CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
A STORY OF MUTINY.
Not until Leslie was once more back in his own tent, and absolutely safefrom all possibility of interruption or espionage, did he venture toopen and peruse the scrap of paper that the steward had that morning sosurreptitiously slipped into his hand. It was apparently part of theleaf of a pocket memorandum book; and, hastily scribbled in pencil, inan ill-formed and uneducated hand, it bore the following words:--
"Sir, for God's sake take care what your about, or your life won't beworth a brass farden. Turnbull aint no more the proper capten of thisship than I am. There won't be no anchor watch aboard here to-night soif youl come off about half after midnight I'll be on the lookout foryer and tell yer the hole bloomin yarn. For God's sake come.--Steward."
"Um!" meditated Leslie, as he held the document to the light of thelamp. "Now, what does this mean? Is it a trap to get me aboard thebarque, or is it genuine? The latter, I am inclined to think, forseveral reasons; the first of which is that the poor man was obviouslyin a state of abject terror this morning. Secondly, he was so keenlyanxious to open up communication with me that he made an unsuccessfulattempt to do so while helping me to my whisky and soda. Thirdly, hisstatement that Turnbull is not the legitimate skipper of the barque isso evidently true that it needs no discussion. And fourthly, ifTurnbull had seriously desired to make me a prisoner this afternoon, hecould easily have done so by sending a boat's crew in pursuit of me--that is to say," he corrected himself, "for all he knows to thecontrary, he could easily have done so. For how was he to know that Ihad two fully loaded revolvers in my pocket, equivalent to the lives oftwelve men? Yes, I am strongly inclined to believe that this remarkablelittle document is genuine, and that there is something very radicallywrong aboard that barque. What is it, I wonder? That Turnbull hassomehow got scent of the treasure, and is after it, I am almost preparedto swear; his obvious vexation and disappointment at finding me here as`the man in possession,' and his equally obvious efforts to shake me offto-day that he might have an opportunity to go away by himself in searchof the cave, prove that; but there is something more than that, I amcertain. I wonder, now, whether his story of the sick man in the cabinhas anything to do with it? I should not be surprised if it had. Andwhere were the crew this morning? Turnbull spoke of being short-handed;but surely there are more people aboard than himself, the steward, thecook, and the two or three men I saw? Oh yes, there is something veryqueer about the whole business; and this document is genuine. At allevents I will go off to-night, and hear what the steward has to sayabout it."
In accordance with this resolution Leslie forthwith partook of a goodhearty meal, and then, extinguishing his lamp, left the tent--to guardagainst the possibility of his being surprised there in his sleep--and,walking over to the pile of goods that he had accumulated from thebrig's cargo, raised the tarpaulin that covered it, and, creepingunderneath, stretched himself out as comfortably as he could to snatch afew hours' sleep, confident that the faculty which he possessed of beingable to wake at any desired moment would not play him false. And a fewminutes later he was fast asleep; for Dick Leslie was one of those menwho, when once they have resolved upon a certain course of action,dismiss further consideration of it from their minds and allow it totrouble them no longer.
He had fixed upon half-past eleven as the hour at which he would rise,this allowing him a full hour in which to paddle off to the barque; andwhen by-and-by he awoke, and under the shelter of the tarpaulincautiously struck a match and consulted his watch, he found that it waswithin five minutes of the half-hour. He next peered out from under thetarpaulin and carefully scanned the beach by the light of the stars, tosee whether Turnbull had sent a boat ashore in the hope of "catching aweasel asleep;" but his own canoe was the only craft visible, and heaccordingly made his way down to the water's edge, and, pushing her off,sprang noiselessly into her as she went afloat. Then, heading her roundwith a couple of powerful sweeps of the paddle, he pointed her nosetoward the spot where the _Minerva's_ spars made a delicate tracery ofblack against the star-spangled heavens, and with long, easy, silentstrokes drove her quietly ahead.
That the crew had not yet retired to their bunks was soon evident to himfrom the fact that snatches of maudlin song came floating down to himoccasionally upon the pinions of the dew-laden night breeze; but thesedwindled steadily as he drew nearer to the vessel, and about a quarterof an hour before he arrived alongside they ceased altogether, and thecraft subsided into complete silence.
Leslie deemed it advisable to approach the barque with a considerableamount of caution, not that he doubted the steward, but because, despitethe silence that had fallen on board, it was just possible that some ofthe crew might still be awake and on deck; he therefore kept the threemasts of the vessel in one, and crept up to her very gently from rightastern. As he drew in under the shadow of her hull the completedarkness and silence in which the craft was wrapped seemed almostominous and uncanny; but presently he detected a solitary figure on thepoop, evidently on the watch, and a moment later saw that this figurewas silently signalling to him to draw up under the counter. Obeyingthese silent signals, he found a rope dangling over the stern, which heseized, and the next instant the figure that he had observed camesilently wriggling down the rope into the canoe. Leslie at oncerecognised him as the steward.
"It's all right, sir," whispered the man, breathless, in part from hisexertions, and partly also, Leslie believed, from apprehension; "it'sall right. But let go, sir, please, and let's get a few fathoms awayfrom the ship, for there's no knowin' when that skunk Turnbull may takeit into his head to come on deck and 'ave a look round; 'e's as nervousas a cat, and that suspicious that you can't be up to 'im. There, thank'e, sir; I dare say that'll do; they won't be able to see or 'ear usfrom where we are now, for I couldn't see you until you was close underthe counter. Well, you've come, sir, God be thanked; and I 'ope you'llbe able to 'elp us; because if you can't it'll be a precious bad job forsome of us." And the fellow sighed heavily with mingled apprehensionand relief.
"You had better tell me the whole of your story," said Leslie, quietly."I shall then be in a position to say whether I can help you or not. IfI can, you may rest assured that I will."
"Thank 'e, sir," murmured the man. "Well, ye see, sir, it's like this.We sailed from London for Capetown a little more than four months ago;and everything went smooth and comfortable enough with us until we gotacross the line and into the south-east trades--for the skipper, poorCap'n Hopkins, was as nice and pleasant a man as anybody need wish tosail under; and so was Mr Marshall, too--that's the mate, you'llunderstand, sir--although 'e kep' the men up to their dooty, andwouldn't 'ave no skulkin' aboard. The only chap as was anywaysdisagreeable was this feller Turnbull, who was rated as bo'sun, and givecharge of the starboard watch, actin' as a sort of second mate, ye see.Well, as I was sayin', everything went all right until we got to thes'uth'ard of the line. Then, one night I was woke up some time aftermidnight by a terrific row in the cabin; and up I jumps and out I goesto see what was up. When I got into the cabin it seemed full of men;but I'd no sooner shown my nose than one of the chaps--it was PeteBurton, I remember--catches sight of me, and, takin' me by the collar,'e runs me back into my cabin and says, `You stay in there, Jim,'--myname's Reynolds--Jim Reynolds--you'll understand, sir. `You stay inthere, Jim,' 'e says, `and no 'arm'll come to you; but if you tries tocome out afore you're called, you'll get 'urt,' 'e says. Then 'e turnsthe key upon me, and I gets back into my bunk, and listens. The nextthing I 'eard was a pistol-shot; then there was another tremenjous'ullabaloo, men shoutin' and strugglin' together, followed by a suddentsilence, and the sound of all 'ands clearin' out of the cabin. Thenthere was a lot of tramplin' of feet on the poop over my 'ead, with agood deal of talkin'; then I 'eard somebody cry out, there was a 'eavysplash in the water alongside, and then everything went quite quiet allof a sudden, and I 'eard no more until mornin'. But I guessed prettywell what 'ad 'app
ened; and when Turnbull come along about five bellsand unlocked my door and ordered me to turn out and get about my work, Ifound I was right, for when I went for'ard to the galley, Slushy--that'sthe cook, otherwise known as Neil Dolan--told me that that skowbankTurnbull, backed up by the four A.B.s in the fo'c's'le and Slushy'isself, 'ad rose and took the ship from the skipper, killin' 'im andChips--that's the carpenter--puttin' the mate in irons and lockin' 'imup in 'is cabin, and compellin' the four ordinarys to help--whether theywould or no--in workin' the ship. Then, by-and-by, when eight bellsstruck and I rang the bell for breakfast, along comes Turnbull, and saysto me--
"`Well, Jim, I s'pose you've 'eard the news?'
"`Yes, bo'sun,' I says, `I 'ave.'
"`Very well,' he says; `that's all right. Now,' 'e says, `all as you'ave to do, my son, is to behave yourself and do your dooty, takin' carenot to interfere with my arrangements. You'll give the mate 'is mealsin 'is own cabin, regular; but you're not to talk to 'im, youunderstand, nor tell 'im anything that you may see or 'ear about what'sgoin' on. And don't you call me bo'sun no more, young man, or I'llknock your bloomin' young 'ead off, for I'm cap'n of this ship now, anddon't you forget it! So now you knows what to expect. And, mind you,''e says, `if you gets up to any 'ankypanky tricks I'll chuck you overthe side, so sure as your name's Jim Reynolds, so keep your weather eyeliftin', my son!'
"Later on, that same day, Turnbull 'as the mate out into the main cabinand spreads a chart of the Pacific Hocean out on the table; and, readin'from a paper what 'e 'ad in 'is 'and, says, `Now, Mr Marshall, I'lltrouble you to lay down on this 'ere chart a p'int bearin' latitoodso-and-so and longitood so-and-so,'--I forgets what the figures was.`And when you've done that,' he says, `you'll navigate this 'ere barqueto that identical spot. I'll give yer two months from to-day to get usthere,' 'e says; `and if we're not there by that time,' 'e says, `I'lllash your 'ands and feet together be'ind yer back and 'eave yeroverboard. So now you knows what you've to do if you want to save yerbloomin' life,' 'e says.
"That same a'ternoon, while I was for'ard in the galley, Slushy--who wasin 'igh spirits--tells me as 'ow Turnbull 'ave got 'old of a yarn abouta lot of buried treasure on a hisland somewhere, in the Pacific, andthat we was bound there to get it; and that when we'd got it, Turnbulland them as 'ad stood in with 'im 'd be as rich as princes and wouldn'tneed to do another stroke of work for the rest of their naturals, butjust 'ave a good time, with as much booze as they cared to swaller. AndI reckon that this 'ere's the hisland where Turnbull thinks 'e'll find'is treasure."
"No doubt," agreed Leslie. "Well, what do you want me to do?"
"Well, sir, it ain't for the likes of me to say just exactly what youought to do," answered Reynolds. "I thought that maybe if I spinned youthe whole yarn you'd be able to think out some way of 'elpin' of us.There ain't no doubt in my mind but what you bein' on the hisland 'aveupset Turnbull's calculations altogether. As I makes it out, 'ereckoned upon comin' 'ere and goin' ashore with 'is paper in 'is 'and,and walkin' pretty straight to the place where this 'ere treasure isburied, and diggin' of it up all quite comfortable, with nobody tohinterfere with 'im. But you bein' 'ere makes it okkard for 'im, yousee; because 'e's afraid that where 'e goes you'll go with 'im, and if'e goes pokin' about lookin' after buried treasure you'll drop on to 'issecret and p'rhaps get 'old of the stuff. And that's just where thedanger to you comes in; because, d'ye see, sir, if 'e'd kill one man forthe sake of gettin' 'old of the barque to come 'ere on the off-chance offindin' the treasure, 'e ain't the kind of man to 'esitate about killin'another who'd be likely to hinterfere with 'im."
"Just so," assented Leslie; "that is quite possible. But I will seethat he does nothing of the kind. Now, tell me, how many of the ship'scompany are with Turnbull, and how many are there against him?"
"Well, first of all, there's Turnbull 'isself; that's one," answered thesteward. "Then there's Burton, Royston, Hampton, and Cunliffe, the fourA.B.s; that's five. And, lastly, there's the cook; 'e makes six. Then,on our side, there's Mr Marshall, the mate; that's one. I'm another;that's two. And there's Rogers, Andrews, Parker, and Martin, the fourordinary seamen; that's six again. So there's six against six, as youmay say; only there's this difference between us: Turnbull 'ave got tworevolvers, one what 'e found in the skipper's cabin, and one what 'etook from the mate, while the four A.B.s 'as their knives; whereas we'aven't nothin', they 'avin' took our knives and everything away fromus."
"Still," argued Leslie, "the belaying-pins are always available, Isuppose, and they are fairly effective weapons in a hand-to-hand fight,to say nothing of handspikes and other matters that you can always layyour hands on. But of course Turnbull's brace of revolvers gives him animmense advantage, should it come to fighting. But I can plainly seethat if the slip is to be recaptured at all--and I believe it can bemanaged--it must be done without fighting; for you are not strong-handedenough to risk the loss, or even the disablement, of so much as a singleman. Now, tell me this. Turnbull informs me that your water is bad,and that he intends to re-water the ship, here. Is that true, or is itonly a fabrication to account to me for the presence here of the_Minerva_?"
"Why, just that, and nothin' else, sir," answered the steward. "Ourwater's good enough. But certingly we're runnin' rather short of it;and I don't doubt but what 'e'll fill up, if there's water to be 'ad'ere. But it's the treasure as 'e's after, first and foremost, anddon't you forget it."
"Quite so," agreed Leslie. "Now, no doubt he will go ashore again soonafter daylight; and as I shall not come off to the ship he will becompelled to come ashore in his own boat. How many men will he belikely to bring with him, think you?"
"Not more'n two, sir, certingly," answered the steward; "and p'rhaps notany at all. Likely enough when 'e finds as you don't come off 'e'llscull 'isself ashore in the dinghy. Because, you see, sir, 'e don'ttrust none of us 'ceptin' the four as is standin' in with 'im, and themfour 'as their orders to keep a strict heye upon us to see that we don'trise and take back the ship from 'em. So I don't think as 'e'll takeany o' them ashore with 'im if 'e can 'elp it. And 'e won't take noneof the others either, 'cause 'e'd be afraid to trust 'isself alone with'em."
"Very well," said Leslie. "I think I can see my way pretty clearly now.If Turnbull should go ashore by himself to-morrow, I will look afterhim and see that he does not return to the barque. But if he shouldtake any of his own gang with him--say two of them--that will leave onlytwo and the cook aboard against six of you, which will make you two toone. In that case you must watch your chance, and, if you can find anopportunity, rise upon those three and retake the ship. And if youshould succeed, hoist the ensign to the gaff-end as a signal to me thatthe ship is recaptured. But do not run any risks, mind; because, as Ihave already said, you cannot afford to lose even one man. If youcannot see a good chance to retake the ship, we must watch ouropportunity, and think of some other plan. That is all, I think. Now Iwill put you aboard again. But look out for me to come off again aboutthe same time to-morrow night."
With the same caution as before Leslie now again approached the barque,but this time he took the canoe up under the craft's mizzen channels,from which it was a much easier matter for the steward to scrambleaboard again than if he had been compelled to shin up the rope danglingover the stern, by which he had descended; and having seen the mansafely in on deck, he softly pushed the canoe off the ship's side withhis bare hand, and allowed her to be driven clear by the wind; and itwas not until he was a good hundred yards astern of the _Minerva_ thathe took to his paddle and returned to the camp. It was nearly twoo'clock in the morning when at length he once more entered his tent andstretched himself upon his bed to finish his night's rest.
Leslie was habitually an early riser, and, notwithstanding the fact thatthe previous night's rest had been a broken one, he was once more astirby sunrise, taking his towels and soap with him to a little rocky poolin the stream where he was wont to indulge in his morning's "tub;" andby eight o'clock he was
seated at table in his tent, enjoying hisbreakfast, and at the same time keeping an eye upon the barque.
It was not, however, until close upon half-past ten that Dick detectedany signs of a movement on board the _Minerva_; and then with the aid ofhis telescope, he observed that they were getting the vessel's dinghyinto the water. Ten minutes later he saw Turnbull climb down the ship'sside, and, throwing over a short pair of sculls, shove off and head thelittle craft for the beach. Dick waited only just long enough to makequite sure that the man was really coming ashore, and, this presentlybecoming evident, he at once started for the treasure-cave. Knowing theway by this time perfectly well, an hour's easy walking took him to thespot, where he found Nicholls and Simpson on the watch. A few tersesentences sufficed to put the men in possession of the material facts ofthe situation, and he then hurried down aboard the cutter to see Floraand assure her of his safety, and that everything was going well. Then,returning to the cave, he made his final arrangements with the two men,and set out on his way back toward the camp. He did not go very far,however, for he knew that, finding him absent, Turnbull would at onceseize the opportunity to institute a search for the cave; and he knew,further, that--since the man was undoubtedly possessed of tolerablycomplete information, including, probably, a map of the island--he mustsooner or later make his appearance in the neighbourhood; he thereforeselected a spot where, himself unseen, he could command a view of theground over which the fellow must almost inevitably pass, and sat downto patiently await developments.
At length, after Leslie had been in ambush for nearly three hours, hesaw Turnbull approaching among the trees, carrying what appeared to be amap or plan in his hand, which he consulted from time to time, withfrequent pauses to stare about him as though in search of certainlandmarks. As the burly ruffian drew nearer, Dick took a revolver fromhis pocket and finally scrutinised it to make absolutely certain that itwas in perfect working order. Slowly the fellow approached, mutteringcurses below his breath at the unevenness of the way and theunsimilarity of the landscape with that described in the document whichhe carried. Presently he went, stumbling and execrating, close past thespot where Leslie remained concealed, and the latter at once rose to hisfeet and followed him noiselessly, at a distance of some fifteen paces.In this fashion the two men covered a distance of about a quarter of amile, when Turnbull once more paused to consult his map.
At the same moment Leslie halted, and, levelling his revolver at theboatswain's head, said--
"It is no good, Turnbull; you will never find the place without my help.No, you don't! Throw up your hands. Over your head with them, quick,or I'll fire! Do you hear what I say, sir? Well, take that, then, youobstinate mule, as a hint to do as you are told in future!"
And as Leslie spoke he pulled the trigger of his revolver, and sent abullet through the man's left arm, shattering the bone above the elbow.
For, with the sound of Dick's voice, Turnbull had faced about, and, witha bitter curse, made as though he would plunge his hands into theside-pockets of the pilot jacket that he was wearing. As the shotstruck him he gave vent to another curse that ended in a sharp howl ofanguish as he flung his uninjured arm above his head.
"What the blazes are ye doin' of?" he yelled in impotent fury. "D'yeknow that you've broke my arm?"
"Sorry," remarked Dick, nonchalantly, "but you _would_ have it, youknow. I distinctly ordered you to throw up your hands, and youimmediately attempted to plunge them into your pockets to get at yourrevolvers. If you compel me to shoot again I shall shoot to kill, so Ihope that, for your own sake, you will make no further attempt to doanything foolish. Now, right about face, and march. I will tell youhow to steer. And be very careful to keep that right hand of yours wellabove your head."
"Ain't you goin' to bind up this wound of mine for me, then?" demandedTurnbull. "And what right have you got to shoot at me, I'd like toknow?"
"All in good time," answered Leslie, airily. "Now march, as I told you,and be quick about it, or I shall be compelled to freshen your way foryou with another shot. I know all about you, my good man, and I amtherefore not at all disposed to put up with any nonsense. Forward!"
With a further volley of curses of extraordinary virulence, Turnbullturned on his heel and resumed his way in the direction of thetreasure-cave, with Dick at his heels directing him from time to time to"port a little", "starboard a bit," or "steady as you go," as the casemight be.
A few minutes of this kind of thing sufficed to bring the pair close tothe treasure-cave, the entrance of which had been considerably enlargedby Nicholls and Simpson for their own convenience. They were, however,absent for the moment when Dick arrived with his prisoner; and thelatter stared in wonderment at the cave and the chests in front of it,which the two men had removed from the interior prior to transference tothe cutter.
"So," exclaimed Turnbull, savagely, "that's what you're at, is it?Stealin' my treasure! Very well; if I don't make you smart for this myname ain't Robert Turnbull, that's all. What d'ye mean, I'd like toknow, by comin' here and stealin' treasure that don't belong to ye, eh?"
"To whom does it belong, pray, if not to me?" demanded Dick, blandly,curious to learn what kind of claim this ruffian would set up.
"Why, to _me_, of course," howled Turnbull, clenching his right fist andshaking it savagely at Leslie.
"Keep that right hand of yours over your head," ordered Dick, sharply,again covering him with lightning-like rapidity. "That's right," hecontinued. "Now perhaps you will kindly tell me how it came to beyours."
"Why, I got it off a former shipmate of mine," answered Turnbull. "Hegive it to me when--when he--died."
"What was his name?" asked Dick.
"His name?" reiterated Turnbull, "what do his name matter? And anyhowI've forgot it."
At this moment Nicholls and Simpson made their appearance upon thescene, much to Turnbull's amazement, and turning to them Leslie said--
"Here is your prisoner, lads. Have you your lashings ready? And is thecave empty of everything that we intend to take away with us? Verywell, then; march this fellow in there and bind his two feet and hisright hand together securely--his left arm is broken and useless, youneed not therefore trouble about that. And when you have done that Iwill set his broken arm and dress his wound for him. Keep him in thecave until I give you further instructions concerning him, and meanwhilegive him a sufficiency of food and water to keep him from starving."
For a moment Turnbull, wounded as he was, seemed very much disposed tomake a final struggle for his liberty; but although he was a strong man,Simpson would have been more than a match for him even if he had beenunwounded, and presently, recognising the futility and folly ofresistance he sulkily entered the cave and submitted to be bound,growling and cursing horribly all the while, however. Then Leslie,assisted by Nicholls, dressed his wound and set the broken bone of thearm; lashing it firmly with splints hastily cut out of small branchesfrom the nearest trees. Satisfied now that the fellow was absolutelysecured, and quite incapable either of escaping or of inflicting anyvery serious injury upon himself, the three men at length left him tohis; own devices, and proceeded to get the remainder of the treasureaboard the cutter and snugly stowed away--a task that they accomplishedearly enough to enable Dick to get back to the camp ere nightfall.Arrived there, Leslie at once set to work to prepare himself a goodsubstantial meal, which he subsequently devoured with much gusto--havingeaten nothing since breakfast; and, this important matter being disposedof, he immediately turned in, desiring to secure a few hours' sleep eresetting out upon his nocturnal trip off to the barque.
When, at about half an hour after midnight, he again approached the_Minerva_, observing the same precautions as before, he found thesteward awaiting his arrival with considerable trepidation. The managain descended into the canoe by way of the rope over the stern; andagain Leslie allowed the little craft to drive with the wind to aperfectly safe distance before opening the conversation. At length,however, he s
aid--
"Now I think we are far enough away to permit of our talking freelywithout being either heard or seen; so go ahead, Reynolds, and give methe news. Has Turnbull's failure to return to the ship caused anyuneasiness to the others of his gang?"
"Well, it 'ave, and it 'aven't, if you can understand me, sir," answeredthe man. "What I mean to say is this," he continued, by way ofexplanation, "the chaps--Burton and the rest of 'em--seems a bit puzzledthat 'e 'aven't come off aboard to sleep to-night; but so far as I canmake out, they thinks 'e's stayin' ashore with you, chummin' up withyou, in a manner of speakin', and tryin' to get to wind'ard of you.They seems to think that Turnbull--who thinks 'isself a mighty cleverchap, but ain't nothin' of the sort--'aven't been able to hinvent anexcuse to get away from you, and that you've been goin' about with 'imall day, showin' 'im round the hisland and such-like; and that 'e'sstayin' ashore to-night 'opin' to be able to give you the slip early inthe mornin' and get off by 'isself to 'ave a look for 'is treasure-cave.That's what they thinks; but of course it ain't nothin' of the sort._You_ knows what 'ave 'appened to 'im, sir; no doubt?"
"Oh yes," answered Leslie, with a laugh; "I know quite well what hashappened to him. He is alive; but he will not come off to the barqueagain."
"Thank God for that!" ejaculated the steward, piously. "Well, sir," heresumed, "what is to be the next move?"
"That," answered Leslie, "will depend upon circumstances--or, in otherwords, upon the action of Turnbull's accomplices. It would no doubt beeasy enough to recapture the barque without further delay, if I werewilling to risk a fight. But I am not, for two very good reasons; oneof which is that my own party is so small that I cannot afford to haveeither of them hurt; and the other is that your party is also so smallthat if even a single man should happen to be disabled in a fight itwould be exceedingly difficult for the remainder of you to handle thebarque. Therefore I would very much rather spend a few more days overthis business, and recapture the vessel without any fighting, than rushthe matter and perhaps get somebody badly hurt. By the way, what sortof men are these accomplices of Turnbull's? Are they of the resoluteand determined sort?"
"Ay," answered the steward, "you bet your life they are, sir. Turnbulltook 'em in with 'im just because 'e couldn't 'elp 'isself. 'E 'ad to'ave 'elp to take the barque, and naterally 'e chose the chaps as 'ethought would be most useful to 'im, 'specially as 'e didn't want to'ave more 'n 'e could 'elp to go shares with 'im. Now these 'ere four--Burton and the rest of 'em--are big, strong fellers, all of 'em. Eitherof 'em could tackle any two of the rest of us in a stand-up fight andmake mincemeat of us; so I reckon that's the reason why Turnbull chose'em. With they four and the cook on 'is side, and the mate safe inirons and locked up in 'is cabin, 'e could laugh at the rest of us, anddo just ezactly as 'e liked."
"I see," assented Leslie. "But what sort of a man is your mate, then?Could he not devise some scheme whereby, with the assistance of the restof you, he could get the better of these fellows?"
"Mr Marshall?" responded the steward. "Oh, 'e's all right; 'e's smartenough, 'e is; not much of a chap to look at--bein' a small man and notover strong--but 'is 'ead's screwed on the right way. But 'e can't donothin', because, ye see, sir, they keeps 'im in irons and locked up in'is own cabin, 'cept when 'e was let out twice a day to take the sightsand work up the ship's reckonin', and then either Turnbull or one of 'isgang was always alongside of 'im, and nobody else was hever allowed togo anigh 'im; whilst at other times--when I was givin' 'im 'is meals, Imean--either Pete Burton or one of the other chaps what was in withTurnbull was always about to see as 'e and I didn't 'ave no talktogether. So, ye see, the poor man 'adn't no chance to do anything'owever much 'e might 'ave been minded."
"Poor beggar!" ejaculated Leslie; "he must have had an awfully roughtime of it. And, evidently, Turnbull and his pals do not mean to takeany chances--which makes the recapture of the barque without a fightsomewhat difficult. However, I believe it can be done; and, anyhow, Iintend to try. Now, as I suppose you know these fellows pretty well, Iwant you to tell me what you think will happen when they find thatTurnbull does not return to the ship."
The steward carefully considered the matter for some moments. At lengthhe said--
"Well, sir, if Turnbull don't come off by to-morrow night, it's verylikely as they'll begin to suspect that you knows somethin' about it.Then, what'll they do? They daren't all four of 'em leave the barque,with only Slushy to take care of 'er, because they knows very well thatthe rest of us 'd pretty soon tie up Mr Slushy and have the barque backagain. And they knows, too, that if all four of 'em was to come ashore,we could slip the cable, make sail, and take the 'ooker out to sea aforethey could pull off to 'er. No; they won't do that. What they _will_do, I expect, is this. If Turnbull don't come off by sunset to-morrow--which I s'pose he won't, eh? No. Well, if he don't, I expect asthey'll wait till some time a'ter midnight, and then two of 'em 'llquietly drift ashore in one of the quarter-boats, leavin' the other twoto take care o' the ship. And the two as goes ashore 'll reckon uponcatchin' of you calmly asleep in your tent, there, and makin' you tell'em where Turnbull is."
"Y-e-s," assented Leslie, thoughtfully, "it is quite likely that theymay do some such thing as that. Yes; no doubt they will do that, sooneror later; if not to-morrow night, then the night after, or the nightafter that again. Very well; if they do, I shall be ready for them.And on the succeeding night, steward, you may look out for me again,about this time, unless, meanwhile, I see any reason to alter my plans.Now, that is all for the present, I think, so I will put you aboardagain. I suppose, by the way, these men have no suspicion that you andI are in communication with each other?"
"Lor' bless ye, no, sir," answered Reynolds, cheerfully. "Why shouldthey? They don't dream as you've any idee of the real state ofaffairs--at least not up to now. They may p'rhaps 'ave their suspicionsif Turnbull don't come aboard some time to-morrow; but at present theybelieves as 'e 've bamboozled you completely. Then, they drinks prettyfreely every night, and sleeps sound a'ter it, which they wouldn't do ifthey 'ad a thought as I was up to any game."
"So much the better," remarked Leslie. "What you have to do is to leavethem in the same comfortable frame of mind as long as possible. Now,here we are. Good night!"
As Leslie paddled thoughtfully ashore again he pondered over theforegoing conversation with the steward, and after carefully weighingthe several _pros_ and _cons_ of the situation, finally arrived at theconclusion that the steward's surmise as to the mutineers' line ofaction would probably prove to be a very near approach to the truth. Inany case he thought it in the highest degree improbable that they wouldattempt so exceedingly risky an operation as that of leaving the barquein broad daylight, when all hands would be awake and about; he thereforepartook of a leisurely breakfast next morning, and then fearlessly leftthe camp to take care of itself while he sauntered over to the cove tosee how Nicholls and Simpson were getting on. And as he passed thetreasure-cave he looked in, just to satisfy himself that Turnbull wasstill in safe keeping, and also to examine his wound. He found thefellow still bound hard and fast, and in a state of sullen fury at hishelpless condition, but otherwise he was doing fairly well, except forthe fact that his wound presented a somewhat inflamed and angryappearance, due, no doubt, to the man's unhealthy state of body throughexcessive drinking. Leslie dressed the wound afresh, and then passed onto the cove, where he found Nicholls and Simpson busily engaged ingetting the cutter ataunto. They had already got her mainsail bent,set, and flapping gently about in the small currents of wind that eddiedround the cove, the idea being to allow it to stretch uniformly beforeexposing it to the regular strain of work. And when Leslie came uponthem they were busy upon the task of bending the foresail; and Nichollsreported that they would be easily able to complete everything, even togetting the topmast on end and the rigging set up, before nightfall. Asfor Flora, she had gone off upon a ramble, leaving a note for Dick whichcontained instructions as to how he mig
ht find her. This he did,without difficulty; and as the whole of the treasure was now loaded onboard the cutter and the little craft herself was in condition to leavethe cove at an hour's notice, there remained little or nothing to bedone prior to the recapture of the _Minerva_. Dick therefore felthimself perfectly free to devote the remainder of the day to hissweetheart.
About an hour before sunset, however, the pair turned up at the cove,and while Flora went on board the cutter, Leslie instructed Nicholls toaccompany him back to the camp, which they reached just as darknessfell. Arrived there, the two men at once made their way to the greatpile of bales and cases that Dick had, with such a tremendousexpenditure of labour, brought ashore from the wrecked _Mermaid_, and,rummaging among these, found the big case of firearms from which Lesliehad provided himself. The case was opened and a brace of good,serviceable revolvers withdrawn therefrom for Nicholls' use, after whichthe two men leisurely partook of their evening meal. By the time thatthis was finished and cleared away it was close upon eight o'clock, andas Leslie rather anticipated the possibility of a visit from some of themutineers that night, and had no fancy for being taken unawares by them,he directed Nicholls to lie down and sleep until midnight, when he wouldrelieve him, it being Dick's purpose that the two men should take watchand watch through the night.