CHAPTER XVII. THIEVES FALL OUT
The door slammed. It was invisibly locked and the key taken out. Ilistened for the last of an angry stride. It never even began. But aftera pause the door was unlocked again, and Rattray re-entered.
Without looking at me, he snatched the candle from the table on which itstood by the bedside, and carried it to a bureau at the opposite sideof the room. There he stood a minute with his back turned, the candle,I fancy, on the floor. I saw him putting something in either jacketpocket. Then I heard a dull little snap, as though he had shut somesmall morocco case; whatever it was, he tossed it carelessly back intothe bureau; and next minute he was really gone, leaving the candleburning on the floor.
I lay and heard his steps out of earshot, and they were angry enoughnow, nor had he given me a single glance. I listened until there wasno more to be heard, and then in an instant I was off the bed and onmy feet. I reeled a little, and my head gave me great pain, but greaterstill was my excitement. I caught up the candle, opened the unlockedbureau, and then the empty case which I found in the very front.
My heart leapt; there was no mistaking the depressions in the case. Itwas a brace of tiny pistols that Rattray had slipped into his jacketpockets.
Mere toys they must have been in comparison with my dear Deane andAdams; that mattered nothing. I went no longer in dire terror of mylife; indeed, there was that in Rattray which had left me feeling fairlysafe, in spite of his last words to me, albeit I felt his fears on mybehalf to be genuine enough. His taking these little pistols (ofcourse, there were but three chambers left loaded in mine) confirmed myconfidence in him.
He would stick at nothing to defend me from the violence of hisbloodthirsty accomplices. But it should not come to that. My legs weregrowing firmer under me. I was not going to lie there meekly withoutmaking at least an effort at self-deliverance. If it succeeded--theidea came to me in a flash--I would send Rattray an ultimatum from thenearest town; and either Eva should be set instantly and unconditionallyfree, or the whole matter be put unreservedly in the hands of the localpolice.
There were two lattice windows, both in the same immensely thick wall;to my joy, I discovered that they overlooked the open premises at theback of the hall, with the oak-plantation beyond; nor was the distanceto the ground very great. It was the work of a moment to tear the sheetsfrom the bed, to tie the two ends together and a third round the mullionby which the larger window was bisected. I had done this, and had letdown my sheets, when a movement below turned my heart to ice. The nighthad clouded over. I could see nobody; so much the greater was my alarm.
I withdrew from the window, leaving the sheets hanging, in the hope thatthey also might be invisible in the darkness. I put out the candle,and returned to the window in great perplexity. Next moment I stoodaghast--between the devil and the deep sea. I still heard a somethingdown below, but a worse sound came to drown it. An unseen hand was veryquietly trying the door which Rattray had locked behind him.
"Diablo!" came to my horrified ears, in a soft, vindictive voice.
"I told ye so," muttered another; "the young swab's got the key."
There was a pause, in which it would seem that Joaquin Santos had hisear at the empty keyhole.
"I think he must be slipping," at last I heard him sigh. "It was notnecessary to awaken him in this world. It is a peety."
"One kick over the lock would do it," said Harris; "only the youngswab'll hear."
"Not perhaps while he is dancing attendance on the senhora. Was it notgood to send him to her? If he does hear, well, his own turn will comethe queecker, that is all. But it would be better to take them one at atime; so keeck away, my friend, and I will give him no time to squil."
While my would-be murderers were holding this whispered colloquy, I hadstood half-petrified by the open window; unwilling to slide down thesheets into the arms of an unseen enemy, though I had no idea whichof them it could be; more hopeful of slipping past my butchers in thedarkness, and so to Rattray and poor Eva; but not the less eagerlylooking for some hiding-place in the room. The best that offered was arecess in the thick wall between the two windows, filled with hangingclothes: a narrow closet without a door, which would shelter me wellenough if not too curiously inspected. Here I hid myself in the end,after a moment of indecision which nearly cost me my life. The coats andtrousers still shook in front of me when the door flew open at the firstkick, and Santos stood a moment in the moonlight, looking for the bed.With a stride he reached it, and I saw the gleam of a knife from where Istood among the squire's clothes; it flashed over my bed, and was still.
"He is not 'ere!"
"He heard us, and he's a-hiding."
"Make light, my friend, and we shall very soon see."
Harris did so.
"Here's a candle," said Santos; "light it, and watch the door. Perro maldicto! What have we here?"
I felt certain he had seen me, but the candle passed within a yard of myfeet, and was held on high at the open window.
"We are too late!" said Santos. "He's gone!"
"Are you sure
"Look at this sheet."
"Then the other swab knew of it, and we'll settle with him."
"Yes, yes. But not yet, my good friend--not yet. We want his asseestancein getting the gold back to the sea; he will be glad enough to give it,now that his pet bird has flown; after that--by all mins. You shall cuthis troth, and I will put one of 'is dear friend's bullets in 'im for myown satisfaction."
There was a quick step on the stairs-in the corridor.
"I'd like to do it now," whispered Harris; "no time like the present."
"Not yet, I tell you!"
And Rattray was in the room, a silver-mounted pistol in each hand; thesight of these was a surprise to his treacherous confederates, as even Icould see.
"What the devil are you two doing here?" he thundered.
"We thought he was too quite," said Santos. "You percive the rizzon."
And he waved from empty bed to open window, then held the candle closeto the tied sheet, and shrugged expressively.
"You thought he was too quiet!" echoed Rattray with fierce scorn. "Youthought I was too blind--that's what you mean. To tell me that MissDenison wished to see me, and Miss Denison that I wished to speak toher! As if we shouldn't find you out in about a minute! But a minute wasbetter than nothing, eh? And you've made good use of your minute, haveyou. You've murdered him, and you pretend he's got out? By God, if youhave, I'll murder you! I've been ready for this all night!"
And he stood with his back to the window, his pistols raised, and hishead carried proudly--happily--like a man whose self-respect was comingback to him after many days. Harris shrank before his fierce eyesand pointed barrels. The Portuguese, however, had merely given acharacteristic shrug, and was now rolling the inevitable cigarette.
"Your common sense is almost as remarkable as your sense of justice, myfriend," said he. "You see us one, two, tree meenutes ago, and you seeus now. You see the empty bed, the empty room, and you imagine that inone, two, tree meenutes we have killed a man and disposed of his body.Truly, you are very wise and just, and very loyal also to your friends.You treat a dangerous enemy as though he were your tween-brother. Youlet him escape--let him, I repit--and then you threaten to shoot thosewho, as it is, may pay for your carelessness with their lives. We havebeen always very loyal to you, Senhor Rattray. We have leestened to youradvice, and often taken it against our better judgment. We are here, notbecause we think it wise, but because you weeshed it. Yet at the firsttemptation you turn upon us, you point your peestols at your friends."
"I don't believe in your loyalty," rejoined Rattray. "I believe youwould shoot me sooner than I would you. The only difference would bethan I should be shot in the back!"
"It is untrue," said Santos, with immense emotion. "I call the saints towitness that never by thought or word have I been disloyal to you"--andthe blasphemous wretch actually crossed himself with a trembling, skinnyhand. "I have leeste
ned to you, though you are the younger man. I havegeeven way to you in everything from the moment we were so fullish as toset foot on this accursed coast; that also was your doeeng; and it willbe your fault if ivil comes of it. Yet I have not complained. Herein your own 'ouse you have been the master, I the guest. So far fromplotting against you, show me the man who has heard me brith onetreacherous word behind your back; you will find it deeficult, friendRattray; what do you say, captain?"
"Me?" cried Harris, in a voice bursting with abuse. And what the captainsaid may or may not be imagined. It cannot be set down.
But the man who ought to have spoken--the man who had such a chance asfew men have off the stage--who could have confounded these villainsin a breath, and saved the wretched Rattray at once from them andfrom himself--that unheroic hero remained ignobly silent in his homelyhiding-place. And, what is more, he would do the same again!
The rogues had fallen out; now was the time for honest men. They allthought I had escaped; therefore they would give me a better chance thanever of still escaping; and I have already explained to what purposeI meant to use my first hours of liberty. That purpose I hold to havejustified any ingratitude that I may seem now to have displayed towardsthe man who had undoubtedly stood between death and me. Was not EvaDenison of more value than many Rattrays? And it was precisely inrelation with this pure young girl that I most mistrusted the squire:obviously then my first duty was to save Eva from Rattray, not Rattrayfrom these traitors.
Not that I pretend for a moment to have been the thing I never was: youare not so very grateful to the man who pulls you out of the mud when hehas first of all pushed you in; nor is it chivalry alone which spursone to the rescue of a lovely lady for whom, after all, one would ratherlive than die. Thus I, in my corner, was thinking (I will say) of Evafirst; but next I was thinking of myself; and Rattray's blood be on hisown hot head! I hold, moreover, that I was perfectly right in all this;but if any think me very wrong, a sufficient satisfaction is in storefor them, for I was very swiftly punished.
The captain's language was no worse in character than in effect: the bedwas bloody from my wounded head, all tumbled from the haste with whichI had quitted it, and only too suggestive of still fouler play. Rattraystopped the captain with a sudden flourish of one of his pistols, thesilver mountings making lightning in the room; then he called upon thepair of them to show him what they had done with me; and to my horror,Santos invited him to search the room. The invitation was accepted. Yetthere I stood. It would have been better to step forward even then. YetI cowered among his clothes until his own hand fell upon my collar, andforth I was dragged to the plain amazement of all three.
Santos was the first to find his voice.
"Another time you will perhaps think twice before you spik, friendsquire."
Rattray simply asked me what I had been doing in there, in a white flameof passion, and with such an oath that I embellished the truth for himin my turn.
"Trying to give you blackguards the slip," said I.
"Then it was you who let down the sheet?"
"Of course it was."
"All right! I'm done with you," said he; "that settles it. I make you anoffer. You won't accept it. I do my best; you do your worst; but I'll beshot if you get another chance from me!"
Brandy and the wine-glass stood where Rattray must have set them, on anoak stool beside the bed; as he spoke he crossed the room, filledthe glass till the spirit dripped, and drained it at a gulp. He wastwitching and wincing still when he turned, walked up to Joaquin Santos,and pointed to where I stood with a fist that shook.
"You wanted to deal with him," said Rattray; "you're at liberty to doso. I'm only sorry I stood in your way."
But no answer, and for once no rings of smoke came from those shrivelledlips: the man had rolled and lighted a cigarette since Rattray entered,but it was burning unheeded between his skinny fingers. I had hisattention, all to myself. He knew the tale that I was going to tell.He was waiting for it; he was ready for me. The attentive droop of hishead; the crafty glitter in his intelligent eyes; the depth andbreadth of the creased forehead; the knowledge of his resource, theconsciousness of my error, all distracted and confounded me so that myspeech halted and my voice ran thin. I told Rattray every syllable thatthese traitors had been saying behind his back, but I told it all veryill; what was worse, and made me worse, I was only too well aware of myown failure to carry conviction with my words.
"And why couldn't you come out and say so," asked Rattray, as even I knewthat he must. "Why wait till now?"
"Ah, why!" echoed Santos, with a smile and a shake of the head; asuspicious tolerance, an ostentatious truce, upon his parchment face.And already he was sufficiently relieved to suck his cigarette alightagain.
"You know why," I said, trusting to bluff honesty with the one of themwho was not rotten to the core: "because I still meant escaping."
"And then what?" asked Rattray fiercely.
"You had given me my chance," I said; "I hould have given you yours."
"You would, would you? Very kind of you, Mr. Cole!"
"No, no," said Santos; "not kind, but clever! Clever, spicious, andqueeck-weeted beyond belif! Senhor Rattray, we have all been in thedark; we thought we had fool to die with, but what admirable knave theyoung man would make! Such readiness, such resource, with his tongueor with his peestol; how useful would it be to us! I am glad you havedecided to live him to me, friend Rattray, for I am quite come round toyour way of thinking. It is no longer necessary for him to die!"
"You mean that?" cried Rattray keenly.
"Of course I min it. You were quite right. He must join us. But he willwhen I talk to him."
I could not speak. I was fascinated by this wretch: it was reptile andrabbit with us. Treachery I knew he meant; my death, for one; my deathwas certain; and yet I could not speak.
"Then talk to him, for God's sake," cried Rattray, "and I shall be onlytoo glad if you can talk some sense into him. I've tried, and failed."
"I shall not fail," said Santos softly. "But it is better that he has aleetle time to think over it calmly; better steel for 'im to slip uponit, as you say. Let us live 'im for the night, what there is of it; timeenough in the morning."
I could hardly believe my ears; still I knew that it was treachery, alltreachery; and the morning I should never see.
"But we can't leave him up here," said Rattray; "it would mean one of uswatching him all night."
"Quite so," said Santos. "I will tell you where we could live him,however, if you will allow me to wheesper one leetle moment."
They drew aside; and, as I live, I thought that little moment was tobe Rattray's last on earth. I watched, but nothing happened; on thecontrary, both men seemed agreed, the Portuguese gesticulating, theEnglishman nodding, as they stood conversing at the window. Their faceswere strangely reassuring. I began to reason with myself, to rid my mindof mere presentiment and superstition. If these two really were at oneabout me (I argued) there might be no treachery after all. When I cameto think of it, Rattray had been closeted long enough with me to awakethe worst suspicions in the breasts of his companions; now that thesewere allayed, there might be no more bloodshed after all (if, forexample, I pretended to give in), even though Santos had not cared whoseblood was shed a few minutes since. That was evidently the character ofthe wretch: to compass his ends or to defend his person he would takelife with no more compunction than the ordinary criminal takes money;but (and hence) murder for murder's sake was no amusement to him.
My confidence was further restored by Captain Harris; ever a grossruffian, with no refinements to his rascality, he had been at the brandybottle after Rattray's example; and now was dozing on the latter's bed,taking his watch below when he could get it, like the good seaman hehad been. I was quite sorry for him when the conversation at the windowceased suddenly, and Rattray roused the captain up.
"Watches aft!" said he. "We want that mattress; you can bring it along,while I lead the way with the pil
lows and things. Come on, Cole!"
"Where to?" I asked, standing firm.
"Where there's no window for you to jump out of, old boy, and no clothesof mine for you to hide behind. You needn't look so scared; it's as dryas a bone, as cellars go. And it's past three o'clock. And you've justgot to come."