CHAPTER XXX
THE FLAG OF TRUCE
The seamen rolled the larger boulders to the line Tyke indicated.Captain Hamilton himself and Drew chocked the interstices between thelarger blocks with broken lava. A chance bullet might slip throughinto the fort, but under a rain of lead those within the fortificationwould be fairly well protected.
In two hours, and not long before sunset, the work was finished.Facing the jungle, from which the expected attack would come, if atall, the wall was breast high; in the rear, it rose higher so that noman unless he stood fairly in the lip of the crater above, could shootover the barrier.
"And take it from me," said Tyke Grimshaw, "those bums ain't going torun their legs off to reach the top of this volcano. They're scared todeath of it."
"And our own boys aren't much better," muttered Captain Hamilton. "See'em looking over their shoulders now and again? They're expecting ashoot-off any minute."
"Well," the older man agreed, "that may be so. But it strikes me thatthe volcano and the earthquakes have been mighty helpful to us. Now,if I was superstitious----"
"How about locking my schooner in that blasted lagoon?" growled themaster of the _Bertha Hamilton_. "This island is hoodooed, I've half amind to believe."
Next the rifles and revolvers were carefully cleaned and loaded, andthe ammunition distributed.
"How are we off for cartridges?" Drew asked.
"None too well," answered the captain. "If these fellows were sureshots, there'd probably be all we'd need. But they'll waste a lot.I've got several hundred in a box under my berth--and clips for theautomatics, too. I certainly wish I'd brought 'em along."
"S'pose Ditty's gobbled 'em?" inquired Grimshaw.
"I don't think he'd find them. But they're no good to us now," groanedthe captain.
At this moment Rogers came hurrying up.
"They're putting off from the ship," he reported breathlessly.
"How many of them?" asked the captain.
"Ten in the longboat and seven in the other," was the answer.
"Seventeen in all," mused the captain. "I wonder where the rest are."
"Probably dead or prisoners," put in Tyke. "The men who wouldn't joinhim he's likely killed or triced up an' left 'em under guard of one ortwo of the gang."
"That's probably so," agreed the master of the _Bertha Hamilton_."Well, that reduces the odds somewhat; but they're heavy enough justthe same. We'll have action now 'most any time."
They had been so excited and absorbed in their preparations that theyhad not thought of food. Now the captain insisted upon their eatingwhat Wah Lee had put up for them that morning. But he portioned outwater from the cask very sparingly.
Another hour passed, and still they heard no tread of approaching feet.It would soon be dark. But suddenly they were startled when a voicehailed them. It came from the direction of a big ceiba tree a hundredyards down the forest path.
"Ahoy, there!"
"Ahoy, yourself!" shouted back the captain.
A stick was thrust from behind the tree. A white cloth was tied to theend of it.
"This is Ditty talkin'," came the voice.
"I know it is, you scoundrel," roared the captain.
"No hard words, Cap'n," came the answer. "It'll only be the worse foryou. I want to have a confab with you."
"Come along then and say your say," replied Captain Hamilton.
"You won't shoot?"
"Not you," promised the captain. "I hope to see you hung later on."
"No tricks, now," said Ditty cautiously
"I said I wouldn't and that's enough," responded the captain. "You cantake it or leave it."
The mate emerged fully from behind the tree and came into the openspace. At fifty paces from the fortress he halted.
"There's guns coverin' you from behind them trees, if anything happensto me," he said in further warning.
"I don't wonder you think that every man's a liar, Ditty," the captainreplied bitterly. "You judge them out of your own black heart. Now,what do you want? Why have you seized my ship? Why have you killedone of my men?"
"I hain't seized your ship," answered Ditty sullenly. "You left me incharge of it. An' I didn't kill any of your men. Sanders got drunkan' fell overboard."
"Don't lie to me, you rascal," returned the captain. "We heard theshooting and saw the man shot as he leaped overboard. You'll hang forthat yet, if I don't kill you first. You're a bloody mutineer and youknow it. Now stow your lies and get to the point. What do you want?"
"We want them doubloons!" fairly shouted Ditty, stung by the captain'scontempt, "an' we're goin' to have 'em."
"Doubloons? What do you mean?" asked the captain.
"The treasure you come here to dig for," answered Ditty. "You can'tfool me. I've been on to your little game ever since before theschooner left New York. I got sharp ears, I have," pursued the mate,his one eye gleaming balefully as he looked at the heads above the lineof the breastwork. "I know you found a map an' some sort of a paperwhat explained about that old pirate treasure. It was in a sailorman'schest in Tyke Grimshaw's office. Like enough Tyke stole it from thepoor feller. An' I heard you tellin' Miss Ruth about it that night atdinner," he added, with a leering glance at the pale-faced girl.
"So that's why you shipped me such a lot of scum and riffraff, was it,you villain?" Captain Hamilton asked.
"You can think as you like about that," answered Ditty. "But this herekind of chinning won't git us anywhere. I know all about the map andthat paper, an' I know that you come here lookin' for that loot. An' Ibet you've found it a'ready. Now, to put it short an' sweet, me an' mymates want it."
"Suppose you got it?" parleyed the master of the _Bertha Hamilton_."It wouldn't do you any good. The schooner is landlocked and can't getaway."
"Even so it'll do us as much good as it will you," countered Ditty."We've got the longboat an' we can easily make one of the islands nearby where we can find a ship to take us to the States."
"And suppose I have the treasure and refuse to give it to you?" pursuedthe captain.
"Then we'll take it!" threatened Ditty, his one eye glowing withmalevolence. "We'll take it if we have to kill every last one of youto git it!
"Hey! Barker! Olsen! The rest of you bullies!" he added, raising hisvoice, "you know blamed well the after-guard won't do nothin' for youfellers but let you git shot. You better come with us.
"We're nearly two to one, anyway, an' you've got no chance," he addedto Captain Hamilton.
"We haven't, eh?" exploded the captain, his pent-up rage finding vent."Do your worst, you black-hearted hound! And if you're not behind thattree in one minute, may God have mercy on your soul!"