CHAPTER XV
THE CLIFF-MAKA SCHEME
The next morning Captain Horn arose with a plan of action in his mind,and he was now ready, not only to tell the two ladies and Ralpheverything he had discovered, but also what he was going to do. Theannouncement of the almost certain fate of Rynders and his men filled hishearers with horror, and the statement of the captain's plans did nottend to raise their spirits.
"You see," said he, "there is nothing now for us to wait for here. As tobeing taken off by a passing vessel, there is no chance of that whatever.We have gone over that matter before. Nor can we get away overland, forsome of us would die on the way. As to that little boat down there, wecannot all go to sea in her, but in it I must go out and seek for help."
"And leave us here!" cried Mrs. Cliff. "Do not think of that, captain!Whatever happens, let us all keep together."
"That cannot be," he said. "I must go because I am the only seaman amongyou, and I will take four of those black fellows with me. I do notapprehend any danger unless we have to make a surf landing, and eventhen they can all swim like fishes, while I am very well able to takecare of myself in the water. I shall sail down the coast until I come toa port, and there put in. Then I will get a vessel of some sort and comeback for you. I shall leave with you two of these negroes--Cheditafa, whoseems to be a highly respectable old person, and can speak English, andMok, who, although he can't talk to you, can understand a great deal thatis said to him. Apart from his being such an abject coward, he seems tobe a good, quiet fellow, willing to do what he is told. On the whole, Ithink he has the best disposition of the four black dummies, beggingtheir pardons. I will take the three others, with Maka as head man andinterpreter. If I should be cast on shore by a storm, I could swimthrough the surf to the dry land, but I could not undertake to save anyone else. If this misfortune should happen, we could make our way on footdown the coast."
"But suppose you should meet some Rackbirds?" cried Ralph.
"I have no fear of that," answered the captain. "I do not believe thereis another set of such scoundrels on this hemisphere. So, as soon as Ican get that boat in order, and rig up a mast and a sail for her, Ishall provision her well and set out. Of course, I do not want to leaveyou all here, but there is no help for it, and I don't believe you needhave the slightest fear of harm. Later, we will plan what is to be doneby you and by me, and get everything clear and straight. The first thingis to get the boat ready, and I shall go to work on that to-day. I willalso take some of the negroes down to the Rackbirds' camp, and bringaway more stores."
"Oh, let me go!" cried Ralph. "It is the cruellest thing in the world tokeep me cooped up here. I never go anywhere, and never do anything."
But the captain shook his head. "I am sorry, my boy," said he, "to keepyou back so much, but it cannot be helped. When I go away, I shall makeit a positive condition that you do not leave your sister and Mrs.Cliff, and I do not want you to begin now." A half-hour afterwards, whenthe captain and his party had set out, Ralph came to his sister and satdown by her.
"Do you know," said he, "what I think of Captain Horn? I think he is abrave man, and a man who knows what to do when things turn up suddenly,but, for all that, I think he is a tyrant. He does what he pleases, andhe makes other people do what he pleases, and consults nobody."
"My dear Ralph," said Edna, "if you knew how glad I am we have such a manto manage things, you would not think in that way. A tyrant is just whatwe want in our situation, provided he knows what ought to be done, and Ithink that Captain Horn does know."
"That's just like a woman," said Ralph. "I might have expected it."
During the rest of that day and the morning of the next, everybody inthe camp worked hard and did what could be done to help the captainprepare for his voyage, and even Ralph, figuratively speaking, put hishand to the oar.
The boat was provisioned for a long voyage, though the captain hoped tomake a short one, and at noon he announced that he would set out latethat afternoon.
"It will be flood-tide, and I can get away from the coast better thenthan if the tide were coming in."
"How glad I should be to hear you speak in that way," said Mrs. Cliff,"if we were only going with you! But to be left here seems like a deathsentence all around. You may be lost at sea while we perish on shore."
"I do not expect anything of the sort!" exclaimed Edna. "With Ralph andtwo men to defend us, we can stay here a long time. As for the captain'sbeing lost, I do not think of it for a moment. He knows how to manage aboat too well for that."
"I don't like it at all! I don't like it at all!" exclaimed Mrs. Cliff."I don't expect misfortunes any more than other people do, but ourcommon sense tells us they may come, and we ought to be prepared forthem. Of course, you are a good sailor, captain, but if it should happenthat you should never come back, or even if it should be a very longtime before you come back, how are we going to know what we ought to do?As far as I know the party you leave behind you, we would all be ofdifferent opinions if any emergency arose. As long as you are with us, Ifeel that, no matter what happens, the right thing will be done. But ifyou are away--"
At this moment Mrs. Cliff was interrupted by the approach of Maka, whowished very much to speak to the captain. As the negro was not a man whowould be likely to interrupt a conversation except for an importantreason, the captain followed him to a little distance. There he found, tohis surprise, that although he had left one person to speak to another,the subject was not changed.
"Cap'n," said Maka, "when you go 'way, who's boss?"
The captain frowned, and yet he could not help feeling interested in thisanxiety regarding his successor. "Why do you ask that?" he said. "Whatdifference does it make who gives you your orders when I am gone?"
Maka shook his head. "Big difference," he said. "Cheditafa don' like boyfor boss. He wan' me tell you, if boy is boss, he don' wan' stay. He wan'go 'long you."
"You can tell Cheditafa," said the captain, quickly, "that if I want himto stay he'll stay, and if I want him to go he'll go. He has nothing tosay about that. So much for him. Now, what do you think?"
"Like boy," said Maka, "but not for boss."
The captain was silent for a moment. Here was a matter which reallyneeded to be settled. If he had felt that he had authority to do as hepleased, he would have settled it in a moment.
"Cap'n big man. He know everyt'ing," said Maka. "But when cap'n go 'way,boy t'ink he big man. Boy know nothin'. Better have woman for boss."
Captain Horn could not help being amused. "Which woman?" he asked.
"I say old one. Cheditafa say young one."
The captain was not a man who would readily discuss his affairs with anyone, especially with such a man as Maka; but now the circumstances werepeculiar, and he wanted to know the opinions of these men he was about toleave behind him.
"What made you and Cheditafa think that way?" he asked.
"I t'ink old one know more," replied the negro, "and Cheditafa t'ink wifemake bes' boss when cap'n gone, and young one make bes' wife."
"You impertinent black scoundrels!" exclaimed the captain, taking a steptoward Maka, who bounced backward a couple of yards. "What do you mean bytalking about Miss Markham and me in that way? I'll--" But there hepaused. It would not be convenient to knock the heads off these men atthis time. "Cheditafa must be a very great fool," said he, speaking morequietly. "Does he suppose I could call anybody my wife just for the sakeof giving you two men a boss?"
"Oh, Cheditafa know!" exclaimed Maka, but without coming any nearerthe captain. "He know many, many t'ings, but he 'fraid come tellyou hisself."
"I should think he would be," replied the captain, "and I wonder you arenot afraid, too."
"Oh, I is, I is," said Maka. "I's all w'ite inside. But somebody gotspeak boss 'fore he go 'way. If nobody speak, den you go 'way--no boss.All crooked. Nobody b'long to anybody. Den maybe men come down frommountain, or maybe men come in boat, and dey say, 'Who's all you people?Who you b'long to?' Den dey
say dey don' b'long nobody but demselves.Den, mos' like, de w'ite ones gets killed for dey clothes and dey money.And Cheditafa and me we gets tuck somew'ere to be slaves. But if we say,'Dat lady big Cap'n Horn's wife--all de t'ings and de people b'long tobig he'--hi! dey men hands off--dey shake in de legs. Everybody know bigCap'n Horn."
The captain could not help laughing. "I believe you are as big a fool asCheditafa," said he. "Don't you know I can't make a woman my wife just bycalling her so?"
"Don' mean dat!" exclaimed Maka. "Cheditafa don' mean dat. He make allright. He priest in he own country. He marry people. He marry you 'foreyou go, all right. He talk 'bout dat mos' all night, but 'fraid cometell cap'n."
The absurdity of this statement was so great that it made the captainlaugh instead of making him angry; but before he could say anything moreto Maka, Mrs. Cliff approached him. "You must excuse me, captain," shesaid, "but really the time is very short, and I have a great deal to sayto you, and if you have finished joking with that colored man, I wish youwould talk with me."
"You will laugh, too," said the captain, "when you hear what he said tome." And in a few words he told her what Maka had proposed.
Instead of laughing, Mrs. Cliff stood staring at him in silent amazement.
"I see I have shocked you," said the captain, "but you must remember thatthat is only a poor heathen's ignorant vagary. Please say nothing aboutit, especially to Miss Markham."
"Say nothing about it!" exclaimed Mrs. Cliff. "I wish I had a thousandtongues to talk of it. Captain, do you really believe that Cheddy man isa priest, or what goes for one in his own country? If he is, he ought tomarry you and Edna."
The captain frowned, with an air of angry impatience. "I could excusethat poor negro, madam," he said, "when he made such a proposition tome, but I must say I did not expect anything of the kind from you. Do youthink, even if we had a bishop with us, that I would propose to marry anywoman in the world for the sake of making her what that fellow called the'boss' of this party?"
It was now Mrs. Cliff's turn to be impatient. "That boss business is avery small matter," she replied, "although, of course, somebody must behead while you are gone, and it was about this that I came to see you.But after hearing what that colored man said, I want to speak ofsomething far more important, which I have been thinking and thinkingabout, and to which I could see no head or tail until a minute ago.Before I go on, I want you to answer me this question: If you are lostat sea, and never come back, what is to become of that treasure? It isyours now, as you let us know plainly enough, but whose will it be ifyou should die? It may seem like a selfish and sordid thing for me totalk to you in this way just before you start on such an expedition, butI am a business woman,--since my husband's death I have been obliged tobe that,--and I look at things with a business eye. Have you consideredthis matter?"
"Yes, I have," answered the captain, "very seriously."
"And so have I," said Mrs. Cliff. "Whether Edna has or not I don'tknow, for she has said nothing to me. Now, we are not related to you,and, of course, have no claim upon you in that way, but I do thinkthat, as we have all suffered together, and gone through dangerstogether, we all ought to share, in some degree at least, in goodthings as well as bad ones."
"Mrs. Cliff," said the captain, speaking very earnestly, "you need notsay anything more on that subject. I have taken possession of thattreasure, and I intend to hold it, in order that I may manage things inmy own way, and avoid troublesome disputes. But I have not the slightestidea of keeping it all for myself. I intend that everybody who has hadany concern in this expedition shall have a share in it. I have thoughtover the matter a great deal, and intended, before I left, to tell youand Miss Markham what I have decided upon. Here is a paper I have drawnup. It is my will. It is written in lead--pencil and may not be legal,but it is the best I can do. I have no relatives, except a few secondcousins somewhere out in the Northwest, and I don't want them to haveanything to do directly with my property, for they would be sure to maketrouble. Here, as you see, I leave to you, Miss Markham, and Ralph allthe property, of every kind and description, of which I may diepossessed. This, of course, would cover all treasure you may be able totake away from this place, and which, without this will, might be claimedby some of my distant relatives, if they should ever chance to hear thestory of my discovery.
"Besides this, I have written here, on another page of this note--book, afew private directions as to how I want the treasure disposed of. I saynothing definite, and mention no exact sums, but, in a general way, Ihave left everything in the hands of you two ladies. I know that you willmake a perfectly just and generous disposition of what you may get."
"That is all very kind and good of you," said Mrs. Cliff, "but I cannotbelieve that such a will would be of much service. If you have relativesyou are afraid of,--and I see you have,--if Edna Markham were your widow,then by law she would get a good part of it, even if she did not get itall, and if Edna got it, we would be perfectly satisfied."
"It is rather a grim business to talk about Miss Markham being my widow,"said the captain, "especially under such circumstances. It strikes methat the kind of marriage you propose would be a good deal flimsier thanthis will."
"It does not strike me so," said she. "A mere confession before witnessesby a man and woman that they are willing to take each other for husbandand wife is often a legal ceremony, and if there is any kind of areligious person present to perform the ceremony, it helps, and in a caselike this no stone should be left unturned. You see, you have assumed agreat deal of responsibility about this. You have stated--and if we werecalled upon to testify, Miss Markham and I would have to acknowledge thatyou have so stated--that you claimed this treasure as your discovery, andthat it all belonged to you. So, you see, if we keep our consciencesclear,--and no matter what happens, we are going to do that,--we might beobliged to testify every cent of it away from ourselves. But if Edna wereyour wife, it would be all right."
The captain stood silent for a few moments, his hands thrust into hispockets, and a queer smile on his face. "Mrs. Cliff," said he, presently,"do you expect me to go to Miss Markham and gravely propose this schemewhich you and that half--tamed African have concocted?"
"I think it would be better," said Mrs. Cliff, "if I were to prepare hermind for it. I will go speak to her now."
"No," said he, quickly, "don't you do that. If the crazy idea is to bementioned to her at all, I want to do it myself, and in my own way. Iwill go to her now. I have had my talk with you, and I must have onewith her."