John Frewen, South Sea Whaler Part 14

"All hands aft!"

As the crew--who had been eagerly listening to Joe Manning's account of how Mrs. Marston had come to the island--crowded aft, the mate cried out--

"Boys, I want volunteers to man the starboard quarter-boat to bring Mrs.

Marston's baby on board."

Such a wild rush was made for the boat falls that the good-natured officer had to interfere and pick out eight men, and with Lilo as pilot and himself in charge, the boat left the ship amid further cheering.

In the cabin Mrs. Marston, now looking bright and happy, was telling her story to Frewen and Cheyne.

"And now," she said, as she concluded, "I am the very happiest woman in all the world, and oh! Captain Frewen, when I think I shall see Mrs.

Raymond within a few days, I feel almost hysterical. I'm sure I won't want to go to sleep for a week."

Frewen laughed as he looked at the flashed, beautiful face. "Well, I don't think you'll get too much sleep to-night, for the men are as much excited as any one aft, and I sent word that they can have a bit of fun and make as much noise as they like until eight bells, and drink your and your baby's health seven times."

"Ah! my poor little baby. How cruel of me to forget her! Oh, please let me go for her."

"You are too late," said Frewen with a smile, "the mate has just gone, and he'll bring her to you before another hour has pa.s.sed. He has taken your boy Lilo with him as pilot."

Mrs. Marston sighed contentedly, and then looked round at the familiar cabin.

"Oh, how I shall love to see Samatau again, Captain Frewen, and oh! how wonderful it is that the _Esmeralda_ of all ships should be the one to find me. If only Mrs. Raymond could know I was safe and on board talking to you of her!"

"She will indeed be yery happy; and yet, do you know, Mrs. Marston, that she always said you were not dead, although when month after month pa.s.sed by, and a most careful search had been made of all the islands within a radius of six hundred miles, and no trace of the _Lupetea_ was found, Mr. Raymond himself lost all hope."

"How long was it before Mr. Raymond knew of what had occurred on board that night off Lotofanga?" she asked.

"Mrs. Raymond herself told him on the following afternoon, when, to his astonishment, she arrived at Samatau in a native beat. It seems that after Hutton landed them--she, little Loise, and Olivee--on the reef, they were met by a party of natives who were returning from a fishing excursion. These people at once took them to the village, where, of course, they were very kindly treated.

"Mrs. Raymond, who was half mad with anxiety for you, asked the chief to provide her with a boat to return to Samatau and tell her husband of what had happened. They left after an hour's rest and almost foundered in the same squall which overtook the _Lupetea_. However, they reached Samatau a little before sunset. Raymond at once sent Meredith and Rudd to Apia to charter two or even three local schooners to sail in search of the _Lupetea_, and for over a month whilst I was there a most unremitting search was kept up, and letters were sent all over the Pacific asking the traders at the various islands to keep a good look-out either for the schooner or any wreckage which might come ash.o.r.e.

"I arrived at Samatau in the _Esmeralda_ about a fortnight after Villari left there, and found Mrs. Raymond alone and distracted with fear for your safety. During the following week, one of the schooners which were out searching for you returned. Raymond was on board. He had been searching through the windward islands of the Fiji Group, but without of course finding a trace of the missing vessel. On the way back, though, they spoke a Tahitian barque, whose captain told them that the bodies of Hutton and the four men who were with him had been found on the reef at Savai'i a few days after the scoundrels had put Mrs. Raymond ash.o.r.e at Lotofanga. The boat had evidently been driven ash.o.r.e during the stormy weather which prevailed for three or four days afterwards.

"After remaining ash.o.r.e for a day only, Raymond again sailed--this time to make a search among the Friendly Islands; and I, with Mr. Rudd and Overseer Lorimer to a.s.sist me, sailed for the Solomon Group. We decided, instead of proceeding direct to the Solomons for our cargo of black humanity, to first cruise through the New Hebrides Group, in the hope we might learn something of the _Lupetea_."

"It makes me feel as if I were a real missing princess, Captain Frewen."

"So you were--until to-night. Well, from the New Hebrides we went north to the Solomons, where we were singularly fortunate in getting five hundred natives in a few weeks without any trouble. I landed them at Samatau without losing a single man, and they are now working on the new plantation as happy as sand-boys.

"Raymond was at home when I returned, but there was still one vessel away looking for you--the cutter _Alrema and Niya_--and in fact we long since decided not to entirely abandon the search for a full year.

"I left on a second trip for the Solomons just nine days ago, and we sighted this island early this morning. I did not think that we should hear anything of the _Lupetea_ so far to the westward--over a thousand miles from Samoa--but as three of our coloured crew are down with fever, I decided to anchor, leave them here in care of the natives, and also find out if any wreckage had been seen. We could not see any signs of houses on this side of the island, but did see a man making gestures to the ship from the reef; however, as I did not intend to go ash.o.r.e until the morning, we did not lower a boat. You can imagine our surprise when the glare of a blue light was seen."

"Mate's boat is alongside, sir," announced the bos'un.

And in a few minutes the smiling Serena entered the cabin and placed little Marie in her mother's arms.

Shortly after dawn the merry click of the windla.s.s pawls told Mrs.

Marston that the _Esmeralda_ was getting underweigh again for Samoa--for the projected voyage to the Solomon Islands was of course abandoned.

Old Manning and his stalwart sons came off to say goodbye, and at Mrs.

Marston's earnest request the trader consented to accept from her some hundreds of pounds' worth of trade goods from the well-filled storeroom of the _Esmeralda_.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Marston, and G.o.d bless you and the little one, and give you all a safe pa.s.sage to Samoa," he cried, as he descended the side into his boat.

For many hours she remained on deck watching the green little island as it sunk astern, and thinking of the kindly-hearted old trader who had so cheered her by his simple piety and un.o.btrusive goodness. Then her thoughts turned joyfully to home--for the Raymonds' house was home to her--and she sighed contentedly as the gallant _Esmeralda_, with every st.i.tch of canvas that could be set, slipped gracefully over the blue Pacific on an east-south-east course, for it was the month of November, and light westerly winds had set in.

Two weeks on such a happy ship soon pa.s.sed away, and then early one morning the grey dome of Mount Tofua stood out from the mantle of mist which hid its verdant sides; and ere the sun had dried the heavy night dews on the gaily-coloured crotons and waving pampas gra.s.s which grew just above the beach, the brave ship dropped anchor once more in Samatau Bay amidst a scene of the wildest confusion. For Raymond, as he had stood on the verandah with his wife, watching her sailing in, and wondering what had brought back Frewen so soon, saw this signal flying from her spanker gaff.

O W S V

B R C

"What does it mean, Tom?" "Found. All well!" he shouted, and pitching his telescope clean over the tops of the wild orange-tree in front of the house, he rushed down to the beach, crying out the news as he ran.

Boats, canoes, and _taumualuas_ by the score, all crowded with natives, who were shouting themselves hoa.r.s.e, paddled furiously off to the ship; and ere her cable rattled through the hawse-pipe and the heavy anchor plunged down to its coral bed, her decks were filled with people, and Raymond, followed by the old chief Malie, was shaking hands warmly with "the missing princess" and her rescuer.

It is night at Samatau, and the two ladies are sitting on the verandah.

The house is very quiet.

"Amy?"

"Yes, Marie, dear."

"Tom was asking me this morning if you have yet made up your mind to go on building that house."

"Oh, dear, Marie. I have hardly given it a thought since I came back--and I've only been back a week!"

"Amy?"

"Marie?"

"I suppose, dear, that Captain Frewen won't give up the _Esmeralda_ altogether when he goes to America to see his people. He will come back, will he not?"

Mrs. Marston blushed. "I--I think so, dear. Come inside, and I'll tell you."

THE END