The Pirate Island Part 26

Lance found that they had come out on the eastern side of the island; and as the harbour lay on the south side he knew pretty well in which direction they ought to walk; they therefore at once set out at a brisk pace toward a large patch of forest fringing a hill at some distance in front of but a little to the south of them.

They had not gone very far before Lance, who was keeping a keen look-out for some familiar landmark, recognised a dip between the hills as the ravine up which they had pa.s.sed in the morning; and altering their course a little they came in about half an hour to the stream, which they crossed without difficulty, and then followed it down until they reached the pool in which the first discovery of gold had been made.

Thence their way was tolerably easy--though, in the darkness which had by this time closed down upon them, they went somewhat astray while pa.s.sing through the wood--and in another hour they found themselves once more safely within the shelter of Staunton Cottage, thoroughly tired-out with their long and adventurous day's ramble.

Their entrance was greeted with exclamations of mock horror at the length to which they had spun out the day's ramble; but Blanche's pale cheeks, draggled dress, and general "done-up" appearance speedily apprised her friends that a _contre-temps_ of some kind had occurred; and their jesting remarks were quickly exchanged for earnest and sympathetic inquiries as to what had gone wrong. Whereupon Lance-- having first suggested to his late companion the advisability of immediate retirement to her couch, and bespoken Mrs Staunton's kind services in the preparation of a cup of tea for each of the tired-out wanderers--proceeded to give a succinct account of their day's adventure, the recital of which elicited frequent exclamations of wonder, alarm, and admiration, the latter being vastly increased when he produced his valuable specimens, to which he had resolutely "stuck"

through it all notwithstanding that their weight had proved a serious enc.u.mbrance to him during his swim.

"Now," he said in conclusion, "the net result of the day's exploration amounts to this. We have discovered a mine of incalculable wealth.

What are we to do in the matter? There is so much gold there--in the cave, I mean--that a short period of resolute and well-directed labour will enable us to collect sufficient not only to fully recoup the underwriters for their loss through the burning of the _Galatea_, but also to make every individual among us enormously rich. Are we to let it lie there, and trust to the future for an opportunity to come back and fetch it, or shall we make an effort now to collect what will suffice us, and trust to chance for the opportunity to carry it off with us when we go?"

In answer to this, everybody declared at once without hesitation their opinion that an attempt ought to be made to collect and carry off the gold with them; Captain Staunton very sensibly remarking that if anything occurred to prevent the safe transport of their prize home they could _then_ organise an expedition for a second attempt; but that it would be folly to make a necessity of this if by some extra effort on their part the business could be managed without it.

This point being settled, the next question to be decided was--how they were to set about the collection of the precious metal; for it was obvious that any attempt to absent themselves from their daily attendance at the shipyard would not only excite suspicion, but it might also provoke a very unpleasant manifestation of active hostility on Ralli's part.

Here Violet Dudley came to the rescue with a very practical suggestion.

"If you, Lance," said she, "can contrive to mark the two pa.s.sages out of the great central cavern in such a manner that we women cannot possibly mistake one for the other, and so go astray, we might perhaps be able to collect the gold and convey it to a suitable spot for removal; and when enough has been gathered we can take our time about transporting it down here."

"An admirable suggestion, Miss Dudley!" said Captain Staunton. "That effectually disposes of one part of the difficulty. But it will never do to bring the gold here; we could not possibly convey it on board the schooner without detection, even if we were quite sure of the success of our plan for making our escape in her. Do you think, Evelin, the pirates have any knowledge of the existence of this cave of yours?"

"I am pretty certain they have not," was the reply. "There is no sign of any human foot having ever pa.s.sed over the ground before our own; and it is so eminently well adapted for a place of concealment for their booty--and, indeed, for themselves as well--in the event of the island ever being attacked, that I feel sure they would, had they known of it, have stocked it with provisions and in other ways have prepared it as a place of refuge. It was only by the merest accident that I discovered the spot to-day; and but for the fact that our search not only led us up to the head of the ravine but also actually caused me to scale the face of the rock, it would have remained undiscovered still. A man might stand within twenty feet of the entrance without suspecting its existence; and, unless he had occasion to scramble up the rock as I did, and in exactly the same place, he would never find it."

"Very well, then," said Captain Staunton, "what I propose is this.

Since the ladies are kindly disposed to give them we will thankfully accept their services to this extent. Let them collect the gold and convey it to the edge of the gulf or chasm which you so providentially escaped tumbling into to-day. Then we men must undertake the task of conveying it to the other side and stacking it up in a position from which we can easily remove it with the aid of a boat. If we succeed in securing the schooner, we shall simply have to call off the mouth of the cave and remove our booty in that way. Can anyone suggest anything better?"

No one could; it was therefore decided that the skipper's proposal should be adopted, especially as it left them free to alter their plans at any time, should circ.u.mstances seem to require it. This decision arrived at, the party retired for the night, most of them, it must be confessed, to dream of the wonderful cave and the equally wonderful wealth of which they had been talking.

The next day was spent by all hands, Dale included, at the shipyard.

This individual had, ever since poor Bob's accident, manifested a growing dissatisfaction with himself, and an increasing amount of shame at the selfishness which caused him to live a life of idleness and comparative ease, while every one of his companions, the ladies included, were doing all they could to aid in maturing the great plan of escape; and now at last shame at his unmanly conduct fairly overcame him, and on this particular morning he startled everybody by putting in an appearance at the same time as the rest of the male portion of the party, saying in explanation that henceforward he too should go daily to work, as he was quite sure he could be of a.s.sistance. He was, of course, a.s.sured that he undoubtedly _could_ be of very great use if he chose; and there the matter ended. But a rather unpleasant feeling was excited when Ralli, who was always promptly down at the beach to watch the departure of the working party, noticed and commented upon Dale's presence.

"Aha! my fine fellow," he remarked sneeringly, "so you have made up your mind to go to work at last, have you? That is very well, sare. You must surely have dream last night that I had my eye on you. You think, perhaps, I have not take notice; but _I have_; and if you had not gone to work to-day, I should have said to you, 'Look here, my good man, suppose you not work you not eat;' and I should have stopped your 'lowance. But you are going to work; so now that is all right."

It certainly served Dale right; but, all the same, it was a disagreeable sensation to the rest to feel that this sly Greek had been in all probability keeping a stealthy watch upon them and their movements.

They inwardly resolved to be very much more circ.u.mspect in their goings- out and in their comings-in for the future; and they lost no time either in communicating this resolve to each other.

All day long their thoughts were busy upon the subject of the gold mine; and by the time that they got back to the cottage that evening each man had an idea in connection with it to communicate to the others. They were unanimous upon one point, which was that--after Ralli's remark to Dale in the morning, and the _espionage_ which it seemed to suggest--it would be most unwise for any of the male portion of the party to visit the cave _during the day_. Henceforward their visits there would have to be as few and far between as possible, and such visits as were unavoidable must be made during the night. With the women it would, of course, be different. _They_ could now safely venture out every day, it was believed; and as the walk up the valley was the one which involved the least exertion, it would only appear natural that they should almost invariably take it. But, in order to disarm suspicion, in case anything of the kind happened to exist, it was deemed best that an occasional walk should be taken in some other direction until they could resume the road toward the ravine with the certainty that they had not been watched and followed.

It was further agreed all round that the task of _carrying_ the gold, when collected, over the most dangerous part of the path along the edge of the ravine was not to be thought of, especially as Captain Staunton had thought out a plan by which all danger might be completely avoided.

His idea was exceedingly simple, and consisted merely in the erection on each side of the chasm of a short stout pair of sheers connected together at their heads by a good strong sound piece of rope, having rove upon it a thimble with a pair of clip-hooks attached. The gold could then be put into a canvas bag suspended from the clip-hooks, and, with the aid of a hauling-line, hauled easily enough across the chasm to the other side.

These details agreed upon, they determined to proceed with their arrangements that same night. Accordingly, as soon as the evening meal was over, the men retired to their bunks for a few hours' sleep--all, that is to say, except Dale, who, quite unaccustomed to bodily labour, felt thoroughly exhausted with his day's work, and was therefore readily excused. He volunteered, however, to remain up on watch until all the lights in the pirates' quarter were extinguished, and then to take a good look round the settlement, and call the others when all was quiet; a raid upon the capstan-house being the first thing necessary to enable them to carry out their plans successfully.

The pirates, working hard all day in the open air, were, as a rule, tolerably early birds; and by eleven o'clock that night the place was wrapped in darkness and repose. Having thoroughly satisfied himself that this was the case, and that the coast was quite clear for his comrades, Dale roused the latter and then tumbled into his own berth with the comforting reflection that he had at last taken the right course, and done something to regain that respect from his companions which he was beginning to be acutely conscious of having forfeited.

Five minutes later four forms might have been seen--had anyone been on the look-out--stealing quietly across the open s.p.a.ce between Staunton Cottage and the capstan-house. Fortunately no one was on the look-out, and they reached the building undiscovered, ascended the ladder, and found themselves standing in the thick darkness which enshrouded the long loft-like apartment.

Here Lance promptly produced his box of matches, and, on striking a light, they were fortunate enough to discover hanging to a nail near the door a lantern ready trimmed. This they at once lighted, and, carefully masking it, proceeded to rummage the place for such things as would be likely to prove useful to them. The place was almost like a museum in the variety of its contents; and they were not long in confiscating a dozen fathoms of three-inch rope, the remains of a coil of ratline, a small ball of spun-yarn for seizings, a sledge-hammer, an axe apiece, a marline-spike, a few long spike-nails, which Lance decided would be capital tools for the ladies to use in picking out the nuggets, and a few other trifling matters. Then, hanging the lantern upon its nail once more, they extinguished it, and made the best of their way down the ladder again.

A pause of a minute or so to look round and a.s.sure themselves that no midnight prowler was in their vicinity, and they set off at a brisk pace up the valley, lighted on their way by the clear soft effulgence of the star-studded sky.

They were not long in reaching the shelter of the dense wood at the head of the valley; and once fairly through it, they laid down the bulk of their booty where they could easily find it again, and, returning to the wood, selected a couple of young pines, which they quickly felled. The branches were soon lopped off, after which they cut from the tall slender trunks four spars about ten feet in length to serve for sheers.

Shouldering these, they sought out the remainder of their belongings, and--by this time pretty heavily loaded--continued their way into and up the ravine, arriving at last, under Lance's guidance, at the great rock which veiled the entrance to the cavern.

Lance and Brook at once scrambled up to the narrow ledge before the entrance, taking with them the ratline and such other small matters as they could carry, while Captain Staunton and Rex remained below to "bend on" and send up the remainder. Many hands--especially if they be willing--make light work, and a quarter of an hour sufficed to transfer everything, themselves included, to the ledge. Torches, chopped out of the remainder of the pines, were then lighted, and, once more loading up their possessions, they plunged boldly into the cavern, Lance as pilot leading the way.

In about half an hour they found themselves standing in the great central hall or cavern, which, lighted up as it now was by the glare of four flaming torches, looked more bewilderingly beautiful than ever. A hurried glance round was, however, all that they would now spare themselves time to take, and then they at once set vigorously to work.

The first thing necessary was to mark in a legible manner--and in such a way that the mark could be identified in the darkness if need be--the inner extremity of the pa.s.sage through which they had just pa.s.sed. Rex and Brook undertook to do this; and as they had already agreed what the mark should be, these two began, with the aid of the sledge-hammer and a spike, to chip in the face of the rock a circular depression on the right-hand side of the pa.s.sage, at a height of about three feet from the ground, so that it could easily be found and identified in the dark by a mere touch of the hand. Leaving these two busily employed, Lance and Captain Staunton hurried away in search of the other pa.s.sage. They soon found an opening which proved to be the right one, though a third was afterwards found to exist further along the circular wall of the cavern.

The second, however, was the pa.s.sage they wanted; for, on going a short distance into it, Lance's and Blanche's footprints were distinctly traceable in a thin coating of fine dust which was met with. The ident.i.ty of the pa.s.sage being thus established, it was marked in a similar way to the other, but with a _cross_ instead of a circle. The marking of the two pa.s.sages proved to be a long and tedious job, owing to the hardness of the rock and the imperfect character of the tools, but it was done at last; and then they set out to execute the real task of their journey, namely, the erection of the sheers.

Now that they had lights the journey along the second pa.s.sage to the spot where the sheers were to be erected was accomplished in a trifle less than an hour; but a shudder ran through them all as, following the footprints, they saw that Blanche had twice or thrice walked for several yards on the extreme verge of the yawning chasm without being aware of it. And when at last they came to the narrowest part of the path--that which Blanche had traversed blindfold--they felt their very hair rising as they craned over the edge and heard the pebbles they threw in go bounding down until the sound of their ultimate splash in the water was so faint as to be hardly distinguishable. It was nervous work, the pa.s.sage along that narrow ledge, but it had to be done and they did it, hauling the poles across afterwards with the aid of the rope; and this part of the work successfully accomplished, the rest was not long in the doing; another hour saw both pairs of sheers erect, properly stayed, and the three-inch-rope bridge strained across, with the clip-hooks and hauling-line attached, and, in short, everything ready for the commencement of operations. The axes and other matters were then taken back to the great central chamber, where they _were_ left for future use, and the party made the best of their way into the open air, and thence homeward, arriving finally at Staunton Cottage about an hour before the great bell rang the summons for all hands to come forth to another day's labour.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

BOB WANTS TO BE RICH.

The problem as to the working of the gold mine being so far satisfactorily solved, it only remained to ascertain how the arrangements would answer when put into practice, and this the ladies did without loss of time. Their plan was that one of them should remain at home to look after Bob and little May, while the other two devoted a few hours of the day to the cave. As they took it in turns to remain at home in the capacity of nurse, each of them had two days in the cave to one at the cottage.

In the meantime, thanks to Lance's skill and the careful nursing of the ladies, Bob was making steady progress toward recovery, and within a month of the occurrence of his accident was beginning to ask how much longer he was going to be kept a prisoner.

He had been made aware of the gold discovery, by occasional references to it on the part of the others in his presence, but he had never heard the complete story; so one day, when it was Blanche's turn to remain at home, he asked her to give him the entire history; which she did.

He listened most attentively; and when the story was over remained silent, apparently wrapped in profound thought, for several minutes.

Looking up at last, with a flush of excitement on his face, he exclaimed--

"Why, there must be gold enough there to make millionaires of every one of us!"

"Yes," said Blanche, "I believe there is; at least Lan-- Mr Evelin says so, and I have no doubt he knows."

"Oh yes," exclaimed Bob enthusiastically, "_he_ knows. I believe he knows _everything_. And what a splendid fellow he is, isn't he, Miss Lascelles?"

This last with a sly twinkle in his roguish eye.

Blanche appeared to think it unnecessary to comment upon or reply to this remark; at all events she remained silent. But the window-curtain somehow needed adjustment just at that moment, and the haste with which she rose to attend to this little matter--or something else--caused a most lovely pink flush to overspread her cheeks. Bob saw it; perhaps he knew exactly what caused it; but if he did he was too much of a gentleman to show that he had noticed it. So when Blanche had adjusted the curtain to her satisfaction he remarked with a heavy sigh--

"Oh dear! I _wish_ I was well enough to be out and at work again. I long to have the handling of some of that gold."

"You must have patience, Robert," said Blanche. "The worst part of your illness is now over, and in due time you will no doubt be able to take your share of the work once more. But whether such is the case or not, you may rest satisfied that you will have your share of the gold.

Whatever there may be, whether it be much or little, I know the gentlemen have decided that it shall be divided equally among us, even to little May."

"I am sure it's very kind of them," said Bob with a touch of impatience in his tone; "but I want to be up and able to work at it--to gather it in and see it acc.u.mulate. I want to be a really _rich_ man."

"For shame, Robert," said Blanche, with just the faintest feeling of disgust--the first she had ever experienced toward Bob. "If you talk like that I shall leave you. I am disappointed in you; I should _never_ have suspected _you_ of being mercenary."

"Well, I am then," returned Bob, quite unabashed. "I _am_ mercenary, if that means being anxious to be rich. And so would you be, Miss Lascelles, if you had seen as much misery as I have; misery, too, which could be cured by the judicious expenditure of comparatively trifling sums of money. Only think how jolly it would be to go up to every poor hungry man, woman, and child you met, clap a sovereign in their hands, and say, 'There, go and enjoy the luxury of a good unstinted meal for once in your life.' But a rich man's power goes a great deal further than that. If ever _I_ am rich I shall not be satisfied with the bestowal of relief of such a very temporary kind as a solitary meal amounts to; I shall hunt up some really deserving cases and put them in the way of earning their own livings. _Real_ relief consists, to my mind, of nothing short of the stretching out of a helping hand and lifting some poor soul clean out of that miserable state where one's very existence depends upon the fluctuating charity of one's fellow- creatures. I've _seen_ it, and I know what it means. There's any amount of real misery to be met with in the neighbourhood of the Docks, ay, and all over London, for that matter, if one only chooses to keep one's eyes open. Of course I know that many of the beggars and match- sellers, and people of that kind are rank loafers, too idle to work even when they have the chance--people who spend in drink every penny that's given them--and in my opinion they richly deserve all the misery they suffer. But there are plenty of others who would be only too happy to work if they could; and _they_ are the people I should seek out and help, the poor women and children, you know. It makes me fairly sick, I give you my word, Miss Lascelles, when I think of the vast sums of money that are squandered every year in ways which leave nothing to show for the expenditure. Take gambling for instance. I've heard that thousands of pounds are lost every year at card-playing and horse-racing. The money only changes hands, I know; but what good does it do? If a man can afford to part with a thousand pounds in such a way, how much better it would be for him and everybody else if he would expend it in furnishing a certain number of persons with the means to earn their own living. I don't believe it's _right_ for people to squander and waste their money; I believe that money is given to people _in trust_, and that everybody will have to answer for the way in which they discharge that trust; don't you, Miss Lascelles?"