CHAPTER XVI
MUTINY IN THE ARK
We left Cosmo Versal and his arkful of the flower of mankind in the midstof what was formerly the Atlantic Ocean, but which had now expanded overso many millions of square miles that had once been the seats of vastempires that to an eye looking at it with a telescope from Mars it wouldhave been unrecognizable.
All of eastern North America, all of South America to the feet of theAndes, all but the highest mountains of Europe, nearly all of Africa,except some of the highlands of the south, all of northern andsouthwestern Asia, as well as the peninsula of India, all of China andthe adjacent lands and islands except the lofty peaks, the whole ofAustralia, and the archipelagoes of the Pacific, had become parts of thefloor of a mighty ocean which rolled unbroken from pole to pole.
The Great Deep had resumed its ancient reign, and what was left of thehabitable globe presented to view only far separated islands and theserrated tops of such ranges as the Alps, the Caucasus, the Himalayas,and the Andes. The astonished inhabitants of the ocean depths now swamover the ruins of great cities, and brushed with their fins the chiseledcapitals of columns that had supported the proudest structures of humanhands.
We have seen how the unexpected arrest of the flood had left Cosmouncertain as to the course that he ought to pursue. But he did not longremain in doubt. He was sure that the downpour would be resumed after aninterval which at the most could not exceed a few weeks, and he resolvedto continue his way toward the future land of promise in Asia.
But he thought that he would have time to turn his prow in the directionof Europe, for he felt a great desire to know by actual inspection to whatheight the water had attained. He was certain that it could not be lessthan he had estimated--the indications of his rain-gage had been toounvarying to admit of doubt on that point--but he had no means of directmeasurement since he could not sound the tremendous depths beneath theArk.
After long meditation on the probable effects of the descending columns ofwater which he had seen, he concluded that they might have added morerapidly than he first supposed to the increase of the general level.Besides, he reflected that there was no proof that the general downpourmight not have been greater over some parts of the earth than others. Allthese doubts could be dissipated if he could get a good look at some loftymountain range, such as the Sierra Nevada of Spain, or the Pyrenees, or,if he could venture within sight of them, the Alps.
So he said to Captain Arms:
"Steer for the coast of Europe."
The fine weather had produced a good effect upon the spirits of thecompany. Not only were the ports and the gangways all open, but Cosmoordered the temporary removal of rows of adjustable plates on the sides ofthe vessel, which transformed the broad outer gangways, running its wholelength, into delightful promenade decks. There, in cozy chairs, andprotected with rugs, the passengers sat, fanned by a refreshing breeze,and dazzled by the splendor of the ocean.
They recalled, by their appearance, a shipload of summer tourists boundfor the wonders and pleasures of foreign parts. This likeness to apleasure cruise was heightened by the constant attentions of the crew,under Cosmo's orders, who carried about refreshing drinks and lunches,and conducted themselves like regular ocean "stewards."
It seemed impossible to believe that the world had been drowned, and somealmost persuaded themselves that the whole thing was a dream.
It must not be supposed that the thousand-odd persons who composed thisremarkable ship's company were so hard-hearted, so selfish, so forgetful,so morally obtuse, that they never thought of the real horror of theirsituation, and of the awful calamity that had overwhelmed so many millionsof their fellow-creatures. They thought of all that only too seriouslyand in spite of themselves. The women especially were overwhelmed by it.But they did not wish to dwell upon it, and Cosmo Versal did not wish thatthey should.
At night he had musicians play in the grand saloon; he distributed booksamong the passengers from a large library which he had selected; and atlast he had the stage set, and invited his friends, the players, toentertain the company.
But he would have no plays but those of Shakespeare.
There were, probably, not half a dozen persons in the Ark who had everseen representations of these great dramas, and very few who had read them,so that they had the advantage of complete novelty.
The play selected for the first representation was the tragedy of "KingLear," a strange choice, it would, at first sight, seem, but Cosmo Versalhad a deep knowledge of human nature. He knew that only tragedy would beendured there, and that it must be tragedy so profound and overmasteringthat it would dominate the feelings of those who heard and beheld it. Itwas the principle of immunizing therapeutics, where poison paralyzespoison.
It came out as he anticipated. The audience, unused to such depth ofdramatic passion, for the plays to which they had been accustomed had beenfar from the Shakespearian standard, was wholly absorbed in thedevelopment of the tragedy. It was a complete revelation to them, and theywere carried out of themselves, and found in the sympathy awakened by thisheart-crushing spectacle of the acme of human woe an unconscious solace for their own moral anguish.
Afterward Cosmo put upon the stage "Hamlet," and "Othello," and "Macbeth,"and "Coriolanus," and "Julius Caesar," but he avoided, for the present, theless tragic dramas. And all of them, being new to the hearers, produced anenormous effect.
On alternate nights he substituted music for the drama, and, as this wasconfined to the most majestic productions of the great masters of the past,many of whose works, like those of Shakespeare, had long been neglected ifnot forgotten, their power over the spirits of the company was, perhaps,even more pronounced.
Cosmo Versal was already beginning the education of his chosen band ofrace regenerators, while he mused upon the wonders that the science ofeugenics would achieve after the world should have reemerged from thewaters.
One of the most singular effects of the music was that produced upon theinsane billionaire, Amos Blank. He had been confined in the room thatCosmo had assigned to him, and was soothed, whenever Cosmo could find timeto visit him, with pretended acquiescence in his crazed notion that thetrip of the Ark was part of a scheme to "corner" the resources of theworld.
Cosmo persuaded him that the secret was unknown except to themselves, andthat it was essential to success that he (Blank) should remain inretirement, and accordingly the latter expressed no desire to leave hisplace of imprisonment, which he regarded as the headquarters of thecombination, passing hours in covering sheets of paper with columns offigures, which he fancied represented the future profits of theenterprise.
One night when a symphony of Beethoven was to be played, Cosmo led AmosBlank through the crowded saloon and placed him near the musicians. Heresisted at first, and when he saw the crowd he drew back, exclaiming:
"What? Not overboard yet?"
But Cosmo soothed him with some whispered promise, and he took his seat,glancing covertly around him. Then the instruments struck up, andimmediately fixed his attention. As the musical theme developed his eyesgradually lost their wild look, and a softened expression took its place.He sank lower in his seat, and rested his head upon his hand. His wholesoul seemed, at last, to be absorbed in the music. When it was finishedBlank was a changed man.
Then Cosmo clearly explained to him all that had happened.
After the first overwhelming effect of his reawakening to the realitiesof his situation had passed, the billionaire was fully restored to allhis faculties. Henceforth he mingled with the other passengers and, as ifthe change that had come over his spirit had had greater results than thesimple restoration of sanity, he became one of the most popular and usefulmembers of Cosmo Versal's family of pilgrims.
Among the other intellectual diversions which Cosmo provided was somethingquite unique, due to his own mental bias. This consisted of "conferences,"held in the grand saloon, afternoons, in the presence of the entirecompany, at which the principal speakers were his
two "speculativegeniuses," Costake Theriade and Sir Wilfrid Athelstone. They did not carevery much for one another and each thought that the time allotted to theother was wasted.
Theriade wished to talk continuously of the infinite energy stored up inthe atoms of matter, and of the illimitable power which the release ofthat energy, by the system that he had all but completed, would place atthe disposition of man; and at the same time Sir Athelstone could withdifficulty be held in leash while he impatiently awaited an opportunity toexplain how excessively near he had arrived to the direct production ofprotoplasm from inanimate matter, and the chemical control of living cells,so that henceforth man could people or unpeople the earth as he liked.
One evening, when everybody not on duty was in bed, Captain Arms, with hiswhiskers fairly bristling, entered Cosmo's cabin, where the latter wasdictating to Joseph Smith, and softly approaching his chief, with a furtiveglance round the room, stooped and whispered something in his ear. Astartled, though incredulous, expression appeared on Cosmo's face, and hesprang to his feet, but before speaking he obeyed a sign from the captainand told Smith to leave the room. Then he locked the door and returned tohis table, where he dropped into a chair, exclaiming in a guarded voice:
"Great Heaven, can this be possible! Have you not made a mistake?"
"No," returned the captain in a stridulous whisper, "I have made nomistake. I'm absolutely sure. If something is not done instantly we arelost!"
"This is terrible!" returned Cosmo, taking his head in his hands. "Yousay it is that fellow Campo? I never liked his looks."
"He is the ringleader," replied the captain. "The first suspicion of whathe was up to came to me through an old sailor who has been with me on manya voyage. He overheard Campo talking with another man and he listened.Trust an old sea dog to use his ears and keep himself out of notice."
"And what did they say?"
"Enough to freeze the marrow in your bones! Campo proposed to begin bythrowing 'old Versal' and me into the sea, and then he said, with us gone,and nobody but a lot of muddle-headed scientists to deal with, it would beeasy to take the ship; seize all the treasure in her; make everybody whowould not join the mutiny walk the plank, except the women, and steer forsome place where they could land and lead a jolly life.
"'You see,' says Campo, 'this flood is a fake. There ain't going to be nomore flood; it's only a shore wash. But there's been enough of it to fixthings all right for us. We've got the world in our fist! There's millionsof money aboard this ship, and there's plenty of female beauty, and we'veonly got to reach out and take it.'"
Cosmo Versal's brow darkened as he listened, and a look that would havecowed the mutineers if they could have seen it came into his eyes. Hishand nervously clutched a paper-knife which broke in his grasp, as he saidin a voice trembling with passion:
"They don't _know_ me--_you_ don't know me. Show me the proofs of thisconspiracy. Who are the others? Campo and his friend can't be alone."
"Alone!" exclaimed the captain, unconsciously raising his voice. "There'sa dozen as black-handed rascals in it as ever went unswung."
"Do you know them?"
"Jim Waters does."
"Why haven't you told me sooner? How long has it been going on?"
"Almost ever since the deluge stopped, I think; but it was only last nightthat Waters got on the track of it, and only now that he told me. Thisfellow that Waters heard Campo talking to is plainly a new recruit. I saythere are a dozen, because Waters has found out that number; but I don'tknow but that there may be a hundred."
"How did these wretches get aboard?" demanded Cosmo, fiercely opening andshutting his fists.
"Excuse me," said the captain, "but that is up to you to say."
"So it is," replied Cosmo, with a grim look; "and it's 'up to me' to saywhat'll become of them. I see how it is, they must have got in with thelast lot that I took--under assumed names, very likely. I've been morethan once on the point of calling that man Campo up and questioning him. Iwas surprised by his hangdog look the first time I saw him. But I havebeen so busy."
"You'll have to get busy in another sense if you mean to save this shipand your life," said the captain earnestly.
"So I shall. Are you armed? No? Then take these--and use 'em when I givethe word."
He handed the captain two heavy automatic pistols, and put a pair in hisown side pockets.
"Now," he continued, "the first thing is to make sure that we've got theright men--and _all of them_. Call in Joseph Smith."
The captain went to the door, and as he approached it there was a knock.He turned the key and cautiously opened a crack to look out. The door wasinstantly slammed in his face, and six men rushed in, with Campo, a burly,black-browed fellow, at their head. Three of the men threw the captain onhis back, and pinioned his hands before he could draw a weapon, whileCampo and the others sprang toward Cosmo Versal, Campo pointing a pistolat his head.
"It's all up, Mr. Versal!" cried Campo with a sneer. "I'll take command ofthis ship, and you'll go fish for nebulas."
Cosmo had one advantage; he was behind his desk, and it was a broad andlong one, and placed almost against the wall. They could not get at himwithout getting round the desk. Campo did not fire, though he might haveshot Cosmo in his tracks; but evidently he was nourishing the idea ofmaking him walk the plank. With a sign he commanded his co-conspiratorsto flank the desk at each end, while he kept Cosmo covered with hispistol.
But with a lightning movement, Cosmo dropped under the desk, and, favoredby his slight form and his extreme agility, darted like a cat past Campo'slegs, and, almost before the latter could turn round, was out of the opendoor. Campo fired at the retreating form, but the bullet went wide of themark. The pistol was practically noiseless, and the sound reached no earsin the staterooms.
It happened that a switch controlling the lights in the gangway was on thewall by Cosmo's door, and in passing he swiftly reached up and turned itoff. Thus he was in complete darkness, and when Campo darted out of thedoor he could not see the fugitive. He could hear his footsteps, however,and with two of his companions he rushed blindly after him, firing two orthree shots at random. But Cosmo had turned at the first cross passage,and then at the next, this part of the Ark being a labyrinth of corridors,and the pursuers quickly lost all trace of him.
Campo and his companions made their way back to Cosmo's cabin, where theirfellows were guarding Captain Arms. They found the switch in the passageand turned on the light. They were almost immediately joined by severalother conspirators conducting Joseph Smith, bound and gagged. They held ashort consultation, and Campo, with many curses, declared that CosmoVersal must be caught at all hazards.
"The big-headed fiend!" he cried, gnashing his teeth. "Let me get mygrippers on him and I'll squelch him like a bug!"
They threw Joseph Smith into the room beside the helpless captain, aftertaking the latter's pistols, locked the door from the outside, andhurried off on their search. In the passages they encountered severalmore of their friends. They now numbered fifteen, all armed. This mayseem a small number to undertake to capture the Ark; but it must beremembered that among the thousand-odd inmates, exclusive of the crew,only about one in three was a man, and the majority of these werepeaceable scientists who, it was to be presumed, had no fight in them.
At any rate, Campo, with the reckless courage of his kind, felt confidentthat if he could get Cosmo Versal, with the captain and Joseph Smith, outof the way, he could easily overmaster the others. He had not much fearof the crew, for he knew that they were not armed, and he had succeededin winning over three of their number, the only ones he had thoughtat all dangerous, because he had read their character. More than halfthe crew were employed about the engines or on the animal deck, and mostof the others were simply stewards who would not stand before the pistols.
But, while the mutineers were hurriedly searching the corridors, Cosmohad run straight to the bridge, where he found two of his men in charge,and whence he sent an electric call
to all the men employed in thenavigation of the vessel. They came running from various directions, buta dozen of them were caught in the passages by the mutineers and boundbefore they could comprehend what had happened. Seven, however, succeededin reaching the bridge, and among these was Jim Waters.
"There's a mutiny," said Cosmo. "We've got to fight for our lives. Haveyou got arms?"
Not one had a weapon except Waters, who displayed a pistol half as longas his arm.
"Here, Peterson, take this," said Cosmo, handing a pistol to one of thetwo mariners who had been on the bridge. "They will be here in a minute.If Campo had been a sailor, he'd have had possession here the first thing.I'll turn off all lights."
With that he pressed a button which put out every lamp in the ark. Butthere was a full moon, and they concealed themselves in the shadows.
Presently they heard the mutineers approaching, stumbling and cursing inthe darkness. Cosmo directed Peterson and Waters to place themselves athis side, and told them to fire when he gave the word.
The next instant four men appeared crossing a moonlit place at the foot ofthe steps on the outside of the dome.
"Wait," whispered Cosmo. "The pistols go at a pull. We can sweep down adozen in ten seconds. Let them all get in sight first."
Half a minute later there were twelve men climbing the steps and cautiouslylooking up.
"Fire!" cried Cosmo, setting the example, and three streams of blue flamepulsated from the bridge. The sound of the bullets striking made morenoise than the explosions.
Five or six of the men below fell, knocking down their comrades, and aloud curse burst from the lips of Campo, who had a bullet through his arm.
The mutineers tumbled in a heap at the bottom, and instantly Cosmo,switching on all lights, led the way down upon them. His men, who had noarms, seized anything they could get their hands on that would serve tostrike a blow, and followed him.
The conspirators were overwhelmed by the suddenness and fury of the attack.
Four of them were killed outright and five were wounded, one so severelythat he survived only a few hours.
Cosmo's quick and overwhelming victory was due to the fact that themutineers, in mounting the steps, could not see him and his men in theshadows, and when the automatic weapons, which fired three shots persecond by repeated pressure of the trigger, from a chamber containingtwenty-one cartridges, once opened on them they could do nothing in thehail of missiles, especially when crowded together on the steps.
Campo was the only one who had any fight left in him. He struck Cosmo ablow on the head that felled him, and then darted out upon the forepartof the dome, running on the cleats, and made his way to the top.
Cosmo was on his feet in a second and rushing in pursuit, closely followedby Jim Waters. The fugitive ran for the ratlines leading to the lookout onthe central mast. He climbed them like a squirrel, and the man in thecro'nest, amazed at the sight below him, stared at the approachingmutineer, unable to utter a cry. Campo, who, as the moonbeams showed, nowhad a knife in his teeth, rapidly approached, and the lookout shrank interror. But before Campo could reach the cro'nest, a blinding lightdazzled his eyes. Cosmo had shouted an order to Peterson to run back tothe bridge and turn a searchlight upon the mast. Then Campo heard athundering voice below him:
"Take another step and I'll blow you into the sea!"
He glanced below, and saw Cosmo and Waters covering him with theirpistols.
"Not another step!" roared Cosmo again. "Come down, and I'll give you atrial for your life."
Campo hesitated; but, seeing that he could be shot down, and finding agleam of hope in Cosmo's words, he turned and came slowly down. Themoment he touched the bottom he was seized by Waters and another man,and, under Cosmo's directions, his hands were bound behind his back.
Ten minutes later the members of the crew who had been caught by themutineers in the gangways were all unbound, and then Cosmo broke open thedoor of his cabin, the key having been lost or thrown away by Campo, andthe captain and Joseph Smith were released.
"Well, we've got 'em," said Cosmo grimly to the captain. "The mutiny isat an end, and there'll never be another."
In the meantime many of the passengers had been aroused by the unaccustomednoises, although the pistols had not made enough sound to be heard fromthe place where they were fired. Nightcapped heads appeared on all sides,and some, in scanty clothing, were wandering in the passageways, demandingwhat the trouble was. Cosmo, the captain, and Joseph Smith reassured them,saying that there was no danger, and that something had happened whichwould be explained in the morning.
The prisoners--and the whole fifteen were finally captured--were locked upin a strong room, and a surgeon was sent to dress their wounds. CosmoVersal and the captain resumed their accustomed places on the bridge,where they talked over the affair, and Cosmo explained his plans for themorrow.
"I'll give him his trial, as I promised," Cosmo said in conclusion, "andyou'll see what it will be. _Mutiny aboard this Ark!_" And he struck therail a violent blow with his fist.
The next morning directly after breakfast Cosmo called all passengers andcrew into the grand saloon, where many wondering looks were exchanged andmany puzzling questions asked. When the mutineers, with hands tied behindtheir backs and their many bandages on arms and legs, were led in,exclamations of astonishment were heard, and some of the timid ones shrankaway in fear.
Cosmo lost no time with preliminaries.
"These men," he said, taking his stand upon the platform, "have mutiniedand tried to capture the Ark. This fellow"--pointing to Campo--"was theconcocter and leader of the plot. He intended to throw me and CaptainArms, and all of you whom he did not wish to retain for his fiendishpurposes, into the sea. But Heaven has delivered them into our hands. Ihave promised them a trial, and they shall have it. But it will be atrial in which justice shall not be cheated. I find that a moral poisonhas stolen into this selected company, and I will eliminate it for onceand all."
The expressions of amazement and alarm redoubled in intensity.
"Professor Abel Able, Professor Jeremiah Moses, Sir Wilfrid Athelstone,Costake Theriade," Cosmo continued, "you will please come forward to actas members of the jury, of which I name myself also a member. I shall beboth judge and juror here, but I will hear what the rest of you may haveto say."
The men named stepped forward with some evidences of embarrassment, andCosmo gravely gave them seats beside him. Then he commanded that theprisoners should confront the jury, and, heavily guarded, they were led tothe front.
The brutishness of Campo's face had never struck the passengers who hadseen him before as it did now. He looked a veritable jailbird. At the sametime he was evidently in terror for his life. He muttered something whichnobody understood.
Cosmo, who had informed himself of all the circumstances from Waters, andby privately questioning the others, had satisfied himself that the entirescheme of the mutiny was of Campo's contrivance, and that they had been ledinto it solely by his persuasion and threats, ordered Waters to speak. Theseaman told a straight story of what he had heard and seen. Cosmo himselfthen related the events of the night. When he had finished he turned toCampo and demanded what he had to say.
Campo again muttered under his breath, but made no attempt to defendhimself, simply saying:
"You promised me a trial."
"And haven't I given you a trial?" demanded Cosmo with flashing eyes. "Youthought you held the world in your grasp. It is _I_ that hold it in _my_grasp, and _you_, too! You were going to make us 'walk the plank.' It is_you_ who are going to walk it! Is that the verdict?" (turning to the fourjurymen).
Some of them nodded, some simply stared at Cosmo, surprised by thevehemence of his manner.
"Enough," he said. "As to you," addressing the other prisoners, "you havehad your lesson; see that you don't forget it! Release them, and lead Campoto the promenade deck."
Nobody thought that Cosmo would literally execute his threat to make themutineer walk the
plank, but, as he had told Captain Arms, they didn't knowhim. They were about to see that in Cosmo Versal they had not only aprophet, a leader, and a judge, but an inexorable master also.
A plank was prepared and placed sloping from the rail.
"Walk!" said Cosmo firmly.
To everybody's surprise Campo, with blinded eyes, started immediately upthe plank, followed its full length with quick, unfaltering step, andplunging from the end, disappeared in the sea.
Many had turned away, unable to look, but many also saw the tragedy to theend. Then a profound sigh was heard from the whole company of thespectators. As they turned away, talking in awed voices, they felt, asnever before, that the world had shrunk to the dimensions of the Ark, andthat Cosmo Versal was its dictator.
That same afternoon Cosmo arranged one of his "conferences," and nobodydared to be absent, although all minds were yet too much excited to followthe discussions which few could understand. But at length Costake Theriadeconcentrated their attention by a wild burst of eloquence about the wondersof the inter-atomic forces. Sir Athelstone, unable to endure the applausethat greeted his rival, abruptly sprang to his feet, his round face redwith anger, and shouted:
"I say, you know, this is twaddle!"
"Will the Englishman interrupt not?" cried Theriade, with his eyes ablaze."Shall I project not the Sir Englishman to the feeshes?"
He looked as if he were about to try to execute his threat, and SirAthelstone assumed a boxing attitude; but before hostilities could begin aloud shout from the deck, followed by cries and exclamations, causedeverybody to rush out of the saloon.
Those who succeeded in getting a glimpse over the shoulders of the membersof the crew, who were already lined up along the only portion of thebulwarks available for seeing the part of the ocean on which attentionseemed to be fixed, stared open-mouthed at a round-backed mass of shiningmetal, with a circular aperture on the top, the cover of which was cantedto one side, and there stood a man, waving a gold-laced red kepi, andbowing and smiling with great civility.