CHAPTER VI. THE MUCKER AT BAY
"WHAT has this man said to you, Miss Harding?" cried Theriere. "Has heoffered you harm?"
"I do not think that he would have dared strike me," replied the girl,"though he threatened to do so. He is the coward who murdered poor Mr.Mallory upon the Lotus. He might stoop to anything after that."
Theriere turned angrily upon Byrne.
"Go below!" he shouted. "I'll attend to you later. If Miss Harding werenot here I'd thrash you within an inch of your life now. And if Iever hear of your speaking to her again, or offering her the slightestindignity I'll put a bullet through you so quick you won't know what hasstruck you."
"T'ell yeh will!" sneered Billy Byrne. "I got your number, yeh bigstiff; an' yeh better not get gay wit me. Dey ain't no guy on board disman's ship dat can hand Billy Byrne dat kin' o' guff an' get away withit--see?" and before Theriere knew what had happened a heavy fist hadcaught him upon the point of the chin and lifted him clear off the deckto drop him unconscious at Miss Harding's feet.
"Yeh see wot happens to guys dat get gay wit me?" said the mucker to thegirl, and then stooping over the prostrate form of the mate Billy Byrnewithdrew a huge revolver from Theriere's hip pocket.
"I guess I'll need dis gat in my business purty soon," he remarked.
Then he planted a vicious kick in the face of the unconscious man andwent his way to the forecastle.
"Now maybe she'll tink Billy Byrne's a coward," he thought, as hedisappeared below.
Barbara Harding stood speechless with shock at the brutality andferocity of the unexpected attack upon Theriere. Never in all her lifehad she dreamed that there could exist upon the face of the earth athing in human form so devoid of honor, and chivalry, and fair playas the creature that she had just witnessed threatening a defenselesswoman, and kicking an unconscious man in the face; but then BarbaraHarding had never lived between Grand Avenue and Lake Street, andHalsted and Robey, where standards of masculine bravery are strange andfearful.
When she had recovered her equanimity she hastened to the head of thecabin companionway and called aloud for help. Instantly Skipper Simmsand First Officer Ward rushed on deck, each carrying a revolver inreadiness for the conflict with their crew that these two worthies werealways expecting.
Barbara pointed out the still form of Theriere, quickly explaining whathad occurred.
"It was the fellow Byrne who did it," she said. "He has gone into theforecastle now, and he has a revolver that he took from Mr. Theriereafter he had fallen."
Several of the crew had now congregated about the prostrate officer.
"Here you," cried Skipper Simms to a couple of them; "you take Mr.Theriere below to his cabin, an' throw cold water in his face. Mr. Ward,get some brandy from my locker, an' try an' bring him to. The rest ofyou arm yourselves with crowbars and axes, an' see that that son of asea cook don't get out on deck again alive. Hold him there 'til I get acouple of guns. Then we'll get him, damn him!"
Skipper Simms hastened below while two of the men were carrying Theriereto his cabin and Mr. Ward was fetching the brandy. A moment laterBarbara Harding saw the skipper return to the upper deck with a rifleand two revolvers. The sailors whom he had detailed to keep Byrne belowwere gathered about the hatchway leading to the forecastle. Some of themwere exchanging profane and pleasant badinage with the prisoner.
"Yeh better come up an' get killed easy-like;" one called down to themucker. "We're apt to muss yeh all up down there in the dark with thesehere axes and crowbars, an' then wen we send yeh home yer pore maw won'tknow her little boy at all."
"Yeh come on down here, an' try mussin' me up," yelled back Billy Byrne."I can lick de whole gang wit one han' tied behin' me--see?"
"De skipper's gorn to get his barkers, Billy," cried Bony Sawyer. "Yehbetter come up an' stan' trial if he gives yeh the chanct."
"Stan' nothin'," sneered Billy. "Swell chanct I'd have wit him an'Squint Eye holdin' court over me. Not on yer life, Bony. I'm here, an'here I stays till I croaks, but yeh better believe me, I'm goin' tocroak a few before I goes, so if any of you ginks are me frien's yehbetter keep outen here so's yeh won't get hurted. An' anudder ting I'mgoin' to do afore I cashes in--I'm goin' to put a few of dem ginks inde cabin wise to where dey stands wit one anudder. If I don't startsomething before I goes out me name's not Billy Byrne."
At this juncture Skipper Simms appeared with the three weapons he hadgone to his cabin to fetch. He handed one to Bony Sawyer, another to RedSanders and a third to a man by the name of Wison.
"Now, my men," said Skipper Simms, "we will go below and bring Byrne up.Bring him alive if you can--but bring him."
No one made a move to enter the forecastle.
"Go on now, move quickly," commanded Skipper Simms sharply.
"Thought he said 'we'," remarked one of the sailors.
Skipper Simms, livid with rage, turned to search out the offender fromthe several men behind him.
"Who was that?" he roared. "Show me the blitherin' swab. Jes' show himto me, I tell you, an I'll learn him. Now you," he yelled at the top ofhis voice, turning again to the men he had ordered into the forecastleafter Billy Byrne, "you cowardly landlubbers you, get below there quickafore I kick you below."
Still no one moved to obey him. From white he went to red, and then backto white again. He fairly frothed at the mouth as he jumped up and down,cursing the men, and threatening. But all to no avail. They would notgo.
"Why, Skipper," spoke up Bony Sawyer, "it's sure death for any man asgoes below there. It's easier, an' safer, to starve him out."
"Starve nothin'," shrieked Skipper Simms. "Do you reckon I'm a-goin' tosit quiet here for a week an' let any blanked wharf rat own that therefo'c's'le just because I got a lot o' white-livered cowards aboard? Nosir! You're a-goin' down after that would-be bad man an' fetch him updead or alive," and with that he started menacingly toward the threewho stood near the hatch, holding their firearms safely out of range ofBilly Byrne below.
What would have happened had Skipper Simms completed the threateningmaneuver he had undertaken can never be known, for at this momentTheriere pushed his way through the circle of men who were interestedspectators of the impending tragedy.
"What's up, sir?" he asked of Simms. "Anything that I can help youwith?"
"Oh!" exclaimed the skipper; "so you ain't dead after all, eh? Wellthat don't change the looks of things a mite. We gotta get that man outathere an' these flea-bitten imitations of men ain't got the guts to goin after him."
"He's got your gun, sir," spoke up Wison, "an' Gawd knows he be the oneas'ud on'y be too glad for the chanct to use it."
"Let me see if I can't handle him, sir," said Theriere to Skipper Simms."We don't want to lose any men if we can help it."
The skipper was only too glad to welcome this unexpected rescue fromthe predicament in which he had placed himself. How Theriere was toaccomplish the subjugation of the mutinous sailor he could not guess,nor did he care so long as it was done without risk to his own skin.
"Now if you'll go away, sir," said Theriere, "and order the men awayI'll see what I can do."
Skipper Simms did as Theriere had requested, so that presently theofficer stood alone beside the hatch. Across the deck, amidships, themen had congregated to watch Theriere's operations, while beyond themstood Barbara Harding held fascinated by the grim tragedy that wasunfolding before her upon this accursed vessel.
Theriere leaned over the open hatch, in full view of the waiting Byrne,ready below. There was the instant report of a firearm and a bulletwhizzed close past Theriere's head.
"Avast there, Byrne!" he shouted. "It's I, Theriere. Don't shoot again,I want to speak to you."
"No monkey business now," growled the mucker in reply. "I won't missagain."
"I want to talk with you, Byrne," said Theriere in a low tone. "I'mcoming down there."
"No you ain't, cul," returned Byrne; "leastways yeh ain't a-comin' downhere alive."
"Yes I am, By
rne," replied Theriere, "and you don't want to be foolishabout it. I'm unarmed. You can cover me with your gun until you havesatisfied yourself as to that. I'm the only man on the ship that cansave your life--the only man that has any reason to want to; but we'vegot to talk it over and we can't talk this way where there's a chance ofbeing overheard. I'll be on the square with you if you will with me,and if we can't come to terms I'll come above again and you won't beany worse off than you are now. Here I come," and without waiting for anacceptance of his proposition the second officer of the Halfmoon slippedover the edge of the hatchway and disappeared from the sight of thewatchers above.
That he was a brave man even Billy Byrne had to admit, and those abovewho knew nothing of the relations existing between the second mate andthe sailor, who had so recently felled him, thought that his courage waslittle short of marvelous. Theriere's stock went up by leaps and boundsin the estimation of the sailors of the Halfmoon, for degraded thoughthey were they could understand and appreciate physical courage of thissort, while to Barbara Harding the man's act seemed unparalleled in itsutter disregard of the consequences of life and death to himself that itentailed. She suddenly was sorry that she had entertained any suspicionsagainst Theriere--so brave a man could not be other than the soul ofhonor, she argued.
Once below Theriere found himself covered by his own revolver in thehands of a very desperate and a very unprincipled man. He smiled atByrne as the latter eyed him suspiciously.
"See here, Byrne," said Theriere. "It would be foolish for me to saythat I am doing this for love of you. The fact is that I need you. Wecannot succeed, either one of us, alone. I think you made a fool playwhen you hit me today. You know that our understanding was that I wasto be even a little rougher with you than usual, in order to avoidsuspicion being attached to any seeming familiarity between us, shouldwe be caught conferring together. I had the chance to bawl you outtoday, and I thought that you would understand that I was but takingadvantage of the opportunity which it afforded to make it plain to MissHarding that there could be nothing other than hatred between us--itmight have come in pretty handy later to have her believe that.
"If I'd had any idea that you really intended hitting me you'd have beena dead man before your fist reached me, Byrne. You took me entirelyby surprise; but that's all in the past--I'm willing to let bygones bebygones, and help you out of the pretty pickle you've got yourself into.Then we can go ahead with our work as though nothing had happened. Whatdo you say?"
"I didn't know yeh was kiddin," replied the mucker, "or I wouldn't havehit yeh. Yeh acted like yeh meant it."
"Very well, that part's understood," said Theriere. "Now will you comeout if I can square the thing with the skipper so's you won't get morethan a day or so in irons--he'll have to give you something to save hisown face; but I promise that you'll get your food regularly and that youwon't be beaten up the way you were before when he had you below. If hewon't agree to what I propose I give you my word to tell you so."
"Go ahead," said Billy Byrne; "I don't trust nobody wen I don't have to;but I'll be dinged if I see any other way out of it."
Theriere returned to the deck and seeking out the skipper drew him toone side.
"I can get him up peaceably if I can assure him that he'll only get aday or so in the cooler, with full rations and no beatings. I think,sir, that that will be the easiest way out of it. We cannot spare aman now--if we want to get the fellow later we can always find somepretext."
"Very well, Mr. Theriere," replied the skipper, "I'll leave the matterentirely in your hands--you can do what you want with the fellow; it'syou as had your face punched."
Theriere returned immediately to the forecastle, from which he presentlyemerged with the erstwhile recalcitrant Byrne, and for two days thelatter languished in durance vile, and that was the end of the episode,though its effects were manifold. For one thing it implanted in theheart of Theriere a personal hatred for the mucker, so that whileheretofore his intention of ridding himself of the man when he no longerneeded him was due purely to a matter of policy, it was now reinforcedby a keen desire for personal revenge. The occurrence had also had itsinfluence upon Barbara Harding, in that it had shown her Mr. Therierein a new light--one that reflected credit upon him. She had thought hismagnanimous treatment of the sailor little short of heroic; and ithad deepened the girl's horror of Billy Byrne until it now amounted tolittle short of an obsession. So vivid an impression had his brutalitymade upon her that she would start from deep slumber, dreaming that shewas menaced by him.
After Billy was released for duty following his imprisonment, he severaltimes passed the girl upon deck. He noticed that she shrank from himin disgust and terror; but what surprised him was that instead of thethrill of pride which he formerly would have felt at this acknowledgmentof his toughness, for Billy prided himself on being a tough, he now felta singular resentment against the girl for her attitude, so that he cameto hate her even more than he had before hated. Formerly he had hatedher for the things she stood for, now he hated her for herself.
Theriere was often with her now, and, less frequently, Divine; forat the second officer's suggestion Barbara had not acquainted thatgentleman with the fact that she was aware of his duplicity.
"It is just as well not to let him know," said Theriere. "It gives youan advantage that would be wanting should he suspect the truth, so thatnow you are always in a position to be warned in plenty of time againstany ulterior suggestion he may make. Keep me posted as to all he tellsyou of his plans, and in this way we can defeat him much more easilythan as though you followed your natural inclinations and refused tohold communication of any sort with him. It might be well, Miss Harding,even to encourage him in the hope that you will wed him voluntarily. Ithink that that would throw him entirely off his guard, and pave the wayfor your early release."
"Oh, I doubt if I could do that, Mr. Theriere," exclaimed the girl."You cannot imagine how I loathe the man now that I know him in his truecolors. For years he has importuned me to marry him, and though I nevercared for him in that way at all, and never could, I felt that he wasa very good friend and that his constancy demanded some return on mypart--my friendship and sympathy at least; but now I shiver whenever heis near me, just as I would were I to find a snake coiled close besideme. I cannot abide treachery."
"Nor I, Miss Harding," agreed Theriere glibly. "The man deserves nothingbut your contempt, though for policy's sake I hope that you will findit possible to lead him on until his very treachery proves the meansof your salvation, for believe me, if he has been false to you how muchmore quickly will he be false to Simms and Ward! He would ditch them ina minute if the opportunity presented itself for him to win youwithout their aid. I had thought it might be feasible to lead him intoattempting to take the ship by force, and return you to San Francisco,or, better still possibly, to the nearest civilized port.
"You might, with propriety suggest this to him, telling him that youbelieve that I would stand ready to assist in the undertaking. I canpromise you the support of several of the men--quite a sufficientnumber with Divine and myself, easily to take the Halfmoon away from herpresent officers."
"I will think over your suggestion, Mr. Theriere," replied Barbara, "andI thank you for the generous impulse that has prompted you to befriendme--heaven knows how badly I need a friend now among so many enemies.What is it, Mr. Theriere? What is the matter?"
The officer had turned his eyes casually toward the southeast as thegirl spoke, and just now he had given a sudden exclamation of surpriseand alarm.
"That cloud, Miss Harding," he answered. "We're in for a bad blow, andit'll be on us in a minute," and with that he started forward on a run,calling back over his shoulder, "you'd better go below at once."