CHAPTER XIX
LEFT BEHIND
"Ralph," said Edna, as they were hurrying up to the caves, "you must doeverything you can to keep those sailors from wandering into the lakebasin. They are very different from the negroes, and will want to exploreevery part of it."
"Oh, I have thought of all that," said Ralph, "and I am now going to runahead and smash the lantern. They won't be so likely to go poking aroundin the dark."
"But they may have candles or matches," said Edna. "We must try to keepthem out of the big cave."
Ralph did not stop to answer, but ran as fast as his legs would carry himto the plateau. The rest of the party followed, Edna first, then thenegroes, and after them Mrs. Cliff, who could not imagine why Edna shouldbe in such a hurry. The sailors, having secured their boat, camestraggling after the rest.
When Edna reached the entrance to the caves, she was met by her brother,so much out of breath that he could hardly speak.
"You needn't go to your room to get your things," he exclaimed. "I havegathered them all up, your bag, too, and I have tumbled them over thewall in the entrance back here. You must get over as quick as you can.That will be your room now, and I will tell the sailors, if they gopoking around, that you are in there getting ready to leave, and then, ofcourse, they can't pass along the passage."
"That is a fine idea," said Edna, as she followed him. "You are gettingvery sharp-witted, Ralph."
"Now, then," said he, as he helped her over the wall, "take just as longas you can to get your things ready."
"It can't take me very long," said Edna. "I have no clothes to change,and only a few things to put in my bag. I don't believe you have got themall, anyway."
"But you must make it take a long time," said he. "You must not getthrough until every sailor has gone. You and I must be the last ones toleave the caves."
"All right," said Edna, as she disappeared behind the wall.
When Mrs. Cliff arrived, she was met by Ralph, who explained the state ofaffairs, and although that lady was a good deal annoyed at the scatteredcondition in which she found her effects, she accepted the situation.
The mate and his men were much interested in the caves and the greatstone face, and, as might have been expected, every one of them wanted toknow where the narrow passage led. But as Ralph was on hand to informthem that it was the entrance to Mrs. Horn's apartment, they could do nomore than look along its dusky length, and perhaps wonder why Mrs. Hornshould have selected a cave which must be dark, when there were otherswhich were well lighted.
Mrs. Cliff was soon ready, and explained to the inquiring mate hernotion that these caves were used for religious purposes, and thatthe stone face was an ancient idol. In fact, the good lady believedthis, but she did not state that she thought it likely that thesculptured countenance was a sort of a cashier idol, whose duty itwas to protect treasure.
Edna, behind the stone barrier, had put her things in her bag, though shewas not sure she had found all of them in the gloom, and she waited along time, so it seemed to her, for Ralph's summons to come forth. Butalthough the boy came to the wall several times, ostensibly to ask if shewere not ready, yet he really told her to stay where she was, for thesailors were not yet gone. But at last he came with the welcome news thatevery one had departed, and they soon came out into the daylight.
"If anything is lost, charge it to me," said Ralph to Mrs. Cliff and hissister, as they hurried away. "I can tell you, if I had not thought ofthat way of keeping those sailors out of the passage, they would haveswarmed over that lake bed, each one of them with a box of matches in hispocket; and if they had found that mound, I wouldn't give two cents forthe gold they would have left in it. It wouldn't have been of any use totell them it was the captain's property. They would have been there, andhe wasn't, and I expect the mate would have been as bad as any of them."
"You are a good fellow, Ralph," said Mrs. Cliff, "and I hope you willgrow up to be an administrator, or something of the kind. I don'tsuppose there was ever another boy in the world who had so much wealthin charge."
"You can't imagine," exclaimed Ralph, "how I hate to go away and leaveit! There is no knowing when the captain will get here, nor who will dropin on the place before he does. I tell you, Edna, I believe it would be agood plan for me to stay here with those two black fellows, and wait forthe captain. You two could go on the ship, and write to him. I am sure hewould be glad to know I am keeping guard here, and I don't know anybetter fun than to be on hand when he unearths the treasure. There's noknowing what is at the bottom of that mound."
"Nonsense!" exclaimed Edna. "You can put that idea out of your headinstantly. I would not think of going away and leaving you here. If thecaptain had wanted you to stay, he would have said so."
"If the captain wanted!" sarcastically exclaimed Ralph. "I am tired ofhearing what the captain wants. I hope the time will soon come when thoseyellow bars of gold will be divided up, and then I can do what I likewithout considering what he likes."
Mrs. Cliff could not help a sigh. "Dear me!" said she, "I do mostearnestly hope that time may come. But we are leaving it all behind us,and whether we will ever hear of it again nobody knows."
One hour after this Edna and Mrs. Cliff were standing on the deck of theMary Bartlett, watching the plateau of the great stone face as it slowlysank into the horizon.
"Edna," said the elder lady, "I have liked you ever since I have knownyou, and I expect to like you as long as I live, but I must say that, foran intelligent person, you have the most colorless character I have everseen. Whatever comes to pass, you receive it as quietly and calmly as ifit were just what you expected and what you happened to want, and yet, aslong as I have known you, you have not had anything you wanted."
"You are mistaken there," said Edna. "I have got something I want."
"And what may that be?" asked the other.
"Captain Horn," said Edna.
Mrs. Cliff laughed a little scornfully. "If you are ever going to get anycolor out of your possession of him," she said, "he's got to very muchchange the style of his letter-writing. He has given you his name andsome of his money, and may give you more, but I must say I am very muchdisappointed in Captain Horn."
Edna turned suddenly upon her companion. "Color!" she exclaimed, but shedid not finish her remark, for Ralph came running aft.
"A queer thing has happened," said he: "a sailor is missing, and he isone of the men who went on shore for us. They don't know what's become ofhim, for the mate is sure he brought all his men back with him, and so amI, for I counted them to see that there were no stragglers left, and allthe people who were in that boat came on board. They think he may havefallen overboard after the ship sailed, but nobody heard a splash."
"Poor fellow!" exclaimed Mrs. Cliff, "and he was one of those who cameto save us!"
At this moment a wet and bedraggled sailor, almost exhausted with a swimof nearly a mile, staggered upon the beach, and fell down upon the sandnear the spot from which the Mary Bartlett's boat had recently beenpushed off. When, an hour before, he had slipped down the side of theship, he had swum under water as long as his breath held out, and haddived again as soon as he had filled his lungs. Then he had floated onhis back, paddling along with little but his face above the surface ofthe waves, until he had thought it safe to turn over and strike out forland. It had been a long pull, and the surf had treated him badly, but hewas safe on shore at last, and in a few minutes he was sound asleep,stretched upon the sand.
Toward the end of the afternoon he awoke and rose to his feet. The warmsand, the desiccating air, and the sun had dried his clothes, and his naphad refreshed him. He was a sharp-faced, quick-eyed man, a Scotchman, andthe first thing he did was to shade his face with his hands and look outover the sea. Then he turned, with a shrug of his shoulders and a grunt.
"She's gone," said he, "and I will be up to them caves." After a dozensteps he gave another shrug. "Humph!" said he, "those fools! Do theythink everybody is blind? They left vict
uals, they left cooking-things.Blasted careful they were to leave matches and candles in a tin box. Iwatched them. If everybody else was blind, I kenned they expectedsomebody was comin' back. That captain, that blasted captain, I'll wager!Wi' sae much business on his hands, he couldna sail wi' us to show uswhere his wife was stranded!"
For fifty yards more he plodded along, looking from side to side at therocks and sand.
"A dreary place and lonely," thought he, "and I can peer out things at meease. I'll find out what's at the end o' that dark alley. They were sofearsome that we'd go into her room. Her room, indeed! When the otherwoman had a big lighted cave! They expected somebody to come back, didthey? Well, blast their eyes, he's here!"