dark and the blinds aredown. That's what I'm going to do this night, lads, for the sake of abit of a girl you and I would sail far to serve."
They said, "Aye, aye," and drew their chairs closer. The men had beenpiped down to dinner, but Peter Bligh forgot his, and that wasextraordinary peculiar in him. Mister Jacob took snuff as though itwere chocolate powder, and the whole of a man spoke from his littleeyes.
"Listen," said I, beginning to tell them what you know already, "herehave we sailed twelve thousand miles at Ruth Bellenden's order, and howdoes she receive us? Why, with a nod she might give a neighbour goingby in the street----"
"They not being on speaking terms except in church," put in PeterBligh.
"Or she wishing him to get on with his business," said Mister Jacob,"and not to gossip when there was work to do."
"Be that as it may," I ran on, "the facts are as plain to me as eightbells for noon. Ruth Bellenden's married to a foreigner who's next doorto a madman. Why, look at it--what was the only word she had the timeor the chance to say? 'For God's sake, come back, Jasper Begg,' saysshe. And what am I going to do upon that, gentlemen? Why, I'm goingback, so help me heaven, this very night to learn her trouble."
"And to bring her aboard where she could tell it on a fair course, soto speak. You'll do that, sir?"
"The night will show what I shall do, Mister Jacob. Was there ever sucha story? A man to marry the best creature that ever put on a prettybonnet, and to carry her to a god-forsaken shore like this! And toill-treat her there! Aye, that's it. If ever a woman's eyes spoke tome of hard treatment, it was Ruth Bellenden's this morning. She's sometrouble, lads, some dreadful trouble. She doesn't even speak of it tome. The yellow boy I've made mention of stood by her all the time. Wetalked like two that pass by on the ocean. Who'll gainsay that it wasan unnatural thing? No mortal man can, with reason!"
"Aye, there's precious little reason in it, by what I make out,captain. You'll know more when the young lady's aboard here----"
"And the yellow boy's head has a bump on the top of it, like the knobwhat used to hang down from my mother's chandelay--but that's idletalking. What time do you put her about to go ashore, sir?"
I was glad to see them coming to it like this, and I fell to the planwithout further parley.
"A fair question and a fair answer," said I; "this ship goes about ateight bells, Peter. To Mister Jacob here I trust the safety of the goodfellows who go ashore with me. If we can bring the mistress aboardto-night, well and good, we've done the best day's work we ever set ourhands to. If not, that work must rest until tomorrow night, or thenight after or the night after that. Eight days from now if it happensthat nothing is heard from the land and no news of us, well, the courseis plain. In that case it will be full steam ahead to 'Frisco, and fromthere a cable to Kenrick Bellenden, and the plain intimation that hissister has pretty bad need of him on Ken's Island."
"And of an American warship, if one is forthcoming."
"It may be, Mister Jacob; it may be that, though the devils ashorethere are the only ones that could tell you that. But you're a man ofunderstanding, and your part will be done. I rely upon you as betweenshipmates."
He took a pinch of snuff, and flapping his coat-tails (for he wasalways rigged out in the naval officer way) he answered what I wished.
"As between shipmates, I will do my duty," said he.
"I knew it; I've known it from the beginning," said I. "What's leftwhen you've done is the shore part, and that's not so easy. PeterBligh's coming, and I couldn't well leave Dolly on board. Give me ourhulking carpenter, Seth Barker, and I'll lighten the ship no more.We're short-handed as it is. And, besides, if four won't serve, thenforty would be no better. What we can do yonder, wits, and notrevolvers, must bring about. But I'll not go with sugar-sticks, youtake my word for it, and any man that points a gun at me will wish he'dgone shooting sheep."
"Aye, aye, to that," cried Peter, who was ever a man for a fight; "theshooting first and the civil words after. That's sense and no blarney.When my poor father was tried at Swansea, his native place, for hittingan Excise man with a ham----"
"Mr. Bligh," cried I, "'tis not with hams you'll be hitting folksyonder, take my word for it. This job may find us on a child's errandor it may find us doing men's work. Eight bells on the first watch willtell the whole of the story. Until that time I shall hold my tongueabout it, but I don't go ashore as I go to a picnic, and I don't make aboast about what I may presently cry out about."
Well, they were both of my way of thinking, and when we'd talked alittle more about it, and I'd opened the arm-chest and looked over thefew guns and pistols we'd got there, and we'd called the lad Dolly downand promised him that he should come with us, and the men had beengiven to understand that the skipper was to go ashore by-and-bye on animportant business, Peter and the others went to their dinner and Itook my turn on the bridge. The swell was running strongly then, andthe wind blew fresh from the north-east. We'd lost all sight of theisland, and spoke but one ship, a small mail steamer from Santa Cruzbound for the Yellow Sea, which signalled us "All well" at six bells inthe afternoon watch. From that time I went dead slow and began to bringthe Southern Cross about. The work was begun that very hour, I alwayssay.
Now, I've told all this, short and brief, and with no talk of my ownabout it. The thing had come so sudden, I knew so little of RuthBellenden's trouble or of what had befallen her on the island, that Iwas like a man in the dark groping blindly, yet set on hearing thetruth. As for the crew, well, you may be sure that Dolly Venn had puthis side of the story about, and when they knew that my mistress wasashore there and in some danger, I believe they'd have put me in ironsif I'd so much as spoken of going back.
Risky it was, so much I won't deny; but who wouldn't risk more than hisown paltry skin to save a woman in trouble, and she, so to speak, ashipmate? There was not a man aboard, stake my life, who wouldn't havegone to the land willingly for Ruth Bellenden's sake though he'd beentold, sure and certain, that Ken's Island must be his grave. And we'dalways the ship, mind you, and the knowledge that she would go to'Frisco to get us help. A fool's hope, I say now. For how could we knowthat the Southern Cross would be at the bottom of the sea, a thousandfathoms down, before the week was run? We couldn't know it; yet thatwas what happened, and that is why no help came to us.
We had put the ship about at six bells in the afternoon watch, but itwas eight bells in the second dog (the night being too clear for myliking and a full moon showing bright in the sky) that we sighted Ken'sIsland for the second time, and for the second time prepared to goashore. The longboat was ready by this time, her barrels full of waterand her lockers full of biscuit. Such arms as we were to carry werepartly stowed in water-proof sheeting--the rifles, and the cartridgesfor them; but the revolvers we carried, and a good Sheffield knife aman, which we weren't going to cut potatoes with. For the rest, I madethem put in a few stout blankets, and more rations than might haveserved for such a trip. "Good beginnings make good endings," said I;"what we haven't need of, lads, we can carry aboard again. Thelongboat's back won't ache, be sure of it."
All this, I say, was done when the moon showed us the island like agreat barren rock rising up sheer from the sea. And when it was done,Mister Jacob called my attention to something which in the hurry ofshore-going I might never have seen at all or thought about. It wasnothing less than this--that their fool's beacon was out to-night, andall the sea about it as black as ink. Whoever set up the light, then,did not use it for a seaman's benefit, but for his own whim. I reckonedup the situation at a glance, and even at that early stage I began toknow the terrible meaning of it.
"Mister Jacob," said I, "those that keep that beacon are either foolsor knaves."
"Or both, sir," said he.
"Which one is the own brother to the other. Aye, captain, 'tis luckyye've the parish lantern, as my poor father used to say when----"
But Peter Bligh never finished it that night. The words were still inhis mouth when a rocket shot up over the
sea and bursting in a cloud ofgold-blue sparks, cast a weird, cold light upon rock and reef and allthat troubled sea. And as the rocket fell our big carpenter, SethBarker, standing aft by the hatch, cries out,
"Ship ashore! Ship ashore, by----!"
CHAPTER V
STRANGE SIGHTS ASHORE, AND WHAT WE SAW OF THEM
Now, when Seth Barker cried out that a ship was ashore on the dangerousreefs to the northward of the main island, it is