Hunting the Skipper Part 69

"Ay, ay, sir, and I'm a-trying as hard as nails, sir," said the man, rousing himself up to speak more sharply; "but somehow my head don't seem as if it would go."

"Think, man--think!" cried the middy appealingly.

"That's what I'm a-doing of, sir, but nothing comes."

"He must be somewhere, Tom."

"Yes, to be sure, sir; that's it," cried the man excitedly. "You've hit it now. I couldn't have thought that myself."

"Oh-h-h-h!" groaned Murray. "Was ever poor wretch so tormented! What shall I do?"

"Lookye here, sir, I want to help you."

"Oh, I feel as if I could knock your silly old head off!" cried the middy, with a stamp upon the floor.

"Well, sir, do. You just do it if you think it will help you. I won't mind."

"Oh, Tom, Tom!" groaned Murray. "This is the worst day's work I ever did."

"Think it's any good to sarch the place again, sir?"

"But there's nothing to search, Tom."

"Well, there arn't much, sir, sartainly, but it'll be more satisfactory to go over it once more."

"Come along, then," said the middy. "Anything's better than standing still here."

"Ay, sir, so it is," said the big sailor; and together the pair went from room to room, Tom May insisting upon looking under the couch in the study, under the table, and then lifting up the square of Turkey carpet that half covered the well-made parqueterie floor, which glistened with the polishing given to it by busy slave labour.

But there was no sign of him whom they sought, and a careful examination of the garden and plantation was only followed by the discovery which they had made before, that the place was thoroughly closed in by a dense natural growth of hedge, ablaze with flowers in spite of the fact that it had been closely clipped and had grown dense in an impa.s.sable way.

"Let's get the boat here," said Murray, at last; and going to the platform, Tom May hailed the cutter where it swung from its grapnel.

"Now then, you two," cried the middy angrily, "you have been asleep!"

"Nay, sir," cried the men, in a breath.

"What, you deny it?"

"Yes, sir," said one. "It was so hot that I did get precious drowsy once."

"There, I knew I was right!"

"Beg pardon, sir; just as I was going off my mate here shoves a pin into me and rouses me up with a yell. I was never asleep."

"And you are ready to say the same?" cried the middy.

"Jes' the same sir," said the other man, "only not quite. It was the same pin, sir, but he jobbed it into me further. We was both awake all the time, sir."

"Then you must have seen that Mr Allen come out of the cottage and be rowed away."

"What, to-day, sir?" said the first boat-keeper.

"Do you think I meant to-morrow, sir?" cried Murray, who was boiling over with rage and despair.

"No, sir, of course not," replied the man, in an injured tone; "but you might ha' meant yesterday, sir."

"Of course," cried Murray--"when you were not on duty here?"

"We done our best, sir, both on us."

"Yes, yes, of course, my lads. Here, paddle May and me along the edge of the lagoon."

The man paddled the boat slowly along, and it was not until several blind lead places, where the boat could be thrust in amongst the bamboos, had been explored, that a more satisfactory portion of the surrounding watery maze was found, in the shape of a narrow way opening into another lagoon which looked wonderfully attractive and proved to be more interesting from the fact that no less than six ways out were discovered.

"Try that one," said Murray, and the boat's nose was thrust in, when Tom May held up his hand.

"Well, what have you to say against it?" cried the middy.

"I only thought, sir, as we might be trying this here one twice if we didn't mark it somehow."

"To be sure," cried Murray. "Don't you pretend to be stupid again, Tom.

Now, then, how are you going to mark it?"

"Only so how, sir," said the man, with a grin; and as he stood up in the boat he bent down some of the over-arching graceful gra.s.ses and tied them together in a knot. "These here places are so all alike, sir, and it may save time."

This waterway wound in and out and doubled upon itself for what must have been several hundred yards, but the middy felt encouraged, for more and more it struck him as being a way that was used. Every now and then too it excited the lad's interest, for there was a rush or splash, and the water in front was stirred up and discoloured, evidently by a reptile or large fish; but whether those who used it had any connection with the missing man it was impossible to say.

"Shouldn't be a bit surprised, sir, if we come upon that Mr Planter's boat, sir, and his n.i.g.g.e.rs. Looks the sort o' spot where they might have built a boathouse to hide their craft in when they didn't want it."

"At all events, my lad, it is one of their places, and--"

"Well, I'm blest, sir!"

"Eh? What do you mean? Why don't you go on?"

"Why, can't you see, sir?" said the big sailor sharply.

"No, Tom. Why, you don't mean to say that--"

"Yes, I do, sir," grunted the man; and he took off his straw hat to have a good puzzling scratch at his closely-cropped hair, while the middy stood up to examine two lissome tufts of leafy cane which had been bent over and tied together.

"Oh," cried Murray, "anybody might have done that who wanted to mark the place, my lad."

"Yes, sir," said the sailor, grunting, "but anybody wouldn't ha' thought to make a clove hitch, same as I did a bit ago. That's my mark, sir-- T.M.'s own. I'm T.M., sir."

"Don't laugh, man," said the lad pa.s.sionately. "I suppose you're right; but it's horrible, for we've been wasting so much time, and come out again in the same spot that we went in."

"Can't see as it's wasted time, sir," growled the man. "I say it's time saved, for if it hadn't been for my knot we might have gone on round again."