IV
It was noon before the brig, piloted by Lingard through the deepchannels between the outer coral reefs, rounded within pistol-shot a lowhummock of sand which marked the end of a long stretch of stony ledgesthat, being mostly awash, showed a black head only, here and thereamongst the hissing brown froth of the yellow sea. As the brig drewclear of the sandy patch there appeared, dead to windward and beyond amaze of broken water, sandspits, and clusters of rocks, the black hullof the yacht heeling over, high and motionless upon the great expanse ofglittering shallows. Her long, naked spars were inclined slightly asif she had been sailing with a good breeze. There was to the lookers-onaboard the brig something sad and disappointing in the yacht's aspectas she lay perfectly still in an attitude that in a seaman's mind isassociated with the idea of rapid motion.
"Here she is!" said Shaw, who, clad in a spotless white suit, came justthen from forward where he had been busy with the anchors. "She is wellon, sir--isn't she? Looks like a mudflat to me from here."
"Yes. It is a mudflat," said Lingard, slowly, raising the long glass tohis eye. "Haul the mainsail up, Mr. Shaw," he went on while he took asteady look at the yacht. "We will have to work in short tacks here."
He put the glass down and moved away from the rail. For the next hourhe handled his little vessel in the intricate and narrow channel withcareless certitude, as if every stone, every grain of sand upon thetreacherous bottom had been plainly disclosed to his sight. He handledher in the fitful and unsteady breeze with a matter-of-fact audacitythat made Shaw, forward at his station, gasp in sheer alarm. Whenheading toward the inshore shoals the brig was never put round till thequick, loud cries of the leadsmen announced that there were no more thanthree feet of water under her keel; and when standing toward the steepinner edge of the long reef, where the lead was of no use, the helmwould be put down only when the cutwater touched the faint line of thebordering foam. Lingard's love for his brig was a man's love, and wasso great that it could never be appeased unless he called on her to putforth all her qualities and her power, to repay his exacting affectionby a faithfulness tried to the very utmost limit of endurance. Everyflutter of the sails flew down from aloft along the taut leeches, toenter his heart in a sense of acute delight; and the gentle murmur ofwater alongside, which, continuous and soft, showed that in all herwindings his incomparable craft had never, even for an instant, ceasedto carry her way, was to him more precious and inspiring than the softwhisper of tender words would have been to another man. It was in suchmoments that he lived intensely, in a flush of strong feeling that madehim long to press his little vessel to his breast. She was his perfectworld full of trustful joy.
The people on board the yacht, who watched eagerly the first sail theyhad seen since they had been ashore on that deserted part of the coast,soon made her out, with some disappointment, to be a small merchant brigbeating up tack for tack along the inner edge of the reef--probably withthe intention to communicate and offer assistance. The general opinionamong the seafaring portion of her crew was that little effectiveassistance could be expected from a vessel of that description. Onlythe sailing-master of the yacht remarked to the boatswain (who had theadvantage of being his first cousin): "This man is well acquainted here;you can see that by the way he handles his brig. I shan't be sorry tohave somebody to stand by us. Can't tell when we will get off this mud,George."
A long board, sailed very close, enabled the brig to fetch the southernlimit of discoloured water over the bank on which the yacht hadstranded. On the very edge of the muddy patch she was put in stays forthe last time. As soon as she had paid off on the other tack, sail wasshortened smartly, and the brig commenced the stretch that was to bringher to her anchorage, under her topsails, lower staysails and jib. Therewas then less than a quarter of a mile of shallow water between her andthe yacht; but while that vessel had gone ashore with her head to theeastward the brig was moving slowly in a west-northwest direction, andconsequently, sailed--so to speak--past the whole length of the yacht.Lingard saw every soul in the schooner on deck, watching his advent ina silence which was as unbroken and perfect as that on board his ownvessel.
A little man with a red face framed in white whiskers waved a gold-lacedcap above the rail in the waist of the yacht. Lingard raised his arm inreturn. Further aft, under the white awnings, he could see two men anda woman. One of the men and the lady were in blue. The other man,who seemed very tall and stood with his arm entwined round an awningstanchion above his head, was clad in white. Lingard saw them plainly.They looked at the brig through binoculars, turned their faces toone another, moved their lips, seemed surprised. A large dog put hisforepaws on the rail, and, lifting up his big, black head, sent outthree loud and plaintive barks, then dropped down out of sight. A suddenstir and an appearance of excitement amongst all hands on board theyacht was caused by their perceiving that the boat towing astern of thestranger was their own second gig.
Arms were outstretched with pointing fingers. Someone shouted out along sentence of which not a word could be made out; and then the brig,having reached the western limit of the bank, began to move diagonallyaway, increasing her distance from the yacht but bringing her sterngradually into view. The people aft, Lingard noticed, left their placesand walked over to the taffrail so as to keep him longer in sight.
When about a mile off the bank and nearly in line with the stern of theyacht the brig's topsails fluttered and the yards came down slowlyon the caps; the fore and aft canvas ran down; and for some time shefloated quietly with folded wings upon the transparent sheet of water,under the radiant silence of the sky. Then her anchor went to the bottomwith a rumbling noise resembling the roll of distant thunder. In amoment her head tended to the last puffs of the northerly airs and theensign at the peak stirred, unfurled itself slowly, collapsed, flew outagain, and finally hung down straight and still, as if weighted withlead.
"Dead calm, sir," said Shaw to Lingard. "Dead calm again. We got intothis funny place in the nick of time, sir."
They stood for a while side by side, looking round upon the coast andthe sea. The brig had been brought up in the middle of a broad belt ofclear water. To the north rocky ledges showed in black and white linesupon the slight swell setting in from there. A small island stood outfrom the broken water like the square tower of some submerged building.It was about two miles distant from the brig. To the eastward the coastwas low; a coast of green forests fringed with dark mangroves. There wasin its sombre dullness a clearly defined opening, as if a small piecehad been cut out with a sharp knife. The water in it shone like a patchof polished silver. Lingard pointed it out to Shaw.
"This is the entrance to the place where we are going," he said.
Shaw stared, round-eyed.
"I thought you came here on account of this here yacht," he stammered,surprised.
"Ah. The yacht," said Lingard, musingly, keeping his eyes on the breakin the coast. "The yacht--" He stamped his foot suddenly. "I would giveall I am worth and throw in a few days of life into the bargain if Icould get her off and away before to-night."
He calmed down, and again stood gazing at the land. A little within theentrance from behind the wall of forests an invisible fire belched outsteadily the black and heavy convolutions of thick smoke, which stoodout high, like a twisted and shivering pillar against the clear blue ofthe sky.
"We must stop that game, Mr. Shaw," said Lingard, abruptly.
"Yes, sir. What game?" asked Shaw, looking round in wonder.
"This smoke," said Lingard, impatiently. "It's a signal."
"Certainly, sir--though I don't see how we can do it. It seems farinland. A signal for what, sir?"
"It was not meant for us," said Lingard in an unexpectedly savage tone."Here, Shaw, make them put a blank charge into that forecastle gun. Tell'em to ram hard the wadding and grease the mouth. We want to make a goodnoise. If old Jorgenson hears it, that fire will be out before you havetime to turn round twice. . . . In a minute, Mr. Carter."
The
yacht's boat had come alongside as soon as the brig had been broughtup, and Carter had been waiting to take Lingard on board the yacht. Theyboth walked now to the gangway. Shaw, following his commander, stood byto take his last orders.
"Put all the boats in the water, Mr. Shaw," Lingard was saying, with onefoot on the rail, ready to leave his ship, "and mount the four-pounderswivel in the longboat's bow. Cast off the sea lashings of the guns,but don't run 'em out yet. Keep the topsails loose and the jib ready forsetting, I may want the sails in a hurry. Now, Mr. Carter, I am readyfor you."
"Shove off, boys," said Carter as soon as they were seated in the boat."Shove off, and give way for a last pull before you get a long rest."
The men lay back on their oars, grunting. Their faces were drawn, greyand streaked with the dried salt sprays. They had the worried expressionof men who had a long call made upon their endurance. Carter, heavy-eyedand dull, steered for the yacht's gangway. Lingard asked as they werecrossing the brig's bows:
"Water enough alongside your craft, I suppose?"
"Yes. Eight to twelve feet," answered Carter, hoarsely. "Say, Captain!Where's your show of cutthroats? Why! This sea is as empty as a churchon a week-day."
The booming report, nearly over his head, of the brig's eighteen-pounderinterrupted him. A round puff of white vapour, spreading itself lazily,clung in fading shreds about the foreyard. Lingard, turning half roundin the stern sheets, looked at the smoke on the shore. Carter remainedsilent, staring sleepily at the yacht they were approaching. Lingardkept watching the smoke so intensely that he almost forgot where hewas, till Carter's voice pronouncing sharply at his ear the words "wayenough," recalled him to himself.
They were in the shadow of the yacht and coming alongside her ladder.The master of the brig looked upward into the face of a gentleman,with long whiskers and a shaved chin, staring down at him over the sidethrough a single eyeglass. As he put his foot on the bottom step hecould see the shore smoke still ascending, unceasing and thick; but evenas he looked the very base of the black pillar rose above the raggedline of tree-tops. The whole thing floated clear away from the earth,and rolling itself into an irregularly shaped mass, drifted out toseaward, travelling slowly over the blue heavens, like a threatening andlonely cloud.