In Strange Company Part 20

When she went below I lit my pipe and fell to work upon my own thoughts.

I tried to recall her conversation and to find a reason for her extraordinary behaviour, but it was impossible. In vain also I endeavoured to rid myself of the feeling of approaching danger which possessed me. At last, unable to make head or tail of it, and thoroughly wretched, I sought my bunk in the hope of obtaining a little rest against the labours of the morrow.

My dreams were not pleasant ones. Juanita seemed to stand before me continually, gazing at me as she had done on deck, with tear-streaming face, imploring me to forgive her, always to forgive her. I don't remember ever to have spent a more miserable night. But it was only a foretaste of what was to come.

Shortly after daylight I awoke to hear the hands "washing down." I went on deck and had a bath; the clear green water braced me like a tonic. A more perfect morning could not be imagined. The sea lay around us, in colour a pale grey, and smooth as the inside of an oyster-sh.e.l.l. Ash.o.r.e the rugged mountain peaks were enveloped in vast ma.s.ses of white cloud, while on the lower lands every shrub and tree was gemmed with dew. A few sea-birds hovered round the schooner, and from far down the northern beach a spiral column of palest blue smoke ascended into the still morning air.

About half-an-hour before breakfast-time, Juanita came on deck, looking radiant; all signs of her last night's trouble had completely disappeared. Stepping out of the companion, she swept the sea with a proud, defiant glance, as though she had at length achieved something which other people had deemed impossible. Then her eyes fell on me, and she came across to where I stood, wishing me "good-morning" with a bright smile. I felt inclined to ask myself if this could be the same woman who had wept upon my shoulder the night before, and begged me in heart-broken accents to forgive her some imaginary transgression. After a few moments her glance wandered from the schooner and the open sea to the island, and then the expression upon her face (for I watched it continually) changed. When she came on deck, it was that of a woman who through much suffering had conquered; but when she looked towards the spot where the man she had once loved lay buried, it was the face of one who had still to prove that the struggle was not going against her.

Just at that moment the bell sounded for breakfast, and leaving the deck to the mate, I escorted her below.

As soon as we had finished our meal, I gave orders for the long-boat to be swung out, and a crowbar and a couple of shovels put into her. I had already chosen the hands who should accompany us, so nothing remained but to a.s.sist my sweetheart down the gangway, take our places in the boat, and set out for the sh.o.r.e. It was no use trying to persuade Juanita to remain on board, and let me do the work. She would not hear of it. On the way I could not help noticing the appearance of her face; it had become deadly white and haggard, a circ.u.mstance which I could only attribute to the ghastly nature of our errand.

Owing to the fact of there being no reef on this side of the island, we were able to bring the boat flush up to the sh.o.r.e, and to secure her by a long painter to a tree.

As I helped Juanita out, I asked her in which direction she supposed the grave to lie, and without any hesitation she pointed to a little wooded knoll, about a hundred yards to our left. Off we set towards it.

By this time the pallor of her face was such as to quite frighten me. I asked her if she did not think she'd better sit down and rest a while.

Her answer, if not a.s.suring, was emphatic.

"Rest! What rest can I have? No, no, no; on, on! I can't rest; I can't think till we've done the work. Oh, be quick! be quick!"

Reaching the spot she had pointed out, we commenced our search for the grave. Though she declared her husband had only been buried a few months, no sign of his resting-place was to be seen. This I accounted for by the fact that it was situated on a slope, and the wash of the water (for the rains had occurred since the burial took place) had smoothed the earth all along the hill-side, levelling and obliterating all traces of the mound. However, after much diligent search, I found amid some rank gra.s.s a spot which seemed to bear some resemblance to what we sought, and here I decided to dig.

The ground was by no means hard, and as the two men I had brought ash.o.r.e were muscular fellows, it was not long before we had a good hole to show for our work. Suddenly the shovel struck something with a hollow sound, bringing my heart into my mouth with a jump. Next moment a corner of a roughly-made coffin came into view. And as it did so, Juanita gave a little cry, while I felt large clammy beads of sweat ooze out and down my own forehead.

Bidding the two men exert all their strength, I worked the crowbar underneath the coffin, and leant my weight upon it. Inch by inch it uncovered itself, and at last we were able, by getting our hands under it, to lift it out on to the level ground. As we laid it down, I heard Juanita gasp for breath. And when I told her we were going to prize the lid off, she could bear it no longer, but turned her back, and burying her face in her hands, bade me search round the dead man's neck for the locket. She could not do it herself.

Inserting a corner of the shovel between the lid and the side, I tried to force it open, but it was securely fastened, and defied me. There was nothing for it but to send off to the schooner for a screwdriver. How bitterly I reproached myself for not having brought one with me!

The waiting was intolerable. Though it was in reality not ten minutes, it seemed an hour before the man returned with the tool. Then, one by one, my hands shaking with nervousness, I withdrew the screws. That work accomplished, I ordered one of the Kanakas to lift off the lid. As he prepared to do so, I could not repress a feeling of wonderment as to what this former lover of Juanita's would be like; at the same time, I braced my nerves for what we should see.

The lid was off. I looked; I rubbed my eyes and looked again--could I be dreaming?

_Save for a large roll of sheet-lead, the coffin was empty. No man had ever been buried in it!_

The whole funeral must have been a farce, intended to deceive some one.

Could that some one, I asked myself, have been Juanita?

My exclamations must have puzzled her, for she cried out--

"Oh, what have you found?"

I was so overcome with surprise that I had some difficulty in finding voice enough to reply to her. Then I said--

"Juanita, you've been hoaxed! No man was ever buried here. There's only a sheet of lead in the coffin!"

With that she faced round on me, and never, before or since, have I seen such an expression of fear in the human face. She stood there, wildly staring, first at the open coffin, then at the grave, unable to speak.

Her face seemed to grow every moment paler. Then, turning to me, she said very softly, so softly that I asked myself whether the shock could have been too much for her brain--

"I have been the victim of a conspiracy; take me back to the schooner."

I signed to the men to collect the tools, and we were in the act of starting on our return to the beach, when I heard unmistakable sounds of some one moving through the undergrowth on the bank above us. Juanita heard them too, and by some means, for which I cannot account, must have divined their cause, for she faced round like a tigress at bay. Then the bushes parted, _and the Albino stood before us_!

Anything so uncanny as his appearance at that moment cannot be imagined.

He gazed at us, his fingers cracking, his little pink eyes gleaming maliciously, and his long white hair floating in the breeze. As I looked, I felt Juanita fall heavily on my arm. She had fainted.

CHAPTER VI.

AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR.

In a second the little man had taken everything in. He glanced at Juanita, lying unconscious in my arms, at the open grave, and last at the untenanted coffin. This latter seemed to occasion him some amazement, but only for an instant. Then, turning to me, he said with authority--

"Carry her down to the boat, and get her aboard the schooner. Can't you see there's not a moment to be lost, man?"

My astonishment at his appearance had made me almost forget the woman in my embrace, but before the words were well out of his mouth, I had picked her up, and was carrying her towards the beach.

When we had pushed off, and were pulling towards the schooner, I was surprised to see the Albino seated in the bows of the boat. He ventured no remark to justify his presence until after we were aboard, and he had helped me to carry my burden to her bunk. Then he said--

"Remember my medical knowledge. I'm going to help you with her. Get some brandy."

Hastening to my own berth, I rummaged among the things in my locker, found what I wanted, and returned with all possible speed to the cabin.

As I approached it, I could have sworn that I heard the dwarf say, "Remember, whatever happens, you've never set eyes on me before!" But I must have been mistaken, for though I found him bathing her forehead, she appeared to be still unconscious. As soon as she revived, we left her, and returned to the deck.

"What's the meaning of this mysterious business?" I asked my companion when we reached it. "How on earth did you get here, and what are you going to do now?"

"Fair and softly, my dear fellow," he said quietly, a curious smile playing round his lips, "all in good time. If you want to know, I was called down here on most important business. It's lucky I saw your schooner, otherwise I should have had to wait a month for a chance of getting back to civilization."

"And how _are_ you going to get back?" I asked.

"Why, on board this boat," he answered. "Surely you won't be ungrateful enough to refuse me a pa.s.sage after all I've done for you?"

Not being in a position to gainsay the justice of his argument, I held my tongue. My situation was a very delicate one. I had possession of the boat, it was true; but, on the other hand, it was only given to me for a certain purpose. That purpose having failed, what was my position? Could I make over the schooner to the Albino for my debt? And if I continued to keep her, was I free to act as I pleased with regard to Juanita?

I have said nothing so far about my own disappointment. Nevertheless I had devoted a considerable amount of anxious thought to it. If the funeral of Juanita's husband had been a hoax, his death must have been one too. Then, for all we knew to the contrary, he was still living! And in that case my marriage with her was impossible. I was as hopelessly cut off from her as if we had never met.

When I judged she would be able to see me, I went down and knocked at her cabin-door. She came out immediately and seated herself at the table.

"Juanita," I began, taking my place beside her, and holding her hand, "what can I say to comfort you after your disappointment?"

"Why do you speak of it--why do you say any more about it?" she cried fretfully. "My worst antic.i.p.ations have been realized--that's all! I might have known he would have fooled me. Yes, I repeat it, fooled me."

"But you were so certain he was dead!"

"I was certain I saw him lying dead in his bunk, if that's what you mean." Then with a sudden outburst of fury, "Marcos Veneda, as G.o.d is above me, if I can find you, I'll punish you for this!"