called it, all went ashore -but two, being right glad to once more step on land for a stretch. We -meant that day, by Phips' leave, to take our ease, to lie about, and -to gather some of the sweet fruits that therein do grow, and to catch -some fish to take back to our comrades. Then, the next day, we did -intend to fill up our casks, cut some wood for the cook's galley, and -so back. And this we did do, getting yams and shaddocks, and so -forth--and catching of many pounds of what in these parts are called -mullets, though, indeed, they are full-sized trouts, and many crayfish -and some soft-shell'd crabs. So the day went and we lay down to sleep.</p> - -<p class="normal">And on the next we fished again and gathered more fruits; we filled -all our casks and carried them in the boat to the galliot; we cut and -corded of the wood, and made all ready for rejoining the <i>Furie</i> at -daybreak, since on that burning sea the first two hours of day are -best and coolest. Then the muskettoes are, I think, not awake, the sun -is not so fierce as later, the air is cool and fresh, with generally a -soft pleasant wind. So that second night, ere we lay down, we put in -all our fruits, our ananas, bananas, toronias, limes, and wild -apricots, as well as some wild parrots we had shot, which are sweet -and good eating, and then all was done and we distributed ourselves -for taking of our rest. Only we set a watch, there being six of us in -all, and so broke the night into three, I and a young lad taking the -first watch.</p> - -<p class="normal">'Twas eleven of the clock, as we made it by the nearly full moon, when -we were relieved, and all was most calm and peaceful. The birds of the -isle were all long since hushed to rest, and even the insects that do -here abound disturbed us not. So I and the boy lay ourselves down, and -soon we were asleep.</p> - -<p class="normal">How long I so slept I knew not, yet 'twas not day when I awoke, -springing up as did the others, all as though shot, while the watch -came running to us. For through the calm night air--or, rather, that -of the morning, for the chill told us the dayspring was nigh--there -had come the loud booming of a cannon--Once, twice! "What did it -mean?" we asked each other, with wonder starting from our fresh opened -eyes. "What did it mean?" and then all with one voice we exclaimed, -"'Tis from the <i>Furie!</i> from the <i>Furie!</i>"</p> - -<p class="normal">So, swift as we could run, down we got to the boat, and so by threes -to the galliot--for although we heard no more cannon, we knew that our -place was in the ship at such a time--and getting to her and all in at -last, we dragged up her anchor, pulled in the boat, and, to the fresh -breeze arising with the coming day, shook out her main, her mizen, and -her gaff-main sail. And so out of the cove and away.</p> - -<p class="normal">And as we did so, up over the trees of the little isle there went from -the neighbourhood of where the <i>Furie</i> lay two bright blue rockets, -which, as Phips and I had agreed upon, should be the signal for our -immediate return, as well as to warn us to be ready for danger.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XVIII.</h4> -<h5>TREACHERY AND FLIGHT.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">"What can it mean?" the sailors asked of one another as we got into -the open, while, for myself, I was as lost in wonderment as it was -possible to be. Naturally, my first thought was that the <i>Furie</i> had -been attacked by either the Spanish or the French, the first from St. -Dominic, or the latter from Aittii. Yet I knew not either how this -could be, since the sound we had heard was that of our own cannon, -which I knew well enough, we having practised all of them considerably -on our voyage out. Moreover, two cannon shots, and that from one side -only, do not make a battle, so I was sorely puzzled as I stood at the -tiller of the galliot.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet when we had rounded the point, 'twas pretty easy to perceive what -had happened.</p> - -<p class="normal">For in the rays of the waning moon we did see that the Provydence ship -had got away from the <i>Furie</i>, and that, with all her sails filled, -she was shaping her course to the south-east. And in another moment -also did we see that the Snow's trysail mast was shotted away--broken -off clean down, leaving but a short stump, and with the sail itself -all a-dragging in the water. And now from us, as we headed for the -<i>Furie</i>, arose a babble of talk and questionings as to what this must -mean, while all of us decided that, at least in some way, these -scoundrels had managed to steal some of the sows of silver, or the -bars or bags, and to get away from our bark in the night.</p> - -<p class="normal">But ere long we knew how much far worse than these things were; we -knew that we had been robbed of a terrible deal of what was ours. And -soon, too, we knew it.</p> - -<p class="normal">For when our course was still set dead for the <i>Furie</i>, we did see -coming towards us with great swiftness one of the cotton-wood canoes -we had made--under Phips' direction and partly with his own hands--and -in it three of our men, who instantly signalled to us that we should -come about and pick them up, for, calls out one to me--</p> - -<p class="normal">"You must away, sir, at once after those villains, and we are to -go with you to help. For they have robbed us, the thieves, oh! -treacherously! They are, after all, but buccaneers from the Provydence -in the Gulf."</p> - -<p class="normal">So, much startled, we did bring ourselves to, putting our foremast -aback, and throwing off a line to the canoe, and so had them all soon -aboard, and then, losing no time, away after the Snow we went, while -from the <i>Furie</i> we saw Phips standing on the poop a-waving of his -hands as though in encouragement or farewell, and from her there did, -come a ringing English cheer.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now we were to hear a story indeed of treachery unequalled, of -villainy extreme. For it appeared, as I did gather from our bos'un, -who had come to join us with the other two, that these scoundrels had -all along been a-planning of their scheme; and thus it happened.</p> - -<p class="normal">After we had sailed for the isle, it seems that the bullion room was -rapidly emptied of the plate, so that, at last, there was gotten up -thirty-two tons in all, and then 'twas perceived that below the sows -and bars there was still much else, so that the place was a very -treasure-hold of wealth. For there were more bags of gold pieces and -more of silver, which were at once took up into the <i>Furie</i>--and then -underneath them there were two chests marked with the names of the -Adelantado and of his wife. And feeling sure, as they did, that herein -must be great wealth, the curiosity of the bos'un--as, wringing his -hands, he did tell me--was too great for him, and so, not being a -discreet man, which neither was Woods, they opened of the chests and -saw in them a startling sight. For there, free now from the layers in -which once they had without doubt been enveloped, they did perceive -jewels of all kinds, pearls, diamonds, the blue sapphires, and much -else. Then alarmed at having so looked, they decided that they must -not tell the Captain of their curiosity, for fear of punishment. And -neither did they tell him (which, if done, might have saved all that -followed) that both the Black and the Provydence diver had seen -anything. So, saying only to Phips that such chests were down there, -they said no more, and arrangements were made that on the morrow all -should be brought up. And this, 'twas thought, should finish off the -fishing, and soon we should be ready for home. But alas! how far off -from that were we now.</p> - -<p class="normal">Therefore, since the plate was being got up on the first day we were -away in the tender, which was the galliot, and also on the second, it -came to be that the chests of which I speak were but discovered too -late that second day to be brought up. Now, on that night the watch -forward was kept by the negro, Juan, and the after-watch by a sailor, -who was a dull-pated, heavy fellow, of little use in a ship at any -time and one who ought never to have been with us. And, as it was -discovered later, Juan had been plying this man with drink which he -had concealed, so that on his watch--as though his stupidity was not -enough--the fellow was flustered and sleepy.</p> - -<p class="normal">At midnight Phips went to his cabin all being well, and the master's -mate came forth to take his place--and, terrible to relate, from that -time never was he heard of nor seen again. The bos'un who told me all -this said he thought either that the Coromantee murdered him, or that -one of the crew from the <i>Etoyle</i> got aboard and did do that office; -but, any way, he disappeared. Perhaps he was first stunned and then -given to the sharks. Who knows?--leastways, there was no sign of -blood.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, next, it would seem that from the far side of the <i>Etoyle</i> the -diver of that ship must have been most quietly lowered into the water, -must have passed under our forefoot--I mean of the <i>Furie</i>--and thence -to the bullion room of the wreck, and so fastened the lines to the -chests that, with his own help below, they could easily get them up to -the <i>Etoyle</i>.</p> - -<p class="normal">And then, when this was done, there was but to get up sail as quick as -possible, and away. And that was not so hard of accomplishing as a -sailor might think. For, firstly, the <i>Etoyle</i> was not anchored, but -moored and made fast to the <i>Furie</i>, so that, while all were asleep -below, and while the master mate was murdered and gone, the -after-watch drunk and stupid, and the fore-watch a traitor and -conspirator, that Snow might very easily be unmoored. Therefore, it -was but to get up the sails and catch the fast rising morning breeze, -and so off and away. Moreover, so deeply was the plot laid, that, as -'twas found shortly, the door of the captain's cabin was made fast -from the outside, the ladder was set loose of the main hatch, so that, -when the men came tumbling up, it shifted, and they came tumbling down -instead, and two of the cannon's touch-holes were spiked. Yet, whoever -was the wretch who did all this, still was he a fool likewise, since -in his haste he had not spiked the cannon that gave on the bow from -which the <i>Etoyle</i> must move, but on the other.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now, as they brailed up their sails they could not disguise the -noise they made, and in a moment Phips heard them, being ever on the -alert, and was at his door, sword in one hand and pistol in the other, -to get out. And, said the bos'un to me, his cries were terrifying to -hear when he did discover how he was trapped. First he smashed with -his fists a panel, all the while he was roaring for his men to come -and set him free, and also for his poor dead master's mate, and then -he flung himself against the door with such fury that it gave way, and -out he came.</p> - -<p class="normal">"He look't, sir," said the bos'un to me, as he told all this while we -were tearing through the water after the buccaneers, who I did see -sorrowfully were gaining on us, "he look't like a demoniac. And when -he saw that the <i>Etoyle</i> was already under weigh, his rage was such as -mortal man might indeed fear to see."</p> - -<p class="normal">It appeared from this man's account that Phips in his madness -discharged his pistol at Alderly, who was on the poop, and miss't him, -whereupon Alderly returned his fire, missing also; that next the -captain called for the gunner, who could not get his linstock ready -all at once, and by this time the sails of the <i>Etoyle</i> had caught the -breeze and she was under weigh.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Haste! haste! man," cries Phips to the gunner, now running with his -light, and snatching it from his hand applies it to the breech -himself, doing no harm with his shot; and then the gunner, having -trained the next gun better on to the fugitives, they did hit their -trysail. This impeded them somewhat, though not sufficient to prevent -them getting away.</p> - -<p class="normal">And then, the bos'un went on to tell me, Phips roared for the watch, -calling them, as was his wont in an emergency, dogs and traitors, and -soon learnt that the poor master's mate was slaughtered, or, at least, -had disappeared.</p> - -<p class="normal">"And," went on our informant, "then we all trembled. For while the -tears sprang to his eyes, which in an instant he dashed away, he said -also, in now a very low voice which seem'd mighty ominous, 'And the -other watch? The fore and aft watch. Where are they? Bring them to -me.'"</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, with a howl, the Coromantee sprang forward--wringing his hands, -imploring pardon, saying he too had been deceived by Alderly, who had -drugged him.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay!" says Phips, between his teeth, while as he spake he shook the -powder into the pan of his pistol--"Ay! no doubt. Deceived by Alderly. -because he got away and left you behind for me to slay you."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No, no!" yelled the brute. "No, no! Signor Capitan. No, Signor Phips, -no slay me!" and he clutched, said the bos'un, at Phips' legs and -tried to seize his pistol hand.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay, but I will, though," said Phips.--"No man betrays me twice;" -whereupon he drew back from the howling wretch, and seizing his wool -by one hand blew out his brains with the other, so that the deck was -all bespattered with them.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Fling him over," said Phips, "and swab up the mess, and now bring -forth the other. Meanwhile, where is Crafer with the tender? She -should be round the point by now."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then they brought forth that other poor crazed traitor--weeping and -sobbing with despair, and shrieking as he saw the great negro's dead -body--and to him strides Phips, his sword in hand.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You dog," says he, "you have betrayed us too. So must you die also. -They say you drank with the Coromantee and slept on your watch. -Therefore, to the yard-arm with him."</p> - -<p class="normal">'Midst his shrieks and howls they dragged him away, calling on his -mother's name, which softened Phips so much that, the bos'un said, he -seemed at one time like to spare him, only he remembered all he had -been robbed of. And then, ere the man was executed, the boat was -lowered that was to bring them to us in the galliot, and so they came -away.</p> - -<p class="normal">"And," said Phips to the bos'un, "tell Mr. Crafer that so long as his -galliot will swim, so long as there is a man left alive in it, so long -as he can sail, fight, or move, he is to follow those buccaneers--even -though it be into their stronghold. And while there is one of you left -alive, that one is to attempt it, and is to get back the stolen -treasure. And then, when that is done, the rendezvous shall be -Portsmouth town, to which those of you who live must find your way -back somehow. Now go; do your duty, commend me to Nicholas Crafer and -tell him to do his. And more, say that at the sign of the 'Navy -Tavern' I will leave word for him or he for me--whoever by God's grace -reaches there first. And reach it I pray we all may do."</p> - -<p class="normal">Such was the message brought to me, this the duty I had to perform, -this the errand on which now we sped. Ahead of us, and still gaining -on us, went the Snow, <i>Etoyle</i>, with the buccaneering thieves on -board, and with them a fourth of our treasure; behind us slowly faded -into dimness the reef and the <i>Furie</i> moored fast to it. That Phips -himself would have given chase had he been able, was certain--only, -before he could have got under weigh the buccaneers would have been -out of sight. For nought was ready, the plate was not bestowed away, -the sails were unbent and all in disorder.</p> - -<p class="normal">So, instead, 'twas I got the commission to chase those thieves, to -follow them to their lair, and to wrench back from them the stolen -goods. And as the galliot danced along, following the course they had -betaken--which was now set due east, so that I could not but think -they did mean to 'bout ship shortly and run for Porto Rico, or, -perhaps, one of the Virgin Isles--I took a solemn and a fervent oath -that never would I fail in my endeavour while life lasted to me. If I -could catch and defeat those thieves, I swore to do it, and so upon -that I set myself to see to the arrangements necessary in our small -craft, and to make all ready for what might be before us.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XIX.</h4> -<h5>THE "HONEST MAN" IN HIS TRUE COLOURS.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Now, as I have said, we were--with the coming of the bos'un and the -other two--nine hands in all, there having been six of us who did go -to the little isle in the galliot for wood and water.</p> - -<p class="normal">Therefore my first disposition was to arrange ourselves into regular -watches, which was easy enough to do, since three men at any time -awake were sufficient to keep the lookout, to attend to the craft, -and so forth Then next there was the provisioning to be done. Now for -this there was little to disturb ourselves about, since we had all our -island provisions of the fruits, the fish, and the parrots.</p> - -<p class="normal">That they should continue their course due east, as it was now set, -was not to be considered, since that way they could encounter no -refuge until they came to the Guinea Coast or, at best, the Cape de -Verd Islands. Such, it is true, was no great run for the Snow, -provided she was well enough provisioned and watered--as might or not -be, for all we knew--but still 'twas not very like to be the case. The -Virgin Islands in the Antilles, most of them little better than Keys, -which are small sandy spots appearing above the surf of the water, -with only a few weeds and bushes a-growing on them, and abounding with -turtle, appeared to my mind to be far more their mark. Most of them -are uninhabited, and one or two there are which are large and even -rocky and craggy, but, in general, as I have said.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, there is no Key, at the present time wherein I set down this -recital, which is not the haunt and hiding place of innumerable -pirates and thieves, and also used as a burying place for their stolen -riches, and here it was most like that Alderly would retreat with what -he had gotten. The ships of war of any countries can scarce chase them -here, the lagoons, harbours, and inlets all about offering to the -smaller craft a natural security, and, if the villains are -encountered, their one excuse always is that they are a-turtling: -viz., catching of the turtle for sale in the larger islands.</p> - -<p class="normal">So, pondering thus, I did begin to take my decision, and counsel also -with those under me. For says I to the bos'un--</p> - -<p class="normal">"That they should make for Africa is not to be thought on. Why should -they do so, when all around are innumerable refuges? Therefore, -Cromby"--which was the bos'un's name--"do you know what I will do?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Cromby replied--"No, he could not tell, but of one thing I might be -sure: namely, that there wasn't an honest heart in the galliot that -wasn't with me body and bones"; whereon I unfolded my idea.</p> - -<p class="normal">"My lads," says I, "we're alone, nine of us, and we've got to do one -of two things. Either catch the <i>Etoyle</i> and make her surrender, or -meet her and fight her until one of us is sunk. Now, listen. Catch her -we never shall; she sails three feet to our two; she's hull down -now--where do you think she'll be at daybreak to-morrow?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"On the road to Cape Blanco," replied one, "across the water."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Take a turn north in the night," said Cromby, "slip past Abreojo and -Turk's Island, and so for East Florida, or, p'raps, Cuba I doubt their -touching an English island."</p> - -<p class="normal">"So do I," I answered; "yet I think you're wrong. The wind sets fair -south, therefore 'tisn't likely they'll try for the north; and as for -a cruise for Cape Blanco, I scarce believe they've either food or -water enough. They borrowed three barrels the day before we went to -our isle--like enough to provide for this jaunt! No, my lads, south is -their course, and the Virgin Isles or Porto Rico their aim. Now, we -shall lose 'em when dark comes on--there'll be no lights on that -piratical bark!--but by the blessing of God we'll find 'em again, and -it will be somewhere between Tortola and Porto Rico's northeast coast -that we shall pick 'em up again, or I'm a Dutchman."</p> - -<p class="normal">And now, since the sooner they were out of sight of us, and we of -them, the better--which was nigh on being the case already, so much -had they got the foot of us--we slackened our gaff main sail so as to -fall off still more, and gradually we lost sight of them altogether.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So," says I, mighty glad to think such was the case, and knowing well -that though Phips said I was to <i>follow</i> the buccaneers, he would -approve of my plans if he knew that following was an impossibility, -"put her head due south, and let's see what comes of it."</p> - -<p class="normal">And thus, that night, just as the sun set, we were off the -northernmost of the islands; we could see Anegada right ahead of us, -and St. Thomas too. We had arrived at the spot where I hoped, ere many -hours were past, we should meet with the villains again. It began to -blow boisterous, however, now, so that we were bound to keep well out -to sea, not knowing what dangers we might encounter if we proceeded -farther. And if there was wanted aught else to make this a dangerous -chase on which we were engaged, it was that--even to help us in fine -weather--we had no instruments whatever in our possession. No, not so -much as a quadrant, a chart, nor even a Waggoner, though we had a -meridian compass. We had no thought of nautical instruments when we -left the <i>Furie</i> for the island; above all, we had no thought of -setting out upon such a cruise as this, to end the Lord knows where. -Indeed, when it came to our getting back to England at some future -time--if ever!--we should have to do it by running down, or rather up, -the parallels, and then make direct casting for home. That would be -our only likelihood, so far as we could now see, of striking soundings -again in our old channel.</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis indeed getting dirty above us, sir," said Israel Cromby to me, -pointing upwards; "I misdoubt me much of what is coming. And the -current sets in towards the islands. What must we do?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Best run out a bit, so as, at least, not to be dashed on shore. There -is a good moon, which will give some light."</p> - -<p class="normal">'Tis true there was a moon, yet so obscured by the storm that now set -upon us that it was but little good except when seen through a rift in -the clouds for a moment, but soon lost again. Then down from the north -there came howling a most fearful tropic gale, beginning first of all -in fitful gusts, so that we were obliged to haul in all our sails and -scud under bare poles--knowing not where we were going, but dreading -every moment to be dashed on to either a rocky bound island or a sandy -Key. In God's mercy, however, it seemed that at this moment the wind -did shift, so that very soon we could perceive we were not being -driven towards the land, but providentially away from it, whereby if -our little galliot would but live we might still weather the storm.</p> - -<p class="normal">Over her bows the sea was now coming in in great quantities, so that -we were baling with the canvas buckets we possessed, while another -precaution most necessary was that our powder should be kept dry. If -that was spoiled, then indeed we should be at the mercy of the pirates -if we encountered them.</p> - -<p class="normal">At this moment there did come a lull, the clouds broke, and through -them the moon shot down a clear bright ray on the waters so troubled -beneath it, and as we tossed up and down, Israel Cromby whispered to -me--</p> - -<p class="normal">"Look, look! sir, on our larboard bow"--which was the direction I was -not gazing in then--"look, not two cables' length off. There are the -villains!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Look I did, and there was the Snow, as he had said, riding up and down -on the crest of the waves, one time up above us and towering over, -another time wallowing down in the trough of the sea, with us above.</p> - -<p class="normal">They had seen us as soon as we them; and Alderly, standing forward, -was regarding of us fixedly.</p> - -<p class="normal">He shouted forth something which 'twas impossible to hear in the -turmoil of the lapping, swirling waters, while as the Snow sunk and we -rose in those troubled waves it seemed as if he shook his fists at us.</p> - -<p class="normal">"He is, I think, a devil," said Cromby to me. "Look, sir, what he is -a-doing now!"</p> - -<p class="normal">I did look, and as still we rose and fell upon the troubled waves, I -saw that he was holding up with both hands a casket that looked very -heavy, and shaking it before our eyes, as though to tantalize us with -the sight of the stolen goods. And, meanwhiles, laughing and gibbering -on the deck like so many fiends, as I have heard such creatures -called, the other villains in the Snow were a-stamping and dancing -round him as the vessel rolled and lolloped about in the tumbling -waves.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Heavens and earth!" I exclaimed, "why, they are all mad with the -drink! See to those fellows holding the bottles to their mouths. What -a time to be fuddling themselves, when their ship wants all the -knowledge a seaman possesses!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Even as I spoke we saw a great wave come along aft of them, break over -the stern of the Snow and then wash right over the decks, knocking the -men down like ten-pins and driving the craft onwards with a boust, -and, as it did so, a new fear sprang to my breast. In their drunken -state 'twas great odds that ere long they would go to the bottom, and -their master whom they served so well, the Devil, would have them, -which was no great matter to us; but what was worse was, the stolen -treasure would go too.</p> - -<p class="normal">"We must catch holt of them somehow," said I. "Oh that the waves would -bring us together, that we might grapple and board. Yet, what chance -is there? The wave that rolls us towards them rolls them away from us. -What shall we do?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"To board them, sir," said one of the men, "would be fatal to the -treasure. As 'tis, they would throw it overboard. See, sir, what the -madman is doing again."</p> - -<p class="normal">The sea was calming as he spoke, so that we now got uninterrupted -views of each other, and then to our affright we did see Alderly -fastening of a cord to the rough-tree-rail at one end, and at the -other round the casket, and then lowering it over the side till it -swung three feet from the top of the waves, which sometimes, as they -burst against the Snow, hurled the box backwards and forwards like -unto a shuttlecock. Then, next, he drew his knife, and making signs to -us of what he would do by laying of the blade on the cord, he stood by -defiantly regarding us. Also the drunken scoundrel and fool had made -up his mind to defy us to the utmost and to be plain with us, as it -was very evident to see. He had run up his colours, so that there -should be no doubt left in our minds about him; on his mizen peak -there flew a black silk flag, with on it a skeleton, or "death," with -cross bones in one hand, and in the other a heart with drops of blood -dripping from it, and also a jack of the same, with a man having a -sword thrust through his body, as later I saw plainly. So he stood -proclaimed a pirate.</p> - -<p class="normal">But what was, perhaps, more truly a sign of what this reckless -creature was in reality, was the fact that--doubtless before the storm -came on--he had abandoned the work-a-day dress of the "honest man" -which he wore when first he came alongside of the <i>Furie</i>, and was now -bedizened in a lot of finery, none the better for the assaults of the -winds and waves. He was dressed in a rich blue damask waistcoat and -breeches, in his hat a feather dyed red; around his neck was coiled -half a dozen times a gold chain with a great diamond cross on to -it--perhaps he had stolen it from the wreck!--hanging over his -shoulders was a silk sling, with, thrust into it, three pistols on -each side. All this we saw afterwards more plainly than now.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I cannot endure this defiance," said I to Cromby; "let him sink his -casket and be damned to him! I have been a King's officer, and will -never submit to the insults of a blackguard scoundrelly pirate. Up -with the mainsail, my lads, haul away, and at him;" and as I spoke I -whipped out my pistol, and, sighting him, fired.</p> - -<p class="normal">That I miss't him was none too strange, seeing how both of us were -tumbling about and rolling in the water, no more than that he miss't -me, as, pulling two pistols out of his sash, he fired, one in each -hand.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, when he saw our mainsail go up, he made as though he would cut -the cord to which hung the casket--only a moment afterwards he altered -his mind, and bellowing of an order, which we could very well hear, -since now the waves and winds had abated, soon had his own sail up; -and in a moment his ship had caught the wind and was away.</p> - -<p class="normal">That we should ever have catched them sufficient to come alongside and -board, I cannot think, even under the best of circumstances, but this -chance was not to be ours, for our ropes had fouled, so that they -could not be run, and ere we could get them disentangled, the <i>Etoyle</i> -was well off from us. But since again, with the coming of fairer -weather, the wind had northed, we could very well see they were -running for the south. They <i>were</i> bound for the islands!</p> - -<p class="normal">But at last we got our ropes free, and away we went too. The morn was -breaking now and the waves abating, so that, though still we tossed up -and down, we could see their horrid black silk flag a-flying on the -mizen peak whenever we rose to the crest; and, with the white spume of -the water dashed in our faces, and reckless now of what might happen -so that we did but keep them in sight, we set all our galliot's -sails--main, mizen, and gaff main sail--and tore after them.</p> - -<p class="normal">"We will follow them, my lads," I said now, with my blood up to -boiling heat; "we will follow them to the death! There shall be but -one crew left alive to tell this story."</p> - -<p class="normal">And as I spake my men gave three hearty cheers.</p> - -<p class="normal">So, having got thus far in my account, I will now rest again for a -while.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XX.</h4> -<h5>A FIGHT.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Now I go on to narrate the tracking of those thieves and pirates, and -of what thereby followed.</p> - -<p class="normal">By midday we were off the islands, with the chase well ahead of -us--yet not so far neither as she had been, since we had sailed faster -than she this time, in consequence, as we soon learnt, of their having -snapped their foremast--and with Negada, or the Drowned Island, so -called because 'tis frequently submerged by the tide, lying not a -league away.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have been here before," says Cromby, "and I doubt their getting -ashore. All around lie sand-banks and shoals that require careful -navigation. If they run in here we shall fight 'em when we are both -aground."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Then I do pray they will," says I. "It will be best to land, and no -chance of escape for either. 'Twill suit us, my lads."</p> - -<p class="normal">The men answered cheerfully. "So 'twould, and very well!" yet as they -so spake we saw that Alderly meant not to enter there.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then said I, "If it be not here, p'raps 'tis Virgin-Gorda they are -for, or Anguilla"--for I, too, had been here before--"yet, 'tis not -very like. There are colonists here, and have been since Charles's -day."</p> - -<p class="normal">But another hour showed us that neither were these islands their aim, -but, instead, a little long tract of land that, among all the others, -is not marked on the chart, but is known among mariners by the name of -"Coffin Island," because of its shape. Now, Coffin Island hath on it a -mountain, not so very high, yet near to the beach, being inland about -a quarter of a mile, and from the mountain's base there runneth down a -wood to the sea, with, in it, a channel or river.</p> - -<p class="normal">This we learnt shortly, though 'tis fitting enough I set it down here.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now 'twas very plain that 'twas for this channel the desperadoes -were making. With our perspective glasses we could see--as we passed -the before-mentioned isles--that they were heading straight for that -inlet; we could indeed perceive them get to its mouth, haul down all -but their trysail, and so into the river, which was broad enough to -let in a bigger ship than theirs.</p> - -<p class="normal">"After them we go," I exclaimed, "though they have all the best of it. -Yet"--with a moment's reflection--"it may not be so, neither. If they -get ashore, maybe they cannot take their cannon; if they stay on -board, we are as good as they. How is our powder?"</p> - -<p class="normal">The men answered the powder was very well. They had carefully kept it -all dry, so that we should not lack that. Therefore I gave them orders -to carefully prime and load our pieces: namely, the four little guns -and the swivel, and also the muskets. And so we, too, stood for the -channel.</p> - -<p class="normal">As we neared it we could very well see up it somewhat, and did notice -that the <i>Etoyle</i> had come to a halt. She was not anchored, but had -drifted a little down again towards the mouth of the inlet, and thus -she was as we passed in, the woods growing thick on either side. And -now was the time when we saw the finery in which Alderly had arrayed -himself. He, as we ran in, was standing by the bows of his ship, and -had in his hand a glass of liquor, and, as we drew close, he shouted--</p> - -<p class="normal">"Trapped! Trapped, by God! You will never get out of this! You cannot -escape!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"You beastly pirate!" I called back; "there is no thought of getting -out. We are only most thankful to have got in. Now, will you haul down -those vile rags at your peak, and give up the stolen goods and -surrender, or----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Surrender!" shouts he. "Yes, I will surrender! Like this!" and -stooping down behind his bows for a moment, he picks up what was a -new-fangled sort of grenadoe--being a case bottle filled with powder -and pieces of lead, iron slugs and shot, with a quick match in the -mouth of it--and flings it aboard us. But in a minute one of my men, a -lusty youth from North Berwick, named Fernon, stoops down, seizes on -it, and flings it back into Alderly's ship, where it exploded amidst -their yells and curses.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now," said I, as at this moment our crafts touched, so that the whole -channel was blocked, "over their bows, under the smoke, and among 'em. -Pistols and cutlashes, my lads, will do the business."</p> - -<p class="normal">So over we did go, and soon found that we had a tough job before -us. For though the men of the <i>Etoyle</i> did only outnumber us by -five--namely, four men and Alderly--we discovered ere long on what a -dreadful mine we were standing.</p> - -<p class="normal">As I cut down one man, giving him a wound in the neck that nearly -sever'd his throat as clean as if he had cut it with a razor, Cromby -whispered in my ear--</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sir, what shall we do? Down below stands a great negro over two -barrels of powder, with a lighted slow match in his hand. 'Tis evident -the instant we are victorious he will blow up the Snow."</p> - -<p class="normal">The sweat sprang out all over me as he said this, and, fighting hand -to hand all as I was with now another pirate, I had to pause and -deliberate. Then I said--</p> - -<p class="normal">"If you cannot shoot him we must get back to our own vessel. Try if -you can get a ball into him."</p> - -<p class="normal">And now I came against Alderly and rushed at him, when I saw him -settle himself against the tackle of a gun, his hand over his heart.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So," I thought to myself, "he has got his death wound. He will fall -dead in a moment. Let us see for ourselves."</p> - -<p class="normal">Amidst the smoke, therefore, and firing some shots below into the hold -in the hopes of slaying the negro, we leapt back into our galliot, and -then, before the crew of the <i>Etoyle</i> knew what we were at, we had -pushed ourselves off of them, and, catching a little of the current of -the canal or river, got drifted down some fifty yards. And here, being -safe from any explosion should it take place among the others, we gave -them a broadside from our guns almost before they could know we had -left them.</p> - -<p class="normal">But they answered not. We heard our balls crash into the sides of the -Snow, we heard her timbers splitting and bursting, we even heard the -shivering of a mast or yard, and its fall on the deck--but no reply -was made. No ball came back crashing into us, no report echoed ours. -All was still.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Let the smoke clear off," I said, "ere we fire again. Meanwhile, keep -your guns loaded. Can it be that all are slain?"</p> - -<p class="normal">The smoke did evaporate shortly, and then we learnt that 'twas as we -thought. Either the pirates were all slain or--fled. We had won our -day. From our rattlins, by running up a dozen, I could see on to the -deck of the <i>Etoyle</i>, and perceive men lying about dead. Also, too, -could observe the deck stained with blood, the fallen mast bearing the -vile silken flag a-lying across one man--it having smashed his head in -as it fell. But though I gazed at the gun tackle where I had seen -Alderly, he was not there now, neither near it nor by it. Had he -therefore escaped?</p> - -<p class="normal">"We must board the <i>Etoyle</i> again," says I; "yet since the negro with -his lighted match may still be by the powder, I will go alone first, -as is my duty. Lower the boat."</p> - -<p class="normal">Since I had regained our tender I had been standing enrapt, gazing -with all my might at the smoke first, and then up into the shrouds -again at the enemy, taking no heed of my own craft. But now, as no one -stirred, to my hearing, to obey my orders, I turned round sharply to -chide them, but as I did so I started and felt myself go pale.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Good God!" I exclaimed, "good God! What is this?"</p> - -<p class="normal">There were but three men, I recollected in an instant, that had leaped -back into the galliot from the Snow, and those three men were here in -the ship behind me. But, alas! two were now dead; the third, Israel -Cromby, was a-lying on his back, gasping out his last few breaths.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh!" says I, "oh! my poor men--this is a sorry sight for any -commander to see. Cromby, man, it is ill with you, I fear?"</p> - -<p class="normal">He opened his eyes, all covered with a film like a poor partridge a -gunner has knocked over, and then he whispered--</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sir, sir. There is a poor old woman down Rotherhithe way--she is--my -mother. She--drawed--my money--tell her--she has no other means -whereby to live--if you--get back, see to----. Sir, I've done my -duty."</p> - -<p class="normal">So he died and joined the others, and went his way to meet his God.</p> - -<p class="normal">And I was left alone.</p> - -<p class="normal">From the <i>Etoyle</i> there came no sound, nor from the woods neither did -any come. So I told myself this would not do. I must be stirring. -Thinking which, I lowered down the boat, having to shift the bodies of -my poor dead men to get at the tackle, and then got down into it, and -so to the <i>Etoyle</i>. It was no use wasting time when I got to it, I -reflected; if any were alive of the enemy they must be encountered -soon or late--as well now as then. And the negro I did feel sure was -dead. Otherwise, he would have blowed up the Snow or else come forth.</p> - -<p class="normal">Making fast the boat, I clambered up over the side of the buccaneer's -craft, and then I saw pretty quick all that had happened, looking -first to see for the negro. He was done for, as I had imagined, and -was lying flat on his back at the foot of the hatchway, his match -burnt out in his dead black hand, which, I saw later, had been singed -and scorched by the flames; yet that hand had been perilously near to -the powder-barrels while the slow match lasted, as it lay all -stretched out.</p> - -<p class="normal">On the deck they laid about, my men and Alderly's, as they had fallen, -and I did perceive that our broadside had finished up one or two at -least of the latter, who were still breathing when I got aboard, -though not long after. Of my six men who had fallen there, I made -instantly a burial, tying shots to them and heaving them over the -side--for I would not have the birds of prey--many of whom were -hovering about the banks of the river--tear and devour them. This I -did do when I felt sure they were indeed dead, but of the pirates I -took no heed--the birds might have their bodies (as I doubted not the -Devil had got their souls by now), for all I cared.</p> - -<p class="normal">One thing--or rather two--I did not find which I would very willingly -have done. There was no sign anywhere of either Alderly or the casket -he had flourished in our faces. Now, if Alderly had died before his -men, or some of them, this would not be strange, since I knew--having -hunted pirates before to-day--that the captains had ever the desire to -be flung overboard the moment they were dead, and always in their -finery and adornments.</p> - -<p class="normal">And this doubtless had happened to him; that is, if he had not -escaped, which was, of course, possible for him to have done if he had -not his death wound when I encountered him. And the casket might have -gone too--though this I doubted; at least, it would not go while one -man remained alive, and he would not sink it until his last gasp, at -which time he might be then too feeble so to do.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet I resolved to search the Snow, to see if any were lurking about, -or if the casket was hid anywhere. 'Twould not take long to do, and -even though it did, what matter? There was no call on my time.</p> - -<p class="normal">Down below, to which I went after carefully scrutinizing the deck, -all was in great disorder; weapons were lying on the cabin table -alongside of food and victuals, and there was a broached barrel of -rumbullion--or kill-devil--a-standing in the middle of the cabin, with -a scooper, or long-handled ladle, hard by, which doubtless they had -drunk from by turns; and since they were drunk when we met 'em in the -night, I supposed they had been drinking ever since they had deserted -us. Leastways, the barrel was half empty, yet none was spilled.</p> - -<p class="normal">Here was the body of a man shot into the head, and very ghastly--I -doubted not he had fallen down the hatch when struck, or, may be, run -down for drink to ease him. And now, seeing this corpse set me off -a-calculating how many there had been in the <i>Etoyle</i>, and how many -there were now--whereby I should get the difference of those in the -ship, and those who had been flung, or fallen over, or--if it might be -so--escaped. And, at last, I did arrive at the solution that but two -were missing; namely, the villain Alderly and his diver. Therefore, -even allowing them to be alive, all but three of both crafts had been -killed in the fight.</p> - -<p class="normal">And if those two had escaped it must be by having leaped overboard in -the smoke and confusion--'twas certain they had not taken their boat, -for it still lay along their deck, upside down, where they always kept -it, as I had seen often when they were moored alongside the <i>Furie</i>. -Now it had a shot in it from one of our guns, I did perceive, which -was perhaps the reason it was not used--though their haste to get away -was more like to be the cause. Yet, I pondered, if they had hastened -away, where was then the treasure? The casket alone would almost, I -should judge, sink a man who endeavoured to get ashore with it, though -it was but a few yards to swim--how could it be, therefore, that they -and their stolen prize had got away? The truth, I did conceive now, -was that all, Alderly, diver, and treasure, were at the bottom of the -river.</p> - -<p class="normal">But by this time the night was approaching, vastly different from the -former one, it being calm and cloudless; and I was worn out with want -of rest, and with the fighting and excitement. So I resolved I would -take a night's repose, and then in the morning I would explore the -island carefully--'twould not take long, being not a league in length -nor half as broad, as I knew; above all, I would see if I could find -the goods you wot of. As for the two pirates, I feared them not one -atom; face to face, I deemed myself--a king's late officer--the match -for any two dirty pirates that ever breathed.</p> - -<p class="normal">So I let go the <i>Etoyle's</i> anchor and made her fast for the night, and -then rowed me back to my galliot and prepared for my rest.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXI.</h4> -<h5>THE VILLAIN'S DEN.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">'Twas as I have writ, a night vastly different from the precedent one, -beautifully calm in this little channel, or river, with the moon -arising behind the wood that bordered its eastern bank, and with a -cool breeze coming from the sea and rustling through the leaves. And -as the moon rose above the treetops she flooded all the river with -light, making a great shadow of the <i>Etoyle</i> on the water, and also of -the galliot.</p> - -<p class="normal">I lay me down upon the deck of my craft wrapped in a boat-cloak, as -soon as I had gotten things a little ship-shape for the night (I had -anchored the galliot before I went off to the Snow), but sleep came -not easily. There were, indeed, many things a-running through my -brain. Firstly, there were my poor dead sailors sleeping below in the -water--probably already food for the great variegated crabs that do -here abound--whom I could not but lament, and especially Israel -Cromby, with his dying thoughts of the poor old dependent mother at -Rotherhithe. Then there was the position to be thought of in which I -now stood. I had the galliot to get me away in, 'twas true, to the -adjacent islands, some of which were inhabited by my own countrymen, -and not far off neither--but, supposing I got back the treasure from -the pirates, should I ever get it safe home to England? I knew not, as -yet, how much it was; whether the casket was all or only a portion; -whether also that portion was a huge mass of gold or silver, or a -small one of jewels. Above all, should I get it in any form or shape -whatever? Was it buried in the river ere the last of the pirates died, -or were those two men alive, and had they got ashore and buried it -there? Still my fatigues were such that, in spite of all my -conflicting and unhappy thoughts, I slumbered at last. Long and -peacefully I slept aboard the little craft, which had none other now -but myself for its inhabitant, with the cool night wind blowing all -over me, and freshening me as I lay.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet I awoke ere daylight had come--startled by something, I knew not -what!</p> - -<p class="normal">The moon was at her full height now, the channel was as light as day, -'twas that, I thought to myself, had waked me; and I turned over on my -side to sleep again. Yet, as I dozed, and should soon have been gone -again, once more I was disturbed. "Perhaps 'tis a beast," thought I, -"in the wood, crashing through the undergrowth,"--for such I fancied -to be the sound--"perhaps 'tis--"but here I ended my speculations, for -I saw what had aroused me.</p> - -<p class="normal">'Twas the two villains, Alderly and his diver, a-standing on the bank -of the river gazing into it. 'Twas their steps I had heard crunching -on the underbrush.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now it did so happen that our galliot had a cabin aft, with, cut into -it on either side of the sternpost, two portholes, so that, lying -here, I could very well see through those scuttles what they were -a-doing without their seeing me. Whether they thought I was not in my -vessel I could not guess; or whether they knew I was, having watched -me all the latter part of the day from the wood, but deemed me now -asleep, 'twas impossible for me to tell--yet doubtless 'twas the -latter, since they seemed wary in their movements.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet was it obvious to me, watching them as I did, that both were still -under the influence of the drink; as they stood gazing into the water, -first one would give a lurch, then the other, or one would hiccough, -and the other would curse him under his breath for making of a noise; -and once the diver--whose name I knew not--nearly fell forward into -the river, and would have done so, had not Alderly clutched him and -hauled him back. And all the time the moon enabled me to see the -latter's tawdry finery, all smirched with dirt, with powder and filth, -and his broken feather in his hat, and the stains and grime about him, -while, as for the other, he had nought but the coarsest of apparel -upon him.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, seeing they were still drunk, I did begin to think they had a -resort of some sort in this isle, perhaps comrades upon it from whom -they could get drink, since 'twas hours since they had had any in the -Snow. Which led me to reflect that, if there were more of these -wretches here, my case was a bad one. However, watching of their -actions drove these reflections from out my head, for a time at least.</p> - -<p class="normal">Presently, one, Alderly, stoops him down, going on to his hands and -knees and, baring his arm up to the shoulder, thrusts it into the -water, and begins moving it backwards and forwards as though feeling -for something in it. And shortly he found what he wanted, for he -lifted up a stone as big as my head, with round it a rope that ran on, -into, and under the water as he lifted of it up. This was easy to -perceive, for the drops of water sparkled on it like diamonds as he -held it at his end.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ha!" thinks I to myself. "I do guess what's at t'other end now. Well, -well, we will see." Yet, as I so thought, I looked to my priming. I -thought it would not be very long ere I should have to shoot these two -ruffians, and take my chance of there being more of the same sort on -the isle. But the time had not come yet, I did perceive, and meanwhile -I lay perfectly snug watching their doings.</p> - -<p class="normal">A moment after Alderly had gotten the stone and rope up, he threw away -the former, and began, with his comrade's assistance, hauling and -tugging at it, and presently they got ashore from under the water a -long box of about four feet--though 'twas not what I expected to see, -namely, the casket. This, I made sure, would have been fished up, but -'twas not. I never did see it again.</p> - -<p class="normal">'Twas plain to observe there was no more to come, for no sooner was -this box up than they made as though they would depart, Alderly -letting the rope drop back gently into the water; and then, as I could -see by his gestures, making signs to the diver to pick the box up and -carry it. But this led to an argument between them; I could observe -them shrugging of their shoulders with a drunken gravity, lurching -about now and again as they did so, and stumbling against the box more -than once; and then, suddenly, I perceived Alderly strike the other in -the mouth and knock him down.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now," thinks I, "this leads to more things. If they go on like this, -there will be only one pirate soon for me to contend with, so far as I -know."</p> - -<p class="normal">Even as I pondered, my words came true. The diver got up, whips out a -long knife, and made a rush at the other--the weapon sparkling as -though it was dipped in phosphorus in the rays of the moon--and in -another moment they had closed together.</p> - -<p class="normal">But Alderly was the best man of the two--which was perhaps why he was -chief of the <i>Etoyle</i>--and ere long he had hold of the other's wrist -with one hand and had got him round the body with the other. Then, by -degrees, he did bring the body down until it lay across his own knee, -face upwards, and having, as I did see, the strength of a bullock, or -a vice, he forced the other's arm up and down, directing so his -clenched hand that he compelled him to plunge his own dagger into his -own breast. Once, twice, thrice, he did it!--the diver screaming with -the first plunge of the knife into his bosom, groaning with the -second, and with the third making no noise. Then Alderly lets go the -diver's fist from out of his own, and frees his own body from his -grasp, and down the diver fell to the brink of the river.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You slew yourself," says he, looking down at him; "'twas your own -knife that did it, your own hand that plunged it in." And here he -laughed, an awful, blood-curdling laugh. The laugh of a maniac -or a fiend! Then he put his foot to the dead man's body and tumbled -it over into the river, so that I saw it no more. Next, seizing -on to the long box--and nearly falling over it as he did so in his -half-drunkenness--he lifted it on to his shoulder and went into the -wood. Only, as he departed I saw him also lift up his foot and touch -his shoe with his finger, and hold that finger up in the moon to look -at; and then he gave again that awful laugh. He was a-laughing at the -dead man's blood in which he had trampled!</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now," says I, "is my time; I will find out if he can also slay me. At -any rate he shall not escape without doing so," and with these words I -lowered the boat again, got into it and went ashore--the distance from -the galliot being not twenty yards. And then, securing of the boat to -the trunk of a small tree by the river's brink, I plunged in after him -to the wood. Only, you may be sure, I had my pistols with me and my -sword.</p> - -<p class="normal">At first the little wood was so dark that I could not see, or scarce -see, the moon a-shining dimly through the thickness--a thickness all -made of wild orange, citron, and pomegranate trees, as well as of -campeachy trees, and mountain cabbage palms. Yet soon this wood opened -out somewhat; there rose before my eyes a little glade, on which the -moon did here shine as though on a sweet English field at home, and, -reaching this, I perceived by stopping and looking carefully that my -man had passed this way. The long grass was all trodden down--nay, so -much so, that the two must have also come this way when they set out -as comrades--and, since the imprints of the footsteps were most -uneven and without regularity, I felt sure my drunken pirate had -struggled and staggered along this track.</p> - -<p class="normal">So across the little glade I went, following ever the irregular -crushings down of the grass, until I came to where it was bordered by -more thick underbrush and shrub, and then, even had I doubted I was on -the steps of Alderly, I could do so no longer. For now through that -thick brushwood and tangled growth of briar, and lacery of trailing -things, there was crushed aside a most distinct opening through which -a man, or men, must have passed, while, had I desired further proofs -of where the man had gone whom I sought, it was before me. Lying on -the brushwood, catched off and torn by a thorn, was the broken end of -Alderly's red feather, the piece that had hung down over his savage -face as he forced the diver to slay himself, and that gave, even in -that awful moment, an appearance to him of almost comicality. A -comicality, though, to cause a shudder!</p> - -<p class="normal">Now did I, therefore, loosen my blade in its sheath and set my pistols -in my belt carefully, for, since by this time I had gone a mile at -least, 'twas not very like I should go much farther before coming on -to the desperado, unless he should have turned off at an angle--a -thing I could not judge he should have any reason to do. And so I went -on very carefully, keeping ever a watch about and around me, so that I -should fall into no trap.</p> - -<p class="normal">Soon, however, I did perceive that the path turned, as I guessed it -might perhaps do, and I thought the time was not yet come for me to -get up with my chase, when, to my astonishment--in spite of my former -ideas that there might be other buccaneers upon this isle--there came -to me the sounds of singing and revelling, of shouting and whooping -and drinking of healths, and clapping of canikins or glasses on a -table.</p> - -<p class="normal">"The health," I heard a voice shout, "of Winstanley, the diver of -Liverpool, the man who strove to contend with Alderly. His health in -the place where he is gone, and another to his taker off!" And then -there followed the banging and smashing of drinking vessels on the -table again, and huzzas and shriekings.</p> - -<p class="normal">Next uprose a voice a-trolling of a song.</p> - -<p class="normal"> -"When money's plenty, boys, we drink -To drown our troubles, oh-oh! -Carouse, revel, and never think, -Upon the morrow, oh-oh!"</p> - -<p class="normal"> -"When money's plenty," I heard Alderly repeat. "When money's plenty! -Why, and so it is, my blithe lads. Look here in this box, my hearties. -Here's enough and to spare for all. Diamonds, sapphires, pearls, gold -and silver. Ha! ha! Drink, my lads. Give me the bowl. Peter Hynde, my -lad, drink up, and you, Robert Birtson, and Will Magnus, you, and you, -Petty, and Crow, and Moody, and fat John Coleman. Drink, you dogs, I -say, drink."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have landed on a nest of them!" thinks I to myself. "A dozen at -least, I believe. Well, I will lie hid awhile, and if they o'ermaster -me, why--"</p> - -<p class="normal"> -"When money's plenty, boys, we drink! -And bring the girls along, oh! -Of blood we've shed we never think, -Midst dance and jocund song, oh!"</p> - -<p class="normal"> -burst out the ruffian again. Then he yelled out, "A toast! a toast! -The health of Phips and that accursed Crafer, whose blood I've drunk," -at which I started. "So," thinks I, "he deems me dead. 'Tis perhaps -best. Yet shall he learn," I muttered twixt my set lips, "that in -spite of him and his horde I am alive--he shall--"</p> - -<p class="normal">"And Bess, my Coromandel girl, bring in the meats!" the villain -now shouted. "Ha! ha! here she comes with the steaming turtle! Fall -to, my boys, fall to; and here comes our Queen of Port Royal, our -golden-haired Barbara who loves us well. My lads! a health to the girl -of Port Royal!"</p> - -<p class="normal">And again there came the banging on the table of fists, then cans, and -the voice of Alderly whooping and shouting.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I must see this crew," I whispered to myself, "e'en though I die for -it. I must see these ruffians in their den with their loathsome -womankind. I have four shots in my belt, and a good sword. All must be -drunk and <i>I</i> am sober! I will do some execution amongst them."</p> - -<p class="normal">So through the brushwood I went a pace or so, parting the leaves as -gently as might be--though that I should be heard there was no fear -amidst the infernal clamour and din and shouting of Alderly.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, next, I saw before me a hut, or big cabin, built of logs, with a -wide, open door and thatched with palm leaves; from out the door there -gleamed the light of a lamp, and as I parted some boughs and bushes to -get me a view, I could see very well into the hut.</p> - -<p class="normal">And this is what I witnessed.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXII.</h4> -<h5>MAD!</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Inside the hut ran a long table on trestles; upon that table were -platters and drinking vessels; on it also were some dried fruits, some -pieces of dirty, coarse bread, and also some scraps of jerked beef, -or, as 'tis called here in the Caribbee-Indian, Boucan; and that, with -the exception of some drink in a tub, was all!</p> - -<p class="normal">There was no steaming turtle or other savoury viands, neither were -there any women, golden-haired or others, nor a nest of pirates. -Besides Alderly himself, there was in the hut no living soul that I -could see. He was alone!</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, in front of the table, there lay something on which my eyes could -not but fasten, the long box, in which I did believe the stolen -treasure was. And also by its side were three bags, or sacks, bulging -out full of coin--I could see the impress made upon the canvas by the -pieces within--and these I did guess had never come out of the wreck -we had been fishing on. They were, I thought--and found afterwards -that my thoughts were right--spoils from some others than us. The -plunder of another foray!</p> - -<p class="normal">But at the time I could do nought but watch the great villain, the -creature whom I could not deem aught but mad, or, at least, mad from -the drink.</p> - -<p class="normal">His eyes glistening and rolling like a maniac's, he sat in the middle -of the table, gibbering and grimacing to either side of him, as if the -companions he had named were there; now shouting out a toast, then -banging on the table with both his fists, then seizing a can or mug in -each of them; next calling out in a deep voice "huzza, huzza," and -then altering it to the shrill one of a woman doing the same thing.</p> - -<p class="normal">Next, he would seize the scooper of the liquor tub, and, with clumsy -bows to the empty chairs or stools, for such indeed they were, would -fill the glasses standing on the table in front of those chairs, -though they being already full he did but pour liquor upon liquor -until the whole table streamed with it. Then, for variety, he would -tear with his fingers a piece of Boucan off, and with solemn gravity -lay it on some tin plates near him, saying to the vacant space behind -the plate:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Barbara, my sweet, 'tis the choicest piece of the haunch; I beseech -of you to taste a little more"; or, "Coleman, my fat buck, take a bit -more of your own kind," and so forth. Or he would crumble off a bit of -his dirty, frowsy bread, and, with his filthy hands putting of it in -his mouth, would say, "The turtles' eggs are at their best now. 'Tis -the season. Ha! They are succulent!" Then he would drink a deep -draught of the spirits by him, call a toast, and begin his bawlings -and clappings again.</p> - -<p class="normal">To see the ruffian sitting there in the half-dim light--for his lamp -was none of the best--grimacing and gibbering to vacancy, and -addressing people who existed not, was to me a truly awful, nay, a -blood-creeping sight! For now I knew what I had before me. I knew that -this pirate, this man, whose hands still reeked with the blood of his -comrade--one of those whom he had but recently called on them to drink -a toast to--was mad with long-continued drinking and p'raps scarce any -food since they left the reef; that, indeed, he had the horrors, -called by the learned, the "Delirium."</p> - -<p class="normal">Still, all was not yet at its worst, as I found out and you shall see.</p> - -<p class="normal">Meanwhile, amidst his bellowings and howlings, which I need not again -write down, since they varied not, I pondered on what I must do. I had -the fellow caged now; if he attempted to come out of the hut I was -resolved to shoot him down or run him through as I would a mad dog; -indeed, any way, I was determined now to be his executioner. He was a -pirate, a thief who had caused us of the <i>Furie</i> much trouble and loss -of good life--and here I thought of Israel Cromby and my other poor -men, all dead!--also he was a secret murderer. He must die by my -hand--but it must not be now when he was mad. I was ordained to be his -executioner, I felt, but I would not be a secret murderer myself also. -No! not unless I was forced to it.</p> - -<p class="normal">But, still, I decided now to advance in upon him--the position I was -in was cramped and painful; the hut would be better than this, with -now many night dews arising from the soil and enveloping of me, -and--if the worst came to the worst--I would knock him on the head and -secure him. Also, I remembered, I had the treasure to secure. So I -moved into the path, rounded it, and, pistol in hand, advanced towards -the door of the hut, and, standing in it, regarded him fixedly.</p> - -<p class="normal"> -At first he saw me not. The light was growing dimmer, so that to me he -looked more like the dull, cloudy spectre of a man than a man itself -as he sat there--perhaps, too, I, with nought behind me but the dark -night, may have looked the same to him. Then, as he still sat talking -to an imaginary figure behind him, his conversation running on the -drinking and carousing he and his supposed comrade had once evidently -had on the coast of Guinea, I said, clearly though low--</p> - -<p class="normal">"Alderly, you seem gay to-night, and entertain good company."</p> - -<p class="normal">In truth, there was no intention in my heart to banter the man or jest -with such a brute, only I had to let him know of my presence there, -and one way seemed to me as good as another.</p> - -<p class="normal">Instead of starting up, as I had thought he might do, and, perhaps, -discharging a pistol at me, he turned his head towards the door, put -that head between his two hands, and peered between them towards where -I stood.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Who is't?" he asked. "I cannot see you. Is it Martin come back from -the isles with the sloop?"</p> - -<p class="normal">This gave me an idea that there were some comrades expected--perhaps -from some other villainies! but I had just now no time for pondering -on such things, so I replied:</p> - -<p class="normal">"No, 'tis not Martin. But, 'Captain' Alderly, you should know me; you -drank a health to me not long ago. I am Lieutenant Crafer of the -<i>Furie</i>."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I do not know you," he replied; "I never heard of you. Yet you must -be dry in the throat. Come in and drink."</p> - -<p class="normal">In other circumstances I might have thought this to be a ruse--now I -could not deem it such. Beyond all doubt he was mad--my only wonder -was that such a desperado should not be more ferocious. Perhaps, -however, this might be to come.</p> - -<p class="normal">I sat me down opposite to him and regarded him fixedly in that gloomy -light, and it seemed as though I brought by my presence some glimmer -of reason to the wandering brain.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Crafer!" he exclaimed. "Ah yes, Crafer! Drink, Crafer, drink. So thou -hast join'd us. 'Tis well, and better than serving Phips. We have more -wealth here than ever Phips dreamed of--if we could but get it away. -Away! Yes! away! What might we not do if we could but get it to -England! We might all be gallant, topping gentlemen with coaches and -horses, and a good house, and see ridottos and--but stay, Crafer, you -must know my friends." And here the creature stood upon his feet--I -standing, too, not knowing but what he was going to spring at me, -though he had no such intention--and began naming his phantom friends -to me and presenting them, so to speak.</p> - -<p class="normal">"This," says he, "is Peter Hynde, a gay boy and a good sailor. Also he -is our musicianer of nights--he singeth too a sweet song. Stand up, -Hynde, and make your service. And this is Will Magnus, with a good -heart, but ever lacking money till he joined us. A brave lad! 'Tis he -who has cut many a throat! Barbara, my dear, throw thy golden mane -back and kiss the brave gentleman--she was but a child, sir, when we -found her, yet now, now, she--Ha! again that wound! How the thrust of -the steel bites!"</p> - -<p class="normal">He sank back into his chair, and tore at his damask waistcoat and then -at his ruffled shirt--yellow with dirt and spilt drink, and dabbled -with thick bloodstains--and so, opening of his bosom, there I did see -a great gash just over the heart, in his left pap.</p> - -<p class="normal">And I wondered not now that he was mad with the drink and the fever of -his wound; the wonder was more that he was not quite dead.</p> - -<p class="normal">He sat a-gazing at this, with his eyes turned down upon it, and -muttered,</p> - -<p class="normal">"One gave it me as from that accursed galliot, as they boarded. It -seemed I had gotten my death. Ah! how it burns, how it throbs! -Barbara! Black Bess! hast thou no styptic for stopping of this flux, -no balm for this pain? Ha! No? Then give me drink, drink; 'tis the -best consoler of all, the best slayer of pain." And here he seized his -ladle, filled a glass from the tub, and drained it at a gulp. Then he -wandered on again: "Barbara, get you up to the chirugeon at Kingston; -tell him I am sore wounded."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Jamaica is far away from here," I said to him. "Barbara will scarce -bring you aught from the pharmacie there to-night." Then, bending -forward to him across the table, I said, "Alderly, you are wounded to -the death; that stab and your drinkings have brought you to the end, -or nearly so. Tell me truly, did this," and I kicked the box at my -feet, "and these bags of coin come from the plate-ship? Tell me!"</p> - -<p class="normal">He peered at me through the deepening gloom made by the expiring lamp, -as though his senses were returning and he knew me, and muttered:</p> - -<p class="normal">"More--more--than the plate-ship--this is a treasure house--" and -then, suddenly, he stopped and, pointing a shaking finger over my -head, stared as one who saw a sight to blast him, and whispered in a -voice of horror:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Look! look! behind you. God! I stabbed him thrice. Yet now he is come -back. See him, look to him at the open door. 'Tis Winstanley, the -diver of Liverpool. Ah! take those eyes away from me--away--away! -'Twas your hand did it, not mine," and with a shriek the wretch buried -his head in his own hands.</p> - -<p class="normal">That the murdered diver was not there I did know very well, yet the -ravings of the man, the melancholy of the hut in the wood, the dimness -of the lamp, all made my very flesh to creep, and instinctively I did -cast my eye over my shoulder, seeing, as was certain, nought but the -moon's flood pouring in at the door. Yet I shivered as with a palsy, -for though no ghost was there all around me was ghostly, horrible!</p> - -<p class="normal">With a yell Alderly sprang to his feet a moment after he had sunk his -head in his hands; his looks were worse now than before, his madness -stronger upon him; great flecks of foam upon his lips, and from his -wound the blood trickling anew.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Away! away!" he shouted. Then moaned. "Those eyes! those eyes! They -scorch my very soul. Away!" And he cowered and shrank, but a minute -later seemed to have recovered his old ferocity. "Begone!" he now -commanded the spectre of his distorted vision. "Begone!" and with that -he rushed forward, forgetting in his madness the table was betwixt him -and his fears, and knocking it over in the rush.</p> - -<p class="normal">And with it the lamp went too. Only fortunately it was at its end, -there was no longer any oil in it--otherwise the hut would have been -burnt to the ground.</p> - -<p class="normal">But all was now darkness save for the moonlight on the floor within -and on the brushwood without, and, as Alderly recovered himself from -his entanglement with the fallen table and trestles, I could see it -shining upon his glaring, savage eyes. And he took me--I having been -knocked to the door by the crash--for the ghost of the diver, the -spirit he feared so much.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Peace, you fool!" I exclaimed, "there is no spirit here, nought worse -than yourself. And stand back, or, by the God above, I will blow your -frenzied brains out," and as I spoke, I drew a pistol, cocked it and -covered him.</p> - -<p class="normal">With a howl he came at me, missing my fire in his onward rush, dashing -the pistol from my hand with a madman's force, and, seizing me round -the waist, endeavoured to throw me to the earth. Yet, though I had no -frenzy, I too was strong, and I wrestled with him, so that about the -hut we went, knocking over first the tub of liquor with which the -place became drenched, and falling at last together on the ground. And -all this time, Alderly was cursing and howling, sometimes even biting -at me, and tearing my flesh with his teeth, especially about the -hands, and gripping my throat with his own strong hands--made doubly -strong because of his frenzy. I smelt his hot, stinking, spirit-sodden -breath all over me; I could even smell the filth of his body as he -hissed out:</p> - -<p class="normal">"I ever hated you, Winstanley; I hated you when I made your own hands -slay you. I hated you in life, I hate you now in death. And as I slew -you in life, again will I slay you in death."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then at this moment he gave a yell of triumph. His hand had -encountered the hilt of my sword, and drawing it forth from its broken -sheath, he shortened it to plunge it into my breast.</p> - -<p class="normal">But as he did so I got one of my hands released. I felt for my other -pistol, I cocked it with my thumb, when, ere I could fire, the cutlash -dropped from Alderly's hand and he sprang to his feet, his hands upon -his wound.</p> - -<p class="normal">"See," he whispered now, "there be two Winstanleys: one here--one -coming through the wood. Are there any more--?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Staggering, he stood glaring forth into the wood through the open -door, seeing another spectre, as he thought, there; then slowly he -sank to the ground, letting his hands fall away from the gash in his -breast, from which the tide now ran swiftly.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh, agony! agony!" he moaned. "Can one live and feel such pain as -this. Nay! this is death. Barbara, draw near me. Listen. This -hut is full of spoil--beneath--none know but I--all mine--now -all yours. The other is buried--elsewhere--Oh! God--the agony! -Barbara--rich--rich--for life--lady--fortune--give me -drink--drink--" Then once more singing in a broken voice,</p> - -<p class="normal"> -"When money's--plenty--boys--we drink -To drown--"</p> - -<p class="normal"> -he fell back moaning again.</p> - -<p class="normal">And so he died.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXIII.</h4> -<h5>THE TREASURE HOUSE.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">So now I was the last of all left who had come away from the <i>Furie</i>. -Neither of my crew nor of this dead ruffian's was there any one to -tell the tale but I. A strange ending indeed to such a flight and such -a chase.</p> - -<p class="normal">The dead pirate lay upon his back, the blood from his wound trickling -down to mix with the spirit from the overturned cask. The box of -treasure lay at my feet, and, if his dying words were true and not -spoken in his madness, beneath my feet was a vast treasure.</p> - -<p class="normal">But ere I thought of that, there were many other things to do. -Firstly, and before all, there was rest to be obtained. I had scarcely -had any for three days--namely, none in the galliot since we were -awaked in our little isle near the reef by the firing of the <i>Furie's</i> -guns; and but an hour or so only before the murder of Winstanley, the -diver. That was all, and now I could scarcely move for fatigue. I must -sleep e'en though I died for it. Only where should I obtain it? -Accustomed as I was to rough surroundings, to fightings and slaughter -after many years of a sailor's life, this hut with its loathsome dead -inhabitant and owner was too horrible and disgusting for me to find -rest in it. I could not sleep there! Yet again, neither would I go far -away. "The hut," the dying villain had said, "was a treasure house"; -he had told the imaginary Barbara--who was she, I wondered, who seemed -to have been the centre of such tragedies?--that she was the heiress -to great wealth contained within it, or beneath it; I must guard that -hut with my life. Especially, I reflected, must I do so since he had -thought me to be "Martin come back from the isles with the sloop." If, -therefore, this was not also part of his ravings, he was expecting -some such person, doubtless a brother pirate--at any moment I might -have to defend the place against another ship's crew of scoundrels.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet I must sleep. I could do nought until I had rested, but I knew -that when such a rest had been obtained, I should feel strong enough -to, or at least endeavour to, hold my own. I must sleep!</p> - -<p class="normal">At last I made up my mind what I would do. The door of the hut, I had -learned by my mode of progression, faced to the west, therefore I -would close the door, lay myself along outside it, so that the morning -sun, now near at hand as I guessed, should not disturb me, and thereby -get rest as well as being a guard over the "treasure house." So, -loading and priming my pistols carefully--as well as two of Alderly's -which I took off his body, and which, in his madness, he had without -doubt forgotten he possessed--and placing my cutlash by my side, I -once more lay down to sleep.</p> - -<p class="normal">Undisturbed, I must have enjoyed some hours' repose, for when I awoke -the daylight was all around me; the wood outside was bathed in the -rich sunshine, though I was sheltered from the rays by the hut; the -tiny hum-birds were darting in and out of the many flowers about, -thrusting their long bills in them to lick up the honey and the -insects; 'twas a sweet spot. Yet, when I arose to enter the hut, all -the beauty of the morning and of Nature did seem to me blackened and -fouled by that abode.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now," I said to myself, "what shall I do?" And instantly I -resolved that I would, to begin, make an end of Alderly's carcass. So, -having perceived a mattock and spade a-lying in the corner of the -place--"perhaps," thinks I, "'twas with them he did bury his -treasures"--I stooped down to drag him forth into the copse where I -could dig a grave for him. Then, as I bent over him, I saw sparkling -in his breast the diamond cross attached to the chain which he wore in -many folds round his neck.</p> - -<p class="normal">I took it off him, and rubbing it and the gold chain clean from his -blood, did go to the door to look at it--flashing it about to observe -the sparkles of the great gems, holding it out into a dark place the -better for to see it by contrast, and so on, as I had seen those do -who call themselves judges of such things--which I, a poor sailor -officer, could not be. And then I observed there was engraved on the -back of the gold-setting some words, which I deciphered to be:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Mary Roase, Baroness of Whitefields, from her husband, Bevill. Anno -Dom. 1598."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well," thinks I, "this at least can scarce be from our Spanish wreck. -Mary Rose is English enough, we have had ships so named. I dare say -the villain pillaged that from some descendant of the lady. If ever I -got home I will see if there is any Lord or Lady of Whitefields now."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then I went forth to dig the grave, which I did three feet deep, not -far off the hut, and lugging out the body--after I had still more -carefully searched the clothes, and finding a few gold pieces -consisting of some Elephant guineas, two or three French and Spanish -pieces, and also some ducatoons, all in a bag--soon buried him. This -done I went back to the hut, though by now I was hunger-stung and -could very well have ate some food. Though this was not to be yet, -since I must go to the galliot to find any, his being filthy. But of -drink there was a plenty--a sweet rill of cool water running hard by. -There was, indeed, another tub unbroached in the corner of the place, -but I cared not to drink of the ruffian's provision; why, I know not, -since I did not disdain to take his jewels and money. Yet so it was, -and I left it alone, drinking only of the water and laving myself in -it. "And now for the long box," I said; "let us see what they have -robbed us of." For that the box contained what they had gotten up from -our wreck I did never doubt. Yet, as you shall see, I was mistaken. I -do not now believe, nor did I shortly then, that what that box -contained had ever been any portion of our stolen treasure.</p> - -<p class="normal">I burst it open very easy with the mattock and there I found a rich -harvest; so that, indeed, the hut was a treasure house when only it -had that box within. Now, this is what I did find, and the list which -I here give you (with the valuations against the items by him) is a -just and fair copy of that which I did show to Mr. Wargrave, the -jeweller and goldsmith of Cornhill (now retired very rich), when I had -gotten home again:--</p> - -<p class="normal"> -<i>List with Mr. Wargrave, his valuation</i>. <i>Gs</i>.</p> - -<p class="normal">Two small bags of pearls, weighing with other -pearls therein under fifteen grains, as I -judged from others shown me by Mr. W. 1,250</p> - -<p class="normal">One great pearl wrapped in a piece of damask -brocade, six-eighths of an inch in its -diameter, as I did measure. 2,000</p> - -<p class="normal">Another, the size of a pigeon's egg, full of -most lustrous sheen, wrapped in a piece -of deerskin 3,000</p> - -<p class="normal">A little bag of sapphires, nine in all. 315</p> - -<p class="normal">Some Turkish pieces of gold about the size and -weight of our shillings, twenty-one in all. -These I put in my pocket and did sell -afterwards in Portsmouth for 14</p> - -<p class="normal">Some silver pieces, too cumbersome to carry -and left with other things, perhaps 5</p> - -<p class="normal">A little bar of gold 80</p> - -<p class="normal">Two pistols beautifully inlaid and chased with -silver, having engraved thereon the name -"Marquis de Pontvismes," and date 1589 30</p> - -<p class="normal">A portrait of a girl done as a medallion, with -blue eyes, red gold hair, and a sweet -mouth; perhaps this was Barbara! No -value for selling.</p> - -<p class="normal">A child's coral; also a child's shoes; also a -lock of long hair, wheat coloured, wrapped -in silk. No value for selling.</p> - -<p class="normal">And a dagger set with little diamonds and -rubies, the blade rusted very much 50 -_____ -6,744 -_____ -</p> - -<p class="normal">I pondered much over these things, for, as I have writ, I am -very sure -they never came out of the sunken galleon. There was no sign of wet -having got near unto the box or its contents, which must have been the -case had it been fished up from that wreck, and therefore I thought to -myself, this has perhaps been stolen on some cruise they were upon -between the time they left their boat at our little isle and then came -back to the reef, thinking not to find us, or any, there. Yet this -would not do, neither, for their Snow was no fighting ship--not, I -mean, a ship fit to attack another carrying treasure, which would be -extremely well armed--and she had <i>not</i> fought till we got at her in -the river. That I knew from the wounds and damage, when I boarded and -searched her, being quite fresh and made by us.</p> - -<p class="normal">Nor, again, could I deem this box to have been the proceeds of a -recent thieving expedition or attack on some sea-coast town or place, -for there were not enough men in the <i>Etoyle</i> to have adventured such -a thing. They might have attacked a lonely house, or, as the Spaniards -call it, a <i>villa</i>, in one of the many islands of this Caribbean sea, -or on the main land of Terra Firma, yet this I also doubted, for the -contents of the box pointed a different way. The girl in the medallion -looked English by her hair, eyes, and colour; the pistols were a -Frenchman's. Moreover, the box, the lid of which was all covered with -beads pasted on to its lid and worked in many forms of flowers, was -likewise English (my mother had just such an one), and to prove for -certain 'twas so, inside the lid was the name of the workman who made -it, "Bird, Falmouth." So at last my conclusion was this, viz., that -Alderly valued the box for some reason of his own, perhaps desired -always to have some goods with him that at any crisis he could -transform into money, and therefore carried it about with him wherever -he went. I never learned that this was so, no more than that it was -not so, and now I quitted thinking how it came to be with him. Perhaps -I judged right, perhaps wrong. But of one thing I am very sure, he had -none of our treasure with him. The casket which did doubtless contain -that treasure, which must have been of precious stones alone judging -by its size, was of a certainty dropped overboard either before we -beat them, or at the last moment of defeat. At least, I never did see -any of the treasure, though in going to find it I found a greater. But -this you will read ere I conclude, as I hope soon to do. I am coming -anigh the end.</p> - -<p class="normal">Thinking that "Martin with the sloop," or some other wretches, might -be returning, I next proceeded to bury for a time the box, which I did -by taking it out into the copse and dropping it into a great hollow -cotton-wood tree growing near, which I marked well in my mind's eye. -Then, next, I set off down to the galliot, for now I wanted food so -badly that I could no longer go without it. I had but little fear of -any getting up to the hut unbeknown to me, since, with a seaman's -ideas to help me, I concluded that the canal, or channel, or river, -as, indeed, it was, offered the only safe inlet to Coffin Island. So -if they came they must come the way I was a-going, when I could know -it and either avoid or encounter them as seemed best.</p> - -<p class="normal">However, I met none on my way down, and found both the <i>Etoyle</i> and my -ship just as I had left them, and the boat tied to the tree, also as I -had left it. Then I went aboard the galliot, and finding some food and -drink, set to work to stay my cravings. There was none too much, I -found, to last long, though as the men had cooked the fish and birds -they were still fresh enough. Also there was flour, and bread already -made, and some peas, while, for the water, it was nearly all there. -The fruit was quite rotten and not to be eaten, but this mattered not -at all, since, on Coffin Island, I had perceived several kinds growing -with profusion, amongst others many prickly pears.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now, as I made my meal, I marked out in my mind what I should do -to draw matters to a conclusion. And this I decided on.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It is a treasure house," Alderly had said of his hut, therefore, -firstly, I had got to explore that house, hoping to find therein as -much if not more than we had been robbed of. Then when Phips and I met -again, as I hoped we might, he should decide about that treasure, and -what was to be done with it. But first to find it. Yet, even as I -thought this there came to me another reflection--viz., that I could -not carry it away with me. The galliot would take me to a neighbouring -island inhabited by my own people, but an officer alone in such a -vessel, with no hands to work it but himself, must necessarily lead to -much talk and the asking of many questions--how many more would be -asked if that officer were accompanied by boxes and chests of great -weight? Therefore, that would never do! I must get away alone, leaving -the treasure--if I found any more than I had already gotten--somewhere -secure, and then I must come back again for it, properly fitted out. -Or, if I could reach Phips ere he quitted the reef, we could come back -together in the <i>Furie</i>, take off the goods and so home with no need -for further voyagings out and in.</p> - -<p class="normal">And, on still reflecting, this was what I had a mind to do. The reef -was not a long way off; a day and night would take me there, with a -favourable wind. Only I must provision the galliot somehow; I must not -go to sea thus; but then I remembered, this was easily to be done -if I swallowed my squeamishness. The <i>Etoyle</i> was full of food and -drink--the former coarse but life-sustaining--if I took that as I took -its owner's hordes, then I could get away.</p> - -<p class="normal">Only, first I had to find the treasure, then dispose of it safely. -After that I might go at once. Indeed, if fortune still kept with me, -as she had ever done of late, I might be away from this island within -another thirty hours.</p> - -<p class="normal">And so thinking, I finished my repast and set about what I had to do.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXIV.</h4> -<h5>WHAT WAS IN THE TREASURE HOUSE.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Now, the first thing was for me to get into the <i>Etoyle</i>, and bring a -fair provision of food and drink, and then, I thought, I would sink -her, or, at least, would get her ready for sinking, so that she, at -any rate, should never go on any more evil cruises. This was, however, -to be done later.</p> - -<p class="normal">I went aboard her, therefore, directly I had made my meal, and brought -off from her some Boucan, about ten pounds; some dried neats', or -deer, tongues, a good amount of powdered chocolate, and some boxes of -sweetmeats--the villains seeming to have a dainty taste!--and also I -brought away some bottles of Calcavella, a Portygee sweet wine, and a -small barrel of rum. And also did I take away some cakes of bread, now -very hard and stale, but which, by damping with fresh water and then -placing in the sun, became once more eatable. Likewise I provided -myself with some of their powder and bullets, not knowing what use I -might yet have for such things on the island, or when I was away to -sea again.</p> - -<p class="normal">This <i>Etoyle</i> was indeed a strangely laden bark, full of the most -varied things the minds of men could well conceive, and had it been -possible--which 'twas not, being without assistance--I would have had -her taken to one of the West Indy Isles, and her contents there sold. -She had in her, to wit, elephants' teeth and tusks, and some gold -dust--though not much of any, neither--which spoke to me clearly of -some robbings on the Guinea Coast, also some fine English cloths, silk -druggets and hollands, many packs of whole suits of clothes for -wearing; some mantuas, a box of lace, another of ribands (again I -thought of the mysterious Barbara!), pieces of fine silk duroys and -some Norwich stuffs, as well as vast masses of tobacco. Indeed, I -thought, this Snow might have visited half the world for her -cargo--had I not very well known, or guessed, that 'twas all stolen -out of various other ships.</p> - -<p class="normal">It took me some time shifting all that was necessary for my -forthcoming voyage--leaving, you may be sure, much behind in the -<i>Etoyle</i>--and then ladening myself with some provisions for the hut, I -prepared to depart back to it.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet now more counsel came to me. Supposing, thinks I, that while I am -away at the hut, Martin with his sloop, or some similar villains, -should come into the river! Why! they would at once see all! The -<i>Etoyle</i> they would perceive a battered craft--and doubtless they knew -her very well--and they would see the strange galliot. This would not -do, therefore I must devise some means if I could, not only to remove -all marks of our fray, but, if it might be so, to prevent anyone -entering the river at all. Then, at last, I decided what I would do.</p> - -<p class="normal">First of all I took the galliot down out of the river to the sea, and, -with a light sail up, I got her to a little cove a third of a league -away from the mouth, in which I moored her; and this cove had such -projecting spurs that none passing outside would be very like to see -her. Indeed, one would have to pass close by the opening of it to do -so at all. Then, getting to the boat again, I rowed me back to the -river. Next I brought down the Snow to the mouth, moored her fast -across it, it being not more than forty to fifty yards at the opening -and about fifteen fathoms deep, as I did plumb, and going below I -bored a many holes in her sides and bottom so that she began to fill -at once, and in half an hour I, who was a-watching from my boat, saw -her settling down so that, at last, there was no more of her above -water, her masts, as I have writ, being shot away.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now," says I, "if Martin and his sloop come in and draw much water, -'tis almost a certainty that they shall go foul of some part of the -fabric, which may do me a very good turn--if not, then must I take my -chance against them," with which I again prepared for the hut.</p> - -<p class="normal">That day I did very little work, though so great was my desire to dig -into and find the contents of the "treasure house" that I could -scarce take my necessary rest. Yet I mastered myself so much that I -forced myself to sleep, determining to work at night when it was cool. -So I lay me down on the east side of the place this time, the sun -having by now gotten to the west, and slept well, awaking not until -night was at hand.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, amidst all my precautions, 'twas strange to think I had forgotten -one thing. I had made no provision for any light at night. The lamp -knocked over by the dying pirate was still there where it had fallen, -'tis true, but the oil was all spilled and I could find no other, -search as I might. Yet I felt convinced there must be oil somewhere, -if I could but discover it. 'Twas not to be conceived that Alderly and -the diver had this lamp with them when they plunged into the river to -escape from the <i>Etoyle</i>; therefore, if I sought, surely I should -find.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet how to seek! The tropic darkness came on with swiftness, in a few -minutes the hut was as black as a pocket; and the moon would not rise -for some hours yet! Well! there was no hope for it, I reflected; this -night at least must be wasted, and so I made up my mind to pass it as -best I might. Though my reflections and memories of the previous -night's scene, of Alderly's drunken howls, singings, and toasts, of -the spectre his maddened brain had conjured up, and of his horrid -death, helped me not at all. I saw him over and over again sitting at -the table, filling the cans with liquor for his imaginary guests, -talking to Barbara, shivering at the supposed ghost of Winstanley, -fighting with me--dying. And at last I got the creeps, I started at -any twig that snapped outside or the cry of a night bird, and, -springing up, I went forth and plunged into the thickness, where I -walked about till daybreak. And in that walk I explored the whole of -Coffin Island very nigh, and saw under the moon, when she had risen, -that beyond the river there was no other entrance to it. Nearly all -around elsewhere were craggy cliffs to make landing almost impossible, -saving only one strip of beach.</p> - -<p class="normal">Away on Tortola and Negada I saw once or twice lights burning, and -wondered what the inhabitants of those isles thought of their precious -neighbours in this one--I wondered, too, if they knew or dreamed of -what Coffin Island contained! And thus the night passed away, the -dayspring came, and I went back to the "treasure house."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Was it to prove such to me?" I asked myself as I made a meal off some -of the provisions I had brought along with me. "Was it to prove such?"</p> - -<p class="normal">The question was soon answered, as you, my unknown heir, shall now -see.</p> - -<p class="normal">The floor of the hut was a mass of filth that had not been disturbed -for some time, and to this had been added now the spilled liquor from -the tub that Alderly had flung over in his mad convulsions, as well as -some of his blood where he had fallen last. This, therefore, with the -previous dirt, I set to clear away with the spade, after I had removed -the overturned table, the stool, and other things. And the task was -not long. Ere I had been cleaning the floor ten minutes, I came upon -an iron ring--set into a trap-door, immediately under where Alderly's -chair had been placed. It was not--I mean the trap-door--very far -below the surface, not indeed more than three inches, and, even as I -tugged and tugged at it, I could not but ponder over the little pains -taken to conceal such a hiding place. And I did wonder if, when the -villain was away on some of his cruises, he had not many a fear as to -whether his store was not being rifled.</p> - -<p class="normal">However, this was no time for such wonderments and speculations, -actions were now all, and so again I heaved at the door. It would not -lift, however, for all my pullings, so I cleared away still more -earth, doing so especially round where it fitted into a frame, and at -last prised it right up with the mattock. And you may be sure with -what eagerness I gazed into the opening.</p> - -<p class="normal">First of all I saw that as yet I had not reached the treasure, for -although the trap was no larger than to admit a man's body, there were -still below it some rude steps down into the earth, which opened up at -the bottom of them into what seemed to be a passage. And when I got -down to the bottom of those steps, I saw very well that there was a -passage, or, indeed, a room cut into the earth; a place about six feet -long and five feet deep, being more like a little cabin than aught -else.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now I knew that I had got to what I sought; the treasure was here.</p> - -<p class="normal">There stood on the floor, and piled up one above the other, four -chests, or coffers, the very workmanship of which told me they must be -old. Certainly, they had not been made in these days or anywheres near -them. They seemed to be of oak full of little wormholes, much carved -and designed, and with inscriptions on them in, I think, Latin, of -which I understood not one word. Moreover, they had great solid locks -to them as well as padlocks, but these had long since been burst open, -the reason whereof 'twas not very hard to seek out. I guessed that -those who took them from their rightful owners could not perhaps find -the keys, and so blew them or forced them thus open.</p> - -<p class="normal">I lifted the lid of the nearest and peered in, and there the first -object to meet my eyes was a grinning skull, the bone severed right -across the head as though with a lusty sword cut.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well!" thinks I to myself, as I looked on this poor remnant of -mortality, "well! you are indeed a strange warden of what may be -herein. Yet, p'raps not so strange either if all accounts of piratical -doings be true." For when I was but a lad in Oliver's service, and -a-chasing the rovers not so very far from this spot where I now was, -'twas always said that they would slay a man and bury him over their -hidden treasure, so that he or his ghost should frighten away others -who would meddle with it. And so it might have been here, for, thinks -I, "perhaps as I go on I shall find other parts of a dead man in the -other chests."</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, although 'twas daylight above, 'twas almost dark in this vault or -passage, small as it was, so that I shifted the first coffer nearer to -the bottom of the steps, so as to get a full light upon it from above, -and then I went on with my hunt, putting the death's head away for a -while. Beneath him, as he had lain atop, was what I took to be a -piece of yellow canvas, as so it was, though on looking closer I saw -that either dyed into it, or cunningly interwoven, were some flowers -like our irises, and some words all over it faint with age, of which I -could distinguish but the letters "ance" and "smes." Then, when I -lifted this up, I found that the coffer had little enough else in it -but a handful or so of gold coins lying about amongst some old things, -such as a pair of gloves with great steel beads on the backs and tops -of the fingers, some silk cloths, a great parchment in Latin--which I -laid aside--and such like. The gold coins were, however, such as I did -never see before, having on them a head of an old man with a great -brimmed hat, and stamped on them, Charles X., Roi de France,<a name="div4Ref_07" href="#div4_07"><sup>[7]</sup></a> 1589. -And this set me a-thinking. These coins bore the same date as the -pistols, inscribed "Marquis de Pontvismes," and the indistinct words -on the canvas cloth of "ance" and "smes" were the endings of the words -France and Pontvismes. What had I lighted on here? I turned it over -and over in my head all that day, and many a one after that, but it -was very long ere I arrived at any decision.</p> - -<p class="normal">There were twenty-seven of these coins and nothing more of any worth -within that strong box, so I hoisted it away and began upon a second. -And in this I found I had indeed come upon a horde. It was full of -sacks or bags of coin of all sorts. Sacks with their mouths gaping -open wide, bags tied up, and also many loose coins all about. And -<i>they were of all countries</i> and dates, there being amongst them -Spanish pieces of eight, Portyguese crusadoes, English crowns, and -many more French coins, as well as hundreds of gold pieces of our -kings and queens, away back to Queen Elizabeth. Later that day I -counted of these pieces up, and made them come to over two thousand -pounds.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then next, in the others, I did find as follows, on the list I -enclose; all of which I do reckon, one way with another, bringeth the -gross up to what I have said, namely, fifty thousand guineas. Here is -that list.</p> - -<p class="normal"><i>Note.--Unfortunately it was not here. Reginald turned all the sheets -over and over again, but could not find it. Perhaps by one of those -pieces of carelessness which seemed to have pervaded both Nicholas's -and Mr. Wargrave's system, it had been originally mislaid. But, -however that might be, it was not at this period that the former's -descendant was to learn all the items which went to make up the fifty -thousand guineas.--J. B.-B</i>.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXV.</h4> -<h5>THE MIDDLE KEY.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">So with this my huntings and findings were all over. I had found a -fortune, while the Lord only knew who would ever enjoy the spending of -it, though, for one thing, I felt very sure it would not be I myself. -There was no likelihood of that. I could never get it back to -England, and, if I did, then 'twould at once be said that I had stolen -it--either with or without Phips' connivance, and that he and I were a -brace of thieves.</p> - -<p class="normal">But what use to ponder on such things as these! For aught I knew I -might never get back to England after all; though, somehow, there was -a something in my mind which did ever tell me I should do so. -Meanwhile, the present was enough to occupy my attention. Firstly, the -night was coming on once more and still I had found no oil, so that I -must now cease all labours until the next day. In truth I was ready to -do so, for I was weary again by now, and another thing was also very -certain, to wit, that in this hut I must take my abode. I could not go -a step away with all the treasure there was here.</p> - -<p class="normal">So I placed the oblong box down into the vault along with the -other goods, and then, after I had made an evening meal of some -neat's-tongue and bread cake, washed down with the water from the -rill, in which also I laved my face and hands, I looked to the -primings of all the pistols, got out my cutlash, and, stretching -myself across the top of the trap-door, I addressed myself to sleep. -At first it would not come in that horrid spot; again and again I saw -the form of the dying pirate and heard his yells and singings and -toasts. But at last I slept peacefully until the day broke.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now I had to set about removing all the treasure from the hole -where it had lain for doubtless so long--for I did not believe that -Alderly was the man who had obtained all this wealth, but rather that -some earlier corsair than he had done so and buried it, and that -Alderly in some strange way had lighted on it. It was necessary that I -should find a new hiding-place for it. "Martin with the sloop" -might--if he were indeed an actual being and not the vision of some -long dead and gone comrade, perhaps of another part of the world, as I -now had a mind to believe--come back at any moment, and also he might -know of the buried wealth in spite of the pirate's words having been, -"None know but I." For 'twas useless to give credence to any of the -utterances issuing from the bemused brain of Alderly--there might be -no Martin, or if there were he might know nothing, or, on the -contrary, he might know all. At any rate, my part was to make -everything safe.</p> - -<p class="normal">But how to do it? I must remove it to a hiding-place that would be -always found, that should be marked in a way and manner which time -could not destroy. For who could tell when it might be sought for -again? I had then, or, I should rather say, I was then maturing in my -mind the idea of writing down all this which I have now done--with -great pain and labour to myself!--and that writing might not see the -light again for twenty years, perhaps even longer. Therefore, 'twas -necessary the spot should be such as would never be changing, a spot -which must be the same fifty years hence as it was then. Consequently -a tree, for instance, could not be made a landmark or indicator, for -tempests might blow it to earth, or years rot it away. Then I thought -of a spot on which the sun should fall at a given day, hour, and -minute--which, as I have heard, is the commonest way of all for -persons burying treasure to mark the precise spot--only, supposing ere -the time to come when the hoard should be sought for, something was -builded over the spot, as might very well be if Coffin Island became -settled, as Tortola or Negada and some others are? This risk, -therefore, small as it might be, I would not run.</p> - -<p class="normal">Still, what should I do? I must decide quickly, for if Martin and the -sloop were real things and not shadows they might be here at any -moment, and if once my task were finished I should not mind their -coming very greatly. I could, perhaps, avoid them somehow and get -away, leaving the goods safe. Quickly I must decide. Then, as an aid -to my doing so, I determined me to walk round the isle, thinking that -in such a way a spot might be found suitable for my purpose.</p> - -<p class="normal">So I set forth, going armed, you may be sure.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, this daylight walk of mine about the island showed to me very -many things that I had not seen on my midnight rounds, when the -terrors and the ghastliness of the hut had driven me forth. I learned -among other things that, not very far from the hut itself, was the -little upland from which one could look down upon the whole of the -isle and all the coast around it, and also I could see down into my -cove where I had anchored the galliot, and did observe her lying there -safe as I had left her.</p> - -<p class="normal">Also I found that from this spot I could see for many miles out to -sea, and observe that, at least for the present, there were no signs -of my haunting fear, Martin and his sloop. To the south lay Tortola, -Anguilla, and St. Martin; to the east lay Negada, but away to the west -nought met the eye, Porto Rico being out of vision. And as for those -poor miserables who inhabited the two first above mentioned, if they -were still alive and had not died of melancholy, they gave no signs of -being so; there was no boat upon all the waters, no smoke rising from -hut or cabin; nought gave evidence of the islands being inhabited but -the faint lights I had seen at night. But what concerned me and my -present desires most was that to the north of this, Coffin Island, I -did see some little Keys or sandy spots, covered with their weeds and -bushes, lying out about a hundred yards from my island.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why not there?" thinks I, upon this. "Why not one of those? 'Tis now -the high tide," as I took occasion to observe, "and they are above -water, therefore 'tis not like they will ever be submerged, or, if -even so, they will come forth again. And there are three close -together; it shall be the middle one if on inspection all seems well."</p> - -<p class="normal">So, upon this, I got me down to my boat and rowed round from the side -of Coffin Island, where the river was, to the north where the Keys -were, and went on to the middle one. It was, as I have said, covered -with bushes and weeds, none very tall, and it being now the season -there were a-many turtles on it laying of their eggs, as they will do -in any unfrequented and quiet spot.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes," says I, "this must be the place and none other," and with that -I pulled away at a great bush in the middle of the Key I was standing -on, and on getting it up did see that the soil was nearly all sand. -And again I said, "This must be the place."</p> - -<p class="normal">So I went off once more, resolving to get to work this very day, and, -making a journey to the hut, I brought off the spade and mattock and -the least heavy of the coffers--I mean that one that had the Death in -it, and when I was back on the Key I began my digging at once, and the -sand being extremely light I soon had got down some ten feet, so that -at last I had a task to scramble out of the treasure's future grave. -Then I made more journeys, and, in the end, by sunset had gotten all -the coffers as well as the long box on to the Key. And this night I -decided to sleep there, as I would not leave the goods alone until -they were buried--though I do believe that, had I left them there -exposed on the isle until now when I write, they would very like have -remained untouched; for Martin I concluded now to be entirely a myth, -and as for other pirates, they would never come to such Keys as this -when the whole place swarmed with real islands.</p> - -<p class="normal">At sunrise I was at it again, having ate some turtle eggs for my -meal--a pleasing change for me--and by midday all was done. The four -coffers and the box went in one atop of each other, the uppermost one -being, at its lid, three feet from the surface, and with on top of -each a turtle shell, of which there were several lying about the Key. -These I put in also because the shells are almost imperishable, and, -should the coffers decay, if they have to lie--as they may, who -knows?--twenty or thirty years in the ground before this my history is -found, the great shells will protect the contents somewhat, though no -harm that I know of can come to coins, jewels, and so forth from -a-lying in the earth. Then, when all was filled up, I did most -carefully arrange the place so that, if by any strange chance anyone -should here land, no signs should be given of a disturbance being -made. I replanted the bush over the spot; with some brushwood and -scrub I removed some spare grains of sand that had been thrown up, and -arranged everything as best I might, going so far as to take some -turtles' eggs and place them about, so that they should give the -idea--if anyone did land here--that the turtles themselves had -disturbed the spot in their crawlings and creepings.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now, for your guidance, I will write down how you shall find this -spot, and also will I draw as well as may be a little map.</p> - -<p class="normal">First you are to know that--as the hydrographer of his Majesty's -Admiralty hath since informed me--Negada is situated 18° 46' N., 64° -20' W.; Tortola is 18° 27' N., 64° 40' W.; and Coffin Island is -consequently, since it doth lie a little to the north of Negada, as -near as possible 18° 48' N., 64° 20' W. Wherefore, if you make these -degrees, there you shall perceive that isle, shaped as it is named, -long like a coffin, thin at the foot, broad higher up, then somewhat -narrow again, the foot pointing due west, the head due east. Also the -little upland I have spoken of riseth from the centre, perhaps one -hundred and fifty to one hundred and eighty feet. Then, due north of -that and exactly in a line with the shoulder of the coffin-shape, -there are the Keys, and the middle contains the treasure. Now, read -again. From the north side of the middle key to the spot where I -buried all the coffers and the box is fifty-one good strides of three -feet each, from the south side to the same spot is fifty-three -strides, from the east is forty-nine strides, from the west is fifty -strides and a half. Therefore, you shall not miss it if so be that, -when you have taken your first measurement from the spot where you -land, you stick in the ground your sword and there make, or persevere -until you make, all your other strides correspond with what I have -wrote down. And I have made no mistake, for three times did I go over -the ground and all times did the measurements tally. Do you likewise -and you shall find what I did bury.</p> - -<p class="normal"> -Now here is a little map, rough, as befits a drawing made by me, yet -just and true.</p> -<br> - -<p class="figcenter"><img src="images/map.png" alt="map"></p> - -<br> - -<p class="normal">I shall be dead before you who find this can read it, so -that, -perhaps, it boots not very much that I should write down any more. Yet -some things I desire to tell, and some things I think it right for me -to leave on record.</p> - -<p class="normal">But first let me say what was the end of my sojourn here.</p> - -<p class="normal">When I had buried all of the treasure--excepting those pieces of gold -which I took away with me, not knowing where I might find myself ere I -reached home--if ever--I made for the galliot. For now I had done with -the hut--I never desired to see it again.</p> - -<p class="normal">However, so that no signs of disturbance or diggings should be -apparent, should any come after me, I first of all covered up, on my -last visit to it, the spot from whence I had taken the treasure, and, -moreover, I filled in the hiding place with earth fetched from -outside, and also the descent by the steps. Indeed, I would have -burned the place down to the ground, only that I feared to set the -whole island on fire and so attract attention to my presence from the -other isles. And that there should be no more digging, if I could help -it, without great pains, I dropped the spade and mattock into the sea.</p> - -<p class="normal">I say that I wished to attract no attention from the isles, the reason -whereof was this, which I had arrived at after many ponderings. If I -were known to be there, or if I went to those isles and showed myself, -I must be subject to many questionings, must explain all and my -chasing of the pirate, and--who knows?--in the course of talk more -might leak out than I should care for. And, therefore, I had taken a -determination; I would not go near the other isles, but, boldly and -without fear, directly the wind was favourable--which it was not -now--I would steer for the reef once more. 'Twas, I did calculate, not -more than ninety miles away; the galliot could sail that very easily -in two days, and, for finding the spot, why that also was very easy to -be done. I could well steer a course by keeping Porto Rico on my -larboard beam, and then, when the great hump of Hispaniola's Northern -Promontory did come into view, could find the road to the reef.</p> - -<p class="normal">From there, if Phips was gone, I must to the Bahamas--for I should not -dare to go ashore in Hispaniola now, since the news of the Black's -death, and Geronimo's rage at being defeated of what he thought due, -might lead me to trouble--and I could, perhaps, get to the Inaguas. -These, for there are two of that name, the Great and the Little, are -in the Windward Passages, well known to navigators, very useful for -putting into for refitting and watering, and belonging to our Crown.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet--for so things will sometimes happen--nought went as I had -forecast. And this you shall hear, after which my history is -concluded--for which I devoutly thank the Lord, and shall, on the -Sabbath after it is finished, offer up a special prayer of -thanksgiving in Branford Church that I have been allowed to bring it -to an end--and I shall then have no more to tell.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXVI.</h4> -<h5>NICHOLAS LEAVES THE ISLAND.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Now, when all was prepared for my setting forth and when I had gotten -the galliot ready for her next cruise and had also taken in some fresh -water, a small live turtle, some fruit, and all my bread and peas--now -running very low--chance was against me for a while. Even for three -weeks the wind did blow strong from the northwest, while all the time -I desired a wind from the south-east, and I began to ponder if at this -season of the year it did not perhaps stay in the same quarter -altogether. There was, however, nought to do but to possess my soul in -patience, to keep ever a cheerful heart, and to trust in God, as all -my life I have done. Meanwhile, in some ways the delay was not -altogether to be repined at, for I made, during it, several visits to -the Key in my boat and observed that now there was no sign at all of -the burying I had made. The bush above the spot had taken root again -at once, and was growing and flourishing, some rain storms that had -come had smoothed and made solid the disturbed earth, and the turtles -were laying of their eggs all around as if no human foot had ever -stood upon the Key.</p> - -<p class="normal">One thing alone troubled me, and that was food--or rather bread, for -this was now running very short. If I did not get away soon, I should -have to do without it altogether, or go seek for some in Negada and -Tortola. Yet neither, I was resolved, would I do this, but rather -exist without bread at all. I was a sailor, I ever told myself, and a -sailor should be able to endure all hardships.</p> - -<p class="normal">But on the twenty-second day since I buried my spoils, a change came. -I was sleeping in the cabin of my galliot, when with the dawn I -perceived it. The northwest wind from which I had been sheltered in -my cove had never disturbed the vessel; now from her starboard side, -which was to the south as she lay, there blew in a hot southern wind, -waves and riplets came into the cove from that direction and lapped -against her bows, and she began gently to rise and fall and heel over -a little from them, as though she were a living thing, impatient to be -off.</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis come," I exclaimed, springing up. "The hour has come to bid -farewell to this spot. If this wind hold forty-eight hours I shall be -at the Inaguas if I find not Phips at the reef."</p> - -<p class="normal">The morn was not yet however, but was anigh as I stepped to the deck; -the breeze sweeping up from the long line of islands to the south was -a-freshening; the stars began to pale, the new moon to wane. No time -could have been better for me than this quiet period before the dawn -to steal away.</p> - -<p class="normal">In half an hour I was well outside the cove, the masts stepped, the -sails set--and I at the helm had set forth upon my road home. 'Twas a -strange voyage for one alone to undertake--had there been another, or -even a boy, to relieve me 'twould have been nought; but now 'twas a -voyage without a compass or aught to guide me, nothing indeed to help -me but the mercy of heaven, my knowledge of the sea, and my strong -frame and good health. However, we slipped round Coffin Island a -little later, and I saw for the last time the spot that held the -buried treasure. The little Key was visible beneath the now rising -sun, the sea-birds were wheeling round and about it, and the blue -water rippled on its shores. And so I took farewell of it, knowing -that I should never see it any more. May you, whomsoever you may be -for whom I write this narrative, find it as I left it, unharmed and -untouched. May your eyes gaze upon it and find therein what I left -behind when mine have long been closed in death.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now I had nought to do but steer my bark for that easterly point -of Hispaniola called of late Cape Françoy, and so I should come near -to the reef, and this, since the wind was very good and not -boisterous, 'twas easy enough to do. When I was weary I would lower -down the sails, lash the rudder, and so take some rest--doing this, of -course, by day only, since when the night came I must keep good -watch--and then set sail again when refreshed, finding my course easy -enough by the sun and breeze.</p> - -<p class="normal">And so the first day passed, and I did calculate that--allowing for my -rest--I had left Coffin Island some twenty to fifteen leagues behind -me, and, so that I should not pass the Bajo and thereby run on to -<i>Moushoire Carré</i>, or Turk's Islands, I shortened sail. Yet this I -need not have done neither, for in some way I had not got my -calculations aright. At dawn there was no land in sight as I thought -to see, so that the galliot had not sailed as I guessed, or I had -missed my course. The wind, however, and the sun forbade me to think -this, so I made all sail again and went on.</p> - -<p class="normal">At midday I did discover I was on the right tack; Cape Françoy and -Samana rose on my beam end, therefore I knew that by altering my -course a point to the north I must strike the spot where the reef was. -And this I did, judging by the sun that it was four of the afternoon -when first I saw the little shoal waters over it.</p> - -<p class="normal">I know not even now if I was glad or sorry to perceive--as I did very -soon--that the <i>Furie</i> was no longer there. Yet I think it was the -latter, for I had hoped to hear the cheery shout of Phips, to see my -brother officers come round me, to hear the welcomes of the men, and -to be able to tell my tale. But 'twas not to be. All around the reef -was as lonely as if no plate ship had ever sunk there, no attempts -ever been made to get up its contents, no horrid tragedy happened such -as that when Phips slew the Black and executed of his companion. Birds -flew about all over it, seeking perhaps for scraps of food where not a -month ago they had found a plenty, the little waves foamed over the -sunken reef where the now emptied treasure ship lay--but that was all.</p> - -<p class="normal">No! I forget. 'Twas not all. As I drew near I saw sticking up from the -water--as I had not been able to see before because of the flittings -of the many gulls--that which looked like a jagged piece of mast, or -yard of a ship, with something crosswise atop of it, and my curiosity -being great I got the galliot near to it. I knew I could do this, -since she had gone over the reef often enough when acting as a tender, -and when 'twas done I saw that it was indeed a mast standing up -endwise in the water, the lower part doubtless fixed into some crevice -or hole by the diver ere the <i>Furie</i> left. And the cross-piece nailed -on to the top of the mast was in the form of a big arrow rudely -carved, placed so that it pointed towards where Europe was, and with -on it the words, "To Nicholas Crafer. Make your way home." That was -all, yet it told enough. The <i>Furie</i> had gone home with the treasure; -if I was still alive I was to go too.</p> - -<p class="center"><span style="letter-spacing:1em">* * * * * * *</span></p> - -<p class="normal">Let me be brief. That remaining day and night I anchored off our -original little isle, took in some fresher water than I had, and -caught some fishes. Also I once more did cover again the bleached -bones of those mutineers who had endeavoured to surprise and seize -upon the <i>Algier Rose</i>--'twas the last time, I reflected, it would -ever be done by me or any. There was no danger of losing the -favourable wind by resting here for these few hours; if anything it -was blowing stronger and fresher from the south-east than before. Nay, -when I put off in the morning for the furtherance of my course, it was -blowing so much in a manner I cared not for, namely in fitful gusts -followed by moments of stillness, that I doubted me if I was overwise -in putting to sea again yet. Moreover, the wind was almost due south -by now, so that to make the Inaguas I should have much more trouble -and work than when sailing large and free before a favourable breeze.</p> - -<p class="normal">However, I must go, I would not be detained. Indeed, I had come to -hate all this region so much that, even should a chance arise in the -future for me to come out and bring off all my treasure, I felt as -though I should have no mind to it. Phips might come an he would, and -get it, but, for myself, I wanted not to come again. If the Hispaniola -plate had been gotten back safely, then there would be a share for me -that would keep me from the wolf for the remainder of my days. It -would not be wealth, but would doubtless suffice--and I had finished -with the sea!</p> - -<p class="normal">Though not yet.</p> - -<p class="normal">When I was two hours out from our little isle, and, as I believed, -near unto <i>Moushoire Carré</i>, I did discover that I had been foolish to -put out against so fast rising a wind. For it had now freshened into a -gale due from the south, so that I had to sail close-hauled if I -wanted to pass that place in safety, and also Turk's Islands. Nor even -a little later was this possible, as it blew more and more. I could no -longer manage both sails and helm. So now I had to take down most all -my sail excepting the foresail to steady the galliot, and to put her -head before the wind, abandoning of my course altogether. And not long -afterwards the storm had become a furious one, the whole heavens were -obscured, the sea rose horribly--I saw at this moment a picaroon in -distress a little way off me, and shortly go down--and my galliot did -seem to be doomed.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now I never thought but that I had reached my journey's end, that -all was over with me. Huge seas swept over the bows, the vessel soon -began to fill with water, she rolled and tossed from side to side so -that I could not keep my feet, and then I heard a crash, I saw the -mainmast falling swiftly towards me, I felt a blow that shot a -thousand stars from my eyes, and I knew no more.</p> - -<p class="center"><span style="letter-spacing:1em">* * * * * * *</span></p> - -<p class="normal">When I again recovered of my senses I understood not at first where I -was, excepting that I was lying in a berth in a dark cabin, that all -my head was swathed in cloths, and that standing near me was an -elderly man, regarding me attentively.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Where," I asked, "am I! This is not the galliot."</p> - -<p class="normal">"So," he replied in my own tongue, "you are an Englishman! We thought -by the build of your galliot that you were a Dutchman. Who and what -are you?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Lieutenant Crafer, late of his Majesty's navy, and late first -Lieutenant of the <i>Furie</i>, Captain Phips. What ship is this?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"His Majesty's <i>Virgin</i> Prize, a 32-gun frigate, Captain John Balchen. -Homeward bound. You should know this officer, Lieutenant Crafer."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Very well," I answered. "We have served together. Yet 'tis not -strange if he knows not me, no razor has touched my face for many -weeks."</p> - -<p class="normal">And so it was that I found myself bound to England in a King's ship, -having for her captain a man whom I had been at sea with ere now, when -he was my subaltern. That I told him all as regards the treasure you -are not to suppose; that secret was locked in my own breast, to be -divulged to one only, Phips. But I did give him a very fair and -considerable history of much that we had gone through, and, living -with him in his cabin and at his table, you may be sure that we had -many talks on the subject of the sunken plate-ship.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yet," said he often, "I misdoubt me if King James will be there to -take his tenths when Phips gets the <i>Furie</i> home. The people will -endure him but little longer--he is now an avowed Papish--and already -there are whisperings of putting one of his daughters in his place. If -'twere Mary all would be well, since she is married to a staunch -Protestant, though the country would scarce accept him, too, I think."</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, as you will see by later day history, James was still there when -I got back. And this I did on Lady Day in the year of our Lord 1687, -the <i>Virgin</i> Prize making Portsmouth a month after she picked me up, a -corpse as they first thought, from the deck of the galliot, which was -cast off after I was rescued. It seemed from their calculations and -mine that I must have been met with some hours only after I was -struck down, and at first they thought I had been attacked by the -picaroon--which ships are generally full of thieves--which they had -been a-chasing.</p> - -<p class="normal">So, in this way, I came back from my second voyage to the wrecked -Spanish Plate Ship, and put my foot once more on my native land at -Portsmouth Hard.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now but a few words more and I have done.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XXVII.</h4> -<h5>THE NARRATIVE ENDS.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">'Twas at the Navy Tavern at Portsmouth that I learned that Phips had -preceded me home but a fortnight, that he had sailed to the Downs with -the <i>Furie</i> and all her contents, and that, most faithful to his word, -he had sent a letter for me. In it he said that he prayed to God I -might some time or other get back safe to England--and that, if he -should be gone away again, he would charge himself to leave my share -of the sale of the treasure in safe keeping, of which I should be -advised both by a letter to the Admiralty directed for me, and also by -another to this tavern. Likewise, he said, he trusted that I had been -able to come up with that most uncommon rogue and villain, Alderly, -that I had taken vengeance of him for his treachery, and that I had -recovered whatever I might find he had stolen from the Plate Ship. And -if, he said, I had been enabled to bring that stolen wealth back with -me, then I was to communicate with his Grace of Albemarle--supposing -him, Phips, gone--who should see that it was properly directed to the -right quarters.</p> - -<p class="normal">So there was now nought for me to do but to make for London myself, -after I had slept one night in the old town, changed a few of the gold -pieces I had taken off Alderly ere I buried him, and bought me a fair -decent change of clothes in which to travel and appear in London. And -in fifteen hours I was there from the time of my setting out, and once -more ensconced in an inn I had heretofore patronised, namely, "The -Blossoms," in Lawrence Lane, Cheapside.</p> - -<p class="normal">The finding of Phips after this was by no means difficult; even at the -inn they had heard of his arrival: they told me, indeed, that there -was much commotion both on Change as well as in Court and Naval -circles at the amount of treasure he had brought home with him; -while--says my hostess to me--</p> - -<p class="normal">"Might you, sir, be the gentleman they say he left behind to chase -those cruel, wicked pirates who had stolen part of the treasure he did -find?"</p> - -<p class="normal">I answered that I was indeed that officer, whereon she told me that -the town talked much about me, that even some of the journals had -written discourses upon my having gone off to chase pirates in nought -but a ship's boat--as they termed it--and that it would be a fine -thing for the gentry who produced those sheets when they should hear -that I was safe back so very little a while after Phips himself.</p> - -<p class="normal">However, I wanted to see Phips himself, and this I very soon did, -finding of him by presenting myself at the Duke's house, where I -noticed a most extraordinary bustle going on, and discovered that his -Grace was just about to proceed to Jamaica to take up the governorship -thereof. Poor man! he did but enjoy it a year, all of which time he -was thinking of nought but finding new treasure round about that -island, and then at the end of that his bottle took him off. However, -'tis the present I have to tell of, and will, therefore, but say that, -ten minutes after my announcement, the Duke came to me.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now," said he, greeting me, "this is the joyful day, Lieutenant -Crafer; I do indeed rejoice to see you back safe and sound, and so -will Phips. He is hard by--he shall be sent for."</p> - -<p class="normal">Whereon he ordered a man to go to the lodgings and to tell Sir William -Phips that Lieutenant Crafer was gotten home safe and sound.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sir William Phips!" I exclaimed. "Sir William! So! has he come to -such honour as that?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He hath, indeed," laughed the Duke, who seemed more jolly now than -when we went out with the <i>Furie</i>--perhaps his new appointment making -him so--"he hath, indeed. The King seemed so well pleased with his -tenth that he insisted on knighting our friend, and hath even silenced -those wretches of the city who say that--that Phips, and--well, no -matter."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What do they say, my Lord Duke?" I asked, though I could very well -guess.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh! 'tis nothing, a trifle! and, since neither the King nor I believe -it, not to be considered."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I can imagine what they say, your Grace," I exclaimed. "It is that we -have feathered a nest somewhere--that all has not been brought home -that was found. Yet, 'tis not true----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Tush, man, tush!" interrupted the Duke. "Who shall think it is?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"It is not true," I went on. "Every farthing's worth Phips got he -brought home, I will swear--while as for what Alderly stole from the -plate ship, why, they sunk it when we boarded them."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Man alive!" exclaimed the Duke, "who doubts it? I do not, who am the -chief concerned, nor will the King hear a word. See, here is a -testimony I mean to give to Phips. A gold cup I have had made out of a -thousand pounds' worth of the treasure. 'Tis for his wife in Boston, -now Lady Phips, to whom he hath sent out instructions to buy a fine -brick house to live in. For, you must know, the King hath promised him -the Governorship of Massachusetts as soon as it falls vacant, when he -will be settled for life."</p> - -<p class="normal">I regarded the cup, very costly and beautiful, engraved, "From -Christopher, Duke of Albemarle, to his trusty friend, Sir William -Phips," while the Duke bade his servant bring us a tankard, and at -that moment in came Sir William himself hot haste to see me.</p> - -<p class="center"><span style="letter-spacing:1em">* * * * * * *</span></p> - -<p class="normal">"No," he said to me that night, as we sat at wine in his lodgings hard -by the Strand, "no, Nick, that hidden treasure is yours, and yours -alone. It belongs not to our providers here, nor does any share -pertain to me. You it was who found it, you it was who had all the -risk in going to find it. It shall be yours and yours only, since none -other of the galliot's crew are now in existence. Only," he went on, -"as now you are provided for, I would leave it there awhile. Say, for -another generation. For if you go and dig it up now, then will the -merchants say that they spoke truly when they accused us of robbing -them."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I shall never go to dig it up," I said, "I will go to sea no more. -The Duke tells me there is four thousand pounds for me at Sir Josiah -Child's--'tis enough to do very well for my life. I will buy me a -little house somewhere, and an annuity from some nobleman with the -rest."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And," went on Sir William, "in that little house find out a hiding -place, and leave therein a full description of where your treasure is, -so that those who come after you shall, if they care to be at the -trouble thereof, discover a fortune. You will be marrying now, Nick, -perhaps?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay," said I, "I think not. Never now! Once when my heart was young -and fresh I did love a sweet young girl--she was the daughter of a -retired officer of Oliver's, and they dwelt at Kew--but the smallpox -ravaged the land and took her from me. I find myself thinking of her -often now; perhaps 'tis because the time is drawing near when I shall -see her again, as young and fair as she was in those bygone, happy -days; but I shall never have a wife."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Poor Nick, poor Nick," said Phips, laying his great hand very gently -on my shoulder. "Poor Nick. So you have had your romance too. Ah, -well! so have most men." Then a little later he said, "You know I go -out again with Sir John Narborough--I cannot rest quietly at home in -Boston till my rule begins in Massachusetts--we shall be near your -little Key--shall I go and dig your spoil up? I would do it most -faithfully for you, Nick, as you know."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," I answered, after pondering awhile. "No, not unless you will do -so and take it, or some of it, for yourself."</p> - -<p class="normal">"That," said he, "I will never do. Not a stiver, not one coin. 'Tis -all yours."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Then let it lie there," said I, "for those who shall come after me. -There is one other Crafer left in Hampshire, a country gentleman, who -has perhaps some children now. It shall be theirs when I am gone if -they choose to search for it."</p> - -<p class="normal">So we parted for the last time, not without tears in our eyes, we -having been so much to each other for so long that we could not easily -say farewell.</p> - -<p class="normal">As for him, he went on his cruise with Sir John Narborough, but, as he -after wrote me, he found nothing.</p> - -<p class="normal">And then the time came for him to take up his rule in his own land, -which he did wisely and well, and perhaps because of his old belief in -sooth-sayers, and wizards, and geomancers--and, indeed, the knave I -have writ of did tell his fortune most wondrously, even to his -becoming a ruler though not a King--he spared many in New England who -would have been barbarously entreated otherwise. And he took with him -a fine gold medal, which the now fast falling King had had struck in -honour of his finding the galleon's wreck, having on it the words -<i>Semper tibi pendeat Hamus</i>, which the curate of Mortlake did -afterwards translate for me as meaning, "May thy fishing always be as -good to thee."</p> - -<p class="normal">It bore on it a supposed drawing of the <i>Furie</i>, but none too -accurate, though near enough.</p> - -<p class="normal">Of the treasure the Duke took £90,000, His Majesty's tenth was -something under £20,000, but not much, and the merchants got many of -them £8,000 to £10,000, for every £100 they had adventured. This is -speaking roundly, as I have heard sums of more and less mentioned in -connection with all concerned. Phips's share, as he told me, was -£16,000, and would have been more had he not out of his own purse paid -to a-many of the seamen some sums which the merchants withheld from -them. Cromby's old mother was dead, I found on inquiring, so that I -could do nothing there.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, 'twas some six years afterwards, and when James had been gone -nigh that time to France, that Phips wrote to me he was a-coming -to England and hoped among others to see me. Yet, alas! we -never met again. I was at this time sore troubled with gout and -rheumatism--though, I thank God, much of both have passed away--and I -could not, therefore, go to see him. Nor, neither was he ever able to -come to me. He had not been in London many days when he catched a -cold, and this turning to a fever he died. And he was buried in the -Church of St. Mary Woolnoth, where, when I was recovered, I went and -said a prayer above his tomb.</p> - -<p class="normal">Why should I write a funeral sermon on him for those who never knew -him? Suffice, therefore, if I say that he was honest, manly, and -God-fearing, and a better man did never live. To me, his subaltern, he -was ever kindly, gentle, and friendly, very courteous, yet also, when -we came to know each other, very brotherly; and to conclude, I loved -him. No need to say more.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now I have done. Almost all the evenings of four months it hath taken -me to write this story down--I beginning of it in the bleak cruel -nights of winter, and ending of it when the leaves are pushing forth. -And I have written as truly as I know how, telling no lies, and trying -also very hard to make my story understandable to whomso'er shall come -across it.</p> - -<p class="normal">My house--which I bought here, because 'twas across the river in years -agone I used to wander with the girl I loved so dear, and because I -can see the paths where we walked when I arise from my bed every -morning--I shall leave to a Crafer for ever, so that some day, if the -line dieth not out, one of that name must find the clue. That it shall -be a Crafer I do earnestly hope, but if not it cannot be helped. And -in conclusion all I will now say is, that I do pray that whosoever -readeth this narrative, and whosoever afterwards shall find the buried -treasure on the little Key, he will use it well and nobly, devoting -some part of it, if not all, to God's service. Amen.</p> - -<p style="text-indent:60%"><span class="sc">Nicholas Chafer</span>.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<p class="center"><i>The Search by Reginald Crafer</i>.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h4> -<h5>OFF TO THE VIRGIN ISLES.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">The passengers by the Royal Mail steamer, especially the younger and -fairer members thereof, felt an emotion of genuine regret when -Reginald Crafer left the ship at Antigua, there to make the connection -with the company's vessel, the <i>Tyne</i>, which runs to Anguilla and -Tortola fortnightly.</p> - -<p class="normal">For like so many, nay, almost all naval officers with but few -exceptions, Reginald possessed those manly and pleasant graces which -soon endear a stranger to any number of persons among whom he may -happen to be thrown; and ere the steamer--crowded with tourists of the -better class who were avoiding the rigour of our winter by a tour in -the West Indian Islands--had been a week out of Southampton, he had -made himself a general favourite. Of course he could dance--when did a -sailor ever exist who could not?--also he could sing; he had seen much -of the world and he was good-looking. Let anyone who has been on an -ocean trip say if these accomplishments and charms are not sufficient -to at once make a man popular in the community assembled on such an -occasion.</p> - -<p class="normal">And also there was about him some slight tinge of mystery, some little -reticence on his part, as to what he wanted or desired to do at -Anguilla or Tortola, which added a flavour to the manner in which this -handsome young officer was regarded. For at either of these islands -there is nothing for a man to do at all, unless he should desire to -pass his life in breeding herds of goats, cows, or sheep, or in -fishing, or rearing poultry, or cultivating a little cotton or sugar. -And certainly Reginald Crafer did not seem to be a man of that sort.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It can't be to see the bloomin' islands," said a bagman on board who -was not a favourite, though possessing vast information about the -locality, derived from visiting the whole of the Gulf of Mexico and -the Caribbean Sea on business, "because there's nothing to see, and as -a naval officer I'll bet he's seen enough islands. And it can't hardly -be a gal."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Scarcely, I should imagine," said a stately young lady, by whom, as -by others, this person's remarks were not much appreciated, "since I -believe there are few gentlemen or ladies there except the Consuls and -their families. Nor do I see that Lieutenant Crafer's business is your -affair or mine," whereon she turned on her heel and left him.</p> - -<p class="normal">Meanwhile Reginald, who, perhaps, was not unconscious of the curiosity -he had raised, though taking no notice of it, had plenty to think of -as well as having always to keep a guard upon his tongue.</p> - -<p class="normal">Indeed, it would not be saying too much if the announcement was made -that the discovery of Nicholas Crafer's statement had produced a total -change, not only in this young man's method of life, but also in his -mind.</p> - -<p class="normal">When he had finished the perusal of that statement (which, you may -remember, he began one November afternoon) another day had come; a -foul, murky, fog-laden atmosphere was doing duty for the dawn. The -river reeked with it, and so did the fields across the Thames. Also -the fire had gone out now, though he had made it up several times -during the night, the lamp had consumed nearly the last drop of oil in -its glass bowl, and he could hear his old housekeeper and general -servant shuffling about upstairs as though preparing to begin the day. -And his eyes were wet with tears--tears which the last page or two of -that finely-written, often misspelt, and sometimes nearly illegible -manuscript had caused to spring to them. For to him, young and -impressive--though as yet his heart had never been fairly touched by -Love's rose-tipped wings--there seemed a sadness inexpressible in the -story of his ancestor's love for the daughter of one of Oliver's -officers who had died so young, and of the manner in which he had -bought the house, so that daily, when he arose, the first place to -meet his eyes should be the spot where they had walked together in -those long-forgotten years.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Poor old Nicholas!" he thought, as he went to the French windows and -drew the heavy curtains that protected the room from the river's damp, -and peered across that river to the other side; "poor old Nicholas! It -was there you used to walk with her when you were both young. It was -there, when you had grown old and she had long since gone and left -you, that you used to gaze and dream of her. And," he went on, as he -turned back into the room, "it was here, in this very spot, two -hundred years ago, that you sat night by night writing that story -alone, as I this night have sat alone and read it. I almost wonder -that your ghost did not come forth and stand at my elbow, and peer -over my shoulder at your crabbed, crooked handwriting as I did so."</p> - -<p class="normal">He dropped the manuscript in his pocket as he finished his meditations -and, going upstairs, met the old housekeeper coming down.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Lawks, Mr. Reginald!" she said with a start, "what a turn you give -me! Whatever have you got up so early for?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have not been to bed yet, Maria," he said, "but I am going now." -Then, observing her look of astonishment and the shaking of her -head--perhaps she thought he had been wassailing in London and had -only just come down by the early train--he said, "I have been engaged -all night over some family papers. Call me at twelve and get some -breakfast ready by then. I shall go to town directly afterwards. And, -Maria, I shall be going abroad again soon; you will have the house all -to yourself once more."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ha!" she said, with a grunt; "well, who's afraid? I ain't, neither of -ghostes nor burgulars, tho' we had one----"</p> - -<p class="normal">But Reginald was on his way to bed before she had finished her -oration.</p> - -<p class="normal">"The first thing to be done," he thought to himself, as he splashed -about in his bath after that five hours' sleep--which was enough for -him, since it was more than a watch below--"is to get a promise from -the first Sea Lord, on the ground of 'urgent private affairs,' that I -shall not be called upon to serve for another year. If I can manage -that, then off I go to Coffin Island and dear old Nick's treasure. -Lord bless me! how I would like to have known Nick--as Phips called -him."</p> - -<p class="normal">There had come into the young man's heart as he read that paper a -feeling which, I suppose, often comes into the hearts of most of us -who have ever had ancestors--the feeling that we would like to have -known them, to have seen them and to have shaken hands with them, -observed the quaint garb they wore, and listened to their quaint -speech. So it was now with Reginald. He would have liked to have heard -Nicholas tell the story instead of having read it, would like to have -stood by his side when he fought the <i>Etoyle</i>, to have been by him -when the drunken and delirious pirate died singing his song, to have -accompanied him on that solitary voyage when he kept--good honest -man!--a cheerful heart and trusted to his God alone to watch over him.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I wonder whose treasure it was that he found?" the young man -meditated--"not Alderly's, at any rate. The pirates never buried their -treasure, though the story-books say they did, but rather took it with -them to their favourite haunts to spend in a debauch. Even Alderly was -doing that at the time Nicholas captured him; he had his box with him, -full of ready money for spending purposes. And those others, those -antique coins, those jewels and precious things, what were they? -Buried, perhaps, by some French refugee who had been cast away on -Coffin Island and found by Alderly, or stolen from some French -treasure ship by an earlier pirate than Alderly, yet still found by -him. Shall I ever know?"</p> - -<p class="normal">But, whether he would ever know or not was a matter of very small -importance to Reginald Crafer, in comparison with the fact that he was -going to find them again himself, if he possibly could. For that they -should not lie any longer in the middle Key above Coffin Island than -it would take him to go and fetch them, he was very firmly resolved.</p> - -<p class="normal">"The Key isn't likely to have shifted," he reflected, "nor to have -become entirely covered by the sea for good and all. And if it has, -why, science has advanced a bit since the days of Nicholas, and we -will have it out. The treasure has been found twice as it has been -buried twice--once by its original owner, as I believe, and once by -Nicholas; I'll make the third finder. There's luck in odd numbers!" -and remembering his Latin, of which he had a better knowledge than his -sailor relative had had, he murmured, "<i>Numero deus impare gaudet!</i>"</p> - -<p class="normal">The First Sea Lord proved kind, perhaps because Reginald was a young -officer who had done well and was favourably known already, besides -having once served in his own flag-ship and come under his notice; and -though he hummed and hawed a little at first, and talked a good deal -about the shortness of lieutenants, and so many being required to be -called out for the Naval Manœuvres, and so on, at last said that he -thought he might promise that Lieutenant Crafer's services should not -be asked for for another year. Then, next, the young man bought a -chart of the Caribbean Sea, and, as the charts of to-day are rather -better than they were in the elder Crafer's time, he found Coffin -Island marked very plainly, though still not named, thereon; and he -also saw the three Keys dotted on it. "So that's all right and -comfortable," Reginald said to himself, whereon he at once made all -his plans for going on his search, and, as has been told, had by now -arrived at Antigua, whence the <i>Tyne</i> goes fortnightly to Tortola and -Anguilla.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, when he had settled down here to wait for that vessel's -sailing--which would not be for another forty-eight hours--he scarcely -knew how he should set about his work. Coffin Island might be -inhabited by now, for all he knew, though judging by the little -knowledge possessed of it by any of the <i>personnel</i> of the ship in -which he had come out, it did not appear very probable that it was. -Nobody on board that ship could say whether it was occupied or not, -most of the officers, indeed, being a little hazy as to where Coffin -Island was.</p> - -<p class="normal">However, by the next day he had gained one piece of information which -might or might not be true, but that, if the former, was likely to -throw some difficulties in his way. He had learnt that there were -inhabitants--as his informant believed, though he wouldn't be -certain--on the island; for that there was such a place as Coffin -Island was very well known in Antigua, if not in the Royal Mail -steamers.</p> - -<p class="normal">He had encountered as he lounged about the hotel in St. John's--which -is the capital of Antigua,--one of those busy gentlemen who are to be -found in almost every part of the world to which strangers come and -go: an American. This worthy person, who was young, tall, and -dandified, having in his "bosom" a beautiful diamond pin, addressed -Reginald the first moment he saw him with such a flood of offers and -questions as almost stunned him; yet so long was the flow of oratory -that it gave him time to collect his thoughts and be wary.</p> - -<p class="normal">"If," said Mr. Hiram Juby, as he handed out a big card with that name -on it, "you are thinking of settling here, I can be of assistance to -you. Though, if you're buying land, I should scarcely recommend -Antigua. It is not very remunerative and not cheap. Now, in Dominica, -which has no export duties, sir, Crown land can be obtained for two -dollars and a half an acre. Trinidad is five dollars, St. Lucia five; -Tobago, also without export duties, is two and a half. I am also an -agent for the United States Governmental Insurance Company, patronised -and insured in by the first families of the----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I am not thinking of buying any land, Mr. Juby," Reginald said, -quietly.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Then you must be a tourist. Therefore, you will want to know the best -hotels. Now there is----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I shall stay at no hotels," Reginald again replied.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Stay at no hotels! Then you are perhaps going to camp out. If so, I -have the agency for some of the best United States tents, utensils, -rifles and guns, hickory fishing-rods, and so forth. Sir, will you -take a cocktail, or shall we try a dish of mangrove oysters? Or, if -you are a conchologist, mineralogist, or botanist, I should like to -show you some collections I have for sale which would save you much -labour and classification----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sir," said Reginald, "I am none of those things! I am a sailor -amusing myself with a visit to this lovely spot. I want nothing," and -he turned on his heel.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Stay, sir, stay, I beg," Mr. Juby said, going after him as he -left the verandah. "You are a sailor visiting this lovely spot, and -you want nothing I can supply you with! Why, sir, I have the very -thing for you--a thing that would have suited nobody but a sailor. I -have a little thirteen-ton cutter yacht--it belonged to Sir Barnaby -Briggs--your countryman, sir, who died of drink, so they said, not I, -in Guadaloupe--but then these French will say anything but their -prayers. And I will let it you, sell it to you, furnish it for you, -find you a sailor man or so----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"What," said Reginald, interested now, for he thought perhaps here was -the best way of all in which to visit Coffin Island--"what do you want -for the hire of it?"</p> - -<p class="normal">But before even these terms could be arranged, Mr. Juby insisted--and -he would take no denial--that they should be discussed over the most -popular drink in all the West Indian Islands, a cocktail; so on to the -verandah they went to partake of one. And it was among the various -acquaintances to whom Mr. Juby--in thorough American fashion--insisted -on "presenting" Reginald, that he learnt that Coffin Island was -inhabited.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXIX.</h4> -<h5>DRAWING NEAR.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">"The Virgin Isles," exclaimed one of these acquaintances as he spat on -the ground after swallowing his cocktail at a gulp, "the Virgin Isles! -Why, darn the Virgin Isles! What can you do there, young fellow, 'cept -go fishing? That is, unless you are a Dane or else a Dutchman "--by -which he meant a German--"then you might trade a bit."</p> - -<p class="normal">But here Mr. Juby, who didn't quite approve of his new client being -called "young fellow," explained that he was a gentleman who had -neither come to settle nor travel, but only to see the place -generally. Also, he informed him, as if the whole thing was -settled--which it wasn't--that Mr. Crafer had hired the late Sir -Barnaby Briggs's yacht from him and was going to make some tours in -it.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh!" said the other, scraping the frozen sugar off the rim of his -empty glass as he spoke, and sucking it off his finger--"Oh! if that's -all, he's welcome enough to go to the Virgin Isles if he wants to. I -thought he wanted to shove some dollars into coco-growing or Liberian -coffee. A tourist, eh?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"That's all," said Reginald, "only a tourist."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well! there's good enough sailing round the Virgin Isles or any -others in these parts, if you want to sail; but I thought Mr. Juby -said you were a sailor. Now, if you are, what do you want to go -sailin' about for? Isn't dry land good enough for a sailor off duty?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Do you know the Virgin Islands?" asked Reginald, not caring to notice -the man's cantankerous disposition.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Know 'em! I guess I do know 'em! all the lot. And not one worth a -red. Which do you particular want to see?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"All of them," replied Reginald. "Perhaps Tortola in particular."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Tortola! the rottenest of the lot, except, perhaps, Anegada. Or, -p'raps I'd best say Coffin Island. That is about the--there! -well!----I'll be----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Coffin Island!" exclaimed Reginald, now very wary. "That's a sweet -name! What sort of a place is that?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Kinder place fit to go and die in, to just roll yourself up in and -kick. Kind of a dog's hole, covered with palm trees, gros-gros, -moriches and all, Spanish baggonets and sich like. A place as is all -yellow and voylet and pink and crimson with flowers, and smells like a -gal's boodwar," (this was an awful mouthful for him, but he got it out -safely), "though I don't know much about gals' boodwars neither. My -daughters ain't got none."</p> - -<p class="normal">"It must be lovely," Reginald said quietly.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Love--ly!" the man echoed. "Love--ly! Bah! there ain't five pounds' -trade in it a year. The oranges and guavas ain't worth fetching when -you can get 'em in the other places without half the trouble, nor more -ain't the nutmegs. Likewise, it's chock-a-block full of tarantula -spiders and centipides."</p> - -<p class="normal">"In such a case I suppose it is uninhabited," Reginald hazarded.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well, no it ain't, not altogether," the other replied. "Leastways, -that's to say partly. There's a fisher fellow lives there when he -ain't nowheres else, and he's got a son and a darter. They've been a -living there for over a cent'ry, I've heard tell."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What!" exclaimed Reginald and Juby together while others round who -had been listening to the discourse burst out laughing.</p> - -<p class="normal">"For over a cent'ry and more," the man went on, "this fellow Bridges' -family have been living there----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Only," chimed in another man, "that ain't the name. It ain't Bridges -at all. It's Aldridge."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," said still a third, "it isn't Aldridge neither, though something -like it."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Are you telling the story or am I?" exclaimed the first. "And darn -the name! What do names matter?" Here he was appeased by the -thoughtfulness of Reginald, who suggested some more cocktails round, -after which he went on--</p> - -<p class="normal">"More than a cent'ry, I've heard they've been there. You see, this -family is a bit wrong in their heads, and they've got into those heads -the idea that somewhere in that darned Coffin Island there's a mort of -treasure buried----"</p> - -<p class="normal">Reginald was sipping his cocktail as the man arrived at this point, -and his teeth clicked involuntarily against the glass as the latter -uttered the last words; but, beyond this, he did not betray himself -Yet it seemed to him that his heart beat quicker than before. "And, -therefore, if it's to be found," the man continued, "they mean to find -it. Yet no one as I ever heard of, or knew, believes it's there. If it -was to be got, they'd have got it before. They do say they've dug up -half the island looking for it. But there, I don't know, I've never -been ashore in Coffin Island myself."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But," said Reginald, "you said just now that the man only lived there -when he did not live somewhere else. Does he leave his island -sometimes, then?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He does and so does the son. You see, mister, up that way the people -are sailors--like yourself!--just because they can't be much else. -And good sailors they are, too, as well as fishermen, so when -they've got no turtle nor fish to take, as happens in some times of -the year, they go off as sailors in any ship in these parts as wants -hands. Now, some of 'em goes down Aspinwall and Colon way--that there -once-supposed-to-be-going-to-be-made Panama Canal took a lot of men -down there--and some goes to the other Islands, even up to Jamaiky and -so on. Well, the old man and his son can't always just live on their -stock-rearing and fishing and turtle-catching, and so off they goes -too, to get a few more dollars to buy a cask of rum or something they -want."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But the daughter; she cannot go as a sailor too!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh, no! But she can stop at home and look after the shop. And they do -say that she's quite able to do it. She's a caution, I've heard."</p> - -<p class="normal">This was all the man knew, and, under the influence of the cocktails, -he would have been very willing to go on telling more, had he had any -further information. And, indeed, considering the distance of Antigua -from Coffin Island, it was extraordinary that he should have been able -to tell so much. Or, rather, it would have been extraordinary, were it -not for the amount of intercourse and communication that takes place -between all the numerous islands in the Antilles, and the gossip that -is carried backwards and forwards, and is for ever floating about -among the sparse population of these, now, much-neglected places.</p> - -<p class="normal">By night Reginald had changed his plans; instead of going on to -Tortola in the <i>Tyne</i>, he had decided to hire Sir Barnaby Briggs's -yacht, the <i>Pompeia</i>, from Mr. Juby, and to finish his journey in her. -To him it seemed the wisest thing he could do. He would attract less -attention at Tortola as a man cruising about for a holiday in the -region; and, by living on board, he would be exposed to little -questioning. Moreover, so good a sailor as he wanted no assistance in -managing such a craft as this; in calm weather he could go about where -he liked, and in bad weather shelter could be run for and reached in -almost half an hour among the continuous chain of islands hereabouts. -And, finally, he could work his way up to Coffin Island, take some -observations of the strange family dwelling thereon, and see if the -Keys looked as if they too had been submitted to the searching -process.</p> - -<p class="normal">It was a tough job, however, to bring the astute Juby to terms, even -over so trifling a thing as hiring the <i>Pompeia</i>. At first he would -hardly name the sum he wanted, and then, when that was arranged at £20 -a month--which, after all, was not out of the way--he made various -other stipulations, more, as it seemed to Reginald, for the pleasure -of so making them and fussing about, than for any wonderful advantage -to himself.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I must have a deposit," he said, adding cheerfully, "yachts do get -sunk even here, and there's no telling what might happen, though I'm -sure of one thing, sir, you wouldn't run away with her. Then she must -be insured in the United States Governmental Insurance Company for the -other half, and----"</p> - -<p class="normal">But, to cut Mr. Juby short, Reginald, who had brought a very -comfortable little sheaf of Bank of England notes wherewith to -prosecute his search, consented to his terms, and became the tenant of -the lamented Sir Barnaby's yacht. She proved, when he went down to see -her before finally concluding negotiations, a very serviceable-looking -little cutter, strongly built, having a good inventory, her ballast -all lead, copper all new, a full outfit, and a double-purchase -capstan. And she bore on her the name of a well-known Barbadoes -builder, of whom, probably, the late baronet had purchased her new.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I don't mind taking that nigger as far as Tortola," said Reginald, -pointing out a man loafing about St. John's harbour, "if he wants a -job as he says he does, but he'll have to go ashore there. I'm fond of -sailing by myself and shan't employ him regularly, at any rate."</p> - -<p class="normal">And in this way he set off upon his journey once more, sailing the -<i>Pompeia</i> himself, and letting the negro potter about, cook a meal or -two, and gossip a little on subjects of interest in the islands, but -of none at all to him. And at Tortola--to which the man belonged--he -sent him ashore, telling him that whenever the cutter came in and out -he could come and see if he was wanted, and perhaps earn a shilling or -two. The weather was everything that could be desired, and, had -Reginald been the most Cockney yachtsman that ever kept a yacht in the -Thames, instead of a skilful sailor, he would have found it all he -wished, while the cruise past the intermediate islands was charming -even to him, who had seen so much of the world.</p> - -<p class="normal">The great peak of Nevis interested him by recalling the fact that it -was in this island that Nelson found his wife, when, as captain of the -<i>Boreas</i>, he brought his ship here after chasing the French fleet; -while St. Kitt's, with its "Mount Misery," and its claims to be the -Gibraltar of the West Indies, appealed also to his naval mind. And, -when the scarlet-roofed houses of St. Thomas, surrounded by the -glorious foliage of that fair island, hove into sight as the <i>Pompeia</i> -left Santa Cruz on her port beam, he felt a thrill of satisfaction, -mixed, perhaps, with excitement at the knowledge that Coffin Island -was at hand. Another day or so would bring him to the place of which -his relative had, in his quaint style, left so graphic a description; -he would probably come into contact with the strange family that dwelt -in Coffin Island; he would be near his inheritance.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yet," he said to himself, as he set the yacht's head a point further -north, to run up what still retains its old name of "Sir Francis -Drake's Passage"--"yet is it my inheritance? Or does it not by right -belong to this poor family, who, it seems, have for over a hundred -years been searching hopelessly for it? Is it theirs or mine? -Theirs--who, by some strange fate, have come to the knowledge that -treasure is buried here, perhaps was buried by their own ancestors, -who left the story of it--or mine, who am only the kinsman of the man -who lighted on that treasure, but could not take it away with him? -Well! I shall see. Perhaps, when I have met these people who live in -so primitive a state, I shall know better what to do--know whether it -is best to get the treasure and go off with it, or do my duty, and, if -it is rightly theirs, restore it to them."</p> - -<p class="normal">So, you will perceive, not only was Reginald a romantic and -adventurous young man, but also a very straightforward one!</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXX.</h4> -<h5>OUT OF THE DEPTHS OF A FAR DISTANT PAST.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Two days after these reflections the <i>Pompeia</i> was making her entrance -under very light sail into that river--spoken of variously by Nicholas -as a canal, an inlet, and an outlet--in which the fight with the -<i>Etoyle</i> had taken place. And it almost seemed to Reginald as if he -must himself have been a partaker of that fight, so visibly did his -predecessor's story rise before his mind now that he was in the very -spot.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It was here," he thought, as he lowered the last remaining yard of -sail, "that the <i>Etoyle</i> was across the stream, there that the -galliot lay before they went at them. Heavens and earth! why does not -Nicholas rise up before my sight with his round face and light bob -wig, as he appears in the little picture at home, and in his scarlet -coat?--but--no, he would not have them on here. Those braveries were -not for cruises such as he was upon."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then he looked around again.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Which, I wonder, was the spot where Alderly drew up the box from -under the water, and where he murdered the diver? Which the spot where -the path led up to the hut? Why does not some spirit rise to point -these things out to me?"</p> - -<p class="normal">All was very calm here now as the romantic young man indulged in these -meditations. There was no sign of life about the island--of human -life; it was as still as though it were uninhabited. Yet all the -tropic life was there, all the gorgeous colouring of which the Yankee -settler--if he were a Yankee--who told him the story of the place had -spoken. The fan-palms, the moriches, and the gros-gros grew side by -side; red poinsettias mingled with wild begonias, purple dracæna and -yellow crotons; the rattans and orchids were tangled together in an -indescribable confusion of beauty.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It is the isle of Nicholas's description. No doubt about that!" said -Reginald. "And," he continued, drawing his pipe from his pocket and -lighting it, "I am here as once Nick was here. What a pity there is no -one to represent the murdered diver and his assassin, the drunken, -maddened pirate."</p> - -<p class="normal">As he reflected thus he heard the bark of a dog a little distance off; -a few moments later he heard another sound as though branches were -being parted; presently a voice spoke to the dog, and then the foliage -growing down to the river's bank was pushed aside, and a woman came -out from that foliage and stood gazing at him.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Who are you?" she asked. "And what do you want?"</p> - -<p class="normal">From his cutter to the shore, thirty to forty feet off, he in return -gazed upon her, though his surprise did not prevent his remembering he -was a gentleman, and, from the distance, taking off his hat to her -while he put away his pipe. She stood before him, surrounded by all -that luxuriance of colour and tropical vegetation, a girl "something -more than common tall," and of, perhaps, nearly twenty years of age. A -girl dressed in a light cotton gown--a very West Indian robe, both in -its plain quality and pattern--that hung loosely upon her, yet did not -conceal the shapely form beneath. On her head she wore a large napping -straw hat, but it was not at her hat, but at what was beneath it, that -Reginald looked. Her features were beautiful--there is no other word -but this simple one to describe them--her colouring that which is -often found in these regions, but scarcely anywhere else; the eyes a -dark, lustrous hazel, the eyebrows black, the hair, which hung down -like a mane upon her back, golden, with a tinge of copper red in it.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Who are you?" she asked again, though he noticed that her voice was -not a harsh one, nor, in spite of the question, an angry one. "What do -you require?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Pardon me," replied Reginald, still spellbound at her appearance. -"Pardon me. I hope this is no intrusion. I am yachting in a small way -about the islands here. And among other places that attracted my -attention was this river. I trust my presence is not objectionable."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," the girl replied quietly. Then she said, "Do you belong to the -islands, or are you English or American?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I am English," he answered. "A sailor in Her Majesty's service."</p> - -<p class="normal">She paused a moment, as though, it seemed to him, scarce knowing what -to say, then she spoke again.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Are you going to land?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"If I may do so. If it is permissible."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh, yes," she said. "You may do so. Sometimes people land here."</p> - -<p class="normal">He took her permission at once, and, dropping the cutter's anchor, -drew up the dinghy that was aft of her, and, getting into it, stepped -on shore close by her side. And, as he did so, he wondered, "Was it -here that Nicholas landed?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Then once more taking off his hat as he came near to her, he said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why do people sometimes land here? Have you any particular object of -interest in your island?" He would like to have added in a gallant -fashion, and sailor-like, "besides yourself," but, on consideration, -refrained from doing so.</p> - -<p class="normal">The girl smiled, as he could see, while she bent down to quiet -the dog that was jumping about Reginald as though welcoming a new -acquaintance. Then she replied--</p> - -<p class="normal">"No, not any particular object. Yet people come here because there is -a history attached to my family, or, perhaps I should say, my family -really has a history connected with this island--though I for one do -not believe it."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And that history is?" Reginald asked eagerly.</p> - -<p class="normal">"An ancestor of mine was supposed to have buried a treasure, or to -have found one, and never been able to remove it. Yet, since he lived -a wild life--for I fear he was a pirate--he left with his wife, a mere -girl, a full description of where it could be found should he at any -time fail to return to her. He did fail at last to return, and the -place which he had named was this island, the exact spot being a -cellar under a hut." She paused a moment, then she added, "The hut was -found and the cellar, but--the treasure was gone."</p> - -<p class="normal">Whether the faintness which came over Reginald at this moment--a thing -he had never experienced before--was caused by the change from the -cool sea breezes to the warmth exhaled by the thick vegetation of the -island and the rich odour sent forth by the flowers, he has never yet -been able to tell. All he knows is that, at her words, the place where -they were standing swam round him, the palms seemed to be dancing a -stately measure with each other and the island spinning, too, while he -heard the girl's voice exclaiming:</p> - -<p class="normal">"You are not well. What has overcome you?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I do not know," he replied. "It must be the heat ashore; yet I am -used to all kinds of heat. A little water would revive me. I will go -back to the cutter."</p> - -<p class="normal">"There is a rill close by," she said; "come and drink from that."</p> - -<p class="normal">He went towards it, following the direction she indicated, his mind -still confused, his brain whirling. "Where had he heard of a rill -before in connection with the island?" he asked himself; yet as he did -so he knew very well it was somewhere in Nicholas's narrative. And the -hut and the cellar beneath! Above all, a girl whose red mane was -thrown behind her! Where had he heard of one such as that?</p> - -<p class="normal">He drank from the well and cooled his hands and face--still -remembering that Nicholas had in some portion of his story described -how he had done this same thing--and all the time the girl stood -watching him.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You will pardon me this exhibition of weakness, I hope," he said. -"But I am all right now. And your story is so interesting, so much -like a romance, that--if I may stay a little longer--I should like to -hear some more of it. That is, if my curiosity is not offensive."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," the girl said simply, and her very ease before him and her lack -of ceremony showed how much a stranger she was to any worldly -conventionality. "I am very glad to have anyone to talk to. One gets -tired of living always, or nearly always, alone."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Alone! But surely you don't live alone in Coffin Island? I had heard -there were at least two--two men here."</p> - -<p class="normal">"There are sometimes--my father and brother; but they go away to sea -for weeks together, especially since they have almost abandoned the -thought of our finding the fabulous treasure. They are away now, -though I expect them back soon."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And you are not afraid to live here all by yourself?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Afraid! Why should I be? We cannot find the buried treasure, -therefore it is not likely anyone else could do so. And there is -nothing else here to tempt anyone."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Was there not?" Reginald reflected. "Was there not?" Yet she seemed -so innocent and simple that he could not tell her his thoughts. He -could not tell her, as he might have told a more worldly girl, that to -many men there was a greater temptation in that graceful form and -those hazel eyes and tawny golden hair than in all the dross beneath -the surface of the earth. So he only said--</p> - -<p class="normal">"But if you found the treasure? What would you do then?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"We should go away, I suppose--though I should be sorry to leave this -island. We should go into the world then--perhaps to Antigua or -Trinidad." Reginald here politely concealed a smile, and she went on, -"But I hope we shall never find it. My father and brother are used to -the life they lead here; I do not think the outer world would suit -them."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But they are sailors and have seen it, you say?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"They are sailors, but not such as you. They are simple, rough men, -scarcely able to read or to write. That was, I think, why they--why my -father--sent me to school at Antigua."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But how do you live while they are away?" he asked her now.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Very well. I have the hut, and there is always plenty of dried meat -and fresh fruit. And sometimes I fish, or shoot a bird. There are -plenty here of both kinds." Then she stopped and, looking at him, -said, "Would you like to see our home? It is not far."</p> - -<p class="normal">The girl's <i>naïveté</i> won on him so that there was but one reply -possible--an immediate and fervent assent to this invitation; and a -few moments later they were treading a path through the wood.</p> - -<p class="normal">"The path," Reginald said to himself, "that doubtless he walked, -leading to the hut where he saw Alderly die. The same, yet all so -different!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"A little glade on which the moon did shine as though on a sweet -English field at home," he remembered Nicholas had written--and, lo! -they were in it now. "A little glade bordered on all sides by golden -shaddocks, grapefruits, citrons and lime-trees, with, at their feet -and trailing round them, the many-hued convolvuli of the tropics, -passion-flowers and grandillos." Only, instead of seeking for a -bloodstained sea-robber, Reginald was following in the footsteps of -this woodland nymph--this girl whose beauty and innocence acted like a -charm upon him.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, next, they entered the tangled forest that Nicholas had passed -through, and here again all was as he had described it. The gleaming -leaves of the star-apple shone side by side with the palms and -cotton-trees; the fresh cool plantains and the cashews stopped their -way sometimes; the avocados and yams and custard-apples were all -around them. And turning a bend of the path they came upon the hut, -even as, two centuries ago, Nicholas had come upon the hut where -Alderly had played host to the spectres of his drunken imagination.</p> - -<p class="normal">Of course it could not be the same; the old one must long ago have -rotted away, even if not pulled down. This to which the girl led him -was a large, substantial wooden building, painted white and green, -with all around it--which made it appear even larger--a balcony, or -piazza, and with jalousies thrown over the rails of the piazza from -above the windowless frames. On the balcony were rude though -comfortable chairs covered with striped Osnaburgh cloths; against the -railing there stood a gun--it was hers!--and there were large -calabashes standing about, some full of water and some empty, with -smaller ones for drinking from.</p> - -<p class="normal">"This is my home," the girl said. "And it is here that we have lived -for nearly two hundred years, the house being rebuilt as it fell into -disrepair from time to time. I pray you to be seated. Later, when you -have rested, you shall see where the diggings have been made in the -searches for the supposed treasure."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And where," said Reginald, speaking as one in a stupor, "is the spot -you told me of, the cellar where the treasure once had been?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"It is below the floor of this verandah we are standing on. Why do you -ask?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Your story interests me so," he replied. "It seems so like a dream. -But," he continued, "later on, another day, perhaps you will tell me -all of it. For instance, I should so much like to know how your -ancestor, who at last never returned, came to possess the treasure and -to leave it buried here."</p> - -<p class="normal">"He found it here," she said, "by chance, and ever afterwards he made -this island a resort of his. I have told you he was a bad man--I am -afraid, a pirate."</p> - -<p class="normal">Again there came a feeling into Reginald's mind that he was losing his -senses, that he was going mad. And the next question he asked, with -the answer he received, might, indeed, have justified him in so -thinking.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Will you tell me," he said, "to whom I owe this hospitable reception -on Coffin Island? Will you tell me your name?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"My name," she replied, "is Barbara Alderly."</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXXI.</h4> -<h5>SOME LIGHT UPON THE PAST.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Her name was Barbara Alderly! This girl whose beauty was as fresh and -pure as her mind was innocent, the girl who--in spite of being able to -shoot birds for her food and cook them too, or to sail a boat as well -as Reginald himself could do--looked as delicate as any girl brought -up in an English country house, was Barbara Alderly, <i>his</i>, the -pirate's, descendant! It seemed impossible--impossible that she could -claim relationship with such as he had been; yet it was so!</p> - -<p class="normal">A week passed from the time she had divulged her name, a week in which -they were always together during the daytime--he going to his boat at -night, and joining her again in the early morning--and in that week -each had told the other their story, Barbara being the first to relate -hers. But in justice to Reginald it must be said that, never from the -moment he had heard who she was, had he had one thought of keeping -back from her the secret of where the treasure was hidden, or of -depriving her and her relations of one farthing of it.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It must all be theirs," he said to himself, "all, all. I could not go -away from this island with one penny of it in my pocket and continue -to think myself an honest man."</p> - -<p class="normal">But first he had to hear her family story--in itself a romance, if -ever there was one--she telling it to him a few days after their -acquaintance, as they sat on the verandah, while he drank some water -from one of the calabashes, flavoured with a dash of whisky brought up -by him from the <i>Pompeia</i>, and she played with her inseparable -companion, the dog, Carazo.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You must know," she began, "that it was not until some years after -Simon Alderly--who was the man I think to have been a pirate--failed -to return to Port Royal, where he lived, that his still young wife, -Barbara--her name being the same as mine--found the paper telling her -of the treasure in this island."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Barbara!" Reginald interrupted, memory recalling Nicholas's words -once more. "Barbara! A portrait of a girl with blue eyes, red gold -hair, and a sweet mouth!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"What do you mean, sir?" exclaimed his young hostess, looking at him -for the first time with something like surprise, if not alarm. "How do -you know she was like that? She has been dead for," and she counted -rapidly on her fingers--"for one hundred and seventy years!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Miss Alderly," Reginald replied, "will you believe me if I tell you -that I think I shall be able to throw some light upon your family -history when I have heard it? I have something to tell you as well as -to listen to."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Then," said the girl, "your presence here is not due to accident. You -have come purposely to this island in connection with the hidden -wealth it is supposed to contain."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes!" he said, "yes, I could not tell you an untruth. I have come -purposely here to find out about that wealth. Believe me, my presence -bodes no harm to you or yours, no deprivation of what belongs rightly -to you."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh!" she said, "how happy that will make father. But will you not -tell me----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"With your permission," he replied, "I will not tell you anything -until you have told me your story. Then I will keep nothing back from -you--I will, indeed, help you to recover that which has been sought -for so long----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"You know where it is?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I think so. I discovered the secret in England, and I came out here -to dig----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"But," she again interrupted, "if you discovered the secret, then this -treasure is yours, not ours."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," he said hastily, "no; it would have been mine had I not found -that there were people in existence who are more righteously entitled -to it. Now I shall find it, if I can, for you. Pray continue your -tale. When that is concluded I will begin mine."</p> - -<p class="normal">For some time he could not bring her to do so, his words having caused -her much excitement; but at last she took up the thread of her -narrative--the narrative interrupted so early in its commencement.</p> - -<p class="normal">"This Barbara," she said at last--while all the time her clear eyes -had a searching, almost troubled, look, as she kept them fixed on -him--"this Barbara of whom you seem to know, or to have guessed the -appearance, though I cannot say if it is a correct one, had herself a -strange history. Simon Alderly had found her, a child of about four -years old, alone and deserted on one of the Lucayos group, and, since -there was a boat washing about on the coast of the island, he thought -that possibly she had drifted ashore in it, while her parents, or -those who had saved her, had fallen into the sea from the boat after -escaping from some sinking ship. He took her off, however, carried her -to Port Royal, and, after bringing her up, married her when she was -fifteen. Then he left her in charge of his house there, while he, -following the calling of a sea-captain, was frequently away from home, -sometimes for weeks at a time, sometimes for months, sometimes for -more than a year. But whenever he returned he always brought a great -deal of money--generally composed of the coins of several different -nations--half of which he always gave to her for future household -expenses, spending the remainder in great rejoicing while he stayed on -shore."</p> - -<p class="normal">"This is, of course, family history," Reginald hazarded, "handed down -from generation to generation? Is it not?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"You shall hear, though you have guessed right. Our family records -since that time have been carefully kept."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I beg your pardon for interrupting you," Reginald said. "Pray go on."</p> - -<p class="normal">"However," the girl continued, stroking Carazo's ears all the while as -she did so, "the time came when he returned no more; he disappeared -finally in 1687."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ah!" exclaimed Reginald involuntarily.</p> - -<p class="normal">Again her soft hazel eyes stared full at him as she exclaimed, "You -are aware of that; you know it as well as I do!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes," he answered, "I know it. Once more forgive me."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Perhaps," she said, "you know as much, or more than I do!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," he replied, "after that I know no more. After the year 1687 down -to this period I know nothing further of Simon Alderly--indeed I did -not even know that his name was Simon; what you tell me of incidents -after that period will be new to me."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And you will tell me all you know when I have finished?" she asked, -looking at him with such trusting eyes that no man, unless he were a -scoundrel, could have had one thought of obtaining her confidence and -yet holding his own.</p> - -<p class="normal">"On my honour I will," he answered, "even to telling you where I -believe your wealth is hidden."</p> - -<p class="normal">She made a gesture as though deprecating the word "your," and then, -seeing he was waiting eagerly for her to continue, she did so.</p> - -<p class="normal">"He disappeared finally in 1687--Barbara never heard of him again. -Then as time went on she grew very poor. There had been a son born to -them whom she had brought up to be a sailor, too, hoping thereby that, -when he also became a roamer, he might somehow gather news of his -father; and by turning the house into an inn, she managed to exist. In -that way years passed and she began to grow old, while her son still -followed the sea, though never rising to be anything more than a -humble seaman. But more years after, when she was getting to be quite -an old woman, her house was blown down in a hurricane--though it had -survived the terrible one of 1722, when all the wharves at Port Royal -were destroyed--and then--she found something."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What?" asked Reginald. "What was it?" He remembered what David Crafer -had found under circumstances not dissimilar, and, perhaps, because he -was a sailor--and thereby given even in these modern days to belief in -strange and mysterious things--he wondered if the hand of Fate had -pointed out to that old Barbara some marvellous clue to where the -treasure was. Yet he knew that it could scarce have told her of the -removal of the chests of treasure from the island to the Key.</p> - -<p class="normal">"She found," went on the Barbara of to-day, "a little walled-up wooden -cupboard----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Great Heaven!" he muttered beneath his breath, so that, this time, -she did not hear him.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Close to the place where he used to sit and drink when at home, but -of the existence of which she was ignorant. Yet, she remembered, he -had often told her that there were secret hiding-places in the house, -and that, if he died suddenly or never came back, she was to search -diligently and she would find them. Especially he bade her search in -that room; but, what with waiting and watching for his return, she had -forgotten his instructions. And now that it was burst open, the wall -that secured it being only a plank of wood which fell out at the first -violence of the hurricane, she found this cupboard full of various -pieces of money, gold and silver, and a paper in his writing telling -her of his treasure in this island."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Then it was his!" exclaimed Reginald.</p> - -<p class="normal">"By discovery. He wrote that he had put into Coffin Island--as it was -called even so long ago as his time--in a storm, and that, while -roaming about the place, he and his comrades had come upon a hut, old -and long since built, but quite deserted now. Then he went on to -write--my father has the paper now, and I have often seen it--that the -sloop he had was sent to Tortola to fetch provisions----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Was it in charge of a man named Martin, by any chance?" asked -Reginald.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now he saw how imprudent he was. As he mentioned that name the -girl started from her seat and retreated from him to the other end of -the verandah.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You frighten me," she said. "I do not understand. How do you know -this?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Do not be alarmed, I beg," he answered in return. "When you have told -your story I will put into your hands a paper that has been found, -written by a forerunner of mine who knew Simon Alderly. Then you will -see how I know what I do. Pray feel no alarm. I mean you nothing but -goodwill, nothing. The treasure shall be yours and no one else's. -Will you trust in me?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes," she said, once more calmed. "Yes, I will." Then she seated -herself again and at his persuasion continued the narrative, while -Reginald could not but reflect how little fear Nicholas need have had -of "Martin coming back with the sloop."</p> - -<p class="normal">The bewildered mind of the drink-inflamed pirate had mixed up two -separate sojourns in Coffin Island!</p> - -<p class="normal">"The sloop went to Tortola to purchase provisions, and, since they -were short-handed, there being but three men excepting my ancestor, all -went in her but him. And then it was he found the treasure, it being -in a vault or cavern beneath the floor of the hut. It was the simplest -way in which he unearthed it, he wrote, and had he not been alone it -must have been discovered by the others as well as he. There was a -trap-door in the flooring, with a great ring to it, quite visible to -anyone, and opening easily. And when he went down some steps into the -cavern he found it all--all! Only he had no chance to take it away -then, he wrote to his wife; so, putting a vast number of gold pieces -in his pocket, he carefully closed the trap-door up again and covered -it over with earth, which he stamped down with his feet so that his -companions should observe nothing. And in the paper which he left, -giving such instructions as were necessary, which were not many--the -place was so easily to be found--he wrote down that he had since, -whenever opportunity offered, paid visits to Coffin Island, but, being -always accompanied by comrades, he never yet had had a chance of -removing it. And, he said, if he never brought it home and she found -the paper, then she must go to Coffin Island after his death and get -it for herself. It was a large treasure, a great fortune, he wrote, it -must not be lost."</p> - -<p class="normal">"So," said Reginald, "she came here?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"She came here," the girl continued, "and with her came her son and a -woman he had married, a Barbadian. But through all the generations -from the day she came--which was in the year 1723--and I am the eighth -in descent from her, they have never found the treasure. The vault was -there, but there was nothing in it."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yet your family have continued to seek for it," exclaimed Reginald. -"I should almost have thought they would have desisted."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," Barbara replied, "they never desisted. For first, they thought -that Simon might have changed the hiding-place after he had left the -paper in Jamaica--the life he led would probably necessitate his -doing so, since his companions might otherwise have also found the -vault--and, next, the island had become their home. Simon's son bought -it for half-a-crown an acre, his wife having some little money, and we -have lived here ever since, while every man who has succeeded to it -has made further search."</p> - -<p class="normal">So the tale was told, and now the time had come for Reginald to tell -his.</p> - -<p class="normal">And as that night he took farewell of Barbara, he said--</p> - -<p class="normal">"To-morrow I shall tell you why the treasure has never been found by -your family. To-morrow I shall bring you a narrative left by that -connection of mine, saying where the treasure is hidden. He knew Simon -Alderly, and he found out the hiding-place."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And was Simon indeed a pirate?" Barbara asked.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Would it grieve you to hear he was?"</p> - -<p class="normal">She thought a moment before replying, and then she said--</p> - -<p class="normal">"No, for we have always thought him to be one. No, not if it will not -make you think worse of me for having descended from him."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I knew that was so," Reginald replied, "when you told me your name. -And I do not think I showed by my manner that I thought any the worse -of you."</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXXII.</h4> -<h5>THE SOLITUDE IS INTERRUPTED.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">The weather had changed, and, as is always the case in the tropics, -the change was extreme.</p> - -<p class="normal">The wind blew now from the northeast, dashing the sea up in mountains -on to the strip of beach around that quarter of Coffin Island, hurling -it with a roar like great claps of thunder over the beach on to the -vegetation beyond it, crashing down trees and saplings, and entirely -obliterating for a time the three little Keys, in the middle one of -which was Simon Alderly's treasure. This Key Reginald had gazed upon -more than once since he had been in the island; he had even pointed it -out to Barbara on the morning after she had told her tale, and had -added the few missing links to the knowledge she already possessed; -and he had also informed her that therein lay her fortune.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So," the girl said on that morning, as she gazed down from the cliff -on which they stood to where the already fast-rising waves were -washing over the spot in question, "it is there they ought to have -searched. It has laid there all the time! Yet no one ever thought of -those little islets. Well! I am glad!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why?" asked Reginald, as he looked round at her. He had given her his -arm to steady her against the fierce wind blowing now under the -purple, sun-coloured clouds rolling up from the northeast, and she -had taken it. Yet, as she did so, she scarcely knew why she should -accept that proffered arm. She was used to all changes of weather in -this, her island; she could stand as easily upon the tallest crags -that it possessed as any of her goats, or even the sea-birds that -dwelt upon them, could do. Yet, still, she had taken it!</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh! I don't know," she replied in answer to his question; "yet--yet, -I think I am. Because--" she paused again, and then went on. "Because, -you see, if any of my people had found it before now--before you came -here--why, you would have found nothing yourself when you arrived, -after you had made so long a journey. And, we should have been -gone--you and I would never have met."</p> - -<p class="normal">Something in the sailor's nature tingled as she said those words in -her simplicity--something, he knew not what. Still, in response, he -turned his eyes on her, and gazed into those other clear eyes beside -him, shaded with their long, jet-black lashes. Then he said--</p> - -<p class="normal">"For us never to have met would have been the worst thing of all, -Barbara."</p> - -<p class="normal">It seemed absurd to call her Miss Alderly, here in this wild tropical -garden inhabited only by themselves; to give her the stilted prefix -that would have been required in the midst of civilisation. So, not -for the first time, he had addressed her by her Christian name. And to -her--who perhaps in her schooldays only, in Antigua, had ever known -what it was to be spoken of as Miss Alderly--it appeared not at all -strange that he should so address her.</p> - -<p class="normal">"But," he went on, "as for the treasure, as for the finding of -it--that might as well have happened fifty or a hundred years ago as -now. It is yours and your family's; not a farthing of it belonged to -my relative, nor belongs to me."</p> - -<p class="normal">"That shall never be," she replied. "My father, although a rough, -simple sailor, is an honest, straightforward man; he, at least, would -never hear of such a thing as your not having your share. And for my -brother----" but here she paused.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why," asked Reginald, after a moment had elapsed--"why do you -hesitate at the name of your brother?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Because," she replied, "he is different. He is," and she buried her -face in her hands for a moment and then uncovered it again--"he is a -cruel, grasping man, selfish and greedy. He rules us more as if he -were father than father himself, and he tyrannises even over him. He -takes all the money they both earn while they are away together, and, -generally, he spends it. When they went to Aspinwall, at the time they -were so busy about the Canal, he took all they had both earned and -spent it at the Faro and Monte tables, as they call them down there. -And once he struck father before me, when they were both at home, -because he wanted to go over to Porto Rico, where the Spaniards gamble -day and night, and father would not give him the money for some goats -he had sold to a Tortola dealer. Oh!" she continued, "he is terrible! -and when he takes his share of what is in the Key, I dread to think of -what he will do with it."</p> - -<p class="normal">As she finished, the storm increased with such violence that it was -necessary for them to leave the crag on which they stood--otherwise -they would possibly be blown off it ere many moments had elapsed. -Moreover, the hot rain was beginning now--and in these regions only a -few moments elapse between the fall of the first drop and the -drenching downpour of a tropical storm; it was time for them to seek -the refuge of Barbara's home. The thunder, too, was very near now, so -at once they hurried onwards, gaining the desired shelter before the -worst of the storm had set in.</p> - -<p class="normal">It was to-day--the day following Barbara's account of Simon -Alderly--that Reginald had promised to read to her Nicholas's -narrative. He had it in his pocket now; indeed he regarded it as too -precious a thing to leave carelessly about, and consequently it was -always with him, and to-day he proposed ere leaving her to get through -some portion of it. He meant to read it all through, partly as a story -that he thought would interest the girl, partly as a justification of -Nicholas. For, he considered, if, since she already believed her -ancestor to be a pirate, he proved to her that he was indeed such, -then Nicholas must be acquitted in her mind for having himself removed -and hidden away that which did not belong to him. So they, having -reached the house, sat themselves down to the narrative, he to read -and she to listen. They were no longer able to sit upon the verandah -since the rain now beat down pitilessly and as though it never meant -to cease, and the wind, even in the middle of the little island, was -very boisterous. And so, when the jalousies had been fastened tightly -to prevent the flapping they had previously made, Reginald began -Nicholas's story, prefacing it with the account of how it had been -found.</p> - -<p class="normal">It was about ten o'clock in the day when this young couple, who had so -strangely been brought together in this island, began that story--for -they met and parted early; it was nearly nightfall when Reginald -arrived at the description of how Alderly died singing his drunken -song. And amidst the swift-coming darkness--a darkness made more -intense by the heavy pall of clouds that hung above the island--there -seemed to come over them both that feeling of creepiness, of -melancholy horror, which Nicholas had described himself as becoming -overwhelmed with.</p> - -<p class="normal">The girl seemed far more overcome by this feeling than Reginald was. -She started again and again at every fresh gust that shook the frail -fabric in which she dwelt, her eyes stared fixedly before her as -though she saw the spectre of her pirate ancestor rising up, and once -she begged him to desist for a moment from his reading.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It was below here," she whispered, "below the very spot where we sit, -that that wretch, that murderous villain, died in his sin. Oh! it is -horrible! horrible to think that we have all lived here so long, that -I was born here. Horrible!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Barbara," said Reginald, "do not regard it so seriously. I was wrong -to read you all I have--yet, think. Think! It is two hundred years -since it all happened--we have nothing to do with that long-buried -past."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes, yes," she said. "I know that we have not. Yet--yet--this is the -very spot--the very place. That makes it all so much more horrible, so -much more ghostly. And to-night, I know not why, I feel as I have -never felt before, nervous, frightened, alarmed, as though at some -danger near at hand. Let me light the lamp ere you continue."</p> - -<p class="normal">"It is the storm has made you nervous," he replied, trying to soothe -her while he assisted her to arrange the lamp. "The air, too, is -charged with electricity--that alone will unstring your nerves, to say -nothing of the darkness and the noise of the tempest. I have done -wrong, Barbara; I have selected the worst time for reading this -horrible story to you. I should have chosen one of the bright days -when we could sit on the crags and have nothing but the brilliant sun -about and over us."</p> - -<p class="normal">She glanced up at him with a smile in her clear eyes--the smile that -never failed to make him think that he had lit on some woman belonging -to another world than his, it was so full of innocence as well as a -simple trust that would have well befitted a little child--and laid -her hand upon his arm as though to assure him that he had done nothing -to affright her. But, as she did so, there came a terrific flash of -lightning which illuminated all the tropical wood outside--as they -could see through the slats of the jalousie--and then a roar of -thunder that made the girl scream and let fall the lamp just lighted.</p> - -<p class="normal">But Reginald caught it deftly, and placing it on the table said with a -smile--</p> - -<p class="normal">"It would never do for another lamp to be overturned here as one was -so long ago. Come, Barbara, cheer up, take heart! We will read no more -to-night."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes, yes," she exclaimed. "Read. Go on reading and finish your story. -Besides, we must do something to pass the night--you cannot go to your -yacht, and I--I--; for the first time in my life I fear to be alone. I -dread, though I know not what. I have been alone night after night -here for even weeks and months together, and never feared anything. -Yet, now, I am afraid. Pray, do not leave me to-night."</p> - -<p class="normal">He looked at her, admiring, almost worshipping her for the innocence -she showed in every word she spoke, and then he said--</p> - -<p class="normal">"Have no fear, I will not leave you if you wish it. But, Barbara, we -must do something else to pass the hours away than read old Nicholas's -story. What shall we do? Let us have a game of cards."</p> - -<p class="normal">There were some packs in her house that they had played with before -now--cards brought from other islands by her dissolute brother, with -which to pass the long nights in, as she frankly owned, trying to get -the better of his father; but she would not play now.</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," she said. "Let us come to the end of the tale. I cannot rest -until I have heard it all. Do, do finish it."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Very well, if you will," he answered. "And, at any rate, the worst is -told. There is nothing more to shock or affright you. Nothing but the -burying of the treasure in the spot where it now lies, and where we -will dig it up."</p> - -<p class="normal">The jalousies rattled as he spoke--yet at this moment the wind had -ceased, and nought was heard but the steady downpour of the rain.</p> - -<p class="normal">But, perhaps because of the incessant noise the storm had made for -some hours, neither of them noticed this peculiar incident, though -Reginald glanced up as the blind stirred.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then he began again, reading on through Nicholas's strange story, and -doing so with particular emphasis, so that she might grasp every word -of his description as he told how the measurements were to be taken in -the middle Key. And Barbara sat there listening silently. Yet, as he -turned a leaf--having now got to that part of the account where -Nicholas was picked up by the <i>Virgin Prize</i>--he paused in -astonishment at the appearance of her face.</p> - -<p class="normal">For she was gazing straight before her at the jalousie, her eyes -opened to their widest, her features drawn as though in fright, her -face almost distorted.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Look! Look!" she gasped. "Look at the blind."</p> - -<p class="normal">And he, following her glance, was for the moment appalled too.</p> - -<p class="normal">A large hand was grasping half-a-dozen of the slats in its clutch; -between those slats a pair of human eyes were twinkling as they peered -into the room.</p> - -<p class="normal">As Reginald rose to rush at the intruder, whoever he was, Barbara gave -another gasp and fell back fainting into her chair; and then, before -her companion could ask the owner of those eyes what he meant by his -intrusion, the blinds were roughly thrust aside, and, following this, -there came a man of great size, from whom the water dripped as from a -dog who had just quitted a river--a man whose face was all bruised and -discoloured as though he had been badly beaten.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXXIII.</h4> -<h5>THE ISLAND'S OWNER.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">"Who are you, and what do you want?" asked Reginald, confronting the -intruder; while, as he spoke, he observed that the coarse and scanty -clothes in which he was clad were drenched with more water than even -the heavens could have poured on him.</p> - -<p class="normal">He was a man of great bulk, young as himself, and with a mass of -reddish-yellow hair that hung about his face, matted and dishevelled -from the wet in which it was soaked; and as he advanced into the room -the water dripped off him on to the floor.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Want!" he replied, "want! What should a man want in his own house but -rest and comfort after a storm? Master, this is my house! I had best -ask what you want here? And at night--alone with my sister."</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet he did not pause for an answer, but going up to where that sister -lay back in the swoon that had overcome her, he shook her roughly by -the shoulder and called out--</p> - -<p class="normal">"Come, get over your fit. I have bad news for you."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Be a little more gentle with her!" Reginald exclaimed. "We can bring -her to in a better manner than that;" and as he spoke he went to the -spirit flask he had brought up from the yacht, and moistened her lips -with some of the whisky, and bathed her forehead with water from one -of the calabashes.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What the devil is the matter with the girl?" asked her brother. "She -has never been used to indulging in such weaknesses--what does it -mean?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"It means," the other replied, "that the storm has frightened her."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Bah! she has seen plenty of them since she was born. We are used to -storms here."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And also," Reginald went on, "she saw a man--you--outside, listening -to us. She saw your hand on the blind and your face through the slats, -but did not recognise you. It is not strange that she should be -frightened."</p> - -<p class="normal">But by this time Barbara was coming round--she opened her eyes as her -brother spoke, then closed them again, as though the sight of him was -horrible to her, and shivered a little. But, after a moment, she -opened them once more, and, fixing them on him, said--</p> - -<p class="normal">"You have come back. Where is father?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He is dead," he said, using no tone of regret as he spoke, and, -indeed, speaking as he might have done of the death of some stranger. -"He is dead not an hour ago. The storm drove us here, brought us home. -But as we reached the shore, for we could not get round to the creek, -the breakers flung our boat over, and us out of it. I was fortunate -enough to scramble on land, but the old man had no such luck. He was -carried out to sea again, and I saw no more of him."</p> - -<p class="normal">Barbara had burst into tears at the first intimation of her father's -death, and now she wept silently, her brother sitting regarding her -calmly while he sipped at Reginald's flask as though it were his -own!--and the latter felt his whole heart go out to her in sympathy. -Yet--how could he comfort her? The one whose place it was to do that -was now by her side, but being a rough, uncouth brute, as it was easy -to see he was, he neither offered to do so, nor, it seemed probable, -would he have done aught but mock at any kind words Reginald might -speak.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Father! Father!" the girl sobbed. "Oh, father! And I have been -looking forward so much to your return--hoping so much from it. -Thinking how happy we might be."</p> - -<p class="normal">Her brother--who seemed to consider that, after having told her of old -Alderly's death, no further remark on the subject was necessary, and -who, if he knew what sympathy meant, certainly did not consider it -needful to exhibit any--had by now turned his back to them and, going -to a cupboard, was busily engaged in foraging in it. Reginald had seen -Barbara take food out of this cupboard ere this, both for him and for -herself--food consisting of dried goat's flesh, cheese and other -simple things--and therefore he was not surprised at the man doing so -now. But he was somewhat surprised at hearing Barbara, while her -brother's back was turned, whisper to him--</p> - -<p class="normal">"Say nothing at present about the Key."</p> - -<p class="normal">He nodded, willing to take his line of action from her in anything she -might suggest in the circumstances which had now arisen; yet he felt -that his silence would make his presence there still more inexplicable -But, also, his trust was so firm in the girl that without hesitation -he determined to do as he was bidden.</p> - -<p class="normal">Presently her brother turned away from the cupboard, coming towards -them again and bearing in one hand a piece of coarse bread and, in the -other, a scrap of meat he had found.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Been here long keeping Barbara company?" he asked, while his -twinkling eyes--how unlike hers! Reginald thought--glistened -maliciously. "We don't often get visitors here."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Indeed," Reginald replied; "I have heard differently. I was told in -Tortola that curiosity about the strange history of your island -brought many people here. And, having a little yacht which I have -hired and being a sailor myself, I ventured to pay a visit."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sailor, eh? What line? American and--but, there, it's easy enough to -see you're a Britisher. What is it? Royal Mail, eh?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I am in the Royal Navy. A lieutenant. And my name's Crafer."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Crafer, eh? and in the Royal Navy? I don't think much of the Royal -Navy myself. A damned sight too condescending in their ways, as a -rule, are the gentlemen in your line--that is, when they take any -notice of you at all. Well, if you're going to stay I hope you're not -like that. And my name's Alderly--Joseph Alderly. That's good enough -for me."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I certainly did hope to stay a little longer. I am on leave and like -cruising about."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Your boat's in the river, you say?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why don't you live in it instead of in this house, then? Or at -Tortola, where there is a hotel? In some of the islands hereabouts my -sister would get a bad name if it was known she was entertaining young -English officers all alone."</p> - -<p class="normal">At his words Reginald sprang to his feet, Barbara also rising, her -hazel eyes, that were usually so soft and innocent, flashing indignant -glances at her brutal brother.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You don't know, you don't understand," she began; "if you did you -would behave differently. Mr. Crafer has come----" But Reginald was -speaking also.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Mr. Joseph Alderly," he said, "this is the first night I have ever -stayed in your house as late as this. I should not be here now were it -not for the storm. However, I will trespass upon your hospitality no -longer. Miss Alderly, I wish you 'Good-night.'" He touched her hand as -he spoke--not knowing what her glance meant to convey, yet feeling -sure that there must be much she would have said to him if she had had -but the opportunity--and then he turned on his heel, passed through -the jalousie, and so out on to the verandah.</p> - -<p class="normal">The storm was ceasing as he went forth, the clouds were rolling away -to the south; around him there were the odours of all the tropical -flowers, their perfume increased threefold by the rain. He knew the -path so well now from having traversed it many times backwards and -forwards from the <i>Pompeia</i>, that it took him very little time even in -the dark to reach the bank of the river, to unmoor the dinghy, and to -get on board the craft. Then, lighting his pipe, he sat himself down -in his little cabin to meditate on what this fresh incident--the -arrival of Joseph Alderly--might mean.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I should know better what to think," he mused, "if I only knew how -long he had been behind the blind. The brute may have been there for -sufficient time to have heard all the last instructions of old -Nicholas about finding the treasure which I read out. Or he may have -heard only enough to give him an inkling that I know where the -treasure is. Let me see," and he put his hand in his pocket and drew -forth his forerunner's narrative.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes," he muttered, as he turned over the leaves, "yes, I had got -far enough--having reached the rescue of Nicholas by the <i>Virgin -Prize</i>--for him to have heard all if he was there. If he was there; -that's it. Only--was he? or did he come later when there was nothing -more to be overheard than the description of Nicholas leaving the -island?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Again he pondered, turning the arrival of Alderly over in his mind, -and then he remembered how the jalousies had rattled at a time when -the wind had lulled, though he had taken little heed of the fact -beyond glancing up from the papers. Yet, as he racked his mind to -recall what they had been saying, or he reading, at the moment, he -remembered the words he had uttered--</p> - -<p class="normal">"There is nothing to tell you now but the burying of the treasure in -the spot where it lies and where we will dig it up."</p> - -<p class="normal">These had been his words, or very similar ones. If Alderly had been -there then--if he had arrived on the verandah by the time they were -uttered--he knew all. He had heard the middle Key mentioned, he had -heard how the measurements were to be taken, he knew as much as -Reginald and Barbara knew. But--had he been there? was it his hand -that shook the blind, or was it some light gust of air, a last breath -of the storm? That was the question.</p> - -<p class="normal">Still, independent of this--indeed, far beyond the thought of the -treasure, which he had definitely decided he would take no portion of, -since it was not, could not be, his by any right--his mind was -troubled. Troubled about Barbara and her being alone with the savage -creature who was her brother--"Heavens!" he thought, "that they should -be the same flesh and blood!"--troubled to think of what form his -brutality might take towards her if he suspected that she knew where -all the long-sought wealth was hidden away.</p> - -<p class="normal">"But," he said to himself, as he still sat on smoking, "no harm shall -come to her if I can prevent it--if I can! nay, as I will. He may -order me out of these moorings since the whole island is his--well, -let him. If he does, I will find out Nicholas's cove and anchor myself -there--or, better still, I will go and lie off the middle Key. And, by -the powers! if he does know that the treasure is there and begins to -dig for it, not a penny, not a brass farthing shall he take away -without my being by to see that he shares fair and fair alike with his -sister. He seems capable, from what I have seen of him and she has -told me, of taking the whole lot off to Aspinwall or Porto Rico and -losing it in one of his loathsome gambling dens, while he leaves her -here alone!"</p> - -<p class="normal">He went on deck of his little craft as he made these reflections, and, -more from sailor-like habit than aught else--since no one ever came -into the river--he trimmed his lights and arranged them for the night, -and then went to his cabin and turned in. But before he did so, he -cast a glance up to where Barbara's home was, and saw that on the -slight eminence there twinkled the rays of the lamp through the now -opened windows. All was well, therefore, for this night.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet he could not sleep. He could not rest for thinking of the girl up -there with no one but that brutal kinsman for a companion; with no one -to help her if he in his violence should attempt to injure her--a -thing he would be very likely to do if he questioned her about aught -he might have overheard, and she refused to satisfy him.</p> - -<p class="normal">At last this feeling got too strong for him--so strong that he -determined to go and see if all was well with her. Therefore, ashore -he went again, and, making his way up quietly through the glade and -the little wood, he came within sight and earshot of the hut. And -there he soon found that, no matter how fierce and cruel a nature -Alderly's was, he at least meant no harm to the girl herself.</p> - -<p class="normal">She, he could see from the close proximity to the hut which he had -attained, was lying asleep upon a low couch on which he had often sat, -a couch covered with Osnaburgh cloth and some skins. Alderly was -sitting at the table, drinking and smoking and occasionally singing. -He had evidently found some liquor of his own--probably stowed away by -him ere setting out on his various cruises--and was pouring it out -pretty rapidly into the mug he drank from.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Heavens!" exclaimed Reginald. "How the past repeats itself! Here -stand I, a Crafer, watching an Alderly in his cups, even as, two -hundred years ago, my relative stood here watching this man's. And he -sings there as he drinks, even as his rascally forerunner sang, -too--the one when his father has not been dead many hours, the other -when he had murdered a man! And Barbara,--well, there is Barbara in -place of the fancied Barbara the other conjured up. It is the past all -over again, in the very same place, almost the very same hour at -night. Let us hope that, as all came well with Nicholas afterwards, so -it may with me. And with Barbara, too. Yes, with Barbara, too."</p> - -<p class="normal">Whereon, seeing that all was well for the present at any rate, he -moved silently away and so regained his boat.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXXIV.</h4> -<h5>JOSEPH ALDERLY.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">In the morning, when he woke and went on to the deck of his little -craft, he saw Barbara standing on the river's brink--evidently waiting -for him to be stirring. Therefore, he at once got into his dinghy and -went ashore to her.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What is he doing now?" he asked, as he took her hand and noticed for -the first time the absence of the splendid flush of health upon her -face that was generally there. This morning she had dark purple rings -under her eyes--as though she had not slept or had been weeping.</p> - -<p class="normal">"He is asleep now," she said, "after sitting up drinking, singing, and -muttering to himself till nearly daybreak. Oh, Mr. Crafer!" she broke -off, "what is to be done?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"What does he know?" asked Reginald in return. "Did he hear any of the -story I read to you? How long had he been at the window before you -noticed him?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I cannot tell. Yet I think he suspects. Before I went to sleep he -asked me what brought you here, and whether you were hunting for the -treasure, and also what that paper was you were reading to me?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"And what did you tell him?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I would not tell a lie, therefore I said it was an account of the -island, written by a connection of yours who had been here long ago." -"And then?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"And then he said he would like to see it. He said he was sure you -would show it to him."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Was he! I am sure I shall do nothing of the kind. Yet I do not know," -and Reginald broke off to meditate. Following which he went on again. -"But he must see it after all. Barbara, the treasure is his and yours. -He must be told."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No, no," she said. "It is not his--it is yours--yours--yours. Oh! it -would be wicked, shocking, to think that you, the only person in the -world to whom the chance came of finding out where it is hidden, -should not be entitled to it, or at least to half of it. And think, -too, of the journey you have made, the expense you have been put to, -the trouble you have taken. And all for nothing; to get nothing in -return."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have got something in return," he said. "Your friendship! Have I -not, Barbara?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes," the girl whispered, or almost whispered, while to her cheeks -there came back the rose-blush he loved so much to see. "Yes. But what -is that in comparison to what you ought to have?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Everything," he replied earnestly. "Everything. Far more, perhaps, to -me than you think. But now is scarcely the time to tell you how dear -that friendship is. Instead, let us think of what is best to be done."</p> - -<p class="normal">"At present," she replied, "I am sure the best thing is to keep the -secret. If he knew it was there he would get it up somehow--and, I -think, he would go away with it. Then you would get nothing."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But I want nothing."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I don't care," she replied. "I am determined you shall have half. Oh! -promise me, promise me you will tell him nothing unless he agrees to -give you half."</p> - -<p class="normal">At first he again refused, and still again, but at last he agreed to -her request, or at least so far consented that he said he would make a -proposal to her brother. He would suggest that, on his being willing -to divide whatever they should find into three parts--one for Alderly, -one for Barbara, and one for him--he would inform him where he thought -the treasure was buried. But that he would take no more than a third -he was quite resolved, he told her.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It will be useless," she said, "useless to do that! He will never -consent to my having a third; if he did he would take it away from me -directly afterwards."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Would he!" exclaimed Reginald. "Would he! I would see about that."</p> - -<p class="normal">"At any rate, he would try to do so. Therefore, it would be far better -for you to insist on one half. By taking one third you would only get -a lesser share, while he would get more."</p> - -<p class="normal">At last, therefore, Reginald determined he would go and see her -brother and, as he said, sound him. Only he was resolved on one thing. -Alderly should neither see Nicholas's manuscript nor be told the exact -spot where the buried treasure was until they had come to some terms.</p> - -<p class="normal">"And, remember," he said to her, "if I get one half from him, you take -from me what represents one third." To which again the girl protested -she would never consent.</p> - -<p class="normal">After this they parted, she going back to the hut, and he saying he -would follow later, since they resolved it would be best to keep the -knowledge of their having met that morning from her brother.</p> - -<p class="normal">When, however, Reginald himself arrived at Alderly's house he found -that person gone from it and Barbara alone--standing on the verandah -and evidently watching for his coming.</p> - -<p class="normal">"He has gone down to the shore," she said, "to see if he can find -anything of poor father's body. At least that is what he says he has -gone for, as well as to see if his boat is capable of being repaired. -Alas! I fear he thinks more of the boat than of father's death."</p> - -<p class="normal">"If he thinks so much of the boat," Reginald remarked, "it scarcely -looks as if he has much idea of there being a large treasure to his -hand. However, I will go and see him. Where did he come ashore last -night?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Very near to the Keys," she answered. "Indeed, close by."</p> - -<p class="normal">So Reginald made his way across the island to that spot, and, when he -had descended the crags and reached the small piece of beach there, he -saw Alderly engaged in inspecting the wrecked craft which had brought -him safely back to his island overnight. It had been at its best but -a poor crazy thing--a rough-built cutter of about the same size as the -<i>Pompeia</i>, but very different as regards its fittings and -accommodation. It was open-decked, with a wretched cabin aft into -which those in her might creep for rest and shelter, and with another -one forward--but these were all there was to protect them.</p> - -<p class="normal">"She is badly injured," Reginald said, after having wished Alderly -good-morning and received a surly kind of grunt in reply. "I am afraid -there is not much to be done to her."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Mister," said Alderly, suddenly desisting from his inspection, and -turning round on the other man without taking any notice of his -remark, "I am glad you came here this morning. You and I have got to -have some talk together, and we can't do it better than here."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Certainly," replied Reginald. "What would you like us to talk about?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"It ain't what I'd <i>like</i> to talk about, but what I am <i>a-going</i> to -talk about as you've got to hear. Now, look you here. I ain't no -scholar like Barb over there--she was sent to school because the old -man was a fool--and I'm a plain man. I've had to earn my living -rough--very rough--and p'raps I'm a bit rough myself. But I'm -straight--there ain't no man in the islands straighter nor what I am."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Being so straight, perhaps you will go on with what you have to say. -Meanwhile, Mr. Alderly, let me be equally straight with you. Your -manner is offensive, and, as you say, 'very rough.' Therefore, I may -as well tell you that it doesn't intimidate me. We are both sailors, -only I happen to have been in a position of command, while your rank, -I gather, has been always more or less of a subordinate one. So, if -you'll kindly remember that I expect civility, we shall get along very -well together."</p> - -<p class="normal">Alderly glanced at him, perhaps calculating the strength of the thews -and sinews of so finely built a young man; then he said--</p> - -<p class="normal">"This is <i>my</i> island, you know, mister, and all that's in it."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Precisely. And you mean that I am in it. Well, so I am. Only, you -understand, I can very soon get out of it. The sea isn't yours as -well."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Suppose I wasn't to let you go! Suppose I stopped up the mouth of the -river where your craft is a-lying! Then you'd be in it still."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes," said Reginald, "so I should. Only, all the same, I should go -when I pleased. I am not a baby--but, there, this is absurd. Say what -you want to say."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well, I will. What was that paper you was a-reading to my sister in -my house last night?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"A little history of this island, which a forerunner of mine happened -to visit some two centuries ago."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Two cent'ries ago! Oh! It didn't happen to say anything about the -treasure old Simon Alderly had stowed away here, did it?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Since you ask me so directly, and as it is your business, I will -reply at once. It did."</p> - -<p class="normal">For a moment Alderly's face was a sight to see. First the brown of his -face turned to a deeper hue, then the colour receded, leaving him -almost livid, then slowly the natural colour returned again, and he -said, huskily--</p> - -<p class="normal">"It did, eh? So I thought, though I don't know why the wench, Barb, -told me a lie."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Are you sure she did tell you a lie? I don't think your sister seems -a person of that sort."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Never mind my sister. Tell me about the treasure--<i>my</i> treasure. I am -the heir, you know; I am the only Alderly left after two cent'ries -hunting for it--you was right about them cent'ries, mister. Two it -was. Where is that treasure? Go on, tell me."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have not quite made up my mind about doing that," said Reginald. -"It remains for me to decide whether I shall do so just yet."</p> - -<p class="normal">"It remains for you to decide whether you will tell me where my -property is! It does, does it? And what else?--what do it remain for -me to do?" and he advanced so close to Reginald and looked so -threatening, both from his angry glances and his great height and -build, that many a man might have been cowed. But not such a man as -Reginald Crafer!</p> - -<p class="normal">"What do it remain for me to do--eh?" he asked again. "To kill you, -p'raps."</p> - -<p class="normal">Reginald's laugh rang out so loud at this that it might have been -heard on the Keys outside--the Keys whereon the treasure was. And it -made Alderly's fury even greater than before.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I <i>could</i> kill you, mister, easy, if I wanted to. And no one would -never know of it except Barb. And if she knowed of it, why, I'd kill -her too. Anyhow, I mean to have my fortune."</p> - -<p class="normal">"As to killing," said Reginald, "I don't quite agree with you. You -seem to me a powerful kind of a person, without much knowledge, -however, of using that power." Here Alderly stamped with fury. -"Therefore, you are not so very terrible. However, about <i>your</i> -fortune. To begin with, are you quite sure it is yours?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why! whose else is it if it ain't mine?" the bully asked, stupidly -now. "Ain't this island mine now father's dead?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"You say it is, though I am sure I don't know whether you are telling -the truth or not. It might be as much your sister's as yours." Alderly -burst out laughing, scornfully this time; but Reginald went on. "Your -father might have left a will, you know, leaving her a portion of it, -or, indeed, the whole, if he didn't approve of your general -behaviour."</p> - -<p class="normal">Alderly laughed again--though now he looked rather white, the other -thought; and then he said emphatically:--</p> - -<p class="normal">"Father didn't leave no papers. So I'm the heir. Girls don't count, -I'm told." All of which--both laughter, pallor, and remarks--led -Reginald to form a suspicion that whatever papers the elder Alderly -might have left had been destroyed.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I think they do," said Reginald, "and certainly Miss Alderly counts -in my opinion. For, if eventually I decide to tell you where your -treasure is, she will have to have her portion."</p> - -<p class="normal">"She will have her portion," said Alderly decidedly, "which will be -that I shall look after her. And I suppose you'll want a portion, -too."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes, rather," the other replied, remembering that he had promised to -make no stipulations about Barbara. So he corrected himself now, and -said, "Of course I suppose you will look after her. Well, remembering -that, I shall want one half."</p> - -<p class="normal">"One half!" exclaimed Alderly, almost shouting out the words in his -excitement. "One half! My God! One half of all that treasure! Just for -coming here to tell me where it is! Why! you must be mad, Mr. Crafer, -or whatever you call yourself. Mad! Mad! Why! sooner than do that I'd -fetch a hundred o' my pals and mates from all around, from the islands -and up from Aspinwall and Colon, and dig the whole place up till we -found it. One half!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"And dig the whole place up!" repeated Reginald. "Just so. Only, you -know that when your ancestress, the first Barbara, and her son came -here they found the treasure had been removed from the place where -Simon left it, and none have ever been able to find it since. Isn't -that so?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes," muttered Alderly, "it is, damn you!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Very well. You don't own all the islands round, of which there are -some scores, inhabited and uninhabited. And, presuming that the -treasure in question has been moved to one of these--and there is no -one knows whether it has or not but myself" (he determined not to -bring Barbara in further than was necessary)--"what good would all the -digging of you and your 'pals and mates' do in this place, Mr. -Alderly?"</p> - -<p class="normal">To which the other could only answer by a muttered curse.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXXV.</h4> -<h5>DANGER IMPENDING.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Alderly was now at bay!</p> - -<p class="normal">For a couple of days he raved, stormed, and alternately endeavoured to -extract from Reginald and from his sister a hint as to which of the -islands the treasure had been removed to. But it was all of no avail. -Barbara, whose gentle nature had conceived almost a hatred against her -unnatural brother for the utter indifference he had shown to their -father's fate, avoided him as much as she could, and, when not able to -do so, refused to acknowledge that she knew anything more than that -Mr. Crater possessed the secret of the hidden store.</p> - -<p class="normal">While, as for Reginald, he simply said, whenever Alderly sought him -out--which the latter did frequently, since the other would go no more -to his hut,--"One half is what I want if we dig it up together."</p> - -<p class="normal">But to Alderly, who among all his other bad qualities possessed that -of inordinate greed, this proposal appeared so enormous that he could -not bring himself to consent to it.</p> - -<p class="normal">"And if we don't dig it up together," said Reginald, who had not the -slightest compunction in playing on the fears and covetousness of the -man, "why, I shall have to dig it up by myself--which you cannot -prevent my doing if it is not on your property, you know. Then I shall -take it all, except what I hand over to some lawyer, or English -representative, in one of the islands for your sister's use."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But it is mine, mine alone!" the infuriated wretch would exclaim. -"Mine, even if it is outside Coffin Island. Simon was my relative, and -he found it."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And Nicholas Crafer was mine," replied the other, "and he found it, -too. It belonged to him as much as to Simon, and, what's more, the -secret belongs to me and not to you. And as you are a card player and -a 'sportsman,' Mr. Alderly, you'll understand what a strong card that -is in my favour."</p> - -<p class="normal">It was so strong a card that Alderly acknowledged to himself in his -own phraseology that "he was beat." That is, he was "beat" by fair -means, and, being a brute and a savage in whose nature there seemed to -run all the worst strains of his ancestor, Simon, he soon took to -turning over in his mind how he could win by means that were foul.</p> - -<p class="normal">And on how these means could be brought about he pondered deeply, -roaming round the island as he did so, Barbara's gun under his arm -with which to shoot, now and again, a gull or some other equally -harmless or useless bird; or sitting on the crags, or the beach when -the tide was out, thinking ever. And what he thought about more than -anything else was, "How could he obtain possession of that paper which -he had seen in Grafer's hand?" For in that paper lay the secret, he -felt sure, of the spot to which the treasure, <i>his</i> treasure, had been -removed.</p> - -<p class="normal">It may be told here that, although he had been outside the jalousie on -the night of the storm which drove him home, and his father to his -doom, for longer than either Barbara or Reginald knew, he had gleaned -but a very imperfect knowledge of what the latter had read out. Some -words he had caught, such as "when you have taken your first -measurement from the spot where you land, you stick in the ground your -sword, and then make, or persevere until you make, all your other -strides correspond with what I have wrote down." Yet this told -nothing. He had not heard nor caught the mention of the Keys, -therefore the measurement might apply to any of the scores of little -islands in the Virgin Archipelago. Also he had heard Reginald read out -from his papers, "now here is a little map, rough as befits a drawing -made by me, yet just and true." But of what use was this map--unless -he could set eyes on it! Ah! that was it. If he could set eyes on it!</p> - -<p class="normal">He had heard other sentences, too; a portion of the conclusion of -Nicholas Crafer's narrative, but they would not piece together into -one explicit whole. He was, indeed, at bay. He knew the treasure had -been moved somewhere, and he knew that, in the possession of this -fellow who was now in that gimcrack yacht in the river, was a -description of where the treasure was, as well as a map showing the -spot; but he knew no more.</p> - -<p class="normal">And as he thought it all over, sitting upon a crag, he ground his -large white teeth and beat the rock beneath him with the butt of -Barbara's gun in his rage. But, at last, it seemed that he had made up -his mind, had resolved upon his plan; for with a smothered oath--the -use of which expletives he was very frequent in--he sprang to his -feet, while he muttered to himself--</p> - -<p class="normal">"One half! One half! Ho! Ho! No! Not one half, not one shilling, not -one red cent."</p> - -<p class="normal">As he rose, there came across the little grassy plateau behind the -crag his sister, Barbara. For a moment she paused and glanced at him, -and, perhaps because she knew him so well and had studied all his evil -moods from infancy, she observed something in his face more evil, more -threatening than usual. Then she said--</p> - -<p class="normal">"I want my gun."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What for?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"There are some large parrots come across from Anegada. You said you -wanted some for your supper when next a flock came. See, there are two -in the gros-gros down there. Give me the gun," and taking it from his -hand, she cocked it and aimed at the two birds in the palm-tree -half-way down the cliff.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What is the use?" he said roughly. "They will fall into the sea below -and we can never get them, it is too deep."</p> - -<p class="normal">But ere he could say more she fired, missing her mark, if, indeed, she -had aimed at it. Then she uttered an exclamation and dropped the gun, -letting it fall a hundred and fifty feet below into the deep sea.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You fool!" he said, "you infernal fool!" And he looked as though he -were going to strike her for her carelessness. "You fool! it was the -only firearm we had in the island, and now you have let it go where we -can never get it back. Barbara, a beating would do you good. I have a -mind to give you one or fling you over the cliff after it."</p> - -<p class="normal">"It kicked," she said, "and hurt me. And, after all, it doesn't matter -much. It was old and scarcely ever shot straight. I could do nothing -with it."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I could, though," he replied, still scowling at her. "It would shoot -what I wanted. That was good enough for me."</p> - -<p class="normal">And Barbara, as she looked him straight in the eyes, said inwardly to -herself--</p> - -<p class="normal">"I know it would shoot what <i>you</i> wanted. That is why it will never -shoot again."</p> - -<p class="normal">He changed the subject after grumbling at and abusing her for some -time longer, and said--</p> - -<p class="normal">"Where's that fellow now, that admirer of yours? I haven't seen him -to-day."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I saw his yacht go out two or three hours ago," she said, treating -the remark about Reginald's admiration with infinite contempt--as of -late she had treated most of his speeches. "I suppose he has gone for -a sail. Or, perhaps, over to Tortola or Anegada to buy himself some -food. Since you will not show him much civility, I suppose he does not -want to be beholden to you for even so much as a mango or a shaddock."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I've a mind to put a chain across the river's mouth and stop him ever -coming into the river again." But while he spoke he started at a -thought that came into his mind, and said--</p> - -<p class="normal">"My God! Suppose he is gone to the island where he knows the treasure -was removed to! Suppose that! And to dig it up and be off with it. -Barbara!" he almost shrieked, "which is that island--where is it?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Offer him the fair half he requires," she said, "and find out. That's -the best thing you can do."</p> - -<p class="normal">People who live in civilised places do not often see a man with the -temper of a wild beast exhibit that temper. There are many men with -such tempers, it is true, in the most enlightened and refined spots; -but their surroundings force them into some sort of decency, however -much they may be raging inwardly. Here, in Coffin Island, civilisation -was, if not nonexistent, at least at a discount, and Joseph Alderly, -who had the disposition of a tiger without the tiger's redeeming -quality--love for its own kind--gave way at Barbara's last remark to -such a tempest of fury as would have disgraced that animal. He rushed -at his sister, howling, cursing and blaspheming, with the evident -intention of hurling her over the cliff, which she--agile as a -deer--avoided, so that had he not thrown himself down violently, he -must have gone over instead; and then he gave his vile infirmity full -swing. Curses on her, on Crafer, even on himself, poured from his -mouth; he dug his heels into the earth and kicked stones and, pebbles -away from him as though they were living creatures which could feel -his fury; and all the time he interlarded his blasphemy with such -remarks as, "It is mine, mine, mine. I will have it, even though I cut -his throat. Mine! mine! mine! One half--my God! One half!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Thus the savage exhibited his temper without restraint; it was his -only manner of doing so. Had he been an English gentleman, he would -probably have had just the same temper, only it would have taken a -different shape. He would have browbeaten his wife or female kin, have -bullied his servants, and probably kicked his dog. And then, as -Alderly soon did, he would have calmed down, feeling much relieved!</p> - -<p class="normal">Barbara waited until at last he seemed quieter--regarding him with -scorn, though not surprise, since she knew his disposition--when she -said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"I don't think you understand Mr. Crafer. Like all his countrymen he -can be very firm, I imagine, and like all English sailors"--and there -was a perceptible accentuation of the word "English"--"he seems very -brave. You won't frighten him."</p> - -<p class="normal">He still muttered and mumbled to himself--though it seemed to her he -was meditating something all through the end of his paroxysm--and at -last he said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"When is he coming back? I suppose you know."</p> - -<p class="normal">"How should I know, and why should he come back? Your welcome has not -been very warm, and, as you say, he may have gone to the other island -where the treasure has been removed to."</p> - -<p class="normal">Again at this, to him, awful suggestion, it seemed as if his brutal -fury was going to break out once more, but this time, by an effort -that was no doubt terrific, he calmed himself and was contented to -exclaim:</p> - -<p class="normal">"I don't believe that! If he came to fetch it away, why didn't he do -so before now? There was no one to interfere with him. You may depend -it's all a lie--the treasure's here in my island, and he hasn't dug it -up because he couldn't. He was afraid of you before I came back."</p> - -<p class="normal">"My admirer--and afraid of me! Well!" exclaimed Barbara, with a -different note of scorn in her voice now.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Or he was playing at being your admirer to throw dust in your eyes -and get away with it all somehow."</p> - -<p class="normal">Here Barbara shrugged her shoulders; but even that significant gesture -was allowed to pass also without an explosion. He was calming himself, -taming himself, she saw plainly, and she guessed at once that he had a -reason for what he did. What was that reason? She resolved to know.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I suppose I must yield," he said, with a strange look in his eyes. -"Barbara, we must give in. You go and see him and tell him I'll go -halves. Though it's a cruel shame, a wicked shame."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Is it? I don't think so. He came all the way from England to get it -all for himself, and it was only when he found that there were -descendants of Simon on the island that he resolved to give it--to -share it!" she corrected herself.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well, we must do it. But to think of his taking half away! When will -he come back?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I tell you I don't know."</p> - -<p class="normal">Her brother again plunged into meditation. Then he said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"You go down to the mouth of the river and watch till he comes in. You -can talk to him better than I can--you're what they call a lady, I -suppose. At any rate, you're edycated. Then tell him what I say--that -I'll give in and go shares--that is, if you can't wheedle him into -taking less. You're a fine-looking girl, Barbara, as good a looking -girl as ever I've seen in Jamaica or Darien, or even up to New York; -if you played your cards right we could get the lot out of him."</p> - -<p class="normal">The girl shrank away from him with such a look of disgust--for the -odious leer upon his face told her quite as plainly as his words did, -if not more so, what he meant--that he refrained from continuing. -Whatever plot he was maturing--and he was maturing a deep-laid one--he -saw that this was not the way to work it. Therefore he continued his -instructions.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Go down and meet him when he comes in. It will be to-night when the -tide sets here from Tortola. Then come home and tell me. And -to-morrow--" he said the word "to-morrow" slowly, and with a sound in -his voice that roused her--"to-morrow, if he's willing, we'll get to -work. Now go."</p> - -<p class="normal">She turned on her heel without a word beyond saying "Very well," and -in a moment she was gone, her lithe form disappearing instantly -amongst the bamboos and Spanish bayonets, the poinsettias and -begonias, that grew up close to the plateau And beyond the chattering -of the aroused <i>vert-verts</i> and <i>Qu'est-ce qu'il dit's</i>, there was -nothing to show that she had set out upon her errand.</p> - -<p class="normal">He, the savage owner of that beautiful island, sat exactly where he -had been sitting so long, still muttering to himself, laughing once or -twice, and repeating over and over again the words, "To-morrow, -to-morrow." And as he did so, a pleasing vision came before his eyes, -and only once it was marred--by what seemed to be a great wave of -blood passing before them. Otherwise, it showed him all that could -gladden such a heart as his. A southern gambling-hell with the tables -piled with gold, all of which he was winning for himself by the aid of -the vast capital he possessed. A gambling-hell with the lights turned -down low for coolness, and with iced drinks being passed about to all -therein; a place through which the sound of soft music was borne, in -which fair-haired women caressed him, and made much of him. Then, -next, he saw a verdant hill above a summer sea, a villa with marble -steps and corridors; outside, the splashing of fountains amidst the -palms around them. And still the golden-haired women were ever -present, contending with each other for his favours--his, the -wealthiest man in those tropic regions!</p> - -<p class="normal">That was the vision he saw, before rising and going slowly down the -path that led to the beach where his patched-up cutter was moored.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXXVI.</h4> -<h5>BEWARE!</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">The girl went on her mission willingly enough--indeed, had her brother -not ordered her to go and watch for the return of Reginald, she had -quite determined in her own mind some time before to seek him out, and -to wait for his coming back.</p> - -<p class="normal">For she, who had observed Joseph carefully all her lifetime, could -read his nature as easily as a book; she knew what those tempests of -fury, followed by an enforced self-subduing, meant. Above all, -she knew what the sudden determination on his part to share the -treasure--or the appearance of sudden determination--meant also. It -meant either trickery, or violence, or murder. Most probably the -latter!</p> - -<p class="normal">His greed for money to squander on himself had always been great, even -from boyhood. In those days, and before he could earn anything for -himself, he would rob his father of small sums, pilfering them from -his pocket when he slept, or from places where he kept his earnings; -later on, if a goat or a sheep were taken by him to Tortola and sold, -there would be always some dispute about the price obtained, always -something missing. And when he was a man the scenes between him and -his father, the fights and the ill-treatment to which old Alderly was -subjected, were sufficient to make him stand forth in very distinct -characters.</p> - -<p class="normal">Therefore, she knew that he intended something now against Reginald -Crafer--she felt perfectly sure that never would her brother allow the -latter to become possessed of one-half of whatever buried treasure -there might be. What his exact intentions were she could not, of -course, make sure. It might be that he meant to watch him, until, in -some way, the spot where the treasure was should be revealed, when, by -some trickery, Joseph would manage to secure it all; it might be that -he had resolved to do the worst and slay him. For, if he could do -that, then he would become possessed of the papers which told where -the treasure was, and, since he was able to read enough, she thought, -to decipher even the crabbed, indistinct characters in the writing, -as she had seen them to be, to thus possess himself of all. And she -knew, too, that whatever Joseph did would be done by stealth and -craft--the only way in which he ever worked when not consumed by his -passion--and, therefore, he was doubly to be suspected and guarded -against.</p> - -<p class="normal">All through the warm tropical afternoon she sat on by the bank of the -river; it was the very spot, as she knew, or thought she knew, where -two centuries ago Simon Alderly had slain the diver--thinking always, -and taking no heed of all the multitudinous animal life around her. -The humming-birds hovered in front of her, bright specks of gorgeous -colour; the butterflies, representing in their brilliant bodies every -known hue, flitted backwards and forwards; sometimes a monkey peered -at her with wide-open eyes from moriche and bamboo, and insects of -numerous varieties crept about the bush-ropes and the fan-palms, while -all around her was the warmth and perfume of the tropics.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet she heeded none of these things. They were the accompaniments of -the whole of her young existence, and--even had they not been--she -would not now have noticed them. Her thoughts were intent on the -saving of a human life--a life she had come to love, the life of the -handsome Englishman who had journeyed from far-off England to her -lonely, desolate home.</p> - -<p class="normal">Presently she knew that night was at hand, that it was coming swiftly. -The atmosphere was all suffused by a rich saffron hue, into which the -crimson tints of the sun and the blue of the heavens were being -absorbed; the sun itself was sinking over the mount behind her; even -the air was cooling and becoming fresher.</p> - -<p class="normal">"If he would only come," she whispered to herself; "if he would only -come before night falls."</p> - -<p class="normal">And then she resolved to go to the mouth of the river and look for -him. To do so meant that she must force her way through a hundred -yards of undergrowth of cacti and all kinds of clinging creepers; yet -she was so anxious to see him and to warn him of the danger in which, -she felt sure, he would stand on his return, that she did not hesitate -a moment. Therefore she plunged bodily in amongst the luxuriant -vegetation, and, after a considerable amount of struggling and a -numerous quantity of scratches received, stood at last upon the beach, -gazing almost south towards Tortola.</p> - -<p class="normal">And soon she saw that he was coming back--as she had never doubted he -would come: he had not parted from her in a manner that meant a last -farewell!--he was very near the island now, not a quarter of a mile -away.</p> - -<p class="normal">Presently he, too, saw her standing there regarding him, and, as he -did so, took his handkerchief from his pocket and waved it to her. And -five minutes later the <i>Pompeia</i> passed in between the river banks, so -that they could speak to each other.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why! how did you get through the undergrowth, Barbara?" he asked, -astonished to see her on the beach, which, from the landing path, was -almost inaccessible.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I wanted to see if you were coming back," she answered, "and so -forced my way."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Wait till I have anchored opposite the path," he said, "and I will -come back with the dinghy and bring you off." And so he passed on to -the usual place where he moored the yacht--simply because the path -from the hut to the river came down opposite--and then, anchoring, he -got into the dinghy and went to fetch her.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Shall I put you ashore," he asked, "or will you come on board?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"On board," she said; "we can talk better there. Ashore there may be -ears hidden behind any palm or under any bush. Take me on board."</p> - -<p class="normal">He looked at her with one swift glance, wondering what could have -happened now, but he said nothing; and after a few strokes they stood -on the deck of his little craft. Then he brought her a tiny deck-chair -and bade her be seated, while he leaned against the gunwale by her -side.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What is it, Barbara?" he asked, looking down at her. "What is it -now?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I do not know," she said, speaking very low and casting glances over -to the bank of the river, as though doubting whether that other one -might not be hidden somewhere beneath the thick foliage of the shore. -"Yet, Mr. Crafer, I fear."</p> - -<p class="normal">"For what?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"For you. He is meditating something. I am sure of it. He has bidden -me come to you and say that, to-morrow, he will agree to share the -treasure with you if you will show him where it is. No," she went on, -seeing a smile appear upon Reginald's face, "no, it is not so simple -an ending as you think. I am certain--I feel positively sure from what -I know of him--that he means to do nothing of the kind."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Then why the suggestion?" he asked. "What is the use of it?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"To gain time, to have the night in which to think over and work out -some scheme. Perhaps," she said, leaning a little forward to him in -her earnestness, so that, even in the now swift-coming darkness, he -could see her large starry eyes quite clearly, "to have the night in -which to attempt some injury to you. Oh! Mr. Crafer, for God's sake be -on your guard. You do not know him as I do."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Have no fear," he said, touching her hand gently, as though in thanks -for her warning, "have no fear. Yet I will be careful. But what can he -do to-night, even if he wished to do harm? I am as safe here in this -little yacht as in a castle."</p> - -<p class="normal">"You do not know. With him one can never tell what he is thinking of -doing--what his designs are. His life has been terribly rough, and he -has lived among lawless people and in lawless places. And his desire -for wealth is such that, knowing your life is the only thing that -stands between him and a great sum of money, as he believes, he would -hesitate at nothing. No! Not even at taking that life."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then she told him of the incident of the gun, and how she had let it -fall into the sea so as to put it--the only firearm in the place--out -of harm's way. He thanked her again for this precaution for his -safety, and then she said that she must go. It was dark now, and -doubtless her brother would be waiting for Reginald's answer, since -she thought it very probable that he was quite as well aware that the -<i>Pompeia</i> was once again anchored in the river as she was herself.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Heaven bless you, Barbara, for your kindly, generous nature, and, -above all, for your thought for me," Reginald exclaimed. "That I shall -remember it always you cannot doubt. And be sure I will be very -careful, even here, aboard. Though I do not see what he can do. Our -old friend, Simon, would have attacked Nicholas openly if the -circumstances had been similar, and they would have fought it out to -the grim death. Your brother can't do that, and--short of an open -fight in the river--he can do nothing. Therefore, Barbara, have no -fear for me. And I am armed, too. See!" and with a smile he showed her -a neat little revolver--one of Webley's New Express--a powerful -weapon, though light and handy.</p> - -<p class="normal">"God grant it may not come to that!" she answered, with a shudder. -"Bad as he is, it would break my heart if he should die at your -hands."</p> - -<p class="normal">"It shall not come to that," Reginald replied. "I only showed it to -you to ease your mind. And you may be sure that since he has no -firearms I would not use one on him."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, as he put her ashore in the dinghy he said that, of course, she -would tell her brother that he was willing to come to terms. "That -is," he explained, "to go halves. Which halves mean that I am looking -after your interests, you know, and----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Pray, pray," she interposed, "do not let us even think of such things -now. If I have misjudged him, as I hope most earnestly I have, then -there will be time to talk about shares and so forth. If I have read -him aright----" but here she broke off with a little shiver, and, -holding out her hand to him as they stood on the river's brink, wished -him "Good-night."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Good-night!" he exclaimed. "Good-night! Why, surely, I may accompany -you part of the way at least? I always do so when we are any distance -from your home."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," she answered, "no. Go back at once to your yacht. At once, I -say, and get on board her. Oh! if you did but know the terror I am in -for your safety."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Barbara!" he exclaimed. "Barbara! Why! it is a dream, a fantasy----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," she said, "no. It is no dream, no fantasy. For my sake, for my -sake, I beseech you--go back and make yourself secure. Believe me, I -know him!" and she turned as though to run up the slight ascent.</p> - -<p class="normal">"For your sake, then, I will," he said. "For your sake. We will -meet to-morrow. Good-night, Barbara." Then he suddenly asked, -anxiously--"But you--there is no danger to you?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"No! no! Good-night," she said, "God keep you. Oh! this dread is -terrible," and then, giving him a sign to go without further loss of -time, she sped up the path.</p> - -<p class="normal">He did not share at all in Barbara's dread of her brother, perhaps -because he was a man, and, perhaps, also, because he had not been used -to witnessing years of violence on that brother's part; indeed, he -believed her terrors to be purely feminine--the terrors that many -women feel in all parts of the world for that worst of despots, the -domestic tyrant. But being neither vain nor conceited, he did not for -one moment associate those terrors with any regard she had allowed -herself to conceive for him, nor, thereby, make allowances for them in -that way. Indeed, he had very little idea that she regarded him as -anything more than a stranger, who, by the peculiar knowledge he -possessed of the buried wealth, was far more interesting than the few -tourists were who sometimes visited Coffin Island. Yet he forgot she -allowed him to call her Barbara, while always herself addressing him -with formality.</p> - -<p class="normal">He was not, however, so foolhardy as to neglect a caution given him by -one who was not only interested in him but, also, thoroughly well -acquainted with the scheming and violently dangerous nature of Joseph -Alderly. He therefore, on regaining the deck of the <i>Pompeia</i>, took -such precautions as were possible. He drew up the little dinghy from -the water and placed it on the deck parallel with the port side, and, -when he entered his cabin, he was careful to leave the door open so -that any outside sounds from either the river or the banks would be -plainly heard.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then--since there was no more to be done--he went into the cabin and, -mixing himself some whisky and water, prepared to watch as long as he -could keep his eyes open, making one sacrifice to the supposed -necessity for a caution in so far that he decided not to lie down -during the night.</p> - -<p class="normal">"There is nothing else to do," he reflected; "hardly any danger to -ward off. He can't make such an attack on me as I suggested his -ancestor, Simon, would very likely have done, and there is no other -way possible, for he cannot get on board without my knowing it, and, -if he could, I am as good a man as he!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet still he determined to watch carefully until at least the dawn had -come; for then would be sufficient time to begin considering how he -should meet Alderly and arrange for digging up the buried treasure.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXXVII.</h4> -<h5>"AND DEATH THE END OF ALL."</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">It was a particularly dark night and all was very calm. The moon did -not top the eastern bank of the river until long past midnight, and -the stars gave but little light. Also, the silence was extreme. -Sometimes, it is true, he could hear the rustling of birds and small -animals in the luxuriant vegetation on either bank, or catch the -whisper of the soft night breezes among the <i>gros-gros</i>, the moriches, -and the great leaves of the green bananas; but that was all. And -sparkling all around him, as they whirled in their evolutions, were -the myriads of fireflies that make every tropical acre of ground look -like an illuminated garden; but, beyond these and the dim stars above -the opening between the two banks, there was nothing else to be seen. -Even the great trunks of the trees were shrouded in gloom, and seemed -nothing but dense patches on the sombre background.</p> - -<p class="normal">Reginald sat on in his cabin, his pipe in his mouth, his tumbler by -his side, the portholes and the door open for coolness and also for -precaution's sake. And on the table upon which he leant his elbows -there lay the revolver. He had promised, voluntarily promised Barbara, -he would not use the weapon upon her brother, who had none; yet he did -not know but that, should a crisis come, he might have occasion to do -so. If Alderly were the scheming scoundrel the unhappy girl believed -him to be, then it was by no means unlikely that he, too, might -possess, secretly, a similar pistol which he had carefully kept her in -ignorance of. Or, since he was so big and powerful, if by any chance -he could board the <i>Pompeia</i>--as he might do by swimming from one of -the banks--it might come to a hand-to-hand fight, in which Alderly -would possibly be armed with other weapons, and thereby force Reginald -to use his own. But he was resolved there should be no use of it -unless absolutely necessary.</p> - -<p class="normal">"How quiet it all is," he meditated, as he sat there, "how -undisturbed. Surely Barbara had no need for fear on my account! Why, -Nicholas could hardly have been more secure when he had the island all -to himself after Simon Alderly's death, than I am now."</p> - -<p class="normal">And this thought set his mind off into another train, a reflection of -the similarity there was between him and his kinsman, and between -their actions in this spot--in spite of two hundred years having -rolled away.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nicholas had his galliot anchored here," he thought; "perhaps in the -very spot where I am now. He, too, used the path up to the hut--not -far away from here the Snow was sunk--and--and--and----" He gave a -start and shook himself. He had nearly fallen asleep! He was very -tired, for the day had been a long one, what with sailing back from -Tortola--to which he had gone, as Barbara surmised, to purchase -provisions--and his having been now awake and on the stretch for more -than eighteen hours. Therefore, to try and arouse himself, he went on -to the deck of the <i>Pompeia</i>, and inhaled the fresh night air as he -peered all around. But there was nothing to be seen, nothing. Nor, had -there been anything out of the ordinary, could he have seen it. The -darkness was intense.</p> - -<p class="normal">He sat down again on the locker which ran round the cabin and formed a -seat, sitting bolt upright this time to prevent sleep coming upon him, -though all the while he kept telling himself that such precaution was -unnecessary. Alderly was safe asleep in his own house, he felt sure, -or was sitting up drinking and carousing by himself, as, so Barbara -told him, was always his habit. He would sit and drink, she had said, -and smoke, and as often as not play a game of cards by himself with an -imaginary opponent, and go on doing so far into the night. Then, when -at last he was exhausted and could drink no more, he would roll off -his chair on to the floor, and so lie there and sleep off his nightly -debauch. He was doubtless doing that now.</p> - -<p class="normal">As Reginald pondered thus, he again let his elbows rest on the table -and put his head in his hands.</p> - -<p class="normal">"The air is so hot!" he murmured, unloosing his flannel shirt-collar -as he did so, "so hot! And--there--is--no--danger. Yet I promised -her," again rousing himself, "yet--yet--Alderly stabbed the diver--if -he had had a revolver--in the casket--Barbara----"</p> - -<p class="normal">He was asleep. Asleep peacefully, though wearily, worn out with his -long day; and presently there was no noise in all the tranquil night -but the sound of his regular breathing, and the ripple of the little -river against the bows of the <i>Pompeia</i>, as it flowed down to the sea.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet once he started from his slumbers, hearing in them, as he thought, -a distant shriek, and hastily went on deck, wondering if aught could -have befallen the girl up at the hut, but only to find that it was -some night bird that had alarmed him. For in the woods, away -up towards where the Alderlys dwelt, he could hear the macaws -chattering--the birds which occasionally passed from one island to -another--and an owl hooting.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It is nothing," he said wearily, "nothing. My nerves are -overstrung--I have heard such sounds often at night since I have been -here. It is nothing. They are fast asleep enough up there. And--and--I -need watch no longer."</p> - -<p class="normal">So, utterly overcome now by the desire for slumber that had seized -upon him, and not more than half awakened even by the visit to the -deck, he stretched himself out at full length on the locker to get an -hour or so of rest. Yet he was careful to place the revolver near to -his hand.</p> - -<p class="normal">It wanted still an hour to the time when the moon would be above the -fronds of the tallest palms on the eastern bank--a time at which even -all the insect life of the island seemed at last to be hushed to -rest--when, to the ripple of the river and its soft lap against the -yacht's forefoot, was added another sound--the sound, subdued, it is -true, yet still one that would have been perceptible to anyone who was -awake in that yacht--of something disturbing, something passing -through the waters; but, had the sleeper awakened to hear it, he could -have seen nothing. All was still too dark, too profound.</p> - -<p class="normal">But he himself was seen--seen by a pair of gleaming eyes staring at -him through the cabin window, the blinds of which had not been drawn, -nor the latchwork closed; a pair of eyes that glistened from out a -face over which the hair, all dank and matted with water, curled in -masses. The face of Joseph Alderly!</p> - -<p class="normal">Presently an arm came through the cabin window, an arm long, bare, and -muscular, the hand stretched to its fullest length, the fingers -sinuous as all powerful fingers are, and striving to reach the pistol -on the table, across the body of the sleeping man. Yet soon they -desisted; they were half a foot off where the weapon lay; any effort -to project more of that arm into the cabin would almost certainly -awake the sleeper. So arm and hand were withdrawn, and again the evil -face of Alderly gazed down upon Reginald Crafer. Once, too, the hand -that had failed in its endeavour sought its owner's breast pocket, and -drew forth a long glittering knife; once through the open window it -raised that knife over the other's throat--all open and bare as it -was!--and then the hand was drawn back, the face and arm were -withdrawn; the villain had disappeared.</p> - -<p class="normal">And still Reginald slept on, unknowing how near to death he had been, -how near to having the shining weapon driven through his throat. Slept -on and heard nothing. Slept on while the lamp hanging in the cabin -burnt itself out--he had not fed and trimmed it overnight--and until, -above, through the fan-like leaves of palm, bamboo, and cyclanthus, -there stole a ray of moonlight that shone down directly on the -sleeping man's features.</p> - -<p class="normal">Half an hour later he began to turn restlessly, to mutter to -himself--perhaps it was the flooding of the rays of the now fully -uprisen moon upon his face that was awaking him--and, gradually, to -return to the knowledge of where he was. Yet still he could not for a -moment understand matters--the lamp was burning brightly when he went -to sleep, and all was dark as pitch outside; now the cabin was -illuminated by the moon, and all outside was light. Then he recognised -he had been asleep, and also that he was in his yacht.</p> - -<p class="normal">He turned round to get up and go on deck to see if day was breaking, -and, as he did so and put his feet to the cabin floor, he started. It -was covered with water--water a foot deep--half up to his knees. -Looking down, he perceived it shining in the rays of the moon as a -large body of water always shines beneath those rays.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Heavens!" he exclaimed, "she is filling, sinking! She will not float -another ten minutes; the water is almost flush with her deck already." -And he rushed to the cabin door.</p> - -<p class="normal">He had left that door open ere he slept, he felt positive. Now it was -shut.</p> - -<p class="normal">"She has listed a bit, perhaps," was the first thought that came to -his mind. Yet in another moment that idea was dispelled. The <i>Pompeia</i> -was sinking on as even a keel as did ever any water-logged boat; there -was no list in her. Then, almost feeling sure of what he would -discover a moment later, he tried to open the door.</p> - -<p class="normal"><i>It was fast</i>.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I knew it," he muttered through his teeth, as he shook and banged at -the door--there was no time to be wasted; even now the water was on a -level with the top of the locker on which he had lately slept; a few -more minutes and the yacht must sink--"I knew it. It is the whole -history over again. Phips was locked in his cabin--damn the door and -he who closed it!--and I am locked in here to sink with the boat and -be drowned like a rat. There's no chance--a child could scarcely -escape through those windows! Oh! Joseph Alderly, if I ever----"</p> - -<p class="normal">He stopped. Across the stream, from down by the mouth of it, there -came the most awful, blood-curdling cry he had ever heard, the death -cry of one who knew he was uttering his last shriek, knew that his -doom was fixed. A horrid shriek, followed by the words, "Help! -help!"--and then silence--dense as before.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay! call for help," muttered Reginald. "Whoever you are, you do not -want it more than I. Another five minutes and the end will have come."</p> - -<p class="normal">He looked round the cabin in hope of some means of escape presenting -themselves, and his eyes lighted on the revolver. Then he knew that, -if he were but accorded time, only a few moments, he might get free. -But more than two or three such moments would not be his; the water -was nearly to his waist now. Once, twice, thrice, the report of the -pistol rang out from that doomed yacht, each shot shattering the lock -and panels; and then one sturdy push was sufficient to force the door -open against the water, and for him to be standing half in the river, -half out; and at that instant he felt a heaving beneath his feet, he -felt he was sinking to his shoulders, that he was swimming with -nothing beneath him any longer. The yacht was gone; he had not been a -minute too soon!</p> - -<p class="normal">The current was strong--the river being swollen with the recent -rains--and it bore him downwards to the mouth, he not struggling -against it, as he knew very well that he could easily land on the -sea-beach outside. So he went with the tide until gradually he reached -the outlet, and there he saw a sight that might well affright him, -even after what he had gone through. He saw the face of Alderly on the -waters, an awful look of fear in the wide-open eyes, and the jaws -tightly clenched, but with the lips drawn back from the white teeth on -which the moon's rays glistened. And he saw that he was dead.</p> - -<p class="normal">"My God!" he exclaimed. "How has he died?" And as he so pondered he -swam towards the villain, whose head bobbed about on the water as -though there were no limbs, nor even trunk, beneath. But all the time -as it turned round and round the eyes gleamed with a horrible light -under the moon, and the great strong teeth glistened behind the drawn -lips.</p> - -<p class="normal">Another moment, and he knew how Alderly had died. The water in which -he swam towards him tasted salter than sea-water as it touched his -lips, and its clearness was discoloured--crimson! And even as Reginald -seized the head of the now limbless trunk and towed it to the bank, -striking out with all his power for fear of a similar dreadful fate -befalling him--which was probable enough, since the shark is, like the -tiger, eager for more when once its taste is whetted--he thought to -himself:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Out of the depths, out of the depths the past rises again and again."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, sweating with fear, he gave one last masterful side-stroke and -landed safely on the shingle, dragging his gory burden after him.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXXVIII.</h4> -<h5>THE OWNER OF THE TREASURE.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">The white shark--for such it is which is the most terrible in these -regions--that had taken both Alderly's legs off above the knee, so -that he must have soon bled to death, had doubtless done so while his -intended victim was escaping from the trap he had set for Reginald.</p> - -<p class="normal">Each bite--for the brute must have given two--was as clean as though -the limbs had been snipped-off by a pair of blunt scissors, and, as -Reginald regarded the mangled trunk in the moonlight, he could not but -thank his Maker that he had not been the next victim, for he -recognised how narrow his own escape was. His experience as a sailor -told him that where the sharks have found one prey they will, -sometimes for weeks, hover about in expectation of another, and -he could only wonder--while his wonder was tinged with devout -gratitude--why he should not also by now be torn in half.</p> - -<p class="normal">As he dragged the body up the slope of the shingle, meaning to cover -it over with palm leaves until Barbara had seen the face--the lower -part she must not be allowed to see--and then to bury it, a bundle of -papers fell out of the pocket of the dead man's rough shirt, which he -picked up and put in his own. It must be handed to Barbara, he -reflected, who was now the last of the Alderlys, and consequently the -heiress to all the wealth of the Key!</p> - -<p class="normal">"Which is," reflected Reginald, "the very best thing that could -possibly have happened. She will now be able to lead the life so -beautiful a woman ought to lead, a life which she by her education and -womanly ideas is fitted to lead. For her, nothing could be better than -Alderly's death."</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, when he thought of her inexperience--had she not believed that -Trinidad was the world!--and of how she was all alone now without kith -or kin, he could not but wonder what would become of her.</p> - -<p class="normal">"At least," he pondered, "I pray she may fall into the hands of no -such an adventurer as this," and he glanced at Alderly's mangled body. -"That would be too awful. Better anything than that, even to finding -her fortune gone when we dig up the Key. Though that would be a -strange climax, too, to all that has taken place. Gone! great heavens, -what an idea! To think of it! To think that when we go to unearth it -we may discover there is nothing to be got. The very thought makes my -blood run cold. But--bah! it is nonsense. It must be there!"</p> - -<p class="normal">His blood was running cold, though not from this idea which had come -into his mind, but from the wetting he had received.</p> - -<p class="normal">Therefore, as soon as the sun burst upon the island once more, he -stripped himself of his clothes, and, laying them out to dry, -proceeded to dry himself also by the old-fashioned method of running -up and down the beach. Then, when but a short exposure of his garments -to the sun had sufficed to render them once more wearable, he put them -on again and set out for Barbara's home.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Though," he said to himself, "it is no easy task to break such news -to her. Alderly was not kind to her, and she knew his failings and -despised him--yet he was her brother, and his death was awful. But it -must be told."</p> - -<p class="normal">He made his way with the usual difficulty through all the entanglement -of the luxuriant vegetation that grew down to the beach, and at last -reached the path leading to the hut. Indeed, he was eager to get there -in spite of the fact that he had such dismal news to break to Barbara, -since he was somewhat surprised that he had neither seen nor heard -anything of her now. He had almost feared to denude himself of his -clothes at daybreak, thinking that at any moment the girl might come -down to him--it being her custom to rise at that time--and when an -hour had passed, as it had now done, he was still more astonished at -not seeing her. She must know by now that her brother was not in his -house; she must, have known long ago that he had not sat up carousing -far into the night as was his habit. Where was she? What could have -happened?</p> - -<p class="normal">His fears became intensified as her house came into sight. For he soon -perceived that the jalousies were not opened, and that the door on the -verandah was closed--a thing he had never known before to be the case, -from daybreak until late night--nay, worse, more appalling than all to -him, was to see that behind the slats of the jalousie of the front -room there was a light burning--the light of the lamp that stood -always on the table in the middle of the living-room.</p> - -<p class="normal">Springing up the wooden steps leading to the verandah, he rattled the -slats in great agitation, and called loudly, "Barbara! Barbara, are -you there?" a summons which, he thanked Heaven, instantly produced a -reply. He heard the bark of her dog, who knew him well now; but no -answer came from her.</p> - -<p class="normal">Unable to bear any further suspense, fearing the worst, namely, that -her brother had murdered her before he set forth on his attempt to do -as much for him, and remembering--fool that he was, as he called -himself!--the shriek he had heard in the night and attributed to some -of the disturbed denizens of the island, he tore the jalousie aside -and entered the general room.</p> - -<p class="normal">And then he knew why Barbara had not come to seek him at daybreak as -was her wont.</p> - -<p class="normal">She was lying on the lounge, or rude sofa, her hands bound in front of -her, her feet tied together, and in her mouth a rude gag made of a -coarse pocket-handkerchief. By her side was the dog, moaning and -whimpering, but making, when he entered, an attempt to jump up and -fondle him. It also was tied, to the foot of the couch.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh! Barbara!" he exclaimed, rushing forward to her, while he saw with -infinite thanks that her eyes were open, and that she seemed to have -suffered no further brutality than being made a prisoner of. "Oh! -Barbara! that he should have treated you so!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Then in a moment he had taken the gag from her mouth and had set her -free, while all the time he was speaking kindly and considerately to -her, and pitying her for having been so treated. And her first words -were:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Thank God, you are alive! I have been picturing you to myself for -hours as dead. Did he not try to kill you?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes, Barbara," he said, after a moment's pause, almost dreading to -tell her the tale, yet recognising that he must do so. "Yes, he tried -to kill me."</p> - -<p class="normal">"How?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"By drowning. He must have bored some holes in the yacht unknown to -me, when I slept. Oh! Barbara! I know I promised to keep careful -watch, yet I was so tired, and at last I fell asleep. When I awoke the -yacht was full of water--was sinking. Then----" he hesitated to tell -her of how he had been locked in the cabin--"I--I escaped--I swam for -my life."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And he?" she asked faintly, almost in a whisper. "What of him?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He is dead."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ah! yes," she replied, with a shiver. "I know. I heard the report of -your revolver. Then I knew all. Oh! how I wish he had not died at your -hands!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He did not die at my hands, Barbara. He was dr----; he died in the -water."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Tell me all," she said, still faintly. "Tell me all."</p> - -<p class="normal">Therefore he told her the whole of the dreadful story, omitting only -the most blackening act, the double treachery and attempt of Alderly -to take his life without giving him one chance of escape.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I never thought to see you again," she whispered, when his recital -was finished. "Never, never. For," she went on, telling now her -experiences, "I knew by midnight that what I had dreaded he would -attempt was about to take place. At that hour he left off drinking, -having taken much less than was usual all the evening, and rising he -went to the cupboard, from which, though he thought I could not do so, -I saw him take out his long knife. It was one he brought back from -Uruguay, from Paysandu, where they slaughter the oxen wholesale. I -have heard him say more than once that it was too good to slay beasts -with, and more fit to use on men--and once he drew it upon father. So -that I knew he meant ill to you. Then I tried to escape to give you -warning, only he would not let me. He seized me, tied me as you saw, -and gagged me, though I shrieked once, hoping to alarm you--indeed, -he threatened to kill me. And, at last, after he had also tied the -dog--he would have slain that too, I feel sure, had it uttered one -cry--he left me to the horrors of the night. Without one word he went -away, not even saying when he would return. And," the girl concluded, -"when I heard your pistol shots I fainted from fear--fear of what was -going on. Oh! thank God, thank God, that he did not murder you--that -you were not obliged to take his life in self-defence."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I am thankful, too," he said; "above all things, thankful for your -sake." After which he added, "Now, Barbara, would it not be best for -you to come with me and see his body? I must bury it, you know, and -then I ought to go over to Tortola and tell the Commissioner. I -suppose he should be informed of his death."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I suppose so," she said. "Only--how are you to go? The yacht is -lost."</p> - -<p class="normal">"There is his own boat. Where is that?"</p> - -<p class="normal">But Barbara could not tell him, and soon after he found out. But now -he prepared to go back to the beach to bury her brother's body, and he -was not altogether surprised when she refused to accompany him.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You have told me he is dead and how he died," she said. "That is -enough--what more can I need? And for himself--oh! why should I see -him? He never cared for me as a brother should, his last act was one -of cruelty to me, and he went forth to murder you. Moreover, he was -callous about father's death, did indeed rejoice in it, I believe, -because by it he became master of the place. No, I will not go and see -him; I could not bear to look upon him again. And," she concluded, "my -only regret is that you should have the task of burying him. It would -have been better almost had he sunk to the bottom of the river."</p> - -<p class="normal">Therefore Reginald went off upon this duty, but before he did so he -gave to Barbara the water-soaked packet of papers which he had taken -from Alderly's shirt-pocket.</p> - -<p class="normal">"They fell out," he said, "after I had brought him ashore. There was -nothing else. The knife you speak of must have sunk to the bottom; -perhaps he even tried to defend himself against the shark with it in -his last moments. We shall never know!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Nor did he ever know how that long Uruguay knife had once been nearly -thrust into his breast as he lay sleeping; nor that with the knife, -which had, indeed, sunk to the bottom of the river, had also sunk the -auger with which he had bored half-a-dozen holes (each of the -circumference of an ordinary cork) in the bottom of the <i>Pompeia</i>. One -thing did, however, strike him as strange as he meditated over it all, -namely, that from the time when Alderly must have bored those holes in -the yacht to the time when she sank a considerable period had -undoubtedly elapsed. And he wondered if it was during that period that -he had managed to get on board and close the cabin door. Then, as he -was burying him, he knew; he found out that his would-be murderer had -indeed visited the <i>Pompeia</i>.</p> - -<p class="normal">For he was mistaken when he told Barbara earlier that there was -nothing else on her brother's body. As he prepared to put the trunk -into the hole he had dug for it--while still the fixed open eyes -stared up at him, this time in the morning's sunlight, and still the -beautifully white teeth gleamed in that light--he observed that, -besides the papers which had dropped from his shirt, there were still -some others that had remained within the pocket.</p> - -<p class="normal">And drawing them out he saw that, all soaked as they were like the -others, they were the narrative of Nicholas Crafer.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So," he thought, while he felt faint and sick as he mused--"so he -was in the cabin, after all! Heavens! he must have crept in while I -slept, have rifled my pockets in the dark when the lamp had gone out, -have--faugh!--had his foul hands all about me! Thank God! he must have -come when the light had burnt out, otherwise he would have seen the -pistol."</p> - -<p class="normal">He never knew that the ruffian had, in truth, known the pistol was -there, but had forgotten, or feared to use, it when in the cabin later -on.</p> - -<p class="normal">He tossed the remains into the hole he had dug, touching them with the -greatest disgust and loathing, and then covered the spot up hurriedly -and stamped the earth down over it, and took his way back to Barbara. -And, as he went, he determined that he would not tell her of this -further instance of villainy on her brother's part. Henceforth she -should learn no more of the workings of that wicked heart and brain.</p> - -<p class="normal">When he reached the hut he saw her on the verandah, seated in the -usual chair and with tears in her eyes. The papers he had given her -were stretched out on a table before her, and, as he mounted the -steps, she held out one to him and bade him read it. A glance showed -that it was a will made by her father, a will properly drawn up and -attested at some lawyer's office in Tortola; a will by which -everything was left to her, including the island and the treasure if -ever found--indeed, all that he possessed.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Because," he read, in the cramped legal hand of the person who had -drawn it out, "of the cruelty, the greed and the evil temper of my son -to me, as well as his ill-treatment of me and my dear daughter, -Barbara, I give and bequeath to her all and everything of which I may -die possessed, including Coffin Island, any buried treasure that may -chance to be found," etc., etc., etc.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Great heavens!" Reginald thought to himself, as he handed her back -the will, "there was no end to the scoundrel's wickedness. How could -this villain be Barbara's brother?"</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XXXIX.</h4> -<h5>THE APPROACHING SEARCH.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">Reginald found Joseph Alderly's boat on the same evening, when he was -out on a tour about the coast of the island on the lookout for it. As -he suspected, Alderly had brought it round to the neighbourhood of the -river's mouth, preferring to get at him that way instead of by the -path down from his house. His reasons for doing so might have been -manifold, the young man knew very well--reasons that would, doubtless, -at once occur to such a scheming brain as that of the dead ruffian. -For, independently of the fact that he would have strongly wished to -avoid any encounter with him on shore--and, for aught he knew, -Reginald might be ashore at any period of the night--he might have -brought his cutter to that neighbourhood so as to be able to get away -from the island at once, after the sinking of the <i>Pompeia</i> had been -accomplished.</p> - -<p class="normal">For instance, had his plan succeeded he could have sailed to Anegada -or Tortola within two or three hours from the time of the crime being -committed, and, arriving at either place in the night, could have very -easily induced the belief that he had anchored much earlier than he -had actually done. In those spots very little, if any, notice is taken -after dark of what boats are about--especially such boats as -Alderly's, which are common all over the islands--and his <i>alibi</i> -would consequently have held good when Reginald was reported missing. -And even the report of his being missing would not have spread abroad -for probably some time after the event. None but tourists came to -Coffin Island, and Barbara would have been unable to get away from it; -while, since the <i>Pompeia</i> would have disappeared for ever from human -eyes, no one could have absolutely said that her temporary owner was -dead. He might just as well have gone off with her to some other -island as she have sunk to the bottom of the river, and Alderly could, -therefore, have returned without his sister being able to advance one -proof that Reginald Crafer had been made away with.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Though," said Reginald to himself, as he mused over the matter while -he inspected Alderly's own boat, "if I had been drowned after she -heard the pistol shots, she would certainly have thought I had died -trying to defend myself. And, had her scoundrelly brother managed to -survive me, Barbara would, if I mistake not, have taxed him very -plainly with my death."</p> - -<p class="normal">He found the cutter anchored in about three fathoms of water, and had -to get out to her in such a crazy, water-logged punt--in which Alderly -must himself have come ashore--that he feared every moment the thing -would sink under his weight, and expose him to the chance of a similar -fate to that which had overtaken its owner. However, it was sounder -than it looked, and, on inspecting the larger craft, he came to the -conclusion that she would be navigable across to Tortola if she -escaped bad weather--of which there were no signs now. The dead man -had managed to patch her up in a manner very creditable to his -knowledge of seacraft, and to set right the injuries she had received -when cast ashore; so that, as far as the journey over to the -Commissioner was concerned, he might start at once.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Though," he pondered, as he inspected the cutter and found nothing -inside her beyond her ordinary gear but a bottle of rum, some meat and -coarse bread, and a pipe--"though there is no reason why I should -hurry myself. We had better begin to dig up the treasure now, I think, -and, meanwhile, this dog's hole of a boat will serve for my habitation -as well as the poor <i>Pompeia</i>, though it's not quite so sweet and -wholesome."</p> - -<p class="normal">Whereon he hauled up her anchor, got her round to the river, and -moored her as near as possible over the spot where the sunken yacht -lay.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I may have to pay Juby a good deal, for her," he mused, as he went up -the path to Barbara's house. "However, we ought to find the -wherewithal on the Key to do so. I suppose she will give me enough to -do that." And he laughed to himself as the thought passed through his -mind.</p> - -<p class="normal">Barbara was eating her evening meal when he reached the hut, and he -sat down to share it with her, telling her that henceforth she would -have to keep him in food as long as they were together.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I had loaded the <i>Pompeia</i> up with all sorts of good things such as -are to be procured in the islands and at their stores," he said, -trying to be gay and also to brighten her up, "but I might have saved -myself the trouble. They are at the bottom of the river, and there -they will stay until they are rotten. So, Barbara, I must live on -you."</p> - -<p class="normal">She gave him one swift glance from the sweet hazel eyes under the -straight black eyebrows--eyes whose lids were red now from long -weeping--and he understood it well enough. He knew that she would give -him everything she possessed in the world, including her very life, as -well as the fortune that was now to be hers--if old Nicholas had made -no mistake, and if no one had ever lighted on the Key and its contents -between the time of his departure and the coming of the other Barbara.</p> - -<p class="normal">"By-the-bye," he said, as they ate their supper side by side, and -Barbara tried to put such choice morsels of her poor plain food as -there were on his plate, which attention he managed sometimes to -avoid--"by-the-bye, we don't know after all what we are really going -to discover. Nicholas managed to lose one of the most important parts -of his manuscript, the list, as he calls it, of part of what he found. -It is a good thing he didn't mislay the description of the Key and the -measurements as well. If he had done that we should have been in a -fix."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But," said Barbara, "he has said what is in the long box. We know -that, at any rate. Surely that's a fortune in itself?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"What! six thousand pounds! Why, Barbara, when you go out into the -world, the real world, London, the Continent, swagger German and Swiss -places in the summer, and Rome and the Riviera in the winter, you'll -find what a little bit of money six thousand pounds make. No! Nick's -fifty thousand 'guineas' must be found for you before you become -anything like a swell heiress with a romantic history, run after by -all the men for your beauty and your wealth."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Don't--don't talk like that!" the girl said. "It pains me to hear you -joking like that. I know nothing of the places you mention, and as to -men running after me--oh, don't, don't! And besides, you have -forgotten--it is not mine."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Every penny of it!" exclaimed Reginald, "except what Mr. Juby wants -for the yacht if uninsured."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No! no! no!" she said. "Remember, it is not in the island--my island, -I suppose, now. The Keys are as much yours, or anyone else's, as mine. -And if it had been on the island, and we had dug it up, I would not -have taken it. If you would not have shared it with me--I--I--well, I -would have thrown it into the sea."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What a nice ending to poor old Nick's troubles and labours here in -finding it, and at home in writing his long account in that queer fist -of his! And also to all that your people have gone through, from your -namesake downwards. No, no, Barbara! We won't throw it back into the -sea, at any rate. And to-morrow we'll dig it up. Shall we?"</p> - -<p class="normal">This was agreed upon, and then Reginald prepared to leave her. He -offered to stay in the house if she felt nervous--as she had once -before implored him to do; but now she said, "No, she was not nervous. -She feared nothing now. There was no one else who could come to harm -him or her; the island was theirs and theirs alone." He noticed that -she called it "theirs" and not "hers," but made no remark on the -subject, since an idea had arisen in his mind: he knew now what the -future of the treasure, of Barbara, and of himself must be!--and he -proceeded to arrange for their movements on the morrow.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It will be low water two hours after daybreak," he said, "and by that -time I will have brought the cutter and the boat round to the strip of -beach nearest to the Keys. You might meet me there, Barbara, and bring -some food and fresh water, and then we will begin. Meanwhile, let me -have whatever tools and implements you possess for digging. I will -take them with me and bring them in the cutter in the morning."</p> - -<p class="normal">In the shed behind the hut they found what was required, an old spade -and a nearly new one, a pickaxe and some ropes--for the Alderlys, -father and son, had had to attend to their garden in this tropical -island almost as much as though they had lived in Europe--and these -would be enough, he thought.</p> - -<p class="normal">So, shouldering them, he bade her "Good-night"--it seemed to each as -though their hands were clasped together longer and more tightly now -than they had ever been before!--and went his way down to the river -once more.</p> - -<p class="normal">It would have been strange if, to-night--the night before the story, -that his ancestor had written in those long past and forgotten years, -was to be realised--he should not have had a host of thoughts whirling -through his brain; if past and present had not been strangely confused -and jumbled up together in that brain.</p> - -<p class="normal">There lay the cutter, a dark indistinct mass, in the midst of the -stars reflected from above; in the very self-same spot where so many -other small vessels, all connected with him, with Barbara, and with -the treasure, had lain before. Itself the property of a villain whose -villainy was inherited through centuries, it occupied the spot in that -little river where once the <i>Etoyle</i> had been moored, where she had -been sunk, and where Simon Alderly and his murdered victim, the diver, -had got ashore. Also there, or close by, had been the galliot of -honest Nicholas with its dying and dead crew, and with Nicholas -sleeping, or trying to sleep, in that place of death, or watching -Alderly in his murderous madness as he slew his companion. And he -pictured to himself the sloop with the unknown Martin having probably -been anchored there before those days--doubtless as full of reckless, -bloodstained scoundrels as was the <i>Etoyle</i> herself; he remembered -how, not twenty-four hours before, the graceful and pretty <i>Pompeia</i> -had ridden at anchor on the river's bosom--and now she, too, had gone -to join the other wrecks below the water.</p> - -<p class="normal">He shuddered as these thoughts passed through his mind; shuddered at -all that the treasure had led to in the way of murder and death.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It was here, here where I stand," he whispered to himself, "that the -diver was slain; there, in the river, that the bones of the pirates -lie, and also those of the crew of the galliot; above--where she, the -pure outcome of so much evil, dwells--that Simon Alderly died mad and -without time to repent."</p> - -<p class="normal">A slant of the rising moon gleamed through the wood on to the bank and -played on the waters of the river lower down; the ray was thrown upon -the very spot where, last night, he had seen the staring eyes and the -glistening teeth of Joseph Alderly, as the limbless body swirled round -with the stream--and he started and shivered.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Heavens!" he exclaimed, "it is a charnel-house, a place of horror! -I--I cannot sleep in that boat to-night."</p> - -<p class="normal">He turned from the accursed spot--all beautiful as it was now beneath -the rising moon, and illuminated with myriads of fireflies, while -over and above all was the luscious perfume of tropical plants and -flowers--and went his way through the thick underbrush to a part of -the shore beyond the spot, where the body of Joseph Alderly had been -buried, avoiding that place as he proceeded. Then, when he had gone -some distance, he chose a bit of the beach high and dry above the line -of the already receding sea, and, laying himself down upon it, gazed -far over the waters to where a few lights sparkled at intervals from -the little island of Tortola.</p> - -<p class="normal">But ere he slept, and when a deep sense of fatigue was stealing over -him, he rose once more, and, kneeling down by the spot he had -selected, he prayed long that, whatever the morrow might bring forth, -at least one thing might be granted. He prayed that all the bloodshed, -and the cruelty that that treasure had been the cause of for more than -two centuries, had ended at last, never more to be renewed--he prayed -that, henceforth, it might bring only happiness and peace in its -train.</p> - -<p class="normal"> -"For her, for her," he whispered. "For her and for me."</p> - -<p class="normal">And, feeling sure that his prayer was heard and would be granted, he -laid himself down again and soon was sleeping peacefully.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XL.</h4> -<h5>THE SEARCH.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">As the dawn came, and a cool wind blew over the water and brushed his -cheek, he arose from a night of refreshing slumber--the first for two -days--and took his way back to the cutter. Then, reaching her, he soon -unmoored, made the boat fast astern, and, getting down the river, -sailed round the island to the spot where the Keys were.</p> - -<p class="normal">It took him an hour to fetch the beach in two tacks, and then he saw -that, early as he was, Barbara was there before him, and that she was -seated on the shore, the dog at her feet and a basket by her side.</p> - -<p class="normal">This morning her eyes were no longer red--she had done with weeping -for her vile brother, he thought--and her colour, always beautiful, -except since the events of the last few days had driven it all away, -had now come back to her. She, too, he knew, had slept peacefully at -last, and in that peaceful rest all her loveliness had returned.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now, Barbara," he said, after they had exchanged their morning -greetings, he from the boat, and she from the shore, "we'll call the -boat away, and off we go to your inheritance. In a few hours you will, -I trust, be put in possession of it." Saying which, he anchored the -cutter, got into the boat and cast her off, and so rowed ashore for -Barbara. He had found out that the capabilities of this boat--crazy as -it seemed--were quite equal to carrying them, and the implements for -digging, out to the Key a hundred yards off, and he also knew that, by -leaving Barbara on the middle Key when they had found the treasure, he -could convey each of the boxes, or coffers, back to the island one by -one. Then, as to the final removal of them and their owner from Coffin -Island--well, that would all be arranged for later.</p> - -<p class="normal">A few minutes only and they stepped out upon the soft wet sand of the -middle Key--they stood upon the place that, perhaps, no other foot had -trodden since Nicholas left it more than two hundred years ago. There -was nothing to bring anyone to that particular atom of an island among -all the thousands upon thousands of islands with which the marine -surface of the world is dotted, not even a search for the turtles and -the eggs they laid. For, in these regions, those creatures are so -common that nobody desiring to procure one would have even troubled to -visit the middle Key while the outer ones were easier of access.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I begin to feel very nervous now we have reached here, and the search -is about to begin," Barbara said. "Oh! what shall we find--or shall we -find anything?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Make your mind easy," Reginald replied, although he himself felt -unaccountably excited, too, at what was before them. "The story left -by Nicholas bears the stamp of truth on every line of it; I would -stake my existence on his having buried the boxes as he wrote. And as -to their having been disinterred, why! there is no possibility of -that. Come, let us begin."</p> - -<p class="normal">He looked round at the sea as he spoke, and scanned the little -crisping waves as they rolled on to the Key's shore, and, -involuntarily and sailor-like, searched the horizon to see if there -was any sail in sight, any likelihood of their being observed. Yet, as -he knew and told the girl by his side, there was no chance of that.</p> - -<p class="normal">"On this, the east side of the Key," he said, "there is nothing nearer -than the Cape de Verd Islands and the African coast, and nothing -passes east or west within twenty miles of this place. We will make a -beginning."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then they sat down on the brushwood of the island, disturbing as they -did so a great two-hundred-pound turtle that crawled gasping away, and -Reginald, taking out the now water-stained and blurred pages of -Nicholas, began to read over carefully his measurements and -instructions for finding the exact spot where the buried treasure lay.</p> - -<p class="normal">"'From the north side of the middle Key is fifty-one good strides of -three feet each,'" he repeated from the paper; "'from the south side -is fifty-three, from the east is forty-nine, from the west is fifty -strides and a half.' Barbara, let us measure. I will begin from this, -the south side."</p> - -<p class="normal">Very carefully he paced out the strides, "good ones," as his -predecessor had directed, only, instead of sticking in the ground a -sword--which, of course, he did not possess here--he put a large white -stone. Then, as Nicholas had himself done, three times did he go over -the ground, making all the strides correspond with the ancient -manuscript; and at last he said to Barbara, "Now we will dig."</p> - -<p class="normal">"It is only three feet from the surface to the topmost turtle shell," -he remarked, as he took off his light jacket and rolled up his -sleeves. "Ten minutes will show if we have hit it right."</p> - -<p class="normal">At the end of those ten minutes he found that, though he had made a -mismeasurement of a foot and a half from the east to west, he had -otherwise judged his distance with sufficient accuracy. The treasure, -certainly the topmost turtle shell, was there. The spade struck -against the edge of that shell instead of the exact middle of it; in a -few minutes more, by digging the sand up further to the west, the -whole of it was exposed, its convex side rising towards them.</p> - -<p class="normal">"We have found it," he exclaimed. "We have found it, Barbara! The -treasure is--yours!"</p> - -<p class="center"><span style="letter-spacing:1em">* * * * * * *</span></p> - -<p class="normal">What was in the oblong box has been told by Nicholas himself, -therefore it is not necessary to write down an account of its contents -again. Roughly, too, he has told what he found in the first two -"coffers" or chests, including the "grinning skull," which they, of -course, found also. But Nicholas's list had been lost, therefore one -somewhat more full shall now be given, leaving his account of the -first strong box to speak for itself. And also in the second, "the -Spanish pieces of eight, the Portyguese crusadoes, English crowns, and -many more French coins as well as hundreds of gold pieces of our kings -and queens away back to Elizabeth," were all there as he has -described, so neither need they be again set down. It was when they -came to the third coffer that their curiosity was the most aroused, -for with it began their search for something he had left no account -of, something that was described in that "list" which was missing. -Therefore, they opened it with almost trembling hands--when it had -been brought up to the surface--wondering what they should find.</p> - -<p class="normal">On the top lay a deerskin, dressed and trimmed, showing that whenever -it might originally have been put in, it had at least belonged to -people who had some of the accessories of civilisation about them, -since, had it belonged to wild and savage persons, it would have been -hardly dressed at all, nor would it have possessed any trimming at the -edges. This they lifted off, only to come to a variety of smaller -skins, such as those of fox, goat, and sheep, which it was easy to -perceive were simply used as wrappers to large substances within them.</p> - -<p class="normal">"These coverings," said Reginald, as he unwrapped one, "seem to point -to England, or at least Europe, as the spot whence they came; well, -let us--ah!"</p> - -<p class="normal">There rolled from out the one he was at that moment unwinding a beaker -a foot high, of a dull copper colour, much embossed with leaves and -flowers. Yet, dull as it was, even their slight knowledge was enough -to tell them it was gold. Also its shape was antique enough to show -that it was no new piece of workmanship, even when Simon Alderly had -found it--if he did find it, as seemed most likely; its long, thin -lip, thin neck, and big body proclaimed it of the middle ages at -least.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So," said Reginald, giving it a rub with some of the sand by his -side, under which the dim coppery hue turned to a more golden yellow, -"this is Number Three. If the other box is full of such gold -ornaments the find will be worth having."</p> - -<p class="normal">In this box itself there were no more gold beakers, only, instead, it -was full of silver plate of all kinds, and all enveloped in skins. -There were also two more beakers, but in silver, many cups and -chalices, some with covers to them and some without, several silver -ewers, a long vase all neck and spout, some extremely ancient -candelabras, and a woman's silver dagger, known in old days as a -wedding knife.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh!" said Barbara, appalled at the sight of objects so unfamiliar to -her, who had never drunk out of aught but calabashes, gourds, and -cheap earthenware--"Oh! it seems a sin to dig all these beautiful -things up."</p> - -<p class="normal">"A greater one to let them lie in the earth," said Reginald with a -laugh. "Come, let's go on to Number Four and see what he has got -inside him."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now, Barbara," Reginald said next, as they began on Number Four. -"Shut your eyes until I tell you to open them."</p> - -<p class="normal">The girl obeyed--indeed, all through this treasure hunt, or, as it had -now become, treasure inspection, they were more like a boy and girl -playing with new toys than a grown man and a young woman just about to -leave her teens behind her--and, when he told her to open them, she -saw that he had come upon a number of little plump bags tied at the -neck. These bags were made of a coarse kind of linen cloth, or Russia -duck, and were much discoloured; yet, rough as they were, they did not -prevent the impression of coins being seen inside.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Here we come to the money--let's hope it's not copper!" exclaimed -Reginald.</p> - -<p class="normal">Again, when they opened the first bag and poured out the contents into -Barbara's lap, it looked as though they had found copper; but again, -as before, what seemed copper was in reality gold. But the pieces -which they saw were such as they had never seen the like of before, -such as they never were able to guess the name of until some time -afterwards, when more experienced numismatists than this young sailor -and the girl by his side had the handling of them. What they -absolutely found was: First, a bag full of Elizabeth "soveraines," -valued in her time at 30s. each, it containing two hundred and six of -these pieces. Then there was a bag full of angels of the same reign, -valued at 12s. each, of angelets at 6s., and of quarter angels at 3s., -there being of these smaller coins three hundred and eleven in the -little sack. The third bag they opened--a larger one--contained fifty -gold crowns of Henry VIII.'s reign, fifty gold half-crowns of -Elizabeth's--the former having the figure of the king on -horseback--and in it, also, were one hundred and thirty rose nobles, -eighty-five double-rose nobles, eighty-three double-rose rials, or -reals, each of the value of 30s., and two double gold crowns, these -two being the largest and most valuable of any of the coins they -found.</p> - -<p class="normal">"We are getting on, Barbara; we shall have a nice stock to take back -to the hut," Reginald said, as he tied the bags up again exactly as -before. "However, let's continue. This box is a monster and contains -the most of all."</p> - -<p class="normal"> -Whoever had put together all this treasure of money--as well as what -was to come--was, it is certain, a methodical person; for, with the -exception of the above coins of Henry VIII. being mixed with those of -his daughter (there was not one of her sister, Mary's reign), the -different monarchs had been kept separate and distinct from one -another. This was shown by the next three bags, two of which contained -gold coins of James I.'s reign, but of no other English king. Of -these, the first had in it two hundred and one spur-rials of the value -of 15s. each--these coins being so called from the rays, issuing out -of the sun upon them, resembling the rowels of spurs--one hundred and -three of the single rose rials, and four single crowns. The second bag -had exactly one hundred single crowns by themselves; the third had two -hundred and two small gold pieces, French ones, they being crowns of -the sun as originally coined by Louis XI., and valued in England in -Elizabeth's time at 7s. each.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well, Barbara," Reginald said, as they finished these bags, "what do -you think of your fortune as far as it has gone? After we have had -some food we will go on and see what more there is."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I think," the girl replied, as she opened her basket and took from it -some bread, eggs, a piece of cold roasted goat's flesh, and some of -the fruit which grew in such profusion on Coffin Island--"I think as I -have always thought, namely, that it is not my fortune but yours, and -that----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ah!" interrupted Reginald. "Well! we won't quarrel over that now. So -I'll put my question in a different way. What do you think of the -fortune as far as it has gone?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I think it is a shame to dig it up. It seems like digging up the poor -dead creatures who put it first in the vault--who wrapped it all up so -carefully, and tied the money up in bags as if they felt sure the day -would come when they, or those dear to them, would inherit it all. And -think of what strangers it has come to, not only now but before! Simon -Alderly had no real right to it, neither had Nicholas Crafer, nor have -you nor I."</p> - -<p class="normal">"You or I--you, of course--mean to keep it, though, Barbara. It has -been ours for two hundred years: yours by the first discovery--namely, -by the respected Simon; mine by the second--namely, the worthy -Nicholas; and, in spite of any silly old laws about treasure trove, -why, finding's keepings. Besides, the treasure trove was two hundred -years ago. Our ancestors are responsible for that part of it. We, on -the contrary, can show a two centuries' title--that's good enough for -all the lawyers in the world, I fancy."</p> - -<p class="normal">With jokes and <i>badinage</i> such as this the young man passed the -luncheon, dinner, or meal-hour--whichever it should be called--away. -Indeed, at this time, when the long-buried wealth of the past was -being at last revealed to its ultimate heirs and possessors, he was -anxious above all things to keep off the discussion of whose it was, -and who was to have it and who was not. As has been suggested a little -earlier, <i>he</i> saw, <i>he</i> knew--or felt almost positive that he saw and -knew--what was the final disposition of all that the Key was now -disgorging, only--the present was not the time to speak about that -disposition to Barbara. So, as much as possible, he kept to other -matters in connection with the task they were now engaged upon.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Whoever they were," he went on meditatively, as the simple repast -drew to an end, "who originally owned it all, they must almost -certainly have been our country people. Although we don't either of us -know what those coins are, we can at least see that they are mostly -English, and all about one period, namely, Elizabeth's and her -successor's, James. Now, let's see. Charles I. succeeded James, eh, -Barbara?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes," said the girl. "Yes. At school we thought Charles I. the most -interesting of all the English kings."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ah!" said Reginald; "well, I've heard other people say differently. -Our chaplain in the <i>Ianthe</i>, for instance, used to wrangle with the -paymaster for hours about him, and call him all kinds of names. -However, let's put two and two together. Charles's was an -uncomfortable sort of reign, for others besides himself, and all sorts -of rumpusses were going on--people flying from England to America, <i>et -cetera</i>. I wonder if the gentleman who owned all these things was one -of those? He might be, you know, and have got drifted down here after -making bad weather of it in the Atlantic; or the pirates--hem!--of -<i>his own</i> day, Barbara--no allusions meant to respected -ancestors!--might have seized on him--or--or--half a dozen things. I -don't suppose we ever shall find out."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," she said, "I don't suppose we shall. Perhaps it's better that we -never should. It might interfere with <i>your</i> enjoyment of it all."</p> - -<p class="normal">Whereon Reginald laughed once more, while a beautiful but tell-tale -blush came to the girl's face--possibly it had dawned on her, too, by -now, how the ultimate possession of the treasure might be -arranged!--and then they proceeded to inspect what remained.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>CHAPTER XLI.</h4> -<h5>THE END.</h5> -<br> - - -<p class="normal">What did remain in this big chest was now to be examined, and they -observed that the same precautions had been taken in the way of -coverings and wrappings as with all the previous finds.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Which," said Reginald, descanting thereon as he unwound the wrappers, -"shows one thing, if no more. It testifies that all the spoil belonged -to the same individual, or individuals. But who was he, Barbara, who -was she, or who were they? That's what I want to know."</p> - -<p class="normal">It was, however, what neither he nor Barbara nor anyone else were ever -to know--the treasure hidden centuries ago was, indeed, found, but all -knowledge of who or what they were who had so hidden it away was lost -for ever. The treasure of those forgotten ones remained to come to -these young people at last, but all history, record, and memory of the -owners had vanished entirely from the world.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What's this?" exclaimed Reginald, unwinding a roll as they continued -their inspection--"what's this?" while, as he spoke, there was -revealed to him a band of metal that looked as though it was a portion -of some circular object. It was, in truth, the front part of an -ancient coronet, or crown, having set into it five rubies and a -diamond, the gold being in this case far more yellow and less coppery -looking than that of the coins had been. And as Reginald turned the -thing about in the glowing light of the Caribbean Sea, the gems -sparkled and winked and flashed their many-coloured rays in their -eyes, as though they themselves were pleased once more to be free from -the darkness in which they had lain so long.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Swells in their day, no doubt," said the young man, referring to -those who had once owned all these valuables, "to have worn such -things." And again he exclaimed: "Who on earth could they have been?"</p> - -<p class="normal">The next things they unrolled were five bars of gold, or rather lumps -of gold, since instead of being of the shape and form bars are now, -they were in cubes, though one was triangular. "A quarter of a pound -weight each, Barbara," the young man said, balancing them on his hand. -"A quarter of a pound each, if an ounce. I wonder the Respected One -could refrain from carrying all this wealth off to his own particular -Barbara, or that old Nicholas didn't try to get it away in the -Galliot."</p> - -<p class="normal">Barbara only smiled--indeed, at this moment, woman as she was, she was -trying the effect of the front part of the coronet as a bracelet on -her arm, and was turning her wrist about to observe the flashing of -the stones--and then Reginald proceeded with his inspection.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Hullo! what have we got now?" he exclaimed, as he unfolded the next -object that came to hand.</p> - -<p class="normal">What he had got now proved to be a sword-handle, cross-shaped and -broken off sharp about an inch below the silver guard-plate. In this -handle, which itself was massive silver, roughly fretted so that a -firm grasp might be obtained, were more precious stones, mostly -diamonds, but with one or two missing from their sockets or settings.</p> - -<p class="normal"> -"Undoubtedly swells," murmured Reginald again, "or else freebooters. -Fancy, Barbara, if, after all, the original depositor of these things -was a sea-robber or pirate himself! One would imagine he could hardly -have got such a collection of things otherwise. Unless, on the other -hand, he had been a pawnbroker, called, I believe, in those days a -Lombard merchant. What do you think?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I am getting tired of finding these things," the girl said, -listlessly. "I hope there are not many more."</p> - -<p class="normal">"We'll soon see."</p> - -<p class="normal">They had, however, nearly finished their work by now; the remainder of -the chest's contents were soon examined. They found, to conclude, a -little bag of unset gems--a handful of rubies and diamonds; they found -also a gold musk ball, and a little silver casket full of musk, the -aroma of which had long since departed, and they also discovered a -small iron-bound box full of gold dust. Some drinking cups, very small -ones, they likewise found, and some pieces of ivory sawn into slabs, -several extremely curious and very unwieldy rings with precious stones -in them, a pouncet box in gold, and various pieces of antique lace, -black with age.</p> - -<p class="normal">And this concluded their find</p> - -<p class="normal">"Altogether," said Reginald, "I'll bet that Nicholas was not far wrong -in his computation of the value of the things in his own day, and, I -expect, even in these times, the contents of the oblong box and the -chests won't fall far short of his 'fiftie thousand guineas.' But one -thing we ought to keep for luck, Barbara, and never part with--and -that's the skull, or 'Death,' as Nick called it. It kept its watch and -ward well through all the years."</p> - -<p class="center"><span style="letter-spacing:1em">* * * * * * *</span></p> - -<p class="normal">That evening, as the sun dipped below Porto Rico, they sat once more -together, as they had so often sat in the last month, upon the -verandah of Barbara's house. Within, in the living-room, were piled -the chests and the oblong box, all having been brought from the Key to -the shore, and from the shore to the building, by their united -efforts. And on Barbara's face there was a look of sadness pitiful to -see, and in her eyes the signs that the tears were not far away.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It seems," she said, speaking very low, "as though with the finding -of this treasure my life is finished, even as the quest of my family -is finished, too. There is nothing more to be done."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Is there not, Barbara?" asked Reginald, also speaking low, and with -more seriousness in his tone than had been apparent since they had -grown such friends and intimates. "Is there not? Is there not a long -lifetime before you in which to enjoy your new-found wealth--the -wealth that has come to you after two centuries of search for it?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh!" she exclaimed, springing to her feet and standing before him, -"why speak in that way? Why say such things? The wealth is yours, -yours only, and you know it. It was you who brought it to light. It -was your ancestor's, who might have taken it away with him for ever -had he chosen. And when it was at last found, where was it? Not even -on our land, on the property that is mine. What part, what share have -I in it?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I will tell you, Barbara," he said, rising himself, also, and -standing by her, while, if possible, his voice became now more deep -and earnest. "I will tell you what part and share is yours. The share -not only of all that we have to-day unearthed, but of my life. The -share of everything I have in this world, even this treasure, if it is -rightly mine. My sweet, I loved you almost from the very first, I -loved you beyond all doubt from the time that <i>he</i> came back, and I -knew that, together, we must protect ourselves from him. Barbara, I -love you now, and shall love you all my life until I die. Will you not -share that life with me, share all with me for ever?"</p> - -<p class="normal">His arm stole round her as he spoke and he drew her softly towards -him, while, as he did so, her golden head drooped to his shoulder, the -soft eyes looked up at him from beneath the dark lashes, and, for the -first time, their lips met.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>FOOTNOTES</h4> -<br> - -<p class="hang1"><a name="div4_01" href="#div4Ref_01">Footnote 1</a>: Afterwards King George I. of England.--<span class="sc">Ed</span>.</p> - -<p class="hang1"><a name="div4_02" href="#div4Ref_02">Footnote 2</a>: The drink of the Navy prior to the introduction of rum by -Admiral Vernon.</p> - -<p class="hang1"><a name="div4_03" href="#div4Ref_03">Footnote 3</a>: He was Astronomer Royal from 1719 to 1742, but in Phips' -time had made many improvements and suggestions in the necessary -apparatus for divers.--J. B.-B.</p> - -<p class="hang1"><a name="div4_04" href="#div4Ref_04">Footnote 4</a>: 1st lieutenant.</p> - -<p class="hang1"><a name="div4_05" href="#div4Ref_05">Footnote 5</a>: Passenger.</p> - -<p class="hang1"><a name="div4_06" href="#div4Ref_06">Footnote 6</a>: Peter Martyr calls it a solid piece of gold, and says -more than a thousand persons had seen and handled it.--J. B.-B.</p> - -<p class="hang1"><a name="div4_07" href="#div4Ref_07">Footnote 7</a>: This would -appear at first sight to be an error on the -part of Nicholas Crafer. It was not so, however; Cardinal Bourbon was -elected King of France by the league in 1589 (against Henri IV.), -under the name of Charles X., and some coins were struck by -him.--J. B.-B.</p> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - -<h4>THE END.</h4> -<br> - -<br> - -<br> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Hispaniola Plate, by John Bloundelle-Burton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISPANIOLA PLATE *** - -***** This file should be named 52210-h.htm or 52210-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/2/1/52210/ - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by -Google Books (Harvard College) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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