CHAPTER XXII
THE ISLE IN CROW BAY
We had barely got ourselves back to where Ray and Robert lay awaitingus, when night came. They had everything ready for the cooking of ameal, so that our bearish appetites had not long to suffer.
Our non-success did not sit heavily on us, and it was with some cheer wegathered round the fire, that was made in the midst of the underbrush,far enough from the stream to be invisible from any part of Duran'strail. Robert remained over there alone on watch.
"Now, I'll tell you," said Ray, addressing Grant Norris, "if you'regoing to find that gold mine, you'll just have to rig up a balloon, andfly all over these mountains--like I did in my dream."
"Well," returned Norris, plucking the bones from his fish, "I'm thinkingthere'll be no lack of gas for it while you're awake. When you're notawake--well, you'll dream enough hot air to--"
"Just what I was going to say," broke in Ray. "It delights me to seeyou've come round to my dream idea. You're awake at last. Not thatyou're to blame for having golden dreams; even I, in my younger days--"
"Not on your life!" interrupted Norris, "I--"
"Even Wayne, here, has dreams," continued Ray. "He follows thatnightmare, Duran, and suddenly he vanishes into nothing--all dreams."
"Not on your life!" declared Norris, taking Ray half in earnest."There's gold somewhere in that creek we were on today, and I'll showyou before we get through with it."
"Maybe Duran has already cleaned it out," I suggested.
"Don't you believe it!" said the optimistic Norris. "He hasn't got awaywith it at any rate, or what is he doing back here?"
We crawled under our mosquito bars early, leaving Ray on watch by thestream. I fell asleep to the music of the little cascade, whosecontinual plash kept from my ears the harassing song of the mosquitoes,who with voodoo thirst sought flaws in my citadel.
I was awakened at last by an insistent hand on my shoulder and Robert'svoice in my ear.
"I think Duran or somebody just went by," he said.
He had detected a sound of plashing in the water, like someone wading,though he heard it imperfectly, confused as as it was with the noise ofthe little waterfall. He had peered hard into that inky darkness, and itseemed to him that a shape crept along the bank of the creek.
We aroused the others, who began at once to gather our traps together,while Robert and I, with utmost caution, sought the path, and with moreor less difficulty followed its course toward the bay.
It was about two o'clock when we started, and when we came to the inlet,there showed in the east signs of the moon coming, topping the horizon.That was half-past-three; so that we were an hour and a half coveringthose three or four miles.
I crept to the spot where we had seen Duran's canoe concealed in thetall grass.
"It's gone!" I told Robert. "Let's hurry the others."
A few hundred yards back Robert came upon them. And now not a minute waslost in setting our little boat in the water. The moon lay a timid lighton the bay by the time we had come out of the inlet.
"There!" cried Robert, pointing to the east.
Barely a half mile away we made out an object on the water.
"He's going down the bay," I observed, "not across to the Twin Hills."
"Well, let's keep him in sight," said Norris, "now that we've got ourpeepers on him at last."
"He'll see us if we go too fast," cautioned Robert.
A camouflage for our boat was suggested. So we hurried to the shore, andsix pairs of hands quickly harvested an abundance of reeds and grasses.With this we wove a screen, as for duck-stalking. And with the shore fora background, it would have taken a sharper eye than a human's todistinguish us. Fortunately, the moon, being but a thin, fadingcrescent, gave a rather imperfect light.
Now we moved at a swift pace down the shore, Norris and Marat at theoars. And so we gained on Duran, who was out nearer the middle of thebay, little thinking that his plans were _gaun agley_, with his enemieshanging on his tail in spite of all his devices.
Nearly every eye was on that canoe and its paddler, and barely a wordspoken till we had navigated almost a mile of the bay.
"Now where is that skunk making for, I wonder?" said Norris, resting onhis oar and peering through the screen.
"He go to the island, there, I theenk," offered Jean Marat.
"Yes," added Carlos. "He go right for thee island."
I had noted the island when we were on the cliffs. It was triangular,and on Marat's chart it measured a half mile in its greatest dimension.
"What's on it?" queried Norris, again resuming his rowing.
Carlos said he had been there many years ago, and then there were palmsand brush, and in the midst, a hut and garden.
"There! He's going to land," spoke Robert.
Captain Marat trained his glasses on the island, now barely more than ahalf mile away.
"Yes," he said, "he land. He is on thee shore now, an' he pull out theecanoe, I theenk."
We set our boat in toward the south shore of the bay and here we foundthe mouth of a stream. A few rods up this creek we made our landing, andin a little we had got boat and all out of the water and into asheltered place under the palms, for day would soon be breaking.
"You're the darndest bunch!" said Ray, rubbing his eyes. "You'd think Ihadn't paid for my lodging."
He had fallen asleep in the boat, and didn't awaken till Norris hadalmost rolled him out into the water.
"It's that cannibal-priest-voodoo-skunk again I suppose," continued Ray."Where have you got him now?"
"We've got him cornered, surrounded on Crusoe's island," returnedNorris.
"Surrounded," sniffed Ray, "like a gay porpoise, with water. And I'llbet when you catch him, you'll find he's only Crusoe's man, Friday."
This suggestion, although made in sport, startled us. Perhaps after all,the occupant of the canoe had not been Duran. It might have been onlyone of his numerous blacks, one more in his confidence than any of thoseon his schooner.
When day came, and that was but an hour after our landing, I begananxiously to scan that island through Marat's glasses. It was not longtill I saw a rowboat put off from the island and move toward the southshore far down the bay. Unmistakably, it was a black in the boat, andalone, apparently, and his bulk was much too portly for the figure ofDuran. And before the morning was half gone another figure appeared,coming out of the palms on the island. And my heart thumped withexcitement as I strained my eyes at the glasses.
The figure (black of face) stood on the shore, looking out across thebay to the west. Was it Duran? I asked myself. Surely the form was notunlike his, but there were many real blacks in his employ who, at thatdistance would have looked much the same.
And then occurred a thing that settled the matter, and I thrilled allover. The man's hand went up to the side of his head, and the fingerstoyed with the ear in that characteristic manner of Duran's, when he wasin deep thought. There could be no doubt, I saw the hand moving up anddown with the stroking. It was Duran!
I turned to my friends and gave them my news.
"Well, anyway," pouted Ray, "his man Friday was there; he went off in aboat."
"And now, what do you suppose he's doing on that island then?" askedNorris.
"He's burying his gold, of course," said Ray.
"Or maybe he's just after provisions," I suggested.
"And he sent that old fellow in the boat on his errands," offeredRobert.
Carlos, appealed to, avowed that this explanation was not unlikely,since there was a bit of a hamlet far down the bay.
When the hot tropic sun had mounted to the zenith, Norris' restlessnessseemed to be approaching a climax. It was with some difficulty wedissuaded him from a notion that had taken him, to make a trip back intothe hills in search of that golden creek of his. And it was then therecame a wet squall out of the west that drove us under the shelter of ourover-turned boat till it went by. The monotony of that wait, too, was abit relieved by the return t
o the island of that boat that had gone downthe bay in the morning.
Before dark came I got Jean Marat aside and communicated to him an ideathat had grown in my head that afternoon.
"Captain Marat," I began, "it is going to be very dark nearly all oftonight, and it will be hard to see, at that distance, when Duran leavesthe island--if he does."
"Yes," returned Marat, "I have think of that."
"Well," I continued, "even in the dark it won't be safe to row over tothe island. Duran might happen to be on the shore and so see us."
"Yes, jus' so," agreed Marat.
"I want to swim over," I said. "It's only half a mile."
"Ah!" said Jean Marat. "Thad might be. Yes--yes." (He pondered thething.) "Yes, I swim too, with you."
It was the very thing I had in mind, this idea of his accompanying me,though I hesitated to include him in my suggestion.
"And then," Marat continued, "maybe we hear some theengs thad will helpus."
Here, too, was some of my thought, remembering that night when he and Ihad rowed over to the _Orion_, in the harbor, and heard Duran say thingsthat had enlightened us very much. Though some of the things he had saidhad not been at all clear, else Ray and I had been spared that period ofcaptivity.
We were not long in giving our plan to the others. Norris, eager foractivity, would like to be one of the party, but he himself foundobjections the moment his wish was expressed.
"It won't do to have too many," he said; "and then I can't understandthe _parley voo_ like Captain Marat."
"Besides," put in Ray, "there'd be an awful hulaboloo among the fish.They'd think it was a--" Norris had him in his grasp. "--A mermaid,"finished Ray.
We did not wait long after night had settled over the bay. Jean Maratand I kicked off our clothes and, entering the water, headed for theisland. It was chalked out that the others should hold everything inreadiness, and if they should hear a signal, they would immediately rowout and pick us up, to take up the trail of Duran again.
It was no great feat to swim that half mile of smooth water. And then itwas with great caution that we crawled across that island beach. I musthave been a curious spectacle for Jean Marat--black of face and arms andfeet, the rest of me all white. The curly wig, of course, I had leftwith my clothing.
We passed in among the cocoanut palms, traversed a belt of hammock, andcame to a piece of clearing. A light shone from a window of the hut.There were some bushes near the wall; these we got amongst.
Keeping our faces in the shadow, we contrived to look in. And it wassomewhat a startling spectacle presented to us there. Duran'sfeatures--though stained like myself and Robert--were not so hard todistinguish in the light of the lamp. There was but one other occupant,a negro, old and portly of body. Duran's head bore a red kerchief, woundturban-wise, and his body was clad in a red robe--much like I had seenhim wearing that night in the forest. He stood by the table, and in hishands he clutched a fowl, just beheaded, for the blood was running fromthe raw stump of the neck into a bowl.
When the dripping had almost ceased, Duran gave the chicken into thehands of the negro, who laid it aside. And then Duran poured rum from ajug into cups, and mixed in blood from the bowl; and now the two drank.And there showed that horrid, excited hankering of an old toper, inDuran's face when he brought the cup to his lips. Whether it was the rumhe craved, or the blood, or the combination, or if he was really takenwith a religious fanaticism, I have never been able to fathom. But thathis emotion was real I could have no doubt.
A number of drinks round, and the black set himself to plucking thefeathers from the fowl; and then it was not long till he had the bird ina kettle on the stove. Duran, after a time, inclined his head to alittle box on the table, and presently it occurred to me that they musthave the voodoo snake there as well. It was evidently a voodoo ceremonythey were enacting, and I knew it could not be complete--ifbonafide--without the snake.
Through it all, there was more or less talk between those two, and tothat Marat was giving his ear. At times he moved over and put his headto the boards, the better to hear.
When at last the fowl was cooked, those two feasted on it, and atelittle else. And then, in time, they dropped off to sleep; the portlynegro seeking the floor, Duran slumbering in his chair, head and arms onthe table.
Captain Marat and I now seated ourselves on the ground, a little awayfrom that window to wait while those two within should sleep off theirdebauch. Marat told me something of the talk of Duran and the other. Butthere was nothing of new interest in it, since it referred almost solelyto matters on which they were then engaged. Duran, however, had foundoccasion to descant on a purpose he professed he had, to bestow greatriches on the black, how he would be required to remain faithful toDuran's service but a few days more, and he should be literallyover-burdened with the gold that should be his.
Maybe two hours of waiting had passed, with occasional peeps in at thatwindow, when Duran raised himself from his slumbers. He forthwitharoused the black, and divesting himself of the red gown, he addressedhimself to the negro, who began putting together certain parcels ofsupplies in a pack. Duran took up a paddle, and the two moved out of thedoor, talking as they went.
Captain Marat and I crouched in the shadows, till they had gone towardthe beach. Then we followed, moving from bush to bush. And we saw Duranembark in his canoe, going back the way he had come the night before.
So soon as the black had moved toward the hut, Marat and I entered thewater and started for the shore of the mainland, where our friendsawaited us. When we deemed it safe, I gave the whistle signal, and ourfriends came off in the boat and took us in.
"Thee _Orion_ weel be here in thees bay before a week is gone," saidCaptain Marat. "Duran expect then to sail away, pay off hees crew, an'come back with new crew who know nothing about thee gold. And then hewill take on gold cargo. And then for Europe. He tell that black man hetake him with, and he will make him ver' rich."
"But he didn't tell that black where he was going to get his goldcargo?" ventured Ray.
Marat said no to that. But Duran had promised the negro that he shouldgo with him, in two boats, and they two should transport all the goldaboard the vessel; and the new crew were to be told that it was allspecimens of coral and other stones, for a museum in Europe. "And so,"Marat continued, "Duran tell him if any strangers come round, he mustnot know anyone by name Duran, or Mordaunt, or anyone like that. AndDuran tell him, too, thad when the _Orion_ come, if anyone on theschooner come to the little island, he tell them Duran gives order thadno one of them is allowed on thee island; they must stay on theschooner."
"And why," began Norris, "do you suppose he don't want his own sailorson that little island?"
"Ask Wayne," said Ray.
"Now, Mr. Norris," I said, "you're just wanting to hear somebody echothe thought that's in your mind. Suppose you tell us what it is."
"Well," said Norris, "Ray said it last night. He's been burying some ofthe gold on the isle. And now he's afraid that if his men set their feeton the place, they'll get to looking for it."
"That's the way with people," said Ray. "If they hide something, theysuspect that everybody that comes around can smell it."
"Ease on your oars," Marat admonished.
Norris and Robert were rowing. Intent on our discussion, they hadforgotten caution, and were sending the boat forward at a rate. Thenight was quite dark in spite of the stars, and we might easily driveourselves within hearing of Duran without realizing it. The night breezerippled the bay, so that the canoe on the surface would not be visibletill one should be almost on it.
"It's a mighty good thing," observed Robert, "that he doesn't make histrips in daylight. He couldn't help seeing that a good many besideshimself have been tramping on that trail."
"He'd think a whole army was after him," said Ray.
When at last we came to the inlet, it was with some difficulty we foundour way, so dark was it. It was Carlos who at last made out Duran'scanoe, amongst the ree
ds.
"Well, he's got a good deal the start of us," said Norris, when at lastwe had got our boat in hiding and were ready for the trail.
"Perhaps it's just as well we're not too close," I offered, falling inbehind Carlos, to whom we gave the lead.
"You don't believe he'd give us another chase in the schooner?" queriedRobert.
"No," I admitted, "but he might pick a new trail, and throw us clear offagain."
Single file, we moved forward. We were soon in the wood, where nightbirds and insects gave us their music. Out again in the glade; againinto the forest. And at last, we came to where the trail dipped into thestream.
There was nothing to do but remake our camp in the old place, a littleway to the west of the creek. There came renewed conjectures seekingsolution of this mystery.
"Well, you'll find out my balloon is the only explanation," banteredRay. "He carries one in his vest pocket, all neatly folded; he takes itout, blows it full of voodoo rum stuff, and--whiff--up he goes."
"Maybe there's some one of those lianas hanging from the trees that heswings out of the water on," offered Robert.
"That's so!" cried Norris. "A fellow might swing a big long jump thatway without touching his foot to the ground. I'm going to have anothergood look there first thing in the morning."
Captain Marat had been taking stock of our supply of food.
"Someone have to go for more provision, if we stay much longer," hesaid. "We have hardly enough for one day."
So that after some hours of sleep Robert and Marat set off to return tothe _Pearl_ for fresh supplies. They planned to row across the end ofCrow Bay before day should come, for there was no certainty that Duran'sblack on the isle might not have an eye out. It would not do to riskanother daylight crossing.
Day had no sooner shot its earliest rays into the recesses of ourforest, than Norris was over to the creek investigating the big vinesthat hung like so many ropes from the branches above. He finally cameback to his breakfast, his face giving no signs of success.
"Never mind, Norris," said Ray. "If you're going to make that Duran outa monkey, you can hardly expect to find tracks--monkeys don't leaveany."
"Well, anyway," insisted Norris, "that's the way he went, and we'll findthat gold mine up on my creek--see if we don't."
For some unaccountable reason, I was not any more impressed by Norris'conclusions than by Ray's playful explications, and I was taken with adesire to be alone with the problem. So I urged the others to go andexplore Norris' creek, and I would remain on watch at this place ofDuran's strange disappearance.
When the three had gone, moving eastward along the foot of that toweringstone wall, I began where the water came tumbling out of that hole inthe cliff, and carefully examined the banks of the creek again, up anddown, for half a mile or so. I reasoned that if he waded into the streamhe must certainly have waded out of it again. Unless, as Norris hadconjectured, he had swung himself over the bank by the means of someliana. I therefore imitated Norris and searched both sides for evidenceof any such means; and with a negative result. Nowhere, so far as theforest followed the stream, was there a loose liana near the bank oneither side.
And then it came to me that perhaps Duran had gone into the water at theend of the path, only to retrace his steps and leave the path some wayon the back trail, thus to deceive any who should chance to come so faron his track. And so I scrutinized every foot of the path back to theedge of the forest, and some way across the glade. I even went off thetrail, and fought my way through the growth as I went back, parallelingthe path, and looking for signs.
But I got back to the creek bank and the music of the little cascade, nonearer the solution than when I had started. Hours had been consumed inmy search. It must have been past ten when I squatted on the stream'sbank, looking into the clear water, puzzling over this thing.
A beam of sun shone down through the water and illumined the creek'sbottom. A round bit of rock or coral lay there, almost white in thatliquid light. For a long time I stared on that spot, as if the solutionwere to be found there. I never before had felt so baffled.
And then I was startled! I could no longer see that stone--nor any partof the creek's bed. The water had in that moment become turbid.Something had muddied it. I leaped to my feet and hurried up to thefountain in the cliff. The water was coming out of the rock in thatmuddied condition. Now what could it all mean? I asked myself. And I setmy wits to the thing as I continued to stare at the phenomenon.Presently the water cleared a bit. And then in a little it came as muddyas ever again.