CHAPTER XI.
CANOEING ON THE SEA--A MYSTERIOUS NIGHT-SURPRISE AND SUDDEN FLIGHT.
At first the voyagers paddled over the glassy sea in almost totalsilence.
Nigel was occupied with his own busy thoughts; speculating on theprobable end and object of their voyage, and on the character, themysterious life, and unknown history of the man who sat in front of himwielding so powerfully the great double-bladed paddle. Van der Kemphimself was, as we have said, naturally quiet and silent, save whenroused by a subject that interested him. As for Moses, although quiteready at any moment to indulge in friendly intercourse, he seldominitiated a conversation, and Spinkie, grasping the mast and leaningagainst it with his head down, seemed to be either asleep or broodingover his sorrows. Only a few words were uttered now and then when Nigelasked the name of a point or peak which rose in the distance on eitherhand. It seemed as if the quiescence of sea and air had fallen like asoft mantle on the party and subdued them into an unusually sluggishframe of mind.
They passed through the Sunda Straits between Sumatra and Java--not moreat the narrowest part than about thirteen miles wide--and, in course oftime, found themselves in the great island-studded archipelago beyond.
About noon they all seemed to wake up from their lethargic state. Vander Kemp laid down his paddle, and, looking round, asked Nigel if hefelt tired.
"Not in the least," he replied, "but I feel uncommonly hungry, and Ihave just been wondering how you manage to feed when at sea in so smalla craft."
"Ho! ho!" laughed Moses, in guttural tones, "you soon see dat--I 'sposeit time for me to get out de grub, massa?"
"Yes, Moses--let's have it."
The negro at once laid down his steering paddle and lifted a smallsquare hatch or lid in the deck which was rendered watertight by thesame means as the lid in front already described. From the depths thusrevealed he extracted a bird of some sort that had been shot and bakedthe day before. Tearing off a leg he retained it and handed theremainder to Nigel.
"Help you'self, Massa Nadgel, an' pass 'im forid."
Without helping himself he passed it on to Van der Kemp, who drew hisknife, sliced off a wing with a mass of breast, and returned the rest.
"Always help yourself _before_ passing the food in future," said thehermit; "we don't stand on ceremony here."
Nigel at once fell in with their custom, tore off the remainingdrumstick and began.
"Biskit," said Moses, with his mouth full, "an' look out for Spinkie."
He handed forward a deep tray of the sailor's familiar food, but Nigelwas too slow to profit by the warning given, for Spinkie darted bothhands into the tray and had stuffed his mouth and cheeks full almostbefore a man could wink! The negro would have laughed aloud, but thedanger of choking was too great; he therefore laughed internally--anoperation which could not be fully understood unless seen. "'Splosionsof Perboewatan," may suggest the thing.
Sorrow, grief--whatever it was that habitually afflicted thatmonkey--disappeared for the time being, while it devoted itself heartand soul to dinner.
Feelings of a somewhat similar kind animated Nigel as he sat leaningback with his mouth full, a biscuit in one hand, and a drumstick in theother, and his eyes resting dreamily on the horizon of the stilltranquil sea, while the bright sun blazed upon his already bronzed face.
To many men the fierce glare of the equatorial sun might have provedtrying, but Nigel belonged to the salamander type of humanity andenjoyed the great heat. Van der Kemp seemed to be similarly moulded, andas for Moses, he was in his native element--so was Spinkie.
Strange as it may seem, sea-birds appeared to divine what was going on,for several specimens came circling round the canoe with greatoutstretched and all but motionless wings, and with solemn sidelongglances of hope which Van der Kemp evidently could not resist, for heflung them scraps of his allowance from time to time.
"If you have plenty of provisions on board, I should like to do thattoo," said Nigel.
"Do it," returned the hermit. "We have plenty of food for some days, andour guns can at any time replenish the store. I like to feed thesecreatures," he added, "they give themselves over so thoroughly to theenjoyment of the moment, and _seem_ to be grateful. Whether they are soor not, of course, is matter of dispute. Cynics will tell us that theyonly come to us and fawn upon us because of the memory of past favoursand the hope of more to come. I don't agree with them."
"Neither do I," said Nigel, warmly. "Any man who has ever had to dowith dogs knows full well that gratitude is a strong element of theirnature. And it seems to me that the speaking eyes of Spinkie, to whom Ihave just given a bit of biscuit, tell of a similar spirit."
As he spoke, Nigel was conveying another piece of biscuit to his ownmouth, when a small brown hand flashed before him, and the morsel, inthe twinkling of an eye, was transferred to the monkey's already swollencheek--whereat Moses again became suddenly "'splosive" and red, as wellas black in the face, for his capacious mouth was inordinately full asusual.
Clear water, from one of the casks, and poured into a tin mug, washeddown their cold collation, and then, refreshed and reinvigorated, thetrio resumed their paddles, which were not again laid down till the sunwas descending towards the western horizon. By that time they were notfar from a small wooded islet near the coast of Java, on which Van derKemp resolved to spend the night.
During the day they had passed at some distance many boats and _praus_and other native vessels, the crews of which ceased to row for a fewmoments, and gazed with curiosity at the strange craft which glidedalong so swiftly, and seemed to them little more than a long plank onthe water, but these took no further notice of our voyagers. They alsopassed several ships--part of that constant stream of vessels which passwestward through those straits laden with the valuable teas and richsilks of China and Japan. In some cases a cheer of recognition, as beingan exceptional style of craft, was accorded them, to which the hermitreplied with a wave of the hand--Moses and Nigel with an answeringcheer.
There is something very pleasant in the rest which follows a day of hardand healthful toil. Our Maker has so ordained it as well as stated it,for is it not written, "The sleep of the labouring man is sweet"? andour travellers experienced the truth of the statement that night in veryromantic circumstances.
The small rocky islet, not more than a few hundred yards in diameter,which they now approached had several sheltered sandy bays on its shore,which were convenient for landing. The centre was clothed withpalm-trees and underwood, so that fuel could be procured, andcocoa-nuts.
"Sometimes," said the hermit, while he stooped to arrange the fire,after the canoe and cargo had been carried to their camping-place at theedge of the bushes,--"sometimes it is necessary to keep concealed whiletravelling in these regions, and I carry a little spirit-lamp whichenables me to heat a cup of tea or coffee without making a dangerousblaze; but here there is little risk in kindling a fire."
"I should not have thought there was any risk at all in these peacefultimes," said Nigel, as he unstrapped his blanket and spread it on theground under an overhanging bush.
"There are no peaceful times among pirates," returned the hermit; "andsome of the traders in this archipelago are little better than pirates."
"Where I puts your bed, massa?" asked Moses, turning his huge eyes onhis master.
"There--under the bush, beside Nigel."
"An' where would _you_ like to sleep, Massa Spinkie?" added the negro,with a low obeisance to the monkey, which sat on the top of what seemedto be its favourite seat--a watercask.
Spinkie treated the question with calm contempt, turned his headlanguidly to one side, and scratched himself.
"Unpurliteness is your k'racter from skin to marrow, you son of ainsolent mother!" said Moses, shaking his fist, whereat Spinkie,promptly making an O of his mouth, looked fierce.
The sagacious creature remained where he was till after supper, whichconsisted of another roast fowl--hot this time--and ship's-biscuitwashed down wit
h coffee. Of course Spinkie's portion consisted only ofthe biscuit with a few scraps of cocoa-nut. Having received it hequietly retired to his native wilds, with the intention of sleepingthere, according to custom, till morning; but his repose was destined tobe broken, as we shall see.
After supper, the hermit, stretching himself on his blanket, filled anenormous meerschaum, and began to smoke. The negro, rolling up a littletobacco in tissue paper, sat down, tailor-wise, and followed hismaster's example, while our hero--who did not smoke--lay between them,and gazed contemplatively over the fire at the calm dark sea beyond,enjoying the aroma of his coffee.
"From what you have told me of your former trading expeditions," saidNigel, looking at his friend, "you must have seen a good deal of thisarchipelago before you took--excuse me--to the hermit life."
"Ay--a good deal."
"Have you ever travelled in the interior of the larger islands?" askedNigel, in the hope of drawing from him some account of his experienceswith wild beasts or wild men--he did not care which, so long as theywere wild!
"Yes, in all of them," returned the hermit, curtly, for he was not fondof talking about himself.
"I suppose the larger islands are densely wooded?" continued Nigelinterrogatively.
"They are, very."
"But the wood is not of much value, I fancy, in the way of trade,"pursued our hero, adopting another line of attack which provedsuccessful, for Van der Kemp turned his eyes on him with a look ofsurprise that almost forced him to laugh.
"Not of much value in the way of trade!" he repeated--"forgive me, if Iexpress surprise that you seem to know so little about us--but, afterall, the world is large, and one cannot become deeply versed ineverything."
Having uttered this truism, the hermit resumed his meerschaum andcontinued to gaze thoughtfully at the embers of the fire. He remained solong silent that Nigel began to despair, but thought he would try himonce again on the same lines.
"I suppose," he said in a careless way, "that none of the islands arebig enough to contain many of the larger wild animals."
"My friend," returned Van der Kemp, with a smile of urbanity, as herefilled his pipe, "it is evident that you do not know much about ourarchipelago. Borneo, to the woods and wild animals of which I hope erelong to introduce you, is so large that if you were to put your Britishislands, including Ireland, down on it they would be engulphed andsurrounded by a sea of forests. New Guinea is, perhaps, larger thanBorneo. Sumatra is only a little smaller. France is not so large assome of our islands. Java, Luzon, and Celebes are each about equal insize to Ireland. Eighteen more islands are, on the average, as large asJamaica, more than a hundred are as large as the Isle of Wight, and thesmaller isles and islets are innumerable. In short, our archipelago iscomparable with any of the primary divisions of the globe, being full4000 miles in length from east to west and about 1,300 in breadth fromnorth to south, and would in extent more than cover the whole ofEurope."
It was evident to Nigel that he had at length succeeded in opening thefloodgates. The hermit paused for a few moments and puffed at themeerschaum, while Moses glared at his master with absorbed interest, andpulled at the cigarette with such oblivious vigour that he drew it intohis mouth at last, spat it out, and prepared another. Nigel sat quitesilent and waited for more.
"As to trade," continued Van der Kemp, resuming his discourse in a lowertone, "why, of gold--the great representative of wealth--we export fromSumatra alone over 26,000 ounces annually, and among other gold regionswe have a Mount Ophir in the Malay Peninsula from which there is aconsiderable annual export."
Continuing his discourse, Van der Kemp told a great deal more about theproducts of these prolific islands with considerable enthusiasm--as onewho somewhat resented the underrating of his native land.
"Were you born in this region, Van der Kemp?" asked Nigel, during abrief pause.
"I was--in Java. My father, as my name tells, was of Dutch descent. Mymother was Irish. Both are dead."
He stopped. The fire that had been aroused seemed to die down, and hecontinued to smoke with the sad absent look which was peculiar to him.
"And what about large game?" asked Nigel, anxious to stir up hisfriend's enthusiasm again, but the hermit had sunk back into his usualcondition of gentle dreaminess, and made no answer till the question hadbeen repeated.
"Pardon me," he said, "I was dreaming of the days that are gone. Ah!Nigel; you are yet too young to understand the feelings of the old--thesad memories of happy years that can never return: of voices that arehushed for ever. No one can _know_ till he has _felt_!"
"But you are not old," said Nigel, wishing to turn the hermit's mindfrom a subject on which it seemed to dwell too constantly.
"Not in years," he returned; "but old, _very_ old in experience,and--stay, what was it that you were asking about? Ah, the big game.Well, we have plenty of that in some of the larger of the islands; wehave the elephant, the rhinoceros, the tiger, the puma, that greatman-monkey the orang-utan, or, as it is called here, the mias, besideswild pigs, deer, and innumerable smaller animals and birds--"
The hermit stopped abruptly and sat motionless, with his head bent onone side, like one who listens intently. Such an action is alwaysinfectious. Nigel and the negro also listened, but heard nothing.
By that time the fire had died down, and, not being required for warmth,had not been replenished. The faint light of the coming moon, which,however, was not yet above the horizon, only seemed to render darknessvisible, so that the figure of Moses was quite lost in the shadow of thebush behind him, though the whites of his solemn eyes appeared like twoglow-worms.
"Do you hear anything?" asked Nigel in a low tone.
"Oars," answered the hermit.
"I hear 'im, massa," whispered the negro, "but das notsu'prisin'--plenty boats about."
"This boat approaches the island, and I can tell by the sound that it isa large _prau_. If it touches here it will be for the purpose ofspending the night, and Malay boatmen are not always agreeableneighbours. However, it is not likely they will ramble far from wherethey land, so we may escape observation if we keep quiet."
As he spoke he emptied the remains of the coffee on the dying fire andeffectually put it out.
Meanwhile the sound of oars had become quite distinct, and, as had beenanticipated, the crew ran their boat into one of the sandy bays andleaped ashore with a good deal of shouting and noise. Fortunately theyhad landed on the opposite side of the islet, and as the bush on it wasvery dense there was not much probability of any one crossing over. Ourvoyagers therefore lay close, resolving to be off in the morning beforethe unwelcome visitors were stirring.
As the three lay there wrapped in their blankets and gazingcontemplatively at the now risen moon, voices were heard as if of menapproaching. It was soon found that two of the strangers had saunteredround by the beach and were slowly drawing near the encampment.
Nigel observed that the hermit had raised himself on one elbow andseemed to be again listening intently.
The two men halted on reaching the top of the ridges of rock whichformed one side of the little bay, and their voices became audiblethough too far distant to admit of words being distinguishable. At thesame time their forms were clearly defined against the sky.
Nigel glanced at Van der Kemp and was startled by the change that hadcome over him. The moonbeams, which had by that time risen above someintervening shrubs, shone full on him and showed that his usually quietgentle countenance was deadly pale and transformed by a frown of almosttiger-like ferocity. So strange and unaccountable did this seem to ourhero that he lay quite still, as if spell-bound. Nor did his companionsmove until the strangers, having finished their talk, turned to retracetheir steps and finally disappeared.
Then Van der Kemp rose with a sigh of relief. The negro and Nigel alsosprang up.
"What's wrong, massa?" asked Moses, in much anxiety.
"Nothing, nothing," said the hermit hurriedly. "I must cross over to seethese fellows."
"All right, massa. I go wid you."
"No, I go alone."
"Not widout arms?" exclaimed the negro, laying his hand on his master'sshoulder.
"Yes, without arms!" As he spoke he drew the long knife that usuallyhung at his girdle and flung it down. "Now attend, both of you," headded, with sudden and almost threatening earnestness.
"Do not on any account follow me. I am quite able to take care ofmyself."
Next moment he glided into the bushes and was gone.
"Can you guess what is the matter with him?" asked Nigel, turning to hiscompanion with a perplexed look.
"Not more nor de man ob de moon. I nebber saw'd 'im like dat before. It'ink he's go mad! I tell you what--I'll foller him wid a rifle an'knife and two revolvers."
"You'll do nothing of the sort," said Nigel, laying hold of the negro'swrist with a grip of iron; "when a man like Van der Kemp gives an orderit's the duty of inferior men like you and me strictly to obey."
"Well--p'raps you're right, Nadgel," returned Moses calmly. "If youwasn't, I'd knock you into de middle ob nixt week for takin' a grip o'me like dat."
"You'll wish yourself into the middle of next fortnight if you disobeyorders," returned our hero, tightening the grip.
Moses threw back his head, opened his cavern, and laughed silently; atthe same time he twisted his arm free with a sudden wrench.
"You's awrful strong, Nadgel, but you don't quite come up to niggers!Howse'ber, you's right. I'll obey orders; neberdeless I'll get readyfor action."
So saying, the negro extracted from the canoe several revolvers, two ofwhich he handed to Nigel, two he thrust into his own belt, and two helaid handy for "massa" when he should return.
"Now, if you're smart at arit'metic, you'll see dat six time six amt'irty-six, and two double guns das forty--forty dead men's more 'nenuff--besides de knives."
Moses had barely finished these deadly preparations when Van der Kempreturned as quietly as he had gone. His face was still fierce andhaggard, and his manner hurried though quite decided.
"I have seen him," he said, in a low voice.
"Seen who?" asked Nigel.
"Him whom I had hoped and prayed never more to see. My enemy! Come,quick, we must leave at once, and without attracting their notice."
He gave his comrades no time to put further questions, but laid hold ofone end of the canoe; Moses took the other end and it was launched in afew seconds, while Nigel carried down such part of the lading as hadbeen taken out. Five minutes sufficed to put all on board, and thatspace of time was also sufficient to enable Spinkie to observe from hisretreat in the bushes that a departure was about to take place; hetherefore made for the shore with all speed and bounded to hisaccustomed place beside the mast.
Taking their places they pushed off so softly that they might well havebeen taken for phantoms. A cloud conveniently hid the moon at the time.Each man plied his paddle with noiseless but powerful stroke, and longbefore the cloud uncovered the face of the Queen of Night they wereshooting far away over the tranquil sea.