CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
TREASURE RECOVERED--ACCIDENTS ENCOUNTERED--AN UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY--ENEMIES MET AND CIRCUMVENTED.
It is pleasant to loll in the sunshine on a calm day in the stern of aboat and gaze down into unfathomable depths, as one listens to the slow,regular beating of the oars, and the water rippling against the prow--and especially pleasant is this when one in such circumstances isconvalescent after a prolonged and severe illness.
So thought Edgar Berrington one lovely morning, some months after theevents related in the last chapter, as he was being rowed gently overthe fair bosom of the China sea. The boat--a large one with a littleone towing astern--was so far from the coast that no land could be seen.A few sea-gulls sported round them, dipping their wings in the wave, orputting a plaintive question now and then to the rowers. Nothing elsewas visible except a rocky isle not far off that rose abruptly from thesea.
"Well, we're nearing the spot at last," said Edgar, heaving thatprolonged sigh which usually indicates one's waking up from a pleasantreverie. "What a glorious world this is, Baldwin! How impressively itspeaks to us of its Maker!"
"Ay, whether in the calm or in the storm," responded Joe.
"Yes; it was under a very different aspect I saw this place last,"returned Edgar. "Yonder is the cliff now coming into view, where thevessel we are in search of went down."
"An ugly place," remarked Joe, who was steering the boat. "Come boys,give way. The morning's gittin' on, an' we must set to work as soon asever we can. Time an' tide, you know, etcetera."
Rooney, Maxwell, Chok-foo, and Ram-stam, who were rowing, bent to theirwork with a will, but the heavy boat did not respond heartily, beingweighted with a large amount of diving gear. Just then a light breezearose, and the boat, obedient to the higher power, bent over and rippledswiftly on.
The only other individual on board was a Malay--the owner of the boat.He sat on the extreme end of the bow looking with a vacant gaze at theisland. He was a man of large size and forbidding, though well-formed,features, and was clothed in a costume, half European half Oriental,which gave little clew to the nature of his profession--except that itsavoured a good deal of the sea. His name, Dwarro, was, like hisperson, nondescript. Probably it was a corruption of his easterncognomen. At all events it suffered further corruption from hiscompanions in the boat, for Baldwin and Maxwell called him Dworro, whileRooney Machowl named him Dwarry. This diversity of pronunciation,however, seemed a matter of no consequence to the stolid boatman, who,when directly addressed, answered to any name that people chose to givehim. He was taciturn--never spoke save when spoken to; and at suchtimes used English so broken that it was difficult to put it together soas to make sense. He was there only in capacity of owner and guardianof the boat. Those who hired it would gladly have dispensed with hisservices, but he would not let them have it without taking himself intothe bargain.
Having reached the scene of the wreck of the _Warrior_, the party atonce proceeded to sound and drag for it, and soon discovered itsposition, for it had not shifted much after slipping off the ledge,where it had met its doom on the night of the storm. Its depth underthe surface was exactly twenty-three fathoms, or 138 feet.
"It will try our metal," observed Baldwin, "for the greatest depth thatthe Admiralty allow their divers to go down is twenty fathom."
"What o' that?" growled Maxwell, "I've worked myself many a time intwenty-three fathom water, an'll do it again any day. _We_ don't needto mind what the Admiralty says. The submarine engineers of London tellus they limit a man to twenty-five fathom, an' they ought to know what'spossible if any one should."
"That's true, David," remarked Rooney, as he filled his pipe, "but I'veheard of a man goin' down twinty-eight fathom, an' comin' up alive."
"Oh, as to that," said Berrington, "_I_ have heard of one man whodescended to thirty-four fathom, at which depth he must have sustained apressure of 88 and a half pounds on every square inch of his body--and_he_ came up alive, but his case is an exception. It was fool-hardy,and he could do no effective work at such a depth. However, here weare, and here we must go to work with a will, whatever the depth be.You and I, Joe, shall descend first. The others will look after us.I'll put on a Siebe and Gorman dress. You will don one of Heinke andDavis, and we'll take down with us one of Denayrouze's lamps, reservingSiebe's electric light for a future occasion."
In pursuance of these plans the boat was moored over the place where thewreck lay, a short ladder was hung over the side of a smaller boat theyhad in tow with its pendent line and weight, the pumps were set up andrigged, the dresses were put on, and, in a short time our hero foundhimself in his old quarters down beside the great crank!
But ah! What a change was there! The grinding had ceased for ever; thegreat crank's labours were over, and its surface was covered with mud,sand, barnacles, and sea-weed, and involved in a maze of twisted ironand wrecked timbers--for the ship had broken her back in slipping intodeep water, and wrenched her parts asunder into a state of violentconfusion. Thick darkness prevailed at that depth, but Denayrouze'slamp rendered the darkness visible, and sufficed to enable the divers tosteer clear of bristling rods and twisted iron-bands that mightotherwise have torn their dresses and endangered their lives.
The work of inspection was necessarily slow as well as fraught withrisk, for great difficulty was experienced while moving about, inpreventing the entanglement of air-pipes and life-lines. The two menkept together, partly for company and partly to benefit mutually by thelamp. Presently they came on human bones tightly wedged between massesof timber. Turning from the sad spectacle, they descended into thecabin and made their way towards the place where Berrington knew thatthe treasure had been stowed. Here he found, with something like ashock of disappointment, that the stern of the vessel had been burstopen, and the contents of the cabin swept out.
On further inspection, however, the treasure-room was found to beuninjured. Putting down the lamp on an adjacent beam, Edgar lifted aheavy mass of wreck from the ground, and dashed the door in. The scenethat presented itself was interesting. On the floor lay a number oflittle barrels, which the divers knew contained the gold they were insearch of. Most of these were so riddled by worms that they werefalling to pieces. Some, indeed, had partially given way, so that thepiles of coin could be seen through the staves, and two or three hadbeen so completely eaten away as to have fallen off, leaving the massesof gold in unbroken piles. There were also bags as well as kegs ofcoin, all more or less in a state of decay.
The divers gazed at this sight for a few moments quite motionless. ThenEdgar with one hand turned the lamp full on his companion's front-glassso as to see his face, while with the other hand he pointed to thetreasure. Joe's eyes expressed surprise, and his mouth smilingsatisfaction. Turning the light full on his own face to show hiscomrade that he was similarly impressed, Edgar motioned to Joe to sitdown on an iron chest that stood in a corner, and giving the requisitesignal with his life-line, went up to the surface. He did this veryslowly in order to accustom his frame to the change of pressure both ofair and water, for he was well aware of the danger of rapid ascent fromsuch a depth. Soon after, he redescended, bearing several canvas sacks,some cord, and a couple of small crowbars. Placing the lamp in aconvenient position, and throwing the bags on the floor of thetreasure-room, Edgar and Baldwin set to work diligently with thecrowbars, broke open the kegs, and emptied their golden contents intoone of the bags, until it was quite full; tied up the mouth, fastened itto a rope which communicated with the boat above, and gave the signal tohoist away. The bag quickly rose and vanished.
Previous to redescending, our hero had arranged with Rooney to havepieces of sail-cloth in readiness to wrap the bags in the instant oftheir being got into the small boat, so that when being transferred tothe large boat's locker, their form and contents might be concealed fromthe pilot, Dwarro. The precaution, however, did not seem to benecessary, for Dwarro was afflicted with laziness, and devote
d himselfentirely to the occupations of alternately smoking, in a dreamy way, andsleeping.
For three hours the divers wrought under great excitement, as well aspressure, and then, feeling much exhausted, returned to the surface,having sent up the contents of about twenty boxes and kegs of treasure.Rooney and Maxwell then took their turn under water, and were equallysuccessful.
That night, being very calm and clear, they ran the boat into asheltered crevice among the cliffs, and slept on board of her. Nextmorning at day-break they were again at work, but were not equallyfortunate, for although plenty of treasure was sent up, severalaccidents occurred which were severe, though, happily, not fatal.
In the first place, Baldwin tore his left hand badly while attempting toraise a heavy mass of ragged iron-plate that prevented his reaching someloose coin lying under it. This, though painful, did not render himaltogether incapable of working. Then, while Edgar Berrington waspassing from one part of the wreck to another, threading his waycarefully, a mass of wire-ropes and other wreckage suddenly dropt from aposition where it had been balanced, and felled him to the deck withsuch violence that for a few moments he was stunned. On recovering, hefound to his horror that he was pressed down by the mass, and had gotinextricably entangled with it. If his dress had been torn at thattime, or his helmet damaged, it is certain that his adventures wouldhave been finally cut short, and there can be no doubt that hispreservation was largely owing to the excellence of the material ofwhich his dress was made.
But how to escape from his wire-cage was a difficulty he could notsolve, for the lamp had been extinguished, and the entanglement of hisline and air-pipe rendered signalling impossible. He continued tostruggle helplessly, therefore, in total darkness. That the air-tubecontinued all right, was evident from the fact that air came down to himas before.
In this dilemma he remained for a short time, occasionally managing toclear himself partially, and at other times becoming more and moreinvolved.
At last Rooney Machowl, who was attending to the lines above, bethoughthim that he had not received any signals for some time or observed anyof those motions which usually indicate that a diver is busy below. Hetherefore gave a pull to the lifeline. Of course no answer wasreceived.
"Hallo!" exclaimed Rooney, with a start, for in diving operations Lifeand Death frequently stand elbowing each other.
He gave another and still more decided pull, but no answer was returned.
Jumping up in excitement, he attempted to haul on the line, so as tobring Edgar to the surface by force, but to his consternation he foundit to be immovably fixed.
"Hooroo! Man alive," he yelled, rather than shouted, to Maxwell, whowas attending the other line, "signal for Joe to come up--look sharp!"
Maxwell obeyed with four strong quick pulls on Joe's line, and Joeappeared at the surface rather sooner than was consistent with safety.On learning the cause of his being called, he infixed his bull's-eyehastily; went down again with a heavy plunge, and discovering hiscompanion, soon removed the wreck by which he was entangled, and set himfree.
Experience, it is said, teaches fools; much more does it instruct wisemen. After this event our hero became a little more careful in hismovements below.
When a considerable amount of treasure had been recovered, it wasthought advisable to return to the shore and place it in security.
"It won't be easy to manage this," said Edgar to Baldwin in a low tone,as they sailed away from the rocky islet, under a light breeze. "I havean uncomfortable belief that that fellow Dwarro suspects the nature ofthe contents of these bags, despite our efforts at concealment."
"I don't think he does," whispered Baldwin. "He seems to me to be oneo' these miserable opium-smokers whose brains get too much fuddled tounderstand or care for anything."
"Whist now, don't spake so loud," said Rooney, advancing his head closerto his companions, and glancing doubtfully at the object of theirsuspicion; "sure he's got a sharp countenance, fuddled or not fuddled."
The pilot had indeed an intelligent cast of countenance, but as he satin a careless attitude in the bow of the boat smoking listlessly andgazing dreamily, almost stupidly, towards the shore, it did seem asthough he had indulged too freely in the noxious drag which poisons somany inhabitants of these unhappy lands.
As he was out of earshot, the four adventurers drew their heads stillcloser together, and talked eagerly about their prospects.
"Sure our fortins is made already," said Rooney; "how much d'ee thinkwe've fished up, Mr Berrington?"
"I cannot say, but at a rough guess I should think not less than twentythousand pounds."
"Ye don't main it? Och! Molly astore! Ye shall walk in silks an'satins from this day forward--to say nothin' of a carridge an' four, ifnot six."
"But where'll we putt it, sir?" asked Baldwin.
"I've been thinking of that," replied Edgar. "You see I don't like thenotion of running right into port with it, where this pilot has probablynumerous friends who would aid him in making a dash for such a prize--supposing he has guessed what we are about. Now, I happen to have atrusty friend here, a young Scotchman, who lives in a quietout-o'-the-way part. We'll run up to his place, land the gold quickly,and get him to carry it off to some place of security--"
"Whist, not so loud! I do belave," said Rooney, "that rascal is cockinghis weather ear."
"He don't understand a word of English," muttered Baldwin.
Dwarro looked so intensely absent and sleepy as he sat lounging in thebow, that the divers felt relieved and continued, though in morecautious tones, to discuss their plans.
Meanwhile the boat ran into the Hong-Kong river. As it proceeded, asmall light boat or skiff was observed approaching. Baldwin, whosteered, sheered out a little in the hope of avoiding her, but the manwho sculled her conformed to the movement, and quickly shot past theirbow--so closely that he could exchange salutations with the pilot.Nothing more appeared to pass between the two,--indeed there seemed notime for further communication--nevertheless Rooney Machowl declaredthat some telegraphic signals by means of hands and fingers hadcertainly been exchanged.
In a short time the boat was turned sharp round by Baldwin, and run intoa cove near a wall in which was a little wooden gate. A flight ofdilapidated steps led to this gate.
"What if your friend should not be at home?" asked Joe, in a whisper.
"I'll land the bags in any case and await him, while you return to theport with Dwarro," replied Edgar.
If the pilot was interested in their proceedings, he must have been aconsummate actor, for he took no notice whatever of the sudden change ofthe boat's course, but continued to smoke languidly, and to gazeabstractedly into the water as if trying to read his fortune there,while Edgar and Rooney landed the bags, and carried them through thelittle gate into the Scotchman's garden. In a few minutes Edgarreturned to the boat, stepped in, and pushed off, while the twoChinamen, in obedience to orders, rowed out into the river.
"It's all right," whispered Edgar, sitting down beside Joe, "Wilson isat home, and has undertaken to have the bags carried to a place ofsafety long before any attempt to capture them could be organised, evenif Dwarro knew our secret and were disposed to attempt such a thing.Besides, we will keep him under our eyes to-night as long as possible."
That night, highly elated at the success of their labours, our fourfriends sat round their evening meal in the pagoda and related theirvarious diving adventures and experiences to the admiring andsympathetic Molly Machowl. They had previously entertained the pilotwith unlimited hospitality and tobacco, and that suspected individual,so far from showing any restless anxiety to shorten his stay, had coollyenjoyed himself until they were at last glad when he rose to go away.
On the following morning, too, he was ready with his boat beforeday-break, and the party returned to the scene of operations at thewreck in high spirits.
It is certain that their enthusiasm would have been considerably dampedhad they known that exactly thre
e hours after their gold was landed, aparty of six stout nautical-looking Malays entered the residence ofWilson, the Scotchman, knocked down Wilson's servants, gagged Wilson'smouth, drank up the claret with which Wilson had been regaling himself,and carried off the bags of gold before his very eyes! Fortunately fortheir peace of mind and the success of their labours, our adventurersdid _not_ know all this, but, descending to the wreck with heavy solesand light hearts, they proceeded to recover and send up additional bagsof gold.
That day they were not quite so successful. Unforeseen difficulties layin their way. Some of the gold had been washed out of the treasure-roomin their absence, and was not easily recovered from the sand andsea-weed. In order the better to find this, the electric-lamp wasbrought into requisition and found to be most effective, its light beingvery powerful--equal to that of fifteen thousand candles,--and soarranged as to direct the light in four directions, one of these beingtowards the bottom by means of a reflecting prism. It burned withoutair, and when at the bottom, could be lighted or extinguished from theboat by means of electricity.
Still, notwithstanding its aid, they had not collected treasure beyondthe value of about eight thousand pounds when the time for rest andtaking their mid-day meal arrived. This amount was, however, quitesufficient to improve their appetites, and render them sanguine as tothe work of the afternoon.
"You'd better signal Mr Berrington to come up," said Joe, who with allthe others of the party were assembled in the stern of the boat,anxiously waiting to begin their dinner.
"Sure I've done it twice a'ready," replied Rooney, who was attending toour hero's life-line while Ram-stam and Chok-foo toiled at theair-pumps.
"What does he reply?" asked Joe.
"He replies, `all right,' but nothin' more. If he knew the imptiness ofmy--och! There he goes at last, four tugs. Come along, my hearty,"said Rooney, coiling away the slack as Edgar rose slowly to the surface.
Presently his helmet appeared like a huge round goblet ascending fromthe mighty deep. Then the surface was broken with a gurgle, and thegoggle-eyes appeared. Rooney unscrewed the front-glass, and theChinamen were free to cease their weary pumping. When Edgar wasassisted into the boat, it was observed that he had a smallpeculiarly-shaped box under his arm. He made no reference to this untilrelieved of his helmet, when he took it up and examined it with muchcuriosity.
"What have you got there, sir?" asked Joe Baldwin, coming forward.
"That is just what I don't know," answered Edgar. "It seems to me likean iron or steel box much encrusted with rust, and I shouldn't wonder ifit contained something of value. One thing is certain, that we have notgot the key, and must therefore break it open."
While he was speaking, David Maxwell gazed at the box intently. He didnot speak, but there was a peculiar motion about his lips as if he werelicking them. A fiend happened just then to stand at Maxwell's ear. Itwhispered, "You know it."
"Ay," said Maxwell, under his breath, in reply, "_I_ knows it--well."
"I wonder if there are valuables in it," said Edgar.
"Shouldn't wonder if there wor," said Rooney.
"Eight or nine thousand pounds, more or less," whispered the fiend,quoting words used by Mr Hazlit on a former occasion.
"Ah--jis' so," muttered Maxwell.
"Don't you say a word more, David," said the fiend.
"I wont," muttered Maxwell's heart; for the hearts of men aredesperately wicked.
"That's right," continued the fiend, "for if you keep quiet, you know,the contents will fall to be divided among you, and the loss won't befelt by a rich fellow like old Hazlit."
Maxwell's heart approved and applauded the sentiment, but a strongerpower moved in the rough man's heart, and softly whispered, "Shame!"
"Why, Maxwell," said Edgar, smiling, "you look at the box as if it werea ghost!"
"An' so it _is_," said Maxwell, with a sudden and unaccountable growl,at the sound of which the fiend sprang overboard, and, diving into thesea, disappeared from Maxwell's view for ever!
"Why, what d'ee mean, David?" asked Baldwin, in surprise.
"I mean, sir," said Maxwell, turning to Edgar with a look of unwontedhonesty on his rugged face, "that that box is the ghost of one thatbelongs to Miss Hazlit, if it ain't the box itself."
"To Miss Hazlit," exclaimed Edgar, in surprise; "explain yourself."
In reply to this the diver told how he had originally become acquaintedwith the box and its contents, and said that he had more than oncesearched about the region of Miss Hazlit's cabin while down at the wreckin hope of finding it, but without success.
"Strange," said Edgar, "I too have more than once searched in the sameplace in the hope of finding something, or anything that might havebelonged to her, but everything had been washed away. Of course,knowing nothing about this box, I did not look for _it_, and found it atlast, by mere chance, some distance from the berth she occupied. Whydid you not mention it before?"
Maxwell was silent, and at that moment the drift of thought andconversation was abruptly turned by Rooney Machowl shouting, "Dinnerahoy!" with impatient asperity.
While engaged in the pleasant duty of appeasing hunger, our diverschatted on many subjects, chiefly professional. Among other things,Rooney remarked that he had heard it said a diving-dress containedsufficient air in it to keep a man alive for more than five minutes.
"I have heard the same," said Edgar.
"Come, David," suggested Joe Baldwin, "let's test it on you."
"Ready," said Maxwell, rising and wiping his huge mouth.
The proposal which was made in jest was thereupon carried out inearnest!
Dinner being over, Maxwell put on his diving-dress; the Chinamen set thepump going, and the front-glass was screwed on. Air was forced into thedress until it was completely inflated and looked as if ready to burst,while Maxwell stood on the deck holding on to a back-stay. At a givensignal the pumpers ceased to work, and the adventurous man was thus cutoff from all further communication with the outward air.
At first the onlookers were amused; then they became interested, and asthe minutes flew by, a little anxious, but Maxwell's grave countenance,as seen through the bull's-eye, gave no cause for alarm. Thus he stoodfor full ten minutes, and then opening the escape-valve, signalled formore air.
This was a sufficient evidence that a man might have ample time toreturn to the surface from great depths, even if the air-pumps shouldbreak down.
"But, perhaps," said Edgar, as they conversed on the subject, "you mightnot be able to hold out so long under water where the pressure would begreat."
"Sure that's true. What d'ee say to try, David?" said Rooney.
Again Maxwell expressed willingness to risk the attempt. The glass wasonce more screwed on, the pumps set agoing, and down the bold diver wentto the bottom. On receiving a pre-arranged signal, the pumps werestopped.
This, let the reader fully understand, is a thing that is never donewith the ordinary pumps, which are not permitted to cease working fromthe time the bull's-eye is fixed on until after it is taken off, on thediver's return to the surface. It was therefore with much anxiety thatthe experimenters awaited the result--anxiety that was not allayed byRooney Machowl's expression of countenance, and his occasionalsuggestion that "he must be dead by this time," or, "Och! He's goneentirely now!"
For full five minutes Maxwell stayed under water without a fresh supplyof air--then he signalled for it, and the anxious pumpers sent it downwith a will. Thus it was found that there was still sufficient time fora man to return to the surface with the air contained in his dress, inthe event of accident to the pumps. [See Note 1.]
While the divers were engaged with these experiments, Chok-foo was senton shore in the small boat for a supply of fresh water from a springnear the top of the island.
Having filled his keg, the Chinaman turned his fat good-humouredcountenance toward the sea, for the purpose of taking an amiable view ofNature in general before commencing the descen
t. As he afterwards gazedin the direction of the mainland, he observed what appeared to be a lineof sea-gulls on the horizon. He looked intently at these aftershouldering his water-keg. Chok-foo's visage was yellow by nature. Itsuddenly became pale green. He dropped his burden and bounded down thehillside as if he had gone mad. The water-keg followed him. Beingsmall and heavy it overtook him, swept the legs from under him, andpreceded him to the beach, where it was dashed to atoms. Chok-foorecovered himself, continued his wild descent, sprang into the boat,rowed out to his companions in furious haste, and breathlessly gave theinformation that pirates were coming!
Those to whom he said this knew too well what he meant to requireexplanation. They were aware that many so-called "traders" in theEastern seas become pirates on the shortest notice when it suits theirconvenience.
Edgar Berrington immediately drew a revolver from his pocket, andstepping suddenly up to Dwarro, said sternly:--
"Look here!"
The pilot did look, and for the first time his calm, cool, imperturbableexpression deserted him, for he saw that he had to deal with a resoluteand powerful man. At the same time his right hand moved towards hisbreast, but it was arrested from behind in the iron grip of Joe Baldwin.
"Now, pilot," said Edgar, "submit, and no one shall harm you. Resist,and you are a dead man. Search him, Joe."
The diver opened Dwarro's pilot-coat, and found beneath it a brace ofpistols and a long sheath knife, which he quietly removed andtransferred to his own person. The other men in the boat looked on,meanwhile, in silence.
"Dwarro," continued Edgar, "_you_ have planned this, I know, but I'llthwart you. I won't tie or gag you. I'll make you sit at the helm andsteer, while we evade your friends. I shall sit beside you, and you mayrely on it that if you disobey an order in the slightest degree, or givea signal by word or look to any one, I'll blow out your brains. D'youunderstand me?"
The pilot made no reply save by a slight inclination of the head, whilea dark frown settled on his features.
It was obvious that fear found no place in the man's breast, for a deepflush of indignation covered his countenance. He merely felt that hemust obey or die, and wisely chose the former alternative.
Meanwhile the fleet of boats which had appeared to the Chinaman on thehill-top was now seen by the party in the boat as they drew nearer underthe influence of a land breeze--their high sails rendering them visiblebefore the low boat of our divers could be seen by them.
The wind had not yet reached the island, but, even if it had, the diverswould not have hoisted sail, lest they should have been seen.
"Ship your oars now, lads, and pull for life," cried Edgar, seizing thetiller with one hand, while with the other he held the revolver. "Youtake _this_ oar, Dwarro, and pull with a will."
In a few seconds the pilot boat was creeping pretty swiftly along therugged shore of the island, in the direction of the open sea. Tolighten her, the little boat astern was cut adrift. Continuing theircourse, they rowed quite past the island, and then, turning abruptly tothe southward, they pulled steadily on until the first "cat's-paw" ofthe breeze ruffled the glassy sea.
By this time the fleet of boats was distinctly visible, making straightfor the island. Edgar now ordered the sails to be set, and bade Dwarrotake the helm. The pilot obeyed with the air of a Stoic. It was clearthat his mind was made up. This had the effect of calling up a look ofsettled resolution on Edgar's face.
In a few minutes the sails filled, and then, to the surprise not only ofDwarro but all on board, Edgar ordered the pilot to steer straight forthe line of advancing boats.
Two of these had changed their course on first observing the divers'boat, but when they saw it steering straight down, as if to meet or jointhem, they resumed their course for the island. Presently the breezeincreased, and the pilot boat leaped over the waves as if it hadreceived new life.
"It's a bowld thing to try," muttered Rooney Machowl, "but I'm afeard,sir--"
He was silenced by a peremptory "Hush" from Edgar. "Get down so as tobe out of sight," he continued, "all of you except the Chinamen.--Youtwo come and sit by Dwarro."
As he spoke, Edgar himself sat down on an oar, so as to be able to seeover the gunwale without himself being seen. To those in the fleet itwould thus appear that their vessel was a pilot boat returning fromseaward with its skipper and two Chinamen. Whatever Dwarro's intentionshad been, he was evidently somewhat disconcerted, and glanced more thanonce uneasily at the calm youth who sat pistol in hand at his sidedirecting him how to steer.
Although there was a considerable fleet of the piratical boats, theywere spread out so that a space of several hundred yards intervenedbetween each. Edgar steered for the centre of the widest gap, and hisbold venture was favoured by a sudden increase of wind, which caused thewaves to gurgle from the bow.
Just as they passed between two of the boats they were hailed by one ofthem. Edgar kept his eyes fixed on Dwarro, who became slightly pale.The click of the pistol at the moment caused the pilot to start.
"You may inform and we may be caught," said Edgar, sternly; "butwhatever happens you shall die if you disobey. Speak not, but wave yourhand in reply."
Dwarro obeyed. Those who had hailed him apparently thought the distancetoo great for speech; they waved their hands in return, and the boatpassed on. A few minutes more and our divers were safely beyond thechance of capture, making for the mainland under a steady breeze.
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Note 1. The pump used by Denayrouze of Paris, besides being very simplein its parts and action, possesses an air-reservoir which renders acessation of the pump-action for a few minutes of no importance.