CHAPTER XVIII
OUR BOAT IS SCUTTLED
When Ray and I set our feet on the deck of the _Pearl_ again, I felt athrill go all through me. I felt like hugging the mainmast. CaptainMarat and Carlos were there, and Rufe. Rufe fairly blubbered withhappiness.
"Oh, Lordy!" he said, "somebody clap foh me, I jes' got to dance."
And we clapped our hands and patted our thighs in time for him, and hebegan his "double-shuffle." Carlos caught the infection and jumped intothe ring, and there the two black men footed it hot on the deck for fiveminutes. "Hoo-o-we," yelled Rufe at last, and ran for the galley.
In a little a sumptuous meal was on the table for Ray and me; and whilewe ate, waited on by the others, we told our story.
"Five thousand dollars!" said Norris. "Duran spending five thousand onthe chance of getting us off his trail. That must be some gold mine,that of yours, Carlos."
"Yes, I think," agreed Carlos.
At last came a whole big bread pudding. "I jes' know you was a'comin',an' I saved it," said Rufe.
Ray turned over his stool, as he jumped to give the black a hug. "Oh, ifI'd only known that was coming." And he put his hand on his stomach.
When we two had stuffed ourselves the limit, Ray lingered at the table,looking very sober, his chin in his hand, his eyes on the big remainingportion of the pudding. Rufe sidled up.
"What it is make you so sad?" he said.
"Say, Rufe," said Ray, "isn't it the chicken that has two stomachs?"
"I reckon dat's right," said Rufe.
"Well, I guess I'm half a chicken," said Ray.
"Why," said Rufe, "has you got two stummicks?"
"No," returned Ray, a wail in his tone, "but I've got two appetites."
And Rufe rolled on the deck.
"Well, now," said Norris at last, "that voodoo skunk can sail when hegets ready, the sooner the better."
"Yes," agreed Captain Marat. "Now we ready for heem. He ver' clever ifhe fool us some more, now."
Norris volunteered to take the watch till two o'clock; then Robertoffered to follow him. All others turned in.
I awoke, hearing Robert in talk with Captain Marat. "It looks to me likethe _Orion's_ moving, slowly--no sails up," Robert was saying. In alittle while the two climbed into a small boat. The moon had gone down,and it was quite dark. The night breeze was still blowing gently. Iagain dozed off, too tired to note what was going forward.
I do not know how long I slept this time, but when I opened my eyesnext, it was to hear blocks creaking; and jib and mainsail were alreadyset, and the foresail was going up. Marat and Robert had gone to theisle, and hurried over opposite the _Orion's_ berth, to find that thatschooner's crew had been warping the vessel out toward the southpassage. The two waited till the _Orion_ had made sufficient progress toset her sails and attain headway, then they had hurried back to set the_Pearl_ in pursuit again.
The tail end of a squall came to give us a boost. The _Orion_ got agreater portion of it.
Ray did not waken till we were well out in the open sea.
"What!" said he, looking abroad. "Has the island sunk?"
In half an hour the sun burst out of the sea, showing that islandastern. The _Orion_ was perhaps three miles away, heading a little southof west. It was not till eleven that morning that we got a wind to giveus good headway.
Day after day, now again, we kept the schooner, _Orion_, company. Sheseemed to make no effort to elude us. The nights were bright moonlight,making us an easy task. Then at last we sighted the towering, raggedmountains of the great island of the voodoos. We were to the south ofthe island this time.
"Looks like that skunk is going the long way round," said Norris.
"Hopes to shake us off somewhere on the south coast, maybe," Isuggested.
"Thad is ver' evident," said Captain Marat. "He could save ver' muchtime to go back by the north coast."
"He'll be up to some new 'gum-game'," said Norris.
And so it proved, as we came to know.
We weathered a number of severe squalls, and sizzled during some calmdays. We followed the _Orion_ around a point of the island, and into aharbor of that south coast.
We were somewhat disturbed by that movement of Duran's, feeling that itmeant some new trouble to meet. We picked a berth for the _Pearl_ ratherclose to the _Orion's_, for we must have a close eye on Duran.
"Perhaps he's going overland," suggested Julian.
"If he does, we'll go overland too," I offered.
"I believe he too lazy," said Carlos. "No railroad--big mountain."
"Well," said Norris, "we'll keep a sharp lookout, and see."
It was past noon when we cast anchor in that harbor. The officials ofthe place came and went. Duran did not go ashore, though he sent someblacks. Carlos we sent with two sailors, after some needed provisionsand water.
The hot tropic sun beat down on us unmercifully; there was scarce abreath of air coming into that place. I sauntered up to Grant Norris,where he leaned, dripping sweat on his tarpaulin-covered cannon, lookingover toward the _Orion_.
"To think," he said, "that it depends on that skunk how long we're tolie in this blazing hole. I can almost see him sneering over there."
"Never mind, Mr. Norris," I told him. "Maybe when our turn comes we canpay him back."
"And, oh! Let me at him!" said Norris, "when that time comes."
Then the end of the day came; darkness fell. It turned almost chill, andwe turned in below. The moon was due to rise some time after nine, sothat there would be but a short time of darkness; and then would comemoonlight, making the watch on Duran's movements easy. It was Juliantook the first watch, eight to ten. When he called Norris, at fourbells--or ten o'clock--the land breeze had already risen. I awoke at thechange of watch, for I had come to be a light sleeper, and I heard thelittle waves rippling along the schooner's hull. I saw, too, that it wasbright moonlight; the moon was just past the full.
It was not yet midnight, when I was aroused by a clamor in the cabin.Norris had come in.
"Out with you! Every mother's son of you," he said. "We're sinking."
There was much consternation as we all turned out, jerking on bits ofclothing.
We followed Captain Marat into the hold. As we neared the bows, we heardthe splash of the water. Marat sent two sailors to the pumps. The restof us set to work to shift the stores to places out of reach of theincoming water. To find the leak would require considerable time. Maratsoon determined that the water was not coming in so fast but that thepump would be able to hold its own against it.
"We must put thee schooner on the beach," said Captain Marat.
Both boats were manned, and tow-lines put aboard them. The tide wasebbing, so we had great labor to move the schooner toward the mouth ofthe little river, where Captain Marat looked for a favorable place tolay the bow of the _Pearl_. When we were in the boats and beginning tobend our backs to the labor, we heard the voice of Duran on the _Orion_in a loud, hearty laugh.
"Laugh, you filthy skunk," said Norris, who sat next to me, "I'll neverrest till you're paid for all your foul doings."
It was not many minutes till we saw the sails of the _Orion_ go up, andthe land breeze and ebbing tide, together, carried that schooner offinto the open sea, at last beyond our vigilance. I felt a sinking withinme at the realization. But I had already had thoughts of what should bedone in case we were by some chance to lose sight of Duran.
We had been tugging at our oars for little above half an hour, makingvery poor progress, when the tide came to the turn. And then we had itwith us, and it was not long till we were moving in at a rate almost tomake us cheerful again.
It was a black sailor who had discovered the fact of the leak in the_Pearl_. He had heard an unusual sound. It was the trickling water moreor less confused with the rippling of the waves against the hull. He hadgone to Norris with the news. And Norris had given his ear to the thingonly for a moment, before sounding the alarm.
At last we came
to the piece of beach aimed for. We took the anchor in asmall boat well in to shore, so that as the tide rose the bow of theschooner was pulled more and more on the sand. It would be well towardnoon of the new day, before the tide will have reached its height, andso begin to recede, and leave the _Pearl_ showing gradually more andmore of her hull above water.
We found time to discuss the situation and the probable means employedfor our undoing; for no one of us was in any doubt that it was Duran whohad done this thing.
"He send one black weeth the augur, or brace and bit, an' drill holes inthee hull," said Captain Marat. And he pointed to a loop of rope stillhanging on a starboard bowsprit stay. It was by that rope that theworker had swung himself, while he bored holes into the hull belowwater-line.
"And to think he sneaked up on me in broad moonlight and did thatthing!" said Grant Norris.
"Well, you see," I offered, "the swimmer approached on the opposite sidefrom the _Orion_; and the waves helped hide his head. We none of usdreamed of his trying anything like that."
"We should have done even more than ever dream it," wailed Norris. "Andnow he'll have at least twenty-four hours the start of us, the best wecan do."
CHAPTER XIX
WE STEAL A MARCH ON THE ENEMY