The Island of Gold Part 21

"'I have never known a quicker pa.s.sage than we had. The wind was fair all the way, and our little craft appeared to fly with it. But it fell dead calm about the lat.i.tude of 20 degrees south of the line. My only pa.s.sengers--in fact, it was they who had chartered the _Windward_ to take them to Monte Video--a lady and her daughter, began to be very uneasy now. They had heard so much about the fleetness of the _Windward_ that they never expected a hitch. No wonder they were uneasy. Their business in Monte Video was a matter of life or death.

The doctor there had a.s.sured them that if they were not out by a certain time, the husband and father would never again be seen by them alive.

"'But the calm was not of long duration. Worse was to come--a tornado burst upon us with awful fury, and all but sunk us. We were carried far to the west out of our course. Fierce gales succeeded the tempest; and when the wind once more sank to rest we found ourselves surrounded by a group of islands that, although I have sailed the South Pacific for many a long year, I had never seen before.

"'That the natives of the largest and most beautiful of these islands are savages and man-hunters I have not the slightest doubt. The king himself came off, evincing not the slightest fear of us; but both he and his people remained so strangely pacific that it excited our suspicions for a time. We were glad, however, to be able here to repair damages and to take on board fresh water; and the kindness of the natives was so marked that our suspicions were entirely lulled, and for days we lived almost among them, even going on sh.o.r.e unarmed in the most friendly way.

"'I must tell you, sir, that, owing to the heat and closeness of the atmosphere, a screen-berth or tent had been rigged for the ladies close to the bulwark on the port side, and almost abreast of the main-mast.

The first part of the night of the tenth was exceedingly dark, and it was also hot and sultry. The ladies had retired early, for a thunderstorm that had been threatening about sunset broke over us with tropical fury about ten by the clock, or four bells--the first watch.

"'And now, sir, comes the mystery. The moon rose at twelve and silvered all the sea, shedding its earth light upon the green-wooded hills of the mainland till everything looked ethereal. Not a sound was to be heard, except now and then the plaintive cry of a sea bird, and the dull, low moan of the breakers on the coral sand.

"'As was her custom just before turning in, the ladies' maid drew aside their curtain to see if they wanted anything, and to say good-night.

"'I was walking the quarterdeck smoking, when pale and scared she rushed toward me.

"'Oh!' she almost screamed, 'they are gone! The ladies have gone!'

"'No one thought of turning in that dreadful night; and when in the morning the sun, red and flaming, leapt out of the sea, arming a boat as well as I could, I rowed on sh.o.r.e and demanded audience of the king.

"'But we were not allowed to land. The savages had a.s.sumed a very different att.i.tude now, and a shower of spears was our welcome. One poor fellow was killed outright, another died of his wounds only an hour afterwards. In fact, we were beaten off; and in an hour's time, observing a whole fleet of boats coming off to attack our vessel, we were forced to hoist sail and fly.

"'That is my story, and a sad one it is. I was on my way to the nearest town to seek a.s.sistance, when our vessel was crushed in the ice and sank in less than twenty minutes, with all on board except those you have seen.'

"Smithson was silent now. With his chin resting on his hand he sat there looking downwards at the deck, but apparently seeing nothing. For many minutes not a word was spoken by any one. The vessel rose and fell on the long, rolling seas; there was the creak of the rudder chains; there was occasionally the flapping of a sail; all else was still.

"James Malone was the first to speak.

"'Charles Halcott,' he said--and I think I hear the earnest, manly tones of his voice at this moment--'Charles Halcott, we have a duty to perform, and it leads us to the northward and west.'

"I stood up now, and our hands met and clasped.

"'James Malone,' I replied, 'Heaven helping us, we will perform that duty faithfully and well.'

"'Amen, sir! Amen!'"

Book 2--CHAPTER SIX.

"O MY FRIEND, MY BROTHER," I CRY.

"That same forenoon," continued Halcott, "the wind went veering round to the southward and east. The sea was darkly, intensely blue all day.

The sky was intensely blue at night, and the stars so big and bright and near they seemed almost to touch the topmasts. But here and there in the darkness, on every side of us, loomed white icebergs like sheeted ghosts, and every now and then there rolled along our beam--thudding against the timbers as they swept aft--the smaller bergs or 'bilts' we could not avoid.

"James was on deck, and determined to remain there till morning, in order, as he said, to give me the quiet and rest my health so much required.

"In two days' time we had weathered the stormy Cape, bidden farewell to the ice, and, with every st.i.tch of canvas set which it was possible to carry safely, were sailing westward and north, away towards the distant islands of the South Pacific.

"In a few days we got into higher lat.i.tudes, and the weather became delightfully warm and pleasant. The sky was more than Italian in its clear and cloudless azure; the rippling waves were all a-sparkle with light; they kissed the bows of our bonnie barque, and came lapping and laughing aft along our counter, their merry voices seeming to talk to us and bid us welcome to these sunny seas.

"Birds, too, came wheeling around our ship--strange, swift gulls, the lonesome frigate-bird, and the wondrous albatross, king of storms, great eagle of the ocean wave.

"Had we not been upon the strange mission on which we were now bound, and the outcome of which we could not even guess, both James and I would have enjoyed this delightful cruise; for, like myself, he was every inch a sailor, and loved his ship as a landsman may love his bride.

"'In five days' time,' said Captain Smithson to me one forenoon, 'if it holds like this, we ought to reach the Unfortunate Islands.'

"'Is that what you call them, captain?' I said, smiling; 'well, my first mate and I mean to change their name.'

"'Heaven grant you may,' he answered. 'O sir, the loss of this yacht, clipper though she was, and a beauty to boot, is nothing to mourn for-- she was well insured; even the death of my poor men is but an accident that we sailors are liable to at any moment; but the fate of those two innocent ladies--the mother so good and gentle, the daughter so childlike and beautiful--is one that, if it is to remain a mystery, will cloud my whole life. Think of it, sir. The savages must have crept on board in the midst of the thick darkness and the storm, crept on board like wet and slimy snakes, gagged their poor victims, and borne them silently away--to what?'

"'It is all very terrible,' I said.

"'Well, now,' said James, 'it strikes me talkin' about it isn't goin' to help us. Charles Halcott, I served on board a man-o'-war for seven years.'

"'Yes, James.'

"'Well, sir, I know what they'd do now in a case like this.'

"'Yes, James.'

"'They'd muster their forces, and prepare for 'ventualities.'

"'You see, gentlemen,' he added, 'we may have a bit o' good, solid fightin' to do. Heaven knows that, if it would do any good, I'd gird up my loins and go all unarmed, save with the Word o' G.o.d--my mother's Bible--among those poor, benighted heathens, and try to bring 'em to their senses. But I fear that would do but little good. When we go among the more humble and simple savages of lonely islands in the sea, or on the mainland of Africa itself, our work o' conversion is easy, because the creatures have no form o' religion to place against the gospel. But these head-hunters--and I know them of old--have their own ghastly, blood-stained rites and sacrifices--I cannot call it religion, sir--and these they set up as an awful barrier against the glad tidings we fain would bring to their doors, to their lives.

"'No, gentlemen, we may have to crack skulls before we get the Word in.

But to save those helpless ladies Is a duty, a sacred duty we owe to our own white race, as well as to our own consciences, for we'd ne'er be happy if we didn't try.'

"'Heaven grant,' I said, 'they may still be alive!'

"'That we must find out,' said James. 'Now, sir, shall we call all hands, and see to rifles and ammunition?'

"James's suggestion was at once acted upon.

"The _Sea Flower_ was a very large barque, and once had been a full-rigged ship. And our hands were more numerous than are generally carried, for many were working their voyage out, and might have been called pa.s.sengers.

"So now forty bold fellows, including two strong and st.u.r.dy black men, and the negro boy we called the cook's mate, put in an appearance, and drew shyly aft. There were, in addition to these, Captain Smithson and his four men.

"But these latter we determined the savages must not see, else their suspicions would at once be raised, and, instead of our being able to act peacefully and by strategy, we should have at once to declare red-eyed war.

"'Will you speak first?' I said to Captain Smithson.

"Without a word he strode forward, and, when he held up his hand, the men came crowding round him.

"'Men of the _Sea Flower_!' he began, 'I am going to tell you a story.

It is short and simple, but also a very sad one. Maybe you know most of the outs and ins and particulars of it already. My men must have told you all about our voyage and our lady pa.s.sengers.'

"'Repeat, repeat!' cried the men; 'we would have it all again from your own lips, sir.'

"Briefly and pathetically Smithson did so, relating to them all the particulars we already know.

"'Men,' he continued, 'you are Christians, and you are Englishmen. It is on this latter fact I rely chiefly, in case we have to fight with the savages of those Unfortunate Islands. The elder of the two ladies we are going to try to save is English, though she married an American, though her home was on the Pacific slope, and her innocent and beautiful daughter was born in San Francisco. They are your country-people, then, as much as ours. But, apart from that, when I say they are women in bondage and distress, I have said enough, I know, to appeal to the brave heart of every Englishman who now stands before me.'