Dick Sands, the Boy Captain Part 17

Not without emotion could Mrs. Weldon, or indeed any of them, behold the unfortunate ship upon which they had spent so many eventful days, lying dismasted on her side. But there was little time for sentiment. If they wished to visit the hull before it finally went to pieces there must be no delay.

Hoisting themselves by some loose rigging that was hanging from the deck, d.i.c.k and several of the negroes

[Ill.u.s.tration: Not without emotion could Mrs. Weldon, or indeed any of them, behold the unfortunate ship.]

contrived to make their way into the interior of the hull. d.i.c.k left his men to gather together all they could in the way of food and drink from the store-room, and himself went straight to the stern cabin, into which the water had not penetrated. Here he found four excellent Purday's Remington rifles and a hundred cartridges; with these he determined to arm his party, in case they should be attacked by Indians. He also chose six of the strongest of the cutla.s.ses that are used for slicing up dead whales; and did not forget the little toy gun which was Jack's special property. Unexpectedly he found a pocket-compa.s.s, which he was only too glad to appropriate. What a boon it would have been had he discovered it earlier! The ship's charts in the fore-cabin were too much injured by water to be of any further service. Nearly everything was either lost or spoiled, but the misfortune was not felt very acutely because there was ample provision for a few days, and it seemed useless to burden themselves with more than was necessary. d.i.c.k hardly needed Mrs. Weldon's advice to secure all the money that might be on board, but after the most diligent search he failed to discover more than five hundred dollars. This was a subject of perplexity. Mrs. Weldon herself had had a considerably larger sum than this, and Captain Hull was known always to keep a good reserve in hand. There was but one way to solve the mystery. Some one had been beforehand to the wreck. It could not be any of the negroes, as not one of them had for a moment left the grotto. Suspicion naturally fell upon Negoro, who had been out alone upon the sh.o.r.e. Morose and cold-blooded as the man was, d.i.c.k hardly knew why he should suspect him of the crime of theft; nevertheless, he determined to cross-examine him, and, if need be, to have him searched, as soon as he came back.

The day wore onwards to its close. The sun was approaching the vernal equinox, and sank almost perpendicularly on to the horizon. Twilight was very short, and the rapidity with which darkness came on confirmed d.i.c.k in his belief that they had got ash.o.r.e at some spot lying between the tropic of Capricorn and the equator.

They all a.s.sembled in the grotto again for the purpose of getting some sleep.

"Another rough night coming on!" said Tom, pointing to the heavy clouds that hung over the horizon.

"No doubt, Tom!" answered d.i.c.k, "and I think we may congratulate ourselves on being safe out of our poor ship."

As the night could not be otherwise than very dark, it was arranged that the negroes should take their turns in keeping guard at the entrance of the grotto. Dingo also would be upon the alert.

Benedict had not yet returned. Hercules shouted his name with the full strength of his capacious lungs, and shortly afterwards the entomologist was seen making his way down the face of the cliff at the imminent risk of breaking his neck. He was in a great rage. He had not found a single insect worth having, scorpions, scolopendra, and other myriapoda were in the forest in abundance; but not one of these of course could be allowed a place in his collection.

"Have I come six thousand miles for this?" he cried: "have I endured storm and shipwreck only to be cast where not a hexapod is to be seen? The country is detestable! I shall not stay in it another hour!"

Ever gentle to his eccentricities, Mrs. Weldon soothed him as she would a child, she told him that he had better take some rest now, and most likely he would have better luck to-morrow.

Cousin Benedict had hardly been pacified when Tom remarked that Negoro too had not returned.

"Never mind!" said Bat, "his room is as good as his company."

"I cannot say that I altogether think so. The man is no favourite of mine, but I like him better under my own eye," said Mrs. Weldon.

"Perhaps he has his own reasons for keeping away," said d.i.c.k, and taking Mrs. Weldon aside, he communicated to her his suspicions of the fellow's dishonesty.

He found that she coincided with him in her view of

[Ill.u.s.tration: The entomologist was seen making his way down the face of the cliff at the imminent risk of breaking his neck.]

Negoro's conduct; but she did not agree with him in his proposal to have him searched at once. If he returned, she should be convinced that he had deposited the money in some secret spot; and as there would be no proof of his guilt, it would be better to leave him, at least for a time, uninterrogated.

d.i.c.k was convinced by her representations, and promised to act upon her advice.

Before they resigned themselves to sleep, they had repeatedly summoned Negoro back, but he either could not or would not hear. Mrs. Weldon and d.i.c.k scarcely knew what to think; unless he had lost his way; it was unaccountable why he should be wandering about alone on a dark night in a strange country.

Presently Dingo was heard barking furiously. He had left the opening of the grotto, and was evidently down at the water's edge. Imagining that Negoro must be coming, d.i.c.k sent three of the negroes in the direction of the river to meet him; but when they reached the bank not a soul could be seen, and as Dingo was quiet again, they made their way back to the grotto.

Excepting the man left on watch, they now all lay down, hoping to get some repose. Mrs. Weldon, however, could not sleep. The land for which she had sighed so ardently had been reached, but it had failed to give either the security or the comfort which she had antic.i.p.ated!

CHAPTER XV.

A STRANGER.

At daybreak, next morning, Austin, who happened to be on guard, heard Dingo bark, and noticed that he started up and ran towards the river. Arousing the inmates of the grotto, he announced to them that some one was coming.

"It isn't Negoro," said Tom; "Dingo would bark louder than that if Negoro were to be seen."

"Who, then, can it be?" asked Mrs. Weldon, with an inquiring glance towards d.i.c.k.

"We must wait and see, madam," replied d.i.c.k quietly.

Bidding Bat, Austin, and Hercules follow his example, d.i.c.k Sands took up a cutla.s.s and a rifle, into the breach of which he slipped a cartridge. Thus armed, the four young men made their way towards the river bank. Tom and Actaeon were left with Mrs. Weldon at the entrance of the grotto.

The sun was just rising. Its rays, intercepted by the lofty range of mountains in the east, did not fall directly on the cliff; but the sea to its western horizon was sparkling in the sunbeams as the party marched along the sh.o.r.e. Dingo was motionless as a setter, but did not cease barking. It soon proved not to be his old enemy who was disturbing him. A man, who was not Negoro, appeared round the angle of the cliff, and advancing cautiously along the bank of the stream, seemed by his gestures to be endeavouring to pacify the dog, with which an encounter would certainly have been by no means desirable.

"That's not Negoro!" said Hercules.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "Good morning, my young friend."]

"No loss for any of us," muttered Bat.

"You are right," replied d.i.c.k; "perhaps he is a native; let us hope he may be able to tell us our whereabouts, and save us the trouble of exploring."

With their rifles on their shoulders, they advanced steadily towards the new arrival. The stranger, on becoming aware of their approach, manifested great surprise; he was apparently puzzled as to how they had reached the sh.o.r.e, for the "Pilgrim" had been entirely broken up during the night, and the spars that were floating about had probably been too few and too scattered to attract his attention. His first att.i.tude seemed to betray something of fear; and raising to his shoulder a gun that had been slung to his belt, he began to retrace his steps; but conciliatory gestures on the part of d.i.c.k quickly rea.s.sured him, and after a moment's hesitation, he continued to advance.

He was a man of about forty years of age, strongly built, with a keen, bright eye, grizzly hair and beard, and a complexion tanned as with constant exposure to the forest air. He wore a broad-brimmed hat, a kind of leather jerkin, or tunic, and long boots reaching nearly to his knees. To his high heels was fastened a pair of wide-rowelled spurs, which clanked as he moved.

d.i.c.k Sands in an instant saw that he was not looking upon one of the roving Indians of the pampas, but upon one of those adventurers, often of very doubtful character, who are not unfrequently to be met with in the remotest quarters of the earth. Clearly this was neither an Indian nor a Spaniard. His erect, not to say rigid deportment, and the reddish hue with which his hair and beard were streaked, betokened him to be of Anglo-Saxon origin, a conjecture which was at once confirmed when upon d.i.c.k's wishing him "good morning," he replied in unmistakable English, with hardly a trace of foreign accent,-

"Good morning, my young friend."

He stepped forward, and having shaken hands with d.i.c.k, nodded to all his companions.

"Are you English?" he asked.

"No; we are Americans," replied d.i.c.k.

"North or South?" inquired the man.

"North," d.i.c.k answered.

The information seemed to afford the stranger no little satisfaction, and he again wrung d.i.c.k's hand with all the enthusiasm of a fellow-countryman.

"And may I ask what brings you here?" he continued.

Before, however, d.i.c.k had time to reply, the stranger had courteously raised his hat, and, looking round, d.i.c.k saw that his bow was intended for Mrs. Weldon, who had just reached the river-bank. She proceeded to tell him the particulars of how they had been shipwrecked, and how the vessel had gone to pieces on the reefs.

A look of pity crossed the man's face as he listened, and he cast his eye, as it might be involuntarily, upon the sea, in order to discern some vestige of the stranded ship.

"Ah! there is nothing to be seen of our poor schooner!" said d.i.c.k mournfully; "the last of her was broken up in the storm last night."

"And now," interposed Mrs. Weldon, "can you tell us where we are?"

"Where?" exclaimed the man, with every indication of surprise at her question; "why, on the coast of South America, of course!"