The Island Treasure, or The Black Man's Ghost, by John Conroy Hutcheson. 

________________________________________________________________________Starting with excuses, this book was rather hard to transcribe todigital format. It was unevenly printed on a rather rough paper, sothat many words were hard to read, even to the naked eye. Several ofthe characters in the book spoke in their own dialect or with a heavyforeign accent, so that many of the words in the book were not words inthe English language. And if that were not all the copy used wassomewhat spotted. But we seem to have come though those trials, and wepresent a very readable book. 

Another strange matter with the book was that the title on the cover, onthe title page, and at the start of the first chapter was "The IslandTreasure", while thereafter every even-numbered page is headed "TheBlack Man's Ghost", which is the title under which the book wascopyrighted. 

The story is told from the viewpoint of a young cabin-boy, who had runaway to sea from a good vicarage home. There is a most unpleasantcaptain, from the American "Down-East". The first-mate is pretty nastytoo, while the second-mate has a very strong Danish accent, but is agood man, as is the ship's carpenter. The ship's cook, a black man fromJamaica, is the protagonist, the ghost. 

The ship is wrecked intact on Abingdon Island in the Galapagos, beingcarried ashore by a tsunami. There is a lot of treasure on the island, dating from the buccaneers' time. We will take you no further into thestory, but it is well told, and makes a good read and a good listen. 

________________________________________________________________________THE ISLAND TREASURE, OR THE BLACK MAN'S GHOST, BY JOHN CONROY HUTCHESON. 

CHAPTER ONE. 

OFF THE TUSKAR LIGHT. 

"All hands take in sail!"

"Stand by y'r tops'l halliards!"

"Let go!"

Sharply shouted out in quick succession came these orders from CaptainSnaggs, the hoarse words of command ringing through the ship fore andaft, and making even the ringbolts in the deck jingle--albeit they wereuttered in a sort of drawling voice, that had a strong nasal twang, asif the skipper made as much use of his nose as of his mouth in speaking. This impression his thin and, now, tightly compressed lips tended toconfirm; while his hard, angular features and long, pointed, sallowface, closely shaven, saving as to the projecting chin, which asandy-coloured billy-goat beard made project all the more, gave him theappearance of a man who had a will of his own, aye, and a temper of hisown, too, should anyone attempt to smooth him down the wrong way, or, insea parlance, "run foul of his hawse!"

Captain Snaggs did not look particularly amiable at the present moment. 

Standing by the break of the poop, with his lean, lanky body half bentover the rail, he was keeping one eye out to windward, whence he hadjust caught sight in time of the coming squall, looking down below thewhile at the hands in the waist jumping briskly to their stations andcasting off the halliards with a will, almost before the last echo ofhis shout `let go!' had ceased to roar in their ears; and yet thecaptain's gaze seemed to gleam beyond these, over their heads and awayforwards, to where Jan Steenbock, the second-mate, a dark-haired Dane, was engaged rousing out the port watch, banging away at the fo'c's'lehatchway and likewise shouting, in feeble imitation of the skipper'sroar, --

"All ha-ands, ahoy! Doomble oop, my mans, and take in ze sail! Doombleoop!"

But the men, who had only been relieved a short time before by thestarboard watch, and had gone below for their dinner when `eight bells'were struck, seemed rather loth at turning out again so soon for duty, the more especially as their caterer had just brought from the cook'sgalley the mess kid, full of some savoury compound, the appetising odourof which filled the air, and, being wafted upwards from below, made eventhe swarthy second-mate feel hungry, as he peered down the hatchway andcalled out to the laggards to come on deck. 

"It vas goot, ja, " murmured Jan Steenbock to himself, wiping hiswatering mouth with the back of his jacket sleeve and sniffing up aprolonged sniff of the odorous stew. "It vas goot, ja, and hart to leafze groob; but ze sheeps cannot wait, my mans; zo doomble oop dere!Doomble oop!"

Captain Snaggs, however, his watchful weather eye and quick intelligencetaking in everything at a glance, liked the second-mate's slowness ofspeech and action as little as he relished the men's evident reluctanceat hurrying up again on deck; for, although barely a second or two hadelapsed from his first order to the crew, he grew as angry as if it hadbeen a "month of Sundays, " his sallow face flushing with red streaks andhis sandy billy-goat beard bristling like wire, every hair on end, justas a cat's tail swells at the sight of a strange dog in its immediatevicinity when it puts up its back. 

"Avast thaar, ye durned fule!" he screamed in his passion, dancing aboutthe poop and bringing his fist down with a resounding thump on the brassrail, as if the inanimate material represented for the nonce the back ofthe mate, whom he longed to belabour. "Guess one'd think ye wer coaxin'a lot o' wummen folk to come to a prayer-meetin'! Why don't ye go downin the fo'c's'le an' drive 'em up, if they won't come on deck whenthey're hailed? Below thaar, d'ye haar?--all hands reef tops'ls!"

This shout, which the captain yelled out in a voice of thunder, finallyfetched the dawdlers on deck, first one and then another crawling up thehatchway with lingering feet, in that half-hearted, dilatory, aggravating way that sailors--and some shore people, too for thatmatter--know well how to put on when setting to a task that runs againsttheir grain and which they do not relish; though they can be spryenough, and with ten times the smartness of any landsmen, whencheerfully disposed for the work they have in hand, or in the face ofsome real emergency or imminent peril, forgetting then their pastgrievances, and buckling to the job right manfully, in true `shellback'fashion, as if many-handed, like Briareus, with every hand a dozenfingers on it, and each finger a hook!

So it could be seen now. 

The _Denver City_, a ship-rigged vessel of about thirteen hundred tonsburthen, bound from Liverpool to San Francisco with a general cargo, hadbeen two days out from the Mersey, battling against bad weather all theway from the start, with a foul wind, that shifted from the west tosouth-west and back again to the west, dead in her teeth, as she essayedto shape her course down Saint George's Channel to the Atlantic. 

First, beating to the westward with the ebb tide, so as to give GreatOrme's Head a wide berth, and then making a short board south when shehad cleared Anglesey; what with the currents and the thick fog, accompanied with driving rain, that she met on nearing the Welsh coast, she nearly came to grief on the Skerries, the water shoaling rapidly onthe lead being hove, shortly before the bright fixed light showing abovethe red on the Platters rocks loomed close in on the starboard bow. This made it a case of 'bout ship at once, Captain Snaggs thenceforthhugging the Irish side of the channel way and keeping it well on boardon the port tack; and so on this second morning after leaving Liverpool, the ship was some six miles south of the Tuskar Light, with aforty-fathom bottom under her and the wind still to the southward andwestward, right ahead of her true course, but shifting and veering fromone point to another, and with a sudden sharp squall coming every nowand then, by way of a change, to increase the labour of the men, alreadypretty well worn out by forty-eight hours tacking to and fro in thecaptain's endeavours to beat to windward in the face of the foulweather. 

As the _Denver City_, too, reached the more open seaway, the water gotrougher, a northern stream setting up the Irish Sea from Scilly meetingthe incoming tide round Carnsore Point, and causing a nasty choppingsea; which, save in the sullen green hollows of the waves, was dead andlead-coloured as far as the eye could reach--as leaden, indeed, as theheavy grey sky overhead, where some fleecy floating clouds of lighterwrack, rapidly drifting across the darker background that lined thehorizon all round, made the latter of a deeper tone by contrast, besidesacting as the _avant courier_ of a fresh squall--the wind just thentearing and shrieking through the rigging in short angry gusts and thensighing as it wailed away to leeward, like the spirit of some lostmariner chaunting the requiem of those drowned in the remorseless deep!

When the port watch had gone below at `eight bells, ' as mentionedbefore, to have their dinner, the weather had looked a little brighter, a small patch of blue sky, not quite as big as the Dutchman's proverbialpair of breeches, showing right overhead at the zenith as the ship'sbell struck the midday hour, giving a slight promise of better things tocome; and so, as Captain Snaggs had been trying to `carry on' all hecould from the time the vessel left the Mersey, working the hands todeath, as they imagined, unnecessarily in tacking and beating about inhis attempt to make a fair wind out of a foul one, instead of waitingmore sensibly for a more favourable breeze, such as might reasonably beexpected in another day or two at most--judging by those signs sailorsknow so well, as do farmers, but which are inexplainable according toany natural meteorological laws--the hands now thought, on being sosuddenly summoned again on deck, and forced to leave their untasted mealjust as they were in the very act, so to speak, of putting it into theirmouths, and with its tantalising taste and smell vexing them all themore, that the `old man' only roused them out again from sheer maliceand devilry, to make another fresh tack or short board, with the objectof `hazing' or driving them, as only slaves and sailors can be driven inthese days by a brutal captain and hard taskmaster!

This it was that made them loth to leave their snug and warm fo'c's'le, filled as it was with the grateful odour of the appetising lobscousewhich Sam Jedfoot, the negro cook, a great favourite with the crew byreason of his careful attention to their creature comforts, had sothoughtfully compounded for them; and thus it was that they crawled upthe hatchway from below so laggardly, in response to the second-mate'spleading order and Captain Snaggs second stentorian hail, as if theywere ascending a mountain, and each man had a couple of half-hundredweights tied to his legs, so as to make his movements the slower. 

"Hoo-ry oop, mans!" cried the second-mate, in his queer foreign lingo. "Hoo-ry oop, or you vill have ze skipper after yous! He vas look as ifhe vas comin' down ze poop ladder joost now!"

"Durn the skipper! He ain't got no more feelin' in his old carkiss thana Rock Island clam!" muttered the leading man of the disturbed watch, ashe stepped out over the coaming of the hatchway on to the deck, asleisurely as if he were executing a step in the sword dance; but, thenext moment, as his eye took in the position of the ship and the scenearound, the wind catching him at the moment, and almost knocking himbackwards down the hatchway, as it met him full butt, he made a dash forthe weather rigging, shouting out to his companions behind, who werecoming up out of the fo'c's'le just as slowly as he had done: "Lookalive, mates! Ther's a reg'lar screamer blowin' up, an' no mistake. We'll be took aback, if we don't get in our rags in time. Look smart;an' let's show the skipper how spry we ken be when we chooses!"

The captain, or `skipper', soon supplemented this advice by another ofhis roaring commands, yelled out at a pitch of voice that defied alikethe shriek of the wind, and the noise of the sea, and the slatting ofthe huge topsails as they bellied out into balloons one moment and thenflapped back again with a bang against the swaying masts, that quiveredagain and again with the shock, as if the next blow would knock them outof the ship. 

"Forrud there! Away aloft, ye lazy skunks!" cried Captain Snaggs, whenhe saw the watch at last turn out, gripping the brass poop rail in frontof him with both hands, so as to steady himself and prevent his taking aheader into the waist below, as he seemed to be on the point of doingevery minute, in his excitement. "Lay out, thaar, on the yards, yeskulking lubbers! Lay out, thaar, d'ye hear? Thaar's no time to lose!Sharp's the word an' quick the motion!"

The starboard watch, which had been waiting for the others, at oncerounded the weather braces, so as to take the wind out of the sails asthe men raced aloft, each anxious now to be first out on the yard; and, the reef tackle being hauled out, the spilling lines were clutched holdof, and the heavy folds of the canvas gathered up, the men at theyard-arms seeing to the earring being clear and ready for passing, withthe hands facing to leeward, so as to lighten the sail and assist theweather earring being hauled out, as they held the reef-line, and againfacing to windward and lightening the sail there in the same fashion, soas to haul out the lee-earring before the signal was given by those outat the end of the yard-arms to "toggle away!"

It was risky work, especially as the ship was rather shorthanded, toattempt reefing the three topsails all at once, but the job was at lastaccomplished to the captain's apparent satisfaction, for he sang out forthem to come down from aloft; when, the topsail halliards being broughtto the capstan, the yards were bowsed again, the slack of the ropescoiled down, and everything made comfortable. 

Captain Snaggs, however, had not done with them yet. 

"Clew up an' furl the mainsail!"

"Man the jib down-haul!"

"Brail up the spanker!"

He shouted out these several orders as quickly as he could bawl them, the creaking of the cordage and rattling of the clew-garnet blocksforming a fitting accompaniment to his twangy voice; while the plaintive`Yo--ho--hoy--e! Yo--ho--hai--e!' of the men, as they hauled upon theclewlines and leech and buntlines of the heavy main course, chimed inmusically with the wash of the waves as they broke over the bows, dashing high over the yard-arms in a cataract of spray, and wetting tothe skin those out on the fo'c's'le furling the jib--these having thebenefit also of a second bath below the surface as well, when the shipdived under as they got on to the footrope of the jib-boom, plungingthem into the water up to their middles and more. 

"I guess, we're going to hev it rougher yet, " said the captainpresently, when the second-mate came aft, after seeing all snug forward, to ask whether he might now dismiss the port watch to their long delayeddinner. "Thet thaar squall wer a buster, but thaar's worse comin', tomy reck'nin'. We'd best take another reef in them topsails an' hev onein the foresail, too. "

"Verra goot, sir!" replied Jan Steenbock, the mate, respectfully, as hemade his way forward again to where the men were waiting, anxious to gobelow to their lobscouse--cold, alas! by now. "Verra goot!"

Captain Snaggs smiled contemptuously after him, and then broke into alaugh, which was shared in by the first-mate, an American like himself, but one of a stouter and coarser stamp and build, albeit he boasted of amore romantic sort of name--Jefferson Flinders, to wit. This worthy nowsniggering in sympathy, as he came up the after companion and took hisplace by the captain's side, having been roused out before his time bythe commotion on deck. 

"A rum coon thet, sir, " said he to the captain, in response to hislaugh. "He'll be the death of me some day, I reckon, with thet durned`verra goot!' of his'n, you bet, sir!"

"We've a rum lot o' hands altogither aboard, Flinders--chaps ez thinksthey hev only come to sea to eat an' enj'y themselves, an' don't want towork fur thaar grub; but, I guess I'll haze' 'em, Flinders, I'll haze''em!" snapped out Captain Snaggs, in reply, his wiry billy-goat beardbristling again as he yelled out in a louder tone, --"Forrud thaar!Mister Steenbock; what air ye about, man--didn't I tell ye I wantanother reef taken in them topsails? Away aloft with ye agen; lay outthaar, an' look spry about it!"

The halliards were therefore again let go, and the same performance gonethrough as before, with the addition of the men having to go up on thefore yard after they had finished with the topsails, and take a reef aswell in the foresail--another piece of touch work. 

As the ship was then found not to steer so well close-hauled, withoutany headsail, on account of the jib being lowered down, the foretopmoststaysail was hoisted in its place and the bunt of the spanker loosened, to show a sort of `goose-wing' aft, --this little additional fore and aftsail now giving her just the steadying power she wanted for her helm, and enabling her to lie a bit closer to the wind. 

"Thet will do, the port watch!" cried Captain Snaggs at length, and themen were scampering back to the fo'c's'le in high glee, glad of beingreleased at last, when, as if he'd only been playing with them--as a catplays with a mouse--he arrested their rush below with another shout, --

"Belay thaar! All hands 'bout ship!"

"Ha! ha!" sniggered Jefferson Flinders, the first-mate, behind him, enjoying the joke amazingly; "guess ye had 'em thaar, cap. Them coons'll catch a weasel asleep, I reckon, when they try working a traverse ona man of the grit of yourn!"

"Bully for ye, " echoed the captain, grinning and showing his yellowteeth, while his pointed beard wagged out. "Say, Flinders, I'll fix'em!"

The men, though, did not relish the joke; nor did they think it such anamusing one! It might, certainly, have been necessary to put the shipabout, for the leeway she was making, coupled with the set of the crosstides, was causing her to hug the Irish coast too much, so that she wasnow bearing right on to the Saltee rocks, the vessel having covered theintervening twenty odd miles of water that lay between the Tuskar andthis point since the hands had been first called up; but Captain Snaggscould have done this just as well off-hand after the topsails werereefed, without waiting until the men were ready to go below againbefore giving the fresh order. 

It was only part and parcel of his tyrannical nature, that never seemedsatisfied unless when giving pain and annoyance to those forced to serveunder him. 

And so, the men grumbled audibly as they came back once more from thefore hatch, manning the sheets and braces, when the skipper's warningshout was heard, --

"Helm's a-lee!"

"Tacks and sheets!" the next order followed; when the head sails wereflattened and the ship brought up to the wind. 

Then came, --

"Mainsail haul!" and the ponderous yards were swung round as the _DenverCity_ payed off handsomely, close-reefed as she was, on the starboardtack, shaping a course at a good right angle to her former one, so asnow to weather the Smalls light, off the Pembroke shore, at the entranceto the Bristol Channel--a course that required a stiff lee helm, andplenty of it, as the wind had now fetched round almost due south, wellbefore the beam. 

"Thet will do, the watch!" then called out Captain Snaggs once more; butthe men were not to be taken in a second time, and waited, grouped aboutthe hatchway, to see whether he would call them back again. 

He did not, however. 

So, their stopping there made him angry. 

"Thet'll do, the watch! D'ye haar?" he shouted a second time. "If yewant to go below fur y'r grub, ye'd better go now, fur, I guess I won'tgive ye another chance, an' yer spell in the fo'c's'le 'll soon be up. Be off with ye sharp, ye durned skallawags, or I'll send ye up agen toreef tops'ls!"

This started them, and they disappeared down the hatchway in `a brace ofshakes, ' the skipper turning round to the first-mate then, as if waitingfor him to suggest some further little amusement for the afternoon. 

Mr Jefferson Flinders was quite equal to the occasion. 

"Didn't you call all hands, cap, jist now?" asked he, with suspiciousinnocence; "I thought I kinder heerd you. "

"Guess so, " replied Captain Snaggs. "Why?"

"'Cause I didn't see thet precious nigger rascal, Sam Jedfoot. Thestooard an' thet swab of a Britisher boy ye fetched aboard at Liverpoolwer thaar, sir, an' every blessed soul on deck but thet lazy nigger. "

"'Deed, an' so it wer, I guess, " said the captain musingly, as if tohimself; and then he slipped back from the binnacle, where he had beentalking to the first-mate, to his original position on the break of thepoop, when, catching hold of the brass rail as before, he leant over andshouted forward at the pitch of his twangy voice; "Sam Jedfoot, yedurned nigger, ahoy thaar! Show a leg, or ye'll lump it!"

CHAPTER TWO. 

"A GEN'LEMAN OB COLOUR. "

"Thet swab of a Britisher boy, " so opprobriously designated by thefirst-mate as having been "fetched aboard at Liverpool" by the captain, as if he were the sweepings of the gutter, was really no less apersonage, if I may be allowed to use that term, than myself, thenarrator of the following strange story. 

I happened, as luck would have it, to be standing just at his elbow whenhe made the remark, having come up the companion way from the cabinbelow the poop by the steward's directions to tell Captain Snaggs thathis dinner was ready; and, as may be imagined, I was mightily pleasedwith his complimentary language, although wondering that he gave me thecredit of pulling and hauling with the others in taking in sail on `allhands' being summoned, when every idler on board ship, as I had learntin a previous voyage to New York and back, is supposed to help the restof the crew; and so, of course, I lent my little aid too, doing as muchas a boy could, as Mr Jefferson Flinders, the captain's toady andfellow bully, although he only played second fiddle in that line whenthe skipper was on deck, could have seen for himself with half an eye. 

Oh, yes, I heard what he said; and I believe he not only called me a`swab, ' but an `ugly' one as well!

Indeed, I heard everything, pretty nearly everything, that is, and wasable to see most of what occurred from the time when we were off theTuskar Light until Captain Snaggs hailed the cook to come aft; for I wasin and out of the cuddy and under the break of the poop all the while, except now that I went up the companion, and stood by the booby hatchover it, waiting for the captain to turn round, so that I could give himthe steward's message. 

But the skipper wasn't in any hurry to turn round at first, stickingthere grasping the rail tightly, and working himself up into a regularfury because poor Sam didn't jump out of his galley at the sound of hisvoice and answer his summons; when, if he'd reflected, he would haveknown that the wind carried away his threatening words to leeward, preventing them from reaching the negro cook's ears, albeit these wereas big and broad as the bell-mouth of a speaking trumpet. 

The captain, though, did not think of this. 

Not he; and, naturally, not recognising the reason for the negro'snon-appearance immediately on his calling him, he became all the moreangry and excited. 

"Sam--Sambo--Sam Jedfoot!" he roared, raising his shrill voice a pitchhigher in each case, as he thus successively rang the changes on thecook's name in his queer way, making the first-mate snigger behind him, and even I could not help laughing, the captain spoke so funnily throughhis nose; while Jan Steenbock, the second-mate, who was standing by themainmast bitts, I could see, had a grim smile on his face. "Sam, yescoundrel! Come aft hyar at once when I hail, or by thunder I'llkeelhaul ye, ez safe ez my name's Ephraim O Snaggs!"

The bathos of this peroration was too much for Jan Steenbock, and heburst into a loud "ho! ho!"

It was the last straw that broke the camel's--I mean the captain's--back, and he got as mad as a hatter. 

"Ye durned Dutch skunk!" he flamed out, the red veins cross-hatching hisface in his passion. "What the blue blazes d'ye mean by makin' fun o'yer cap'n? Snakes an' alligators, I'll disrate ye--I'll send ye forrud;I'll--I'll--"

"I vas not means no harms, cap'n, " apologised the other, on the skipperstopping in his outburst for want of breath, the words appearing to bechoking in his mouth, coming out too quick for utterance, so that theyall got jumbled together. "I vas hab no bad respect of yous, sare. Ivas only lafs mit meinselfs. "

"Then I'd kinder hev ye ter know, Mister Steenbock, thet ye'd better notlaugh with yerself nor nary a body else when I'm on the poop, " retortedCaptain Snaggs, not believing a word of this lucid explanation, althoughhe did not seemingly like to tell him so, and quarrel right out. "Iguess though, as ye're so precious merry, ye might hev a pull taken atthet lee mainbrace. If ye wer anything of a seaman ye'd hev done itwithout me telling ye!"

Having administered this `flea in the ear' to the second-mate, thecaptain turned round abruptly on his heel, with a muttered objurgation, having some reference to Jan Steenbock's eyes; and, as he looked aft, hecaught sight of me. 

"Jee-rusalem, b'y!" he exclaimed; "what in thunder air ye doin' hyar?The poop ain't no place fur cabin b'ys, I reckon. "

"The steward sent me up, sir, " I replied, trembling; for he looked asfierce as if he could eat me without salt, his bristly beard stickingout and wagging in the air, as he spoke in that snarling voice of his. "He t-t-old me to tell you, sir, that dinner was ready in the cabin, sir. "

The ship at the moment giving a lurch to port, as a fresh blast of windcaught her weather side, sending a big sea over the waist, I rolled upagainst him as I answered his question. 

"Then ye ken skoot right away an' tell him thet I guess I'm boss hyar, "cried he, after shoving me back with an oath against the cabin skylight, which I almost tumbled over. "I'm goin' to hev my meals when I chooses, I say, younker, an' not when anybody else likes, stooard or no stooard!"

With this return message, I retreated nimbly down the companion, glad toget out of his reach, he looked so savage when he shoved me; but I hadhardly descended two steps, when he called after me with a loud shout, that echoed down the passage way and made my flesh creep. 

"B'y!" he yelled, making a jump, as if to grab hold of me. "B'y!"

"Ye-e-e-yes, sir, " I stammered, in mortal terror, looking back up thehatchway, though too frightened to return to nearer quarters with himagain. "Ye-e-yes, sir. "

My alarm amused him. It was a sort of implied compliment to hisbullying powers; and he laughed harshly, nodding his head. 

"What in thunder air ye afeard on?" he said. "I ain't goin' to kill yethis time, b'y; it's another cuss I'm after, a kinder sort o' skunk of adifferent colour, I guess. Look hyar, b'y, jest ye make tracks forrudwhen ye've told the stooard what I've said, an' see whether thettarnation black nigger's asleep in his galley, or what. Won't I givehim fits when I catch him, thet's all--thaar, be off with ye, smart!"

I did not need any second intimation to go, but plunged down thecompanion stairway as if a wild bull was after me; and, telling theWelshman, Morris Jones, who acted as steward, a poor, cowardly sort ofcreature, that the captain did not want his dinner yet, hastened throughthe cuddy, and on to the maindeck beyond, coming out by the sliding doorunder the break of the poop, which was the `back entrance, ' as it were, to the cabin. 

The ship being close-hauled, heeled over so much to leeward that herport side was almost under water, the waves that broke over thefo'c's'le running down in a cataract into the waist and forming aregular river inside the bulwarks, right flush up with the top of thegunwale, which slushed backwards and forwards as the vessel pitched androse again, one moment with her bows in the air, and the next diving hernose deep down into the rocking seas; so, I had to scramble alongtowards the galley on the weather side, holding on to every rope I couldclutch to secure my footing, the deck slanting so much from the _DenverCity_ laying over to the wind, even under the reduced canvas she hadspread. To add to my difficulties, also, in getting forwards, thesheets of foam and spindrift were carried along by the fierce gusts--which came now and again between the lulls, when it blew more steadily, cutting off the tops of the billows and hurling the spray over themainyard--drenched me almost to the skin before I arrived within hail ofthe fo'c's'le. 

However, I reached the galley all right at last, if dripping; when, as Ilooked in over the half-door that barred all admittance to the cook'sdomain except to a privileged few, what did I see but Sam Jedfootsitting down quite cosily in front of a blazing fire he had made upunder the coppers containing the men's tea, which would be served outbye and bye at `four bells', enjoying himself as comfortably as youplease, and actually playing the banjo--just as if he had nothing elseto do, and there was no such person as Captain Snaggs in existence!

He had his back turned to me, and so could not notice that I was there, listening to him as he twanged the strings of the instrument and struckup that `tink-a-tink a tong-tong' accompaniment familiar to allacquainted with the Christy Minstrels, the cook also humming awayserenely to himself an old ditty dear to the darkey's heart, and which Ihad heard the negroes often sing when I was over in New York, on theprevious voyage I had taken a few months before, to which I have alreadyalluded--when I ran away to sea, and shipped as a cabin boy on board oneof the Liverpool liners, occupying a similar position to that I now heldin the _Denver City_. 

This was the song the cook chaunted, with that sad intonation of voicefor which, somehow or other, the light-hearted African race always seemto have such a strange predilection. Sam touching the strings of thebanjo in harmonious chords to a sort of running arpeggio movement:--

 "Oh, down in Alabama, 'fore I wer sot free, I lubbed a p'ooty yaller girl, an' fought dat she lubbed me; But she am proob unconstant, an' leff me hyar to tell How my pore hart am' breakin' fo' croo-el Nancy Bell!"

He wound up with a resounding "twang" at the end of the bar, beforegiving the chorus--

 "Den cheer up, Sam! Don' let yer sperrits go down; Dere's many a gal dat I'se know wal am waitin' fur you in de town!"

"I fancy you do want cheering up, Sam, " said I, waiting till he hadfinished the verse. "The skipper's in a regular tantrum about you, andsays you're to come aft at once. "

"My golly, sonny!" cried he, turning round, with a grin on his ebonyface, that showed all his ivories, and looking in no whit alarmed, as Iexpected, at the captain's summons, proceeding to reach up one of hislong arms, which were like those of a monkey, and hang the banjo on to acleat close to the roof of the galley, out of harm's way. "What am demuss about?"

"Because you didn't turn out on deck when all hands were called just nowto reef topsails, " I explained. "The `old man' is in a fine passion, Ican tell you, though he didn't notice your not being there at first. Itwas that mean sneak, the first-mate, that told him, on purpose to getyou into a row. "

"Ah-ha! Jess so, I sabby, " said Sam, getting up from his seat; althoughhe did not look any the taller for standing, being a little man andhaving short legs, which, however, were compensated for by his long armsand broad shoulders, denoting great strength. "I'se know what dat meancuss do it fo'--'cause I wouldn't bring no hot coffee to um cabin fo'him dis mornin'. Me tell him dat lazy stoo'ad's place do dat; me ship'scook, not one black niggah slabe!"

"He's always at me, too, " I chorussed, in sympathy with this complaint. "Mr Flinders is harder on me than even Captain Snaggs, and he's badenough, in all conscience. "

"Dat am true, " replied the cook, who had been my only friend since I hadbeen on board, none of the others, officers or men, having a kind wordfor me, save the carpenter, a sturdy Englishman, named Tom Bullover, andone of the Yankee sailors, Hiram Bangs, who seemed rather good-natured, and told me he came from some place `down Chicopee way'--wherever thatmight be. "But, never yer mind, sonny; needer de cap'n nor dat brute oba mate ken kill us no nohow. "

 "`Cheer up, Sam! Don' let your 'perrits go down--'

"Guess, dough, I'se better go aft at once, or Cap'n Snaggs 'll bust hisbiler!"

And so, humming away still at the refrain of his favourite ditty, heclambered along the bulwarks, making his way to the poop, where thecaptain, I could see, as I peered round the corner of the galley, wasstill waiting for him at the top of the ladder on the weather side, holding on to the brass rail with one hand, and clutching hold of a staywith the other. 

I pitied the negro; but, of course, I couldn't help him. All I could dowas to look on, by no means an uninterested spectator, though keepingcautiously out of sight of Captain Snaggs' watchful eye. 

The wind was not making such a noise through the shrouds now, for onecould distinguish above its moaning whistle the wash of the waves asthey broke with a rippling roar and splashed against the side like themeasured strokes of a sledge-hammer on the ship breasting them with herbluff bows, and contemptuously sailing on, spurning them beneath herfore foot; so, I was able to hear and see nearly all that passed, albeitI had to strain my ears occasionally to catch a word here and there. 

He had waited so long that perhaps his anger had cooled down a bit bythis time, for Captain Snaggs began on Sammy much more quietly than Iexpected from his outburst against him when I was up on the poop. 

He was quite mild, indeed, for him, as I had learnt already, to my cost, during the short acquaintance I had of his temper since we had left theMersey--as mild as a sucking dove, with a vengeance!

"Ye durned nigger!" he commenced; "what d'ye mean by not answerin' whenI hailed ye?"

"Me no hear yer, mass' cap'n. "

"Not haar me, by thunder, " screeched the other, raising his voice. "Yearen't deaf, air ye?"

"Golly, yeth, massa, " said Sam eagerly. "I'se def as post. "

"Ye ken haar, though, when grog time comes round, I guess!" retorted thecaptain. "Whar wer ye when `all hands' wer called jest now?"

"Down in de bread room, gettin' out de men's grub wid de stooard, "answered the cook, with much coolness; "me no hear `all hands' call. "

"Thet's a lie, " said Captain Snaggs, furiously. "The stooard wer uphyar on deck, so ye couldn't hev been down below with him, ye durnednigger! I've a tarnation good mind to seize ye up an' give ye fourdozen right away. "

"Me no niggah slabe, " said Sam proudly, drawing himself up and lookingup at the captain, as if daring him to do his worst. "I'se one'spectacle culled gen'leman, sah!"

"Ho! ho! thet's prime!" laughed out the skipper, astounded at his cheek;while the first-mate sniggered his aggravating "he! he!" behind him. "Oh, ye're `a 'spectable coloured gentleman, ' air ye?"

"Yeth, massa; me free Jamaica born, an' no slabe, " repeated Sam, courageously, the first-mate's chuckle having put him on his mettle morethan the captain's sneer. "I'se a free man!"

"Guess ye've come to the wrong shop then, my bo, " said Captain Snaggs;"ye'll find ye ain't free hyar, fur I'm boss aboard this air ship, an'want all hands to know it. Ye shipped as cook, hey?"

"Yeth, massa, " replied Sam, as sturdily as ever. "I'se jine as cook fo'de v'yage to 'Frisco at ten dollar de month. "

"Then, Master Sam, Sammy, Sambo Clubfoot, ye'll be kinder good enuff totake yer traps out of the galley an' go furrud into the fo'c's'le, asone of the foremast hands. As ye wouldn't turn out when all hands wercalled jist now, ye'll hev the advantage of doin' so right through now, watch in an' watch out all the v'yage! D'ye hear thet, Sam Clubfoot?"

"Dat not my name, " said the other indignantly. "I'se chris'en SamJedfoot. "

"Well then, d'ye underconstubble what I've sed, Mister Jedfoot, if yelike thet better--thet ye're cook no longer, an' will hev to muster withthe rest of the crew in the port watch? I'll put him with ye, Flinders, I know ye hev a hankerin' arter him, " observed the skipper, in a stagewhisper, to the first-mate, who sniggered his approval of thisarrangement. "D'ye understand thet, ye durned nigger, or, hev yer earsgot frizzed agen, makin' ye feel kinder deaf?"

"I'se he-ah, cap'n, " replied Sam sullenly, as he turned away from underthe break of the poop, and made his way forward again to where I stoodwatching his now changed face, all the mirth and merriment having goneout of it, making him look quite savage--an ugly customer, I thought, for any one to tackle with whom he might have enmity. "I'se he-ah fo'suah, an' won't forget neider, yer bet!"

CHAPTER THREE. 

A TERRIBLE REVENGE. 

"I'm very sorry for you, Sam, " I said, when he came up again to thegalley, making his way forward much more slowly than he had scrambledaft to interview the skipper. "Captain Snaggs is a regular tyrant totreat you so; but, never mind, Sam, we'll soon have you back in your oldplace here, for I don't think there's any fellow in the ship that knowsanything about cooking like you!"

"Dunno spec dere's am, " he replied, disconsolately, speaking in amelancholy tone of voice, as if overcome at the idea of surrendering hisregal post of king of the caboose--the cook's berth on board a merchantvessel being one of authority, as well as having a good deal of licenceattached to it; besides giving the holder thereof an importance in theeyes of the crew, only second to that of the skipper, or his deputy, thefirst-mate. The next moment, however, the darkey's face brightened, from some happy thought or other that apparently crossed his mind; and, his month gradually opening with a broad grin, that displayed a doublerow of beautifully even white teeth, which would have aroused the envyof a fashionable dentist, he broke into a huge guffaw, that I was almostafraid the captain would hear away aft on the poop. 

"Hoo-hoo! Yah-yah!" he laughed, with all that hearty abandon of hisrace, bending his body and slapping his hands to his shins, as if tohold himself up. "Golly! me nebber fought ob dat afore! Hoo-hoo!Yah-yah! I'se most ready to die wid laffin! Hoo-hoo!"

"Why, Sam, " I cried, "what's the matter now?"

"Hoo-hoo! Cholly, " he at last managed to get out between his convulsivefits of laughter. "Yer jess wait till cap'n want um grub; an' den--hoo-hoo!--yer see one fine joke! My gosh! Cholly, I'se one big foolnot tink ob dat afore! Guess it'll do prime. Yah-yah! Won't de `oleman' squirm! Hoo-hoo!"

"Oh, Sam!" I exclaimed, a horrid thought occurring to me all at once. "You wouldn't poison him?"

The little negro drew himself up with a native sort of dignity, thatmade him appear quite tall. 

"I'se hab black 'kin, an no white like yer's, Cholly, " said he gravely, wiping away the tears that had run down his cheeks in the exuberance ofhis recent merriment. "But, b'y, yer may beleeb de troot, dat if I'sehab black 'kin, my hart ain't ob dat colour; an' I wouldn't pizen noman, if he wer de debbel hisself. No, Cholly, I'se fight fair, an'dunno wish to go behint no man's back!"

"I'm sure I beg your pardon, " said I, seeing that I had insulted him bymy suspicion; "but what are you going to do to pay the skipper out?"

This set him off again with a fresh paroxysm of laughter. 

"My golly! Hoo-hoo! I'se goin' hab one fine joke, " he spluttered out, his face seemingly all mouth, and his woolly hair crinkling, as ifelectrified by his inward feelings. "I'se goin'--hoo-hoo!--I'se goin'--yah-yah!--"

But, what he was about to tell me remained for the present a mystery;for, just then, the squalls ceasing and the wind shifting to thenorthward of west, the captain ordered the lee braces to be slacked off, and we hauled round more to starboard, still keeping on the same tack, though. Our course now was pretty nearly south-west by south, and thus, instead of barely just weathering the Smalls, as we should only havebeen able to do if it had kept on blowing from the same quarter right inour teeth, we managed to give the Pembrokeshire coast a good wide berth, keeping into the open seaway right across the entrance to the BristolChannel, the ship heading towards Scilly well out from the land. 

She made better weather, too, not rolling or pitching so much, going abit free, as she did when close-hauled, the wind drawing more abeam asit veered north; and Captain Snaggs was not the last to notice this, youmay be sure. He thought he might just as well take advantage of it, asnot being one of your soft-hearted sailors, but a `beggar to carry onwhen he had the chance, ' at least, so said Hiram Bangs, who had sailedwith him before. 

No sooner, therefore, were the yards braced round than he roared outagain to the watch, keeping them busy on their legs--

"Hands, make sail!"

"Let go y'r tops'l halliards!"

"Away aloft thaar, men!" he cried, when the yards came down on the caps;"lay out sharp and shake out them reefs!"

Then, it was all hoist away with the halliards and belay, the mainsailbeing set again shortly afterwards and the jib rehoisted, with theforetopmast staysail stowed and the reef let out of the foresail. 

Later on, the top-gallants were set, as well as the spanker; and the_Denver City_, under a good spread of canvas, began to show us how shecould go through the water on a bowline; for, the sea having gone down abit, besides running the same way we were going, she did not take in somuch wet nor heel over half so much as she did an hour before, whenbeating to windward, while every stitch she had on drew, sending heralong a good eight knots or more, with a wake behind her like a millrace. 

During the commotion that ensued when we were bracing the yards andletting out reefs and setting more sail, I had lost sight of SamJedfoot, the men bustling about so much forward that I retreated underthe break of the poop, out of their way; but, from here, I noticed thatSam made himself very busy when the clew-garnet blocks were hauled aft, on the mainsail being dropped, his powerful arms being as good as anytwo men tailed on to a rope, for there was "plenty of beef" in him, ifhe were not up to much in the matter of size. 

After the bustle, however, I was called in to the cabin by the steward, to help wait at table, as the captain had come down to dinner at last, now that everything was going well with the ship and we were fairly outat sea, the first-mate accompanying him, while Jan Steenbock was left incharge of the deck, with strict orders to keep the same course, westsou'-west, and call Captain Snaggs if any change should take place inthe wind. 

"I guess the stoopid cuss can't make no durned mistake about thet, " Iheard the captain say to Mr Flinders, as he came down the companionhatchway, rubbing his hands, as if in anticipation of his dinner; "an', by thunder, I dew feel all powerful hungry!"

"So do I, sir, " chimed in the first-mate. "I hope the stooard hezsomethin' good for us to eat. I feels raal peckish, I dew!"

"Hope ye ain't too partick'ler, " rejoined Captain Snaggs; "fur this 'llbe the last dinner thet air conceited darkey, Sam, 'll cook fur ye, Flinders. He goes in the fo'c's'le to-morrow, an' this hyar lout of astooard shall take his place in the galley. "

"`Changey for changey, black dog for white monkey, '" observed thefirst-mate with a snigger. "Eh, cap?"

"Ye've hit it, Flinders, I reckon, " said the other; and, as he gave alook round the cabin before taking his seat, which the Welsh stewardstood behind obsequiously, although he could not draw it out, as it waslashed down to the deck and a fixture, the captain added: "Ye'd bettersee about gettin' the deadlights up to them stern ports, Flinders, aforenightfall. They look kinder shaky, an' if a followin' sea shu'd catchus astern, we'd be all swamped in hyar, I guess. "

"Aye, aye, sir!" said the first-mate, seating himself, too; that is, assoon as he noticed that the steward, who had instantly rushed forward tothe galley for the dinner, which was keeping hot there, had returnedwith a smoking dish, which he placed in front of the captain, dexterously removing the cover almost at the same instant--"I'll see toit the first thing when I go on deck again. "

"An', Flinders, " continued Captain Snaggs, ladling out a good portion ofthe contents of the dish into a plate, which the steward passed on tothe first-mate, "I see a rope's-end hangin' down thaar, too, like abight of the signal halliards or the boom-sheet, which some lubber hezlet tow overboard. Hev it made fast an' shipshape. I hate slovenlinesslike pizen!"

"So do I, sir, you bet, " answered the mate, with his mouth full. "I'llwatch it when I go on the poop agen; but, ain't this fowl an' rice jestgalumptious, cap?"

"Pretty so so, " said Captain Snaggs, who seemed somewhat critical, inspite of his assertion of being ravenous and `a reg'ler whale onpoultry, ' as he had observed when Jones took off the dish cover. "Strikes me, thaar's a rum sort o' taste about it thet ain't quitefowlish!"

"M-yum, m-yum; I dew taste somethin' bitterish, " agreed Mr Flinders, smacking his lips and deliberating apparently over the flavour of thefowl; "p'raps the critter's gall bladder got busted--hey?"

"P'raps so, Flinders, " rejoined the skipper; "but I hope thet durnednigger hasn't be'n meddlin' with it! Them darkeys air awful vengeful, an' when I hed him up jist now, an' told him he'd hev ter go forrud, Iheard him mutter sunthin' about `not forgettin''--guess I did, so. "

Captain Snaggs looked so solemn as he said this, with his face bent downinto his plate to examine what was on it the more closely, and hisbilly-goat beard almost touching the gravy, that I had to cough toprevent myself from laughing; for, I was standing just by him, handinground a dish of potatoes at the time. 

"Hillo!" he exclaimed, looking up and staring at me so that I flushed upas red as a turkey cock, "what's the matter with ye, b'y?"

"N-n-nothing, sir, " I stammered. "I--I couldn't help it, sir; I havegot a sort of tickling in my throat. "

"Guess a ticklin' on yer back would kinder teach ye better manners whenye're a-waitin' at table, " he said, grimly. "Go an' tell the stooard tofetch the rum bottle out of my bunk, with a couple of tumblers, an' thenye can claar out right away. I don't want no b'ys a-hangin' round whenI'm feedin'!"

Glad enough was I at thus getting my dismissal without any furtherquestioning; and, after giving Jones the captain's message, I went outfrom the pantry on to the maindeck, and so forward to the galley, whereI expected to find Sam. 

He wasn't there, however; but, hearing his voice on the fo'c's'le, Ilooked up, and saw him there, in the centre of a little knot of men, consisting of Tom Bullover, the carpenter, Hiram Bangs, and anothersailor, to whom, as I quickly learnt from a stray word here and there, the darkey cook was laying down the law anent the skipper and hisdoings. 

"De ole man's a hard row to hoe, yer bet, " I heard him say, "but hedon't get over dis chile nohow! I'se heer tell ob him afore I ship't ashow he wer the hardest cap'n as sailed out ob Libberpool. "

"Then, why did you jine?" asked Hiram Bangs; "good cooks ain't so commonas you couldn't git another vessel. "

"Why did yer jine, Mass' Hiram, sin' yer sailed wid him afore, an'knowed he was de bery debble?"

"'Cause I wants ter go to 'Frisco, " replied the other; "an', 'sides, Iain't afeared of the old skunk. He's more jaw nor actin', an' a goodsailor, too, an' no mistake, spite of his bad temper an' hard words. "

"Golly, Hiram, nor ain't I'se funky ob him, neider! My fader in Jamaikyhe one big fetish man; an' I not 'fraid ob Captain Snaggs, or de debbel, or any odder man; an' I wants ter go ter 'Frisco, too, an' dat's dereason I'se hyar. "

Presently, when I had the chance of speaking to him, I told him of thecaptain's suspicions; but he only laughed when I begged him to tell meif he had put anything into the cabin dinner, and what it was. 

"Yah-yah, sonny! I'se tole yer so, I'se tole yer so--hoo-hoo!" hecried, doubling himself up and yelling with mirth. "I'se tole yer, `jess wait till bymeby, an' yer see one big joke;' but, chile, yer'dbetter not know nuffin 'bout it; fo', den yer ken tell de troot if decap'n ax, an' say yer knows nuffin. "

This was no doubt sound advice; still, it did not satisfy my curiosity, and I was rather indignant at his not confiding in me. Of course, I wasnot going to tell the captain or anybody, for I wasn't a sneak, at allevents, if I was only a cabin boy!

Vexed at his not confiding in me, I turned to look over the side at thescene around. 

The sun had not long set, and a bit of the afterglow yet lingered overthe western horizon, warming up that portion of the sky; but, above, although the leaden clouds had all disappeared, being driven away toleeward long since, the shades of evening were gradually creeping up, and the sea and everything was covered with a purple haze, save wherethe racing waves rushed over each other in a mass of seething foam, thatscintillated out coruscations of light--little oases of brightness inthe desert of the deep. 

As for the ship, she was a beauty, and sailed on, behaving like aclipper, rising and falling with a gentle rocking motion, when she metand passed the rollers that she overtook in her course, as they racedbefore her, trying to outvie her speed, and tossing up a shower of sprayoccasionally over her weather bow, which the fading gleams of crimsonand gold of the sunset touched up and turned into so many littlerainbows, that hovered over the water in front for a moment and thendisappeared, as the vessel crushed them out of life with her cutwater. 

The wind still whistled through the rigging, but, now, it was more likethe musical sound of an Aeolian harp, whose chords vibrated rhythmicallywith the breeze; while the big sails bellying out from the yards aboveemitted a gentle hum, as that of bees in the distance, from the rushingair that expanded their folds, which, coupled with the wash and `Break, break, break!' of the sea, sounded like a sad lullaby. 

All was quietness on deck: some of the late hands having their teabelow, where one or two had already turned in to gain a few winks ofsleep before being called on duty to keep the first watch. Othersagain, as I've already said, where chatting and yarning on thefo'c's'le, as sailors love to chat and yarn of an evening, when the shipis sailing free with a fair wind, and there's nothing much doing, saveto mind the helm and take an occasional pull at the braces to keep her"full and by. "

All was quiet; but, not for long!

It was just beginning to grow dark, although still light enough to seeeverything that was going on fore and aft, when Captain Snaggs staggeredout from the cuddy, coming through the doorway underneath the break ofthe poop, and not going up the companion hatch, as was his usual habitwhen he came out on deck. 

He looked as if he had been drinking pretty heavily from the bottle ofrum the steward had brought in as I left the cabin, an impression whichhis thick speech confirmed, when, after fetching up against the mainmastbitts, in a vain attempt to work to windward and reach the poop ladder, he began to roar out my name. 

"B'y! I wants thet b'y, Chawley Hills! Hillo, Chaw-ley! ChawleyHills!--Hills!--Hills! On deck thaar! Where are ye? By thunder! I'llspif-spif-splicate ye, b'y, when I catch ye! Come hyar!"

I was rather terrified at this summons, the more especially from hisbeing drunk, but, I went all the same towards him. 

He clutched hold of me the moment I came near. 

"Ye d-d-durned young reptile!" he roared, more soberly than he hadspoken before; and, from a sort of agonised look in his face, I couldsee that something more than mere drink affected him, for I had noticedhim before under the influence of intoxicating liquors. "Tell me wha-atthet infarnal nigger put into the grub? Ye know ye knows all about it, fur ye looked guilty when the mate an' I wer talkin' about it at table;an' he's been pizened, an' so am I; an' he sez ye knows all about it, an' so does I; an' what is more, b'y, I'll squeeze the life out of ye ifyer don't tell!"

"Oh, please, sir, " I cried out; as well as the pressure of his hands onmy throat would permit, "I don't know. I don't know anything. "

"Cuss ye, b'y. Ye dew know; an', if chokin' won't get it out of ye, we'll try what larrupin' will do!"

So saying, he ordered a couple of the hands standing by to seize me upto the weather rigging; and taking hold of a thick piece of rope, whichhe had brought with him out of the cabin, he proceeded to deliver blowsabout my back and shoulders that made me howl again, the strokes seemingto tear the flesh from my bones. 

"Won't ye tell, hey?" he exclaimed between each stroke of the improvisedcat, which lashed as well, I can answer, as if it had nine tails; "won'tye tell, hey?"

At the third stroke, however, he himself fell upon the deck, putting hishands to his stomach and rolling about doubled up almost in two in hisagony; although, when the paroxysm of pain had ceased for the moment, hegot up on his feet once more and began lashing away at me again. 

But, my deliverer was at hand. 

Just as he raised his arm to deliver a fourth stripe across my back, andI shrank back in expectation of it, I heard Sam Jedfoot's voice, --

"'Top dat, massa cap?" he called out. "What fur yer lick dat b'y fur?"

"Oh, it's ye, is it?" roared the skipper, turning on him with a snarl. "I wer comin' fur ye presently, ye durned cuss! But, ez ye air hyar, why, ye scoundrel, what did ye make thet b'y do to the dinner? Me an'the mate is both pizened. "

"De b'y didn't do nuffin, an' yer ain't pizened, nor Mass' Flinders, neider, " said Sam calmly, interrupting the captain before he couldscream out another word; "I'se dun it alone. I'se put jalap in the fowla puppose!"

"Ye did, did ye!" yelled the captain fiercely; and there was a savagevindictiveness in his voice that I had not noticed previously, as heturned round to address the second-mate and a number of the men, who hadgathered round at the noise made by the altercation, those that hadturned in turning out, and even the look-out coming from off thefo'c's'le away aft to see what was going on. "Men, ye've heard thistarnation villain confess thet he's tried to pizen Mr Flinders an'myself. Now ye'll see me punish him!"

With these words, which he spoke quite calmly, without a trace ofpassion, he drew out a revolver from the pocket of his jacket, cockingit with a click that struck a cold chill to my heart, and made meshudder more convulsively than even the brute's lashes had done themoment before. 

"Bress de Lor'! don' shoot me, cap'n!" cried poor Sam, edging away fromthe fatal weapon, as Captain Snaggs raised it; "don't shoot, fo' deLor's sake!"

"I'm going to kill ye like a dog!" rejoined the other, taking aim; butSam, quick as lightning darted into the weather rigging, making his wayforward along the channels, the captain jumping after him andrepeating, --"It's no use. Ye won't escape me, I tell ye, darkey; yewon't escape me! I'll kill ye ez dead ez a dog! Like a dog, d'yehaar?"

As he uttered the last words a second time, as if the repetition of thephrase pleased his cruel ear, there was another `click, ' followed by abright flash and a sharp report; and then, uttering a wild, despairingcry, which was echoed by the men standing around, poor Sam dropped intothe sea alongside, his body splashing up the water right inboard into myface as it fell!

CHAPTER FOUR. 

FRIGHTENED TO DEATH!

"That's murder--murder in cold blood!"

The voice uttering this exclamation, which I at once recognised as thatof Tom Bullover, the carpenter, came from amidst a mass of the men, who, attracted by the noise of the row, had gathered from forward, and wereclustered together--as I could see sideways from my position there, spread-eagled in the rigging. They were standing by the long-boat, justabaft of poor Sam Jedfoot's now tenantless galley, and immediately underthe bellying folds of the mainsail, that rustled and swelled out overtheir heads, tugging at the boltropes and rattling the clew-garnetblocks, as it was jerked by the wind, which ever and anon blew witheddying gusts as it veered and shifted. 

"Who's the mutinous rascal thet spoke then?" cried Captain Snaggs, wheeling round on the instant, quick as lightning, and cocking hisrevolver with another ominous click, as he faced the group, aiming atthe nearest man to him. "Jest ye give me another word of yer jaw, an'I'll sarve ye the same as I sarved thet durned nigger--I will so, bythunder!"

A hoarse murmur, partly of rage and partly expressive of fear, arosefrom the crew as they shuffled uneasily about the deck, one trying toget behind another; but neither Tom Bullover nor anyone else stepped outto answer the captain, who, seeing that he had cowed them, lowered hisawkward looking weapon. 

"Ye're a pack of durned skallywags, with nary a one the pluck of a skunkin the lot!" he exclaimed contemptuously, in his snarling Yankee voice;but, just then, the head sails flapping, from the helmsman letting theship nearly broach to, forgetting to attend to his duties in hiseagerness to hear all that was going on, the captain's wrath wasdirected towards those aft, and he wheeled round and swore at thesecond-mate, who was on the poop, leaning over the rail, bawling outlouder than before:--"What the infernal dickens are ye about thaar, Mister Steenbock? Snakes an' alligators! why, ye'll have us all abackin another minute! Ease her off, ease her off gently; an' hev thetlubber at the wheel relieved; d'ye haar? Ha ain't worth a cuss! Get aman thet ken steer in his place. Jerusalem! Up with the helm at once!"

Fortunately, the jib only gybed, while the fore-topsail slatted a bitagainst the mast; and all the other sails remaining full and drawing, aslight shift of the helm sufficed to put the ship on her proper course. Still, the captain, now his blood was up, could not afford to lose sucha good opportunity both for rating the second-mate for his carelessnessin conning the ship and not making the helmsman keep her steady on hercourse, and also in giving a little extra work to the hands who haddared to murmur at his fearful vengeance on the cook for drugging hisfood. So he made them bustle about the deck in style, slacking off thelee braces and hauling upon these on the weather side, until we hadbrought the wind almost over the stern, with the yards pretty nearlysquare. We were now running before it, rolling from port to starboardand back again from starboard to port, almost gunwales under, with thesail we had on us now, for it was blowing a good ten-knot breeze fromthe nor'-nor'-west, the breeze having shifted again since sunset, rightastern, instead of being dead ahead, as previously, of our proper tractfor the open sea. 

When Captain Snaggs had seen everything braced round, and the boom-sheetof the spanker likewise eased off, he turned to where I was still lashedup against the main shrouds, in dread expectancy every moment of hisrenewing the thrashing he had commenced, and which poor Sam's pluckyintervention on my behalf had for the time interrupted. 

"Well, ye young cuss!" said the skipper, who had been giving all hisorders from the lower deck, which he had not left since he had rolledout from the cuddy under the poop in the paroxysm of passion and painthat led to such a dread catastrophe--all that had happened, although ittakes a long time to describe, having occurred within a very briefinterval of his first outburst on me. "What hev ye got to say fory'rself thet I shouldn't give ye a thunderin' hidin', sich ez I hankerarter, hey? I'm jiggered, too, if I don't, ye young whelp! Fur I guessye wer kinder in truck with thet durned nigger when he tried to pizen mean' Mister Flinders. I'll skin ye alive, though ye aren't bigger nor aspritsail sheet knot, my joker, fur ye hevn't got half enuff yet, Ireckon!"

So saying, he picked up the rope's-end that he had dropped when he tookout his revolver, and was evidently about to lay it on my poor tremblingback again, when another groan came from the men forward, who still hungabout the windlass bitts, instead of going below after squaring theyards. Tom Bullover's voice, I could hear, again taking the lead, asthey advanced in a body aft, in a much more demonstrative manner thanpreviously. 

"Stow that now, and leave the boy alone, " I heard him say. "You'vewallopped him already; and there's been enough murder done in the ship!"

Captain Snaggs let fall the cat he had taken in his hand to thrash mewith, and once more pulled out from his pocket the revolver; but, in thehalf-light that lingered now after the sunset glow had faded out of thesky, I noticed, as I screwed my neck round, looking to see what he wasdoing, that his hand trembled. The next moment he dropped the revolveron the deck as he had done the rope's-end. 

"Who's talkin' of murder? Thet's an ugly word, " he stammered out, evidently frightened at the result of his rage against poor Sam, and theway in which the crew regarded it. "I--I only shot thet nigger becausehe pizened me an' the first-mate. "

"You should have put hims in ze irons, " interposed the second-mate, JanSteenbock, speaking in his deep, solemn tones from the poop above. "Zemans vas murdert in ze cold blood!"

I could see Captain Snaggs shiver--all his coarse, bullying manner andbraggadocio deserting him, as Jan Steenbock's accents rang through theship, like those of an accusing judge; the index finger of thesecond-mate's right hand pointing at him, as he leant over the pooprail, like the finger of Fate!

"I did not mean to shoot the coon like to kill him, I only meant tokinder frighten the life out of him, thet's all, " he began, in anexculpatory tone, regaining his usual confidence as he proceeded. "Thedurned cuss brought it on hisself, I reckon; fur, if he hedn't climb'dinto the riggin' he wouldn't hev dropped overboard!"

"But, you vas shoot him ze first, " said Jan Steenbock, in reply to this, the men on the other side of the captain giving a murmuring assent tothe accusation, "you vas shoot him ze first!"

"Aye, thet's so; but I didn't mean fur to hit him, only to skear him. Guess I don't think I did, fur the ship rolled as I fired, an' thebullet must hev gone over his woolly head, an' he let go from sheerfrit!"

"Dat might be, " answered the second-mate, whom the men left to do allthe talking; "but ze--"

"Besides, " continued the captain, interrupting him, and seeing he hadgained a point, "the darkey pizened my grub. He sea he put jalap in it. Ye heerd him say so y'rselves, didn't ye?"

"Aye, aye, " chorussed the group of men in front of him, with truesailor's justice, "we did. We heard him say so. "

"Well, then, " argued Captain Snaggs, triumphantly, "ye knows what adelicate matter it is fur to meddle with a chap's grub; ye wouldn't likeit y'rselves?"

"No, " came from the men unanimously, "we wouldn't. "

"All right, then; I see ye're with me, " said the skipper, wagging hisbeard about as he lay down the law. "I confess I didn't like it. Thenigger sed he hocussed our grub; but seeing ez how I an' the first-matewer took so bad, I believed he'd pizened us, an' it rizzed my dander, an' so I went fur him. "

"Aye, aye, " sang out the men, as if endorsing this free and ratherone-sided version of the affair, Hiram Bangs the captain's countryman, chiming in with a "Right you air, boss!"

"But you need not have shoot hims, " insisted Jan Steenbock, perceivingthat the skipper was getting the men to take a more lenient view of thetransaction than he did. "Ze mans not go avays. You could put hims inze irons!"

"So I could, me joker; though I can't see ez how it's yer place to topthe officer over me, Mister Steenbock, " retorted the skipper, with someof his old heat. "Ye've hed yer say, an' the men hev hed their'n; an'now I'll hev mine, I reckon! The nigger wer in fault in the fust place, an' I'm sorry I wer tew hard on him; but, now he's gone overboard, thaar's nuthin' more to be done, fur all the talkin' in the world won'tbring him back agen! I'll tell ye what I'll do, though. "

"What?" shouted out Tom Bullover. "What will you do?"

Captain Snaggs recognised his voice now, in spite of its being nearlydark, and he uttered an expressive sort of snorting grunt. 

"Ha! ye're the coon, are ye, thet cried murder, hey?" I heard himmutter under his breath menacingly; and then, speaking out louder hesaid, that all could hear, "I tell ye what I'll do: I am willin' to goashore at the first available port we ken stop at an' lay the whole ofthe circumstances before the British or American consul, an' take theconsequences--fur you all ken give evidence against me if ye like! Ican't say fairer nor thet men, can I?"

"No, cap, " they chorussed, as if perfectly satisfied with this promise, "nothing can be fairer nor that!"

"All right; thet 'll do, the watch, then. "

"But, thet b'y thaar?" called out Hiram Bangs, as they were allshuffling forward again, now that the palaver was over and the subjectthoroughly discussed, as they thought, in all its bearings; "yer won'tleather him no more? The little cuss warn't to blame; the nigger saidso, hisself!"

"No, I won't thrash him agen, since he's a friend o' yer's, " replied theskipper, jocularly, evidently glad that the affair was now hushed up. "Ye ken cut him down if ye like, an' take him forrud with ye. "

"Right ye air, cap, so we will, " said Hiram, producing his clasp knifein a jiffey and severing the lashings that bound me to the rigging, "Come along, Cholly; an' we'll warm ye up in the fo'c's'le arter yerwarmin' up aft from the skipper!"

The hands responded with a laugh to this witticism, apparentlyforgetting all about the terrible scene that had so lately taken place, as they escorted me in triumph towards the fore part of the ship; whilethe captain went up on the poop and relieved Jan Steenbock, speaking tohim very surlily, and telling him to go down into the cabin and see whathad become of the first-mate, Mr Flinders, and if he was any better, and fit to come on duty. As for himself, he had now quite recoveredfrom the effects of whatever the unfortunate cook had put into the stewhe had eaten, and which had alarmed him with the fear of being poisoned. 

I, however, could not so readily put the fearful scene I had been suchan unwilling witness of so quickly out of my remembrance; and, as I wentforward with the kind-hearted but thoughtless fellows who had saved mefrom a further thrashing, I felt quite sick with horror. A dreadweight, as of something more horrible still, that was about to happen, filled my mind. 

Nor did the conversation I heard in the fo'c's'le tend to soothe mystartled nerves and make me feel more comfortable. 

The men's tea was still in the coppers, poor Sam having made up a greatfire in the galley before going off on his last journey, and this wasnow served out piping hot all round, the men helping themselves, for noone had yet been elected to fill the darkey's vacant place. No one, indeed, seemed anxious to remain longer than could be helped within theprecincts of the cook's domain, each man hurrying out again from the oldcaboose as quickly as he filled his pannikin from the bubbling copperswith the decoction of sloe leaves, molasses and water, which, when dulyboiled together does duty with sailor-folk for tea!

Then--sitting round the fo'c's'le, some on the edge of thehatch-coaming, some dangling their legs over the windlass bitts, andothers bringing themselves to an anchor on a coil of the bower hawser, that had not been stowed away properly below, but remained lumbering thedeck--all began to yarn about the events of the day. Their talkgradually veered round to a superstitious turn on the second dog-watchdrawing to a close; and, as the shades of night deepened over our heads, so that I could hardly now distinguish a face in the gloom, the voicesof the men sank down imperceptibly to a mere whisper, thus making whatthey said sound more weird and mysterious, all in keeping with the sceneand its surroundings. 

Of course, Sam formed the principal subject of their theme; and, afterspeaking of what a capital cook and good chum he was, `fur a darkey, ' asHiram Bangs put it, having some scruples on the subject of colour, frombeing an American, Tom Bullover alluded to the negro's skill at thebanjo. 

"Aye, bo, he could give us a toon when he liked, fur he wer mightypowerful a-fingerin' them strings. He made the durned thing a'mostspeak, I reckon, " observed Hiram Bangs; adding reflectively, --"An' thecuriousest thing about him wer thet he wer the only nigger I ever comeathwart of ez warn't afeard of sperrits. "

"Sperrits, Hiram?" interposed one of the other hands; "what does youmean?--ghostesses?"

"Aye. Sam sed as how his father, a darkey too, in course, wer a fetishman; an' I rec'l'ects when I wer to hum, down Chicopee way, ther' wer anole nigger thaar thet usest to say thet same, an' the ole cuss wud go ofa night into the graveyard, which wer more'n nary a white man would ha'done, ye bet!"

"You wouldn't catch me at it, " agreed another sailor, giving himself ashake, that sent a cold shiver through me in sympathy. "I'd face anydanger in daylight that a Christian ain't afeard on; but, as for huntin'for ghostesses in a churchyard of a dark night, not for me!"

"Aye, nor me, " put in another. "I shouldn't like old Sammy to come backand haunt the galley, as I've heard tell me. By jingo! I wouldn't liketo go into it now that it's dark, arter the way the poor beggar got shotan' drownded--leastways, not without a light, or a lantern, or somethin'or t'other; for, they sez of folks that come by any onnateral sort o'death, that their sperrits can't rest quiet, and that then they goesback to where they was murdered, and you ken see 'em wanderin' aroundtwixt midnight an' mornin', though they wanishes agen at the firststreak of daylight. "

"I've heerd tell the same, " chimed in Hiram Bangs, in a sepulchralvoice, that made my heart go down to my toes; "but Sam, he usest to say, sez he, ez how none o' them sperrits could never touch he, cos he hed acharm agen 'em 'cause of his father bein' jest in the ring, an' one ofthe same sorter cusses--his `fadder' he called him, poor old darkey!Sam told me now, only last night ez never was, how he'd of'en in Jamaikytalked with ghostesses, thet would come an' tote round his plantation!He sed, sez he, ez how he'd got a spell to call 'em by whenever heliked; thet's what he told me, by thunder!"

"Aye, bo, " said Tom Bullover; "and, before poor Sam went aft this veryevening, I heard him tell this younker, Charlie Hills, how thet heweren't afraid of that brute of a bullying skipper, and if he came byany harm he'd haunt him--didn't he, Charlie?"

"Ye-es, " I replied, trembling, feeling horribly frightened now with alltheir queer talk, coming after what I had gone through before; "but, Ididn't hear him say anything of haunting the ship. I'm awfully sorryfor him, Tom; but I hope he won't come back again, as Hiram Bangs says. "

"He will, ye bet yer bottom dollar on thet, Cholly, if he ain't madecomfable down below in Davy Jones' locker, whar the poor old cuss airnow, " said the American sailor in his deep voice, increasing mysuperstitious fears by the very way in which he spoke. "Guess Iwouldn't mind shakin' fins with the nigger agen if he'd come aboard indaylight, but I'm durned if I'd like to see him hyar 'fore mornin'! I'dfeel kinder skeart if I did, b'y, I reckon. "

I had no time to reply; for, the captain's voice hailing us from thepoop at the moment made us all jump--I, for one, believing that it wasSam Jedfoot already come back to life, or his ghost!

The next instant, however, I was reassured by a hoarse chuckle passinground amongst the men; while Hiram Bangs called out, "I'm jiggered, messmates, if it ain't the old man up on deck agen!"

Like him, I then caught the sound of Captain Snaggs' nasal twang, although he spoke rather thickly, as if he had been drinking again. 

"Fo'c's'le, ahoy!" he shouted; "wake up thaar an' show a leg! Let oneof the hands strike eight bells, an' come aft, all ye starbow-lines, totake the first watch. "

"Aye, aye, sir!" answered Tom Bullover, leading the way towards theskipper; while Hiram Bangs seized hold of the rope attached to theclapper of the bell, hanging under the break of the fo'c's'le, andstruck the hour, then following in Tom's footsteps with a "Here I am, sonny, arter ye!"

I did not remain behind, you may be sure, not caring to stop in thevicinity of Sam's galley after all that talk about him. Besides this, Ifelt tired out, and my bunk being on a locker outside the steward'spantry, and just within the door leading into the cuddy under the poop, I was anxious to sneak in there without being seen again by the captain, so as to have a lie down, or `turn in'--if it can be called turning in, with all my clothes on, ready to turn out at a minute's notice!

I managed to get inside, luckily unperceived by the skipper's eagle eyeand was furthermore assured of a quiet `caulk' by hearing him sing outpresently to the steward to bring him up some grog, as he was going toremain on deck till the middle watch. I knew from this that I would beundisturbed by his coming below for a good four hours' spell at least;and I soon sank off to sleep, the last thing that I heard being thetramping about on deck of the men when Captain Snaggs roared out someorder about making more sail, and the sluicing of the water washing fromside to side, as the _Denver City_ rolled and pitched, staggering alongunder a cloud of canvas, with everything set now, right before the wind. 

The next thing I heard was a heavy crash of glass, and I woke up just intime to catch the tail end of a combing wave, that dashed in through oneof the stern ports, washing the cabin fore and aft. The ship hadevidently been pooped by a heavy following sea, that travelled throughthe water faster than she did before the stiff northward breeze, although we were carrying on, too, at a good rate, as I've said. 

Aroused by this, I scrambled to my feet, and recognised Captain Snaggs'voice coming down the companion way; but I did not fear his seeing me, as the swinging lamp over the cuddy table had been put out, and all wasin darkness below, save when a sudden bright gleam from the moon, whichhad risen since I had sought my bunk, shot down through the skylight asthe ship rolled over to port--making it all the darker again as shelisted to starboard, for her next roll the reverse way necessarily shutout the moonlight again. 

Captain Snaggs, I could hear, was not only very drunk, but, as usual, ina very bad temper, as he stumbled about the foot of the companion way inthe water that washed about the cabin door. 

"Durn thet fool of a Flinders--hic!" he exclaimed, steadying himselfbefore making a plunge towards his berth, which was on the left, as Iknew from the sound of his voice in the distance. "I t-t-t-old him themports would git stove in, an'--an'--order'd him to fix the deadlights;but the durned fool ain't done nary a thing, an' there ye air, streenger, thaar ye air!"

He then staggered a bit and flopped about the water; and then, all atonce, as I listened, he gave vent to a queer gurgling cry of horror, that seemed to freeze my blood. 

"Jerusalem!" he exclaimed, gasping as if choking for breath. "Thaar!thaar!"

A gleam shone down from the moon at the moment through the skylight;and, wonderful to relate, I saw the captain's outstretched hand pointingto--

Something!

It was standing by the cabin door leading out on to the maindeck. 

The Something was the figure of poor Sam Jedfoot, apparently alldripping wet, as if he had just emerged from his grave in the sea. 

His face, turned towards me, looked quite white in the moonlight, as itbecame visible for a second and then instantaneously disappeared, melting back again, into darkness as the moon withdrew her light, obscured by the angle of the vessel's side, as the ship made anotherroll in the contrary direction. 

I was almost paralysed with fear, being too much frightened to utter asound; and there I remained spellbound, staring still towards the spotwhere I had seen the apparition--half-sitting, half-standing on thelocker, having drawn up my feet, so as to be out of the rush of thewater as it washed to and fro on the floor. 

As for Captain Snaggs, the sight of his victim seemed to affect him evenmore--at least, so I fancied, from his frenzied cry; for, of course, Icould no longer see him. 

"Save me! save me!" he called out, in almost as despairing andterror-stricken a tone as that of poor Sam, when he was shot and fellinto the sea; and then I heard a heavy splash, as if the captain hadtumbled down on his face in the pool slushing about the deck. "Save me!Take him away! The darned nigger hez got me at last!"

CHAPTER FIVE. 

ON FIRE IN THE HOLD. 

I think I must have swooned away with fright, for the next thing Irecollect on coming to myself was the steward, Morris Jones, shaking me. 

"Rouse up, you lazy lubber!" he roared in my ears. "Rouse up and helpme with the cap'en; he's fell down in a fit, or something!"

Then, I noticed that Jones had a ship's lantern in his hand, by the dimlight of which the cabin was only faintly illuminated; but I could seethe water washing about the floor, with a lot of things floating aboutthat had been carried away by the big wave coming in through the brokenport in the stern sheets, that was also plainly discernible from thephosphorescent glow of the sea without, which every moment welled upalmost on a level with the deck above, as if it were going to fetchinboard again and vamp us altogether. 

"Wha--what's the matter?" I stammered out, half confused at the way inwhich the steward shook me; and then, recollecting all that hadhappened, as the fearful sight both the captain and I had seen flashedall at once on my mind, I put my hands before my face shudderingly, exclaiming, "Oh, the ghost! the ghost!"

"The ghost your grandmother!" ejaculated Jones, giving me another roughhustle. "Why, boy, you ain't awake yet. I'll douse you in the water, and give you a taste of `cold pig, ' if you don't get up and help me in aminute!"

"But I saw it, " I cried, starting to my feet and looking wildly aroundto see if the apparition were still there. "I saw it with my own eyes;and so did Captain Snaggs, too!"

"Saw what?"

"The ghost of poor Sam Jedfoot. "

Morris Jones laughed scornfully. 

"You confounded fool, you're dreaming still!" he said, shaking me again, to give emphasis to his words. "I should like to know what the niggercook's ghost were doin' in here. Where did you see his ugly phiz agen, do you say?"

"There!" I answered boldly, pointing to the corner by the cabin door, where, as the steward flashed his lantern in the direction, I couldstill see something black and hazy waving to and fro. "Why, there it isstill, if you don't believe me!"

"Well, I'm blowed!" he exclaimed, going over to the place and catchinghold of the object that had again alarmed me. "You are a frightenedfeller to be skeared by an old coat! Why, it's that Dutch second-mateof ourn's oilskin a-hangin' up outside his bunk that you thought wereSam's sperrit when the light shone on it, I s'pose. You ain't got thepluck of a flea, Cholly Hills, to lose your head over sich a trifle. There's no ghostesses now-a-days; and if there was, I don't think as howthe cook's sperrit would come in here, specially arter the way theskipper settled him. Man or ghost, he'd be too much afeard to come nighthe `old man' agen, with him carryin' on like that, and in sich atantrum. I wonder Sam hadn't more sense than to cross his hawse as hedid. I were too wary, and kep' close in my pantry all the time the rowwere on, I did. I wern't born yesterday!"

"But the cap'en saw it, too, I tell you, " I persisted. "He yelled outthat Sam was there before he tumbled down; and that was how I came tolook and notice the awful thing. You can believe it or not, but I tellyou I saw Sam Jedfoot there as plain as life--either him or his ghost!"

"Rubbish!" cried Jones, who meanwhile had put the lantern he carried onthe cabin table, and was proceeding to lift up the captain's head anddrag him into a sitting posture against the side of one of the settlesthat ran down the cuddy fore and aft. "Just you light up one of themswinging lamps, and then come and help me carry the skipper to his bunk. He's dead drunk, that's what he is; and I wonder he ain't drownded, too, lying with his nose in all thafe water sluicing round. As for theghost he saw, that were rum, his favour-rite sperrit. He ought to 'aveseed two Sams from the lot he's drunk to-night--two bottles as I'm aliving sinner, barrin' a glass or two the first-mate had, and a drop Isqueezed out for myself, when I took him up some grog on deck at the endof the second dog-watch!"

"Two bottles of rum!" I exclaimed in astonishment. "Really?"

"Aye; do you think me lying?" snapped out Jones in answer; "that is, pretty nigh on, nearly. I wonder he ain't dead with it all. I 'aveknowed him manage a bottle afore of a night all to hisself, but nevertwo, lor the matter o' that. It ought to kill him. Guess he's got alit of 'plexy now, an' will wake up with the jim-jams!"

"What's that?" I asked, as the two of us lifted the captain, who wasbreathing stertorously, as if snoring; "anything more serious?"

"Only a fit of the horrors, " said Jones nonchalantly, as if the matterwere an every-day circumstance, and nothing out of the common; "but ifhe does get 'em, we must hide his blessed revolver, or else he'll begoin' round the ship lettin' fly at every man Jack of us in turn! I'lltell Mr Flinders to be on his guard when he comes-to, so that some one'll look arter him. "

As he spoke, the steward slung the body of the unconscious man into hiscot, I staggering as I lifted the captain's legs, which, although theywere very thin and spindleshanky, wore bony and heavy, while I was slimand weak for my age. Besides which, the thrashing I had received theevening previously had pretty well taken all the strength out of me, combined with my subsequent fright from the ghost, which I could nothelp believing in, despite all Jones's sneers and assertions to thecontrary. Of course, though, there was no use arguing the point withhim; he was so obstinate--like all Welshmen!

However, between the two of us, we got Captain Snaggs laid in his bed, where he certainly would be more comfortable than wallowing about in thewater on the cabin floor. Then, Jones and I left him, just propping uphis head with the pillows, so that he should not suffocate himself. Hecould not well tumble out, the cot having high sides, and swingingbesides with the motion of the ship, being hung from the deck above on asort of gimbal joint, that worked in a ball and socket and gave allways. 

The steward then went back again into his bunk adjoining the pantry tohave his sleep out; but I felt too excited to lie down again. 

I did not like to remain there alone in the cabin after what had passed, listening to the thuds of the waves against the sides of the ship, andthe weird creaking of the timbers, as if the vessel were groaning withpain, and the heavy breathing of the captain in his cot, that rose aboveall these sounds, for he was snoring and snorting away at a fine rate;so, I proceeded out on to the lower deck, experiencing a chill shudderas I made my exit by the door where I had seen Sam Jedfoot's spectre inthe moonlight. 

I almost fancied it was still there!

When I got out under the break of the poop, I found all quiet, with theport watch on duty, for Mr Flinders, the first-mate, was in charge, hehaving relieved the second-mate, with whom the captain had remaineduntil he left the deck at midnight; and, an Tom Bullover and HiramBangs, my only friends amongst the crew, had gone below with MrSteenbock and the rest of the starboard hands, there was nobody whom Icould speak to and tell all that I had seen. 

I felt very lonesome in consequence; and, although I was not a bitsleepy, having managed to get a good four hours' rest before I wasawakened by Captain Snaggs coming stumbling down the companion way, aswell as by the noise made by the sea smashing into the cabin at the sametime, yet I was tired enough still not to be averse to stowing myselfaway under the lee of the long-boat. I took the precaution, however, tocuddle up in a piece of old tarpaulin that was lying about, so that thefirst-mate should not see me from the poop, and set me on at once tosome task or other below, in his usual malicious way--Mr Flinders, likeCaptain Snaggs, never seeming to be happy unless he was tormentingsomebody, and setting them on some work for which there wasn't the leastnecessity!

The moon was now shining brightly and lots of stars twinkling in theheaven, which was clear of clouds, the bracing nor'-westerly wind havingblown them all away; and the _Denver City_ was bounding along with allplain sail set before the breeze, that was right astern, rolling now andagain with a stiff lurch to port and then to starboard, and diving hernose down one moment with her stern lifting, only to rise againbuoyantly the next instant and shake the spray off her jib-boom as shepointed it upwards, trying to poke a hole in the sky!

What with the whistling of the wind through the cordage, and the wash ofthe waves as they raced over each other and broke with a seething`whish' into masses of foam, and the motion of the ship gently rockingto and fro like a pendulum as she lurched this way and that withrhythmical regularity, my eyes presently began to close. So, cuddlingmyself up in the tarpaulin, for the air fresh from the north felt ratherchilly, I dropped off into a sound nap, not waking again until one ofthe men forward struck `six bells, ' just when the day was beginning todawn. This was in spite of my being `not a bit sleepy, ' as I said. 

I roused up with a start, not; knowing where I was at first; but it wasnot long before the fact was made patent to me that I was aboard ship, and a cabin boy as well to boot--a sort of `Handy Billy, ' for every oneto send on errands and odd jobs--the slave of the cuddy and fo'c's'lealike!

Before he had imbibed so much rum, and just prior to his going on thepoop that time when he startled us all so much in the fo'c's'le by hishail for Tom Bullover and the rest of the starboard hands to come aftand relieve the port watch, Captain Snaggs, as I afterwards learnt, hadspoken to the steward, telling him that he was to take over poor SamJedfoot's duties for awhile, until the men selected a new cook fromamongst themselves. Jones was told to commence work in the galley thenext evening, with especial injunctions to be up early enough to lightthe fire under the coppers, so that the crew could have their hot coffeeat `eight bells, ' when the watches were changed--this indulgence beingalways allowed now in all decent merchant vessels; for Captain Snaggs, if he did haze and bully the hands under him, took care to get on theirweather side by looking after their grub, a point they recollected, itmay be remembered, when he appealed to them in reference to histreatment of poor Sam. 

Now, Morris Jones did not relish the job; but, as the first-mate hadbeen present when the captain gave his orders, albeit Mr Flinders wasrather limp at the time, from the physicking he, like the skipper, hadhad from the jalap in the stew, the steward knew that he would recollectall about it, even if the rum should have made the captain forget. So, much against his inclination, he turned out of his bunk at daybreak tosee to lighting the galley fire; when, whom should he chance to comeright up against on his way forward but me, just as I had wriggledmyself out of the tarpaulin and sat up on the deck, rubbing myhalf-opened eyes. 

Jones was delighted at the opportunity for `passing on' the obnoxiousduty. 

"Here, you young swab!" he cried, giving me a kick to waken me up morethoroughly, and then catching hold of me by the scruff of the neck andpulling me up on my feet, "stir your stumps a bit and just you comeforrud along o' me. I'm blessed if I'm going to do cook an' stooard'swork single-handed, an' you lazy rascallion a caulkin' all over theship! First I finds yer snug down snoozin' in the cabin, an' now here, with the sun ready to scorch yer eyes out. Why, yer ought ter be rightdown 'shamed o' yerself. I'm blessed if I ever see sich a b'y forcoilin' hisself away an' caulkin' all hours of the day and night!"

Jones was fond of hearing himself talk, as well as pleased to have someone he was able to bully in turn as the skipper bullied him; and so, hekept jawing and grumbling away all the while we were getting up to thegalley, although that did not take very long--not by any means so longas his tongue was and the stream of words that flowed from it when hehad once begun, as if he would really never end!

"Now, you young beggar, " said he, opening the half-door of the cook'scaboose and shoving me inside, "let us see how soon you can light a firean' make the water in the coppers boil. I'll fill 'em for you whileyou're putting the sticks in; so heave ahead, an' I'll fetch a bucket ortwo from the scuttle butt!"

He spoke of this as if he were conferring a favour on me, instead ofonly doing his own work; but I didn't answer him, going on to make agood fire with some wood and shavings, which Sam used to get from thecarpenter and kept handy in the corner of the galley, ready to hand whenwanted. I knew by this time, from practical experience, that words onboard ship, where cabin boys are concerned at all events, generally leadto `more kicks than ha'pence, ' as the saying goes!

Soon, I had a good blaze up, and the steward on his part filling thecoppers, they were both shortly at boiling-point; when, going aft to hispantry, Jones fetched out a pound of coffee, which he chucked into thestarboard copper, which held about four gallons, and was not quitefilled to the brim. He evidently had determined to propitiate the crewat the start by giving them good coffee for once and plenty of it; asthere were only eighteen hands in the fo'c's'le, now that Sam had gone, besides himself and me--leaving out the captain and mates, who belongedto the cabin, and of course did not count in, but who made our totalcomplement in the ship twenty-three souls all told. 

Jones, too, dowsed into the copper a tidy lot of molasses, to sweetenthe coffee; and so, when it was presently served out promptly at `eightbells, ' he won golden opinions in this his first essay at cooking, themen all declaring it prime stuff. I think, though, I ought to have hadsome of the credit of it, having lighted the fire and seen to everythingsave chucking in the coffee and molasses, which anybody else could havedone quite so well as the steward!

Jones kept me too busy in the galley to allow me time to speak to TomBullover and Hiram Bangs, when they turned out to relieve the portwatch; but, later on, when the decks had been washed down, and the sunwas getting well up in the eastern horizon, flooding the ocean with therosy light of morning, I had an opportunity of telling my friend thecarpenter of what I had seen in the cabin. 

Much to my disgust, however, he laughed at my account of Sam Jedfoot'sghost having appeared, declaring that I had been dreaming and imaginedit all. 

"No, Charley, I wouldn't believe it if you went down on your bendedknees an' swore it, not save I seed Sam with my own eyes, an' even thenI'd have a doubt, " said Tom, grinning in the most exasperating way. "Why, look there, now, at the skipper on the poop, as right asninepence! If he'd been in the state you say, an' were so orfullyfrightened, an' had seed Sam's sperrit, as you wants to make me swallow, do you think he'd look so perky this mornin'?"

I could hardly believe my eyes. 

Yes, there was Captain Snaggs, braced up against the poop rail in hisusual place, with one eye scanning the horizon to windward and the otherinspecting the sails aloft, and his billy-goat beard sticking out as italways did. He looked as hearty as if nothing had happened, the onlysign that I could see of his drunken fit of the night before being a cutacross the bridge of his long hooked nose, and a slight discolourationof his eye on the port side, the result, no doubt, of his fall on thecabin floor. 

Tom Bullover could read my doubts in my face. 

"You must have dreamed it, Charley, I s'pose, on account of all thattalkin' we had in the fo'c's'le about ghostesses afore you went aft an'turned in, an' that's what's the matter, " he repeated, giving me a nudgein the ribs, while he added more earnestly: "And, if I was you, my boy, I wouldn't mention a word of it to another soul, or the hands 'll chaffthe life out of you, an' you'll wish you were a ghost yerself!"

Tom moved off as he uttered these last words with a chuckle, andaccompanied by an expressive wink, that spoke volumes; so, seeing hisadvice was sound, I determined to act upon it, although the fear struckme that Jones, the steward, would mention it even if I didn't, just tomake me the laughing-stock of the crew. 

However, I had no time then for reflection; Captain Snaggs, as if toshow that he had all his wits about him still, calling out for the handsforward to overhaul the studding-sail gear and rig out the booms; and, by breakfast time, when the steward and I had to busy ourselves again inthe galley, the _Denver City_ was covered with, a regular pyramid ofcanvas, that seemed to extend from the truck to the deck, while she wasracing through the water at a rate of ten knots or more, with a clearsky above and a moderate sea below, and a steady nor'-nor'-west windafter us. 

At noon, when the captain took the sun and told us forward to "make iteight bells, " we learnt that we were in longitude 8 degrees 15 minutesWest, and latitude 49 degrees 20 minutes North, or well to the westwardof the Scilly Islands, and so really out at sea and entered on our longvoyage to California. 

This fact appeared to give no little satisfaction to the crew, whoraised a chorus whenever a rope had to be pulled or a brace taughtened, the fine weather and brighter surroundings making the sailors apparentlyforget, with that sort of happy knack for which seafaring folk aregenerally distinguished, all the rough time we had coming down SaintGeorge's Channel, when off the Tuskar, and the terrible events of thepreceding day. 

That very afternoon, indeed, the last act that was to blot out poor SamJedfoot's memory from the minds of all the hands took place, the skipperordering the usual auction of the dead man's effects to be held on thefo'c's'le; when, such is the comedy of life, the very men who were soindignant about the captain shooting him a few hours before now cutjokes about the poverty of the darkey's kit, when his sea-chest wasopened and its contents put up for sale to the highest bidder!

Sam's banjo led to a spirited competition, Hiram Bangs finallysucceeding in becoming its purchaser for five dollars, which CaptainSnaggs was authorised to deduct from the American sailor's wages--crediting it to the cook's account, should the dead man's heirs orassigns apply for any balance due to the poor darkey when the shiparrived in port. 

The rest of the things only fetched a trifle; and, with the disposal ofhis goods and chattels, all recollection of the light-hearted Sam, whowas once the life of the fo'c's'le, passed out of everyone's mind. Hiram stowed the banjo away in his box, for he could not play it, andhad only bought it from its association with its late owner, who used tomake him, he said, merry and sad, `jest as the durned nigger liked, 'with the melody he drew from the now silent strings. 

And yet, somehow or other, it seemed destined that Sam should not be sosoon forgotten, at least by me; for, in the evening, when I took in thecabin dinner and remained to wait at table, in lieu of the steward, whowas too much occupied in cooking to come aft, Captain Snaggs brought upthe subject again. 

He was in high spirits at the manner in which the ship was travellingalong, appearing to have quite recovered from his drinking bout; andwhen I uncovered the dish that I placed before him, he made a joke aboutit to the first-mate, who, according to custom, shared meals with theskipper in the cuddy and always sat down the same time that he did, thesecond-mate having to shift by himself, and eat when he had the chancebetween watches. 

"Guess thaar ain't no jalap in this lot, Flinders, hey?" said thecaptain, with a snigger; "thet thaar cuss of a stooard would be tooskeart of my fixin' him same ez I done thet durned nigger to try on anygames, ye bet!"

"I reckon so, boss, " replied the other, with his mouth full, stuffingaway in his usual fashion. "Ye potted the coon nicely, ye did; an'sarved him right, too, fur meddlin' with the grub. I thought I werpizened sure!"

"An' so did I, by thunder!" echoed Captain Snaggs, bringing his fistdown with a bang on the table, that almost made Mr Flinders' plate leapout of the `fiddle' in which it was placed, to prevent it from spillingits contents as the ship rolled. "I did so, by thunder! I sw'ar, orelse I wouldn't a' shot the cuss. Them hands furrud thinks I'm going tobe sich a durned fool ez to call in at Bahia or Rio, an' make astatement of the case, telling how the nigger got overboard; but yecatch me stoppin' at any a port 'fore I drops anchor in 'Frisco. Yeknows better ner thet, Flinders, hey?"

The first-mate sniggered sympathetically at this, expressing by a winkhis confidence in the skipper's promise to the men; and the two laughedwith much heartiness and fellow feeling over the credulity of those whohad been so easily satisfied, and gone back to their work, confidentlytrusting in Captain Snaggs' word and honour. 

A little later on, when the rum bottle was produced, the captain alludedto his excess of the night before in the same jocular vein:--

"Must keep a kinder stiffer helm this evenin', Flinders, " he observed, helping himself to a tumblerful, and then passing on the bottle to themate; "guess I wer a bit sprung yesterday?"

"Aye, cap, ye hed y'r load, " replied Mr Flinders, with a grin; adding, however, in fear of the skipper taking offence: "Not mor'n ye couldcarry, though. Ye scooted down the companion all right at eight bells. "

"Thet's so, " said the other; "but, d'ye know, Flinders, I wer flummuxedup inter a heap when I got below, an' saw snakes terrible. I guess Iseed, too, thet air durned nigger, an' hed a notion he wer come backagen to haunt me--I did so, Flinders, by thunder!"

"Ye must take keer, cap, " responded the first-mate to this confession. "If ye don't draw in a bit ye'll be hevin' the shakes, an' thet 'd neverdo, I reckon. "

"I guess not; but last night I wer kinder overcome with all the muss, an' might jist hev swallerd a drop or so too much, I reckon. Good rumcan't hurt nary a one--thet is, in moderation, Flinders, strictly inmoderation. "

So saying, Captain Snaggs helped himself to another stiff tumblerful;and how many more glasses he had afterwards I could not say, as hedismissed me just then, telling me I could go forwards when I hadcleared away the things--which I did in a jiffy, glad to quit the cabinand its occupants. 

On reaching the fo'c's'le, I found that the steward had, as I perceived, told the men of my fright, and so I got finely chaffed about `Sam'sghost. ' The next day I was revenged, though; for, Jones spoiled thecrew's dinner, and got so mauled by the indignant sailors that he had tobeat a retreat back to the cabin, giving up thus ingloriously his brieftenancy of the galley. 

Hiram Bangs was then elected cook in his place by the hands, with whomthe captain left the matter, to settle it as they pleased; and, as thegood-natured Yankee selected me to be his `mate' or assistant, by thismeans I was relieved of any further association with the Welshman, andreleased from his tyranny, taking up my quarters thenceforth with thecrew forward. 

The nor'-westerly wind lasted us right across the Bay of Biscay and downto the Western Islands; and, we were only becalmed for a day or so, withlight, variable breezes between the Azores and Madeira, when we pickedup the nor'-east trades, which rattled us onward past the Canaries andCape Verde. 

From thence, all went well on board, nothing eventful happening until wewere close up with the Equator, in latitude 7 degrees North, andlongitude about 28 degrees West, when, late in the evening of ourthirtieth day out, just as the man at the wheel had been relieved, andthe port watch, under charge of the first-mate, come on duty at `eightbells, ' I smelt something burning in the forepeak. 

Looking to see what was the matter, I noticed a thin column of smokecoming up from the small hatch under the fo'c's'le. 

Of course, I went aft at once and told Mr Flinders, who would notbelieve me at first; but, as one of the other hands followed me up, bringing the same report, he was at length induced to descend the poopladder and go forward to judge for himself whether we had told the truthor not, muttering the while, though, that it was "all a pack o' durnednonsense!"

He did not think this long, however, for hardly had he got beyond thelong-boat, when the smoke, which had got much denser while he had beenwasting time palavering without taking action, blowing into his faceconvinced him that the matter was really serious. 

All his nonchalance was gone in a moment, as well as his discretion;for, without pausing to consider the effect that any sudden disclosureof the danger might have on the crew by destroying their coolness andpluck, he roared out at the pitch of his voice, as he banged away withthe heel of his boot on the deck:

"All hands ahoy! Tumble up thaar! Tumble up! The shep's on fire inthe hold!"

CHAPTER SIX. 

CAPE HORN WEATHER. 

"Je-rusalem!" exclaimed Captain Snaggs, rushing out from the cabin inhis night-shirt, having just turned in, and not stopping to dress--asthe fluttering white garment and his thin legs showing beneath plainlydemonstrated. This I noticed when the mass of heavy clouds with whichthe sky was covered overhead shifted for a moment, allowing a straygleam from the watery moon to light up the deck, and saw the skipperhurrying up to the scene of action, where he was the first to arrive. "What's all this durned muss about?"

Jan Steenbock answered him. He had not gone below when his watch wasrelieved, and being attracted by the row, was now preparing foremergencies by rigging a hose on to the head-pump, so that this could beat once passed down into the hold if necessary--the first-mate being toofrightened to do anything, even to reply to the captain when he spoke. Indeed, he seemed perfectly paralysed with fear. 

"Dere vas shmoke come out vrom ze forepeak, " said the second-mate, inhis deep guttural tones; "and I zinks dere vas one fire in ze holt. Mishter Vlinders vas give ze alarm and cal't all hands. "

"Guess I heerd thet; an', I reckon, Mr Flinders hed better hev comedan' told me quietly, instead of skearin' everybody into a blue funk!"snapped out Captain Snaggs, dancing about on his spindleshank legs likea pea on a hot griddle, and dodging the smoke as it puffed in his face, while peering forward to see whence it came. "Hev any of yer chaps bendown below to prospect whaar the durned thing is?"

"It vas in ze forepeak, cap'n, " said Jan Steenbock, in response to thisquestion. "I vas zee it meinselfs. "

"Is the hose ready?"

"Aye, aye, sir!" shouted back a score of voices, all hands being now ondeck and every one forward, save the helmsman and steward--the latter, no doubt, snoozing away comfortably in his bunk, and not troublinghimself about the disturbance, thinking, if he thought at all, that thecall of the first-mate was only probably to shorten sail, in which casehe might just as well remain where he was. "The hose is rigged and thehead-pump manned, sir. "

"Then let her rip!" shouted the skipper. "Go it, my hearties, an' floodit out. I've hed nary a fire aboard my ship afore; an' I don't want tobe burnt out now, I reckon, with all them dry goods an' notions below, by thunder! Put your back into it, ye lubbers, an' let her rip, I tellye; she's all oak!"

One party of men attended to the pump, Jan Steenbock directing the endof the hose down the half-opened hatch, the lid having been partlyslipped off by some one. The captain ranged the rest along the gangway, passing the buckets; and these a couple of others standing in theforechains dipped in the sea, hauling them up when full and handing themto those nearest, the skipper clutching hold when they reached him andchucking their contents down below. 

The smoke in a minute or two perceptibly diminished in volume; and, presently, only a thin spiral wreath faintly stole up, in lieu of thethick clouds that had previously almost stifled us. 

A wild hurrah of triumph burst from the crew; and the second-mate wasjust about descending into the forepeak, to get nearer the fire and seewhether it had been thoroughly put out, when the entire cover of thehatchway was suddenly thrown violently off, and the dripping head andshoulders of a man appearing right under his very nose startled JanSteenbock so much that he tumbled backward on the deck, although, impassive as usual, he did not utter a cry. 

The captain did though. 

"By the jumping Jehosophat!" he yelled out, also hopping backprecipitately, with his night-shirt streaming out in the wind, whichmust have made his legs feel rather chilly, I thought, "who in thunder'sthaar?"

"Me, " replied a husky voice, the owner whereof coughed, as if he werepretty well suffocated with the smoke and water. "It's all right; it'sonly me. "

"Jee-rusalem!" ejaculated Captain Snaggs, rather puzzled. "Who's `me'I'd like ter know, I guess?"

"Tom Bullover, " answered my friend the carpenter, now lifting himselfout of the forepeak, when shaking himself like a big Newfoundland dog, he scattered a regular shower bath around. "It's all right below, andthere's no fire there no longer. "

"An' what in the name of thunder wer ye a-doin' on down thaar, hey?"asked the skipper, quite flabbergasted at his unexpected appearance, Tomlooking like a veritable imp from the lower regions, all blackened andbegrimed, for the moon escaping from the veil of vapour that now nearlyconcealed the entire vault of the heavens just then shone down on usagain, throwing a sickly light on the scene. "How kern ye to be down inthe forepeak at all, my joker?"

"I went down just afore my watch was up to look up a spare old tops'l westowed away there, me and Hiram, the week afore last, to see whether itwouldn't do in place o' that main to'gallant we carried away yesterday, "replied Tom, rather sheepishly; "an' I s'pose I fell asleep, for it wasonly the water you kept a-pouring down as woke me up, an' I was mostdrownded afore I could reach the ladder an' catch hold of the coamin' ofthe hatch to climb up. "

"An' sarve ye right, too, if we hed drownded ye, by thunder!" roaredCaptain Snaggs, thoroughly incensed, "ye durned addle-headed lubber! Iguess ye hed a lantern with ye, hey?"

"Yes, " confessed the delinquent; "in course I took a light down to seewhat I was a-doin' of. "

"`In course'!" repeated the captain, in savage mimicry of Tom's way ofspeaking; "an' yer durned lantern got upsot, or kicked over, orsunthin', an' so, I guess ye sot fire to the sails, hey?"

"No, sir, there's nothing hurt to mention, " replied Tom, more coolly;"it was only some old rags and greasy waste that the cook shoved downthere that caught, which were the reason it made such a big smoke. "

The skipper snorted indignantly at this explanation; and then, craninghis long neck over the hatchway, he sniffed about, as if trying todetect some special smell. 

"`Big smoke, ' hey!" he cried, as he stood upright again, and shook hisfist in Tom's face. "I guess theft's jest the ticket, ye thunderin'liar! Ye've been shamming Abraham in yer watch, an' sneaked down thaarto hev a pipe on the sly, when ye should hev bin mindin' yer dooty, thet's what's the matter, sirree; but, I'll make ye pay for it, yeskulkin' rascallion. I'll stop ye a month's wages fur the damage doneto the ship--if not by the fire, by the water we've hove in to put itout, an' ye ken tote it up, if ye like, yerself!"

Captain Snaggs then ordered the second-mate to go down and see if alldanger were really over, and nothing left smouldering, not trusting toTom's assurance to that effect; and, presently, when Jan Steenbock cameup again with a satisfactory report, the skipper, who was now shiveringwith the wet and exposure in such a light and airy costume, returnedback to his cabin to finish his sleep in peace--not, however, withoutgiving a rating to Mr Flinders, for his behaviour, which he said was asbad as that of the carpenter. 

The starboard watch were then told that they might go below, though itwas getting on for midnight, when they would have to turn out again, andkeep the deck till the morning. 

I don't know how it was, but, from that night, everything went wrongwith the ship. 

The very next afternoon, a tremendous thunderstorm broke over us, and anasty blue, zigzagging streak of lightning struck our mizzen-royal mast, splintering the spar and sending the tye-block down on the poop, nearlykilling the second-mate. 

If it had been Mr Flinders it wouldn't have mattered so much, but JanSteenbock was a decent fellow and a good seaman, being much liked by allhands, barring the skipper, who, of course, disliked him because he tookthe men's part and let them have easy times of it in his watch. 

This was the beginning of a fourteen days' spell we had of rolling aboutin the sweltering calms of the Doldrums; and then, when we at lastmanaged to drift cross the Line, we had another fortnight's stagnationbefore we met the south-east trades, only a couple of degrees or sobelow the Equator. 

By this time, every man on board was heartily sick of the ship and tiredof his company, for the captain was continually grumbling with the matesand hazing the crew, and the hands as constantly falling out amongthemselves. Only my two friends, Tom Bullover and Hiram, the Yankeesailor, really remained chummy or contented out of the whole lot. Therest seemed thoroughly dissatisfied, complaining of their grub andeverything. 

Some of them declared, too, that the vessel was unlucky and under acurse, saying that they heard strange noises at night in the hold, though I did not think much of this, Tom and Hiram between them havingnearly succeeded in chaffing me out of my belief in having seen SamJedfoot's ghost. 

On getting a fair wind again, the ship, which had lost almost a lunarmonth through bad weather and calms and no weather at all, began totravel once more southward, steering almost west-sou'-west on the porttack; but as we reached down the South American coast-line towards CapeHorn, we nearly came to grief on the Abralhos, the _Denver City_ justescaping laying her bones there by the `skin of her teeth, ' to use TomBullover's expression to me next morning, as I was serving out thecoffee--the peril having been met in the middle watch, when I wasasleep, and knew nothing about it until it was over and we were sailingon serenely once more. 

Then, again, off the mouth of the La Plata, when nearly opposite BuenosAyres, although, of course, some five hundred miles or more from theland, we suddenly encountered a terrific `pampero, ' as the storms ofthat region are styled; and, if Captain Snaggs hadn't smelt this comingin time, we should have been dismasted and probably gone to the bottomwith all hands. 

As it was, we only managed to furl the upper sails and clew up thecourses before the wind caught us, heeling the vessel over almostbroadside on to the sea; and then everything had to be let go by therun, the ship scudding away right before the gale, as if towed by wildhorses, with the sheets and halliards and everything flying--for, atfirst, the hail that accompanied the wind beat down on us so fearfullythat no one was able to face it and go aloft. 

That night, one of the hands who came up to the galley to light hispipe, and who had previously spoken of the noises he had noticed, as hesaid, about the deck during the still hours of the early morning, whenall sounds seem so much louder than in the daytime, both aboard ship andashore, declared that during the height of the pampero he had heard SamJedfoot's voice distinctly singing that old negro ballad of which heused to be so fond when in life, chaunting it almost regularly everyevening on the fo'c's'le to the accompaniment of his banjo:--

 "Oh, down in Alabama, 'fore I wer sot free, I lubbed a p'ooty yaller gal, an' fought dat she lubbed me!"

Of course, Hiram Bangs and Tom Bullover, who were smoking inside thegalley at the time, laughed at the man for his folly; but he persistedin his statement, and went away at last quite huffed because they wouldnot believe him. 

This was not the end of it all, however, as events will show. 

CHAPTER SEVEN. 

A HAUNTED SHIP. 

A week later, Captain Snaggs, after drinking heavily during the evening, was seized with a fit of delirium similar to the one he had that nightwhen he frightened me so terribly, for he rushed out of the cuddy, screaming that `thet durned nigger Sam' was after him again. 

He made my flesh creep; and I wouldn't have gone afterwards into thestern of the ship at night, without a light, for a good deal, nor wouldany of the fo'c's'le hands either, excepting, perhaps, Tom Bullover. Iam certain Hiram Bangs would have been even more reluctant than myselfto have ventured within the presumptive quarters of the ghost. 

But, it was when we were off Cape Horn itself, though, that weencountered our greatest peril. 

The _Denver City_ had got down well below the latitude of the stormyheadland that is to mariners like the `Hill Difficulty' mentioned in the`Pilgrim's Progress, ' carrying with her up to then the light, favourablebreezes we had encountered after leaving the south-east trades which hadpreviously wafted her so well on her way; when, all at once, withouthardly a warning, the sea began to grow choppy and sullen, and the airthick and heavy. The sky, too, which had been for days and days nearlycloudless, became overcast all round, heavy masses of vapour pilingthemselves upwards from the horizon towards the zenith, to the southwardand westward, gradually enveloping ship and ocean alike in a mantle ofmist. 

"Cape Horn weather, " observed Tom Bullover meaningly, as he squinted towindward; "we'll have a taste of it presently!"

"Aye, bo, " said Hiram, from the door of the galley opposite, where thecarpenter was holding on to the weather rigging; "I wonder what theskipper's about, keepin' all thet hamper aloft an' a gale like theta-comin'! I reckon he'd better look smart, or we'll be caught nappin', hey?"

Captain Snaggs, however, was also on the look-out; and, almost ere Hiramhad finished his sentence, he shouted out for all hands to take in sail. 

"'Way aloft thaar!" he cried; "lay out on the yards, men, an' close reefthe tops'ls. We're going to hev a blow!"

And we did have a blow. 

The men were just ready to haul in the weather earring of themizzen-topsail, the last they were handing, the fore and main havingbeen already made snug, when a storm of wind and hail and snow struck uswhich in a few minutes coated the deck and rigging and every portion ofthe upper works of the ship with thick ice. At the same time, the sea, rolling in enormous waves, broke over our counter, throwing sheets ofwater aboard, which seemed to freeze in the air before it fell. 

I was standing on the poop, lending a hand at the mizzen halliards withthe rest of the `idlers'--as those who are not regular sailors arecalled, although I was fast trying to become a real salt under the apttuition of Hiram Bangs and the carpenter--when this fierce blast came. 

Goodness gracious! It pinned us all down to the deck, as if we wereskittle-pegs, making our faces smart again with the bitter downpour. 

Next, followed a short lull, during which the reef tackle was hauled outand the halliards manned, the yard being swayed up again; and then, those aloft were able to come down and find a more comfortable shelterbelow than the rigging afforded. 

But, now, occurred a curious circumstance. 

As the hands who had been up on the mizzen-yard reefing the topsailstepped from the ratlines on to the deck of the poop before getting downto the waist below, one of the men, Jim Chowder, the same who had saidthat he had heard Sam Jedfoot's voice in the ship since he had been lostoverboard, whispered to me as he passed:--

"Listen!" he said. 

That was all--

"Listen!"

The wind had suddenly died away for a moment, although the sea was likean ocean of mountains lumbering over each other; and as I `listened', asJim the sailor had told me, I heard a musical sound that I instantlyrecognised. It was that of the negro cook's banjo, and Sam's voice, too, most unmistakably, singing the same old air I knew so well:

 "Oh, down in Alabama, 'fore I wer sot free. "

The instrument seemed to give out a double twang at this point, as ifall the strings were twitched at once, and I noticed that CaptainSnaggs, who stood near me, turned as white as a sheet. 

"Thunder!" he exclaimed, his eyes almost starting out of his head. "TheLord hev mercy on us! What air thet?"

As if in answer to his question, the same wild, ghostly melody wasrepeated, the sound seeming to hover in the air and yet to come fromunderneath the deck under our feet, the tune swelling in intensity as weall listened, so that every man on board must have heard it as well asthe captain and myself. 

And then, just as the last bar was struck with another resounding twang, a fiercer blast than the first caught the ship on her port quarter, andshe heeled over to starboard until her deck was almost upright, while atthe same time a terrible wave washed over us fore and aft, sweepingeverything movable overboard. 

I held on to the weather rigging like `grim Death, ' amidst a mass ofseething foam, that flowed over the poop as if it were the open sea, with the roar of rushing waters around me and the whistling andshrieking of the wind as it tore through the shrouds and howled andwailed, sweeping onward away to leeward. 

The spirit of the storm seemed to have broken loose; its blackcloud-wings covering the heavens and fanning up the waves into fury, andthen hurling them at the _Denver City_, which, poor, stricken thing, quailed before the onslaught of the cruel blast and remorseless rollingbillows which followed each other in swift succession. These bore herdown, and down, and down, until she was almost on her beam-ends, labouring heavily and groaning and creaking in every timber, and lookingas if she were going to capsize every instant. 

Not a man on board but thought his last hour had come. 

The noise of the raging elements, however, in this mad commotion at oncedrowned the sound of the weird, mysterious music that had previouslyfilled the air, affecting us all so strangely, especially CaptainSnaggs, who seemed to be stricken by a spell as long as the sad strainechoed in our ears. But, the moment that we ceased to hear the phantomchaunt, the skipper recovered himself, his sailor instincts getting thebetter of his superstitious fears and sudden fright. 

Fortunately, he had clutched hold of the poop rail as the fierce gustcaught the vessel, or, otherwise, he would have been carried over theside, and be struggling for dear life half a mile, at least, astern, where the hen-coops and casks that had been washed overboard were nowbobbing about, as they sank slowly out of sight on the crest of the wavethat had cleared our decks. 

A thorough seaman, in spite of his malevolent disposition and bullyingmanner, which, I suppose, he could not help, he knew at once what wasbest to be done under the circumstances--what, indeed, was the onlything that would save the ship, and which, if it could be done, had tobe done quickly. 

Still grasping the rail with one hand, he made a motion with the otherto Jan Steenbock to put the helm up, for the second-mate, being on thepoop, had immediately jumped to the wheel to the assistance of the manthere, who had as much as he could do single-handed to keep down thespokes, the ship steering wildly in such a heavy, tumbling sea as wasboiling around us. The captain the next moment clambered to themizzen-topsail sheets and halliards, and let them go by the run, anexample that was instantly followed by those on the deck below, TomBullover, who was in charge there, anticipating the skipper's intention, although he could not catch the order he bawled out at the same timethat he lifted his hand to warn the helmsman--the terrible din kept upby the waves and wind alike preventing a word from reaching any onestanding a yard beyond Captain Snaggs, had he spoken through a speakingtrumpet and been possessed of lungs of brass!

At first, it looked as if these measures had been adopted too late, thevessel lay so helplessly over on her side; but, in a little while, although it seemed a century to us, with our lives trembling in thebalance, during the interval of a brief lull she slowly righted again. Then, paying off from the wind, she plunged onward, pitching and rollingand careering before the gale as it listed, yawing to port and starboardand staggering along; throwing tons of water over her fo'c's'le as shedived and then taking in whole seas over her quarter as she rolled on, the following waves overtaking her--just like a high mettled steed thathad thrown its rider and was rejoicing in its temporary freedom. 

The canvas aloft was ballooning out, and the ropes slatting andcracking, with blocks banging against the spars, all making a regularpandemonium of noise, in conjunction with the hoarse shriek of thesou'-wester and the clashing of the billows when they broke, buffetingthe _Denver City_ as if they would smash in her topsides at every blow!

Mr Flinders, the first-mate, who had got his arm hurt shortly beforethe first blast struck us and had gone below to have it bound up by thesteward, now crawled up the companion and approached the skipper, shouting something in his ear that, of course, I could not catch. 

Captain Snaggs, however, apparently understood what he said, andapproved of his suggestion, for he nodded in answer; and, thereupon, thefirst-mate, working his way down again through the cabin on to the deckbelow, the poop ladder being unsafe with his injured arm, spoke to themen, who were holding on as well as they could in a group by themainmast bitts, and they began to bestir themselves. 

Something was evidently going to be done to relieve the ship of all theloose top hamper flying about aloft, which threatened every moment todrag the masts out of her, for everything was swaying to and fro, andthe topsails jerking terribly as they swelled out, the clews fouling thereef points as the wind threw them up, and all getting mixed inirretrievable confusion from the continual slatting of the canvas--forthe whole of the running gear, having been let go, was now danglingabout in all directions and knotting itself up in the standing rigging, round which the wind whipped the ropes, lashing them into a series ofbowlines and half-hitches that it would have puzzled a fisherman tounbend. 

When the storm had burst so suddenly on us, the ship had been braced upon the port tack, beating to windward as well as she could, to weatherCape Horn; but now, of course, we were running right before the gale, retracing at headlong speed every knot we had previously gained on ourtrue course. 

A few hours at this rate, as anyone with half an eye could see--even ifeverything stood the strain, which was very questionable--would place uson the chart pretty well where we were the day before; and, then, weshould have all our work to do over again, without having a cable'slength to boast of to the good so far as our onward progress wasconcerned into the Pacific Ocean--most aptly named by the Spaniards, from the marked contrast its placid bosom offered, no doubt, to therough sea these early voyagers met with on this side of the Land of Fireand of the Stormy Cape. 

But still, although we were scudding with everything flying aloft, theleebraces had not yet been let go, all that I have taken so long todescribe having occurred, so to speak, within the compass of a minute. These, up to now, had remained fast, just as when we were close-hauledon the port tack the moment before; for, it was as much as our few handscould do at first to cast off the sheets and halliards, without mindingthe braces, especially as the ropes had got jammed at the bitts with theloose gear washing about the deck. However--`better late than never'--they were now quickly let go, and the braces on the weather side beingmanned, the yards were squared. It was a job of some difficulty, although accomplished at length, the ship showing herself all the betterfor the operation by running easier and not staggering and yawing somuch as she raced along. 

This was the first step. 

The next was to stop the uproar aloft, and create a little order amidstthe chaos that there reigned, which was a much harder and far moreticklish task, it being perilous in the extreme, and almost useless, forany of the hands to venture up the rigging; for the wind was blowingwith such terrific force that they could not have possibly lain out onthe yards, even if they succeeded in reaching the futtock shrouds. 

It was no good shouting to the men. 

As I said before, they could not hear a word spoken, had it been bawledin the loudest tone; so, Mr Flinders managed to explain his purpose bysigns, or some other means that I could not at the moment guess, for TomBullover and the rest of the crew at once commenced hauling on themaintopsail sheets. 

The effect of this was almost instantaneous. 

Puckering up into a bag where, as I mentioned, the clew had fouled thereef points, the sail burst `bang' out of the boltropes with a noiselike thunder; and, then, carried forwards by the gale, it floated awayahead, fortunately just clearing the foretopmast, which might have beenbroken by the extra strain--the fluttering mass of canvas finallydisappearing, like a white kite, in the distance in the water ahead ofthe ship. 

Getting rid of this sail was even a greater relief to the over-drivenvessel than squaring the yards had been, a consequence which thefirst-mate and carpenter had fully anticipated when the sheets weremanned; so, a similar procedure was adopted with the fore-topsail, and alike happy result followed, the ship still driving on before the wind, very nearly at as great a rate as she had done before, although underbare poles almost. 

But she now steered more easily, not taking in such a lot of wateraboard when she rolled, while the spars ceased to sway about, and itlooked as if we should save them, which had seemed impossible a shorttime previously, from the ugly way in which the shrouds tightened, andthe after-stays sung, as if they were stretched to the last limit, showing that the slightest increase of the strain on them would snapthem like pack-thread. 

The mizzen-topsail was by this time our only rag left remaining, and thecaptain, evidently wishing to save this, so as to use it by-and-by whenthe gale lulled, to help in bringing the vessel round again to the wind, started off by himself hauling on the buntlines and clewlines, beingquickly aided by Jan Steenbock and little me--we being all the `hands'on the poop except the helmsman, whom the second-mate was able at lastto leave for a minute or so unassisted, from the fact of the ship havingbecome more tractable since she had lost all that lot of loose tophamper flapping about aloft. 

The three of us took `a long pull and a strong pull, and a pull alltogether, ' according to the old sailor phrase, I tugging my best withthe others; and, possibly the ounce or two of `beef' I was able to putinto the rope so far assisted as just to turn the scale. At all events, we ultimately succeeded in clewing up the topsail pretty fairly;although, of course, it could not be properly stowed until some of thehands were able to get up on the yard and snug it comfortably by passingthe sea-gaskets. 

So far, everything had been accomplished satisfactorily, and the shipwas running free before the gale at the rate of ten or twelve knots, ormore, without a stitch of canvas set beyond the bunt of themizzen-topsail, which bagged and bulged out a bit still, in spite of ourefforts to clew it up tight. 

But, now, a new danger arose. 

We were bowling along before the wind, it is true; but, the heavyrolling sea that had been worked up in a brief space of time wastravelling at a much faster rate, and there was every fear that one ofthe monster billows which each moment curled up threateningly in ourwake would hurl itself on board, thus pooping the vessel and renderingher altogether unmanageable, if not a hopeless wreck--such a mass ofwater as the big waves carried in their frowning crests being more thansufficient to swamp us instanter, and, mayhap, bury the poor _DenverCity_ deep in the depths below at one fell blow. 

Captain Snaggs saw this sooner than any one; and, although all hisprevious orders had been carried out in dumb show, from our now havingthe wind with us to waft his voice forward, he once more managed to makehimself heard. 

"Ahoy!" he shouted, putting his hands on either side of his mouth, tocarry the words well clear of his goatee beard, which was blown all overhis face. "On deck, thaar!"

Tom Bullover raised his right fist, to show that he caught the hail; butit was impossible for him to answer back in the very teeth of the gale. 

"We must try an' lay her to, " continued the skipper. "Hev ye got atarpaulin, or airy sort o' rag ye ken stick in the fore-riggin'?" Tomnodded his head, understanding what the captain meant in a jiffey; and, with the help of two or three others, a piece of fearnought, that lay inthe bottom of the long-boat, was quickly bundled out on the deck anddragged forwards, the men bending on a rope's-end to a cringle worked inone corner of the stuff, so as to hoist it up by. 

"Over to port! Over to port!" roared the skipper, seeing them makingfor the lee side of the ship. "I'm goin' to try an' bring her to onthet tack, d'ye haar?"

Another nod from the carpenter showed that he heard and appreciated thecommand, he and the group with him by great exertions tricing up thepiece of fearnought into the fore-shrouds on the side indicated, spreading the cloth out and lashing it outside the rigging. 

"Now, men, " cried Captain Snaggs, "some o' ye aft hyar! Look sharp an'man the cro'jack braces. "

"Dat vas goot, " I heard Mr Jan Steenbock say behind me, his voicecoming right into my ear; "dat vas ze very tings!"

The skipper heard him, too. 

"I guess ye're worth yer salt, an' knows what's what!" he screamed back, with his face shoved into that of the second-mate, so that he shouldcatch the words. "Stand by to cast off the clewlines agen, an' slackout the weather sheet, if we wants it!"

"Aye, aye!" roared Jan Steenbock, in answer, jumping to the belayingpins, to cast off the ropes as ordered. "I vas dere!"

And so was I, too, following his example, ready to bear a hand when thenecessity arose. 

"Send another hand or two hyar aft, to the wheel!" now yelled out thecaptain, on seeing that Tom Bullover had marshalled the watch on thedeck below at the crossjack braces, ready to ease off on the weatherside, and haul in gradually to leeward--so that the yard should not bejerked round suddenly, and risk carrying away the mizzen-top mast andall its hamper with the shock; and, finally, with a motion of his arm, which those at the wheel readily understood, he ordered the helm to beput down. 

It was a critical moment. 

The ship seemed a trifle stubborn, and would not obey the rudder, lyingsluggishly in the trough of the sea for a while, but the tail end of abig wave then catching her on the quarter, she slewed round a bit; and, the crossjack yard being braced up sharply in the nick of time, sheswung with her head to the wind, breasting the billows full butt thenext instant, instead of drifting on at their will as before. 

Jan Steenbock at once let go the clewlines; and the sheets of themizzen-topsail, which had already been close-reefed, being hauled home, and the piece of fearnought in the fore-rigging acting as well as a sailthere would have done, the vessel was brought to lay-to at last, ridingsafely enough, considering the heavy sea that was running, and thusshowing herself a staunch boat under very trying circumstances. 

"We've seen the worst of it now, " shouted the skipper, trying to rub hishands together, in token of his satisfaction, but having to leave offand grasp the poop rail to steady himself again from the ship pitchingso much, as she met the big waves tumbling in on her bows, and rose tothem buoyantly. "The gale is moderating so the watch ken pipe down, Iguess, an' all hands splice the mainbrace!"

The men couldn't hear him clearly, but the gesture which he made, oflifting his fist to his mouth, was sufficiently explanatory to all; and, when he presently dived down the companion and appeared at the cabindoor under the break of the poop, with the steward behind him, holding abottle of rum in one hand and a pannikin in the other, the men who hadso gallantly exerted themselves were to be seen standing by, ready toreceive the customary grog always served out on each occasions, freshhands being sent up to relieve those at the wheel, so that these shouldnot lose the advantage of the skipper's generosity--which was somewhatunexpected from one of his temper!

Later on, there was a glorious sunset, the black clouds all clearingaway, and the heavens glowing with red and gold, as the orb of day sankbelow the horizon. 

This showed that we were going to have the chance of a finer spell thanwe had been having; and, the wind soon afterwards shifting to thewestward, the foretop-mast-staysail was hoisted, followed shortly by thereefed-foresail and main-trysail, the skipper setting all the fore andaft sail he could to make up for the loss of our topsails, which, it maybe remembered, were blown away. 

The ship was then brought round on the starboard tack, and put on herproper course again, for us to make another attempt to weather CapeHorn. 

By the time all this was done it was quite dark, and getting on close to`six bells' in the second dog-watch, the sun sinking to rest early inthose latitudes; so, as none of the men had got their tea yet, orthought of it, for that matter, although they'd had nothing since theirdinner at midday, Hiram Bangs, calling me to follow him, started for thegalley, to see about the coppers. 

We found, however, that the seas we had taken aboard had washed the fireout and made a regular wreck of the place, everything being turnedtopsy-turvy and mixed up into a sort of "hurrah's nest. "

Indeed, the only wonder was, that the galley itself had not been carriedincontinently over the side, when the ship had canted over on herbeam-ends; and, it would have been, no doubt, but for its being sosecurely lashed down to the ringbolts in the deck--a precaution whichhad saved it when everything else had been swept to leeward. 

At all events, there it was still, but in a pretty pickle; and Hiram andI had a hard job to light up the fire again under the coppers, all thewood and coal that had not been fetched away by the sea being, ofcourse, wet and soddened by the water. 

"I guess, " said Hiram, after one or two failures to get the fuel toignite, in spite of his pouring a lot of oil on it, so as to neutralisethe effect of the damp, "I'll burn thet durned old kiver of my chest ezgot busted t'other day in the fo'c's'le; fur it ain't no airthly good, ez I sees, fur to kip pryin' folk from priggin' airy o' my duds theyfancies!"

With this, Hiram started off for the fo'c's'le, taking one of the ship'slanterns with him, to see what he was about. 

He returned a minute or two after, looking quite scared. 

"Say, Cholly, " he exclaimed--addressing me as all the rest in thefo'c's'le always styled me, following the mode, in which poor SamJedfoot had pronounced my name, instead of calling me "Charley, "properly, all darkeys having a happy facility for abbreviation, as Iquite forgot to mention before--"Say, Cholly, guess I'll kinder make yerhaar riz! What d'yer reckon hez happened, b'y, hey?"

"What, Hiram?" replied I, negligently, not paying any particularattention to his words, having started to work at once, chopping up thebox cover, which he had thrown down on the deck at my feet. "What hashappened, Hiram--whatever is the matter now?"

"Thar's matter enuff, I reckon, younker, " said he solemnly, in his deep, impressive tones. "Guess this air shep's sperrit-haunted, thet's all, my b'y, an' the whole bilin' of us coons aboard air all doomed men!"

CHAPTER EIGHT. 

MAD DRUNK!

"Good gracious, Hiram!" I exclaimed, dropping the wood and rising to myfeet, greatly alarmed at his mysterious manner of speaking, as well asby the change in his voice and demeanour. "What d'you mean by talkinglike that?"

Instead of answering my question directly, however, he asked another. 

"D'yer rec'leck, Cholly, thet air banjo belongin' to Sam Jedfoot ez Ibought when the poor darkey's traps wer' sold at auction in thefo'c's'le the day arter he wer lost overboard?"

"Ye-es, " I stammered breathlessly, as the remembrance came back to meall at once of the strange chaunt we had heard in the air around, justbefore the storm had burst over us in all its fury; our subsequentbustling about having banished its recollection for the moment, "Wha--wha--what about Sam's banjo, Hiram?"

"It's clean gone, skedaddled right away, b'y, that's all!" he replied, in the same impressive way in which he had first spoken. "When I boughtthe durned thin', I stowed it atop o' my chest thaar, in the fo'c's'le;an' thaar it wer ez right ez a five-cent piece up to this very mornin', ez I wer overhaulin' my duds, to see if I could rig up another pair o'pants, an' seed it. But, b'y, it ain't thaar now, I reckon!"

"Perhaps some one took it out, and forgot to put it back when the galeburst over us, " I suggested, more to reassure myself than because Ibelieved it, for I felt horribly frightened at the thoughts that rapidlysurged up in me. "You--you remember, Hiram, we heard the sound of someone playing it just before?"

"D'yer think, b'y, airy of the hands w'u'd hev ben foolin' round withthet blessid banjo, an' the ship a'most took aback an' on herbeam-ends?" he retorted indignantly. "No, Cholly, thet wer no mortalfingers ez we heerd a-playin' thet thaar banjo!"

"And you--you--think--?"

"It wer Sam Jedfoot's ghost; nary a doubt on it, " he said solemnly, finishing my uncompleted sentence; "thet air, if sperrits walk agen onthe airth an' sea, arter the folk's ownin' them is dead an' drownded!"

I shivered at his words; while, as if to further endorse Hiram'sopinion, the steward, Morris Jones, just then came forward from thecabin to look after the captain's dinner, although he did not seem in ahurry about it, as usual--a fortunate circumstance, as the fire in thegalley under Hiram's expert manipulation was only now at last beginningto burn up. 

"There's summut wrong 'bout this barquey, " observed the Welshman, opening the conversation in a wonderfully civil way for him, andaddressing Hiram, who did not like the man, hardly ever exchanging aword with him if he could help it. "I larfed at that b'y Cholly forsaying he seed that nigger cook agen in the cabin arter he wentoverboard, time the skipper had that row with the fool and shot him; butsperrit or wot it was, I believe the b'y's right, for I've seed it, too!"

"Jehosophat!" exclaimed Hiram; "this air gettin' darned streenge an'cur'ous. Whar did ye see the sperrit, mister?"

"Not a minute or so agone, " replied the steward, whose face I could see, by the light of the ship's lantern in the galley, as well as from thegleams of the now brightly burning fire, looked awe-stricken, as if hehad actually seen what he attested. "It was a'most dark, and I wascoming out of my pantry when I seed it. Aye, I did, all black, andshiny, and wet, as if he were jist come out o' the water. I swear itwere the nigger cook, or I'm a Dutchman!"

The two men looked fixedly at each other, without uttering another wordfor a minute or more, I staring at them both in dread expectancy of whatthey would next say, fancying each instant something more wonderfulstill would happen. At last, Hiram broke the silence, which had becomewell-nigh unbearable from a sort of nervous tension, that made me feelcreepy and shivery all over. 

"I tolled yer jest now, Cholly, " said the Yankee sailor in his`Down-East' drawl, which became all the more emphasised from his slowand solemn mode o' speaking below his breath--"thet this air shep werdoomed, an' I sez it now agen, since the stooard hyar hez seed the sameez we all hev seed afore. Thaar's no denying b'ys, ez how poor Sam'sghostess walks abroad this hyar ship, an' thet means sunthin', or itdon't! I specs thet air darkey's sperrit ain't comf'able like, an' yeken bet y'r bottom dollar he won't rest quiet till he feels slick; furye sees ez how the poor cuss didn't come by his death rightful like, inlawful fashion. "

"Aye, and I've heard tell that folks as been murdered 'll haunt theplace where they've been put away onlawfully, " chimed in Morris Jones. "Not as I've ever believed in sperrits and ghostesses till now; but, seein' is believin', an' I can't go agen my own eyesight. I'd take mydavy 'twere Sam Jedfoot I seed jest now; and though I'm no coward, mates, I don't mind saying I'm mortal feared o' going nigh the cuddyagen!"

"Never ye fear, old hoss, " replied Hiram encouragingly; albeit, at anyother time he would have laughed at the steward's declaration that hewas `no coward, ' when he was well known to be the most arrant one in theship. "It ain't ye thet the ghost air arter, ye bet. It's the skipper. Ye remember ez how he promised us all he'd call in at the nearest portan' hev all the circumferences overhauled, ez he sed?"

"Aye, " responded the Welshman, "that he did. He took his solemn davy, afore the second-mate, an' Tom Bullover, an' the lot o' you, on themaindeck, that time he shot the cook. I heard him from under the breako' the poop, where I were standin'. "

"Yes, I seed ye keepin' well to looard!" said Hiram drily. "But, ez Iwer a sayin', the skipper agrees to call in at the fust port we fetches, an' we've b'en close in to Bahia, when we near ran ashore, an' Rio an'Buenos Ayres; an' he's never put into no port yet!"

"No, nor doesn't mean to, neither, " chorussed the steward. "I hear him, t'other day, a jokin' with that brute of a fust-mate about it; an' bothwas a sniggerin': an' he says as he'll see you all to old Nick afore hestops anywhere afore he gets to 'Frisco!"

"I reckon, then, sunthin' bad 'll come of it, " said Hiram, shaking hishead gravely, "Thet nigger's sperrit don't haunt this ship fur nothin', an' we ain't see the wuss yet, ye bet! Soon arter Cholly hyar seedSam's ghost, ye remembers, we hed thet fire aboard in the forepeak?"

"Aye, " agreed Morris Jones; "an' the next time--"

"Wer the banjo we heered a-playin', afore we were caught in thet busterof a gale, an' the ship wer a'most capsized on her beam-ends, " continuedthe American, full of his theme. "An' now, I guess--"

"What?" cried I eagerly, anxiously drinking in every word, deeplyimpressed with the conversation. "What do you think will happen?"

"'Ructions, thet's all, b'y, " replied Hiram, hitching up the waistbandof his overalls coolly, in the most matter-of-fact way, as if he wereonly mentioning an ordinary circumstances. "Thet is, if the skipperdon't touch at Callao or Valparaiso. Fur my part, sonny, I guess thishyar ship air doomed, ez I sed afore, an' I don't spec, for one, as evershe'll reach 'Frisco this v'yage; an' so thinks old Chips, Tom Bullover, thet is, too. "

"Hullo!" exclaimed the carpenter at that moment, poking his head withinthe galley door, and making me and the Welshman jump with fright, thinking he was Sam's ghost again. "Who's hailing me? What's therow?--anything up?"

"No, bo, " said Hiram. "I wer only tellin' the stooard hyar an' Chollyez how yo agreed with me ez this wer a durned onlocky craft, an' boundto meet with misfortun' arter all thet's come an' gone aboord. "

"That's so, " acquiesced Tom; though he did not look much alarmed at theprospect. "The `old man, ' though, seems turnin' round into a bettersort--treating us all to grog and sich like. "

"He'd kinder ought to, " growled the other, as he stirred the tea in thecoppers, which were just boiling by now; and he then proceeded to tellTom about the mysterious disappearance of the banjo, and the fact ofMorris Jones having seen the apparition again in the cabin aft, windingup with the query--"An' what d'ye think o' thet now, Chips?"

"Think?" echoed Tom Bullover, laughing; "why, that you're kicking up adust about nothing, my hearty! Missed the banjo out of y'r chest, eh--where are y'r eyes, bo? There it are, hanging right over y'r heads inthe galley, on the same cleat where poor Sam Jedfoot left it afore hemet his fate! Why, where are y'r peepers--old stick in the mud, hey?"

As he said this, Tom Bullover reached up his hand overhead by the doorof the galley, above the spot where he was standing, and as our eyesfollowed his motions we all could see now Sam's banjo hanging on thecleat where it always used to be when the negro cook occupied thecaboose, the instrument swinging to and fro as Tom touched it. 

"Wa-all, I'm jiggered!" cried Hiram, taking up the lantern that he hadplaced on the deck when he returned from the fo'c's'le and flashing iton the suspended object, to make assurance doubly sure. "Thaar it air, sure enuff; an' all I ken say is, I'm jiggered! It jest licks creation, thet it dew!"

"Lor' bless you, mate! you could ha' seed it afore if you'd only usedyour eyes, " replied Tom to this exordium, laughing again; "but, let'sstow all such flummery now about ghostesses an' sich like, for it's allmoonshine when you looks into the matter; an' you, an' Charley, an' thestooard here, have been all busy rigging up `duppies, ' as poor Sam usedto call 'em, out o' your heads, when we poor beggars forrud are dyin'for our tea. Ain't it ready yet?"

"Aye, bo, in a brace o' shakes, " said Hiram, rousing himself and pollingup the fire. "I dessay I'm a doggoned fool to be skeart like thet, butI'd hev taken my davy I put the durned thing in my chest a month ago--Iwould so; an' then the stooard comed in with his yarn on top o' whatCholly sed o' seein' Sam's ghost t'other day, an'--an' I'm a durnedfool; thet's all I sez!"

"You're none the worse for that, bo, " observed Tom, with a grin at theAmerican's rather shamefaced apology foe his superstitious fears; andHiram presently joined in the laugh against himself, as he busiedhimself in stirring the coppers and tasting the tea, to see whether itwas all right yet. I, also, began to feel more comfortable in my mind;while a little colour crept into Morris Jones' pale face, which hadbecome as white as a sheet before Tom's advent on the scene, the stewardlooking as if he were going to faint from fright. 

It is wonderful what an effect the courage of one man has in restoringthe confidence of others under such circumstances!

Bustling about the galley, ladling out the contents of the coppers asthe men came up one by one with their pannikins for their tea, I quicklyforgot my scare of a minute or so agone. So, too, apparently, did thesteward, who commenced preparing the captain's dinner, as soon as thefire had burnt up and he could get space enough to use his frying-pan;while, as for Hiram, he was singing away in fine style at his work, dishing up some lobscouse for the men's supper, in friendly rivalry ofMorris Jones, whom he could `give points to' and easily beat in thecooking line, none of us troubling ourselves any longer with anyrecollection of poor Sam Jedfoot or his ghost. 

The gale continued to ease down, and the heavy, rolling sea graduallysubsided as night sped on; but, the wind veering round in the middlewatch more to the northwards of west, we had to come about on the porttack, steering west-nor'-west, more in towards the Cape. We had plentyof sea room to do this, though, from the good offing we had previouslymade, being at least five or six degrees well to the southward of thestormy headland at our last reckoning, before the gale came on. 

All next day the men were busy getting up a couple of old topsails outof the forepeak and patching them up to take the place of those that hadbeen blown away; and these when got up were close-reefed beforehand, prior to being set, as the wind was freshening again and the weatherlooked squally. 

At the beginning of the second dog-watch the same afternoon, just whenwe had got everything snug aloft, it came on to blow again, although notquite so fiercely as the previous evening; and it was a case of clew upand furl with all the lighter canvas, the ship being kept underclose-reefed topsails and storm staysails, heading out again to sea onthe starboard tack. 

Thus it continued all that night, squalls of rain and hail, with snowand sleet at intervals for variety sake, sweeping over us, and the shiphaving her decks washed frequently fore and aft by the heavy SouthernOcean rollers. The next morning, though, it lightened again, and we hada brief spell of fine weather until noon, when we had another buster ofit. This occurred just as Captain Snaggs was getting ready to take thesun, and sent the first-mate down in the cabin to look at thechronometer, and `stand by' in order to note the time when he sung out`Stop!' so as to calculate our proper longitude. 

The skipper could not get his observation of the sun, however, for thesky, which a moment before had been bright and clear, clouded over againin an instant; and the next minute we were all on board battling againwith another specimen of "Cape Horn weather, " too busy to think evenwhere we might be or what latitude or longitude we had fetched. Wemight, indeed, have been anywhere, for the heavens were black as night, though it was midday, and sky and sea met each other in one vastturmoil, so that it was impossible to see half a cable's length off theship!

So it went on for four days, the gale blowing for short periods in angrygusts and then easing down for the space of a watch perhaps, the squallsalternating with spells of fine weather; until, on the fifth morning, wesailed into a comparatively calm sea, running free, with a full sheet onthe starboard tack, before a bright, cheery nor'-westerly breeze. 

At noon, when the skipper was able at last to take the sun for the firsttime for six days, he found, on working out our reckoning, that we werein latitude 58 degrees 5 minutes South, and longitude 82 degrees 10minutes West. In other words, we were considerably to the westwards ofthe Horn, and fairly on the bosom of the placid Pacific, as indeed itssmooth waters already testified. 

"Hooray, b'ys; we've doubled the durned Cape at last, I guess!" shoutedout Captain Snaggs from the break of the poop, whither he had rushed upfrom below as soon as he had finished his calculation on the log slate, dancing about the deck with excitement; and, then he banged his fistdown on the brass rail with a thump that almost doubled it in two, whilehis wiry billy-goat beard bristled out and wagged to and fro. "Brace upyer yards sharp, an' keep them bowlin's taut! Lay her ez near due northez she'll fetch, an' we'll fix her on a bee-line fur 'Frisco. An', say, Flinders!"

"Aye, aye, sir!"

"Send up y'r to'gallants an' r'yals, ez soon ez ye ken; an' let herrip!"

"Aye, aye, sir!"

"An', main deck, below thaar!"

"Aye, aye, sir!" shouted back Jan Steenbock, who was on duty here, andwas already seeing about getting abaft the upper spars for spreadingmore sail, having overheard his order to the first-mate--"I vas here, sir!"

"Call all hands to liquor up, sirree. It ain't every day, I reckon, wegits round the Horn!"

A wild cheer burst from the men, who had clustered in the waist inresponse to this summons; and the good news of getting round the Capeand having a double allowance of grog proving too much for the majority, the rest of the day was spent in a sort of a grand jollification, theskipper and first-mate `carrying on' in the cabin, while the crew madethemselves merry in the fo'c's'le, whither an extra bottle or two of rumhad been smuggled, having been got out of the steward by the expeditiveof a little `palm oil' and wheedling in about equal proportions. 

I think I may say, without exaggeration, that, with the exception of JanSteenbock, the second-mate, who showed himself a regular steady fellowall through the voyage, Tom Bullover, and lastly, though by no meansleast, myself, there was not a single sober man on board the ship thatevening, all being more or less under the influence of liquor, from thesteward Morris Jones--who, mean Welshman that he was, seemed never lothto drink at any one else's expense--up to Captain Snaggs, who, frombeing `jolly' at `eight bells, ' became still more excited from renewedapplications of rum by midnight; until, at length, early in the middlewatch, he rushed out on deck from the cuddy absolutely mad drunk. 

He was in a state of wild delirium, and his revolver, ready cocked, wasin his hand. 

"Snakes an' alligators!" he yelled out, levelling the weapon at themainmast, which he mistook for a figure in the half-light of morning, which was just then beginning to break. "I've got ye at last, ye durnednigger. Take thet, an' thet!"

Quick as lightning one report followed another, the bullets comingwhistling by the galley where I was standing. 

Jan Steenbock, who was on the poop, hearing the crack of a revolver, called out something; whereupon Captain Snaggs turned round and aimedhis next shot at him, although, fortunately, it missed the second-mate, on account of Jan dodging behind the companion hatchway just in the nickof time. 

The captain then made a bound at the poop ladder, and rushed up thesteps swearing awfully; and, first firing at the man at the wheel, whosearm the bullet penetrated, as soon as he gained the poop, he dived downthe companion in pursuit of Jan Steenbock, who had disappeared below thebooby hatch. 

For the next five minutes or more, the ship was in a state of thewildest confusion, the skipper chasing everyone he could see, and alltrying to get out of his way, as he dashed after them in his frenzy, rushing, in a sort of desperate game of `catch who catch can, ' from thecabin out on to the maindeck, and then up the poop ladder and down thecompanion into the cuddy again, the second-mate, the steward, andfirst-mate alike being assailed in turn, and each flying for life beforethe frantic madman. At last, just as the captain emerged from the cabinfor the third time, in hot haste after the steward, the other two havingsucceeded in concealing themselves, Morris Jones stumbled against a coilof rope by the mainmast bitts, and, his toe at the same time catching ina ring bolt, he sprawled his length on the deck. 

"Good Lord!" cried the unfortunate steward, panting out the words withhis failing breath. "I'm a dead man! I'm a dead man!"

"By thunder, ye air, ye durned black nigger! Ye air, ez sure ezsnakes!" screamed the skipper, in his delirious rage, mistaking theWelshman, as he had the others as well, for poor Sam, the recollectionof whom seemed strangely to haunt him the moment the rum got possessionof his senses. "I've swan I'd shoot ye; so, hyar goes, me joker; y'rlast hour hez come, ye bet!"

With these words he pointed his revolver down at Morris Jones, as he layrolling on the deck at his feet, and fired. 

CHAPTER NINE. 

WRECKED!

Although they had not been called yet, for it was only `six bells, ' thewatch below had been roused out by the commotion and wild cries andyells that rang about the deck. Every man Jack had tumbled up frombelow, and they were all grouped about the fo'c's'le, hiding behind thegalley like myself, and watching the weird scene going on aft, which, but for the maniacal rage of the captain and his murderous fury, wouldhave been almost comical in its main incidents. 

It was a regular steeplechase: the frenzied man hunted those he wasafter in and out of the cabin, and up the poop ladder, and down thecompanion stairs, in turn, to begin again anew the same strange game, that was amusing enough save to those personally concerned!

One of the hands, though, had his wits at work besides watching what wasgoing on; and this was Tom Bullover, my friend the carpenter. 

He recollected what the steward had said on a former occasion of thecaptain having had a fit of the horrors from excessive drinking; and, although it was too late now to take away the skipper's revolver beforehe could effect any mischief with it, there was still time to preventhis doing any further harm. 

So, Tom, with a coil of rope over his arm, stealthily made his way aft, and just as Captain Snaggs aimed at the prostrate body of the stewardthe carpenter threw a running bowline he had made in the rope round thecaptain's shoulders, jerking him backwards at the very moment he firedthe revolver. This caused the bullet to be diverted from its aim, forit passed through the bulwarks, instead of perforating Morris Jones'somewhat corpulent person. 

The next instant, two or three more of the men going to Tom'sassistance, Captain Snaggs was dragged down on the deck, raging andfoaming at the mouth; when, binding him securely hand and foot, theylifted him up and carried him into his cabin, where they strapped himdown in his cot, powerless to do any more injury to himself or anyoneelse, until his delirium should be over. 

As for the steward, he fainted dead away from fright; and it required agood deal of shaking and rubbing on the part of Tom Bullover and JanSteenbock to bring him back to life again--the latter now coming out ofthe cabin, holding a slip noose similar to that used by the carpenter insnaring the skipper with, and evidently intended for the same purpose, although a trifle too late to be of service then. 

Captain Snaggs himself recovered his consciousness about noon the sameday, but did not have the slightest recollection of his mad orgy, theonly actual sufferers from which were Morris Jones, who really had beenmore frightened than hurt, and the helmsman, Jim Chowder, who, in lieuof having his arm broken, as he had at first cried out, had only aslight bullet graze through the fleshy part of it; so, considering theskipper fired off no less than five shots out of the six which hisrevolver contained, it was a wonder more were not grievously wounded, ifnot killed, when he ran a-muck like that!

When Hiram Bangs and I met in the galley, shortly after the row wasover, we both compared notes, the American saying that he'd been rousedup from sleep, not by the noise of the shooting or rampaging about thedeck, but by the sound of Sam's voice singing in the hold, and he knewat once that some mischief was going to happen, "ez it allers did whenhe heerd the durned ghostess afore!"

I declare he made me feel more alarmed by this remark than all that hadpreviously occurred, and I had to raise my eyes to assure myself thatSam's banjo was yet hanging in its accustomed place over the door of thegalley, before I could go on with my task of getting the men's earlycoffee ready, to serve out as soon as the watch was changed, `eightbells' having been struck shortly before. 

Tom Bullover, though, when presently he lounged up forward, and I toldhim what Hiram said, only laughed. 

"It's all stuff and nonsense, Charley, " he chuckled out; "you an' Hiram'll be the death of me some day, with your yarns o' ghostesses an' suchlike. The skipper didn't see no sperrit as you thinks when he got madthis mornin'; it's all that cussed rum he took because he got round CapeHorn. Guess, as our mate here says, the rum `got round' him!"

Hiram laughed, too, at this. 

"Heave ahead an' carry on, old hoss, " he said; "I reckon ye won't riz mydander, fur what I tells Cholly I knows for true, an' nuthin' 'll turnme agen it. Why, Tom, when I wer down Chicopee way--"

"Avast there, mate, an' give us some coffee, " cried Tom, interruptinghim at this point, and some others of the crew coming up at the moment, the conversation was not renewed, which I was not sorry for, Hiram'stalk about ghosts not being very cheerful. 

During the day, as I've said, Captain Snaggs got better, and came ondeck again, looking like himself, but very pale. His face, however, seemed to have become wonderfully thinner in such a short space of time, so thin indeed that he appeared to be all nose and beard, the twomeeting each other in the middle, like a pair of nut-crackers!

He was much quieter, too, for he did not swear a bit, as he would havedone before, at the man at the wheel, who, startled by his coming softlyup the companion without previous notice, when he fancied he was lyingin his cot, let the ship fall off so that she almost broached-to, insuch a way as almost to carry her spars by the board!

No, he did not utter a single harsh word. 

"Steady thaar!" was all he called out; "kip her full an' by, an' steerez naar north ez ye ken!"

This was about the beginning of July, and we had from then brightweather, with westerly and nor'-west winds all the way up the Pacific, past the island of Juan Fernandez, which we saw like a haze of green inthe distance. 

After this, making to cross the Equator for the second time--our firsttime being in the Atlantic Doldrums--somewhere between the meridians 100degrees to 102 degrees, we proceeded on steadily northward, picking upthe south-east trade-winds in about latitude 20 degrees South, whennearly opposite Arica on the chart, although, of course, out of sight ofland, being more than a couple of hundred leagues away from the nearestpart of the coast. 

In about twenty days' time we got near the Equator, when we met withvariable winds and calms, while a strong indraught sucked us out of ourcourse into the Bay of Panama. 

The temperature just then grew very hot, and the captain, taking todrinking again, soon recovered his spirits and his temper, which hadlatterly grown so smooth and equable that we hardly knew him for thesame man. 

In a short space, however, the rum fully restored him to his oldquarrelsome self, and he and the first-mate, Mr Flinders, had an awfulrow one night, when the skipper threatened to send the mate forward andpromote Jan Steenbock in his place. Captain Snaggs had never forgivenhim for the cowardice and want of sailorly instinct he displayed at thetime of the alarm of fire in the forepeak; and the fact also of MrFlinders having lain for two days drunk in his bunk after theirjollification on rounding Cape Horn, did not tend to impress the skipperany the more strongly in his favour. 

I remember the evening well. 

It was on the 28th July. 

We were becalmed, I recollect; but, in spite of this, a strong set oftide, or some unknown current, was carrying us, in a west-nor'-westdirection, away out of the Bay of Panama, at the mouth of which we hadbeen rolling and roasting in the broiling tropical sun for a couple ofdays, without apparently advancing an inch on our way northwards towardsSan Francisco, our destination, which we were now comparatively near, soto speak, but still separated by a broad belt of latitude of betweeneighteen hundred and two thousand miles--a goodish stretch of water!

I also remember well that Captain Snaggs roared so loudly to the mateand the mate back to him during their altercation in the cuddy that weon deck could hear every word they said; for, the night was hot andclose, with never a breath of wind stirring, and the air had thatoppressive and sulphurous feel which it always has when there is thunderabout or some great atmospherical change impending. 

The skipper and Mr Flinders were arguing about the ship's course, theformer declaring it to be right, and the latter as vehemently to bealtogether wrong. 

The mate, so opposite were their opinions, said that if we sailed onmuch longer in the same direction towards which the ship had beenheading before being becalmed, she would be landed high and dry ashoreat Guayaquil; while the skipper, as strongly, protested that we werealready considerably to the northward of the Galapagos Islands. 

"Ye're a durned fule, an' a thunderin' pig-headed fule ez well, " weheard the captain say to the other, as he came up the companion, roaringback behind him; "but, jest to show ye how thunderin' big a fule ye air, I'll jest let ye hev y'r own way--though, mind ye, if the ship comes togrief, ye'll hev to bear all the muss. "

"I don't mind thet, nary a red cent, " boasted the other in his sneeringway. "Guess I've a big enuff pile to hum, out Chicago way, to buy upship an' cargy ez well!"

"Guess ye shall hev y'r way, bo!" then yelled out the skipper, callingat the same time to the helmsman to ease the helm off, as well as to thewatch to brace round the yards; and the light land breeze, just thencoming off from shore, made the _Denver City_ head off at right anglesto her previous course, the wash of water swishing pleasantly past herbows, as her sails bellied out for a brief spell. 

But, not for long. 

Within the next half-hour or so the heavens, which had previously beenbright with myriads of stars overhead, became obscured with a thickdarkness, while the slight land breeze slowly died away. 

Then, a hoarse, rumbling sound was heard under the sea, and the ship wasviolently heaved up and down in a sort of quick, violent rocking motion, unlike any thing I had ever felt, even in the heaviest storm. 

"An airthquake, I guess, " said Captain Snaggs, nonchalantly; "thet is, if thaar's sich a thing ez an airthquake at sea!"

He sniggered over this joke; but, just then, I heard the same strange, weird music, like Sam's banjo, played gently in the distance, similarlyto what we heard before the burst of the storm off Cape Horn. 

"Lord, save us!" cried the captain, in hoarse accents of terror. "Thaarit air agen!"

Even as he spoke, however, the ship seemed to be lifted aloft on a hugerolling wave, that came up astern of us without breaking; and, then, after being carried forwards with wonderful swiftness, she was hurledbodily on the shore of some unknown land near, whose outlines we couldnot distinguish through the impenetrable darkness that now surrounded uslike a veil. 

We knew we were ashore, however, for we could feel a harsh, gratingnoise under the vessel's keel. 

Still, beyond and above this noise, I seemed yet to hear the wild, sadchaunt that haunted us. 

There was a light hung in the galley, and I looked in again to see ifthe negro's banjo was in its accustomed place, so as to judge whetherthe sound was due to my imagination or not. 

Holding up the lantern, I flashed its light across the roof of thegalley. 

I could hardly believe my eyes. 

Sam's banjo was no longer there!

CHAPTER TEN. 

ABINGDON ISLAND. 

After the first grating, grinding shock of going ashore, the ship didnot bump again; but, listing over to port, she settled down quietly, soon working a sort of cradle bed for herself in the sand at the spotwhere she stranded. 

This, at least, was our conclusion, from the absence of any subsequentmotion or movement on board, the deck being as steady now as anyplatform on dry land, although rather downhill on one side, from thevessel heeling as she took the ground. 

However, it was all guess work, as we could see nothing, not even ourown faces, save when brought immediately under the light of the galleylantern, around which all the hands forward were closely huddledtogether, like a drove of frightened sheep; for, the darkness could bealmost felt, as it hung over the ill-fated _Denver City_, a thick, impenetrable, black pall, that seemed ominous of evil and furtherdisaster. 

This continued for nearly an hour; the men near me only speaking inhushed whispers, as if afraid of hearing their own voices. 

The fact of not being able to see any fresh peril or danger that mightbe impending over us, and so face it manfully, in the manner customarywith sailor-folk with any grit in them, took away the last lingeringremnant of courage even of the bravest amongst us; and I'm confidentthere was not a single foremast hand there of the lot grouped by thegalley and under the break of the fo'c's'le, not excepting either TomBullover or the American sailor, Hiram, plucky as both were in ordinarycircumstances, but was as panic-stricken, could their inmost feelings bedisclosed and the truth out-told, as myself--although I was too dazedwith terror to think of this then. 

And so we remained, awaiting we knew not what, coming from we knew notwhere, in terrible uncertainty and dread expectancy. 

Anything might happen now, we thought, still more awful than what hadalready occurred; for the gloomy stillness and mysterious mantle ofdarkness that had descended on us increased our fears and suggestedevery weird possibility, until the prolonged suspense became well-nighmaddening. 

"I'm durned if I ken stand this much longer, " I heard Hiram whisperhoarsely, as if uttering his thoughts aloud, for he addressed no one inparticular. "Guess I'll jump overboard an' drown myself, fur thedevil's in the shep, an' thaar's a cuss hangin' over her!"

A shuffling sound of feet moving on the deck followed, as if the poor, distraught fellow was about to carry his senseless and wicked designinto execution; and then I caught the tones of Tom Bullover's voice alsocoming out from amidst the surrounding gloom. 

"Hush, avast there!" cried the latter solemnly. "Is this a time forrunning in the face of your Maker, when in another minute or two we mayall be mustered afore Him in eternity? Besides, bo, what's the use o'jumping overboard, when you couldn't get drownded? for the ship's hardand fast ashore!"

Before Hiram could reply to this, or make any further movement, a shoutrang out from the poop aft, where previously all had been as still aswith us forwards, wrapped in the same impenetrable darkness and deathlysilence. 

I recognised Jan Steenbock at once as the person hailing us. 

"Land, ho!" he exclaimed; "I sees him! It vas lighten oop, and I seeshim on ze port bow!"

As the second-mate spoke, there was a perceptible movement of the heavy, close atmosphere, which had hitherto been still and sultry, like what itgenerally is during a thunderstorm, or when some electrical disturbanceis impending in the air. Then, the land breeze sprang up again, thewind, first coming in little puffs and subsequently settling down into asteady breeze off shore, and the heavy curtain of black vapour that hadpreviously enveloped us began to drift away to leeward, enabling usafter a bit to see the ship's position and our surroundings--albeit allwas yet wrapped in the semi-darkness of night, as it was close on eleveno'clock. 

The frowning outlines of a big mountain towered up above the vessel'smasts on our left or port bow, hazy and dark and grim, and on thestarboard hand a jutting point of land, evidently a spur of the samecliff, projected past the _Denver City_ a long way astern, for we coulddistinguish the white wash of the sea on the sand at its base; while, right in front, nearly touching our bowsprit, was a mass of trees, whosedusky skeleton branches were waved to and fro by the tropical nightbreeze, making them appear as if alive, their mournful whishing as theyswayed bearing out this impression. 

It seemed, at first glance, that the ship had been driven ashore into asmall land-locked bay, no outlet being to be seen save the narrowopening between the cliffs astern through which she had been carried bythe wave that stranded us--fortunately, without dashing us on the rockson either hand. 

As we gazed around in startled wonder, striving to take in all thedetails of the strange scene, the misty, brooding vapour lifted stillfurther, and a patch of sky cleared overhead. Through this opening thepale moon shone down, illuminating the landscape with her sickly greenlight; but she also threw such deep shadows that everything looked weirdand unreal, the perspective being dwarfed here and magnified there to sogreat an extent that the ship's masts appeared to touch the stars, whilethe men on the fo'c's'le were transformed into giants, their forms beingfor the moment out of all proportion to their natural size, as theycraned their necks over the head rail. 

Jan Steenbock's voice from the poop at this juncture recalled mywandering and wondering imagination to the more prosaic and practicalrealities of our situation, which quickly put to flight the ghostlyfancies that had previously crowded thick and fast on my mind. 

"Vo'c's'le ahoy!" shouted the second-mate, his deep, manly tones at onceputting fresh courage into all of us, and making the men pull themselvestogether and start up eager for action, abandoning all their cravenfears. "How vas it mit yous vorvarts! Ze sheep, I zink, vas in ze deepvater astern. "

"I'll soon tell you, sir, " cried Tom Bullover in answer, jumping to theside in a jiffey, with a coil of the lead line, which he took from themain chains, where it was fastened. "I'll heave the lead, and you shallhave our soundings in a brace of shakes, sir!"

With that he clambered into the rigging, preparatory to carrying out hisintention; but he had no sooner got into the shrouds than he discoveredhis task was useless. 

"There's no need to sound, sir, " he sang out; "the ship's high and dryashore up to the foremast, and there ain't more than a foot or two ofwater aft of that, as far as I can see. "

"Thunder!" roared out the skipper, who had in the meantime come up againon the poop from the cuddy, where he and the first-mate had no doubtbeen drowning their fright during the darkness with their favouritepanacea, rum, leaving the entire control of the ship after she struck toJan Steenbock. "Air thet so?"

"I says what I sees, " replied Tom Bullover brusquely, he, like most ofthe hands, being pretty sick by now of the captain's drunken ways, andpusillanimous behaviour in leaving the deck when the vessel and all onboard were in such deadly peril; "and if you don't believe me, why, youcan look over the side and judge where the ship is for yerself!"

Captain Snaggs made no retort; but, moving to the port bulwarks from thecompanion hatchway, where he had been standing, followed Tom'ssuggestion of looking over the side, which indeed all of us, impelled bya similar curiosity, at once did. 

It was as my friend the carpenter had said. 

The _Denver City_ was for more than two-thirds of her length high anddry ashore on a sandy beach, that looked of a brownish yellow in themoonlight, with her forefoot resting between two hillocks covered withsome sort of scrub. This prevented her from falling over broadside on, as she was shored up just as if she had been put into dry dock forcaulking purposes; although, unfortunately, she was by no means in sucha comfortable position, nor were we on board either, as if she had beenin a shipbuilder's yard, with more civilised surroundings than were tobe found on a desert shore like this!

Her bilge abaft under the mizzen-chains was just awash; and, the water, deepening from here, as the shore shelved somewhat abruptly, was aboutthe depth of four fathoms or thereabouts by the rudder post, where thebottom could be seen, of soft, shining white sand, without a rock insight--so far, at least, as we were able to notice in the pale greenishmoonlight, by which we made our observations as well as we could, andwith some little difficulty, too. 

"Guess we're in a pretty tight fix, " said Captain Snaggs, after peeringup and down alongside for some time, Tom Bullover in the interim takingthe hand lead with him on to the poop and sounding over the taffrail atthe deepest part. "We can't do nuthin', though, I reckon, tilldaylight, an' ez we're hard an' fast, an' not likely to float off, I'llgo below an' turn in till then. Mister Steenbock, ye'd better pipe thehands down an' do ditter, I guess, fur thaar's no use, I ken see, instoppin' up hyar an' doin' nuthin'. "

"Yous can go below; I vill keep ze vatch, " replied the second-mate, withill-concealed contempt, as the skipper shuffled off down the companionway again, back to his orgy with the equally drunken Flinders, who hadnot once appeared on deck, after perilling the ship through hisobstinacy in putting her on the course that had led to our being drivenashore. 

The very first shock of the earthquake, indeed, which we felt before thetidal wave caught us, had been sufficient to frighten him from the poopeven before the darkness enveloped us and the final catastrophe came!

As for Jan Steenbock, he remained walking up and down the deck ascomposedly as if the poor _Denver City_ was still at sea, instead ofbeing cooped up now, veritably, like a fish out of water, on dry land. 

He did not abandon his post, at any rate!

After a while, though, he acted on the skipper's cowardly advice so faras to tell the starboard watch to turn in, which none of the men wereloth to do, for the moon was presently obscured by a thick black cloud, and a torrent of heavy tropical rain quickly descending made most of usseek shelter in the fo'c's'le. 

Here I soon fell asleep, utterly wearied out, not only from standingabout so long, having been on my legs ever since the early morning whenI lit the galley fire, but also quite overcome with all the excitement Ihad gone through. 

I awoke with a start. 

The sun was shining brightly through the open scuttle of the fo'c's'leand it was broad daylight. 

It was not this that had roused me, though; for, habituated as I now wasto the ways of sailor-folk, it made little difference to me whether Islept by day or night so long as I had a favourable opportunity for acomfortable caulk. Indeed, my eyes might have been `scorched out, ' asthe saying is, without awaking me. 

It was something else that aroused me, --an unaccustomed sound which Ihad not heard since I left home and ran away to sea. 

It was the cooing of doves in the distance. 

"Roo-coo-coo! Roo-coo-coo! Coo-coo! Roo-c-o-o!"

I heard it as plainly as possible, just as the plaintive sound used tocatch my ear from the wood at the back of the vicarage garden in the oldtimes, when I loved to listen to the bird's love call--those old timesthat seemed so far off in the perspective of the past, and yet were onlytwo years at most agone!

Why, I must be dreaming, I thought. 

But, no; there came the soft, sweet cooing of the doves again. 

"Roo-coo-coo! Roo-coo-coo! Coo-coo! Roo-c-o-o!"

Thoroughly roused at last, I jumped out of the bunk I occupied nextHiram, who was still fast asleep, with a lot of the other sailors roundhim snoring in the fo'c's'le; and rubbing my eyes with both knuckles, tofurther convince myself of being wide awake, I crawled out from thefore-hatchway on to the open deck. 

But, almost as soon as I stepped on my feet, I was startled, for all thestarboard side, which was higher than the other, from the list the shiphad to port, was covered, where the rain had not washed it away, with athick deposit of brown, sandy loam, like snuff; while the scuppers aft, where everything had been washed by the deluge that had descended on thedecks, were choked up with a muddy mass of the same stuff, forming a bigheap over a foot high. I could see, too, that the snuffy dust hadpenetrated everywhere, hanging on the ropes, and in places where therain had not wetted it, like powdery snow, although of a very differentcolour. 

Recollecting the earthquake of the previous evening, and all that I hadheard and read of similar phenomena, I ascribed this brown, dustydeposit to some volcanic eruption in the near neighbourhood. 

This, I thought, likewise, was probably the cause, as well, of theunaccountable darkness that enveloped the ship at the time weexperienced the shock; but, just then, I caught, a sight of the landover the lee bulwarks, and every other consideration was banished bythis outlook on the strange scene amidst which we were so wonderfullyplaced. 

If our surroundings appeared curious by the spectral light of the moonlast night, they seemed doubly so now. 

The glaring tropical sun was blazing already high up in the heavens, whose bright blue vault was unflecked by a scrap of cloud to temper thesolar rays, while a brisk breeze, blowing in from the south-west, gave afeeling of freshness to the air and raised a little wave of surf, thatbroke on the beach with a rippling splash far astern; the cooing of thedoves in the distance chiming in musically with the lisp of the surge'slullaby. 

But, the land!

It was stranger than any I had ever seen. 

The high mountain on our left, looked quite as lofty by day as it haddone the night before, two thousand feet or more of it towering up intothe sky. 

It was evidently the crater peak of an old extinct volcano; for, it wasshaped like a hollow vase, with the side next the sea washed away by thesouth-west gales, which, as I subsequently learnt, blew during the rainyseason in the vicinity of this equatorial region. 

At the base of the cliff was a mound of lava, interspersed with tufts oftufa and grass, that spread out to where the sloping, sandy beach metit; and this was laved further down by the transparent water of thelittle sheltered harbour formed by the outer edge of the peak and theother lower projecting cliff that extended out into the sea on thestarboard side of the ship--the two making a semicircle and almostmeeting by the lava mound at the base of the broken crater, there notbeing more than a couple of cables length between them. 

Most wonderful to me was the fact of the ship having been carried soprovidentially through such a narrow opening, without coming to grief onthe Scylla on the one hand, or being dashed to pieces against theCharybdis on the other. 

More wonderful still, though, was the sight the shore presented, as Imoved closer to the gangway, and, looking down over the bulwarks, inspected the foreground below. 

It was like a stray vista of some antediluvian world. 

Near the edge of the white sand--on which the ship was lying like astranded whale, with her prow propped up between two dunes, or hillocks, that wore up to the level of her catheads--was a row of stunted treeswithout a leaf on them, only bare, skeleton branches; while on the otherside of these was a wide expanse of barren brown earth, or lava, utterlydestitute of any sign of vegetation. 

Then came a grove of huge cacti, whose fleshy, spiked branches had thelook of so many wooden hands, or glove stretchers, set up on end; andbeyond these again were the more naturally-wooded heights, leading up tothe summit of the mountain peak. 

The trees, I noticed, grew more luxuriantly and freely here, appearingto be of much larger size, as they increased their distance from thesterile expanse of the lower plain; until, at the top of the ascent, they formed a regular green crest covering the upper edge of the craterand sloping side of the outstretching arm of cliff on our right, whosemantle of verdure and emerald tone contrasted pleasantly with the brightblue of the sky overhead and the equally blue sea below, the latterfringed with a line of white surf and coral sand along the curve of theshore. 

This outer aspect of the scene, however, was not all. 

Right under my eyes, waddling along the beach, and rearing themselves ontheir hind legs to feed on the leaves of the cactus, which they nibbledoff in huge mouthfuls, were a lot of enormous tortoises, or landturtles, of the terrapin tribe, that were really the most hideousmonsters I had ever seen in my life. Several large lizards also werecrawling about on the lava and basking in the sun, and a number ofinsects and queer little birds of a kind I never heard of. 

All was strange; for, although I could still catch the cooing of thedoves away in the woods in the distance, there was nothing familiar tomy sight near. 

While I was reflecting on all these wonders, and puzzling my brains asto where we could possibly be, the second-mate, whom I had noticed stillon the poop when I came out from the fo'c's'le, as if he had remained upthere on watch all night, came to my side and addressed me. 

"Everyzing's sdrange, leedel boys, hey?"

"Yes, sir, " said I. "I was wondering what part of the world we could bein. "

"Ze Galapagos, " he replied laconically, answering my question off-hand, in his solemn fashion and deep voice. "It vas call't ze Galapagos vromze Spanish vort dat mean ze big toordles, zame dat yous zee dere. "

"Then Captain Snaggs was right after all, sir, about the ship's courseyesterday, when he said that Mr Flinders would run us ashore if it wasaltered?"

"Yase, dat vas zo, " said Jan Steenbock. "Dat voorst-mate one big vool, and he vas loose ze sheep! Dis vas ze Abingdon Islants, leedel boys--one of ze Galapagos groups. I vas recollecks him. I vas here befores. It vas Abingdon Islants; and ze voorst-mate is von big vool!"

As Jan Steenbock made this observation, a trifle louder than before, Icould see the face of Mr Flinders, all livid with passion, as he cameup the companion hatch behind the Dane. 

"Who's thet durned cuss a-calling o' me names? I guess, I'llspifflicate him when I sees him!" he yelled out at the pitch of hisvoice; and then pretending to recognise Jan Steenbock for the first timeas his detractor, he added, still more significantly, "Oh, it air you, me joker, air it?"

CHAPTER ELEVEN. 

SETTLING MATTERS. 

"Yase, it vas me, " said Jan Steenbock, at once turning round andconfronting the other, not in the least discomposed by his suddenappearance, and speaking in his usual slow, deliberate way. "I zays toze leedel boys here you's von big vool, and zo you vas!"

"Tarnation!" exclaimed Mr Flinders, stepping out on to the deck overthe coaming of the booby hatch, and advancing in a threatening mannertowards the Dane, who faced him still imperturbably. "Ye jest say thetagen, mister, an' I'll--"

The second-mate did not wait for him to finish his sentence. 

"I zays you's von big vool, the biggest vool of all ze vools I vasknow, " he cried in his deep tones. Every word sounded distinctly andtrenchantly, with a sort of sledge-hammer effect, that made the Yankeemate writhe again. "But, my vren', you vas badder dan dat, vor you vasa droonken vool, and vas peril ze sheep and ze lifes of ze men aboordmit your voolness and ze rhum you vas trink below, mitout minting yourduty. Oh, yase, you vas more bad dan one vool, Mister Vlinders; I vasvatch yous ze whole of ze voyage, and I spik vat I zink and vat I zees!"

"Jee-rusalem, ye white-livered Dutchman!" screamed out the other, nowwhite with rage, and with his eyes glaring like those of a tiger, as hethrew out his arms and rushed at Jan Steenbock, "I'll give ye goss furev'ry lyin' word ye hev sed agen me, ye bet. I'm a raal Down-Eastalligator, I am, ye durned furrin reptyle! Ye'll wish ye wer neverrizzed or came athwart my hawse, my hearty, afore I've plugged ye outan' done with ye, bo, I guess; for I'm a regular screamer from Chicago, I am, an' I'll wipe the side-walk with ye, I will!"

This was `tall talk, ' as Hiram remarked, he and several others of thecrew having turned out from their bunks by this time, roused by thealtercation, all gathering together in the waist, full of interest andexpectancy at witnessing such an unwonted treat as a free fight betweentheir officers. But, the first-mate's brave words, mouth them out as hedid with great vehemence and force of expression, did not frighten thestalwart Dane, self-possessed and cool to the last, one whit. 

No, not a bit of it. 

Quietly putting himself into an easy position of defence, with his rightarm guarding his face and body, Jan Steenbock, throwing out his leftfist with a rapidity of movement quite unexpected in one of his slow, methodical demeanour, caught the blustering Yankee, as he advanced onhim with hostile thoughts intent, full butt between the eyes, the blowbeing delivered straight from the shoulder and having sufficientmomentum to have felled an ox. 

At all events, it was enough for Mr Flinders. 

Whack!

It resounded through the ship; and, uttering a half-stifled cry, themate measured his length along the deck, the back of his head knockingagainst the planks with a sound that seemed to be the echo of the blowthat brought him low, though softer and more like a thud--tempered andtoned down, no doubt, by the subduing effect of distance!

This second assault on his thick skull, however, instead of stunninghim, as might have been imagined, appeared to bring the mate back toconsciousness, and roused him indeed to further action; for, scramblingup from his recumbent position, with his face showing unmistakable marksof the fray already, and his eyes not glaring quite so much, for theywere beginning to close up, he got on his feet again, and squared up toJan Steenbock, with his arms swinging round like those of a windmill. 

He might just as well have tried to batter down a stone wall, under thecircumstances, as endeavour to break down the other's guard by any suchfeeble attempt, although both were pretty well matched as to size andstrength. 

Jan paid no attention to his roundabout and random onslaught, fendingoff his ill-directed blows easily enough with his right arm, which waswell balanced, a little forward across his chest, protecting him fromevery effort of his enemy. 

He just played with him for a minute, during which the Yankee mate, frothing with fury and uttering all sorts of terrible threats, that wereas powerless to hurt Jan as his pointless attack, danced round hiswatchful antagonist like a pea on a hot griddle; and then, the Dane, tired at length of the fun, advancing his left, delivered anotherterrific drive from the shoulder that tumbled Mr Flinders backwardsunder the hood of the booby hatch, where he nearly floored CaptainSnaggs, on his way up from the cuddy--the skipper having been alsoaroused by the tumult, the scene of the battle being almost immediatelyover his swinging cot, and the concussion of the first-mate's headagainst the deck having awakened him before his time, which naturallydid not tend to improve his temper. 

"Hillo, ye durned Cape Cod sculpin!" he gasped out, Mr Flinders'falling body having caught him full in the stomach and knocked all thewind out of him. "Thet's a kinder pretty sorter way to come tumblin'down the companion, like a mad bull in fly time! What's all thisinfarnal muss about, hey?"

So shouting, between his pauses to take breath, the skipper shoved themate before him out of the hatchway, repeating his question again whenboth had emerged on the poop. "Now, what's this infarnal muss about, hey?"

Taken thus in front and rear Mr Flinders hardly knew what to say, especially as Jan Steenbock's fist had landed on his mouth, looseninghis teeth and making the blood flow, his countenance now presenting apitiable spectacle, all battered and bleeding. 

"The--the--thet durned skallawag thaar hit me, sirree, " he stammered andstuttered, spitting out a mouthful of blood and a couple of his frontteeth, which had been driven down his throat almost by Jan Steenbock'spowerful blow. "He--he tried to--to take my life. He did so, cap. But, I guess I'll be even with him, by thunder!--I'll soon rip my bowieinter him, an' settle the coon; I will so, you bet!"

Mr Flinders fumbled at his waistbelt as he spoke, trying to pull outthe villainous-looking, dagger-hilted knife he always carried there, fixed in a sheath stuck inside the back of his trousers; but his rageand excitement making his hand tremble with nervous trepidation, CaptainSnaggs was able to catch his arm in time and prevent his drawing theugly weapon. 

"No ye don't, mister; no ye don't, by thunder! so long's I'm boss hyar, "cried the skipper. "Ef ye fits aboord my shep, I reckon ye'll hev tofit fair, or else reckon up with Ephraim O Snaggs; yes, so, mister, thet's so. I'll hev no knifing aboord my ship!"

The captain appeared strangely forgetful of his own revolver practice inthe case of poor Sam Jedfoot, and also of his having ran a-muck andnearly killed the helmsman and Morris Jones, the steward, thinking hewas still in pursuit of the negro cook--which showed the murderousproclivities of his own mind, drunk or sober. However, all the same, hestopped the first-mate now from trying to use his knife; although thelatter would probably have come off the worst if he had made anotherrush at Jan Steenbock, who stood on the defence, prepared for allemergencies. 

"No, ye don't. Stow it, I tell ye, or I'll throttle ye, by thunder!"said the skipper, shaking Mr Flinders in his wiry grasp like a terrierwould a rat; while, turning to Jan, he asked: "An' what hev ye ter sayabout this darned muss--I s'pose it's six o' one an' half-dozen o't'other, hey?"

"Misther Vlinders vas roosh to sthrike me, and I vas knock hims down, "said Jan Steenbock, in his laconic fashion. "He vas get oop and rooshat me vonce mores, and I vas knock hims down on ze deck again; and zen, you vas coom oop ze hatchway, and dat vas all. "

"But, confound ye!" cried the other, putting in his spoke, "you calledme a fule fust!"

"So ye air a fule, " said Captain Snaggs, "an' a tarnation fule, too, Ireckon--the durndest fule I ever seed; fur the old barquey wouldn't belyin' hyar whaar she is, I guess, but fur yer durned pigheadedness!"

"Zo I vas zay, " interposed Jan Steenbock. "I das tell hims it vas allbekos he vas one troonken vool dat we ras wreck, zir. "

"Ye never sed a truer word, mister, " replied the skipper, showing butlittle sympathy for Mr Flinders, whom he ordered to go below and washhis dirty face, now the `little unpleasantness' between himself and hisbrother mate was over. "Still, hyar we air, I guess, an' the best thingwe ken do is ter try an' get her off. Whaar d'yer reckon us to be, Mister Steenbock, hey?"

"On ze Galapagos, " answered the second-mate modestly, in no ways puffedup by his victory over the other or this appeal to his opinion byCaptain Snaggs, who, like a good many more people in the world, worshipped success, and was the first to turn his back on his ownchampion when defeated. "I zink ze sheep vas shtruck on AbingdonIsland. I vas know ze place, cap'n; oh, yase, joost zo!"

"Snakes an' alligators, mister! Ye doan't mean ter say ye hev been hyarafore, hey?"

"Ja zo, cap'n, " replied Jan Steenbock, in his slow and matter-of-factway, taking he other's expression literally; "but dere vas no shnake, dat I vas zee, and no alligator. Dere vas nozings but ze terrapintortoise and ze lizards on ze rocks! I vas here one, doo, dree zummersago, mit a drading schgooner vrom Guayaquil after a cargo of ze orchillaweed, dat fetch goot price in Equador. I vas sure it vas AbingdonIslant vrom dat tall big peak of montane on ze port side dat vas cal'tCape Chalmers; vor, we vas anchor't to looard ven we vas hunting for zeweed orchilla and ze toordles. "

"Oh, indeed, " said the skipper. "I'll look at the chart an' take thesun at noon, so to kalkerlate our bearin's; but I guess ye're not furout, ez I telled thet dodrotted fule of a Flinders we'd be safe ter runfoul o' the cussed Galapagos if we kept thet course ez he steered!Howsomedever, let's do sunthin', an' not stan' idling hyar no longer. Forrad, thaar, ye lot o' star-gazin', fly-catchin' lazy lubbers! make iteight bells an' call the watch to sluice down decks! Ye doan't think, me jokers, I'm goin' to let ye strike work an' break articles 'cause theshep's aground, do ye? Not if I knows it, by thunder! Stir yer stumpsan' look smart, or some o' ye'll know the reason why!"

This made Tom Bullover and the other hands bustle about on thefo'c's'le, although buckets had to be lowered over the side aft to washdown the decks with, so as to clear away all the volcano dust that wasstill lying about, for the head-pump could not be used as usual onaccount of the forepart of the ship being high and dry. 

Meanwhile, Hiram and I busied ourselves in the galley, blowing up thefire and getting the coffee ready for breakfast, so that ere long thingsbegan to look better. 

The sun by this time was more than half-way up overhead, but as a steadysouth-west breeze was blowing in still from the sea right across ourquarter, for the ship was lying on the sand with her bowsprit pointingnorth by west, the temperature was by no means so hot as might have beenexpected from the fact of our being so close to the Equator; and so, after our morning meal was over, the skipper had all hands piped tolighten the vessel, in order to prepare her for our going afloat again. 

Captain Snaggs took the precaution, however, of getting out anchorsahead and astern, so as to secure her in her present position, so thatno sudden shift of wind or rise of the tide might jeopardise mattersbefore everything was ready for heaving her off, the sheet and starboardbower being laid out in seven-fathom water, some fifty yards aft of therudder post, in a direct line with the keel, so that there should be aslittle difficulty as possible in kedging her. These anchors werecarried out to sea by a gang of men in the jolly-boat, which was letdown amidships just where we were awash, by a whip and tackle rigged upbetween the main and crossjack yards for the purpose. 

By the time this was done, from the absence of any shadow cast by thesun, which was high over our mastheads, it was evidently close on tonoon; so, the skipper brought his sextant and a big chart he had of thePacific on deck, spreading the latter over the cuddy skylight, while heyelled out to the dilapidated Mr Flinders, who was repairing damagesbelow, to watch the chronometer and mark the hour when he sang out. 

Captain Snaggs squinted through the eye-glass of his instrument for abit with the sextant raised aloft, as if he were trying to stare old Solout of countenance. 

"Stop!" he sang out in a voice of thunder. "Stop!"

Then he took another observation, followed by a second stentorian shoutof "Stop!"

A pause ensued, and then he roared below to Mr Flinders, asking himwhat he made it, the feeble voice of the first-mate giving him in returnthe Greenwich time as certified by the chronometer; when after a longishcalculation and measuring of distances on the chart, with a pair ofcompasses and the parallel ruler, Captain Snaggs gave his decision in anoracular manner, with much wagging of his goatee beard. 

"I guess yo're about right this journey, Mister Steenbock, " he said, holding up the chart for the other's inspection. "I kalkelate we'rejest in latitood 0 degrees 32 minutes north, an' longitood 90 degrees 45minutes west--pretty nigh hyar, ye see, whaar my finger is on thisdurned spec, due north'ard of the Galapagos group on the Equator. Thischart o' mine, though, don't give no further perticklers, so I reckon itmust be Abingdon Island, ez ye says, ez thet's the furthest north, barrin' Culpepper Island, which is marked hyar, I see, to the nor'-west, an' must be more'n fifty leagues, I guess, away. "

"Joost zo, " replied Jan Steenbock, mildly complacent at his triumph. "Ivas zink zo, and I zays vat I zink!"

The point being thus satisfactorily settled, the men had their dinner, which Hiram and I had cooked in the galley while the anchors were beinggot out and the skipper was taking his observation of the sun; and then, after seeing that everything was snug in the caboose, I was just aboutsneaking over the side to explore the strange island and inspect moreclosely the curious animals I had noticed, when Captain Snaggs saw mefrom the poop and put the stopper on my little excursion. 

"None o' y'r skulking my loblolly b'y!" he shouted out. "Jest ye layaloft an' send down the mizzen-royal. This air no time fur skylarkin'an' jerymanderin'. We wants all hands at work. "

With that, I had, instead of enjoying myself ashore as I had hoped, tomount up the rigging and help the starboard watch in unbending thesails, which, when they reached the deck, were rolled up by the otherwatch on duty below, and lowered to the beach over the side, where theywere stowed in a heap on the sand above high-water mark. 

The lighter spars were next sent down, and then the upper and loweryards by the aid of strong purchases, all being similarly placed ashore, with the ropes coiled up as they were loosed from their blocks andfastenings aloft; so, by the time sunset came the ship was almost asheer hulk, only her masts and standing rigging remaining. 

Poor old thing, she was utterly transformed, lying high and dry there, with all her top hamper gone, and shorn of all her fair proportions!

I noticed this when I came down from aloft, the _Denver City_ looking soqueer from the deck, with her bare poles sticking up, like monumentserected to her past greatness; but, although I was tired enough with allthe jobs I had been on, unreeling ropes, and knotting, and splicing, andhauling, till I hardly knew whether I stood on my head or my heels, Iwas not too tired to take advantage of the kind offer Hiram made me whenI went into the galley to help get the men's tea ready. 

"Ye ken skip, Cholly, an' hev a lark ashore, ef ye hev a mind to, " saidhe; "I'll look arter the coppers. "

Didn't I `skip, ' that's all. 

I was down the sides in a brace of shakes, and soon wandering at my ownsweet will about the beach, wondering at everything I saw--the lava bedabove the sand, the tall, many-armed cactus plants, with their fleshyfingers and spikes at the ends, like long tenpenny nails, the gianttortoises, which hissed like snakes as they waddled out of my path--wondering, aye, wondering at everything!

Hearing the cooing of doves again, as I had done in the morning, Ifollowed the sound, and presently came to a small grove of trees on anincline above the flat lava expanse, to the right of the head of thelittle bay where the ship was stranded. 

Here grass and a species of fern were growing abundantly around a poolof water, fed from a tiny rivulet that trickled down from the cliffabove; and I had no sooner got under the shelter of the leafy branchesthan I was surrounded by a flock of the pretty grey doves whose gentlecooing I had heard. 

They were so tame that they came hopping on my head and outstretchedhand, and I was sorry I had not brought some biscuit in my pocket, sothat I might feed them. 

It was so calm and still in the mossy glade that I threw myself down onthe grass, remaining until it got nearly dark, when I thought it abouttime to return to the ship, though loth to leave the doves, who cooed asoft farewell after me, which I continued to hear long after I lostsight of them. 

I got back to the shore safely without further adventure, until I wasclose under the ship, when I had a fearful fright from a huge tortoisethat I ran against, and which seemed to spit in my face, it hissed at meso viciously. 

It must have been four feet high at least, and what its circumferencewas goodness only knows, for I could have laid down on its back withease, as it was as broad as a table. 

I did not attempt to do this, however, but scrambled up the ship's sideas quickly as I could, and made my way to the galley, in order to get mytea, which Hiram had promised to keep hot for me. 

Outside the galley, though, I met the American, who frightened me evenmore than the big tortoise had done the minute before. 

"Say, Cholly, " he cried, his voice trembling with terror, "thet ghost ofthe nigger cook air hauntin' us still; I seed him thaar jest now, a-sottin' in the corner of the caboose an' a-playin' on his banjo, eztrue ez I'm a livin' sinner!"

CHAPTER TWELVE. 

THE GOLDEN MADONNA. 

"My goodness! you don't mean that, Hiram?" I exclaimed, seeing from hisearnest manner that he was not trying to hoax me, but stating what hereally believed to be a fact. "When was it that you saw the ghost?"

"Jest on sundown, Cholly, arter the men hed thaar tea an' cleared out, the whole bilin' ov 'em, skipper an' all, goin' ashore, like ez ye did, sonny, afore 'em, to prospect the country an' look at the big turtle an'other streenge varmint. Thaar warn't a soul left aboard but thet bruteFlinders an' myself; an' he wer so basted by the lickin' ez JanSteenbock giv him thet he wer lyin' down in the cabin an' pizenin'hisself with rum to mend matters. But, I wer thet dead beat, withshiftin' gear an' sendin' down yards, thet I wer fit fur nuthin' but terlean over the gangway an' smoke a pipe afore turnin' in, fur I wermighty tired out, I wer!"

"You must have been, Hiram, " said I, "for, I'm sure I was, and am sostill. "

"Yes, I wer dead beat, an' thaar I rested agen the gangway, smokin' an'lookin' at the chaps that wer a-skylarkin' with a big turtle they hadcapsized on ter his back, so ez he couldn't make tracks; when all atoncest I thort o' the galley fire a-goin' out an' yer tea, Cholly, ez Ipromist to keep bilin', an' so I made back fur the caboose. It wer thenclose on dark, an' a sorter fog beginnin' to spring from seaward aforethe land breeze riz an' blew it orf. "

"And then, " I put in, on his pausing at this point, hanging on his wordsintently, "what happened then?"

"Lord sakes! Cholly, it kinder makes the creeps come over me to tellyou, " he replied, with a shudder, while his voice fell impressively. "Iwer jest nigh the galley when I heerd a twang on the banjo, same ez poorold Sam used ter giv' the durned thin' afore he began a-playin' on it--asorter loudish twang, as if he gripped all the strings at oncet; an'then, ther' come a softer sort o' toonfal `pink-a-pink-a-pong, pong, 'an' I guess I heerd a wheezy cough, ez if the blessed old nigger werclarin' his throat fur to sing--I did, so!"

"Goodness gracious, Hiram!" I ejaculated, breathless with expectation, "you must have been frightened!"

"I wer so, " he replied--"I wer so skeart thet I didn't know what terdew; but, thinks I, let's see if anythin's thaar; an' so I jest look'tround the corner o' the galley through the half-door, an', b'y, thaar Iseed Sam a-sottin', ez I sed, an' a-playin' his banjo ez nat'rel ez everwer!"

"But the banjo wasn't there last night, " I interposed here. "I lookedfor it almost as soon as we heard the sound of it being played at thetime of the earthquake, and I couldn't see it hanging up over the doorwhere Tom Bullover, you remember, pointed it out to us. "

"Wa-all, all I ken say is thet I seed the ghostess with the durned thin'thaar in his grip. I didn't wait fur to see no more, I can tell ye, Cholly!"

"What did you do?"

"I jest made tracks for the fo'c's'le, an' turned inter my bunk, I werso skeart, till the skipper an' the rest o' the hands came aboard ag'in, when I comed out an' stood hyar a-waitin' fur ye. I ain't seed TomBullover yet; so ye're the fust I hev told o' the sperrit hauntin' usagen, Cholly. "

"Do you think it's gone yet?" I asked; "perhaps it is still there. "

"I dunno, " he replied. "P'raps ye'd best go fur to see. I'm jiggeredif I will!"

I hesitated at this challenge; it was more than I bargained for. 

"It's all dark now, " I said, glancing towards the galley, from which nogleam came, as usual, across the deck, as was generally the case atnight-time; "I suppose the fire has gone out?"

"'S'pose it air, " answered Hiram; "guess it's about time it wer, b'y, considerin' I wer jest a-going fur to make it up when I seed Sam. Ireckon, though, if ye hev a mind fur to look in, ye can get a lanternaft from the stooard. I seed him a-buzzin' round the poop jest now, furhe hailed me ez he poked his long jib-boom of a nose up the companion;but, I didn't take no notice o' the cuss, fur I wer outer sorts like, feelin' right down chawed up!"

"All right, " said I, anxious to display my courage before Hiram, hisfright somehow or other emboldening me. "I will get a lantern at onceand go into the galley. "

So saying, I went along the deck aft, passing into the cuddy by the doorunder the break of the poop, and there I found Morris Jones, thesteward, in the pantry. 

He was putting a decanter and glass on a tray for the captain, who wassitting in the cabin, preparing for a jollification after his exertionsof the day; for he had returned in high glee from his inspection of theship's position with Jan Steenbock, whom he took with him to explain thedifferent points of land and the anchorage. 

Jan Steenbock was just leaving the skipper as I entered, refusing, as Isurmised from the conversation, his pressing invitation to have aparting drink--a sign of great cordiality with him. 

"Wa-all, hev yer own way, but a drop o' good rum hurts nary a one, ez Iken see, " I heard Captain Snaggs say. "Good-night, Mister Steenbock. Iguess we'll set to work in airnest ter-morrer, an' see about gettin' thecargy out to lighten her; an' then, I reckon, mister, we'll try y'rdodge o' diggin' a dock under her. "

"Yase, dat vas goot, " said the Dane, in his deep voice, in answer. "Wewill dig oop the zand vrom her kil: an' zen, she vill vloat, if dere vasno leaks an' she vas not hoort her back by taking ze groond. "

"Jest so, " replied the skipper; and Morris Jones having gone into thecabin with the glasses and water on his tray, I heard a gurgling sound, as if Captain Snaggs was pouring out some of his favourite liquor andgulping it down. "Ah, I feel right chunky arter thet, I guess! Yes, Mister Steenbock, we'll float her right off; fur, I don't think she'sstarted a plank in her; an' if we shore her up properly we ken dig thesand from under her, ez ye sez, an' then she'll go off ez right ez aclam, when we brings a warp round the capstan from the ankers astern. "

"Ja zo, " agreed Jan Steenbock. "We vill wait and zee. "

"Guess not, " retorted the skipper. "We'll dew better, we'll work andtry, me joker, an' dew thet right away smart ter-morrer!"

Captain Snaggs sniggered at this, as if he thought it a joke; and then, I could hear Jan Steenbock wish him good-night, leaving him to his rumand the companionship of Mr Flinders--who must have smelt the liquor, for I caught his voice muttering something about being `durned dry, ' butI did not listen any longer, looking out for the steward, who presentlyfollowed Jan Steenbock out of the cabin. 

"Well, younker, what d'ye want?" Morris Jones asked me, when he came upto where I was still standing alongside his pantry. "I didn't have timeto speak to ye afore. What is it?"

"I want a lantern, " said I. "The galley fire's gone out. "

"All right, here you are, you can take this, " he replied, handing me onehe had lit. "Any more ghostesses about forrud? That blessed nigger'ssperrit oughter go ashore, now we've come to this outlandish place, andleave us alone!"

"You'd better not joke about it, " I said solemnly. "Hiram has seensomething awful to-night. "

"What d'ye mean?" he cried, turning white in a moment, as I could see bythe light of the lantern, and all his braggadocio vanishing. "What d'yemean?"

"Only not to halloo too loud till you're out of the wood, " said I, goingoff forwards. "Hiram has seen Sam's ghost again, that's all!"

I felt all the more encouraged by this little passage of arms with thefunky Welshman; so, I marched up to the galley door as brave as brass, holding out, though, the lantern in front of me, to light up the place, Hiram, ashamed of his own fears, coming up close behind, and looking inover my shoulder. 

Neither of us, though, saw any cause for alarm, for there was no onethere; and I was inclined to believe that Hiram had fallen asleep anddreamt the yarn he told me, the more especially as there was a strongsmell of tobacco about the place, as if some one had been there recentlysmoking. 

The American, however, was indignant at the bare suggestion of this. 

"What d'yer take me fur, Cholly, " he said. "I tell ye I seed hima-sottin' down thaar in thet corner, an' heerd the banjo ez plain ez ifit wer a-playin' now! Look at the fire, too; ain't that streenge? Itwer jest a-staggerin' out when I comed hyar fur to put on some more woodto make it burn up, an' thaar it air now, ez if some one hez jest beena-lightin' on it!"

It was as he said. The fire seemed to have been fresh lit, for therewas even a piece of smouldering paper in the stoke hole. 

It was certainly most mysterious, if Hiram had not done it, which heangrily asserted he had not, quite annoyed at my doubting his word. 

While I was debating the point with him, Tom Bullover appeared at thedoor, with his usual cheerful grin. 

"Hullo!" cried he; "what's the row between you two?"

Thereupon Hiram and I both spoke at once, he telling his version of thestory and I mine. 

"Well, don't let such foolish nonsense make you ill friends, " said Tom, grinning. "I dare say you're both right, if matters could only beexplained--Hiram, in thinking he saw Sam's ghost, and you, Charley, inbelieving he dreamt it all out of his head. As for the fire burning up, I can tell you all about that, for seeing it just at the last gasp, Istuck in a bit of paper and wood to light it, so as to be more cheerful. I likewise lit my own pipe arterwards, which fully accounts for whatyou fellows couldn't understand. "

"Thaar!" exclaimed Hiram triumphantly; "I tolled you so, Cholly. "

"All right, " I retorted. "It's just as I said, and there's nothingmysterious about it. "

Each of us remained of his own opinion, but Tom Bullover chaffed us outof all further argument, and we presently followed the example of theother hands, who were asleep snoring in the fo'c's'le, and turned intoour bunks; while Tom went aft to relieve Jan Steenbock as look-out, there being no necessity for all of the watch to be on deck, the shipbeing ashore, and safer even than if she had been at anchor. 

In the morning, I was roused up by the cooing doves again, and the veryfirst man I met after turning out was Morris Jones, who looked seedy andtired out, as if he had been awake all night. 

"What's the matter?" I asked him, as he came into the galley, where Iwas busy at my morning duty, getting the coppers filled for the men'scoffee, and poking up the fire, which still smouldered, for I had bankedit, so as to keep it alight after I turned in. "Anything happened?"

"You were right, Cholly, in tellin' me not to holler till I was out ofthe wood last night, " he said solemnly. "I seed thet arterwards thesame as Hiram!"

"Saw what?"

"The nigger's ghost. "

"Nonsense!" I cried, bursting out into a laugh, his face looked sowoe-begone, while his body seemed shrunk, giving him the mostdilapidated appearance. "You must have been taking some of the cap'en'srum. "

"None o' your imperence, master Cholly, " said he, aiming a blow at myhead, which I dexterously avoided. "I never touches none o' theskipper's ruin; I wouldn't taste the nasty stuff now, after all I'veseen it's done. No, I tell you straight, b'y, I ain't lying. I see SamJedfoot last night as ever was, jest soon arter you went away from thecuddy with the lantern. "

"You did?"

"Yes, I'll take my davy on it. He comed right through the cabin, andwalked past my pantry, stepping over the deck jest as if he was alive;and then I saw something like a flash o' light'ing, and when I lookedagen, being blinded at first, there he were a-floating in the air, goingout o' sight over the side. "

"Did you go to see what had become of him?" I said jokingly, on hearingthis. "Where did he make for when he got over the side?"

"I didn't look no more, " answered the steward, taking my inquiry inearnest. "I were too frightened. "

"What did you do, then?"

"I just stopped up there in my pantry all night, locking the door, so asto prevent no one from getting in. Aye, I kep' two lights burning, toscare the ghost if he should come again; and theer I stop't tilldaylight, when I heard you stirring, and comed here to speak to you, glad to see a human face agen, if only a beast of a b'y like you--farthem sperrits do make a chap feel quar all over! Besides, too, the fearo' seeing the blamed thing agen, I thought the skipper, who was drinkingawful arter Jan Steenbock left, he and Flinders having a regular go inat the rum, might have another fit o' the horrors, and bust out on mewith his revolver. Lor, I 'ave 'ad a night on it, I can tell you!"

"Poor fellow! wait and have a pan of coffee, " said I sympathisingly, pitying his condition and not minding his polite allusion to me as a`beast of a boy, ' which no doubt my manner provoked. "It will soon beready. "

"I will, " he replied, thoroughly beaten and speaking to me civilly forthe first time. "Thank ye, kindly, Cholly!"

By-and-by the crew turned out; and, after having their coffee, beganagain the same work they had been at the previous day of lightening theship, Captain Snaggs superintending operations, and not looking a bitthe worse for his drinking bout in which Morris Jones said he had spentthe night with his kindred spirit, Mr Flinders. 

The scene on the beach all that day and the next was a busy one, allhands hard at it unloading the _Denver City_, preparatory to our tryingto restore her to her native element, the sea--which latter rippled upalong her dry timbers forward, as far as the mizzen-chains, the furthestpoint where she was aground, with a lisping sound, it seemed to me, asif wooing her to come back and float on its bosom again once more, as ofyore!

A great deal more had to be effected, however, before this could beaccomplished, for a sort of dock, or trench, had to be dug out beneaththe vessel's keel, so as to bring the water beneath her and help to lifther off the sandbank where she was stranded; and this could not be donein a day, work we our hardest, despite the men taking shifts turn andturn about by watches at the task. 

Fortunately, while unloading the cargo, a lot of pickaxes were foundamongst the miscellaneous assortment of `notions' stowed in themain-hold; and these now came in handy, the hands learning to wield themjust as if they had been born navvies, after a bit, under theexperienced direction of Captain Snaggs, who said he had been aCalifornian miner during a spell he had ashore at one period of hislife. 

On the third day of this labour, the dock was becoming perceptibly deepamidships and the water beginning to ooze through the sand; when, all atonce, Tom Bullover, who was wielding a pick like the rest, struck thepoint of it against something which gave out a clear metallic ring. 

After a dig or two more, he excavated the object, which, preserved inthe lava that lay beneath the sand and shells on the beach, was found tobe an image of the Virgin, such as you see in Roman Catholic countriesabroad. It was of a bright yellow colour and shining, as if just turnedout of a jeweller's shop. 

It was a golden Madonna!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN. 

JAN STEENBOCK GETS CONFIDENTIAL. 

"My stars, Chips!" exclaimed Hiram, who was standing near by when TomBullover held up his treasure-trove to view. "What hev ye got thaar, ship met?"

"Sorry o' me knows, " returned the other, examining the object closely. "Seems like one o' them blessed saints they has in the cathedral atLima, which I went over one day last v'y'ge I took this side, when Isailed from Shields to Valparaiso, and arterwards come up the coast, ourskipper looking out for a cargy, instead o' going back home in ballast. It seems a pretty sort o' himage, too, bo, and I'm hanged if I don'tthink it's gold, for it's precious heavy for its size, I can tell you!"

"Chuck it over hyar an' let's see what it's like, " said Hiram, hiscuriosity at once roused. "I'll soon tell ye if it's hunkydory ez soonez I hev the handlin' on it; fur I ken smell the reel sort, I guess, an'knows it likewise by the feel it kinder hez about it. "

"Right you are, bo, " sang out Tom Bullover, pitching it towards him. "Catch!"

"Bully far yer!" cried Hiram, putting up his hands and clutching hold ofthe figure as, well thrown by the other, it came tumbling into his readygrasp. "I'll soon tell ye what it's made on, I reckon!"

He thereupon proceeded to inspect the object carefully, giving it a lickof his tongue and rough polish with his palms, to remove the dirt anddust with which it was partly encrusted, sniffing at it and handling itas if it were a piece of putty. 

"Well, bo, " asked Tom at length, tired of waiting and eager to learn theresult of the other's examination; "is it all right?"

"You bet, " responded Hiram, tossing up the image in the air and catchingit again, and raising a triumphant shout that at once attracted theattention of the other hands, who dropped their pickaxes and shovelsinstanter and came clustering round. "I'm jiggered if it ain't gold, an' durned good metal, too, with nary a bit o' bogus stuff about it. Hooray!"

"Hooray!" yelled out the rest of the men in sympathy, the preciousfigure being passed round from one to another, so that each could see itin turn and judge for himself. "Hooray!"

"Hillo!" cried Captain Snaggs, noticing the commotion and comingbustling up, with his wiry goatee beard bristling and his pointed noseand keen eyes all attention. "What d'ye mean droppin' work an loafin'up hyar in a crowd, makin' all that muss fur, hey?"

"We've just found this here figger, sir, " explained Tom Bullover; "andHiram says it's made o' gold. "

"Thet's so, cap, " corroborated the American sailor. "It air all thet;an' goold of good grit, I reckon, too, or I'll swaller the durned lump, I will, without sass!"

"Humph!" snorted the skipper, holding out his hand for it; "give usholt, an' I'll prospect it fur ye, if ye like. They usest to tell me Iwarn't a bad jedge when I wer at the Carraboo diggin's an' went in furminin'. "

The little image of the Madonna was accordingly handed to him, and theskipper's nose wrinkled up, and twitched and jerked sideways, while hisbilly-goat beard bristled out like a porcupine's quills, as he sniffedand examined the figure, turning it over and over in his hands andfeeling it, the same as Hiram had done. He even went so far as to pinchit. 

"Jee-rusalem!" he at length exclaimed; "it's gold, sure enuff!"

"Hooray!" again burst from the men around. "Hooray!"

"I don't see nothin' to holler fur, " said Captain Snaggs, in response tothis, bringing them up, as the saying goes, `with a round turn, ' as heturned round angrily. "Guess ye won't find no more o' the same sortskatin' round the ranche!"

But, just then, Jan Steenbock came on the scene. 

He had been busily engaged overseeing the construction of a species ofcoffer-dam across the shore at right angles and up to the keel of theship at the point where the tide came up to, just by the mizzen-chains;so that the water should not get down into the excavation that the menwere digging until this should be deep enough to float the vessel, or, at all events, assist in easing her off the beach--for, if floodedprematurely, the labour would be doubled. 

The hands helping him having, however, deserted for the nonce and joinedthe rest of the crowd around Tom Bullover and Hiram, he came up, also, to the spot where all of us were standing, with the object of coaxinghis gang back to their task. The sound of the men's wild shout and theskipper's voice, raised in anger, as he thought, hastened his footsteps, too, for he feared that some mischief was brewing, and that the crew hadmutinied at the least. 

The moment he got near, though, he could perceive, from the grinningfaces and expression of those close by, that nothing very desperate wasin the wind; and, he was just on the point of asking what the row wasabout, when, all at once, he caught sight of the image. 

"Mein Gott!" he ejaculated, looking the picture of astonishment, andmore excited than I had ever seen him, from the first day I stepped onboard the ship until now, --"it vas ze Madonna of ze golt. Ze Madonna ofze golt!"

We all stared at him, filled with wonder at his apparent recognition ofthe figure. The skipper, however, at once interrogated him on thepoint. 

"Jehosophat, mister!" cried Captain Snaggs, with mixed curiosity andimpatience--"what d'ye mean? Hev ye ever seed this hyar figger afore?"

"Yase, " said the Dane, in his deep voice; "yase, I vas zee him one longtime befores I vas know him ver' well!"

"Thunder, ye don't mean it! What, this durned identical image?"

"Yase, mitout doubt. I vas know dat zame idenzigal vigure, " replied theother imperturbably, his passing fit of excitement having cooled, leaving him as calm and impassive as usual. "It vas ze Madonna of zegolt dat we vas loose overboart from ze schgooners, one, doo, dree yearago. "

The skipper looked at him, without speaking further for a second ormore, Jan Steenbock confronting him as steadfastly and placidly as aperiwinkle might have been under the circumstances; while all of usaround gazed at them both, open-mouthed with expectancy. 

"What d'ye mean?" presently said Captain Snaggs, breaking the silence;"what schooner air ye talkin' on?"

"Ze schgooners dat I vas zail in vrom Guayaquil dat time as I tell yous, vor to gatoh ze orchillas veeds. "

"But, mister, say, what hez thet stuff, which in coorse I knows on, todo with this durned old image hyar?" again interrogated the skipper, inan incredulous tone. "I guess ye air gettin' a bit kinder mixed up, an'yer yarn don't hitch on an' run smooth like!"

"Joost zo, " returned the imperturbable second-mate, in no way disturbedby this impeachment of his veracity. "You joost vait; I vas habzometing vor to zay. Joost vait and I vas tell yous. "

"Carry on then, " said Captain Snaggs impatiently. "By thunder! ye airez long gettin' under way, I guess, ez a Cape Cod pilot. Fire away, an'be durned to ye, an' tell us the hull bilin', mister!"

Jan Steenbock, however, would not allow himself to be hurried in thisfashion. Quite unmoved by the skipper's impatience, he went on in hisslow, deliberate way, all of us listening with the keenest attention andsteadying ourselves for a good yarn. 

"It vas dree year ago dat I vas meet mit Cap'en Shackzon, of zeschgooners _Mariposa_, at Guayaquil, " he began sententiously, clearinghis throat, and seeming to speak in deeper and deeper tones as heproceeded with his narrative. "He vas go, he tells me, vor a dradingvoy'ge to ze Galapagos Islants, and vas vant a zecond-mate, and vas askme vor to come mit hims. "

"An' ye wented, " interrupted the skipper--"hey?"

"Yase, I vas go! Cap'en Shackzon zays, zays he, bevore we sdart, dat zeschgooners vas to zail vor Jarls Islant, call't by ze Sbaniards`Vloreana, ' vere dere vas a lot of beeples vrom Equador dat collect zeorchilla veeds, and vas drade likevise to ze mainland mit ze hides andzalt veesh, and ozer tings. "

"I reckon all thet don't consarn us, mister, " said the skipper, arresting any further enumeration of the exports from Charles Island;"an' so, ye went thaar to trade, hey?"

"Nein, " came Jan Steenbock's unexpected answer; "ze schgooners vas notgo to Jarls Islant. "

"Jee-rusalem!" exclaimed the skipper, taken aback by this naiveannouncement. "Then, whaar in thunder did ye go?"

"Vait, and I vas tell yous, " said the other calmly, going on with hisstory in his own way. "Ven we vas zail vrom Guayaquil and vas at zeezome days, Cap'en Shackzon zays to me, zays he, `I vas engage yous'--datvas me--`vor and bekos I vas vant a man dat I can droost, mit all discrew of gut-throat Sbaniards arount me. Can yous be zeegret and keep inze gonfidence vat I tells you?' In ze course, I vas zay to Cap'enShackzon `yase;' and, den--"

"What happened?" eagerly asked Captain Snaggs; "what happened?"

"We zails to ze norzard, " continued Jan, provokingly, refraining fromdisclosing at the moment the confidential communication he mentionedhaving been made to him. "We vas zail vor dree more day, and den we vaszee dat cap dere, dat Cap'en Shackzon vas zay is Cape Chalmers, and datze lant vas Abingdon Islant vere we vas now vas; and den he vas tell mehis zeegret. "

"An' thet wer what, eh, mister?" said the skipper, while all of us hungon his words, breathless now with excitement, our curiosity beingaroused to the highest pitch. "Don't kep us a-waitin', thaar's afriendly coon, fur I guess we air amost bustin' to haar what thet airsecret wer!"

"I beliefs zere vas no harms vor to tell?" observed the Danereflectively, as if cogitating the matter over in his own mind andanxious to have another opinion to say whether or no his narration ofthe circumstances would be any breach of the trust reposed in him. "Cap'en Shackzon was det, and ze crew vas det, and zere vas nobozy datvas aboart ze schgooners dat vas alifes but meinselfs. "

"Nary a bit o' harm at all, mister, ez I ken see, " said Captain Snaggsdecisively; "not where ther' ain't no folk alive to complain o' yetellin' on it. Nary a bit o' harm, I reckon!"

"Yase, I do not zee no harms, " continued Jan Steenbock, as if he had nowmade up his mind on the point; "and zo I vas tell yous. Ze zeegret datCap'en Shackzon tell to me vas dat he hat discovert von dreazure in acave in ze islant von day dat he vas plown into ze bay in a squall; andven he vas go back to Guayaquil, he vas charter ze schgooners to zailback to ze islant again. He vas tell ze beeples dere dat he vas go vorze orchilla veeds and ze toordle; but, he vas mean to dig oop zedreazure and take hims back zogreetly in ze schgooners to ze mainland, as if he vas only hab ze orchilla veeds and ze toordle on boart. Hezays to me, zays Cap'en Shackzon, `ze Sbaniards in Equador is von batlot, and vill murter a mans like one mosquito vor a tollar, ' and he vasknow dat zey vas kill hims if zey vas zink he vas hab ze dreazure onboart; and, dat vas ze reason dat he vas vant von man dat he cootdroost, joost like meinselfs, mit hims!"

"A treasure hyar, mister, " said the skipper, with his eyes aglow and hisgoatee beard bristling up, all agog at such news--"a treasure o' gold, hey?"

"Yase, yase, " replied the other affirmatively; "oh, yase!"

"How come it hyar?"

"It vas burit by ze boocaneer in ze olt time--one, doo, dree huntertyear ago, " explained Jan. "Cap'en Shackzon vas zee it writ in von bookdat he vas zee at Guayaquil; and den, ven he vas zail here, he vas cometo de zame blace dat ze boocaneer spoke of in ze book and hat burit zegolt. It vas ze ploonder of ze churches of ze coast, dat ze boocaneershat collect in von big heep and zegreet in ze cave till zey coot takehims avay mit dem, and dere it vas remain till Cap'en Shackzon voundit. "

"He found it, hey?"

"Yase, he vind it von day, as I zays. His voot vas sdoomble in ze hole, and dat give vays; and den, he doombles into ze cave, and zee all zedreasure of golt and silber and ozer tings. "

"An' did ye see it, too, mister?" inquired Captain Snaggs anxiously. "Pyaps thet air coon wer only bamboozlin' ye, an' made up the yarn!"

"No, he vas not make it oop, " replied Jan. "I vas zee dat Madonna ofgolt dere and ozer tings dat he vas bring back vrom ze cave ven we vascoom here in ze schgooners, and anchor't in ze bay dere as ze sheep vasnow lay. But, Cap'en Shackzon vas von sdrange mans!"

"Thunder!" ejaculated the skipper, on the other pausing at this point, as if waiting for the question to be put. "How wer he streenge, mister, hey?"

"He vas like to keep zings to himselfs, " said Jan Steenbock meaningly. "He vas not let me go to ze cave at all, and ze schgooner vas anchor'there in ze bay more dan a veek!"

"I s'pose he didn't want the crew--them rascally Spaniards ye spoke on--smellin' a rat an' spilin' his game, I reckon, " suggested the skipper;"but how did he manage, hey?"

"He vas keep ze mans all day hunting for ze orchilla veeds up ze montanedere, " replied Jan; "and den, ven ze night vas coom, he vas tell me toshtop on ze vatch, and den he vas go ashore to look for ze cave mithimselfs. "

"He didn't spot it at once agen then?"

"Nein. He vas look in vain vor dree nights, and vas near give oop zehoont in despair; but on ze ozer night he vas come back to ze schgoonersin goot sbirrits, and zays to me, zays he, `I vas vind ze cave at last. 'He vas zo glat he vas laf mit joy and I vas laf, too!"

"I guess ye hed sunthin' to snigger over, hey?"

"Yase, joost zo! I vas laf mit him; and den, he vas bring oot datMadonna dere, dat he vas hab stow avay in his shirt, and vas show it tome, and ze vigure vas shin in ze moonlight. Ah, dat vas bat; vor, vonof ze Sbaniards of ze crew vas zee it shin in ze light and show ze golt, and he vas tell ze ozers--a pack of raskels--and ze whole game was oopvor us and ze dreazure!"

"How's thet, mister?" inquired the skipper, as Jan paused again here, his voice dropping. "Did the varmint spile ye?"

"Humph!" growled the other. "Dey vas spile zemselves! In ze mittle ofze night ze raskels go down into ze cabin vere Cap'en Shackzon vasashleep and shtab him mit dere knifes. Den, zey shtole ze golt Madonnaand brings it oop on ze deck; and den, zey get vighting vor ze vigure, and shtab von ze ozers, and dey vas vake me oop mit ze row, vor I vastiret and vas ashleep in ze boate over ze taffrail. "

"An' how did ye come off with a hull skin?" asked Captain Snaggs. "Iguess ye wer in a durned tight corner. "

"Zee goot Gott vatch overs me!" replied Jan Steenbock gravely, raisinghis eyes reverently upward as he uttered the word, "vor, in ze mittle ofze row, ven ze raskels vas all of zem murtering each ozers and ze deckvas rolling in bloot, a sudden gale vas spring oop; and ze schgooner vasdash on ze rocks dere to port, and she vas go down in ze deep vater, mitze crew still vighting on ze deck to ze last. One--doo--dree--vore--mens vas already kil't, besides Cap'en Schackzon--ze lifing and ze detgoing down zogeder into de zee, mit ze golt Madonna dat you vas nowvind!"

"An' how did ye scrape through, hey?"

"I vas schvim ashore, " answered Jan Steenbock, in reply to this questionfrom the skipper, who followed his recital carefully, with hisinquisitive long nose twitching every now and then, and his billy-goatbeard wagging as he nodded his head, watching apparently to catch theother tripping in his story. "I vas schvim ashore and go to landt allraite. "

"What became o' ye then?"

"I vas shtop heres till I vas pick oop by a passing sheep. "

"Her name, mister?" again interrogated Captain Snaggs, with keenpertinacity. "Thet is if ye reck'lects. "

"Oh, yase, I vas remembers very well, " rejoined the other, equal to theoccasion. "She vas ze whaling barque _Jemima Greens_, of Bostone, Izinks. "

"Thet's right; I knows her, " interrupted the skipper, quite satisfied. "Joe Davis master, hey?"

"Yase, joost zo, " replied the other, "dat vas ze name of ze cap'en, Iremembers. "

"An' how long did ye remain aboard her?"

"Vor more dan vore months. She vas veeshing vor ze whale ven she pickme oop vrom here; and I vas hab to vait till she vas load up mit zeoils, ven she vas go zouth, and landt me at Valparaizo. Vrom dat port Ivas vork mein passage back to England ze next zommer--and dat vas dreeyear ago. "

"Waal, thet's a tall yarn, anyhow, " said the skipper, when Jan Steenbockhad thus concluded his strange history; "but, dew ye mean ter say ez howye hev never ben nigh this place hyar agen sin' thet time?"

"Nein, " replied the other frankly, "nevaire!"

"What! d'ye mean ter say ez how ye hed no kinder sort o' curiosity liketo find thet thaar cave, with the rest o' thet gold an' treasure whatthem old buccaneers stowed away so snug, 'specially arter seein' it wer'reel?"

"No, cap'en, " said Jan Steenbock firmly, as if he had previously wellconsidered all the bearings of the case and arrived at his finaldecision. "I vas nevaire likes vor to zee dat blace nor ze golt again--no, nevaire!"

"But, why, mister?" asked the skipper, with insatiable curiosity, winking to the hands round, to call their attention to the fact that hewas about to take a rise out of the simple-hearted Dane, and `trot himout, ' as it were, for their mutual amusement. "Why shouldn't ye hankerarter seein' the gold agen, mister? I guess ye didn't hev too much onit afore; an', I'm durned if ye hev got much of a pile now, ez fur ez Iken see!"

Jan Steenbock's answer, however, completely staggered him, banishing allhis merriment and facetiousness in an instant. 

"It vas curst, " said the Dane solemnly. "Ze golt and ze islandt andeveryting vas shtink mit ze black man's bloot!"

CHAPTER FOURTEEN. 

WE DISCOVER THE CAVE. 

"What d'ye mean?" Captain Snaggs managed to stammer out after a bit, his long face perceptibly longer and his rubicund complexion turned toan ashy grey. He was conscience-stricken and thoroughly frightened atthe second-mate thus bringing up again, as he thought, his cruel murderof the negro cook; for, Jan Steenbock spoke in the same tone of voice, and pointed his finger at him like an accusing judge, in almost the sameprecise way he had done on that eventful day when we were off Scilly, three months before. "What in thunder d'ye mean, man?--what d'ye mean?"

"I vas mean vat I zays, " answered the other calmly: "ze dreazure of zeboocaneer vas shtain mit ze bloot of von schlave. "

"Oh, " exclaimed the skipper, somewhat relieved by his not mentioningagain Sam Jedfoot's name, as he and all of us believed the second-mateintended doing, imagining his remark to refer to none other than thepoor darkey. "I don't kinder foller ye, mister, nohow, an it strikesme, it dew, ez if ye air gettin' sorter mixed up, same ez jest now!What d'ye mean a-talkin' o' durned nigger slaves an' sichlike? Thaarain't none now, I reckon, under the Stars and Stripes this side, nor yitfur thet matter in the hull o' the land, from Maine to Californy, sin'the war busted up the great southern `institooshun, ' ez they call'd itin Virginny. Thaar ain't no slaves, sirree, now, I guess, on this hyarfree an' almighty continent! What d'yer mean, hey?"

The men gave out another loud hooray at this stump speech, which theskipper, quite relieved of his fears anent any allusion to Sam Jedfoot, delivered with much unction, as if he were holding forth from a platformat election time, his billy-goat beard wagging while he threw his armsabout in the excitement of his oratory. 

Jan Steenbock, for the moment, seemed puzzled how to reply; for, hestood silently facing the other in the pause that ensued after he hadfinished his harangue. 

At length, however, he spoke, the wild cheer of the hands spurring himup and giving an impulse to the slow current of his thoughts and words--the Dane not being prone, like Captain Snaggs, to talking for the merepleasure of hearing his own voice. 

"I vill egshblain vat I means, " he began, in his deliberate way, answering the skipper's question, but speaking as if addressing all ofus collectively, his deep tones getting deeper and increasing in volumeas he proceeded, so that all could hear. "I vas shpeak vat I reat in zebook dat Cap'en Shackzon vas bringt mit him vrom Guayaquil in zeschgooners dat time. I vas likevise rec'lect vat I zees here ven we vasarrife, an' Cap'en Shackzon's vas murter't, and ze mans vas kill zeozers, and dere vas nuzzing but bloot and murter; vor, ze schgooners vasgo down, mit only meinselfs dat vas eshgape mit mein lifes--and zo Izays to meinselfs, dere vas a curse on ze golt and ze dreazure of zeboocaneer vrom ze bloot of ze schlave dat vas murter't!"

"Guess I don't foller ye yet, mister, " said the skipper. "Who kil'tthet air darkey ye air a-talkin' on, hey?"

"Ze boocaneer, " promptly replied Jan. "Dey vas burit ze schlave veredey vas burit ze dreazure. "

"An' what did the cusses dew thet fur?"

"It vas to make ze Sbaniards and ze ozer beebles not vor to dig oop zedreasure, or vor to go vere it vas burit. Zey vas zink dat ze sbirit ofze black man vas harmt dem and vork mizcheef, ze zame as vas done tohims, bekos he vas murter't vor ze dreazure. `Bloot vor bloot' vas zelaw of ze boocaneer, and dey vas zink dat ze black mans vas hab ze blootof ze ozer mans dat coom vere his sbirit vas!"

"Oh, thet's the yarn ye hev got holt on!" exclaimed Captain Snaggs, witha grin on his face, winking round to us. "Guess ye ain't sich a durnedfule ez ter swaller all thet bunkum, hey?"

"I doos belief it, vor it vas droo, " answered Jan Steenbock veryimpressively. "Oh, yase, I vas zee it meinselfs. It vas droo as droo!"

"Wa-al, " drawled out the skipper, with a snigger, which raised asympathetic laugh from some of the men standing by, "thet beatsev'rythin' I ever know'd, it dew! Jest ter think of a straightup-an'-down coon like ye, mister, with raal grit in ye, a-believin' insich a yarn ez thet!"

"I beliefs it, vor it vas droo, " repeated the Dane, in no waydiscomposed by the other's ridicule. "I vas hab ze cause to beliefs!"

"What! Thet a durned nigger buried two hunder' year ago, orthaarabouts, hez the power to kinder hurt airy a livin' soul now?"

"I beliefs it, " returned Jan, doggedly; adding, much to the skipper'sdiscomfiture and banishing his merriment in a moment. "Dere vas sdrangezings habben zometimes. I vas hear ze mans zay dat ze ghost of ze cookdat you shoots vas hoont dees very sheeps!"

Captain Snaggs made no reply to this crushing rejoinder: but a sort ofmurmur of assent came from the others, while I caught Hiram's voicesaying, "Thet's so; right enuff!"

"And zo, cap'en, " went on the Dane, perceiving that he had scored apoint, and that the laugh was no longer against him, "I van hab nuzzingvor to do mit ze dreazure of ze boocaneer, and I vas hopes not vor tozee it a gains. It vas accurst, as I vas zay, vor ze boocaneerzemselves vas not able vor to vind it after zay vas burit it; and den, ven Cap'en Shackzon vinds it, he vas also murter't, as the schlave vas, and his crew vas murter't zemselves! Ze boocaneer dreazure vas accurstand bringt goot to no beebles. And zo, cap'en, I zays; zays I, let usnot mindt it at all, mit its bat look, but go on vor to dig oot ze dockfor ze sheep. We vas vaste ze time for nuzzin', if we hoonts vor zedreazure; and if we vinds it, we vas nevaire get no goot vrom it--nevaire, nozzing but bat!"

"Wa-all, thet's good advice, anyhow, " said the skipper, thinking thepalaver had lasted long enough. "Guess ye chaps bed better sot to workagen, ez Mister Steenbock sez. If we shu'd light on this air treesor, well enuff, but our fust job, I reckon, 's to get the shep afloat agen;an' we won't do thet, ye bet, by standin' hyar listenin' to ghost yarnsan' sichlike! Now, ye jokers, let me see ye handlin' them picks agen. P'r'aps ye'll dig up another gold figger o' two; who knows?"

This set all hands busy, the men excavating the sand and hard lava fromunder the bilge of the vessel with an alacrity they had not displayedbefore; and, each man putting his heart to the job, the broad trench inwhich they were working was soon dug down considerably deeper than thelevel of the sea. To prevent the encroach of this latter all the stufftaken out was thrown up alongside, forming a sort of steep embankment oneither hand, so that the _Denver City_ looked by-and-by as if she hadrun her head into a railroad cutting, the coffer-dam fixed across thebeach, right under her keel, by the mizzen-chains, where the water justcame up to, blocking the entrance to our dock effectually. The shipherself aided us in this respect, by settling down more in the sandthere as it became loosened, and we only had to take care now that theslight rise and fall of the tide should not cause too great a leakageinto the trench between the keel below and the upper strakes of hertimbers above, at the height to which the dam reached; and, after awhile, although a little water did trickle through the wall of sand andlava forming the side of the excavation towards the sea, there was not asufficient quantity of it to interfere with the labour of digging to anymaterial extent, nor to arrest our efforts. 

The men, indeed, wielded their picks as if anxious to make up for thehalf-hour or so that had been wasted since Tom Bullover found the goldenMadonna. 

Nor did they content themselves merely with digging. 

A keen watch was kept, in case something else might turn up, and everypiece of hard substance disinterred was carefully scrutinised; but, alas! no more golden images or nuggets of the precious metal gladdenedour eyes! Nothing came in view but sand and lava, lava and sand, variedoccasionally by the sight of some fragment of half-fossilisedtortoise-shell, or the chalky bones of cuttlefish and similar debris ofthe deep, washed up by the sea, and buried a fathom deep and more amidthe strata of the shore. 

This was disappointing; still, the men comforted themselves with thereflection that they were really digging for something else beyond themere chance of picking up stray finds, such as that of Tom, who wasthought a right good fellow for declaring he didn't consider the Madonnahis own special property, but would sell the figure, and go shares withall, when they got the ship afloat again, and reached San Francisco. Myfriend the carpenter thus artfully `pointed his moral, ' in order to makeus work the harder at the novel navvy work at which we were engaged--strange, at least, to us sailor-folk. 

Of course, though, while toiling like this, digging and splashing aboutin the insidious water that percolated through the beach, and whichgradually accumulated until it was now almost knee-deep in the bottom ofthe trench, we were by no means silent, for a lot of talk went on inreference to the buccaneers' buried treasure that Jan Steenbock hadspoken of. So, in spite of the second-mate's warning as to the `curse'which he declared was associated with the hidden hoard, and would attachitself to any one discovering or touching the same, I heard more thanone of the men give expression to a resolve to hunt for CaptainJackson's cave as soon as he should have an opportunity, when his spellof work was over, or, at all events, on the completion of the dock andthe floating of the ship--a halcyon period most devoutly prayed for byall of us as we slaved at our unaccustomed task. 

Amongst those who had thus made up their minds to go after the treasurewas myself; and I got full of the subject, though keeping my own councilthe while, and not informing any one of my intention. 

Presently, at `eight bells, ' the skipper told me I might leave off workin the trench, and go with Hiram on board the ship to prepare tea forthe hands. Morris Jones was ordered to accompany us, at the same time, to get the captain's dinner ready; for, although we were ashore on adesert island, our ordinary routine as to meals and other matters wasadhered to as regularly as if we had been at sea--the only exceptionbeing that no particular watch was kept, and that we all turned intogether of a night and out likewise in the morning without distinction, all at the same time. Throughout the day we worked at digging out thetrench, or `dock' as Jan Steenbock persisted in calling it, under theship, in gangs, in similar fashion to the mode that had been employedwhen unloading her, so as to get the task accomplished as quickly aspossible; and, to facilitate this, the hands were divided into twobatches, each having a spell of navvy's work and a rest off betweenwhiles, turn and turn about. 

"Thet wer a mighty rum yarn the Dutchman spun jest now, I guess, "observed Hiram, as soon as we had got on board and reached the galley, Morris Jones leaving us awhile to ourselves, and going aft to fetch theskipper's grub out of the pantry, where it was stowed. "I'm jiggered ifI ever heerd tell o' sich a yarn afore!"

"Don't you think it true?" I said. "Mr Steenbock isn't given tocramming, from all I have seen of him. "

"No; he air a straight up-an'-down coon, I reckon, " replied Hiram, proceeding to cut off a piece of tobacco from a plug he produced fromhis pocket, and placing a `chaw' in his jaw. "Still, b'y, jest think o'buccaneer tree-sors, an' all sorts o' gold an' silver a-waitin' fur usto dig 'em up! Why, it beats Californy an' all I've heerd tell o' thediggin' days, when thaar wer the first rush, an' the folks ez got intime made their pile!"

"But you heard what he said of the spirit protecting the treasure, " Iremarked, "Don't you think he's right about the curse hanging over it?I believe it would be unlucky to touch it. "

"B'y, thaar's allars a cuss tied on to gold an' greenbacks, sich ez weused ter hev a little time back, " said Hiram sententiously. "But, Ireckon, the harm don't lie in the durned stuff itself: it's in the waysome folks kinder handles it--thet's whaar the pizen is! Guess I ain'tafeard o' no cuss, once I comes across thet cave the Dutch mate wera-speakin' on!"

"And the ghost?"

"Oh, durn the sperrit, Cholly!" said he, with a laugh. "I ain'tafeard. "

"Recollect though, Hiram, " I remarked, in answer to this, "howfrightened we all have been on board by Sam, and the way you were inonly a couple of days ago, when you said you saw him again here. "

He looked serious again in a moment. 

"Guess I don't want ter run down thet air ghostess, " said heapologetically. "Fur I reckon a man can't go agen a thin' he sees rightafore his eyes. "

"And how about the other one that Mr Steenbock spoke of?"

"Oh, thet's different, Cholly. A chap ye sees a-sottin' down an'a-playin' a banjo aint like a coon thet's ben buried two or threehundred year, an' thet no one hez seed, ez I knows on, fur Jan Steenbocknever sed ez how he seed it hisself. No, b'y, I guess I'll hev a huntfur thet thaar tree-sor ez he spoke on, ez soon ez ever I hev thechance. "

"Suppose we go this evening, when we strike off work?" said I--"that is, Hiram, if you don't mind my coming with you?"

"Nary a bit, Cholly, " he replied good-heartedly to this tentativequestion of mine; "glad to hev ye along o' me, seeing as how we both hevben a-prospectin' the line o' country already. "

"All right, " I exclaimed joyfully. "We'll have a good hunt for thecave. I wouldn't be surprised if we find it near the place where I sawthe doves, by the pool between the hills over there. "

"Most like, b'y, " said he, bustling about the galley and going on withhis culinary work; "but hyar comes the stooard. Don't ye tell himnuthin' o' what we hev ben talkin' on, or I guess the coon 'll bewantin' to jine company, an' I don't wants him, I doesn't. He's awon'erful slimy sort o' cuss, an' since he's ben skeart by Sam Jedfoot'sghostess he hez ben a durned sight too mealy-mouthed fur me!"

"I won't speak a word to him, " said I. "He's a queer sort of man, and Idon't like him either. "

The entrance of the Welshman thus stopped our further conversation; for, although Morris Jones seemed anxious to talk, Hiram only spoke inmonosyllables, giving curt answers, so that the steward in, the endbecame silent too, busying himself in cooking the skipper's dinner atone, fireplace, while the American attended to the men's tea at theother--filling the copper with the proper ingredients, as mentionedbefore, and diligently stirring its contents till it boiled. 

At `two bells, ' later on, in the first dog-watch, work was abandoned forthe day, all hands coming aboard to have their tea, Tom Bullover amongstthem. 

"May I tell him?" I said to Hiram, when I saw the carpenter comingforward, after slinging himself over the bulwarks; "may I tell Tom wherewe are going, and ask him to come too?"

"I don't mind, I guess, " replied Hiram--"the more the merrier!"

Tom was perfectly willing; and so, half an hour later, the three of usstarted on our expedition, getting over the side of the ship while therest of the crew were still busy with their pannikins and beef andbiscuit, so departing unobserved. 

"Now we're off, I guess, " said Hiram, when he had crossed over a plankthat served for a bridge over the trench alongside, which was gettingpretty deep by now. "Let us go straight fur thet buccaneers' tree-sor, shepmates!"

"And here's for the black man's ghost as the second-mate spoke on, "replied Tom Bullover, with a grin. "I specs we'll as soon find one ast'other!"

"Durned ef I kear, " said Hiram defiantly; "ghostess or no ghostess, I'mbound fur thet pile, I am, if we ken sorter light on it!"

"I only hope we will, I'm sure, " I chimed in, as the three of us madeour way across the beach and then traversed the sterile lava plain, shaping a course for the cluster of trees between the hills, on theright of the bay, which I had first investigated. 

The doves we found as tame as ever, coo-coo-cooing away with greatunction on our approach, and beside the borders of the pool were a lotof tortoises crawling about; but, there was no cave near, concealed inthe brushwood, although we searched through it all carefully--so weresumed our way up the hills. 

As we ascended, the scenery became wilder and wilder, the treesincreasing so greatly in size that some of the trunks of them, whichapparently belonged to the oak species, were over four feet in diameter, growing, too, to a great height. 

Nor was the scenery only wild. 

About half a mile up a steep ravine, a drove of wild hogs rushed by us, nearly knocking Hiram down, he being in advance of the exploring party. 

"Jehosophat, mate!" he exclaimed to Tom, laughing as he stumbled overhim; "thaar's y'r black man's ghost, I guess. "

"Carry on, " replied Tom grinning; "we ain't come to him yet. You justwait and see!"

Further up, we came to a beautiful plain of some extent between thehills, which had been at some former time planted for cultivation, forbananas, sweet potatoes, yucca palms, and many other sorts of tropicalfruits were growing about in the wildest profusion. 

There were the remains, too, of old buildings and broken mill machinery, such as used in the West Indies for crushing the sugar cane, a lot ofwhich was planted in the vicinity; but these were of giant proportionsfrom not having been cut possibly for years, for, stump sprang up on topof stump, until the root clusters covered many square yards--the canesthemselves being over twenty-five feet in height and more than fifteeninches in circumference, of a size that would have made asugar-planter's mouth water. 

"Guess some cuss hez ben a-cultivatin' hyar, " observed Hiram, lookingcritically round. "When I wer to hum down Chicopee way--"

"Stow that, bo, " said Tom Bullover, interrupting him, being alwaysafraid of letting the other sail off on the tack of his homerecollections, as he was doomed ever to hear the same old yarn, so thathe was sick of its repetition. "I don't think you'll find your cavehere; them old buccaneers wouldn't be sich fools to lug all their bootyup this long way, when they could bury it more comf'able near the shore, and likewise come upon it the easier again when they wanted it. "

"Specs ye air about right, bo, " answered Hiram, taking the interruptionkindly, and no ways hurt at having his Chicopee remembrances once morenipped in the bud. "What shall we dew?"

"Why, go down again, " replied Tom. "Here's a fresh track down to thebeach on this side which leads to another bay, I fancy. Let's make forit and see where it leads to. "

"Fire away; I'm arter ye, bo, " said the other, the two now changingplaces, and Tom Bullover showing the way. "`Foller my leader'--thet'sthe game, I reckon!"

All of us laughed at this, stepping gingerly in single file after Tom, who found some difficulty at first in pushing through the branches ofthe trees, which were thickly interwoven overhead and across the path;but the latter was distinctly marked out, being well trodden as if ithad been a regular pathway of communication at some previous time. 

The bay below, to which this road led, was on the other side of thepoint of land that stretched past the ship; and as we descended the hillwe could see the blue sea peeping through the trees. 

Half-way down, the pathway abruptly terminated in front of what seemed amound of earth, although this was now overgrown with trees, covered withorchilla weed, that enveloped their trunks and gave them quite avenerable aspect. 

"Hillo!" cried Hiram, "hyar's enuff o' thet orchilla weed thet theyvall'ys so in 'Frisco to make airy a nan's fortin' ez could carry itthaar, I guess!"

"Is that the orchilla?" I asked. "I was wondering what Mr Steenbockmeant when he spoke of it. "

"Aye, " replied Hiram, dragging off a great bunch of it from what lookedlike the decayed trunk of one of the oak trees, hollowed out by age andexposure to the heavy tropical rains of the region, "thet's what theycalls the orchilla weed, I guess. Hillo! though, what's this?"

"What?" exclaimed Tom Bullover and I, pressing up to where he wasstooping, scraping away at the timber; "what is it?"

"I'm durned ef it air a tree at all, " said Hiram, all excitement, andhis voice thick with emotion and eager exultation. "It's a door o' somesort or t'other. "

"Really, " I said, as eager as he, helping him to pull away the fungusgrowth from the now partly-exposed woodwork which, certainly, lookedlike a door, as he said, "do you think so?"

"Aye, Cholly. I'm jiggered if we ain't found the cave at last!"

CHAPTER FIFTEEN. 

RIVAL APPARITIONS. 

"By Jingo!" said Tom, with a deep breath, bending down and helping Hiramto clear away the weeds and debris from the rotten old door, now clearlydisclosed to view. "Jest fancy our lighting on it like this!"

"Perhaps it isn't a cave at all, " said I, likewise breathless withexcitement, but not wishing to place my hopes too high, lest I should bedisappointed; "it's too far from the sea, I think. "

"Nary a bit, " retorted Hiram, doggedly. "I'll bet my bottom dollar it'sthe place sure enuff. Hyar goes, anyhow, fur a try. "

So saying, rising from his stooping posture, he administered a thumpingkick with his heavy seamen's boot against the rotten woodwork. 

This instantly gave way, a thick cloud of dust rolling up; and then, ahollow dark cavity appeared right in the centre of the mound, which wecould now see was heaped up over the wooden framework, so as to concealit from the notice of any one passing by. 

"Hooray!" shouted Tom Bullover, waving his hat and jumping up in the airto further express his emotion. "We've found the buccaneers' blessedtreasure. Look out for the ghost, Hiram!"

"Durn the ghost!" retorted the other; "not twenty on 'em wu'd kep meback now, I guess!"

At the same moment, he made a dive to enter the opening, but Tom put hishand on his shoulder and half pulled him back. 

"Stop, bo, " he said. "There might be foul air in it, 'cause of itsbeing so long closed up. Let's wait and see. "

"How ken ye tell thet?" asked Hiram; "guess it don't matter a red centif ther air. "

"You just wait, " insisted Tom. "I'll find out in a jiffey; and then, ifit's safe, we can venture in. The cave ain't a-goin' to run away fromus, and you know the old saying, `more haste less speed!' We're goingto do things in proper shipshape fashion, bo, so none o your rushingmatters; it'll all come right in time!"

With these words, Tom, who was a sensible, matter-of-fact fellow, withhis head screwed on straight and all his wits about him, took out a boxof matches from the inside lining of his hat, where he always kept hispipe and tobacco and such things that he did not wish to get wet; and, lighting one of the matches, he proceeded to hold it within the darkcavity. 

The flame flickered and then suddenly went out, although there wasn't abreath of air stirring, the trees around preventing the sea-breeze fromreaching the spot where we stood--a sort of little hollow between thehills. 

"There you are, bo, " said Tom; "see that?"

"Guess I don't underconstubble, " answered Hiram, staring at him inperplexity. "What d'ye mean, hey?"

"Didn't you watch the match go out?" returned Tom. "Lord, I never didsee such a feller!"

"Wa-al, what ef the durned match did fiz out?"

"Don't yer know what it means?"

"Guess not. "

"It shows as how there's foul air there, bo--that's what the match'sgoing out means. It tells us not to go in!"

Tom said this with a chuckle, for which Hiram gave him a dig in theribs. 

"Hev yer own way, Chips, fur a bit, " he said; "but I'm jiggered if yeair a-going to kep me from prospectin' thet thaar hole. "

"Nobody wants to, " retorted Tom. "Only just wait a bit till thewentilation gets better and blows out all the gas. It would a-pizenedyou if I'd let you go in at first, as you wanted. "

"Wa-al, go ahead, an' hev another try fur to see ef it's right now. "

In reply, Tom lit a second match, and held it in the opening of the caveas before. 

This time it did not flicker so much, burning for a longer time, beforethe faint flame finally expired. 

"Better, " said Tom; "but it ain't quite safe yet. "

"Hurry up, " replied Hiram. "I'm bustin' to see thet boocaneer tree-sorez the mate wer talkin' on!"

After an interval of another quarter of an hour or so, while we allwaited on the tenter-hooks of suspense, an inquisitive land tortoisewaddling up to see what we were about, Tom lit a third match. 

This time it burnt bravely with a clear light, which showed us somethingof the interior of the cavern. It did not show us much, though, thedarkness being too great for such a feeble illuminant to penetrate farinto it. 

"Now, boys, " said Tom, "I think we may venture in, as the foul air mustbe pretty well spent by this time; but we'll have to get a torch orsomething to see our way by, or else we shall be breaking our necks orsmashing our heads against the roof. "

"Guess one o' them port fires we hev aboard would lighten it up torights. "

"So it would, " replied Tom; "but we ain't got it now, and must try andfind somethin' else to make a flare up. "

"Hyar's some o' the old wood, " observed the other, taking up a fragmentof the broken door, which was crumbly with age. "Strike another match, will ye. I think this timber 'll burn long enuff fur us to git insidean' prospect a few. "

"Right you are, my hearty, " returned the other, carrying out thissuggestion; and the next minute, the piece of old oak was in a blaze, when, holding it up in one hand, Hiram stooped down once more andstepped within the cave. 

There was nothing there, however. 

Nothing!

"Wa-all, " exclaimed Hiram, after bending here and there, and searchingin every direction. "I calls this a durned sell, I dew!"

"Hold the light up again, " said Tom; "a little more to the right, bo, soas to throw it on that dark corner there. "

But nothing was to be seen save the rocky walls of the cave, which wasof peculiar shape, and more like a sort of fissure in the rock, rivenopen possibly by some volcanic shock, than if made by man. The roof wasformed of lava, it seemed to me by the light of our impromptu torch, similar to the same substance we noticed on the arid plain near theshore of the bay, and again below the sand at high-water mark. 

There were queer fragments of rock also, placed round the hard floor ofthe cavern like seats, with regular intervals between them; whileapparently in the middle, as near as we could approximate, was a raisedportion of the under stratum of rock shaped like a pulpit. 

"Guess if thaar's airy tree-sor hyar, b'ys, " observed Hiram, pointing tothis, "it's thaar!"

"No, bo, " replied Tom, laughing, "that's the black man's pulpit, wherehe preaches a Sunday, same as our `Holy Joes' do when they're ashore!"

Hiram paid no attention to this remark, but continued poking about theplace, stamping with his feet and trying in every way to see whether thetreasure we were in search of might not be buried in some spot or other;but his trouble was all in vain. 

Presently, the piece of blazing wood began to give forth a more feeblelight, being almost burnt out; and, then, all at once Hiram and Inoticed another spark of light like a round hole, at the opposite end ofthe cave. 

"Hillo!" shouted Hiram, "I guess thaar's another end to the durned hole, an' we hev taken the wrong track!"

Making our way slowly, so as not to extinguish the torch, we advanced inthe direction of the new light, which got bigger and bigger as weapproached nearer to it. 

There was no doubt it was another entrance to the cave, and a far moreconvenient one, too, for it opened out on to a little spur of the hillthat ran down a somewhat steep declivity to the seashore below. 

"It must be the buccaneers' cave, " said Tom. "It's just the sort o'place men that were sailors would choose. I misdoubted it at first, from being so far inland, as I thought; but now I see it's near thesea. "

"But there ain't nary a tree-sor thaar!"

"Don't you be too cocksure o' that, " returned Tom, looking about himwell, to make certain of his direction. "Howsomdever, we ain't got thetime to search the place properly now, as it'll be dark soon, and weought to be aboard. "

"Durned if I likes givin' it up like this. "

"Never mind, bo; there'll be plenty of time for us to look the cave overto-morrer arternoon, and I'll bring one o' them port fires you spoke onto light up the place. "

"Guess thet'll jest about do, Chips, " replied Hiram, turning round, asif about to go back within the entrance, loth to leave without findingthe buccaneers' hoard, repeating his previous exclamation: "I'm durned, though, if I likes givin' it up like this!"

"Come along, my hearty!" cried Tom. "Come along, Charley. But, mind, neither on you be telling the hands what we've found out! Therewouldn't be a chance for us if the skipper or that drunken cur Flindersknowed on it. "

"Not me, " replied Hiram, following Tom along the curve of the shoretowards a little group of trees, which I recognised now as immediatelyabove the pool frequented by the doves. "I won't tell nary a soul, an'I reckon we ken both on us anser fur Cholly?"

"Certainly, " said I, replying to his implied question, as I came upbehind the two, and we started off retracing our way at once to theship, on the fo'c's'le of which we could see several of the men alreadygathered together. "I'm sure I won't tell anybody, for I have nobody totell except you, Tom, and Hiram--you're my only friends on board. "

"Wait till you get hold of the buccaneers' gold, Charley, " said Tomdryly. "You'll get plenty o' chums then, for money makes friends!"

Nothing further was said by either of us, and we presently foundourselves once more on board, when I turned in at once, for we hadwalked a goodish distance, and I was tired out. 

The next afternoon, when work was ended and Hiram and I were ready tostart on another excursion to the cave, we could not find Tom. 

"Nary mind thet, Cholly, " said Hiram. "I guess we ken go 'long, an'Chips 'll pick us up by-an'-by. "

Passing the grove and pool of the doves, we made our way over the browof the little hill beyond, and sighted the second bay; when, just as theopening to the cave became visible, both of us heard the familiar soundof Sam Jedfoot's banjo. 

It was passing strange!

The same old air was being played upon it that we had heard immediatelybefore the ship struck--and, indeed, almost always prior to everycatastrophe and mischance that had happened throughout our eventfulvoyage. 

Hiram turned pale. 

"Jee-rusalem, Cholly!" he exclaimed, at once arresting his footsteps;"what on airth air thet?"

I was almost equally frightened. 

"It--it--it--sounds like poor Sam's banjo, " I stammered out. "I--I--hope he ha--ha--hasn't come to haunt us again!"

"Seems like, " said he; and then, plucking up his courage, he startedonce more for the mouth of the cave, I following close, like his shadow, afraid to leave him now, because then I would be there by myself. "Durned, though, if Sam's ghostess or any other cuss 'll kep me backnow. Come on, Cholly!"

But, when we got up to the entrance, we saw a sight that stopped us atonce, Hiram dropping to the ground as if he had been shot. 

There, sitting on the very rock at the back which Tom Bullover had jokedabout on the previous day as being the `ghost's pulpit' was the dimapparition of a man, the very image of our whilom negro cook, leaningback and playing the banjo, just as Sam used to do on board the _DenverCity_. 

But, stranger still, even as I looked, a queer supernatural sort oflight suddenly illumined the interior of the cavern, and I saw anotherapparition rise, as it were, out of the darkness, immediately behind theone on the rock, the last spectral form raising its hand threateningly. 

I stood there at the mouth of the cave, almost paralysed with terror, watching the weird scene that was being enacted within, the wonderfulelectrical glare making every detail come out in strong relief andlighting up the whole place, so that it was as bright as day. 

Not the slightest incident escaped my notice. 

As the second apparition rose from behind the rock at the back of thecavern, the first figure, which I had believed up to now really to bethe negro cook's ghost or spirit, permitted for some occult purpose orother to revisit the earth, also jumped up out of the corner, droppingthe banjo incontinently. 

Not only this, the original ghost, spirit, or what you will, displayedan abject fright that was too real for any inhabitant of the other worldto assume; for the face of the ghost in an instant grew as long as myarm, while its woolly hair crinkled up on top of its head until itbecame erect and stiff as a wire brush. 

At the same time, the eyes of this first `ghost, ' distended with fear, rolled round and round, the white eyeballs contrasting with the darkerskin of the face, which, however, appeared to have become of an ashygrey colour, instead of black--though whether this was from the effectsof fear or owing to the peculiar light that shone full upon it I couldnot tell, nor, indeed, puzzled my mind at the time to inquire. 

The two figures thus confronted each other for about the space of asecond, the headless apparition rising and rising till it seemed totouch the roof of the cave, when it extended its wide arms and made aclutch at the other, and now trembling, figure in front. 

This was too much for the banjo-playing spectre. 

Uttering a wild yell that only a human throat could have emitted, andwith his mouth open as wide as the mouth of the cave towards which herushed, Sam Jedfoot--for it was his own substantial self, I saw, and noghost at all, as I was now convinced--cleared in two bounds theintervening space that lay between him and the entrance to the cavern, seeking to get away as far as possible from his terrible visitant. Apparently, he must have thought the other to be the `genuine SimonPure, ' come to punish him for his false pretences in making believe tobe a denizen of the spirit world whilst he was yet in the flesh, and sopoaching unlawfully on what was by right and title the proper domain ofthe ghostal tribe!

In his hurry and haste, however, to avoid this avenging spectre, poorSam, naturally, did not see me standing in front of the cave blockingthe entrance, nor had I time to get out of his way, so as to avoid theimpetuous rush he made for the opening. 

The consequences may be readily surmised. 

He came against me full butt, and we both tumbled to the ground headlongtogether all of a heap. 

Sam thereupon imagined the terrible apparition to be clutching him, andthat his last hour had come. 

"Oh, golly! De debbel's got me, de debbel's got me fo' suah!" he roaredout in an agony of terror, clawing at my clothes and nearly tearing theshirt off my back in his attempts to regain his feet, as we rolled overand over together down the decline towards the shore. "Lor', a mussy!Do forgib me dis time, Massa Duppy, fo' play-actin' at ghostesses, an' Ipromises nebber do so no moah! O Lor'! O Lor'! I'se a gone niggah!Bress de Lor', fo' ebbah an' ebbah! Amen!"

CHAPTER SIXTEEN. 

SAM JEDFOOT'S YARN. 

"Ho-ho-ho! I shall die a-laughing!" exclaimed another voice at thisjuncture, interrupting Sam's terrified appeal to the spiritual powers. "Ho-ho-ho! I shall die a-laughing!"

The voice sounded like that of Tom Bullover; but, before I could look upto see if it were really he, Sam and I, the negro cook still clutchingme tightly in his frantic grasp as we rolled down the little declivityon to the beach below the entrance to the cave, fetched up againstHiram; who, only just recovering from the shock he had received, wasthen in the act of rising from the ground, where he had dropped at thesight of Sam and his banjo--still dazed with the fright, and hardly yetknowing where he was or what had happened. 

"My golly!" cried Sam, thinking him another ghost. "Lor' sakes! MassaDuppy, do forgib me! I'll nebbah do so moah, I'se swarr I'll nebbah doso no moah!"

"Wa-all, I'm jiggered!" ejaculated Hiram, on the two of us comingagainst him with a thump, nearly knocking him again off his legs, as wescrambled to ours. "What in thunder dew this air muss mean?Jee-rusalem--it beats creation, it dew!"

Neither Sam nor I could get out a word; but, while we all stared, out ofbreath and speechless with astonishment, at each other, another wildshout of laughter came right over our heads from within the cave above, and I heard Tom's voice exclaiming, as before--

"Ho-ho-ho! you'll be the death o' me sure, sonnies! I never seed sich ago in my life! Hang it all--Charley and Hiram, and you, Sambo--why, it's only me! Ho-ho-ho! I shall bust meself, if you go staring roundand wool-gathering like that any longer! Ho-ho-ho! this is a game, andno mistake!"

With that, the three of us looked up, and now saw Tom Bullover standingon top of the plateau in front of the cave, with a sort of long whitesheet like a piece of sailcloth round him, and Sam's banjo in one hand. 

Then, the real facts of the case flashed on my mind in a moment, and Icould not help joining in the carpenter's hearty merriment at the way inwhich he had humbugged us all. 

"Oh, Tom!" I cried; "so it was you, after all?"

"Yes; ho-ho! Charley; yes, my lad. Ho-ho-ho!"

"Guess I don't see nuthin' to snigger over!" growled Hiram, shamefacedat being so readily imposed on; but he was too good a sailor to mind ajoke against himself, and the comicality of the situation striking him, too, like me, he was soon laughing as loudly as Tom and I. 

Sam only needed this further secession likewise to set him off, hisnegro nature possessing the hysterical features of his race, and goingreadily from one extreme to the other. 

A second before he had been paralysed with fright; now he was asinstantly convulsed with glee. 

"My gosh!" he yelled, showing his ivories as his whole face expandedinto one big guffaw that utterly eclipsed all our attempts at merriment. "Hoo-hoo, yah-yah! Dat am prime, Cholly--black ghost fo' whitey!Hoo-hoo, yah-yah! I'se die a-laffin', like Tom! Black ghost fo'whitey!--Hoo-hoo, yah-yah, hoo-hoo! Golly! Dat am prime, fo' suah!"

Sam's negro abandon and queer gestures, as he danced about and doubledhimself up in his wild convulsions of mirth, were absolutelyirresistible; and so we all roared in concert, like a party of lunatics, laughing until the tears actually ran down our cheeks. 

"An' how did yer fix the hull thing so smartly?" inquired the American, presently when he was able to speak. "Ye took me in finely, I guess; yedid thet so!"

"Lor', old ship! that were easy enough, when you comes to think of it. "

"But, how?" persisted Hiram, as Tom broke off his explanation to indulgein another laugh. "Hyar's Sam, what was ded, alive agen an' kickin', ezmy shins ken tell, I reckon! How about his hauntin' the shep, an' allthet?"

"Yes, Tom, " I put in here; "how was it that he wasn't killed?"

"Oh, Sam 'll explain all about his bizness, " replied Tom, laughingagain, the ridiculous nature of the whole thing appealing strongly tohis risible faculties. "I've got enough to do to tell you about my ownghost--the sperrit, that is, of the black man that our second-mate spunthat yarn about yesterday arternoon!"

"A-ah!" drawled out Hiram; "I begins to smell a rat, I dew. "

"But, suah dat 'perrit wasn't reel, hey, Mass' Tom?" interposed Sam, hiseyeballs starting again out of his head, as he recollected all themysterious occurrences in the cave. "Dat 'perrit wasn't reel, hey?I'se take um fo' duppy, suah?"

"No, ye durned fule!" exclaimed Hiram, quite indignantly; "don't ye knowthet?"

"Some people weren't so wise just now, " said Tom Bullover dryly; "eh, Hiram?"

"Nary mind 'bout thet, " growled the American, giving Tom a dig in theribs playfully. "Heave ahead with yer yarn, or we'll never git in theslack of it 'fore nightfall!"

"Well then, here's the long and short of it, " said Tom, sitting down onthe top of the little cliff-mound, so as to make himself as comfortableas possible, while we stood grouped around him. "You see, now, ourDutch mate's story about the nigger that the buccaneers used to burywith their treasure put me up to taking a rise out of our friend Sambohere, who, though he was artful enough to play at being a ghost andhaunt the ship, as you fellows thought all through the v'yage, was yetmortal 'fraid of them same ghostesses hisself, as I well knowed!"

"Oh, Lor', Mass' Tom, dunno say dat, " interrupted Sam reproachfully. "Speak fo' true, an' shame de debble!"

"That's just what I'm doing, darkey. You know I'm speaking the truth;and I'm sure Charley and Hiram here can judge for theirselves, from whatthey saw not long ago!"

"Bully for ye!" cried Hiram, confirming Tom Bullover's reference tohimself. "Why, ye durned nigger, ye wer a'most yeller with frit jestnow, when ye kinder thought ye seed one o' them blessed ghostesses thetTom wer a-talkin' on!"

This effectually shut up Sam; and my friend the carpenter then went onwith his account of the phenomenon we had seen. 

"I knew, " said he, "that the darkey would be up here this arternoon, forI showed him the cave myself this mornin', afore any of you beggarsaboard the ship were up or stirring. I thought it would be just a goodplace for him to hide in, besides preventing the skipper and that bruteFlinders, or any of the other hands, from coming spying round andinterfering with our diskevery, which, as you know--I means you Charleyand Hiram--we wished for to keep to ourselves. "

"Ay, bo, " assented Hiram approvingly; "true enuff; ye acted rightly, shipmet. "

"So I tells Sam to rig hisself up here as comf'ably as he could; and ifhe should hear any footsteps comin' nigh the place he was to strike up atune on his banjo and frighten them away, makin' any inquisitive folkthink the place was haunted by the same old ghost they knew aboard theship. "

"What a capital idea!" said I; "how did you come to think of it?"

"I thought of more than that, Charley, " replied Tom, with a broad grin. "It wasn't long arter I brought Sam here that I thought of makin' thesecond ghost out of the proper black man belonging to the cave, that JanSteenbock had told us on, and which you, Hiram, said you wouldn't befrightened at nohow. "

"Stow thet, " growled Hiram, shaking his fist at Tom. "Carry on with yeryarn, an' don't mind me, old stick-in-the-mud!"

"I'm carryin' on, if you'll only let a feller tell his story in his ownway. You know we agreed to come up here together this arternoon, andmake a reg'ler up-and-down search for the buried treasure; and you toldme, you rec'lect, to bring a port fire, such as we had aboard, for tolight up the place. "

"Thet's right enuff, " said Hiram, "thet's right enuff; but, durn it all, heave ahead, bo! Heave ahead!"

"Well then, " continued Tom, "I gets this blessed jigmaree of a port firefrom the ship; and, having done my spell at digging out the dock, mygang finishing work at four bells, I com'd up here afore you andCharley. It were then that I thinks of having a bit of a game with oldSam, while I was waitin' for you two to join company and look for thetreasure together, as we agreed atween us when we first diskivered theplace. "

"And you didn't intend to frighten us, Tom?" I asked him at this point;"mind, really?"

"No, I'll take my davy I didn't--that is, not at first, " replied he, grinning in his usual way. "Arterwards, in course, I couldn't help it, when you and our Chickopee friend here took the bait so finely. "

"Ah! I'll pay you out, bo, for it, " cried Hiram, interrupting Tom, as Ihad done, "never you fear. I'll pay you out, my hearty, 'fore this timeto-morrow come-never--both me and Cholly will tew, I guess, sirree!"

"Threaten'd men live long, " observed Tom with a dry chuckle. "Still, that ain't got nothin' to do with this here yarn. I com'd up, as I weresayin', a good half-hour afore you; and, to spin out the time, I goesround to the cave by the way where we first lighted on it t'other day, and gets inside by the hole through the broken old door where we enteredit afore our reaching this end. "

"And then?" I asked, on Tom's pausing for a moment in hisnarrative--"and then?"

"Why, then I saw poor Sam, with his back turned towards me, a-sittin'down on that rock as we called `the ghost's pulpit, ' and playin' hisblessed old banjo as sweetly as you please, without thinkin' that I orany one else were within miles of him! So, seein' this were a goodchance for finding whether Master Sammy, as was thought a ghost hisselfaboard, liked ghosts as he didn't know of, I catches up a bit o'sailcloth that was lying on the ground, which he'd taken up there tosarve for his bed, and, I claps this over my head and shoulders, like apicter my mother had in the parlour at home of `Samuel and the Witch ofEndor. ' Then, I lights the port fire and gives a yell to rouse up thedarkey, and arter that--ho-ho! my hearties, you knows what happened. Ho-ho! it was as good as a play!"

"Golly! Me taut yer one duppy, fo' suah, Massa Tom!" said Sam, afteranother chorus of laughter from all of us all round. "Me taut yer wasde debble!"

"Not quite so bad as that, my hearty, " mildly suggested Tom, grinning atthe compliment. "Still, I don't think I made such a bad ghostaltogether for a green hand!"

"Don't ye kinder think ye frit me, bo!" declaimed Hiram vehemently. "Itwer the sight o' thet durned nigger thaar, a-sottin' an playin' hisbanjo--him ez we all thought ez ded ez a coffin nail, an' buried fathomsbelow the sea, an' which all on us hed b'leeved ter hev haunted the shepfur the hull v'y'ge. Ay, thet it wer, streenger, what ez frit me an'made me fall all of a heap, an' thaar I lies till Cholly an' the durnednigger riz me up agen by tumblin' athwart my hawse!"

"I think I was the most frightened of all, " I now frankly confessed, onHiram thus bravely acknowledging his own terror. "I really for themoment believed that I was actually looking at two real, distinctghosts, or spirits--the one that of Sam, which you, Tom and Hiram, knowI already thought I had seen before on board the ship; and the secondapparition that of the negro slave which Mr Steenbock told us of. But, how is it that Sam is here at all--how did he escape?"

"Let him tell his yarn in his own way, the same as I have done mine, "replied Tom. "Ax him. "

"Now Sam, " said I, "tell us all about it. "

"Ay, dew, " chimed in Hiram; "fire away, ye old black son of a gun!"

"All right, Mass' Hiram an' yer, too, Cholly. I'se tell you de trute, de hole trute, an' nuffin' but de trute, s'help me!"

"Carry on, you blooming old crocodile, carry on!"

Taking Tom Bullover's words in the sense in which they were meant, as asort of friendly encouragement to proceed, Sam, nothing loath to air hislong-silent tongue, soon satisfied the eager curiosity of Hiram andmyself--giving us a full account of his adventures from the time that wesaw him drop from the rigging, when all the crew, with the solitaryexception of his ally the carpenter, believed him to have been murderedand his body lost overboard. 

"I'se specks, " he commenced, "dat yer all 'members when de cap'en shakehim billy-goat beard, an' shoot dis pore niggah in de tumjon, an' I'sedrop inter de bottom ob de sea, hey?"

"Yes, " replied Hiram; while I added: "But, how on earth did you manageto save your life and get on board again?"

"Dis chile cleberer dan yer tinks, " replied Sam proudly. "When decap'en shoot, I'se jump one side like de Bobolink bird, an' de bullet, dat he tink go troo my tumjon, go in de air. I'se make one bigmiscalkerfation, dough, fo' my han' mis de riggin' when I'se stretch upto catch him, an' I'se tumble inter de water. "

"Poor Sam!" said I. "Your heart must have come right into your mouth, eh?"

"Inter my mout, sonny?" he repeated after me. "Bress yer, it come upinter my mout, an' I'se swaller it agen, an' him go right down to de pitob my tumjon! Lor', Cholly, I'se tink I wer drown, fo' suah, an' nebbahcome up no moah, fo' de wave come ober my head an' ebberyting! Den, jest as I'se scrape along de side ob de ship an' wash away aft in dewake astern, I'se catch holt ob de end ob de boom-sheet, dat was towoberboard. "

"Ye hev got thet durned lubber Jim Chowder to thank fur thet, " saidHiram, interrupting him to explain this fortunate circumstance, which Inow recollected Captain Snaggs alluding to when I was waiting at tablein the cabin the same evening, before the tragic occurrence happened. "It's the fust time I ever recomembers ez how an unsailorlike act likethet ever did good to airy a soul!"

"Nebbah yer min' dat, Mas' Hiram, " rejoined Sam, with much heartiness. "I'se allers tink afore dat Jim Chowder one pore cuss, but now I'se prayfo' him ebbery day ob my life!"

"Ay, bo, " said Tom, with affected gravity; "and for me to, eh?"

"I will, suah, " answered Sam, in the same serious way in which he hadpreviously spoken, not wishing to joke about the matter. "But, JimChowder or no Jim Chowder, who ebbah let dat rope tow oberboard was sabemy life! I'se catch holt ob him an' climb on ter de rudder chain, whereI'se hang wid my head out ob de water till it was come dark, an' denight grow ober de sea. Den, when I'se tink de cap'en drink nuff rum toget drunk, an' not fo' see me come on board agen, I'se let my ole legwash up wid de wave to de sill ob de stern port; an' den, when I'se lookan see dere was nobody in de cabin, I'se smash de glass ob de window an'climb inside. "

"And then it was, I suppose, " said I, taking up the burden of his story, "that I took your real self, as you crept through the cabin, for yourghost?"

"Dat troo, Cholly. Yer see me, dough, by de light ob de moon, fo' I'setake care blow out de swing lamp in cabin, dat nobody might see nuffin. I'se reel glad, dough, dat I'se able friten de cap'en an' make him tinksee um duppy!"

"Wa-all, I guess ye come out o' that smart enuff, " said Hiram, with ahearty thump of approval that doubled up poor Sam, more effectually thanhis convulsions of laughter had previously done. "But, whaar did yemanage ter stow yerself when ye comed out o' the cabin?"

"I'se creep along de deck, keepin' under de lee ob de moonlight; an' denwhen nobody was lookin' I'se go forwards an' crawl down into theforepeak. Den, it was dat Mass' Tom hyar see me. "

"And a pretty fine fright you gave me too!" said that worthy, burstingout into another laugh at the recollection. "It was the next mornin', as I went down into the sail room under the forepeak, to fetch up aspare tops'le, when I comes across my joker here. I caught hold atfirst of his frizzy head, thinking it were a mop one of the hands hadforgotten below; but when I turned my lantern there I seed Sam, who Ithought miles astern, safe and snug in old Davy Jones' locker. Lord!shipmates, you could ha' knocked me down with a feather and club-hauledme for a nincompoop!"

"Wer ye ez frit ez I wer jest now?" asked Hiram quizzingly. "Mind, quite ez much ez I wer?"

"Ay, bo, " replied Tom, "I dessay I were, if the truth be told. "

This pleased Hiram immensely. 

"Then, I guess I don't see whaar yer crow comes in, my joker!" heexclaimed, giving Tom a similar thump on the back to that which he had ashort time before bestowed on Sam--a slight token of affection by nomeans to be sneezed at. "Why, ye wer cacklin' like a durned old henwith one egg, 'bout Cholly an' I bein' frit jest now, thinkin' we seedSam's ghostess, when hyar, ye sez now, ye wer frit yerself the same atthe fust sight ye seed of him!"

"Ay, bo; but I wern't going to tell you that, nor 'bout another fright Inext had, when the darkey and I were a-smoking down in the forepeak andnearly set the ship a-fire, " said Tom knowingly, with a shrewd, expressive wink to each of us respectively in turn, before he resumedhis story. "But, to go on properly with my yarn from the beginning, when I found Sam's head wasn't a mop, but belonged to his real darkeyself, and that he wasn't drownded after all, why, I made him as snug asI could down below, thinking it were best for him to keep hid, for ifthe skipper saw him on dock and knew he were alive he would soon beshooting him again, or else ill-treating him in the way he had alreadydone. Sam agreed to act by my advice on my promising to take him downgrub and all he might want into the forepeak; but, bless you, thecontrary darkey wouldn't act up to this arrangement arter a day or two. "

"Dat was 'cause yer hab forget to bring de grub, " interposed Sam, toexplain this apparent breach of contract on his part. "I'se cook, an'not used fo' ter go widout my vittles fo' nobody!"

"How could I get below to you when we had bad weather and the hatcheswere battened down?" retorted Tom Bullover, in his turn. "Howsomdever, to stop arguefying, Master Sammy, finding himself hungry and knowingsomething of the stowage below from having been in the ship on aprevious voyage, he manages to work a passage through the hold to theafter part right under the cuddy; and from there my gentleman, if youplease, makes his way on deck again through the hatchway in thecaptain's cabin, not forgetting to rummage the steward's pantry forprovisions when he goes by!"

"An' mighty little grub was dere, suah, " put in the negro cook, withgreat dignity. "I'se feel mean as a pore white if yer was ebbah come tomy galley an' fin' sich a scrubby lot tings! Dere was nuffin' fit fo' adecent culler'd pusson ter eat--dat feller Morris Jones one big skunk!"

"I guess ye air 'bout right, " agreed Hiram; while Tom and I signifiedour assent likewise by nodding our heads with great unction. "He's thebiggest skunk I ever wer shipmets with afore!"

"Let him slide, for he don't consarn us now, " said Tom, continuing thenarrative of Sam's story. "Well, you must know, our darkey friend here, having taken first to prowling about the ship for grub, keeps it uparterwards for pleesure and devarshun, thinking it a jolly lark to makethe hands believe the old barquey was haunted. Then, one day he getshold of his banjo from out of Hiram's chest in the fo'c's'le, where oldChicopee really did stow it away arter he bought it at the auction o'Sam's traps, as he thought he did, although I persuaded him and youCharley, too, if you remember, that the banjo had been left hanging upstill in the galley in the place where Sam used to keep it. Once, indeed, when Sam forgot to put it back arter playing on it in the hold, where he had taken it, I brought it up and hung it on its old peg in thegalley right afore your very eyes, Hiram!"

"I recollect, Tom, " said I; "and so, Sam used to play on it in the holdbelow, then, when we heard the mysterious music coming from we knew notwhere?"

"Yes, that's so, " replied he. "At first, Sam touched the strings onlynow and then, 'specially when the wind was blowing high, and he thoughtthat nobody would hear the sound from the rattling of the ship's timbersand all; but, when I noticed how you above on deck could distinguish, not only the notes of the banjo, but also the very air that Sam played, and how the skipper was terrified and almost frightened out of his bootswhen he recognised the tune, which he had heard Sam chaunt often andoften in the galley of an evening, why, then, I puts up the darkey tokeep on the rig, so as to punish our brute of a skipper for hiscold-blooded attempt at murdering poor Sam--which, but for theinterposition of Providence, would have succeeded!"

Before Tom could proceed any further, however, consternation fell uponus all, as if a bombshell had burst in our midst; for, Sam, who waslooking the opposite way to us and could see over our heads, suddenlysprang upon his feet, his mouth open from ear to ear and his teethchattering with fear, while his short, woolly hair seemed literally tocrinkle up and stand on end. 

"O Lor'! O Lor'!" he exclaimed. "Look dere! Look dere!"

And there, right before us, stood the skipper himself, snorting andsniffing and foaming with rage, his keen, ferrety eyes piercing usthrough and through--so close, that his long nose almost touched me, andhis billy-goat beard seemed to bristle right into my face, I being thenearest to him. 

I felt a cold shiver run through me that froze the very marrow of mybones!

Captain Snaggs had, no doubt, overheard all our conversation, listeningquietly, hidden behind the bushes that grew up close to the entrance tothe cave, until Tom's last words proved too much for his equanimity, when his indignation forced him to come out from his retreat. He wascertainly in an awful rage, for he was so angry that he could hardlyspeak at first, but fairly sputtered with wrath; and, if a look wouldhave annihilated us, we mast all have been killed on the spot. 

He was a terrible sight!

"Oh, thet's yer little game, my jokers!" he yelled out convulsively, assoon as he could articulate his words, glaring at us each in turn. "So, thet durned nigger ain't dead, arter all, hey? Snakes an' alligators!Why, it's a reg'ler con-spiracy all round--rank mutiny, by thunder! Iguess I'll hev ye all hung at the yard-arm, ev'ry man Jack of ye, furit, ez sure ez my name's Ephraim O Snaggs!"

His passion was so intense that we were spellbound for the moment, notone of us venturing to speak or reply to his threats--he staring at usas if he could `eat us without salt, ' as the saying goes, while weremained stock-still and silent before him. 

As for Sam, he wallowed on the ground in terror, for the captain lookedand acted like a madman. 

Hiram Bangs alone had the pluck to open his mouth and confront theskipper. 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. 

MR FLINDERS IN A FIX. 

Before relating what next occurred, however, I must break off at thispoint and make a slight bend in my yarn here, in order to mentionsomething that happened immediately before, and which, although I didnot come to hear of it until afterwards, had to do with bringing theskipper so suddenly down upon us. Something, indeed, that tended toinfuriate him all the more, with Tom Bullover and Sam; for, from hishearing, by their own confession, that they had planned and kept up thedelusion about the cook's ghost on purpose to deceive him, he was led tobelieve that these two had got the better of him in another matter, evenmore important still in his estimation. 

And so, as I am only a youngster and a poor hand at telling a story, though I find somehow or other I'm getting to the end of my yarn soonerthan I expected when I first set to work writing it, I think I had bestpat down everything that happened in its proper place and order, `inregular shipshape Bristol fashion, ' so that no hitch may occur by-and-bythat might `bring me up with a round turn, ' when, perhaps, I could sailon with a free sheet and a fair wind to what you landfolk andlongshoremen would call my `denouement'--a sad one, though, it be, asyou'll learn later on, all in good time, as I spin my yarn in my freeand easy way!

Well, to go back a bit now, you must know that ever since the thrashinghe got from our second-mate, Mr Flinders had kept himself very quiet;not interfering in any way with the work of dismantling and unloadingthe ship, but leaving the charge of all this in the hands of JanSteenbock and Tom Bullover--under, of course, the immediate supervisionof Captain Snaggs, who, was here, there, and everywhere, pretending todo an awful lot, although really only occupying his time when he wasn'tdrinking in bullying those of the men, who being tame-spirited, put upwith his bad language. 

It must be said, though, for the skipper, that he generally left the oldhands alone, for they returned his choicest epithets in kind, alwaysgiving him quite as good in the rude vernacular as he gave--disciplinebeing rather slack now the vessel was ashore, as in the merchant servicea wreck is supposed by the crew to dissolve all contracts and annulwhatever articles may have been signed. Such, at least, is myexperience of the sea. 

During this interregnum of duty, the first-mate hardly ever left hisbunk on board the ship save to go into the cabin and partake of whatmeals Morris Jones, the steward, provided him with just when that lazybeggar of a Welshman liked. 

Here he remained for over a week, nursing his damaged eyes and generalinjuries and, no doubt, brooding over the revenge which he contemplatedtaking at some future period on his late successful antagonist; for, hisjealousy had been keenly aroused by the marked partiality Captain Snaggshad shown in favour of Jan Steenbock, although previously he had alwayschummed with him--and, indeed, even now, in spite of all that hadpassed, the captain still occasionally invited him to a friendly orgy inthe cabin, when both, as usual, of course, got royally drunk together asof yore!

But, since the finding of the golden Madonna and the development of thetreasure-hunting craze amongst us, Mr Flinders had begun to come outfrom his temporary obscurity, while not at first actually pushinghimself forward, or taking any prominent part in our daily routine. 

This modest diffidence was due to the fact that the men used to makeaudible remarks in reference to his `lovely black eyes, ' but as soon asthe tint of these gradually merged from green to yellow and then buck totheir normal tone, the first-mate grew bumptious and endeavoured toresume his old position of chief officer in the absence of the skipper, when the latter frequently went off alone, as it was his habit now, insolitary search of the buccaneers' buried hoard like all the rest ofus--notwithstanding that in public he utterly pooh-poohed itsproblematical existence and urged on the crew in digging out the dockunder the ship, so as to get her afloat again, the only good, as hesaid, that we could expect from the island being the hope of leaving itbehind us as quickly as possible. 

He was an artful hand, was Captain Snaggs!

He thought that if he dissuaded the men from looking for the treasure hemight have the greater chance of coming across it himself. 

Such being the case, the skipper would sometimes sneak off in the middleof the day when work used to grow rather slack at our excavating task, in consequence of the greater heat at that time; for, the sea-breezewhich we used to have with us from the early morning then gradually diedaway, while the light airs that blew off the land during the afternoonand night-time did not usually spring up until nearly sunset. 

Then it was that Mr Flinders saw his opportunity; and, as regularly asthe skipper would disappear in the distance over the lava field frontingthe beach, saying, as he always did, that he was going up the cliff onour port hand `to see if he could sight any passing vessel'--althoughthe sharpest eyes amongst our lookouts had never yet seen the captain'slean and angular form on top of the said cliff--so, regularly, did thefirst-mate stealthily descend the side ladder that led from the poop ofthe ship down to the beach. 

Once arrived here, his delight was to overlook the men as they lazilydug out the concrete-like sand and shingle at the bottom of the trench, filling baskets with the debris below which their fellows above hoistedup none the more energetically; and the first-mate could not helpnoticing that while Jan Steenbock purred them on now and then for abrief spell, he let them, as a rule, take things easily; at this heatedperiod of the day, for Jan was wise enough to see that by notoverworking them then he got more labour out of his gang when thetemperature grew cooler, and the men could dig with greater "go. "

For a while, Mr Flinders did not interfere with Jan's method ofprocedure, seeing, as any sensible man would, that the second-mate'splan answered its purpose of getting the most out of the hands withoutmaking them grumble unduly at their unwonted task; but, soon his love ofcarping at others asserted itself, and this feeling, coupled with thedesire to assert such petty authority as he still had, overcame hissense of prudence, as well as all recollection of the sharp lesson hehad received from Jan not so very long before. 

The difference between the skipper and Mr Flinders was, that, althoughthe former was essentially cruel and a bully of the first water, he wasyet physically brave and a cute, cautious man, who, when sober, knew howfar he might venture in his harsh treatment of those under him; whilethe first-mate, on the contrary, was an utter coward at heart, and of asmalicious and spiteful a disposition as he was fond of tyrannising oversuch as he thought he could ill-treat with impunity. 

It never takes long for sailors to `reckon up' their officers; so, itneed hardly be said to which of the two the hands paid the mostattention when he gave an order. As to liking either, that was out ofthe case; but where the men feared Captain Snaggs, the only feeling theyhad for Mr Flinders was one of contempt--paying back all his snarlingsand bullyings in a way that the hands, well knew how to drive home toone of his temperament, as sensitive as it was mean!

Consequently, when, after a bit, he commenced finding fault with thisone and that, the men would shove their tongues in their cheek and shrugtheir shoulders. They did not pay the slightest regard to anything hesaid; while the more bolder spirits, perhaps, of the stamp of JimChowder, winked openly the one to the other, expressing an opinion in asufficiently loud enough tone for him to hear that `if he didn't lookout, ' he would soon become possessed of a pair of eyes "blacker thanhe'd had afore!"

Then, naturally, there would be a snigger all round, when Mr Flindershad to turn away with a scowl on his unpleasant, cross-grained face. Hehated Jan Steenbock all the more, because when the jeering crewdisplayed their insubordination more strongly than usual, Jan would veryproperly recall them to their duty--an order which on being given by thesecond-mate was promptly obeyed, whilst they utterly disregarded eventhe most trivial command from him, just as they mocked at hisreprimands. 

This was only noticeable at first, though; for, after a few days'experience of this `playing second fiddle, ' Mr Flinders, waxingstronger as his injuries improved and the discoloration of his `lovelyblack eyes' became less apparent, seemed to resolve on trying a freshtack. Taking higher ground, instead of idly endeavouring to get the mento treat him with respect, he once more tackled his subordinate superiorJan, who, he thought, from his treating him civilly, was sorry for the`little misunderstanding' that had occurred between them, and wouldreadily `knuckle under' now, the moment he assumed his legitimate roleand `topped the officer' over him. 

Mr Flinders never made a greater mistake in his life than in thusattempting to act up to the axiom of the old Latin adage, which teachesus that "necessity makes even cowards brave. "

He had far better have remained content with his titular dignity; for, in seeking to resume the reins of power which he had once let fall, heonly received another lesson from Jan Steenbock, teaching him that aplacid man was not necessarily one who would quietly put up with insultand rough treatment, and proving that the tables of life are frequentlyturned in fact as they sometimes are in figure of speech!

This is a long palaver; but I will soon come to the point of it all, andtell what subsequently happened. 

You must recollect, though, that I was not on the spot myself, and amonly indebted to Jim Chowder for hearing of it--being indeed, at thatvery time, on my way with Hiram to the cave and the wonderful surprisethat awaited us there, an account of which I have just related. 

Hiram and I had not long left the shore, said Jim, when the mate, whohad his dinner rather late that day, on account of having been up withthe skipper drinking all through the previous night, came down theship's side, looking very seedy and ill-tempered from the effects of hiscarouse, and with his face all blotchy and his nose red. 

He had already been swearing at the steward for keeping him waiting forhis grub, and this appeared to have `got his hand in, ' for he had nosooner come up to where Jan Steenbock was at work with the port watchdigging in the trench, the second-mate setting the men a good example bywielding a pick as manfully as the best of them, than Mr Flinders beganat Jan in his old abusive fashion, such as all on board the ship hadbeen familiar with before the wreck and prior to his thrashing, whichcertainly had quieted him down for a time. 

"Ye durned lop-handled coon!" cried out the cantankerous bully, lookingdown on Jan from the top of the plank that crossed the trench, andserved as a sort of gangway between the foot of the side ladder and thefirm ground beyond the excavation. "Why don't ye put yer back into it?Ye're a nice sort o' skallywag to hev charge of a gang--ye're onlya-playin' at workin', ye an' the hull pack on yer; fur the durned dockain't nary a sight deeper than it wer at four bells yester arternoon, Ireckon!"

Jan Steenbock was in no wise disturbed by this exordium. 

Dropping his pick, he looked up at the mate; while the rest of the menlikewise stopped working, waiting to see what would happen, and grinningand nudging each other. 

"Mine goot mans, " said he in his deep voice, with unruffled composure, "vas you sbeak to mees?"

Mr Flinders jumped up and down on the plank gangway, making it sway toand fro with his excitement. 

"Vas I sbeak to ye?" he screamed, mimicking in his shrill treble theDane's pronunciation. "Who else sh'ud I speak to, ye Dutch son of agun? Stir yer stumps, d'ye haar, an' let us see ye airnin' yer keep, yelazy hound!"

"Mistaire Vlinders!"

"Aye, thet's me; I'm glad ye reck'lect I've a handle to my name. "

"Mistaire Vlinders, " repeated Jan, paying no attention to the other'sinterruption. "If you vas sbeak to me, you vas best be zee-vil. "

"What d'ye mean?" cried the mate. "Durn yer imperence; what d'ye mean?"

"I mean vat I zays, " returned Jan; "and eef you vas not zee-vil, I vasmake yous. "

"Make me!" shouted out Mr Flinders, dancing with rage on the plank, sothat it swung about more than ever. "Make me, hey? I'd like to see ye, my hearty!"

But, while the plank was yet oscillating beneath his feet, one of themen in the trench below, by a dexterous drive of his pick, loosened theearth on the side of the excavation; and, hardly had Mr Flinders gotout his defiant words than he and the plank on which he was standingcame tumbling down, the bully going plump into the pool of water thathad accumulated at the open end of the trench forming a little lake overfour feet deep. 

Of course, the hands all shouted with laughter, their mirth growing allthe merrier when the mate presently emerged from his impromptu bath, alldripping and plastered over with mud. 

He was in a terrible rage, Jim Chowder said; and as Jan Steenbock cameup to help him, he aimed a blow at him with a spade which he clutchedhold of from one of the hands, almost splitting Jan's head open, for thethick felt hat he wore only saved his life. 

"Thaar, ye durned Dutch dog!" he yelled out. "Take thet fur yer sass!"

Jan fell to the bottom of the trench; whereupon, the men, thinking MrFlinders had murdered him, at once rushed upon the mate in a body, thrusting him backwards into the water again and rolling him over in themud and refuse, until he was pretty well battered about and nearlydrowned. 

Indeed, he would, probably, have been settled altogether, but for Janrising up, little the worse for the blow that he had received, savingthat some blood was trickling down his face. 

"Shtop, my mans, shtop!" he exclaimed. "Let hims get oop, he vas nothoort me, aftaire all; and I vas vorgif hims, vor he vas not know vat hevas do!"

But the hands were too much incensed to let the bully off so easily, forthey hated him as much as they liked Jan and were indignant at theunprovoked assault Mr Flinders had made upon him. As luck would haveit, while they were debating how they should pay him out properly, andwhether to give him another ducking in the muddy water or no, a happymeans presented itself to them for punishing him in a much moreignominious manner, and one which was as original as it was amusing. 

The big tortoises that inhabited the island used to come backwards andforwards past the beach on their passage up to the hills, utterlyregardless of the ship and the men working, especially towards theevening, as now; and just as the fracas happened, one of these hugecreatures waddled by the trench, making for its usual course inland. 

"Hullo, mates!" sung out the leading wag of the crew, "let's give ourfriend a ride for to dry hisself; here's a cock hoss handy!"

This was thought a capital lark; and, the suggestion being acted uponimmediately, the tortoise was summarily arrested in its onward careerand Mr Flinders lashed across its shelly back, like Mazeppa wasstrapped upon the desert steed--the hands all roaring with laughter, Jimsaid, while the mate struggled in vain with his captors and the gianttortoise hissed its objections at the liberty taken with it in thusconverting it into a beast of burden without leave or license!

It must have been a comical sight according to Jim Chowder's account. 

Even Jan Steenbock, he said, could not help grinning; for, although MrFlinders screamed and yelled as if he were being murdered, Jan saw thatthe men were not really hurting him, and he thought there was no callfor his interference, especially after the manner in which the mate hadacted towards him previously--indeed, all along, arrant bully that hewas. 

Consequently, he let matters take their course, his smile breaking intothe general laugh that arose presently when, one of the men giving thetortoise a dig with his boot as soon as the mate was securely mounted, the unwieldy reptile waddled off into the bush with Mr Flinders, bawling, spread-eagled on its back and brandishing his arms and legsabout, trying to free himself from his lashings. 

"Durn ye all for a pack o' cowards, ten ag'in one!" screamed out themate as he was lost to sight in the cactus grove, the prickles fromwhich no doubt tore his legs, thus heightening the unpleasantness of hissituation. "I'll pay ye out for this, ye scallywags, I will, bythunder, when I get loose. "

"All right, " shouted back the men between their bursts of laughter as hedisappeared from view, howling and shrieking and swearing away to theend; the tortoise plodding on regardless of his struggles, which, indeed, accelerated its pace onwards to its retreat in the hills. "Youcan carry on, old flick, when you finds yourself free!"

And, then, they raised one of their old sailor choruses with muchspirit--

 "Oh, he'll never come back no more, boys, He'll never come back no more; For he's sailed away to Botany Bay, And 'll never come back no more!"

While they were in the middle of this--Jim Chowder singing the solo ofthe shanty, and the others joining in with full lung power in therefrain--who should appear from the opposite direction to that in whichthe mate had disappeared on his strange steed, but, Captain Snaggs!

The skipper looked very strange and excited. 

"Hillo, my jokers!" he exclaimed as soon as he got near enough to hailthe men, "whaar's Mister Flinders? I wants him at oncest. "

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. 

"SKELETON VALLEY. "

"This wer a reg'ler sockdollager!" said Jim Chowder, when narrating thecircumstances to us; for on this unexpected enquiry after the matecoming so suddenly after the men had treated him in so ignominious afashion, they were "knocked all aback!"

So, for the moment, no one answered the skipper's question. 

Of course, this did not tend to allay his excitement. "Can't nary a oneo' ye speak?" he cried angrily. "Whaar's the fust-mate--ye ain't madeaway with the coon, hev ye?"

"He's out fur a ride, cap, " at last said the wag of the party, whereatthere was another outburst of laughter. "Mr Flinders wer a bit out o'sorts an' hez gone up theer fur a hairin'. "

"Thaar!" echoed the skipper, looking to where the man pointed with hishand. "Whaar?"

"Up in the hills, " replied the other grinning hugely at Captain Snaggs'puzzled expression. "He's gone fur a ride a-tortoise-back. "

"Ye're a durned fule!" shouted the skipper, thinking he was `taking arise' out of him. "Don't ye try on bamboozlin' me. What d'ye mean byhis goin' a-ridin', an' sich nonsense?"

"He vas shbeak ze drooth, cap'en, " put in Jan Steenbock, who was stillwiping the blood from his face as he got up to answer him. "I vas zeeMistaire Vlinders zail avays oop dere on ze back of von beeg toordlejoost now. "

"By thunder, ye're all makin' game of me, I guess!" yelled the skipper, seeing that Jan was grinning like the rest, "I s'pose ye've been hevin'a muss ag'en. Now, I ain't a-goin' to stand no more bunkum. What hevye done with Mr Flinders, I axes fur the last time?"

"I vas not do nuzzin, " replied Jan quietly, continuing to wipe his face. "Ze mate vas shtrike me, but I vas not touch him meinselfs, I vas notlay von hand upon hims. "

"Then what in thunder air becom' of him?"

"He wer gone a-ridin', cap, " said the man who had previously spoken, proceeding to explain what had occurred. "He came down drunk out of theship and went abusin' Mr Steenbock as never sed a word to him, and thenstruck him with a spade, nigh killing him. So we tumbles him over inthe water theer to stop his doin' any more mischief, for he wer that madas he looked to murder the lot of us. "

"And then, boss, " went on Jim Chowder, as he told up, taking up thestory, "ez he were pretty well wet with his ducking, we lashed him on tothe back of a tortoise ez come by, an' sent him up in the hills, fur todry hisself, `ridin' a cock horse to Banbury Cross' like!"

At this the hands laughed again, and the skipper, whom they now surmisedmust have been drinking again when away on his prospecting tour, becameperfectly furious; for he turned quite white, while his billy-goat beardbristled up, as it always did when he was angry. 

"This air rank mutiny!" he shouted, drawing his revolver and pointing itat Jim Chowder; "but I'll soon teach ye a lesson, ye skunks. Hyar goesfur one o' ye!"

Jan Steenbock, as on a previous occasion, however, was too quick forhim; for he knocked the weapon out of his fist, and then gripping him ina tight grasp, threw his arms round the captain's body. 

The skipper foamed at the mouth, and swore even worse than Mr Flindershad done just before; but, presently he calmed down a bit, and sat downon the ground--shaking all over, as soon as Jan had removed his grip, though keeping close to him, to be on the watch for his next move, as heexpected him to have one of his old fits again. 

But the convulsions seemed to pass off very quickly; and the captain, looking like himself again after a few moments, jumped to his feet. 

He then stared round about him, as if searching for something or someone, evidently forgetting all that had just happened. 

Suddenly his eyes brightened. 

"Thaar he is!" he cried, "thaar he is!"

"Who, sir?" asked Jan, seeing his gaze fixed in the direction of thecactus grove, behind which the mate had vanished on histortoise--"Mistaire Vlinders?"

"No, man, no, " impatiently cried the skipper; "I wanted him to come withme, but ez he's not hyar, ye'll do ez wa-all, I reckon. It's the blackbuccaneer cap'en I mean, thet I met jest now, over thaar in the vall'y. "

"Ze boocaneer cap'en, " repeated Jan, utterly flabbergasted--"zeboocaneer cap'en?"

"Aye, ye durned fule; don't ye reck'lect the coon ez ye told me ezburrit the treesure? Come on quick, or I guess we'll lose him!"

"And yous have zeen hims?"

"Aye, I hev seed him, sure enuff, " replied Captain Snaggs, seizing Jan, and trying to drag him with him; "an', what's more, he an' I've beendrinkin' together, me joker. We've hed a reg'ler high old time in thevall'y thaar, this arternoon, ye bet!"

"In ze valleys?"

"By thunder! ye're that slow ye'd anger a saint, which I ain't one, "returned Captain Snaggs, indignantly. "I mean the vall'y whaar theskeletons is crawlin' about an' the skulls grinning--thet air onebelongin' to the buccaneer cuss is a prime one, I ken tell ye. It beatscreation, it dew, with the lizards a-creepin' through the sockets, an' abig snake in his teeth. Jeehosophat! how he did swaller down thelicker!"

Up to now the men could not understand that anything out of the commonwas the matter with the skipper beyond being drunk, perhaps, and in apassion--no, not even Jan; but, as soon as he got talking on this tackabout snakes and skulls, then all saw what was the matter. 

So, now, on his darting off towards the hills in his delirium, JanSteenbock and Jim Chowder, with a couple of the other hands, quicklyfollowed in pursuit of the demented man. 

He had got a good minute's start, however, before they recovered fromtheir astonishment at his incoherent speech and were able to grasp thesituation; so, he was almost out of sight by the time they went afterhim. 

It was a long chase, Jim said, for they went in and out between thethorny fleshy-handed cactus trees and over the lava field, tumbling intoholes here and tearing themselves to pieces with the thorns there--theskipper all the while maintaining his lead in front and running along asfreely and smoothly as if the track were an even path, instead of beingthrough a desert waste like that they raced over. 

After a bit, they passed over all the intervening lava field and struckamongst the grass and trees; and then they came up to Mr Flinders, whowas still lashed on the back of his tortoise, which had `brought up allstanding' by the side of a little water-spring, and was greedily gulpingdown long draughts of the limpid stream that rippled through the gladebeneath the shade of a number of dwarf oaks and zafrau trees which hadorchilla moss growing in profusion on their trunks--some of these beingnearly three feet in diameter, and bigger, Jim said, than any trees hehad previously seen on the island. 

Those in pursuit of the skipper thought he would have stopped on thusmeeting the first-mate. 

But, no. He did not halt for an instant. 

"Come on, Flinders, " he only called out. "Come on, Flinders, we airarter the buccaneer cap'en an' the treasure!"

Then, plunging down the side of the hill he made for a bare spacefurther down beyond the trees, waving his arms over his head andshouting and screaming at the pitch of his voice, like the raging madmanthat he had become. 

Arrived at the bottom of the declivity, the captain abruptly paused; andJim Chowder and Jan, who were close behind, came up with him. 

There was no need to stop him; for the skipper flung himself on theground at a spot where, to their wonder, they now observed threeskeletons sitting up and arranged in a circle; while in the centre ofthe terrible group of bony figures was a cask on end, whose odour atonce betrayed its contents. 

Rum!

A pannikin was on the ground beside the hand of one of the remnants ofmortality, and this the skipper took up, drawing a spigot from out ofthe cask and filling it. 

"Hyar's to ye, my brave buccaneers!" he cried, tossing it off as if ithad been water. "Hyar's to ye all an' the gold!"

He was going to fill another pannikin and drain that; but Jan Steenbockkicked over the cask, preventing him. 

Captain Snaggs at once sprung to his feet again. 

As before, he took no notice of Jan's action. 

It appeared as if his mind were suddenly bent on something else and thathe now forgot everything anterior to the one thought that possessed him. 

"Come on now, my brave buccaneers, an' show us the gold, " he cried. "Lead on, my beauties, an' I'll foller, by thunder, to the devilhimself!"

So saying, back he climbed up the hill, and down a little pathway alongthe top till he came to the entrance to the cave which Tom Bullover andHiram and I had first discovered; and then, suddenly, before JanSteenbock and Jim Chowder could see where he had gone, he disappearedwithin the opening. 

Jan and Jim alone had continued the pursuit, the other hands havingremained behind to release the first-mate from his uncomfortable billeton board the tortoise; and Jim Chowder giving up the hunt at this point, and returning to rejoin his comrades, Jan Steenbock only remained, thelatter telling us later on, when we all compared notes, that, afterlooking for the skipper over the cliff, where he at first believed himto have fallen, he finally traced him into the cave. 

CHAPTER NINETEEN. 

A WARNING SHOCK. 

"Wa-all, I'm jiggered!" ejaculated Hiram, having recourse to his usualfavourite expression when startled or surprised at anything, as theskipper, after evading Jan Steenbock's pursuit, darted out of the caveand appeared on the scene, destroying the harmony of our happy meetingwith Sam. "Keep yer haar on, cap, an' don't make a muss about nuthin'!"

Captain Snaggs, in response to this, made a gesture as if he were goingto strike him. 

"Ye durned rep-tile!" he yelled out. "I'll soon knock the sass out o'ye; I will so, by thunder!"

"No, ye don't, cap; no, ye don't, " said Hiram good-humouredly, puttingup his fists to guard himself, but not doing so offensively. "I guesstwo ken play at thet game, I reckon, an' ye'd best let me bide; fur, I'ma quiet coon when ye stroke me down the right way, but a reg'larscreamer when I'm riled, an' mighty risky to handle, sirree, ez ye kenbet yer bottom dollar!"

"Jee-rusalem--this air rank mutiny!" exclaimed the skipper, startingback. "Would ye hit me, yer own cap'en?"

"No, cap; I don't mean fur to go ez fur ez thet, "--replied the other, lowering his fists, but keeping his eye steadily on Captain Snaggs, thetwo looking at each other straight up and down--"not if yer doesn't layhands on me; but, if yer dew, why, I reckon I'll hev to take my ownpart, fur I ain't a-goin' to be knocked about by no man, cap'en or nocap'en, ez we're now ashore an' this air a free country!"

"Snakes an' alligators, this air a rum state o' things!" cried theskipper, sobering down a bit at this reply, as well as awed by Hiram'ssteadfast manner. "But, I don't kinder wish to be at loggerheads withye, my man, fur ye hev ben a good seaman right through the vy'ge, an Iken pass over yer sass, ez I don't think ye means any disrespect. "

"Nary a cent, cap, " agreed Hiram to this; "nary a cent o' thet. "

"But ez fur thet durned nigger thaar, " continued the skipper, foaming upwith passion again on seeing Sam and Tom grinning together at hisbacking down so mildly before Hiram's resolute attitude, neither ofthem, nor any of us indeed, recognising that he was in a state ofdelirium, "I'll hev him an' thet scoundrel of a carpenter in irons, an'tried fur conspi-racy, I guess, when we git back to some civilisedport. "

"Better wait till ye fetch thaar, boss, " said Hiram drily. "I guess weair hard an' fast aground jest now; an' it ain't no good a-talkin' tillye ken do ez ye sez; threat'nin's air all bunkum!"

"I'll soon show ye the rights o' thet, " shouted Captain Snaggs, making arush past Hiram to reach Sam, who drew away behind Tom, just beyond hisgrasp. "Only let me catch holt on thet durned nigger, an' I'll skin himalive. I'll ghost him, I will!"

Hiram, however, protected the darkey with his outstretched arm, thusbarring the skipper's advance; while Tom Bullover also stood up infront, further shielding Sam, who now spoke up for himself from his safeposition in the rear, whither I too retreated out of harm's way. 

"Golly! Massa Cap'en, " said Sam, with a native dignity and eloquencewhich I had not previously believed him to possess, "what fur am yerwish ter injure a pore black man like me, dat nebbah done yer no harm?But fur der impersition ob der good God abobe us all, yer'd a-murd'redme, as yer taut yer hab dat time dat yer shoots me, an' I tumbles interde sea?"

"Harm, cuss ye?" retorted Captain Snaggs. "Didn't ye try to pizen meafore I went fur ye? It wer arter thet I drew a bead on ye with mysix-shooter!"

"No, Mass' Snaggs, " answered the negro solemnly; "I'se swan I nebbahdone dat ting! I'se nebbah pizen yer, nor no man. I'se only put onelilly bit jalap in de grub, fo' joke, 'cause yer turn me out ob degalley fo' nuffin'. I'se only done it fo' joke, I swan!"

"A durned fine joke thet, I reckon, " sneered the skipper, snorting andfuming with rage at the recollection. "Why, me an' Flinders hed themullygrabs fur a week arterwards; an' I guess I don't feel all rightyet! I ain't half paid ye fur it, by thunder! But, thet ain't the wustby a durned sight; fur, by yer dodrotted tomfoolery, an' carryin' onwith thet scoundrel yer accomplice thaar--thet British hound, Bullover, I mean--ye hev so fuddled every one aboard thet ye hev caused the lossof the shep an' cargy on this air outlandish island. I'll make yeanswer fur it, though--I will by the jumpin' Jeehosophet!"

"Ye air wrong thaar, cap, " put in Hiram here; "ye air wrong thaar!"

"Wrong! Who sez I'm wrong?"

"I dew, " replied the other, in his sturdy fashion, in no ways abashed bythe question--"I sez ye air wrong. It warn't Sam ez lost the ship, or'cashion'd the wrack in airy a way, nor yet yerself, cap, neither. Itwer summat else. "

"Thunder!" exclaimed the skipper, puzzled by this. "What dew ye make itout fur to be?"

"Rum, an' not `thunder, ' mister, " at once responded Hiram, equallylaconically. "I guess if ye hedn't took to raisin' yer elber thetpowerful ez to see snakes, an' hev the jim-jams, we'd all be now, slickez clams, safe in port at 'Frisco!"

This home truth silenced the captain for the moment, but the nextinstant he startled us all with an utterly inconsequent question, havingno reference to what he had before been speaking of. 

"Where hev ye stowed it?"

Hiram stared at him. 

"I don't mean ye, " said the skipper, dropping his eyes as if he couldnot stand being gazed at; and I could see his face twitching about in aqueer manner, and his hands trembling, as he turned and twisted thefingers together. "I mean the nigger an' thet other skunk thaar--thewhite man thet's got a blacker heart inside his carkiss than the niggerhez. Whaar hev they stowed it?"

"Stowed what, cap?" inquired Hiram, humouring him, as he now noticed, for the first time, in what an excited state he was. "I don't kinderunderconstubble 'zactly what yer means. "

"The chest o' gold, " snorted out the skipper. "Ye know durned well whatI means!"

"Chest o' goold?" repeated Hiram, astonished. "I hevn't seed no chestso' goold about hyar. No such luck!"

"Ye lie!" roared the captain, springing on him like a tiger, andthrowing him down by his sudden attack, he clutched poor Hiram's throatso tightly as almost to strangle him. "I saw the nigger makin' off withit, an' thet scoundrel the carpenter; fur the buccaneers told me jestnow. Lord, thaar's the skull rollin' after me, with its wild eyesflashin' fire out of the sockets, an' its grinnin' teeth--oh, save me!Save me!"

With that, he took to crying and sobbing like mad; and it was only thenwe realised the fact that the skipper was suffering from another of hisfits of delirium, though it was a far worse one than any we had seen himlabouring under during the voyage. 

Tom Bullover and Sam had the greatest difficulty in unclenching hishands from Hiram's neck and then restraining him from doing furtherviolence, our unfortunate shipmate being quite black in the face andspeechless for some minutes after our releasing him. 

As for Captain Snaggs, he afterwards went on like a raging madman; andit was as much as Tom and Sam could do, with my help, to tie his handsand legs so as to keep him quiet, for he struggled furiously all thewhile with the strength of ten men!

In the middle of this, we heard a strange rumbling noise under our feet, the ground beginning to oscillate violently, as if we were on board shipin a heavy sea; while, at the same time, a lot of earth and pieces ofrock were thrown down on us from the heights above the little plateauwhere the cave was situated. The air, also, grew thick and heavy anddark, similarly to what is generally noticed when a severe thunderstormis impending. 

"Oh, Tom!" I cried in alarm, "what has happened?"

"It's an earthquake, I think, " he replied, looking frightened too. "We'd better get under shelter as quickly as we can, for these stonesare tumbling down too plentifully for pleasure!"

"Where can we go?" said I--"the ship's too far off. Oh dear, somethinghas just hit me on the head, and it hurts!"

"Come in here to the cave; we'll be safe inside, if the bottom can standall this shaking. At all events, it'll be better than being out in theopen, to stand the chance of having one's head smashed by a boulder fromaloft!"

So saying, Tom disappeared within the mouth of the cavern, draggingafter him the prostrate form of the skipper, who appeared to have fallenasleep, overcome by the violent paroxysms of his fit, for he was snoringstertorously. 

Sam and I quickly followed Tom, and the rear was brought up by Hiram--now pretty well recovered from the mauling he had received at the handsof our unconscious skipper, the shock of the earthquake having roused upour shipmate effectually, while the continual dropping of the fallingearth and stones, which now began to rain down like hail, hastened hisretreat. 

"I guess this air more comf'able, " said he, as soon as he was wellwithin our place of shelter, now so dark and gloomy that we could barelysee each other, and Sam's colour was quite indistinguishable. "Talk o'rainin' cats an' dogs! Why, the airth seems topsides down, an'brickbats an' pavin' stones air a reg'ler caution to it!"

Hardly, however, had he got out these words than there came a tremendouscrash of thunder, a vivid sheet of forked lightning simultaneouslyilluminating the whole interior of the cavern; and, to our greatsurprise, we perceived by the bright electric glare the figure ofanother man besides our own party--the stranger standing at the upperend of the cave, near the block of stone in the centre, where Sam hadbeen seated when I had seen him playing the banjo, and Tom gave him sucha fright by pretending to be a ghost. 

Sam, now, like the rest of us, saw this figure advancing in ourdirection, and believed he was going to be treated to another visitationfrom the apparition which had terrified him previously, and which he wasstill only half convinced was but the creation of Tom's erratic fancy. 

"O Lor', Cholly!" he exclaimed, in great fright, clutching hold of myhand, as I stood near him at the entrance to the cave. "Dere's anudderduppy come, fo' suah! My golly! What am dat?"

But, before I could say anything, much to our great relief--for I feltalmost as much terrified as he--the voice of Jan Steenbock sounded fromout from the gloomy interior in answer to his question. 

"It vas mees, mein frents--it vas mees!"

"Goodness gracious, Mister Steenbock!" sang out Tom Bullover, lookingtowards him, as the hazy figure advanced nearer and became moredistinct, although we could not yet actually see the second-mate's face. "How did you get here?"

"I vas hoont aftaire ze cap'en, " replied Jan, coming up close to us now. "He vas get troonk, and go mat again in ze valleys beyont ze sheep, andI vas run aftaire hims, as he vas run avays, and den he vas go out ofzight in one big hole at ze top of ze hill. I vas vollow aftaire hims, but den I loose hims, and ze erdquake vas come and ze toonder andlightning, and I vas zee yous and here I vas!"

"Oh, we've got the skipper all right, " said Tom. "He nearly killedHiram jest now in his frenzy; but we've tied him up with a lashing roundhis arms and legs, so that he can't get away and come to no harm tillhe's all serene again. I'm a-sitting on him now to keep him down; as, though he's sleepin', he tries to start up on us every minute. ByJingo! there he goes again!"

"He vas bat mans, " observed Jan Steenbock, helping to hold down thestruggling skipper, whose fits of delirium still came back every now andagain. "He vas vool of mischiefs and ze rhoom! Joost now, he vas dinkdat he vas talk to ze boocaneer cap'en, and dat he vas show him datdreazure dat vas accurst, and he vas dink he vinds it, and dat I vasshteal hims avay. "

"I'm jiggered!" ejaculated Hiram, in surprise. "Why, he comed up hyaran' goes fur me to throttle me, sayin' ez how I hed took the durnedtreesor, tew. I guess I only wish we could sot eyes on it!"

"Bettaire not, mine vrents, bettaire not zee it no mores, " said Jan, solemnly shaking his head in the dim light. "It vas accurst, as I vastell yous, by ze bloot of ze schlabe dat vas kilt by ze Sbaniards. Itvas only bringt bat look to ze beeples dat vas touch hims. Bettairenot, mein frent, nevaire!"

"I ain't got no skear 'bout thet, " replied Hiram, with a defiant laugh. "Guess, we air all on us pretty wa-al season'd to them ghostesses bythis time, both aboard ship an' ashore, an' I don't care a cuss fur thehull bilin' on them, I reckon!"

"Shtop!--listen!"--whispered Jan Steenbock, in his deep, impressivevoice, as another vivid flash of lightning lit up the cave for a briefinstant, making it all the darker afterwards. This was followed by asecond crashing peal of thunder, as if the very heavens were coming downand were rattling about our ears; while the ground heaved up beneath ourfeet violently, with its former jerky motion. --"Ze sbirrits of eefel vasvalk abroat in ze shtorm. "

Even as he spoke, his solemn tones sending a thrill through my heart, there came a still more violent shock of earthquake, which was succeededby a tremendous grinding, thumping noise from the back of the cave; andthen, all of a sudden, a large black body bounded past us through theentrance close to where we stood. The rush of air knocked us all downflat on our backs, as this object, whatever it was, made its way out, and, finally, we could hear it, a second later, plunged into the seabelow at the foot of the declivity. 

"Bress de Lor'!" ejaculated Sam, in greater terror than ever. "Dere'sde duppy, fo' suah! Hole on ter me, Cholly! Hole on! I'se mighty'fraid! Hole on ter me, for de Lor's sake, sonny!"

CHAPTER TWENTY. 

THE JUDGMENT OF FATE. 

We were all speechless, and could see nothing as we scrambled to ourfeet in the darkness, for the cave was now filled with a thick dust, that nearly suffocated us as well as blinded us--filling our eyes, andmouths, and nostrils. 

Presently, the dust settled down; and, then, we found that the cavernwas no longer dark, for the crash which had so startled us at first wasoccasioned by a portion of the roof breaking away, which let in thedaylight from above, right immediately over the big rock in the centrethat Tom had called "the pulpit. "

The rock, however, had disappeared, and this was, doubtless, themysterious body that had rushed by us through the mouth of the cave, sofrightening Sam. 

But something more surprising still had happened. 

The earthquake, in rending the rock, had upheaved all the earth aroundit, and there, beneath, in a large cavity, was a collection of old oakenchests, bound round, apparently, with heavy clamps of iron, similar tothose used by our forefathers a couple of centuries ago for the storageof their goods and chattels--boxes that could defy alike the ravages ofage and the ordinary wear and tear of time, the carpenters and buildersof bygone days making things to last, and not merely to sell, as inmodern years!

"Hooray!" cried Hiram, springing towards one of the chests, which hadbeen crushed open by a piece of detached rock from the roof of the cave, thus disclosing to view a lot of glittering ingots of gold, with acrucifix and some little images of the same precious metal, like theMadonna figure we had first discovered. "Hyar's the boocaneer treesor, I guess, at last!"

"I vas mooch sorry, " said Jan Steenbock, shaking his head solemnly, aswe gathered round the hole and eagerly inspected its contents, noticingthat there were seven or eight of the large chests within the cavity, besides the broken one and a number of smaller ones, along with piecesof armour and a collection of old guns and pistols, all heaped uptogether. "I vas mooch sorry. It vas bringt us bat look, like it didto ze schgooners, and Cap'en Shackzon, and all ze crew of zo sheep I vaszail in befores!"

"Why, old hoss, " asked Hiram, all excitement, "I guess we air allfriends hyar, an' 'll go share an' share alike; so thaar's no fear on amuss happenin' atween us, like thaar wer with ye an' them durnedcut-throat Spaniards. Why shu'd it bring us bad luck, hey?"

"I vas avraid of ze curse, " replied the other. "It vas hoonted mitbloot, and vas bringt harm to every ones! I vill not touch itmeinselfs--no, nevaire!"

"Guess I will, though, " retorted Hiram. "I ain't afeard o' no nigger ezwas buried two hundred year ago; no, nor on his ghostess neither. Whatsay ye, Sam, consarnin' this brother darkey o' yourn?"

"Golly, Massa Hiram!" said Sam, grinning from ear to ear at the sight ofthe gold. "I'se tink I'se hab claim to de lot, if it am belong to denigger family. Ho-ho-ho!"

With that we all laughed; whereupon the skipper, whom we had forgottenfor the moment, made a movement where he still lay on the floor of thecave by the entrance, opening his eyes and trying to get up, which, ofcourse, he was unable to do, from our having tied his legs together. 

"Hillo!" he called out. "Whaar am I?"

His voice now seemed quite rational, and on Tom going up to him, hefound that the delirium had left him, and that he was quite sober and inhis senses again, so he unloosed him, helping him on to his feet. 

Strange to say, Captain Snaggs did not utter a word about findinghimself tied, nor did he seem in any way surprised at being thereamongst us. He was not angry either a bit now!

He simply walked up to where we stood and, looking down at the hole withthe chests piled up in it, as if following out a concentrated train ofthought which had been simmering in his brain before his fit, exclaimed--

"Thaar it air, jest ez I told ye, an' ez the buccaneer cap'n told me. Thaar it air all right, I reckon; an' now we must see about gettin' itdown to the shep. "

This staggered us somewhat; but Tom Bullover thought it best to humourhim. 

"How would you like it took down to the shore, cap'en?" he asked, deferentially. "Shall I go and fetch some of the hands, sir?"

"Yes, I guess thet'll be the best plan, " replied Captain Snaggs, as easyas you please, and as if only talking about some ordinary thing, and hewere giving his usual orders. "Wait a minnit, though. I guess I'llcome with ye ez soon as I've toted up the hull lot, fur thaar ain't nofear of any coon walkin' off with the plunder while we're away, an' Iwant to see how the shep's gettin' on. I reckon she ought to be prettynear afloat by now. "

There seemed a method in his madness, even if he were yet mad, for hecarefully jotted down the number of chests in his pocket-book; and then, turning away as composedly as possible, he made his way down to thebeach by our old path, just as if he had been in the habit of going thatway every day of his life and it was quite familiar to him. 

"Come on, men!" cried he. "Follow me!"

So, down we all tramped after him in single file to the shore, where wefound a stranger thing had happened since our long absence, which, longas it seemed from the series of occurrences that had happened, the onesucceeding the other in rapid succession, was not long in reality. 

However, it appeared months since we had left the ship; for, in theshort space of time, comparatively speaking, that we had been away, allaround her had been altered, and she more than anything. 

Instead of her being high and dry ashore, with her bows up in the airbetween the two hillocks where they had been wedged, there she was nowafloat, placidly riding on the smooth waters of the harbour by heranchors, which had been laid out, it may be remembered, the morningafter she stranded. 

This was a far more providential circumstance than our finding thetreasure; for even Mr Steenbock, sanguine as he had been at first whenhe suggested digging the dock under her, had begun to have fears of oureventually getting her off again into her native element--the operationtaking longer than he had expected, for the water at the last hadpenetrated through the coffer-dam, thus preventing the men from diggingout the after part of the trench under the keel piece, between the mainand mizzen-chains. 

Now, through the effects of the earthquake, we were fortunately savedall farther trouble on this score. 

The skipper did not appear the least surprised at what had happened, displaying the same nonchalance as he did when gazing down into thecavity where the buccaneers' gold was stowed--as if he had dreamt it allbeforehand and everything was turning out exactly according to thesequence of his dream!

As we got nearer, we saw that a number of the men were grouped about theshore, collecting a lot of stray gear, which they were taking off to theship in the jolly-boat; so, calling to these, Captain Snaggs asked whereMr Flinders was. 

"He's gone aboard bad, " said one of the hands, with a snigger, whereatthey all laughed. "He don't feel all right this arternoon, sir, an' hewent into his cabin afore the ship floated. "

"I guess, then, we'd better go aboard, too, " replied the skipper, quitequiet like. "It's gettin' late now, an' we'll break off work tillto-morrow. We'll then set about gettin' the sticks up on her agen, mymen, as well as hoist the stores aboard; fur, I means to sail out ofthis hyar harbour afore the end of the week!"

The hands gave a hearty hurrah at this, as if the idea pleased them, forthey must have been quite sick of the place by this time; and theskipper therefore ordered Jan Steenbock and Tom, with Hiram, Sam, and I, to come off with him in the boat, telling us when we presently gotaboard not to mention about the treasure to any one yet, as it mightprevent the men working and rigging the ship, getting her ready for sea. 

This we promised to do, keeping our word easily enough, as we did notfind it difficult to hold our tongues in the matter, considering the lotthere was for all hands to talk about concerning Sam's restoration tolife, after being supposed dead so long. Several of the hands, though, persisted that they knew of the deception all along, and had not beentaken in by the ghost business; but this was all brag on their part, forI am sure they thoroughly believed in it at the time, just the same asMorris Jones and Hiram and I did--only Tom being in the secret fromfirst to last!

In the course of the next four days, all the hands working with a will, even more energetically than they had done when dismantling her, the_Denver City_ had her rigging up all ataunto again, while her gracefulyards were crossed, and most of her cargo got aboard, all ready to sail. 

During this time, the skipper had said not a word about the treasure, nor did he speak of sending up any one to fetch it; and so, as none ofus had been back to the cave since quitting it with the captain, afterthe earthquake and our discovery of the hoard, Hiram and Tom, with Samand I, stole away late on the afternoon of the fourth day to see whetherthe boxes were all right--Jan Steenbock being the only one of theoriginal party present when it was found who did not accompany us; buthe said he knew it would be unlucky, for him, at all events, and so hepreferred stopping away. 

So it was that only we four went, though Jan came with us part of theway from the ship, sitting down by the spring which had been the hauntof the doves, to await our return. 

Jan did not have to remain there long alone. 

No sooner had we got to the cave than we found that the treacherousskipper had anticipated and out-reached us; for, from the hurried lookwe took, we could see that every single chest and box had been removed, and that all were now probably stored in the captain's own cabin. Nodoubt, too, by-and-by, he would swear that we had no hand in findingthem, whence, of course, it must follow from his reasoning, we were notentitled to any share in the proceeds from the treasure!

This was a pretty state of things, each and all of us thought; and, boiling with indignation, we rushed back to Jan to tell him the news. 

But, we met with but sorry sympathy from him. 

"You vas mooch bettaire off, " he said stolidly--"mooch bettaire offmitout ze accursed stoof! It vas bringt harm to Cap'en Shackzon, and zecrew of ze schgooners dat I vas in; and, markt mine vorts, it vas bringtharms to Cap'en Schnaggs, as zertain as I vas here and dere!"

"I'm durned, though, if I don't make him suffer fur it, if he don'tshell out!" cried Hiram hotly, as we all resumed the path back to theshore, much more quickly than we had gone up to the cave. "I'll givehim goss!"

"He vill meet his vate vrom elsevere, " said Jan Steenbock solemnly, hurrying after us, for Hiram and Tom seemed all eagerness to tackle theskipper at once, and I trotted close after them. "Ze sbirrit ob zedreazure vill hoont him, and poonish him in ze end!"

And, incredible as my story may seem, quite unwittingly, Jan became atrue prophet, as what occurred subsequently will show. 

When we got to the shore, we found that the ship had her boats hoistedin, and her anchor weighed; while the topsails were cast loose, showingthat she was ready to sail at a moment's notice. 

What concerned us most, though, was that we could see no means forgetting on board; for the dinghy by which we had landed was towingastern by its painter, and thus all communication was cut off with theshore. 

"_Denver City_, ahoy!" shouted out Hiram, putting his hands to his mouthas an improvised speaking trumpet. "Send a boat to take us off!"

Captain Snaggs at once jumped up on the taffrail on our hailing her. 

"Not one o' ye durned cusses comes aboard my shep agen, if I knows it!"he yelled back loudly. "Ye went ashore o' yer own accord, an' thaar yeshell stop, by thunder!"

"Ye durned thief!" cried Hiram, mad with rage at the villain for thuscheating us, and abandoning us to our fate there on that lone desertisle. "Whaar's our treesor?"

"Guess ye're ravin', man, " bawled Captain Snaggs; and then, as if thisended the colloquy, he sang out to the hands forward to "Hoist away!"

We then noticed a slight commotion on board, as if some of our shipmatesrebelled at the idea of leaving us behind, while they sailed homeward;but this intervention on our behalf was futile, for the skipperbrandished his revolver, as we could easily see from the top of thecliff, to which we had now climbed, in order to make our voices betterheard on board, and after a momentary pause the sails were let drop andhauled out, and the vessel began to make her way out of the bay. 

The captain then called out to us, as if in bragging malice, "I've gotevery durned chest aboard! D'ye haar? Flinders an' I brought 'em downto the beach last night when ye wer all caulkin'; an' I guess ye airpretty well chiselled at last!--Thet's quits fur the nigger's ghost, an'yer mutiny, an' all! I reckon I've paid ye all out in full, ye durnedskellywags!"

Those were the last words, in all human probability, that Captain Snaggsever uttered in this mortal life. 

There had been slight rumblings underground all the morning of that day, as if nature were warning us of further volcanic disturbance throughoutthe Galapagian archipelago; and now, of a sudden, an immense tidal wave, that seemed sixty feet high at the least, rolled into the little harbourlike a huge wall, filling up the opening between the cliffs on eitherhand up to the very tops of these, as it came sweeping inward from theoutside sea. 

The next instant, the _Denver City_, with all on board her, disappeared, the wave sweeping back outwards with its prey, leaving the bottom of theharbour bare for over a mile, where all previously had been deep water. 

The sea came back once more, though the tidal wave was not so high asbefore. 

And still once again--ebb and flow, ebb and flow. 

It was awful!

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. 

RESCUED. 

We five--Jan Steenbock, Tom Bullover, Hiram, Sam Jedfoot, and lastly, though by no means least, myself--sole, solitary survivors of the awfulcatastrophe that had swallowed up our comrades, stood on the cliff abovethe yawning chasm, watching the tidal wave that still ebbed and flowedin diminishing volume at each reflux. 

This it continued to do for a full half-hour afterwards, when the seareturned to its normal state, welling up tranquilly on the beach, andquickly washing away all traces of the recent convulsion of nature, asif nothing had happened--a sort of sobbing moan, only, seemed afterwardsto come from the water every now and then at spasmodic intervals, as ifthe spirits of the deep were lamenting over the mischief and destructionthey had wrought!

Scarcely could we believe our eyes; for, while not a single plank orpiece of timber was cast ashore of the ship, which must have been takendown bodily by the remorseless wave that had hurried our cruel captainand no less cruel mate, and the rest of the crew, nineteen souls in all, into eternity, without the slightest forewarning of their doom, thelittle bay now looked as quiet and peaceful as of yore, with itsoutstretching capes on either hand, and everything still the same--equally wild, desolate, deserted, as when we first beheld it!

Most wonderful of all, though, was the fact that we alone were saved. 

We were saved!

That thought appeared to flash through all our minds at oncesimultaneously; and, falling on our knees, there, on the summit of theheadland, whence we had witnessed the terrible tragedy and now gazeddown on the once more placid, treacherous sea, we each and all thankedGod for our deliverance from the peril of the waters, as He had alreadydelivered us from the cruelty of man--in the person of that treacherous, drunken demon who had abandoned us there to the solitude and the miseryof exile and sailed off to enjoy, as he thought, the ill-gotten treasureof which he had robbed us. But he had met even a worse fate than he hadmeted out to us; for, what could have been worse for him than to die andbe called to account for his misdeeds at the very moment of therealisation of his devilish design?

However, peace to his evil spirit, One greater than us poor maroonedsailors would be his Judge!

That feeling was uppermost in my mind, and I'm sure it was reciprocatedby the others, after we had returned thanks to the watchful Providencethat had saved us while snatching Captain Snaggs away in the middle ofhis sins; but his name was not mentioned by any there at that moment, nor did either of us utter a word afterwards, to each other at least, sofar as I can remember, about his treatment of us--not even Sam, to whomthroughout he had behaved the most cruelly of all. 

Sailor-folk, as a rule, are not revengeful, and death we held, hadblotted out the past; so we, too, buried the skipper's misdeeds inoblivion!

We stopped there on the cliff without speaking until it was close onsunset. 

Our hearts were too full to express the various thoughts that coursedthrough our minds; and there we remained, silent and still, as if wefive were dumb. 

All we did was to stare out solemnly on the vast ocean that spread outfrom beneath our feet to the golden west in the far distance, where skyand sea met on the hazy horizon--with never a sail to break its wideexpanse, with never a sound to break our solitude, save the sullenmurmuring wash of the surf as it rippled up on the beach, and the heavy, deep-drawn sigh of the water as it rolled back to its parent ocean, taking its weary load of pebbles and sand below, as if sick of themonotonous task, which it was doomed to continue on without cessation, with ever and for ever the same motion, now that its wild, brief orgywas o'er, and its regular routine of duty had to be again resumed!

Tom Bullover was the first to break the silence. 

"Come boys, " he said, when the sun's lower limb was just dipping intothe sea, leaving a solitary pathway of light across the main, while allthe rest of the sea became gradually darker, as well as the heavensoverhead, telling us that the evening was beginning to close in. "Come, Mr Steenbock and you fellows, we'd best go back to the cave for thenight, so as to be out of the damp air. Besides, it won't be solonesome like as it is here!"

"Ay, bo, " acquiesced Hiram. "Thaar's Sam's old sail thaar, which 'llsarve us fur a bed anyhow. "

"Dat so, " chimed in the darkey. "I'se belly comf'able dere till Mass'Tom friten me wid duppy. I'se got some grub dere, too; an' we can lightfire an' boil coffee in pannikin, which I'se bring ashore wid me fromship. "

"Bully for ye!" cried Hiram, waking up again to the practical realitiesof life at the thought of eating, and realising that he was hungry, nothaving, like, indeed, all of us, tasted anything since the morning, theevents of the day having made us forget our ordinary meal-time, "I guessI could pick a bit if I'd any thin' to fix atween my teeth!"

"Golly! don't yer fret, massa, " said Sam cheerfully, in response to thishint, leading the way towards his whilom retreat. "I'se hab a good hunkob salt pork stow away dere, an' hard tack, too!"

"Why, what made you think of getting provisions up there?" observed I, laughing, being rather surprised at his precaution, when everyone elsehad been taken up with the treasure, and believed that we were on thepoint of leaving the island for good and all. "Were you going to give aparty, Sam?"

"I'se make de preparations fo' 'mergencies, Cholly, " he replied gravely. "Nobuddy know what happen, an' dere's nuffin' like bein' suah ob degrub!"

"Thet's true enuff, an' good sound doctrine. Don't ye kinder think so, mister?"

Jan Steenbock, to whom this question was addressed, made no reply; but, as he got up and followed Sam, Hiram took this for his answer, and wentafter him, the five of us entering the cave in single file. 

Here, we found that, from its position on the higher ground, the tidalwave had not effected any damage, the only alteration being that made bythe first shock of earthquake, causing the crack across the upper end, which had dislodged the stone in the centre, and disclosed thebuccaneers' treasure. So, then, on Sam's producing a good big piece ofsalt junk, with some ship's biscuit, which he had wrapped up in a yellowbandana handkerchief and stowed away in one corner under his sailcloth, we all imitated the American, and `put our teeth through' the unexpectedfood, finding ourselves, now that we had something to eat before us, with better appetites than might have been thought possible after whatwe had gone through. 

Sailors, though, do not trouble themselves much over things that havehappened, looking out more for those to come!

The next day, it seemed very strange to wake up and find ourselves alonethere, especially after the stirring time we had recently, with thediscovery of the treasure, and getting the ship afloat, and all; so, when we crawled out of the cave and went down to the beach, we fiveforlorn fellows felt more melancholy than can be readily imagined atseeing this bare and desolate, and hearing no sound but that of our ownsad voices. 

Even the coo of the doves was now unnoticeable, the birds havingdeserted their haunt in the grove after the earthquake shock, as Ibelieve I have mentioned before. Lucky it was for them that theirinstinct warned them to do this in time; for the tidal wave had sweptcompletely over the place, and the little dell was now all covered withblack and white sand, like the rest of the shore--the sloping strandrunning up to the very base of the cliff, and trees and all traces ofvegetation having been washed away by the sudden inrush of the water. 

Jan Steenbock, whose place it was naturally to be our leader, but whohad been so superstitiously impressed by the belief that our calamitywas entirely owing to our having anything to do with the buccaneers'buried treasure, which he supposed, in accordance with the old Spanishlegend, to be accursed, now once more reinstated himself in our goodopinion, showing himself to be the sensible man that he always was, despite the fact of his having hitherto, from the cause stated, beenmore despondent than any of us. 

"My mans, " said he bravely, turning his back on the beach and away fromthe treacherous, smiling sea, "we moost not give vays to bat toughts andtings! Let us go inlants and do zometing dat vill make us dink ofzometing else! We vill go oop to dat blace vere ze groond vas blantedmit tings bedween ze hills, and zee if we can zee any bodatoes orbananes vot to eat; vor, as mein frent Sambo here zays, it vas goot tolook after ze grub, vor we hab no sheeps now to zupply us mitprovisions!"

This was sound advice, which we immediately acted on, our little quintetabandoning the shore, and following our leader again up the cliff to theold deserted plantation. This, it may be remembered, Tom and Hiram andI had first lighted on in our quest for the treasure before wediscovered the cave, but we now found out that Jan Steenbock had beenpreviously acquainted with it from being formerly on the island. 

Here we made a camp, bringing Sam's sailcloth from the cave, with a tinpot and other mess gear he had stowed away for his own use when inhiding there, and no one knew save Tom Bullover that he was anything buta ghost; and here, thenceforward, by the help of the tortoises, whoseflesh we fared on, with an occasional wild hog, when we were luckyenough to catch one, our meat diet being varied with the varioustropical vegetables which we found in the valley in profusion, we liveduntil the rainy season came on, when we went back again to the cave forshelter. 

It must not be thought, though, that our time was entirely spent ineating, or in devices how we should procure food, notwithstanding thatthis was the principal care of our solitary desert island life, like asin the case of most shipwrecked mariners. 

No, we had a greater purpose than this. 

It was the hope of escaping from our dismal exile, through the help ofsome coasting vessel bound up or down the Pacific, or to ports withinthe Gulf of Panama; and, in order to observe such passing craft weerected a signal station on the top of Mount Chalmers, and took it inturns to keep watch there throughout the day, with a bonfire hard by, ready to be kindled the moment a sail was sighted. 

Alas, our watch for weeks was in vain!

Sometimes we would see a ship in the distance, but she was generally toofar off to notice us; and our hearts would sink again to utterdespondency when this occurred, more than when we never noticed any sailat all, on our seeing her gradually melting away, until she would befinally lost in the mists of the sea and air. 

At last, however, one morning, about six months or so after the loss ofthe _Denver City_--I'm sure I cannot tell the precise date, for we beganthen to forget even the passage of time--Tom Bullover, who was on thelook-out, came rushing down the sloping side of the cliff like a madman, covering yards with each leap and bound he took in his rapid descent, looking as if he were flying. 

"A sail! a sail!" he shouted, as soon as he got near. "There's a shipin sight, and she's just entering the bay!"

"Vere?--vere?" cried Jan Steenbock, equally excited, running to meethim. "A sheep? You vas mat, mein pore vellow, --you vas mat!"

"Jee-rusalem--no, he ain't!" exclaimed Hiram, who, standing on thesummit of the little mound by the entrance to the cave, could seefurther out to sea than Jan from below. "Tom's all right. Hooray!It's a shep sure enuff, an' she's now tarnin' the p'int on the starboardside over thaar!"

With that we all looked now in this direction; and, oh, the blessedsight! There, as Hiram said, was a vessel under full sail rounding theopposite cliff and coming into the bay!

"My golly! I shell bust--I'se so glad!" cried poor Sam, dancing, andshouting, and laughing, and crying, all in one breath. "Bress de Lor'!Bress de Lor'!"

What I and the rest did to express our joy under the circumstances itwould be impossible to tell; but I'm pretty sure we were quite asextravagant in our actions and demeanour as the negro, --if not so heartyin our recognition of the all-wise Providence that had sent this ship toour rescue!

There is little more to add. 

The vessel soon cast anchor in the bay; and on her lowering a boat andreaching the beach where, as may be supposed, we eagerly awaited itscoming, we found out that she was a whaler, full of oil, and homewardbound to San Francisco, her captain putting in at Abingdon Island forfresh water and vegetables, as some of his crew were suffering fromscurvy, and they had run short of all tinned meat on board, having onlysalt provisions left. 

We were thus enabled to mutually accommodate each other, Hiram, and Sam, and Tom Bullover, soon fetching a big store of green stuff from ourplantation in the valley, besides securing a batch of tortoises for themen in the boat to kill and take on board; while Jan Steenbock and Iwent with the whaler's captain to point out our water-spring near thecave, where the doves' grove used to be, the stream from the hills stillfinding its way down there to the sea below, although the little lake, or pool, had become dried up by the accumulation of sand and the treesall disappeared. 

In return for these welcome supplies, the captain of the whaler gladlyagreed to give us all a free passage to `'Frisco'; although as I needhardly tell, he would have willingly done this without any suchconsideration at all, after hearing our story and being made acquaintedwith the strange and awful catastrophe that had befallen our ill-fatedship. 

But we were not altogether destitute. 

Our good fortune, if long in coming, smiled on us at the last; for, thevery morning of our departure from the island, a week after the whaler'sarrival, the captain remaining a few days longer than he first intendedin order to allow his sick hands to recover, Hiram, while routing out afew traps left in the cave to take on board with us, found, much to JanSteenbock's regret, --the second-mate saying it would bring us ill-luckagain--one of the little chests containing the buccaneers' treasure, which Captain Snaggs had left unwittingly behind him when he and MrFlinders cleared off with the rest, which they thought the entire lot. 

The box contained a number of gold ingots and silver dollars, which thewhaler captain said were worth `a heap of money, ' as he expressed it, though he would not take a penny of it for himself. 

The whaler skipper was an honest man, for he told Hiram Bangs and Tom, who tried to press a certain portion of the treasure on him as his due, that it all rightfully belonged to us, and that he should considerhimself a pitiful scoundrel if he took advantage of our misfortunes!

There--could anything be nobler than that?

"Guess not, " said Hiram; and, so we all agreed!

We had a capital voyage to San Francisco from the island, which we wereglad enough to lose sight of, with its lava cliffs and cactus plants, and other strange belongings in the animal and vegetable world, and, above all, its sad memories and associations in other ways to us; and nomore happy sailors ever landed from board ship than we five did who setfoot ashore in the `Golden State, ' as California is called, some threeodd summers ago. 

The whaler captain sold our treasure for us; and the share of each of uscame to a good round sum--I, though only a boy, being given by theothers a fourth share, just as if I had been a man, for Jan Steenbockrefused to touch any. 

My portion, when realised, amounted to over 400 pounds, a sum which, ifnot quite enough to set one up in life and enable one to stop working, was still `not to be sneezed at, ' as Tom Bullover remarked to meconfidentially, when we made our way eastwards from San Franciscotowards New York, by the Union Pacific line, a month or so afterwards. 

Hiram remained behind in California, saying he had gone through enoughsailoring, and intended trying something in the farming or mining line. But Tom, and Jan Steenbock, and I, with our old friend Sam, stucktogether to the end, taking a ship at New York for Liverpool, where wetouched English ground again, just a year almost to a day from the timewe started on our ill-starred voyage in the poor _Denver City_. 

All of us still see each other now and again, even Hiram meeting ussometimes, when he ships in a liner and comes `across the herring pond, 'having soon got tired of a life ashore. 

Our general rendezvous is a little shop kept by Sam Jedfoot, who hasmarried a wife, and supplies goods in the ship-chandling line to vesselsoutward bound; for the darkey has a large acquaintance amongst stewardsand such gentry who have the purchasing of the same, and being a generalfavourite with all this class of men--save and excepting Welshmen, whomhe detests most heartily, somehow or other!

I am now a grown-up sailor, too, like Tom Bullover, and he and I alwayssail together in the same ship. 

We are called the `two inseparables' by the brokers, for one of us willnever sign articles for a new vessel unless the other goes; and, when wecome off a voyage and land at Liverpool old town, as frequently is thecase, no sooner do we step ashore, at the Prince's Landing Stage or inthe docks, as may happen, than we `make tracks, ' to use Hiram Bang'sYankee lingo, for Sam Jedfoot's all-sorts shop, hard by in Water Street. 

Here, `you may bet your bottom dollar, ' adopting Hiram's favouritephrase again, we are always warmly welcomed by our old friend, thewhilom darkey cook of the lost _Denver City_, whose wife also greets uscordially whenever we drop in to visit her `good man, ' as she calls him. 

They are a happy couple, and much attached, though opposed in colour;and, here, of an evening, after the hearty spread which Sam invariablyinsists on preparing for our enjoyment, to show us that he has not lostpractice in his culinary profession, I believe, as well as from hisinnate sense of hospitality, the ex-cook will--as regularly as he wasaccustomed to do on board ship in his caboose, towards the end of thesecond dog-watch, when, you may recollect, the hands were allowed toskylark and divert themselves--take up his banjo, which is the identicalsame one that he brought home with him from Abingdon Island. 

The tune he always plays, the song he always sings, is thatwell-remembered one which none of us, his shipmates, can ever forget, bringing back as it does, with its plaintive refrain, every incident ofour memorable passage across the Atlantic and round Cape Horn--aye, andall the way up the Pacific to the Galapagos Isles. 

It is full of our past life, so pregnant with its strange perils andweird surroundings, and which ended in such a terrible catastrophe:--

 "Oh, down in Alabama, 'fore I wer sot free, I lubbed a p'ooty yaller gal, an' fought dat she lubbed me, But she am proob unconstant, an' leff me hyar to tell How my pore hart am breakin' far dat croo-el Nancy Bell!"

Sam's wife, too, although she isn't a `yaller girl, ' but, on thecontrary, as white as he is black, and Tom Bullover and I, with Hiramand Jan Steenbock--should either or both happen likewise to be ashore inLiverpool, and with us, of course, at the time--all, as regularly andunfailingly on such occasions join in the same old chorus. 

Don't you recollect it?

 "Den, cheer up, Sam! don't let your sperrits go down; Dere's many a gal dat I knows wal am waitin' fur you in de town!"

The ditty always winds up invariably, as in the old days at sea, withthe self-same sharp twang of the chords of the banjo at the end of thelast bar, that Sam used to give when sitting in the galley of the poor_Denver City_. 

"Ponk-a-tink-a-tong-tang. P-lang!"

I can hear it now. 

Bless you, I can never forget that tune--no, never--brimful as it iswith the memory of our ill-fated ship. 

THE END.