THE MYSTERY

BY

STEWART EDWARD WHITE

AND

SAMUEL HOPKINS ADAMS

_Illustrations by Will Crawford_

1907

CONTENTS

PART ONE

THE SEA RIDDLE

I. DESERT SEAS

II. THE "LAUGHING LASS"

III. THE DEATH SHIP

IV. THE SECOND PRIZE CREW

V. THE DISAPPEARANCE

VI. THE CASTAWAYS

VII. THE FREE LANCE

PART TWO

THE BRASS BOUND CHEST

_Being the story told by Ralph Slade, Free Lance, to the officers ofthe United States Cruiser "Wolverine"_

I. THE BARBARY COAST

II. THE GRAVEN IMAGE

III. THE TWELVE REPEATING RIFLES

IV. THE STEEL CLAW

V. THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

VI. THE ISLAND

VII. CAPTAIN SELOVER LOSES HIS NERVE

VIII. WRECKING OF THE "GOLDEN HORN"

IX. THE EMPTY BRANDY BOTTLE

X. CHANGE OF MASTERS

XI. THE CORROSIVE

XII. "OLD SCRUBS" COMES ASHORE

XIII. I MAKE MY ESCAPE

XIV. AN ADVENTURE IN THE NIGHT

XV. FIVE HUNDRED YARDS' RANGE

XVI. THE MURDER

XVII. THE OPEN SEA

XVIII. THE CATASTROPHE

PART THREE

THE MAROON

I. IN THE WARDROOM

II. THE JOLLY ROGER

III. THE CACHE

IV. THE TWIN SLABS

V. THE PINWHEEL VOLCANO

VI. MR. DARROW RECEIVES

VII. THE SURVIVORS

VIII. THE MAKER OF MARVELS

IX. THE ACHIEVEMENT

X. THE DOOM

ILLUSTRATIONS

"And you know a heap too much"

A schooner comporting herself in a manner uncommon on the Pacific

A man who was a bit of a mechanic was set to work to open the chest

Slowly the man defined himself as a shape takes form in a fog

"These sheep had become as wild as deer"

The firing now became miscellaneous. No one paid any attention to any oneelse

With a strangled cry the sailor cast the shirt from him

"Sorry not to have met you at the door, " he said courteously

PART ONE

THE SEA RIDDLE

I

DESERT SEAS

The late afternoon sky flaunted its splendour of blue and gold like abanner over the Pacific, across whose depths the trade wind droned inmeasured cadence. On the ocean's wide expanse a hulk wallowed sluggishly, the forgotten relict of a once brave and sightly ship, possibly theSphinx of some untold ocean tragedy, she lay black and forbidding in theordered procession of waves. Half a mile to the east of the derelicthovered a ship's cutter, the turn of her crew's heads speakingexpectancy. As far again beyond, the United States cruiser_Wolverine_ outlined her severe and trim silhouette against thehorizon. In all the spread of wave and sky no other thing was visible. For this was one of the desert parts of the Pacific, three hundred milesnorth of the steamship route from Yokohama to Honolulu, five hundredmiles from the nearest land, Gardner Island, and more than seven hundrednorthwest of the Hawaiian group. 

On the cruiser's quarter-deck the officers lined the starboard rail. Their interest was focussed on the derelict. 

"Looks like a heavy job, " said Ives, one of the junior lieutenants. "These floaters that lie with deck almost awash will stand more hammeringthan a mud fort. "

"Wish they'd let us put some six-inch shells into her, " said BillyEdwards, the ensign, a wistful expression on his big round cheerful face. "I'd like to see what they would do. "

"Nothing but waste a few hundred dollars of your Uncle Sam's money, "observed Carter, the officer of the deck. "It takes placed charges insideand out for that kind of work. "

"Barnett's the man for her then, " said Ives. "He's no economist when itcomes to getting results. There she goes!"

Without any particular haste, as it seemed to the watchers, the hulk wasshouldered out of the water, as by some hidden leviathan. Its outlinesmelted into a black, outshowering mist, and from that mist leaped agiant. Up, up, he towered, tossed whirling arms a hundred feet abranch, shivered, and dissolved into a widespread cataract. The water below waslashed into fury, in the midst of which a mighty death agony beat backthe troubled waves of the trade wind. Only then did the muffled doubleboom of the explosion reach the ears of the spectators, presently to befollowed by a whispering, swift-skimming wavelet that swept irresistiblyacross the bigger surges and lapped the ship's side, as for a messagethat the work was done. 

Here and there in the sea a glint of silver, a patch of purple, or dullred, or a glistening apparition of black showed where the unintendedvictims of the explosion, the gay-hued open-sea fish of the warm waters, had succumbed to the force of the shock. Of the intended victim there wasno sign save a few fragments of wood bobbing in a swirl of water. 

When Barnett, the ordnance officer in charge of the destruction, returnedto the ship, Carter complimented him. 

"Good clean job, Barnett. She was a tough customer, too. "

"What was she?" asked Ives. 

"The _Caroline Lemp_, three-masted schooner. Anyone know about her?"

Ives turned to the ship's surgeon, Trendon, a grizzled and brief-spokenveteran, who had at his finger's tips all the lore of all the watersunder the reign of the moon. 

"What does the information bureau of the Seven Seas know about it?"

"Lost three years ago--spring of 1901--got into ice field off the tip ofthe Aleutians. Some of the crew froze. Others got ashore. Part ofsurvivors accounted for. Others not. Say they've turned native. Don'tknow myself. "

"The Aleutians!" exclaimed Billy Edwards. "Great Cats! What a drift! Howmany thousand miles would that be?"

"Not as far as many another derelict has wandered in her time, son, " saidBarnett. 

The talk washed back and forth across the hulks of classic sea mysteries, new and old; of the _City of Boston_, which went down with allhands, leaving for record only a melancholy scrawl on a bit of board tomeet the wondering eyes of a fisherman on the far Cornish coast; of the_Great Queensland_, which set out with five hundred and sixty-ninesouls aboard, bound by a route unknown to a tragic end; of the_Naronic_, with her silent and empty lifeboats alone left, driftingabout the open sea, to hint at the story of her fate; of the_Huronian_, which, ten years later, on the same day and date, andhailing from the same port as the _Naronic_, went out into the void, leaving no trace; of Newfoundland captains who sailed, roaring withdrink, under the arches of cathedral bergs, only to be prisoned, buried, and embalmed in the one icy embrace; of craft assailed by the terribleone-stroke lightning clouds of the Indian Ocean, found days after, stoneblind, with their crews madly hauling at useless sheets, while theofficers clawed the compass and shrieked; of burnings and piracies; ofpest ships and slave ships, and ships mad for want of water; of whelmingearthquake waves, and mysterious suctions, drawing irresistibly againstwind and steam power upon unknown currents; of stout hulks deserted inpanic although sound and seaworthy; and of others so swiftly dragged downthat there was no time for any to save himself; and of a hundred otherstrange, stirring and pitiful ventures such as make up the inevitableperil and incorrigible romance of the ocean. In a pause Billy Edwardssaid musingly:

"Well, there was the _Laughing Lass_. "

"How did you happen to hit on her?" asked Barnett quickly. 

"Why not, sir? It naturally came into my head. She was last seensomewhere about this part of the world, wasn't she?" After a moment'shesitation he added: "From something I heard ashore I judge we've acommission to keep a watch out for her as well as to destroy derelicts. "

"What about the _Laughing Lass_?" asked McGuire, the paymaster, aNew Englander, who had been in the service but a short time. 

"Good Lord! don't you remember the _Laughing Lass_ mystery and thedisappearance of Doctor Schermerhorn?"

"Karl Augustus Schermerhorn, the man whose experiments to identifytelepathy with the Marconi wireless waves made such a furore in thepapers?"

"Oh, that was only a by-product of his mind. He was an originalinvestigator in every line of physics and chemistry, besides most of thenatural sciences, " said Barnett. "The government is particularlyinterested in him because of his contributions to aërial photography. "

"And he was lost with the _Laughing Lass_?"

"Nobody knows, " said Edwards. "He left San Francisco two years ago on ahundred-foot schooner, with an assistant, a big brass-bound chest, and aragamuffin crew. A newspaper man named Slade, who dropped out of theworld about the same time, is supposed to have gone along, too. Theirschooner was last sighted about 450 miles northeast of Oahu, in goodshape, and bound westward. That's all the record of her that there is. "

"Was that Ralph Slade?" asked Barnett. 

"Yes. He was a free-lance writer and artist. "

"I knew him well, " said Barnett. "He was in our mess in the Philippinecampaign, on the _North Dakota_. War correspondent then. It'sstrange that I never identified him before with the Slade of the_Laughing Lass_. "

"What was the object of the voyage?" asked Ives. 

"They were supposed to be after buried treasure, " said Barnett. 

"I've always thought it more likely that Doctor Schermerhorn was on ascientific expedition, " said Edwards. "I knew the old boy, and he wasn'tthe sort to care a hoot in Sheol for treasure, buried or unburied. "

"Every time a ship sets out from San Francisco without publishing to allthe world just what her business is, all the world thinks it's one ofthose wild-goose hunts, " observed Ives. 

"Yes, " agreed Barnett. "Flora and fauna of some unknown island would bemuch more in the Schermerhorn line of traffic. Not unlikely that some ofthe festive natives collected the unfortunate professor. "

Various theories were advanced, withdrawn, refuted, defended, and thediscussion carried them through the swift twilight into the darknesswhich had been hastened by a high-spreading canopy of storm-clouds. Abruptly from the crow's-nest came startling news for those desolateseas: "Light--ho! Two points on the port bow. "

The lookout had given extra voice to it. It was plainly heard throughoutthe ship. 

The group of officers stared in the direction indicated, but could seenothing. Presently Ives and Edwards, who were the keenest-sighted, madeout a faint, suffused radiance. At the same time came a second hail fromthe crow's-nest. 

"On deck, sir. "

"Hello, " responded Carter, the officer of the deck. 

"There's a light here I can't make anything out of, sir. "

"What's it like?"

"Sort of a queer general glow. "

"General glow, indeed!" muttered Forsythe, among the group aft. "Thatfellow's got an imagination. "

"Can't you describe it better than that?" called Carter. 

"Don't make it out at all, sir. 'Tain't any regular and proper light. Looks like a lamp in a fog. "

Among themselves the officers discussed it interestedly, as it grewplainer. 

"Not unlike the electric glow above a city, seen from a distance, " saidBarnett, as it grew plainer. 

"Yes: but the nearest electric-lighted city is some eight hundred milesaway, " objected Ives. 

"Mirage, maybe, " suggested Edwards. 

"Pretty hard-working mirage, to cover that distance" said Ives. "ThoughI've seen 'em----"

"Great heavens! Look at that!" shouted Edwards. 

A great shaft of pale brilliance shot up toward the zenith. Under itwhirled a maelstrom of varied radiance, pale with distance, butmarvellously beautiful. Forsythe passed them with a troubled face, on hisway below to report, as his relief went up. 

"The quartermaster reports the compass behaving queerly, " he said. 

Three minutes later the captain was on the bridge. The great ship hadswung, and they were speeding direct for the phenomenon. But within a fewminutes the light had died out. 

"Another sea mystery to add to our list, " said Billy Edwards. "Did anyoneever see a show like that before? What do you think, Doc?"

"Humph!" grunted the veteran. "New to me. Volcanic, maybe. "

II

THE _LAUGHING LASS_

The falling of dusk on June the 3d found tired eyes aboard the_Wolverine_. Every officer in her complement had kept a private andpersonal lookout all day for some explanation of the previous night'sphenomenon. All that rewarded them were a sky filmed with lofty clouds, and the holiday parade of the epauletted waves. 

Nor did evening bring a repetition of that strange glow. Midnight foundthe late stayers still deep in the discussion. 

"One thing is certain, " said Ives. "It wasn't volcanic. "

"Why so?" asked the paymaster. 

"Because volcanoes are mostly stationary, and we headed due for thatlight. "

"Yes; but did we keep headed?" said Barnett, who was navigating officeras well as ordnance officer, in a queer voice. 

"What do you mean, sir?" asked Edwards eagerly. 

"After the light disappeared the compass kept on varying. The stars werehidden. There is no telling just where we were headed for some time. "

"Then we might be fifty miles from the spot we aimed at. "

"Hardly that, " said the navigator. "We could guide her to some extent bythe direction of wind and waves. If it was volcanic we ought certainly tohave sighted it by now. "

"Always some electricity in volcanic eruptions, " said Trendon. "Makescompass cut didoes. Seen it before. "

"Where?" queried Carter. 

"Off Martinique. Pelée eruption. Needle chased its tail like a kitten. "

"Are there many volcanoes hereabouts?" somebody asked. 

"We're in 162 west, 31 north, about, " said Barnett. "No telling whetherthere are or not. There weren't at last accounts, but that's no evidencethat there aren't some since. They come up in the night, these volcanicislands. "

"Just cast an eye on the charts, " said Billy Edwards. "Full of E. D. 'sand P. D. 's all over the shop. Every one of 'em volcanic. "

"E. D. 's and P. D. 's?" queried the paymaster. 

"Existence doubtful, and position doubtful, " explained the ensign. "Everytime the skipper of one of these wandering trade ships gets a speck inhis eye, he reports an island. If he really does bump into a rock he cutsin an arithmetic book for his latitude and longitude and lets it go atthat. That's how the chart makers make a living, getting out new editionsevery few months. "

"But it's a fact that these seas are constantly changing, " said Barnett. "They're so little travelled that no one happens to be around to see anisland born. I don't suppose there's a part on the earth's surface moreliable to seismic disturbances than this region. "

"Seismic!" cried Billy Edwards, "I should say it was seismic! Why, when anative of one of these island groups sets his heart on a particular loafof bread up his bread-fruit tree, he doesn't bother to climb after it. Just waits for some earthquake to happen along and shake it down to him. "

"Good boy, Billy, " said Dr. Trendon, approvingly. "Do another. "

"It's a fact, " said the ensign, heatedly. "Why, a couple of years backthere was a trader here stocked up with a lot of belly-mixture inbottles. Thought he was going to make his pile because there'd been acolic epidemic in the islands the season before. Bottles were labelled'Do not shake. ' That settled his business. Might as well have marked 'em'Keep frozen' in this part of the world. Fellow went broke. "

"In any case, " said Barnett, "such a glow as that we sighted last nightI've never seen from any volcano. "

"Nor I, " said Trendon. "Don't prove it mightn't have been. "

"I'll just bet the best dinner in San Francisco that it isn't, " saidEdwards. 

"You're on, " said Carter. 

"Let me in, " suggested Ives. 

"And I'll take one of it, " said McGuire. 

"Come one, come all, " said Edwards cheerily. "I'll live high on thecollective bad judgment of this outfit. "

"To-night isn't likely to settle it, anyhow, " said Ives. "I move we turnin. "

Expectant minds do not lend themselves to sound slumber. All night theofficers of the _Wolverine_ slept on the verge of waking, but it wasnot until dawn that the cry of "Sail-ho!" sent them all hurrying to theirclothes. Ordinarily officers of the U. S. Navy do not scuttle on deck likea crowd of curious schoolgirls, but all hands had been keyed to a highpitch over the elusive light, and the bet with Edwards now served as anexcuse for the betrayal of unusual eagerness. Hence the quarter-deck wassoon alive with men who were wont to be deep in dreams at that hour. 

They found Carter, whose watch on deck it was, reprimanding the lookout. 

"No, sir, " the man was insisting, "she didn't show no light, sir. I'd 'a'sighted her an hour ago, sir, if she had. "

"We shall see, " said Carter grimly. "Who's your relief?"

"Sennett. "

"Let him take your place. Go aloft, Sennett. "

As the lookout, crestfallen and surly, went below, Barnett said insubdued tones:

"Upon my word, I shouldn't be surprised if the man were right. Certainlythere's something queer about that hooker. Look how she handles herself. "

The vessel was some three miles to windward. She was a schooner of thecommon two-masted Pacific type, but she was comporting herself in amanner uncommon on the Pacific, or any other ocean. Even as Barnettspoke, she heeled well over, and came rushing up into the wind, where shestood with all sails shaking. Slowly she paid off again, bearing awayfrom them. Now she gathered full headway, yet edged little by little towindward again. 

"Mighty queer tactics, " muttered Edwards. "I think she's steeringherself. "

"Good thing she carries a weather helm, " commented Ives, who was anexpert on sailing rigs. "Most of that type do. Otherwise she'd have jibedher masts out, running loose that way. "

Captain Parkinson appeared on deck and turned his glasses for a fullminute on the strange schooner. 

"Aloft there, " he hailed the crow's-nest. "Do you make out anyoneaboard?"

"No, sir, " came the answer. 

"Mr. Carter, have the chief quartermaster report on deck with the signalflags. "

"Yes, sir. "

"Aren't we going to run up to her?" asked McGuire, turning in surprise toEdwards. 

"And take the risk of getting a hole punched in our pretty paint, withher running amuck that way? Not much!"

Up came the signal quartermaster to get his orders, and there ensued aone-sided conversation in the pregnant language of the sea. 

"What ship is that?"

No answer. 

"Are you in trouble?" asked the cruiser, and waited. The schooner showeda bare and silent main-peak. 

"Heave to. " Now Uncle Sam was giving orders. 

But the other paid no heed. 

"We'll make that a little more emphatic, " said Captain Parkinson. Amoment later there was the sharp crash of a gun and a shot went acrossthe bows of the sailing vessel. Hastened by a flaw of wind that veeredfrom the normal direction of the breeze the stranger made sharply towindward, as if to obey. 

"Ah, there she comes, " ran the comment along the cruiser's quarter-deck. 

But the schooner, after standing for a moment, all flapping, answeredanother flaw, and went wide about on the opposite tack. 

"Derelict, " remarked Captain Parkinson. "She seems to be in good shape, too, Dr. Trendon!"

"Yes, sir. " The surgeon went to the captain, and the others could hearhis deep, abrupt utterance in reply to some question too low for theirears. 

"Might be, sir. Beri-beri, maybe. More likely smallpox if anything ofthat kind. But _some_ of 'em would be on deck. "

"Whew! A plague ship!" said Billy Edwards. "Just my luck to be ordered toboard her. " He shivered slightly. 

"Scared, Billy?" said Ives. Edwards had a record for daring which madethis joke obvious enough to be safe. 

"I wouldn't want to have my peculiar style of beauty spoiled by smallpoxmarks, " said the ensign, with a smile on his homely, winning face. "AndI've a hunch that that ship is not a lucky find for this ship. "

"Then I've a hunch that your hunch is a wrong one, " said Ives. "How longwould you guess that craft to be?"

[Illustration: A schooner comporting herself in a manner uncommon on thePacific]

They were now within a mile of the schooner. Edwards scrutinised hercalculatingly. 

"Eighty to ninety feet. "

"Say 150 tons. And she's a two-masted schooner, isn't she?" continuedIves, insinuatingly. 

"She certainly is. "

"Well, I've a hunch that that ship is a lucky find for any ship, butparticularly for this ship. "

"Great Caesar!" cried the ensign excitedly. "Do you think it's_her_?"

A buzz of electric interest went around the group. Every glass wasraised; every eye strained toward her stern to read the name as sheveered into the wind again. About she came. A sharp sigh of exciteddisappointment exhaled from the spectators. The name had been paintedout. 

"No go, " breathed Edwards. "But I'll bet another dinner----"

"Mr. Edwards, " called the captain. "You will take the second cutter, board that schooner, and make a full investigation. "

"Yes, sir. "

"Take your time. Don't come alongside until she is in the wind. Leaveenough men aboard to handle her. "

"Yes, sir. "

The cruiser steamed to within half a mile of the aimless traveller, andthe small boat put out. Not one of his fellows but envied the youngensign as he left the ship, steered by Timmins, a veteran bo's'n's mate, wise in all the ins and outs of sea ways. They saw him board, neatlyrunning the small boat under the schooner's counter; they saw theforesheet eased off and the ship run up into the wind; then the foresaildropped and the wheel lashed so that she would stand so. They awaited thereappearance of Edwards and the bo's'n's mate when they had vanishedbelow decks, and with an intensity of eagerness they followed the returnof the small boat. 

Billy Edwards's face as he came on deck was a study. It was alight withexcitement; yet between the eyes two deep wrinkles of puzzlementquivered. Such a face the mathematician bends above his paper when someobstructive factor arises between him and his solution. 

"Well, sir?" There was a hint of effort at restraint in the captain'svoice. 

"She's the _Laughing Lass_, sir. Everything ship-shape, but not asoul aboard. "

"Come below, Mr. Edwards, " said the captain. And they went, leavingbehind them a boiling cauldron of theory and conjecture. 

III

THE DEATH SHIP

Billy Edwards came on deck with a line of irritation right-angling thefurrows between his eyes. 

"Go ahead, " the quarter-deck bade him, seeing him aflush withinformation. 

"The captain won't believe me, " blurted out Edwards. 

"Is it as bad as that?" asked Barnett, smiling. 

"It certainly is, " replied the younger man seriously. "I don't know thatI blame him. I'd hardly believe it myself if I hadn't----"

"Oh, go on. Out with it. Give us the facts. Never mind your credibility. "

"The facts are that there lies the _Laughing Lass_, a littleweather-worn, but sound as a dollar, and not a living being aboard ofher. Her boats are all there. Everything's in good condition, though nonetoo orderly. Pitcher half full of fresh water in the rack. Sails all O. K. Ashes of the galley fire still warm. I tell you, gentlemen, that shiphasn't been deserted more than a couple of days at the outside. "

"Are you sure all the boats are there?" asked Ives. 

"Dory, dingy, and two surf boats. Isn't that enough?"

"Plenty. "

"Been over her, inside and out. No sign of collision. No leak. Noanything, except that the starboard side is blistered a bit. No evidenceof fire anywhere else. I tell you, " said Billy Edwards pathetically, "it's given me a headache. "

"Perhaps it's one of those cases of panic that Forsythe spoke of theother night, " said Ives. "The crew got frightened at something and ranaway, with the devil after them. "

"But crews don't just step out and run around the corner and hide, whenthey're scared, " objected Barnett. 

"That's true, too, " assented Ives. "Well, perhaps that volcanic eruptionjarred them so that they jumped for it. "

"Pretty wild theory, that, " said Edwards. 

"No wilder than the facts, as you give them, " was the retort. 

"That's so, " admitted the ensign gloomily. 

"But how about pestilence?" suggested Barnett. 

"Maybe they died fast and the last survivor, after the bodies of the restwere overboard, got delirious and jumped after them. "

"Not if the galley fire was hot, " said Dr. Trendon, briefly. "No;pestilence doesn't work that way. "

"Did you look at the wheel, Billy?" asked Ives. 

"Did I! There's another thing. Wheel's all right, but compass is no goodat all. It's regularly bewitched. "

"What about the log, then?"

"Couldn't find it anywhere. Hunted high, low, jack, and the game;everywhere except in the big, brass-bound chest I found in the captain'scabin. Couldn't break into that. "

"Dr. Schermerhorn's chest!" exclaimed Barnett. "Then he was aboard. "

"Well, he isn't aboard now, " said the ensign grimly. "Not in the flesh. And that's all, " he added suddenly. 

"No; it isn't all, " said Barnett gently. "There's something else. Captain's orders?"

"Oh, no. Captain Parkinson doesn't take enough stock in my report to tellme to withhold anything, " said Edwards, with a trace of bitterness in hisvoice. "It's nothing that I believe myself, anyhow. "

"Give _us_ a chance to believe it, " said Ives. 

"Well, " said the ensign hesitantly, "there's a sort of atmosphere aboutthat schooner that's almost uncanny. "

"Oh, you had the shudders before you were ordered to board, " banteredIves. 

"I know it. I'd have thought it was one of those fool presentiments if Iwere the only one to feel it. But the men were affected, too. They kepttogether like frightened sheep. And I heard one say to another: 'Hey, Boney, d'you feel like someone was a-buzzin' your nerves like afiddle-string?' Now, " demanded Edwards plaintively, "what right has ajackie to have nerves?"

"That's strange enough about the compass, " said Barnett slowly. "Ours isall right again. The schooner must have been so near the electricdisturbance that her instruments were permanently deranged. "

"That would lend weight to the volcanic theory, " said Carter. 

"So the captain didn't take kindly to your go-look-see?" questioned Ivesof Edwards. 

"As good as told me I'd missed the point of the thing, " said the ensign, flushing. "Perhaps he can make more of it himself. At any rate, he'sgoing to try. Here he is now. "

"Dr. Trendon, " said the captain, appearing. "You will please to go withme to the schooner. "

"Yes, sir, " said the surgeon, rising from his chair with such alacrity asto draw from Ives the sardonic comment:

"Why, I actually believe old Trendon is excited. "

For two hours after the departure of the captain and Trendon there weredull times on the quarter-deck of the _Wolverine_. Then the surgeoncame back to them. 

"Billy was right, " he said. 

"But he didn't tell us anything, " cried Ives. "He didn't clear up themystery. "

"That's what, " said Trendon. "One thing Billy said, " he added, waxingunusually prolix for him, "was truer than maybe he knew. "

"Thanks, " murmured the ensign. "What was that?"

"You said 'Not a living being aboard. ' Exact words, hey?"

"Well, what of it?" exclaimed the ensign excitedly. "You don't mean youfound dead----?"

"Keep your temperature down, my boy. No. You were exactly right. Not aliving being aboard. "

"Thanks for nothing, " retorted the ensign. 

"Neither human nor other, " pursued Trendon. 

"What!"

"Food scattered around the galley. Crumbs on the mess table. Ever see awooden ship without cockroaches?"

"Never particularly investigated the matter. "

"Don't believe such a thing exists, " said Ives. 

"Not a cockroach on the _Laughing Lass_. Ever know of an old hookerthat wasn't overrun with rats?"

"No; nor anyone else. Not above water. "

"Found a dozen dead rats. No sound or sign of a live one on the_Laughing Lass_. No rats, no mice. No bugs. Gentlemen, the_Laughing Lass_ is a charnel ship. "

"No wonder Billy's tender nerves went wrong. " said Ives, withirrepressible flippancy. "She's probably haunted by cockroach wraiths. "

"He'll have a chance to see, " said Trendon. "Captain's going to put himin charge. "

"By way of apology, then, " said Barnett. "That's pretty square. "

"Captain Parkinson wishes to see you in his cabin, Mr. Edwards, " said anorderly, coming in. 

"A pleasant voyage, Captain Billy, " said Ives. "Sing out if the goblinsgit yer. "

Fifteen minutes later Ensign Edwards, with a quartermaster, Timmins, thebo's'n's mate, and a crew, was heading a straight course toward his firstcommand, with instructions to "keep company and watch for signals"; andintention to break into the brass-bound chest and ferret out what cluelay there, if it took dynamite. As he boarded, Barnett and Trendon, withboth of whom the lad was a favourite, came to a sinister conclusion. 

"It's poison, I suppose, " said the first officer. 

"And a mighty subtle sort, " agreed Trendon. "Don't like the looks of it. "He shook a solemn head. "Don't like it for a damn. "

IV

THE SECOND PRIZE CREW

In semi-tropic Pacific weather the unexpected so seldom happens as to bea negligible quantity. The _Wolverine_ met with it on June 5th. Fromsome unaccountable source in that realm of the heaven-scouring tradescame a heavy mist. Possibly volcanic action, deranging by its electricand gaseous outpourings the normal course of the winds, had given birthto it. Be that as it may, it swept down upon the cruiser, thickening asit approached, until presently it had spread a curtain between thewarship and its charge. The wind died. Until after fall of night the_Wolverine_ moved slowly, bellowing for the schooner, but got noreply. Once they thought they heard a distant shout of response, butthere was no repetition. 

"Probably doesn't carry any fog horn, " said Carter bitterly, voicing ageneral uneasiness. 

"No log; compass crazy; without fog signal; I don't like that craft. Barnett ought to have been ordered to blow the damned thing up, as aperil to the high seas. "

"We'll pick her up in the morning, surely, " said Forsythe. "This can'tlast for ever. "

Nor did it last long. An hour before midnight a pounding shower fell, lashing the sea into phosphorescent whiteness. It ceased, and with thegrowl of a leaping animal a squall furiously beset the ship. Soon thegreat steel body was plunging and heaving in the billows. It was a gloomycompany about the wardroom table. Upon each and all hung an oppression ofspirit. Captain Parkinson came from his cabin and went on deck. Constitutionally he was a nervous and pessimistic man with a fixed beliefin the conspiracy of events, banded for the undoing of him and his. Blindor dubious conditions racked his soul, but real danger found him not onlyprepared, but even eager. Now his face was a picture of foreboding. 

"Parky looks as if Davy Jones was pulling on his string, " observed theflippant Ives to his neighbour. 

"Worrying about the schooner. Hope Billy Edwards saw or heard or feltthat squall coming, " replied Forsythe, giving expression to the anxietythat all felt. 

"He's a good sailor man, " said Ives, "and that's a staunch littleschooner, by the way she handled herself. "

"Oh, it will be all right, " said Carter confidently. "The wind'smoderating now. "

"But there's no telling how far out of the course this may have blownhim. "

Barnett came down, dripping. 

"Anything new?" asked Dr. Trendon. 

The navigating officer shook his head. 

"Nothing. But the captain's in a state of mind, " he said. 

"What's wrong with him?"

"The schooner. Seems possessed with the notion that there's somethingwrong with her. "

"Aren't you feeling a little that way yourself?" said Forsythe. "I am. I'll take a look around before I turn in. "

He left behind him a silent crowd. His return was prompt and swift. 

"Come on deck, " he said. 

Every man leaped as to an order. There was that in Forsythe's voice whichstung. The weather had cleared somewhat, though scudding wrack still blewacross them to the westward. The ship rolled heavily. Of the sea naughtwas visible except the arching waves, but in the sky they beheld again, with a sickening sense of disaster, that pale and lovely glow which hadso bewildered them two nights before. 

"The aurora!" cried McGuire, the paymaster. 

"Oh, certainly, " replied Ives, with sarcasm. "Dead in the west. Commonspot for the aurora. Particularly on the edge of the South Seas, wherethey are thick!"

"Then what is it?"

Nobody had an answer. Carter hastened forward and returned to report. 

"It's electrical anyway, " said Carter. "The compass is queer again. "

"Edwards ought to be close to the solution of it, " ventured Ives. "Thisgale should have blown him just about to the centre of interest. "

"If only he isn't involved in it, " said Carter anxiously. 

"What could there be to involve him?" asked McGuire. 

"I don't know, " said Carter slowly. "Somehow I feel as if the desertionof the schooner was in some formidable manner connected with that light. "

For perhaps fifteen minutes the glow continued. It seemed to be nearer athand than on the former sighting; but it took no comprehensible form. Then it died away and all was blackness again. But the officers of the_Wolverine_ had long been in troubled slumber before the sensitivecompass regained its exact balance, and with the shifting wind to misleadher, the cruiser had wandered, by morning, no man might know how far fromher course. 

All day long of June 6th the _Wolverine_, baffled by patches of mistand moving rain-squalls, patrolled the empty seas without sighting thelost schooner. The evening brought an envelope of fog again, andpresently a light breeze came up from the north. An hour of it had failedto disperse the mist, when there was borne down to the warship a flappingsound as of great wings. The flapping grew louder--waned--ceased--andfrom the lookout came a hail. 

"Ship's lights three points on the starboard quarter. "

"What do you make it out to be?" came the query from below. 

"Green light's all I can see, sir. " There was a pause. 

"There's her port light, now. Looks to be turning and bearing down on us, sir. Coming dead for us"--the man's voice rose--"close aboard; less'n twoship's lengths away!"

As for a prearranged scene, the fog-curtain parted. There loomed silentlyand swiftly the _Laughing Lass_. Down she bore upon the greatervessel until it seemed as if she must ram; but all the time she wasveering to windward, and now she ran into the wind with a castanet rattleof sails. So close aboard was she that the eager eyes of Uncle Sam's menpeered down upon her empty decks--for she was void of life. 

Behind the cruiser's blanketing she paid off very slowly, but presentlycaught the breeze full and again whitened the water at her prow. Forgetting regulations, Ives hailed loudly:

"Ahoy, _Laughing Lass_! Ahoy, Billy Edwards!"

No sound, no animate motion came from aboard that apparition, as she fellastern. A shudder of horror ran across the _Wolverine_'squarter-deck. A wraith ship, peopled with skeletons, would have been lessdreadful to their sight than the brisk and active desolation of theheeling schooner. 

"Been deserted since early last night, " said Trendon hoarsely. 

"How can you tell that?" asked Barnett. 

"Both sails reefed down. Ready for that squall. Been no weather since tocall for reefs. Must have quit her during the squall. "

"Then they jumped, " cried Carter, "for I saw her boats. It isn'tbelievable. "

"Neither was the other, " said Trendon grimly. 

A hurried succession of orders stopped further discussion for the time. Ives was sent aboard the schooner to lower sail and report. He came backwith a staggering dearth of information. The boats were all there; theship was intact--as intact as when Billy Edwards had taken charge--butthe cheery, lovable ensign and his men had vanished without trace orclue. As to the how or the wherefore they might rack their brains withoutguessing. There was the beginning of a log in the ensign's handwriting, which Ives had found with high excitement and read with bitterdisappointment. 

"Had squall from northeast, " it ran. "Double reefed her and she took itnicely. Seems a seaworthy, quick ship. Further search for log. No result. Have ordered one of crew who is a bit of a mechanic to work at thebrass-bound chest till he gets it open. He reports marks on the lock asif somebody had been trying to pick it before him. "

There was no further entry. 

"Dr. Trendon is right, " said Barnett. "Whatever happened--and God onlyknows what it could have been--it happened just after the squall. "

"Just about the time of the strange glow, " cried Ives. 

It was decided that two men and a petty officer should be sent aboard the_Laughing Lass_ to make her fast with a cable, and remain on boardover night. But when the order was given the men hung back. One of themprotested brokenly that he was sick. Trendon, after examination, reportedto the captain. 

"Case of blue funk, sir. Might as well be sick. Good for nothing. Othersaren't much better. "

"Who was to be in charge?"

"Congdon, " replied the doctor, naming one of the petty officers. 

"He's my coxswain, " said Captain Parkinson. "A first-class man. I canhardly believe that he is afraid. We'll see. "

[Illustration: A man who was a bit of a mechanic was set to work to openthe chest]

Congdon was sent for. 

"You're ordered aboard the schooner for the night, Congdon, " said thecaptain. 

"Yes, sir. "

"Is there any reason why you do not wish to go?"

The man hesitated, looking miserable. Finally he blurted out, not withouta certain dignity:

"I obey orders, sir. "

"Speak out, my man, " urged the captain kindly. 

"Well, sir: it's Mr. Edwards, then. You couldn't scare him off a ship, sir, unless it was something--something----"

He stopped, failing of the word. 

"You know what Mr. Edwards was, sir, for pluck, " he concluded. 

"_Was_!" cried the captain sharply. "What do you mean?

"The schooner got him, sir. You don't make no doubt of that, do you, sir?" The man spoke in a hushed voice, with a shrinking glance back ofhim. 

"Will you go aboard under Mr. Ives?"

"Anywhere my officer goes I'll go, and gladly, sir. "

Ives was sent aboard in charge. For that night, in a light breeze, thetwo ships lay close together, the schooner riding jauntily astern. Butnot until morning illumined the world of waters did the_Wolverine_'s people feel confident that the _Laughing Lass_would not vanish away from their ken like a shape of the mist. 

V

THE DISAPPEARANCE

When Barnett come on deck very early in the morning of June 7th, he foundDr. Trendon already up and staring moodily out at the _LaughingLass_. As the night was calm the tow had made fair time toward theirport in the Hawaiian group. The surgeon was muttering something whichseemed to Barnett to be in a foreign tongue. 

"Thought out any clue, doctor?" asked the first officer. 

"_Petit Chel_--Pshaw! _Jolie Celimene!_ No, " muttered Trendon. "_Marie--Marie_--I've got it! The _Marie Celeste_. "

"Got what? What about her?"

"Parallel case, " said Trendon. "Sailed from New York back in theseventies. Seven weeks out was found derelict. Everything in perfectorder. Captain's wife's hem on the machine. Boats all accounted for. Nosign of struggle. Log written to within forty-eight hours. "

"What became of the crew?"

"Wish I could tell you. Might help to unravel our tangle. " He shook hishead in sudden, unwonted passion. 

"Evidently there's something criminal in her record, " said Barnett, frowning at the fusty schooner astern. "Otherwise the name wouldn't bepainted out. "

"Painted out long ago. See how rusty it is. Schermerhorn's work maybe, "replied Trendon. "Secret expedition, remember. "

"In the name of wonders, why should he do it?"

"Secret expedition, wasn't it?"

"Um-ah; that's true, " said the other thoughtfully. "It's quite possible. "

"Captain wishes to see both of you gentlemen in the ward room, if youplease, " came a message. 

Below they found all the officers gathered. Captain Parkinson was pacingup and down in ill-controlled agitation. 

"Gentlemen, " he said, "we are facing a problem which, so far as I know, is without parallel. It is my intention to bring the schooner which wehave in tow to port at Honolulu. In the present unsettled weather wecannot continue to tow her. I wish two officers to take charge. Under thecircumstances I shall issue no orders. The duty must be voluntary. "

Instantly every man, from the veteran Trendon to the youthful paymaster, volunteered. 

"That is what I expected, " said Captain Parkinson quietly. "But I havestill a word to say. I make no doubt in my own mind that the schooner hastwice been beset by the gravest of perils. Nothing less would have drivenMr. Edwards from his post. All of us who know him will appreciate that. Nor can I free myself from the darkest forebodings as to his fate andthat of his companions. But as to the nature of the peril I am unable tomake any conjecture worthy of consideration. Has anyone a theory tooffer?"

There was a dead silence. 

"Mr. Barnett? Dr. Trendon? Mr. Ives?"

"Is there not possibly some connection between the unexplained lightwhich we have twice seen, and the double desertion of the ship?"suggested the first officer, after a pause. 

"I have asked myself that over and over. Whatever the source of the lightand however near to it the schooner may have been, she is evidentlyunharmed. "

"Yes, sir, " said Barnett. "That seems to vitiate that explanation. "

"I thank you, gentlemen, for the promptitude of your offers, " continuedthe captain. "In this respect you make my duty the more difficult. Ishall accept Mr. Ives because of his familiarity with sailing craft andwith these seas. " His eyes ranged the group. 

"I beg your pardon, Captain Parkinson, " eagerly put in the paymaster, "but I've handled a schooner yacht for several years and I'd appreciatethe chance of----"

"Very well, Mr. McGuire, you shall be the second in command. "

"Thank you, sir. "

"You gentlemen will pick a volunteer crew and go aboard at once. Spare noeffort to find records of the schooner's cruise. Keep in company andwatch for signals. Report at once any discovery or unusual incident, however slight. "

Not so easily was a crew obtained. Having in mind the excusablesuperstition of the men, Captain Parkinson was unwilling to compel any ofthem to the duty. Awed by the mystery of their mates' disappearance, thesailors hung back. Finally by temptation of extra prize money, acomplement was made up. 

At ten o'clock of a puffy, mist-laden morning a new and strong crew ofnine men boarded the _Laughing Lass_. There were no farewells amongthe officers. Forebodings weighed too heavy for such open expression. 

All the fates of weather seemed to combine to part the schooner from herconvoy. As before, the fog fell, only to be succeeded by squallyrain-showers that cut out the vista into a checkerboard pattern ofvisible sea and impenetrable greyness. Before evening the _LaughingLass_, making slow way through the mists, had become separated by aleague of waves from the cruiser. One glimpse of her between mist areasthe _Wolverines_ caught at sunset. Then wind and rain descended infurious volume from the southeast. The cruiser immediately headed about, following the probable course of her charge, which would be beaten fardown to leeward. It was a gloomy mess on the warship. In his cabin, Captain Parkinson was frankly sea-sick: a condition which nothing but theextreme of nervous depression ever induced in him. 

For several hours the rain fell and the gale howled. Then the sky swiftlycleared, and with the clearing there rose a great cry of amaze from stemto stern of the _Wolverine_. For far toward the western horizonappeared such a prodigy as the eye of no man aboard that ship had everbeheld. From a belt of marvellous, glowing gold, rich and splendidstreamers of light spiralled up into the blackness of the heavens. 

In all the colours of the spectrum they rose and fell; blazing orange, silken, wonderful, translucent blues, and shimmering reds. Below, a broadband of paler hue, like sheet lightning fixed to rigidity, wavered andrippled. All the auroras of the northland blended in one could but havepaled away before the splendour of that terrific celestial apparition. 

On board the cruiser all hands stood petrified, bound in a stricture ofspeechless wonder. After the first cry, silence lay leaden over the ship. It was broken by a scream of terror from forward. The quartermaster whohad been at the wheel came clambering down the ladder and ran along thedeck, his fingers splayed and stiffened before him in the intensity ofhis panic. 

"The needle! The compass!" he shrieked. 

Barnett ran to the wheel house with Trendon at his heels. The othersfollowed. The needle was swaying like a cobra's head. And as a cobra'shead spits venom, it spat forth a thin, steel-blue stream of lucent fire. Then so swiftly it whirled that the sparks scattered from it in a tinyshower. It stopped, quivered, and curved itself upward until it rattledlike a fairy drum upon the glass shield. Barnett looked at Trendon. 

"Volcanic?" he said. 

"'Mine eyes have seen the coming of the glory of the Lord, '" muttered thesurgeon in his deep bass, as he looked forth upon the streaming, radiantheavens. "It's like nothing else. "

In the west the splendour and the terror shot to the zenith. Barnettwhirled the wheel. The ship responded perfectly. 

"I though she might be bewitched, too, " he murmured. 

"You may heal her for the light, Mr. Barnett, " said Captain Parkinsoncalmly. He had come from his cabin, all his nervous depression gone inthe face of an imminent and visible danger. 

Slowly the great mass of steel swung to the unknown. For an hour theunknown guided her. Then fell blackness, sudden, complete. After thatradiance the dazzled eye could make out no stars, but the look-out'skeen vision discerned something else. 

"Ship afire, " he shouted hoarsely. 

"Where away?"

"Two points to leeward, near where the light was, sir. "

They turned their eyes to the direction indicated, and beheld a majesticrolling volume of purple light. Suddenly a fiercer red shot it through. 

"That's no ship afire, " said Trendon. "Volcano in eruption. "

"And the other?" asked the captain. 

"No volcano, sir. "

"Poor Billy Edwards wins his bet, " said Forsythe, in a low voice. 

"God grant he's on earth to collect it, " replied Barnett solemnly. 

No one turned in that night. When the sun of June 8th rose, it showed anocean bare of prospect except that on the far horizon where the chartshowed no land there rose a smudge of dirty rolling smoke. Of theschooner there was neither sign nor trace. 

VI

THE CASTAWAYS

"This ship, " growled Carter, the second officer, to Dr. Trendon, as theystood watching the growing smoke-column, "is a worse hot-bed of rumoursthan a down-east village. That's the third sea-gull we've had officiallyreported since breakfast. "

As he said, three distinct times the _Wolverine_ had thrilled to animminent discovery, which, upon nearer investigation, had dwindled tonothing more than a floating fowl. Upon the heels of Carter's complaintcame another hail. 

"Boat ahoy. Three points on the starboard bow. "

"If that's another gull, " muttered Carter, "I'll have something to say toyou, my festive lookout. "

The news ran electrically through the cruiser, and all eyes were strainedfor a glimpse of the boat. The ship swung away to starboard. 

"Let me know as soon as you can make her out, " ordered Carter. 

"Aye, aye, sir. "

"There's certainly something there, " said Forsythe, presently. "I canmake out a speck rising on the waves. "

"Bit o' wreckage from Barnett's derelict, " muttered Trendon, scowlingthrough his glasses. 

"Rides too high for a spar or anything of that sort, " said the juniorlieutenant. 

"She's a small boat, " came in the clear tones of the lookout, "driftin'down. "

"Anyone in her?" asked Carter. 

"Can't make out yet, sir. No one's in charge though, sir. "

Captain Parkinson appeared and Carter pointed out the speck to him. 

"Yes. Give her full speed, " said the captain, replying to a question fromthe officer of the deck. 

Forward leapt the swift cruiser, all too slow for the anxious hearts ofthose aboard. For there was not one of the _Wolverines_ who did notexpect from this aimless traveller of desert seas at the least a leadingclue to the riddle that oppressed them. 

"Aloft there!"

"Aye, aye, sir. "

"Can you make out her build?"

"Rides high, like a dory, sir. "

"Wasn't there a dory on the _Laughing Lass_?" cried Forsythe. 

"On her stern davits, " answered Trendon. 

"It is hardly probable that unattached small boats should be driftingabout these seas, " said Captain Parkinson, thoughtfully. "If she's adory, she's the _Laughing Lass_'s boat. "

"That's what she is, " said Barnett. "You can see her build plain enoughnow. "

"Mr. Barnett, will you go aloft and keep me posted?" said the captain. 

The executive officer climbed to join the lookout. As he ascended, thosebelow saw the little craft rise high and slow on a broad swell. 

"Same dory, " said Trendon. "I'd swear to her in Constantinople. "

"What else could she be?" muttered Forsythe. 

"Somethin' that looks like a man in the bottom of her, " sang out thecrow's-nest. "Two of 'em, I think. "

For five minutes there was stillness aboard, broken only by an occasionallow-voiced conjecture. Then from aloft:

"Two men rolling in the bottom. "

"Are they alive?"

"No, sir; not that I can see. "

The wind, which had been extremely variable since dawn, now whippedaround a couple of points, swinging the boat's stern to them. Barnet, putting aside his glass for a moment, called down:

"That's the one, sir. I can make out the name. "

"Good, " said the captain quietly. "We should have news, at least. "

"Ives or McGuire, " suggested Forsythe, in low tones. 

"Or Billy Edwards, " amended Carter. 

"Not Edwards, " said Trendon. 

"How do you know?" demanded Forsythe. 

"Dory was aboard when we found her the second time, after Edwards hadleft. "

"Can you make out which of the men are in her?" hailed the captain. 

"Don't think it's any of our people, " came the astonishing reply fromBarnett. 

"Are you sure?"

"I can see only one man's face, sir. It isn't Ives or McGuire. He's astranger to me. "

"It must be one of the crew, then. "

"No, sir, beg your parding, " called the lookout. "Nothin' like that inour crew, sir. "

The boat came down upon them swiftly. Soon the quarter-deck was lookinginto her. She was of a type common enough on the high seas, except that astep for a mast showed that she had presumably been used for skimmingabout open shores. Of her passengers, one lay forward, prone and quiet. Alength of sail cloth spread over him made it impossible to see his garb. At his breast an ugly protuberance, outlined vaguely, hinted a deformity. 

The other sprawled aft, and at a nearer sight of him some of the menbroke out into nervous titters. There was some excuse, for surely such ascarecrow had never before been the sport of wind and wave. A thing ofshreds he was, elaborately ragged, a face overrun with a scrub of beard, and preternaturally drawn, surmounted by a stiff-dried, dirty, clothsemi-turban, with a wide, forbidding stain along the side, worked out thelikeness to a make-up. 

"My God!" cackled Forsythe with an hysterical explosion; and again, "MyGod!"

A long-drawn, irrepressible aspiration of expectancy rose from thewarship's decks as the stranger raised his haggard face, turned eyesunseeingly upon them, and fell back. The forward occupant stirred not, save as the boat rolled. 

From between decks someone called out, sharply, an order. In the grimsilence it seemed strangely incongruous that the measured business of aship's life should be going forward as usual. Something within thenewcomer's consciousness stirred to that voice of authority. Mechanically, like some huge, hideous toy, he raised first one arm, thenthe other, and hitched himself halfway up on the stern seat. His mouthopened. His face wrinkled. He seemed groping for the meaning of a joke atwhich he knew he ought to laugh. Suddenly from his lips in surprisingvolume, raucous, rasping, yet with a certain rollicking deviltry fit toset the head a-tilt, burst a chanty:

 "Oh, their coffin was their ship, and their grave it was the sea: _Blow high, blow low, what care we!_ And the quarter that we gave them was to sink them in the sea: _Down on the coast of the high Barbaree-ee. _"

Long-drawn, like the mockery of a wail, the minor cadence wavered throughthe stillness, and died away. 

"The High Barbaree!" cried Trendon. 

"You know it?" asked the captain, expectant of a clue. 

"One of those cursed tunes you can't forget, " said the surgeon. "Heard ascoundrel of a beach-comber sing it years ago. Down in New Zealand, thatwas. When the fever rose on him he'd pipe up. Used to beat time with asteel hook he wore in place of a hand. The thing haunted me till I wassorry I hadn't let the rascal die. This creature might have learned itfrom him. Howls it out exactly like. "

"I don't see that that helps us any, " said Forsythe, looking down on thepreparations that were making to receive the unexpected guests. 

With a deftness which had made the _Wolverine_ famous in the navyfor the niceties of seamanship, the great cruiser let down her tackle asshe drew skilfully alongside, and made fast, preparatory to lifting thedory gently to her broad deck. But before the order came to hoist away, one of the jackies who had gone down drew the covering back from thestill figure forward, and turned it over. With a half-stifled cry heshrank back. And at that the tension of soul and mind on the_Wolverine_ snapped, breaking into outcries and sudden, sharpimprecations. The face revealed was that of Timmins, the bo's'n's mate, who had sailed with the first vanished crew. A life preserver wasfastened under his arms. He was dead. 

"I'm out, " said the surgeon briefly, and stood with mouth agape. Neverhad the disciplined _Wolverines_ performed a sea duty with so raggeda routine as the getting in of the boat containing the live man and thedead body. The dead seaman was reverently disposed and covered. As to thesurvivor there was some hesitancy on the part of the captain, who wasinclined to send him forward until Dr. Trendon, after a swift scrutiny, suggested that for the present, at least, he be berthed aft. They tookthe stranger to Edwards's vacant room, where Trendon was closeted withhim for half an hour. When he emerged he was beset with questions. 

"Can't give any account of himself yet, " said the surgeon. "Weak and notrightly conscious. "

"What ails him?"

"Enough. Gash in his scalp. Fever. Thirst and exhaustion. Nervous shock, too, I think. "

"How came he aboard the _Laughing Lass_?" "Does he know anything ofBilly?" "Was he a stow-away?" "Did you ask him about Ives and McGuire?""How came he in the small boat?" "Where are the rest?"

"Now, now, " said the veteran chidingly. "How can I tell? Would you haveme kill the man with questions?"

He left them to look at the body of the bo's'n's mate. Not a word had heto say when he returned. Only the captain got anything out of him butgrowling and unintelligible expressions, which seemed to be objurgatoryand to express bewildered cogitation. 

"How long had poor Timmins been drowned?" the captain had asked him, andTrendon replied:

"Captain Parkinson, the man wasn't drowned. No water in his lungs. "

"Not drowned! Then how came he by his death?"

"If I were to diagnose it under any other conditions I should say that hehad inhaled flames. "

Then the two men stared at each other in blank impotency. Meantime thescarecrow was showing signs of returning consciousness and a message wasdispatched for the physician. On his way he met Barnett, who asked andreceived permission to accompany him. The stranger was tossing restlesslyin his bunk, opening and shutting his parched mouth in silent, piteousappeal for the water that must still be doled to him parsimoniously. 

"I think I'll try him with a little brandy, " said Trendon, and sent forthe liquor. 

Barnett raised the patient while the surgeon held the glass to his lips. The man's hand rose, wavered, and clasped the glass. 

"All right, my friend. Take it yourself, if you like, " said Trendon. 

The fingers closed. Tremulously held, the little glass tilted and rattledagainst the teeth. There was one deep, eager spasm of swallowing. Thenthe fevered eyes opened upon the face of the _Wolverine_'s firstofficer. 

"Prosit, Barnett, " said the man, in a voice like the rasp of rusty metal. 

The navy man straightened up as from a blow under the jaw. 

"Be careful what you are about, " warned Trendon, addressing his superiorofficer sharply, for Barnett had all but let his charge drop. His facewas a puckered mask of amaze and incredulity. 

"Did you hear him speak my name--or am I dreaming?" he half whispered. 

"Heard him plain enough. Who is he?"

The man's eyes closed, but he smiled a little--a singular, wry-mouthed, winning smile. With that there sprung from behind the brush of beard, filling out the deep lines of emaciation, a memory to the recognition ofBarnett; a keen and gay countenance that whisked him back across sevenyears time to the days of Dewey and the Philippines. 

"Ralph Slade, by the Lord!" he exclaimed. 

"Of the _Laughing Lass_?" cried Trendon. 

"Of the _Laughing Lass_. "

Such a fury of eagerness burned in the face of Barnett that Trendoncautioned him. "See here, Mr. Barnett, you're not going to fire abroadside of disturbing questions at my patient yet a while. He's in nocondition. "

But it was from the other that the questions came. Opening his eyes hewhispered, "The sailor? Where?"

"Dead, " said Trendon bluntly. Then, breaking his own rule of repression, he asked:

"Did he come off the schooner with you?"

"Picked him up, " was the straining answer. "Drifting. "

The survivor looked around him, then into Barnett's face, and his mindtoo, traversed the years. 

"_North Dakota?_" he queried. 

"No; I've changed my ship, " said Barnett. "This is the _Wolverine_. "

"Where's the _Laughing Lass_?"

Barnett shook his head. 

"Tell me, " begged Slade. 

"Wait till you're stronger, " admonished Trendon. 

"Can't wait, " said the weak voice. The eyes grew wild. 

"Mr. Barnett, tell him the bare outline and make it short, " said thesurgeon. 

"We sighted the _Laughing Lass_ two days ago. She was in good shape, but deserted. That is, we thought she was deserted. "

The man nodded eagerly. 

"I suppose you were aboard, " said Barnett, and Trendon made a quickgesture of impatience and rebuke. 

"No, " said Slade. "Left three--four--don't know how many nights ago. "

The officers looked at each other. "Go on, " said Trendon to hiscompanion. 

"We put a crew aboard in command of an ensign, " continued Barnett, "andpicked up the schooner the next night, deserted. You must know about it. Where is Billy Edwards?"

"Never heard of him, " whispered the other. 

"Ives and McGuire, then. They were there after--Great God, man!" hecried, his agitation breaking out, "Pull yourself together! Give ussomething to go on. "

"Mr. Barnett!" said the surgeon peremptorily. 

But the suggestion was working in the sick man's brain. He turned to theofficers a face of horror. 

"Your man, Edwards--the crew--they left her? In the night?"

"What does he mean?" cried Barnett. 

"The light! You saw it?"

"Yes; we saw a strange light, " answered Trendon soothingly. Slade halfrose. "Lost; all lost!" he cried, and fell back unconscious. Trendonexploded into curses. "See what you've done to my patient, " he fumed. Barnett looked at him with contrite eyes. 

"Better get out before he comes to, " growled the surgeon. "Nice way totreat a man half dead of exhaustion. "

It was nearly an hour before Slade came back to the world again. Thedoctor forbade him to attempt speech. But of one thing he would not bedenied. There was a struggle for utterance, then:

"The volcano?" he rasped out. 

"Dead ahead, " was the reply. 

"Stand by!" grasped Slade. He strove to rise, to say something further, but endurance had reached its limit. The man was utterly done. 

Dr. Trendon went on deck, his head sunk between his shoulders. For aminute he was in earnest talk with the captain. Presently the_Wolverine_'s engines slowed down, and she lay head to the waves, with just enough turn of the screw to hold her against the sea-way. 

VII

THE FREE LANCE

By the following afternoon Dr. Trendon reported his patient as quiterecovered. 

"Starved for water, " proffered the surgeon. "Tissues fairly dried out. Soaked him up. Fed him broth. Put him to sleep. He's all right. Justwakes up to eat; then off again like a two-year old. Wonderfulconstitution. "

"The gentleman wants to know if he can come on deck, sir, " saluted anorderly. 

"Waked up, eh. Come on, Barnett. Help me boost him on deck. "

The two officers disappeared to return in a moment arm-in-arm with RalphSlade. 

Nearly twenty-four hours' rest and skilful treatment had done wonders. Hewas still a trifle weak and uncertain, was still a little glad to lean onthe arms of his companions, but his eye was bright and alert, and hishollow cheeks mounted a slight colour. This, with the clothes lent him byBarnett, transformed his appearance, and led Captain Parkinson tocongratulate himself that he had not obeyed his first impulse to send thecastaway forward with the men. 

The officers pressed forward. 

"Mighty glad to see you out. " "Hope you've got your pins under youagain. " "Old man, I'm mighty glad we came along. "

The chorus of greeting was hearty enough, but the journalist barely paidthe courtesy of acknowledgment. His eye swept the horizon eagerly untilit rested on the cloud of volcanic smoke billowing up across the settingsun. A sigh of relief escaped him. 

"Where are we?" he asked Barnett. "I mean since you picked me up. Howlong ago was that, anyway?"

"Yesterday, " replied the navigating officer. "We've stood off and on, looking for some of our men. "

"Then that's the same volcano----"

Barnett laughed softly. "Well, they aren't quite holding a caucus ofvolcanoes down in this country. One like that is enough. "

But Slade brushed the remark aside. 

"Head for it!" he cried excitedly. "We may be in time! There's a man onthat island. "

"A man!" "Another!" "Not Billy Edwards?" "Not some of our boys?"

Slade stared at them bewildered. 

"Hold on, " interposed Dr. Trendon authoritatively. "What's his name?" heinquired of the journalist. 

"Darrow, " replied the latter. "Percy Darrow. Do you know him?"

"Who in Kamschatka is Percy Darrow?" demanded Forsythe. 

"Why, he's the assistant. " It's a long story----"

"Of course, it's a long story. There's a lot we want to know, "interrupted Captain Parkinson. "Quartermaster, head for the volcanoyonder. Mr. Slade, we want to know where you came from; and why you leftthe schooner, and who Percy Darrow is. And there's dinner, so we'll justadjourn to the messroom and hear what you can tell us. But there's onething we're all anxious to know; how came you in the dory which we foundand left on the _Laughing Lass_ no later than two days ago?"

"I haven't set eyes on the _Laughing Lass_ for--well, I don't knowhow long, but it's five days anyway, perhaps more, " replied Slade. 

They stared at him incredulously. 

"Oh, I see!" he burst out suddenly; "there were twin dories on theschooner. The other one's still there, I suppose. Did you find her on thestern davits?"

"Yes. "

"That's it, then. You see when I left----"

Captain Parkinson's raised hand checked him. "If you will be so good, Mr. Slade, let us have it all at once, after mess. "

At table the young officers, at a sharp hint from Dr. Trendon, conversedon indifferent subjects until the journalist had partaken heartily ofwhat the physician allowed him. Slade ate with keen appreciation. 

"I tell you, that's good, " he sighed, when he had finished. "Real, live, after-dinner coffee, too. Why, gentlemen, I haven't eaten a civilisedmeal, with all the trimmings, for over two years. Doctor, do you think alittle of the real stuff would hurt me? It's a pretty dry yarning. "

"One glass, " growled the surgeon, "no more. "

"Scotch high-ball, then, " voted Slade, "the higher the better. "

The steward brought a tall glass with ice, in which the newcomer mixedhis drink. Then for quite a minute he sat silent, staring at the table, his fingers aimlessly rubbing into spots of wetness the water beads asthey gathered on the outside of his glass. Suddenly he looked up. 

"I don't know how to begin, " he confessed. "It's too confoundedimprobable. I hardly believe it myself, now that I'm sitting here inhuman clothes, surrounded by human beings. Old Scrubs, and the Nigger, and Handy Solomon, and the Professor, and the chest, and the--well, theywere real enough when I was caught in the mess. But I warn you, you arenot going to believe me, and hanged if I blame you a bit. "

"We've seen marvels ourselves in the last few days, " encouraged CaptainParkinson. 

"Fire ahead, man, " advised Barnett impatiently. "Just begin at thebeginning and let it go at that. "

Slade sipped at his glass reflectively. 

"Well, " said he at length, "the best way to begin is to show you how Ihappened to be mixed up in it at all. "

The officers unconsciously relaxed into attitudes of greater ease. Overhead the lamps swayed gently to the swell. The dull throb of thescrew pulsated. Stewards clad in white moved noiselessly, filling theglasses, deferentially striking lights for the smokers, clearing away thelast dishes of the repast. 

"I'm a reporter by choice, and a detective by instinct, " began Slade, with startling abruptness. "Furthermore, I'm pretty well off. I'm whatthey call a free lance, for I have no regular desk on any of thejournals. I generally turn my stuff in to the _Star_ because theytreat me well. In return it is pretty well understood between us that I'mto use my judgment in regard to 'stories' and that they'll stand back ofme for expenses. You see, I've been with them quite a while. "

He looked around the circle as though in appeal to the comprehension ofhis audience. Some of the men nodded. Others sipped from their glasses ordrew at their cigars. 

"I loaf around here and there in the world, having a good timetravelling, visiting, fooling around. Every once in a while somethinginterests me. The thing is a sort of instinct. I run it down. If it's agood story, I send it in. That's all there is to it. " He laughedslightly. "You see, I'm a sort of magazine writer in method, but my stuffis newspaper stuff. Also the game suits me. That's why I play it. That'swhy I'm here. I have to tell you about myself this way so you willunderstand how I came to be mixed up in this _Laughing Lass_matter. "

"I remember, " commented Barnett, "that when you came aboard the _SouthDakota_, you had a little trouble making Captain Arnold see it. " Heturned to the others with a laugh. "He had all kinds of papers of ancientdate, but nothing modern--letter from the _Star_ dated five yearsback, recommendations to everybody on earth, except Captain Arnold, certificate of bravery in Apache campaign, bank identifications, and allthe rest. 'Maybe you're the _Star's_ correspondent, and maybe you'renot, ' said the Captain, 'I don't see anything here to prove it. ' Sladeargued an hour; no go. Remember how you caught him?" he inquired ofSlade. 

The reporter grinned assent. 

"After the old man had turned him down for good, Slade fished down in hiswarbag and hauled out an old tattered document from an oilskin case. 'Hold on a minute, ' said he, 'you old shellback. I've proved to you thatI can write; and I've proved to you that I have fought, and now here I'llprove to you that I can sail. If writing, fighting, and sailing don't fitme adequately to report any little disturbances your antiquatedwashboiler may blunder into, I'll go to raising cabbages. ' With that hepresented a master's certificate! Where did you get it, anyway? I neverfound out. "

"Passed as 'fresh-water' on the Great Lakes, " replied Slade briefly. 

"Well, the spunk and the certificate finished the captain. He was an oldsquare rigger himself in the Civil War. "

"So much for myself, " Slade continued. "As for the _LaughingLass_----"

PART TWO

THE BRASS BOUND CHEST

_Being the story told by Ralph Slade, Free Lance, to the officers ofthe United States cruiser Wolverine_. 

I

THE BARBARY COAST

A coincidence got me aboard her. I'll tell you how it was. One eveninglate I was just coming out of a dark alley on the Barbary Coast, SanFrancisco. You know--the water front, where you can hear more tonguesthan at Port Said, see stranger sights, and meet adventure with thejoyous certainty of mediaeval times. I'd been down there hunting up a manreported, by a wharf-rat of my acquaintance, to have just returned from atwo years' whaling voyage. He'd been "shanghaied" aboard, and as a matterof fact, was worth nearly a million dollars. Landed in the city without acent, could get nobody to believe him, nor trust him to the extent of atelegram East. Wharf-rat laughed at his yarn; but I believe it was true. Good copy anyway----

Just at the turn of the alley I nearly bumped into two men. On theBarbary Coast you don't pass men in narrow places until you havereconnoitered a little. I pulled up, thanking fortune that they had notseen me. The first words were uttered in a voice I knew well. 

You've all heard of Dr. Karl Augustus Schermerhorn. He did some bigthings, and had in mind still bigger. I'd met him some time before inconnection with his telepathy and wireless waves theory. It waspicturesque stuff for my purpose, but wasn't in it with what the oldfellow had really done. He showed me--well, that doesn't matter. Thepoint is, that good, staid, self-centred, or rather science-centred, Dr. Schermerhorn was standing at midnight in a dark alley on the BarbaryCoast in San Francisco talking to an individual whose facial outline atleast was not ornamental. 

My curiosity, or professional instinct, whichever you please, was allaroused. I flattened myself against the wall. 

The first remark I lost. The reply came to me in a shrill falsetto. Sogrotesque was the effect of this treble from a bulk so squat and broadand hairy as the silhouette before me that I almost laughed aloud. 

"I guess you've made no mistake on that. I'm her master, and her ownertoo. "

"Well, I haf been told you might rent her, " said the Doctor. 

"Rent her!" mimicked the falsetto. "Well, that--hell, yes, I'll_rent_ her!" he laughed again. 

"Doch recht. " The Doctor was plainly at the end of his practicalresources. 

After waiting a moment for something more definite, the falsetto inquiredrather drily:

"How long? What to? What for? Who are you, anyway?"

"I am Dr. Schermerhorn, " the latter answered. 

"Seen pieces about you in the papers. "

"How many men haf you in the crew?"

"Me and the mate and the cook and four hands. "

"And you could go--soon?"

"Soon as you want--_if_ I go. "

"I wish to leaf to-morrow. "

"If I can get the crew together, I might make it. But say, let's not hangout here in this run of darkness. Come over to the grog shop yonder wherewe can sit down. "

To my relief, for my curiosity was fully aroused--Dr. Schermerhorn'smovements are usually productive--this proposal was vetoed. 

"No, no!" cried the Doctor, with some haste, "this iss well! Somebodymight oferhear. "

The huge figure stirred into an attitude of close attention. After apause the falsetto asked deliberately:

"Where we goin'?"

"I brefer not to say. "

"H'm! How long a cruise?"

"I want to rent your schooner and your crew as-long-as I-please-toremain. "

"H'm! How long's that likely to be?"

"Maybe a few months; maybe seferal years. "

"H'm! Unknown port; unknown cruise. See here, anything crooked in this?"

"No, no! Not at all! It iss simply business of my own. "

"Not that I care, " commented the other easily, "only risks is worthpaying for. "

"There shall not be risk. "

"Pearls likely?" hazarded the other, without much heed to the assurance. "Them Jap gunboats is getting pretty hard to dodge of late years. However, I've dodged 'em before. "

"Now as to pay--how mooch iss your boat worth?"

I could almost follow the man's thoughts as he pondered how much he daredask. 

"Well, you see, for a proposition like that--don't know where we'regoing, when we're going to get back, --and them gunboats--how would ahundred and twenty-five a month strike you?"

"Double it up. I want you to do ass I say, and I will also give your crewdouble wages. Bud I want goot men, who will stay, and who will keep themouth shut. "

"Gosh all fish-hooks! They'd go to hell with you for that!"

"Now you can get all you want of Adams & Marsh. Tell them it iss for me, Brovisions for three years, anyhow. Be ready to sail to-morrow. "

"Tide turns at eight in the evening. "

"I will send some effects in the morning. "

The master hesitated. 

"That's all right, Doctor, but how do I know it's all right? Maybe bymorning you'll change your mind. "

"That cannot be. My plans are all----"

"It's the usual thing to pay something----"

"Ach, but yes. I haf forgot. Darrow told me. I will make you a check. Letus go to the table of which you spoke. "

They moved away, still talking. I did not dare follow them into thelight, for I feared that the Doctor would recognise me. I'd have given myeye teeth, though, to have gathered the name of the schooner, or that ofher master. As it was, I hung around until the two had emerged from thecorner saloon. They paused outside, still talking earnestly. I ventured ahasty interview with the bar-keeper. 

"Did you notice the two men who were sitting at the middle table?" Iasked him. 

"Sure!" said he, shoving me my glass of beer. 

"Know them?" I inquired. 

"Never laid eyes on 'em before. Old chap looked like a sort of corndoctor or corner spell-binder. Other was probably one of these longshoreabalone men. "

"Thanks, " I muttered, and dodged out again, leaving the beer untouched. 

I cursed myself for a blunderer. When I got to the street the two men haddisappeared. I should have shadowed the captain to his vessel. 

The affair interested me greatly. Apparently Dr. Schermerhorn was aboutto go on a long voyage. I prided myself on being fairly up to date inregard to the plans of those who interested the public; and the public atthat time was vastly interested in Dr. Schermerhorn. I, in common withthe rest of the world, had imagined him anchored safely in Philadelphia, immersed in chemical research. Here he bobbed up at the other end of thecontinent, making shady bargains with obscure shipping captains, andpaying a big premium for absolute secrecy. It looked good. 

Accordingly I was out early the next morning. I had not much to go by;schooners are as plenty as tadpoles in San Francisco harbour. However, Iwas sure I could easily recognise that falsetto voice; and I knew wherethe supplies were to be purchased. Adams & Marsh are a large firm, andcautious. I knew better than to make direct inquiries, or to appear inthe salesroom. But by hanging around the door of the shipping room I soonhad track of the large orders to be sent that day. In this manner I hadno great difficulty in following a truck to Pier 10, nor to identify aconsignment to Captain Ezra Selover as probably that of which I was insearch. 

The mate was in charge of the stowage, so I could not be quite sure. Here, however, was a schooner--of about a hundred and fifty tons burden. I looked her over. 

You're all acquainted with the _Laughing Lass_ and the perfection ofher lines. You have not known her under Captain Ezra Selover. She was thecleanest ship I ever saw. Don't know how he accomplished it, with a crewof four and the cook; but he did. The deck looked as though it had beenholystoned every morning by a crew of jackies; the stays were whipped andtarred, the mast new-slushed, and every foot of running gear coiled downshipshape and Bristol fashion. There was a good deal of brass about her;it shone like gold, and I don't believe she owned an inch of paint thatwasn't either fresh or new-scrubbed. 

I gazed for some time at this marvel. It's unusual enough anywhere, butaboard a California hooker it is little short of miraculous. The crew hadall turned up, apparently, and a swarm of stevedores were hustling everysort of provisions, supplies, stock, spars, lines and canvas down intothe hold. It was a rush job, and that mate was having his hands full. Ididn't wonder at his language nor at his looks, both of which weresomewhat mussed up. Then almost at my elbow I heard that shrill falsettosqueal, and turned just in time to see the captain ascend the aftergangplank. 

He was probably the most dishevelled and untidy man I ever laid my eyeson. His hair and beard were not only long, but tangled and unkempt, andgrew so far toward each other as barely to expose a strip of dirty brownskin. His shoulders were bowed and enormous. His arms hung like agorilla's, palms turned slightly outwards. On his head was jammed a linenboating hat that had once been white; gaping away from his hairy chestwas a faded dingy checked cotton shirt that had once been brown andwhite; his blue trousers were spotted and splashed with dusty stains; hewas chewing tobacco. A figure more in contrast to the exquisitely neatvessel it would be hard to imagine. 

The captain mounted the gangplank with a steadiness that disproved myfirst suspicion of his having been on a drunk. He glanced aloft, cast aspeculative eye on the stevedores trooping across the waist of the ship, and ascended to the quarter-deck where the mate stood leaning over therail and uttering directed curses from between sweat-beaded lips. Therethe big man roamed aimlessly on what seemed to be a tour of casualinspection. Once he stopped to breathe on the brass binnacle and to rubit bright with the dirtiest red bandana handkerchief I ever want to see. 

His actions amused me. The discrepancy between his personal habits andhis particularity in the matter of his surroundings was exceedinglyinteresting. I have often noticed that such discrepancies seem toindicate exceptional characters. As I watched him, his whole framestiffened. The long gorilla arms contracted, the hairy head sunk forwardin the tenseness of a serpent ready to strike. He uttered a shrillfalsetto shriek that brought to a standstill every stevedore on the job;and sprang forward to seize his mate by, the shoulder. 

Evidently the grasp hurt. I can believe it might, from those huge hands. The man wrenched himself about with an oath of inquiry and pain. I couldhear one side of what followed. The captain's high-pitched tones carriedclearly; but the grumble and growl of the mate were indistinguishable atthat distance. 

"How far is it to the side of the ship, you hound of hell?" shrieked thecaptain. 

Mumble--surprised--for an answer. 

"Well, I'll tell you, you _swab_! It's just two fathom from whereyou stand. Just two fathom! How long would it take you to walk there? Howlong? Just about six seconds! There and back! You--" I won't bother withall the epithets, although by now I know Captain Selover's vocabularyfairly well. "And you couldn't take six seconds off to spit over theside! Couldn't walk two fathom! Had to spit on my quarter-deck, did you!"

Rumble from the mate. 

"No, by God, you won't call up any of the crew. You'll get a swab and doit yourself. You'll get a _hand_ swab and get down on your knees, damn you! I'll teach you to be lazy!"

The mate said something again. 

"It don't matter if we ain't under way. That has nothing to do with it. The quarter-deck is clean, if the waist ain't, and nobody but a damnmisbegotten son-of-a-sea-lawyer would spit on deck anyhow!" From thisCaptain Selover went on into a good old-fashioned deep-sea "cussing out, "to the great joy of the stevedores. 

The mate stood it pretty well, but there comes a time when further talkis useless even in regard to a most heinous offense. And, of course, asyou know, the mate could hardly consider himself very seriously at fault. Why, the ship was not yet at sea, and in all the clutter of charging. Hebegan to answer back. In a moment it was a quarrel. Abruptly it was afight. The mate marked Selover beneath the left eye. The captain withbeautiful simplicity crushed his antagonist in his gorilla-like squeeze, carried him to the side of the vessel, and dropped him limp and beaten tothe pier. And the mate was a good stout specimen of a sea-farer, too. 

Then the captain rushed below, emerging after an instant with a chestwhich he flung after his subordinate. It was followed a moment later by astream of small stuff, --mingled with language--projected through an openport-hole. This in turn ceased. The captain reappeared with a pail andbrush, scrubbed feverishly at the offending spot, mopped it dry with thatsame old red bandana handkerchief, glared about him, --and abruptly becameas serene and placid as a noon calm. He took up the direction of thestevedores. It was all most astounding. 

Nobody paid any attention to the mate. He looked toward the ship once ortwice, thought better of it, and began to pick up his effects, mutteringsavagely. In a moment or so he threw his chest aboard an outgoing truckand departed. 

It was now nearly noon and I was just in the way of going for somethingto eat, when I caught sight of another dray laden with boxes and cratedaffairs which I recognised as scientific apparatus. It was followed inquick succession by three others. Ignorant as I was of the requirementsof a scientist, my common sense told me this could be no exploringoutfit. I revised my first intention of going to the club, and bought asandwich or two at the corner coffee house. I don't know why, but eventhen the affair seemed big with mystery, with the portent of tragedy. Perhaps the smell of tar was in my nostrils and the sea called. It hasalways possessed for me an extraordinary allurement----

A little after two o'clock a cab drove to the after gangplank andstopped. From it alighted a young man of whom I shall later have occasionto tell you more, followed by Dr. Schermerhorn. The young man carriedonly a light leather "serviette, " such as students use abroad; while thedoctor fairly staggered under the weight of a square, brass-bound chestwithout handles. The singularity of this unequal division of labourstruck me at once. 

It struck also one of the dock men, who ran forward, eager for a tip. 

"Kin I carry th' box for you, boss?" he asked, at the same time reachingfor it. 

The doctor's thin figure seemed fairly to shrink at the idea. 

"No, no!" he cried. "It iss not for you to carry!"

He hastened up the gangplank, clutching the chest close. At the topCaptain Selover met him. 

"Hello, doctor, " he squeaked. "Here in good time. We're busy, you see. Let me carry your chest for you. "

"No, no!" Dr. Schermerhorn fairly glared. 

"It's almighty heavy, " insisted the captain. "Let me give you a hand. "

"You must not _touch!_" emphatically ordered the scientist. "Whereiss the cabin?"

He disappeared down the companionway clasping his precious load. Theyoung man remained on deck to superintend the stowing of the scientificgoods and the personal baggage. 

All this time I had been thinking busily. I remembered distinctly oneother instance when Dr. Schermerhorn had disappeared. He came backinscrutably, but within a week his results on aerial photography werepublic property. I told myself that in the present instance his lavishuse of money, the elaborate nature of his preparations, the evidentsecrecy of the expedition as evidenced by the fact that he had negotiatedfor the vessel only the day before setting sail, the importance ofpersonal supervision as proved by the fact that he--notoriouslyimpractical in practical matters, and notoriously disliking anything todo with business--had conducted the affair himself instead of delegatingit, --why; gentlemen, don't you see that all this was more than enough towake me up, body and soul? Suddenly I came to a definite resolution. Captain Selover had descended to the pier. I approached him. 

"You need a mate, " said I. 

He looked me over. 

"Perhaps, " he admitted. "Where's your man?"

"Right here, " said I. 

His eyes widened a little. Otherwise he showed no sign of surprise. Icursed my clothes. 

Fortunately I had my master's certificate with me--I'd passedfresh-water on the Great Lakes--I always carry that sort of document onthe chance that it may come handy. It chanced to have a couple of navalendorsements, results of the late war. 

"Look here, " I said before I gave it to him. "You don't believe in me. Myclothes are too good. That's all right. They're all I have that are good. I'm broke. I came down here wondering whether I'd better throw myself inthe drink. "

"You look like a dude, " he squeaked. "Where did you ever ship?"

I handed him my certificate. The endorsements from Admiral Keays andCaptain Arnold impressed him. He stared at me again, and a gleam ofcunning crept into his eyes. 

"Nothing crooked about this?" he breathed softly. 

I had the key to this side of his character. You remember I had overheardthe night before his statement of his moral scruples. I said nothing, butlooked knowing. 

"What was it?" he murmured. "Plain desertion, or something worse?"

I remained inscrutable. 

"Well, " he conceded, "I do need a mate; and a naval man--even if he iswantin' to get out of sight----"

"He won't spit on your decks, anyway, " I broke in boldly. 

Captain Selover's hairy face bristled about the mouth. This Isubsequently discovered was symptom of a grin. 

"You saw that, eh?" he trebled. 

"Aren't you afraid he'll bring down the police and delay your sailing?" Iasked. 

He grinned again, with a cunning twinkle in his eye. 

"You needn't worry. There ain't goin' to be any police. He had hisadvance money, and he won't risk it by tryin' to come back. "

We came to an agreement. I professed surprise at the wages. The captainguardedly explained that the expedition was secret. 

"What's our port?" I asked, to test him. 

"Our papers are made out for Honolulu, " he replied. 

We adjourned to sign articles. 

"By the way, " said I, "I wish you wouldn't make them out in my own name. 'Eagen' will do. "

"All right, " he laughed, "I _sabe_. Eagen it is. "

"I'll be aboard at six, " said I. "I've got to make some arrangements. "

"Wish you could help with the lading, " said he. "Still, I can get along. Want any advance money?"

"No, " I replied; then I remembered that I was supposed to be broke. "Yes, " I amended. 

He gave me ten dollars. 

"I guess you'll show up, " he said. "Wouldn't do this to everybody. But anaval man--even if he is dodgin' Uncle Sam----"

"I'll be here, " I assured him. 

At that time I wore a pointed beard. This I shaved. Also I was accustomedto use eye-glasses. The trouble was merely a slight astigmatism whichbothered me only in reading or close inspection. I could get alongperfectly well without the glasses, so I discarded them. I had my haircut rather close. When I had put on sea boots, blue trousers and shirt, apea jacket and a cap I felt quite safe from the recognition of a man likeDr. Schermerhorn. In fact, as you shall see, I hardly spoke to him duringall the voyage out. 

Promptly at six, then, I returned with a sea chest, bound I knew notwhither, to be gone I knew not for how long, and pledged to act as secondofficer on a little hundred-and-fifty-ton schooner. 

II

THE GRAVEN IMAGE

I had every reason to be satisfied with my disguise, --if such it couldbe called. Captain Selover at first failed to recognise me. Then he burstinto his shrill cackle. 

"Didn't know you, " he trebled. "But you look shipshape. Come, I'll showyou your quarters. "

Immediately I discovered what I had suspected before; that on so small aschooner the mate took rank with the men rather than the afterguard. Cabin accommodations were of course very limited. My own lurked in thewaist of the ship--a tiny little airless hole. 

"Here's where Johnson stayed, " proffered Selover. "You can bunk here, oryou can go in the foc'sle with the men. They's more room there. We'll getunder way with the turn of the tide. "

He left me. I examined the cabin. It was just a trifle larger than itssingle berth, and the berth was just a trifle larger than myself. Mychest would have to be left outside. I strongly suspected that my lungswould have to be left outside also; for the life of me I could not seewhere the air was to come from. With a mental reservation in favour ofinvestigating the forecastle, I went on deck. 

The _Laughing Lass_ was one of the prettiest little schooners I eversaw. Were it not for the lines of her bilges and the internal arrangementof her hold, it might be imagined she had been built originally as apleasure yacht. Even the rake of her masts, a little forward of theplumb, bore out this impression, which a comparatively new suit ofcanvas, well stopped down, brass stanchions forward, and two little gunsunder tarpaulins, almost confirmed. One thing struck me as peculiar. Hercomplement of boats was ample enough. She had two surf boats, a dingy, and a dory slung to the davits. In addition another dory, --the one youpicked me up in--was lashed to the top of the deck house. 

"They'd mighty near have a boat apiece, " I thought, and went forward. 

Just outside the forecastle hatch I paused. Someone below was singing ina voice singularly rich in quality. The words and the quaintness of theminor air struck me immensely and have clung to my memory like a burrever since. 

 "'Are you a man-o'-war or a privateer, ' said he. _Blow high, blow low, what care we!_ 'Oh, I am a jolly pirate, and I'm sailing for my fee. ' _Down on the coast of the high Barbare-e-e. "_

I stepped to the companion. The voice at once ceased. I descended. 

A glimmer of late afternoon struggled through the deadlights. I foundmyself in a really commodious space, --extending far back of where theforward bulk-heads are usually placed, --accommodating rows and row ofbunks--eighteen of them, in fact. The unlighted lamp cast its shadow onwood stained black by much use, but polished like ebony from thecontinued friction of men's garments. I wish I could convey to you theuncanny effect, this--of dropping from the decks of a miniature craft tothe internal arrangements of a square-rigged ship. It was as though, entering a cottage door, you were to discover yourself on the floor ofMadison Square Garden. A fresh sweet breeze of evening sucked down thehatch. I immediately decided on the forecastle. Already it was beingborne in on me that I was little more than a glorified bo's'n's mate. Thesituation suited me, however. It enabled me to watch the course of eventsmore safely, less exposed to the danger of recognition. 

I stood for a moment at the foot of the companion accustoming my eyes tothe gloom. After a moment, with a shock of surprise, I made out a shiningpair of bead-points gazing at me unblinkingly from the shadow under thebitts. Slowly the man defined himself, as a shape takes form in a fog. Hewas leaning forward in an attitude of attention, his elbows resting onhis knees, his forearms depending between them, his head thrust out. Icould detect no faintest movement of eyelash, no faintest sound ofbreathing. The stillness was portentous. The creature was exactly like awax figure, one of the sort you meet in corridors of cheap museums andfor a moment mistake for living beings. Almost I thought to make out thecustomary grey dust lying on the wax of his features. 

I am going to tell you more of this man, because, as you shall see, hewas destined to have much to do with my life, the fate of Dr. KarlAugustus Schermerhorn, and the doom of the _Laughing Lass_. 

He wore on his head a red bandana handkerchief. I never saw him withother covering. From beneath It straggled oily and tangled locks ofglossy black. His face was long, narrow, hook-nosed and sinister; hiseyes, as I have described them, a steady and beady black. I could atfirst glance ascribe great activity, but only moderate strength to hisslender, wiry figure. In this I was mistaken. His sheer physical powerwas second only to that of Captain Selover. One of his forearms ended ina steel hook. At the moment I could not understand this; could not seehow a man so maimed could be useful aboard a ship. Later I wished we hadmore as handy. He knew a jam hitch which he caught over and under hishook quicker than most men can grasp a line with the naked hand. It wouldrender one way, but held fast the other. He told me it was a cinch-hookhitch employed by mule packers in the mountains, and that he had used iton swamp-hooks in the lumber woods of Michigan. I shouldn't wonder. Hewas a Wandering Jew. --His name was Anderson, but I never heard him calledthat. It was always "Handy Solomon" with men and masters. 

We stared at each other, I fascinated by something, some spell of theship, which I have never been able to explain to myself--nor evendescribe. It was a mystery, a portent, a premonition such as overtakes aman sometimes in the dark passageways of life. I cannot tell you of it, nor make you believe--let it pass----

Then by a slow process of successive perceptions I became aware that Iwas watched by other eyes, other wax figures, other human beings withunwavering gaze. They seemed to the sense of mystic apprehension that forthe moment held possession of me, to be everywhere--in the bunks, on thefloor, back in the shadows, watching, watching, watching from theadvantage of another world. 

[Illustration: Slowly the man defined himself as a shape takes form in afog. ]

I don't know why I tell you this; why I lay so much stress on the firstweird impression I got of the forecastle. It means something to menow--in view of all that happened subsequently. Almost can I look backand see, in that moment of occultism, a warning, an enlightenment----Butthe point is, it meant something to me then. I stood there fascinated, unable to move, unable to speak. 

Then the grotesque figure in the corner stirred. 

"Well, mates, " said the man, "believe or not believe, it's in the book, and it stands to reason, too. We have gold mines here in Californy andNevada and all them States; and we hear of gold mines in Mexico andAustralia, too, but did you ever hear tell of gold mines in Europe? Tellme that! And where did the gold come from then, before they discoveredAmerica? Tell me that! Why they made it, just as the man that wrotethis-here says, and you can kiss the Book on that. "

"How about that place, Ophir, I read about?" asked a voice from thebunks. 

The man shot a keen glance thither from beneath his brows. 

"Know last year's output from the mines of Ophir, Thrackles?" he inquiredin silky tones. 

"Why, no, " stammered the man addressed as Thrackles. 

"Well I do, " pursued the man with the steel hook, "and it's just thewhole of nothing, and you can kiss the Book on that too! There ain't anygold output, because there ain't any mines, and there never have been. They made their gold. "

He tossed aside a book he had been holding in his left hand. I recognisedthe fat little paper duodecimo with amusement, and some wonder. The onlyother copy I had ever laid my eyes on is in the Astor Library. It issomewhat of a rarity, called _The Secret of Alchemy, or the GrandDoctrine of Transmutation Fully Explained_, and was written by a Dr. Edward Duvall, --a most extraordinary volume to have fallen into the handsof seamen. 

I stepped forward, greeting and being greeted. Besides the man I havementioned they were four. The cook was a bullet-headed squat negro with abroken nose. I believe he had a name, --Robinson, or something of thatsort. He was to all of us, simply the Nigger. Unlike most of his race, hewas gloomy and taciturn. 

Of the other two, a little white-faced, thin-chested youth named Pulz, and a villainous-looking Mexican called Perdosa, I shall have more to saylater. 

My arrival broke the talk on alchemy. It resumed its course in thedirection of our voyage. Each discovered that the others knew nothing;and each blundered against the astounding fact of double wages. 

"All I know is the pay's good; and that's enough, " concluded Thrackles, from a bunk. 

"The pay's too good, " growled Handy Solomon. 

"This ain't no job to go look at the 'clipse of the moon, or the devil'sa preacher!"

"W'at you maik heem, den?" queried Perdosa. 

"It's treasure, of course, " said Handy Solomon shortly. 

"He, he, he!" laughed the negro, without mirth. 

"What's the matter with you, Doctor?" demanded Thrackles. 

"Treasure!" repeated the Nigger. "You see dat box he done carry socairful? You see dat?"

A pause ensued. Somebody scratched a match and lit a pipe. 

"No, I don't see that!" broke out Thrackles finally, with someimpatience. "I _sabe_ how a man goes after treasure with a box; butwhy should he take treasure away in a box? What do you think, Bucko?" hesuddenly appealed to me. 

I looked up from my investigation of the empty berths. 

"I don't think much about it, " I replied, "except that by the look of thestores we're due for more than Honolulu; and from the look of the lightwe'd better turn to on deck. "

An embarrassed pause fell. 

"Who are you, anyway?" bluntly demanded the man with the steel hook. 

"My name is Eagen, " I replied; "I've the berth of mate. Which of thesebunks are empty?"

They indicated what I desired with just a trace of sullenness. Iunderstood well enough their resentment at having a ship's officerquartered on them, --the forec'stle they considered as their only libertywhen at sea, and my presence as a curtailment to the freedom of speech. Isubsequently did my best to overcome this feeling, but never quitesucceeded. 

At my command the Nigger went to his galley, I ascended to the deck. Duskwas falling, in the swift Californian fashion. Already the outlines ofthe wharf houses were growing indistinct, and the lights of the city werebeginning to twinkle. Captain Selover came to my side and leaned over therail, peering critically at the black water against the piles. 

"She's at the flood, " he squeaked. "And here comes the Lucy Belle. "

The tug took us in charge and puffed with us down the harbour and throughthe Golden Gate. We had sweated the canvas on her, even to the flying jiband a huge club topsail she sometimes carried at the main, for theafternoon trades had lost their strength. About midnight we drew up onthe Farallones. 

The schooner handled well. Our crew was divided into three watches--anunusual arrangement, but comfortable. Two men could sail her handily inmost sorts of weather. Handy Solomon had the wheel. Otherwise the deckwas empty. The man's fantastic headgear, the fringe of his curling oilylocks, the hawk outline of his face momentarily silhouetted against thephosphorescence astern as he glanced to windward, all lent him anappearance of another day. I could almost imagine I caught the gleam ofsilver-butted horse pistols and cutlasses at his waist. 

I brooded in wonder at what I had seen and how little I had explained. The number of boats, sufficient for a craft of three times the tonnage;the capacity of the forec'stle with its eighteen bunks, enough for apassenger ship, --what did it mean? And this wild, unkempt, villainouscrew with its master and his almost ridiculous contrast of neatness andfilth;--did Dr. Schermerhorn realise to what he had trusted himself andhis precious expedition, whatever it might be?

The lights of shore had sunk; the _Laughing Lass_ staggered andleaped joyously with the glory of the open sea. She seemed alone on thebosom of the ocean; and for the life of me I could not but feel that Iwas embarked on some desperate adventure. The notion was utterlyillogical; that I knew well. In sober thought, I, a reporter, wasshadowing a respectable and venerable scientist, who in turn was probablyabout to investigate at length some little-known deep-sea conditions orphenomena of an unexplored island. But that did not suffice to myimagination. The ship, its surroundings, its equipment, its crew--allread fantastic. So much the better story, I thought, shrugging myshoulders at last. 

III

THE TWELVE REPEATING RIFLES

After my watch below the next morning I met Percy Darrow. In many ways heis, or was, the most extraordinary of my many acquaintances. During thatfirst half hour's chat with him I changed my mind at least a dozen times. One moment I thought him clever, the next an utter ass; now I found himfrank, open, a good companion, eager to please, --and then a droop of hisblond eyelashes, a lazy, impertinent drawl of his voice, a hint ofhalf-bored condescension in his manner, convinced me that he was shy andaffected. In a breath I appraised him as intellectual, a fool, a shallowmind, a deep schemer, an idler, and an enthusiast. One result of hisspasmodic confidences was to throw a doubt upon their accuracy. Thismight be what he desired; or with equal probability it might be thechance reflection of a childish and aimless amiability. 

He was tall and slender and pale, languid of movement, languid of eye, languid of speech. His eyes drooped, half-closed beneath blond brows; along wiry hand lazily twisted a rather affected blond moustache, hisvoice drawled his speech in a manner either insufferably condescendingand impertinent, or ineffably tired, --who could tell which?

I found him leaning against the taffrail, his languid graceful figuresupported by his elbows, his chin propped against his hand. As Iapproached the binnacle, he raised his eyes and motioned me to him. Theinsolence of it was so superb that for a moment I was angry enough toignore him. Then I reflected that I was here, not to stand on my personaldignity, but to get information. I joined him. 

"You are the mate?" he drawled. 

"Since I am on the quarter-deck, " I snapped back at him. 

He eyed me thoughtfully, while he rolled with one hand a corn-huskMexican cigarette. 

"Do you know where you are going?" he inquired at length. 

"Depends on the moral character of my future actions, " I rejoined tartly. 

He allowed a smile to break and fade, then lighted his cigarette. 

"The first mate seems to have a remarkable command of language, " said he. 

I did not reply. 

"Well, to tell you the truth I don't know where we are going, " hecontinued. "Thought you might be able to inform me. Where did this shipand its precious gang of cutthroats come from, anyway?"

"Meaning me?"

"Oh, meaning you too, for all I know, " he shrugged wearily. Suddenly heturned to me and laid his hand on my shoulder with one of those suddenbursts of confidence I came later to recognise and look for, but in whichI could never quite believe--nor disbelieve. 

"I am eaten with curiosity, " he stated in the least curious voice in theworld. "I suppose you know who his Nibs is?"

"Dr. Schermerhorn, do you mean?"

"Yes. Well, I've been with him ten years. I am his right-hand man. Allhis business I transact down to the last penny. I even order his meals. His discoveries have taken shape in my hands. Suddenly he gets a freak. He will go on a voyage. Where? I shall know in good time. For how long? Ishall know in good time. For what purpose? Same answer. Whataccommodations shall I engage? I experience the worst shock of mylife;--he will engage them himself. What scientific apparatus? Shocknumber two;--he will attend to that. Is there anything I can do? What doyou suppose he says?"

"How should I know?" I asked. 

"You should know in the course of intelligent conversation with me, " hedrawled. "Well, he, good old staid Schermie with the vertebrated thoughtsgets kittenish. He says to me, 'Joost imachin, Percy, you areall-alone-on-a-desert-island placed; and that you will sit on those sandsand wish within yourself all you would buy to be comfortable. Go out andbuy me those things--in abundance. ' Those were my directions. "

He puffed. 

"What does he pay you?" he asked. 

"Enough, " I replied. 

"More than enough, by a good deal, I'll bet, " he rejoined. "The old fool!He ought to have left it to me. What is this craft? Have you ever sailedon her before?"

"No. "

"Have any of the crew?"

I replied that I believed all of them were Selover's men. He threw thecigarette butt into the sea and turned back. 

"Well, I wish you joy of your double wages, " he mocked. 

So he knew that, after all! How much more of his ignorance was pretendedI had no means of guessing. His eye gleamed sarcastically as he saunteredtoward the companion-way. Handy Solomon was at the wheel, steering easilywith one foot and an elbow. His steel hook lay fully exposed, glitteringin the sunlight. Darrow glanced at it curiously, and at the man'sheadgear. 

"Well, my genial pirate, " he drawled, "if you had a line to fit thathook, you'd be equipped for fishing. " The man's teeth bared like ananimal's, but Darrow went on easily as though unconscious of givingoffence. "If I were you, I'd have it arranged so the hook would turnbackward as well as forward. It would be handier for somethings, --fighting, for instance. "

He passed on down the companion. Handy Solomon glared after him, thendown at his hook. He bent his arm this way and that, drawing the hooktoward him softly, as a cat does her claws. His eyes cleared and a lookof admiration crept into them. 

"By God, he's right!" he muttered, and after a moment; "I've wore thatten year and never thought of it. The little son of a gun!"

He remained staring for a moment at the hook. Then he looked up andcaught my eye. His own turned quizzical. He shifted his quid and began tohum:

 "The bos'n laid aloft, aloft laid he, _Blow high, blow low! What care we?_ 'There's a ship upon the wind'ard, a wreck upon the lee, ' _Down on the coast of the high Barbare-e-e. "_

We had entered the trades and were making good time. I was content tostay on deck, even in my watch below. The wind was strong, the wavesdashing, the sky very blue. From under our forefoot the flying fish sped, the monsters pursued them. A tingle of spray was in the air. It was allvery pleasant. The red handkerchief around Solomon's head made a prettyspot of colour against the blue of the sky and the darker blue of thesea. Silhouetted over the flaw-less white of the deck house was thesullen, polished profile of the Nigger. Beneath me the ship swervedand leaped, yielded and recovered. I breathed deep, and saw cutlasses inharmless shadows. It was two years ago. I was young--then----

At the mess hour I stood in doubt. However, I was informed by thecaptain's falsetto that I was to eat in the cabin. As the only otherofficer, I ate alone, after the others had finished, helping myself fromthe dishes left on the table. It was a handsome cabin, well kept, withwhite woodwork spotlessly clean, leather cushions--much better than onewould expect. I afterwards found that the neatness of this cabin and ofthe three staterooms was maintained by the Nigger--at peril of his neck. A rack held a dozen rifles, five revolvers, and, --at last--my cutlasses. I examined the lot with interest. They were modern weapons, --the new highpower 30-40 box-magazine rifle, shooting government ammunition, --and hadbeen used. The revolvers were of course the old 45 Colt's. This was anextraordinary armament for a peaceable schooner of one hundred and fiftytons burden. 

The rest of the cabin's fittings were not remarkable. By theconfiguration of the ship I guessed that two of the staterooms must berather large. I could make out voices within. 

On deck I talked with Captain Selover. 

"She's a snug craft, " I approached him. 

He nodded. 

"You have armed her well. "

He muttered something of pirates and the China seas. 

I laughed. 

"You have arms enough to give your crew about two magazine riflesapiece--unless you filled all your berths forward!"

Captain Selover looked me direct in the eye. 

"Talk straight, Mr. Eagen, " said he. 

"What is this ship, and where is she bound?" I asked, with equalsimplicity. 

He considered. 

"As for the ship, " he replied at length, "I don't mind saying. You're myfirst officer, and on you I depend if it comes to--well, the small armsbelow. If the ship's a little under the shade, why, so are you. She's byway of being called a manner of hard names by some people. I do not seeit myself. It is a matter of conscience. If you would ask someinterested, they would call her a smuggler, a thief, a wrecker, and allthe other evil titles in the catalogue. She has taken in Chinks by way ofSanta Cruz Island--if that is smuggling. The country is free, and a Chinkis a man. Besides, it paid ten dollars a head for the landing. She hascarried in a cargo or so of junk; it was lying on the beach where a foolmaster had piled it, and I took what I found. I couldn't keep track ofthe underwriters' intentions. "

"But the room forward----?" I broke in. 

"Well, you see, last season we were pearl fishing. "

"But you needed only your diver and your crew, " I objected. 

"There was the matter of a Japanese gunboat or so, " he explained. 

"Poaching!" I cried. 

"So some call it. The shells are there. The islands are not inhabited. Ido not see how men claim property beyond the tide water. I have heard itargued----"

"Hold on!" I cried. "There was a trouble last year in the Ishigaki JimaIslands where a poacher beat off the _Oyama_. It was a desperatefight. "

Captain Selover's eye lit up. 

"I've commanded a black brigantine, name of _The Petrel_, " headmitted simply. "She was a brigantine aloft, but _alow_ she hadmuch the same lines as the _Laughing Lass_. " He whirled on his heelto roll to one of the covered yacht's cannon. "Looks like a harmlesslittle toy to burn black powder, don't she?" he remarked. He stripped offthe tarpaulin and the false brass muzzle to display as pretty a littleMaxim as you would care to see. "Now you know all about it, " he said. 

"Look here, Captain Selover, " I demanded, "don't you know that I couldblow your whole shooting-match higher than Gilderoy's kite. How do youknow I won't do it when I get back? How do you know I won't inform thedoctor at once what kind of an outfit he has tied to?"

He planted far apart his thick legs in their soiled blue trousers, pushedback his greasy linen boating hat and stared at me with some amusement. 

"How do you know I won't blow on Lieutenant or Ensign Ralph Slade, U. S. N. , when I get back?" he demanded. I blessed that illusion, anyway. "Besides, I know my man. You won't do anything of the sort. " He walked tothe rail and spat carefully over the side. 

"As for the doctor, " he went on, "he knows all about it. He told me allabout myself, and everything I had ever done from the time I'd lickedBuck Jones until last season's little diversion. Then he told me that waswhy he wanted me to ship for this cruise. " The captain eyed mequizzically. 

I threw out my hands in a comic gesture of surrender. 

"Well, where are we bound, anyway?"

The dirty, unkempt, dishevelled figure stiffened. 

"Mr. Eagen, " its falsetto shrilled, "you are mate of this vessel. Yourduty is to see that my orders as to sailing are carried out. Beyond thatyou do not go. As to navigation, and latitude and longitude and where thehell we are, that is outside your line of duty. As to where we are bound, you are getting double wages not to get too damn curious. Remember toearn your wages, Mr. Eagen!"

He turned away to the binnacle. In spite of his personal filth, in spiteof the lawless, almost piratical, character of the man, in that moment Icould not but admire him. If Percy Darrow was ignorant of the purposes ofthis expedition, how much more so Captain Selover. Yet he accepted histrust blindly, and as far as I could then see, intended to fulfil itfaithfully. I liked him none the worse for snubbing me. It indicated astreak in his moral nature akin to and quite as curious as his excessiveneatness regarding his immediate surroundings. 

IV

THE STEEL CLAW

During the next few days the crew discussed our destination. Discipline, while maintained strictly, was not conventional. During the dog watches, often, every man aboard would be below, for at that period CaptainSelover loved to take the wheel in person, a thick cigar between hislips, the dingy checked shirt wide open to expose his hairy chest to thebreeze. In the twilight of the forecastle we had some great sea-lawyer'stalks--I say "We, " though I took little part in them. Generally I layacross my bunk smoking my pipe while Handy Solomon held forth, his speechpunctuated by surly speculations from the Nigger, with hesitatingdeep-sea wisdom from the hairy Thrackles, or with voluminous bursts offractured English from Perdosa. Pulz had nothing to offer, but watchedfrom his pale green eyes. The light shifted and wavered from one to theother as the ship swayed: garments swung; the empty berths yawnedcavernous. I could imagine the forecastle filled with the desperate menwho had beaten off the _Oyama_. The story is told that they hadswept the gunboat's decks with her own rapid-fires, turned in. 

No one knew where we were going, nor why. The doctor puzzled them, andthe quantity of his belongings. 

"It ain't pearls, " said Handy Solomon. "You can kiss the Book on that, for we ain't a diver among us. It ain't Chinks, for we are cruisingsou'-sou'-west. Likely it's trade, --trade down in the Islands. "

We were all below. The captain himself had the wheel. Discipline, whilestrict, was not conventional. 

"Contrabandista, " muttered the Mexican, "for dat he geev us double pay. "

"We don't get her for nothing, " agreed Thrackles. "Double pay and duff onWednesday generally means get your head broke. "

"No trade, " said the Nigger gloomily. 

They turned to him with one accord. 

"Why not?" demanded Pulz, breaking his silence. 

"No trade, " repeated the Nigger. 

"Ain't you got a reason, Doctor?" asked Handy Solomon. 

"No trade, " insisted the Nigger. 

An uneasy silence fell. I could not but observe that the others held theNigger's statements in a respect not due them as mere opinions. Subsequently I understood a little more of the reputation he possessed. He was believed to see things hidden, as their phrase went. 

Nobody said anything for some time; nobody stirred, except that HandySolomon, his steel claw removed from its socket, whittled and tested, screwed and turned, trying to fix the hook so that, in accordance withthe advice of Percy Darrow, it would turn either way. 

"What is it, then, Doctor?" he asked softly at last. 

"Gold, " said the Nigger shortly. "Gold--treasure. "

"That's what I said at first!" cried Handy Solomon triumphantly. It wasextraordinary, the unquestioning and entire faith with which theyaccepted as gospel fact the negro's dictum. 

There followed much talk of the nature of this treasure, whether it wasto be sought or conveyed, bought, stolen, or ravished in fair fight. Nofurther soothsaying could they elicit from the Nigger. They followedtheir own ideas, which led them nowhere. Someone lit the forecastle lamp. They settled themselves. Pulz read aloud. 

This was the programme every day during the dog watch. Sometimes thewatch on deck was absent, leaving only Handy Solomon, the Nigger andPulz, but the order of the day was not on that account varied. Theytalked, they lit the lamp, they read. Always the talk was of thetreasure. 

As to the reading, it was of the sort usual to seamen, cowboys, lumbermen, and miners. Thrackles had a number of volumes of very cheaplove stories. Pulz had brought some extraordinary garish detectivestories. The others contributed sensational literature with paper coversadorned lithographically. By the usual incongruity a fragment of _TheMarble Faun_ was included in the collection. The Nigger has his copyof _Duvall on Alchemy_. I haven't the slightest idea where he couldhave got it. 

While Pulz read, Handy Solomon worked on the alteration of his claw. Hecould never get it to hold, and I remember as an undertone to Pulz'sreading, the rumble of strange, exasperated oaths. Whatever the evening'slecture, it always ended with the book on alchemy. These men had noperspective by which to judge such things. They accepted its speculationsand theories at their face value. Extremely laughable were thediscussions that followed. I often wished the shade of old Duvall couldbe permitted to see these, his last disciples, spelling out dimly histeachings, mispronouncing his grave utterances, but believing utterly. 

Dr. Schermerhorn appeared on deck seldom. When he did, often his fingersheld a pen which he had forgotten to lay aside. I imagined himpreoccupied by some calculation of his own, but the forecastle, morepicturesquely, saw him as guarding constantly the heavy casket he hadhimself carried aboard. He breathed the air, walked briskly, turned withthe German military precision at the end of his score of strides, andre-entered his cabin at the lapse of the half hour. After he had gone, remained Percy Darrow leaning indolently against the taffrail, hisgraceful figure swaying with the ship's motion, smoking always thecorn-husk Mexican cigarettes which he rolled with one hand. He seemedfrom that farthest point aft to hold in review the appliances, thefabric, the actions, yes, even the very thoughts, of the entire ship. From them he selected that on which he should comment or with which heshould play, always with a sardonic, half-serious, quite wearied andindifferent manner. His inner knowledge, viewed by the light of thismanner or mannerism, was sometimes uncanny, though perhaps the sources ofhis information were commonplace enough, after all. Certainly he alwaysviewed with amusement his victim's wonder. 

Thus one evening at the close of our day-watch on deck, he approachedHandy Solomon. It was at the end of ten days, on no one of which had theseaman failed to tinker away at his steel claw. Darrow balanced in frontof him with a thin smile. 

"Too bad it doesn't work, my amiable pirate, " said he. "It would be sohandy for fighting--See here, " he suddenly continued, pulling some objectfrom his pocket, "here's a pipe; present to me; I don't smoke 'em. Twisther halfway, like that, she comes out. Twist her halfway, like this, shegoes in. That's your principle. Give her back to me when you getthrough. "

He thrust the briar pipe into the man's hand, and turned away withoutwaiting for a reply. The seaman looked after him in open amazement. Thatevening he worked on the socket of the steel hook, and in two days he hadthe job finished. Then he returned the pipe to Darrow with some growlingof thanks. 

"That's all right, " said the young man, smiling full at him. "Now whatare you going to fight?"

V

THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

Captain Selover received as his due the most absolute and implicitobedience imaginable. When he condescended to give an order in hisown person, the men fairly jumped to execute it. The matter had evidentlybeen threshed out long ago. They did not love him, not they; but theyfeared him with a mighty fear, and did not hesitate to say so, vividly, and often, when in the privacy of the forecastle. Theprevailing spirit was that of the wild beast, cowed but snarlingstill. Pulz and Thrackles in especial had a great deal to say of whatthey were or were not going to do, but I noticed that their resolutionalways began to run out of them when first foot was set to thecompanion ladder. 

One day we were loafing along, everything drawing well, and everybodybut the doctor on deck to enjoy the sun. I was in the crow's-nest formy pleasure. Below me on the deck Captain Selover roamed here andthere, as was his custom, his eye cocked out like a housewife's fordisorder. He found it, again in the evidence of expectoration, andas Perdosa happened to be handiest, fell on the unfortunate Mexican. 

Perdosa protested that he had had nothing to do with it, but CaptainSelover, enraged as always when his precious deck was soiled, wouldnot listen. Finally the Mexican grew sulky and turned away as thoughrefusing to hear more. The captain thereupon felled him to the deck, and began brutally to kick him in the face and head. 

Perdosa writhed and begged, but without avail. The other members ofthe crew gathered near. After a moment, they began to murmur. FinallyThrackles ventured, most respectfully, to intervene. 

"You'll kill him, sir, " he interposed. "He's had enough. "

"Had enough, has he?" screeched the captain. "Well, you take what'sleft. "

He marked Thrackles heavily over the eye. There was a breathlesspause; and then Thrackles, Pulz, the Nigger, and Perdosa attacked atonce. 

They caught the master unawares, and bore him to the deck. I droppedat once to the ratlines, and commenced my descent. Before I hadreached the deck, however, Selover was afoot again, the four hangingto him like dogs. In a moment more he had shaken them off; and beforeI could intervene, he had seized a belaying pin in either hand, andwas hazing them up and down the deck. 

"Mutiny, would you?" he shrilled. "You poor swabs! Forgot who was yourcaptain, did ye? Well, it's Captain Ezra Selover, and you can lay tothat! It would need about eight fathom of _stuff_ like you totie me down. "

He chased them forward, and he chased them aft, and every time thepins fell, blood followed. Finally they dived like rabbits into theforecastle hatch. Captain Selover leaned down after them. 

"Now tie yourselves up, " he advised, "and then come on deck and cleanup after yourselves!" He turned to me. "Mr. Eagen, turn out the crewto clean decks. "

I descended to the forecastle, followed immediately by Handy Solomon. The latter had taken no part in the affair. We found the men inhorrible shape, what with the bruises and cuts, and bleeding freely. 

"Now you're a nice-looking Sunday school!" observed Handy Soloman, eyeing them sardonically. "Tackel Old Scrubs, will ye? Well, someneeds a bale of cotton to fall on 'em afore they learns anything. Enjoyed your little diversions, mates? And w'at do you expect to gain?I asks you that, now. You poor little infants! Ain't you never tackledhim afore? Don't remember a little brigatine, name of the_Petrel!_ My eye, but you _are_ a pack of damn fools!"

To this he received no reply. The men sullenly assisted each other. Then they went immediately on deck and to work. 

After this taste of his quality, Captain Selover enjoyed a quiet ship. We made good time, but for a long while nothing happened. Finally themonotony was broken by an incident. 

One evening before the night winds I sat in the shadow of the extradory on top of the deck house. The moon was but just beyond the full, so I suppose I must have been practically invisible. Certainly theNigger did not know of my presence, for he came and stood within threefeet of me without giving any sign. The companion was open. In amoment some door below was opened also, and a scrap of conversationcame up to us very clearly. 

"You haf dem finished?" the doctor's voice inquired. "So, that isswell, "--papers rustled for a few moments. "And the r-result--ah--exactly--it iss that exactly. Percy, mein son, that maigsthe experiment exact. We haf the process----"

"I don't see, sir, quite, " replied the voice of Percy Darrow, witha tinge of excitement. "I can follow the logic of the experiment, ofcourse--so can I follow the logic of a trip to the moon. But when youcome to apply it--how do you get your re-agent? There's no knownmethod----"

Dr. Schermerhorn broke in: "Ach, it iss that I haf perfected. Pardonme, my boy, it iss the first I haf worked from you apart. It iss fora surprise. I haf made in small quantities the missing ingredient. It will form a perfect interruption to the current. Now we go----"

"Do you mean to say, " almost shouted Darrow, "that you have succeededin freeing it in the metal?"

"Yes, " replied the doctor simply. 

I could hear a chair overturned. 

"Why, with that you can----"

"I can do everything, " broke in the doctor. "The possibilities areenormous. "

"And you can really produce it in quantity?"

"I think so; it iss for us to discover. "

A pause ensued. 

"Why!" came the voice of Percy Darrow, awestricken. "With fiftycentigrammes only you could--you could transmute any substance--why, you could make anything you pleased almost! You could make enoughdiamonds to fill that chest! It is the philosopher's stone!"

"Diamonds--yes--it is possible, " interrupted the doctor impatiently, "if it was worth while. But you should see the real importance----"

The ship careened to a chance swell; a door slammed; the voices werecut off. I looked up. The Nigger's head was thrust forward fairly intothe glow from the companionway. The mask of his sullenness had fallen. His eyes fairly rolled in excitement, his thick lips were drawn backto expose his teeth, his powerful figure was gathered with the tensityof a bow. When the door slammed, he turned silently to glide away. At that instant the watch was changed, and in a moment I found myselfin my bunk. 

Ten seconds later the Nigger, detained by Captain Selover for sometrifling duty, burst into the forecastle. He was possessed by thewildest excitement. This in itself was enough to gain the attentionof the men, but his first words were startling. 

"I found de treasure!" he almost shouted. "I know where he kept!"

They leaped at him--Handy Solomon and Pulz--and fairly shook out ofhim what he thought he knew. He babbled in the forgotten terms ofalchemy, dressing modern facts in the garments of mediaeval thoughtuntil they were scarcely to be recognised. 

"And so he say dat he fine him, de Philosopher Stone, and he keep himin dat heavy box we see him carry aboard, and he don' have to makegol' with it--he can make diamon's--_diamon's_--he say it tooeasy to fill dat box plum full of diamon's. "

They gesticulated and exclaimed and breathed hard, full of the marvelof such a thought. Then abruptly the clamour died to nothing. I feltsix eyes bent on me, six unwinking eyes moving restless in motionlessfigures, suspicious, deadly as cobras----

Up to now my standing with the men had been well enough. Now they drewfrankly apart. One of the most significant indications of this wasthe increased respect they paid my office. It was as though by promptobedience, instant deference, and the emphasising of ship's etiquettethey intended to draw sharply the line between themselves and me. There was much whispering apart, many private talks and consultationsin which I had no part. Ordinarily they talked freely enough beforeme. Even the reading during the dog watch was intermitted--at leastit was on such days as I happened to be in the watch below. But twiceI caught the Nigger and Handy Solomon consulting together over thevolume on alchemy. 

I was in two minds whether to report the whole matter to CaptainSelover. The only thing that restrained me was the vagueness of theintention, and the fact that the afterguard was armed, and was fourto the crew's five. An incident, however, decided me. One evening Iwas awakened by a sound of violent voices. Captain Selover occasionallyjuggled the watches for variety's sake, and I now had Handy Solomonand Perdosa. The Nigger, being cook, stood no watch. 

"You drunken Greaser swab!" snarled Handy Solomon. "You misbegottenson of a Yaqui! I'll learn you to step on a seaman's foot, and youcan kiss the book on that! I'll cut your heart out and feed it to thesharks!"

"Potha!" sneered Perdosa. "You cut heem you finger wid your knife. "

They wrangled. At first I thought the quarrel genuine, but after amoment or so I could not avoid a sort of reminiscent impression ofthe cheap melodrama. It seemed incredible, but soon I could not dodgethe conclusion that it was a made-up quarrel designed to impress me. 

Why should they desire to do so? I had to give it up, but the factitself was obvious enough. I laughed to see them. The affair did notcome to blows, but it did come to black looks on meeting, mutteredoaths, growls of enmity every time they happened to pass each otheron the deck. Perdosa was not so bad; his Mexican blood inclined himto the histrionic, and his Mexican cast lent itself well to evil looks. But Handy Solomon, for the first time in my acquaintance with him, was ridiculous. 

About this time we crossed into frequent thunders. One evening justat dark we made out a heavy black squall. Not knowing exactly whatweight lay behind it, I called up all hands. We ducked the staysailand foresail, lowered the peak of the mainsail, and waited to feelof it--a rough and ready seamanship often used in these little Californiawindjammers. I was pretty busy, but I heard distinctly Handy Solomon'svoice behind me. 

"I'll kill you sure, you Greaser, as soon as my hands are free!"

And some muttered reply from the Mexican. 

The wind hit us hard, held on a few moments, and moderated to a stiffpuff. There followed the rain, so of course I knew it would amountto nothing. I was just stooping to throw the stops off the staysailwhen I felt myself seized from behind, and forced rapidly toward theside of the ship. 

Of course I struggled. The Japanese have a little trick to fool a manwho catches you around the waist from behind. It is part of thejiu-jitsu taught the Samurai--quite a different proposition from theordinary "policeman jiu-jitsu. " I picked it up from a friend in thenobility. It came in very handy now, and by good luck a roll of theship helped me. In a moment I stood free, and Perdosa was pickinghimself out of the scuppers. 

The expression of astonishment was fairly well done--I will say thatfor him--but I was prepared for histrionics. 

"Señor!" he gasped. "Eet is you! _Sacrosanta Maria!_ I thoughtyou was dat Solomon! Pardon me, señor! Pardon! Have I hurt you?"

He approached me almost wheedling. I could have laughed at thevillain. It was all so transparent. He no more mistook me for HandySolomon than he felt any real enmity for that person. But being angry, and perhaps a little scared, I beat him to his quarters with abelaying pin. 

On thinking the matter over, however, I failed to see all the ins andouts of it. I could understand a desire to get rid of me; there wouldbe one less of the afterguard, and then, too, I knew too much of themen's sentiments, if not of their plans. But why all this elaboratefarce of the mock quarrel and the alleged mistake? Could it be toguard against possible failure? I could hardly think it worth while. My only theory was that they had wished to test my strength anddetermination. The whole affair, even on that supposition, waschildish enough, but I referred the exaggerated cunning to HandySolomon, and considered it quite adequately explained. It is a minorpoint, but subsequently I learned that this surmise was correct. Iwas to be saved because none of the conspirators understood navigation. 

The next morning I approached Captain Selover. 

"Captain, " said I, "I think it my duty to report that there is troublebrewing among the crew. "

"There always is, " he replied, unmoved. 

"But this is serious. Dr. Schermerhorn came aboard with a chest whichthe men think holds treasure. The other evening Robinson overheardhim tell his assistant that he could easily fill the box with diamonds. Of course, he was merely illustrating the value of some scientificexperiment, but Robinson thinks, and has made the others think, thatthe chest contains something to make diamonds with. I am sure theyintend to get hold of it. The affair is coming to a head. "

Captain Selover listened almost indifferently. 

"I came back from the islands last year, " he piped, "with threehundred thousand dollars' worth of pearls. There was sixteen in thecrew, and every man of them was blood hungry for them pearls. Theyhad three or four shindies and killed one man over the proper way todivide the loot after they had got it. They didn't get it. Why?" Hedrew his powerful figure to its height and spread his thick arms outin the luxury of stretching. "Why?" he repeated, exhaling abruptly. "Because their captain was Ezra Selover! Well, Mr. Eagen, " he wenton crisply, "Captain Ezra Selover is their captain, _and they knowit_! They'll talk and palaver and git into dark corners, andsharpen their knives, and perhaps fight it out as to which one's goingto work the monkey-doodle business in the doctor's chest, and whichone's going to tie up the sacks of them diamonds, but they won't gitany farther as long as Captain Ezra is on deck. " "Yes, " I objected, "but they mean business. Last night in the squall one of them triedto throw me overboard. "

Captain Selover grinned. 

"What did you do?" he asked. 

"Hazed him to his quarters with a belaying pin. "

"Well, that's all settled then, isn't it? What more do you want?"

I stood undecided. 

"I can take care of myself, " he went on. "You ought to take care ofyourself. Then there's nothing more to do. "

He mused a moment. 

"You have a gun, of course?" he inquired. "I forgot to ask. "

"No, " said I. 

He whistled. 

"Well, no wonder you feel sort of lost and hopeless! Here, take this, it'll make a man of you. "

He gave me a Colt's 45, the barrel of which had been filed down toabout two inches of length. It was a most extraordinary weapon, buteffective at short range. 

"Here's a few loose cartridges, " said he. "Now go easy. This is nowarship, and we ain't got men to experiment on. Lick 'em with yourfists or a pin, if you can; and if you do shoot, for God's sake justwing 'em a little. They're awful good lads, but a little restless. "

I took the gun and felt better. With it I could easily handle themembers of my own watch, and I did not doubt that with the assistanceof Percy Darrow even a surprise would hardly overwhelm us. I did notcount on Dr. Schermerhorn. He was quite capable of losing himself ina problem of trajectory after the first shot. 

VI

THE ISLAND

I came on deck one morning at about four bells to find the entireship's company afoot. Even the doctor was there. Everybody was gazingeagerly at a narrow, mountainous island lying slate-coloured acrossthe early morning. 

We were as yet some twenty miles distant from it, and could make outnothing but its general outline. The latter was sharply defined, rising and falling to a highest point one side of the middle. Overthe island, and raggedly clasping its sides, hung a cloud, the onlyone visible in the sky. 

I joined the afterguard. 

"You see?" the doctor was exclaiming. "It iss as I haf said. Theisland iss there. Everything iss as it should be!" He was quiteexcited. 

Percy Darrow, too, was shaken out of his ordinary calm. 

"The volcano is active, " was his only comment, but it explained theragged cloud. 

"You say there's a harbour?" inquired Captain Selover. 

"It should be on the west end, " said Dr. Schermerhorn. 

Captain Selover drew me one side. He, too was a little aroused. 

"Now wouldn't that get you?" he squeaked. "Doctor runs up against aNorwegian bum who tells him about a volcanic island, and gives itsbearings. The island ain't on the map at all. Doctor believes it, andmakes me lay my course for those bearings. _And here's theisland_! So the bum's story was true! I'd like to know what therest of it was!" His eyes were shining. 

"Do we anchor or stand off and on?" I asked. 

Captain Selover turned to grip me by the shoulder. 

"I have orders from Darrow to get to a good berth, to land, to buildshore quarters, and to snug down for a stay of a year at least!"

We stared at each other. 

"Joyous prospect, " I muttered. "Hope there's something to do there. "

The morning wore, and we rapidly approached the island. It proved tobe utterly precipitous. The high rounded hills sloped easily to withina hundred feet or so of the water and then fell away abruptly. Wherethe earth ended was a fantastic filigree border, like the fancy paperwith which our mothers used to line the pantry shelves. Below, thewhite surges flung themselves against the cliffs with a wild abandon. Thousands of sea birds wheeled in the eddies of the wind, thousandsof ravens perched on the slopes. With our glasses we could make outthe heads of seals fishing outside the surf, and a ragged belt of kelp. 

When within a mile we put the helm up, and ran for the west end. Abold point we avoided far out, lest there should be outlying ledges. Then we came in sight of a broad beach and pounding surf. 

I was ordered to take a surf boat and investigate for a landing andan anchorage. The swell was running high. We rowed back and forth, puzzled as to how to get ashore with all the freight it would benecessary to land. The ship would lie well enough, for the only openexposure was broken by a long reef over which we could make out theseas tumbling. But inshore the great waves rolled smoothly, swiftly--then suddenly fell forward as over a ledge, and spread with a roaracross the yellow sands. The fresh winds blew the spume back to us. We conversed in shouts. 

"We can surf the boat, " yelled Thrackles, "but we can't land a load. "

That was my opinion. We rowed slowly along, parallel to the shore, and just outside the line of breakers. I don't know exactly how totell you the manner in which we became aware of the cove. It was asnearly the instantaneous as can be imagined. One minute I looked aheadon a cliff as unbroken as the side of a cabin; the very next I peereddown the length of a cove fifty fathoms long by about ten wide, atthe end of which was a gravel beach. I cried out sharply to the men. They were quite as much astonished as I. We backed water, watchingclosely. At a given point the cove and all trace of its entrancedisappeared. We could only just make out the line where the headlandsdissolved into the background of the cliffs, and that merely becausewe knew of its existence. The blending was perfect. 

We rowed in. The water was still. A faint ebb and flow whisperedagainst the tiny gravel beach at the end. I noted a practicable wayfrom it to the top of the cliff, and from the cliff down again to thesand beach. Everything was perfect. The water was a beautiful lightgreen, like semi-opaque glass, and from the indistinctness of itsdepths waved and beckoned, rose and disappeared with indescribablegrace and deliberation long feathery sea growths. In a moment thebottom abruptly shallowed. The motion of the boat toward the beachpermitted us to catch a hasty glimpse of little fish darting, of bigfish turning, of yellow sand and some vivid colour. Then came thegrate of gravel and the scraping of the boat's bottom on the beach. We jumped ashore eagerly. I left the men, very reluctant, and ascendeda natural trail to a high sloping down over which blew the great Trades. Grass sprung knee-high. A low hill rose at the back. From below thefall of the cliff came the pounding of surf. 

I walked to the edge. Various ledges, sloping toward me, ran down tothe sea. Against one of them was a wreck, not so very old, head on, her afterworks gone. I recognised the name _Golden Horn_, andwas vastly astonished to find her here against this unknown island. Far up the coast I could see--with the surges dashing up like the explosionof shells, and the cliffs, and the rampart of hills grown with grassand cactus. A bold promontory terminated the coast view to the north, and behind it I could glimpse a more fertile and wooded country. Thesky was partly overcast by the volcanic murk. It fled before theTrades, and the red sun alternately blazed and clouded through it. 

As there was nothing more to be seen here, I turned above the hollowof our cove, skirted the base of the hill, and so down to the beach. 

It occupied a wide semicircle where the hills drew back. The flat wasdry and grown with thick, coarse grass. A stream emerged from a sortof canon on its landward side. I tasted it, found it sulphurous, anda trifle worse than lukewarm. A little nearer the cliff, however, wasa clear, cold spring from the rock, and of this I had a satisfyingdrink. When I arose from my knees, I made out an animal on the hillcrest looking at me, but before I could distinguish itscharacteristics it had disappeared. 

I returned along the tide sands. The surf dashed and roared, liftingseaweeds of a blood red, so that in places the water looked pink. Seals innumerable watched me from just outside the breakers. As thewaves lifted to a semi-transparence, I could make out others playing, darting back and forth, up and down like disturbed tadpoles, clingingto the wave until the very instant of its fall, then disappearing asthough blotted out. The salt smell of seaweed was in my nostrils: Ifound the place pleasant--

With these few and scattered impressions we returned to the ship. Ithad been warped to a secure anchorage, and snugged down. Dr. Schermerhorn and Darrow were on deck waiting to go ashore. 

I made my report. The two passengers disappeared. They carried lunchand would not be back until night-fall. We had orders to pitch a largetent at a suitable spot and to lighten ship of the doctor's personaland scientific effects. By the time this was accomplished, the twohad returned. 

"It's all right, " Darrow volunteered to Captain Selover, as he cameover the side. "We've found what we want. "

Their clothes were picked by brush and their boots muddy. Next morningCaptain Selover detailed me to especial work. 

"You'll take two of the men and go ashore under Darrow's orders, " saidhe. 

Darrow told us to take clothes for a week, an axe apiece, and a blockand tackle. We made up our ditty bags, stepped into one of the surfboats, and were rowed ashore. There Darrow at once took the lead. 

Our way proceeded across the grass flat, through the opening of thenarrow cañon, and so on back into the interior by way of the bedthrough which flowed the sulphur stream. The country was badly eroded. Most of the time we marched between perpendicular clay banks aboutforty feet high. These were occasionally broken by smaller tributaryarroyos of the same sort. It would have been impossible to reach thelevel of the upper country. The bed of the main arroyo was flat, andgrown with grasses and herbage of an extraordinary vividness, due, I supposed, to the sulphur water. The stream itself meandered aimlesslythrough the broader bed. It steadily grew warmer and the sulphur smellmore noticeable. Above us we could see the sky and the sharp clay edgeof the arroyo. I noticed the tracks of Darrow and Dr. Schermerhornmade the day before. 

After a mile of this, the bottom ran up nearly to the level of thesides, and we stepped out on the floor of a little valley almostsurrounded by more hills. 

It was an extraordinary place, and since much happened there, I mustgive you an idea of it. 

It was round and nearly encircled by naked painted hills. From itsfloor came steam and a roaring sound. The steam blew here andthere among the pines on the floor; rose to eddy about the nakedpainted hills. At one end we saw intermittently a broad ascendingcañon--deep red and blue-black--ending in the cone of a smokingvolcano. The other seemed quite closed by the sheer hills; in factthe only exit was the route by which we had come. 

For the hills were utterly precipitous. I suppose a man might havemade his way up the various knobs, ledges, and inequalities, but itwould have required long study and a careful head. I, myself, laterworked my way a short distance, merely to examine the texture of theirmarvellous colour. 

This was at once varied and of great body--not at all like the smooth, glossed colour of most rock, but soft and rich. You've seen painters'palettes--it was just like that, pasty and _fat_. There were redsof all shades, from a veritable scarlet to a red umber; greens, fromsea-green to emerald; several kinds of blue, and an indeterminatepurple-mauve. The whole effect was splendid and barbaric. 

We stopped and gasped as it hit our eyes. Darrow alone was unmoved. He led the way forward and in an instant had disappeared behind theveil of steam. Thrackles and Perdosa hung back murmuring, but at asharp word from me gathered their courage in their two hands and proceeded. 

We found that the first veil of steam, and a fearful stench of gases, proceeded from a miniature crater whose edge was heavily encrustedwith a white salt. Beyond, close under the rise of the hill, wasanother. Between the two Percy Darrow had stopped and was waiting. 

He eyed us with his lazy, half-quizzical glance as we approached. 

"Think the place is going to blow up?" he inquired, with a tinge ofirony. "Well, it isn't. " He turned to me. "Here's where we shall stayfor a while. You and the men are to cut a number of these pine treesfor a house. Better pick out the little ones, about three or fourinches through: they're easier handled. I'll be back by noon. "

We set to work then in the roaring, steaming valley with the vapourswirling about us, sometimes concealing us, sometimes half revealingus gigantic, again in the utterness of exposure showing us dwindledpigmies against the magnitudes about us. The labour was not difficult. By the time Darrow returned we had a pile of the saplings ready forhis next direction. 

He was accompanied by the Nigger, very much terrified, very muchburdened with food and cooking utensils. The assistant was lazilyrelating tales of voodoos, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. 

VII

CAPTAIN SELOVER LOSES HIS NERVE

I lived in the place for three weeks. We were afoot shortly afterdaybreak, under way by sun-up, and at work before the heats began. Three of us worked on the buildings, and the rest formed a pack traincarrying all sorts of things from the shore to the valley. The mengrumbled fiercely at this, but Captain Selover drove them with slightregard for their opinions or feelings. 

"You're getting double pay, " was his only word, "earn it!"

They certainly earned it during those three weeks. The things theybrought up were astounding. Besides a lot of scientific apparatus andchests of chemical supplies, everything that could possibly berequired, had been provided by that omniscient young man. After wehad built a long, low structure, windows were forthcoming, shelves, tables, sinks, faucets, forges, burners, all cut out, fitted and readyto put together, each with its proper screws, nails, clamps, or pipesready to our hands. When we had finished, we had constructed ascomplete a laboratory on a small scale as you could find on a collegecampus, even to the stone pillar down to bed-rock for delicatemicroscopic experiments, and hot and cold water led from the springs. And we were utterly unskilled. It was all Percy Darrow. 

I was toward the last engaged in screwing on a fixture for thegeneration of acetelyne gas. 

"Darrow, " said I, "there's one thing you've overlooked; you forgotto bring a cupola and a gilt weather-cock for this concern. "

After the laboratory was completed, we put up sleeping quarters forthe two men, with wide porches well screened, and a square, heavystoreroom. By the end of the third week we had quite finished. 

Dr. Schermerhorn had turned with enthusiasm to the unpacking of hischemical apparatus. Almost immediately at the close of thefreight-carrying, he had appeared, lugging his precious chest, thistime suffering the assistance of Darrow, and had camped on the spot. We could not induce him to leave, so we put up a tent for him. Darrowremained with him by way of safety against the men, whose measure, I believe, he had taken. Now that all the work was finished, the doctorput in a sudden appearance. 

"Percy, " said he, "now we will have the defence built. "

He dragged us with him to the narrow part of the arroyo, just beforeit rose to the level of the valley. 

"Here we will build the stockade-defence, " he announced. 

Darrow and I stared at each other blankly. 

"What for, sir?" inquired the assistant. 

"I haf come to be undisturbed, " announced the doctor, with owl-like, Teutonic gravity, "and I will not be disturbed. "

Darrow nodded to me and drew his principal aside. 

They conversed earnestly for several minutes. Then the assistantreturned to me. 

"No use, " he shrugged in complete return to his indifferent manner. "Stockade it is. Better make it of fourteen foot logs, slanted out. Dig a trench across, plant your logs three or four feet, bind themat the top. That's his specification for it. Go at it. "

"But, " I expostulated, "what's the _use_ of it? Even if the menwere dangerous, that would just make them think you _did_ havesomething to guard. "

"I know that. Orders, " replied Percy Darrow. 

We built the stockade in a day. When it was finished we marched tothe beach, and never, save in the three instances of which I shalllater tell you, did I see the valley again. The next day we washedour clothes, and moved ashore with all our belongings. 

"I'm not going to have this crew aboard, " stated Captain Seloverpositively, "I'm going to clean her. " He himself stayed, however. 

We rowed in, constructed a hasty fireplace of stones, spread ourblankets, and built an unnecessary fire near the beach. 

"Clean her!" grumbled Thrackles, "my eye!"

"I'd rather round the Cape, " growled Pulz hopelessly. 

"Come, now, it can't be as bad as all that, " I tried to cheer them. "It can't be more than a week or ten days' job, even if we careen her. "

"You don't know what you're talking about, " said Thrackles. "It'sworse than the yellow jack. It's six weeks at least. Mind when we last'cleaned her'?" he inquired of Handy Solomon. 

"You can kiss the Book on it, " replied he. "Down by the line in thatlittle swab of a sand island. My eye, but _don't_ I remember!I sweated my liver white. "

They smoked in silence. 

"That's a main queer contrivance of the Perfessor's--thatstockade-like, " ventured Solomon, after a little. 

"He doesn't want any intrusion, " I said. "These scientific experimentsare very delicate. "

"Quite like, " he commented non-committally. 

We slept on the ground that night, and next morning, under CaptainSelover's directions, we commenced the task of lightening the ship. He detailed the Nigger and Perdosa for special duty. 

"I'll just see to your shore quarters, " he squeaked. "You empty her. "

All day long we rowed back and forth from the ship to the cove, landing the contents of the hold. These, by good fortune, we did nothave to carry over the neck of land, for just above the gravel beachwas a wide ledge on which we could pile the stores. We ate aboard, and so had no opportunity of seeing what Captain Selover and his menwere about, until evening. Then we discovered that they had collectedand lowered to the beach a quantity of stateroom doors from the wreck, and had trundled the galley stove to the edge where it awaited ourassistance. We hitched a cable to it, and let it down gently. TheNigger was immensely pleased. After some experiment he got it to draw, and so cooked us our supper on it. After supper, Captain Selover rowedhimself back to the ship. 

"Eagen, " he had said, drawing me aside, "I'm going to leave you withthem. It's better that one of us--I think as owner I ought to beaboard----"

"Of course, sir, " said I, "it's the only proper place for you. "

"I'm glad you think so, " he rejoined, apparently relieved. "Andanyway, " he cried, with a burst of feeling, "I hate the gritty feelingof it under my feet! Solid oak's the only walking for a man. "

He left me hastily, as though a trifle ashamed. I thought he seemeddepressed, even a little furtive, and yet on analysis I could discovernothing definite on which to base such a conclusion. 

It was rather a feeling of difference from the man I had known. Inmy fatigue it seemed hardly worth thinking about. 

The men had rolled themselves in their blankets, tired with the longday. 

Next morning Captain Selover was ashore early. He had quite recoveredhis spirits, and offered me a dram of French brandy, which I refused. We worked hard again; again the master returned at night to hisvessel, this time without a word to any of us; again the men, druggedby toil, turned in early and slept like the dead. 

We became entangled in a mesh of days like these, during which thingswere accomplished, but in which was no space for anything but thetasks imposed upon us. The men for the most part had little to say. 

"Por Dios, eet is too mooch work!" sighed Perdosa once. 

"Why don't you kick to the Old Man, then?" sneered Thrackles. 

The silence that followed, and the sullenness with which Perdosareaddressed himself to his work, was significant enough of CaptainSelover's past relations with the men. 

And how we did clean her! We stripped her of every stitch and sliveruntil she floated high, an empty hull, even her spars and runningrigging ashore. I understood now the crew's grumbling. We literallywent at her with a nail brush. 

Captain Selover took charge of us when we had reached this period. He and the Nigger and Perdosa had long since finished the installationof the permanent camp. They had built us huts from the wreck, collectingstateroom doors for the sides, and hatches for the roofs, huge andsolid, with iron rings in them. The bronze and iron ventilationgratings to the doors gave us glimpses of the coast through fretwork;the rich inlaying of woods surrounded us. We set up on a solid rockthe galley stove--with its rails to hold the cooking pots fromupsetting, in a sea way. In it we burned the débris of the wreck, allsorts of wood, some sweet and aromatic and spicy as an incensedcathedral. I have seen the Nigger boiling beans over a blaze of sandalwood fragrant as an Eastern shop. 

First we scrubbed the _Laughing Lass_, then we painted her, andresized and tarred her standing rigging, resized and rove her runninggear, slushed her masts, finally careened her and scraped and paintedher below. 

When we had quite finished, we had the anchor chain dealt out to usin fathoms, and scraped, pounded and polished that. These were indeeddays full of labour. 

Being busy from morning until night we knew but little of what wasabout us. We saw the open sea and the waves tumbling over the reefoutside. We saw the headlands, and the bow of the bay and the surfwith its watching seals and the curve of yellow sands. We saw thesweep of coast and the downs and the strange huts we had built outof departed magnificence. And that was all; that constituted our world. 

In the evening sometimes we lit a big bonfire, sailor fashion, justat the edge of the beach. There we sat at ease and smoked our pipesin silence, too tired to talk. Even Handy Solomon's song was still. Outside the circle of light were mysterious things--strange wavingsof white hands, bendings of figures, callings of voices, rustling offeet. We knew them for the surf and the wind in the grasses: but theywere not the less mysterious for that. 

Logically Captain Selover and I should have passed most of ourevenings together. As a matter of fact we so spent very few. Earlyin the dusk the captain invariably rowed himself out to his belovedschooner. What he did there I do not know. We could see his light nowin one part of her, now in the other. The men claimed he was scrubbingher teeth. "Old Scrubs" they called him to his back: never CaptainSelover. 

"He has to clean up after his own feet, he's so dirty, " sagelyproffered Handy Solomon. And this was true. 

The seaman's prophecy held good. Seven weeks held us at that infernaljob--seven weeks of solid, grinding work. The worst of it was, thatwe were kept at it so breathlessly, as though our very existence wereto depend on the headlong rush of our labour. And then we had fullyhalf the stores to put away again, and the other half to transportpainfully over the neck of land from the cove to the beach. 

So accustomed had I become to the routine in which we were involved, so habituated to anticipating the coming day as exactly like the daythat had gone, that the completion of our job caught me quite bysurprise. I had thrown myself down by the fire prepared for the someold half hour of drowsy nicotine, to be followed by the accustomedheavy sleep, and the usual early rising to toil. The evening was warm;I half closed my eyes. 

Handy Solomon was coming in last. Instead of dropping to his place, he straddled the fire, stretching his arms over his head. He let themfall with a sharp exhalation. 

 "'Lay aloft, lay aloft, ' the jolly bos'n cried. _Blow high, blow low, what care we!_ 'Look ahead, look astern, look a-windward, look a-lee. ' _Down on the coast of the high Barbare-e-e. _"

The effect was electrical. We all sprang to our feet and fell totalking at once. 

"By God, we're _through_!" cried Pulz. "I'd clean forgot it!"

The Nigger piled on more wood. We drew closer about the fire. All theinterests in life, so long held in the background, leaped forward, eager for recognition. We spoke of trivialities almost for the firsttime since our landing, fused into a temporary but complete goodfellowship by the relief. 

"Wonder how the old doctor is getting on?" ventured Thrackles, aftera while. 

"The devil's a preacher! I wonder?" cried Handy Solomon. 

"Let's make 'em a call, " suggested Pulz. 

"Don't believe they'd appreciate the compliment, " I laughed. "Betterlet them make first call: they're the longer established. " This waslost on them, of course. But we all felt kindly to one another thatevening. 

I carried the glow of it with me over until next morning, and wastherefore somewhat dashed to meet Captain Selover, with clouded browsand an uncertain manner. He quite ignored my greeting. 

"By God, Eagen, " he squeaked, "can you think of anything more to bedone?"

I straightened my back and laughed. 

"Haven't you worked us hard enough?" I inquired. "Unless you gild thecabins, I don't see what else there can be to do. "

Captain Selover stared me over. 

"And you a naval man!" he marvelled. "Don't you see that the onlything that keeps this crew from gettin' restless is keeping them busy?I've sweat a damn sight more with my brain than you have with yourback thinking up things to do. I can't see anything ahead, and thenwe'll have hell to pay. Oh, they're a sweet lot!"

I whistled and my crest fell. Here was a new point of view; and alsoa new Captain Ezra. Where was the confidence in the might of his twohands?

He seemed to read my thoughts, and went on. 

"I don't feel _sure_ here on this cussed land. It ain't like adeck where a man has some show. They can scatter. They can hide. Itain't right to put a man ashore alone with such a crew. I'm doing mybest, but it ain't goin' to be good enough. I wisht we were safe in'Frisco harbour----"

He would have maundered on, but I seized his arm and led him out ofpossible hearing of the men. 

"Here, buck up!" I said to him sternly. "There's nothing to be scaredof. If it comes to a row, there's three of us and we've got guns. Wecould even sail the schooner at a pinch, and leave them here. You'vestood them off before. "

"Not ashore, " protested Captain Selover weakly. 

"Well, they don't know that. For God's sake don't let them see you'velost your nerve this way. " He did not even wince at the accusation. "Put up a front. "

He shook his head. The sand had completely run out of him. Yet I amconvinced that if he could have felt the heave and roll of the deckbeneath him, he would have faced three times the difficulties he nowfeared. However, I could see readily enough the wisdom of keeping themen at work. 

"You can wreck the _Golden Horn_, " I suggested. "I don't knowwhether there's anything left worth salvage; but it'll be somethingto do. "

He clapped me on the shoulder. 

"Good!" he cried, "I never thought of it. "

"Another thing, " said I, "you better give them a day off a week. Thatcan't hurt them and it'll waste just that much more time. "

"All right, " agreed Captain Selover. 

"Another thing yet. You know I'm not lazy, so it ain't that I'm tryingto dodge work. But you'd better lay me off. It'll be so much more forthe others. "

"That's true, " said he. 

I could not recognise the man for what I knew him to be. He groped, as one in the dark, or as a sea animal taken out of its element andplaced on the sands. Courage had given place to fear; decision towavering; and singleness of purpose to a divided counsel. He who hadso thoroughly dominated the entire ship, eagerly accepted advice ofme--a man without experience. 

That evening I sat apart considerably disturbed. I felt that theground had dropped away beneath my feet. To be sure, everything wastranquil at present; but now I understood the source of thattranquillity and how soon it must fail. With opportunity would comemore scheming, more speculation, more cupidity. How was I to meet it, with none to back me but a scared man, an absorbed man, and anindifferent man?

VIII

WRECKING OF THE GOLDEN HORN

Percy Darrow, unexpected, made his first visit to us the very nextevening. He sauntered in with a Mexican corn-husk cigarette betweenhis lips, carrying a lantern; blew the light out, and sat down witha careless greeting, as though he had seen us only the day before. 

"Hullo, boys, " said he, "been busy?"

"How are ye, sir?" replied Handy Solomon. "Good Lord, mates, look atthat!"

Our eyes followed the direction of his forefinger. Against the darkblue of the evening sky to northward glowed a faint phosphorescence, arch-shaped, from which shot, with pulsating regularity, long shaftsof light. They beat almost to the zenith, and back again, a half dozentimes, then the whole illumination disappeared with the suddennessof gas turned out. 

"Now I wonder what that might be!" marvelled Thrackles. 

"Northern lights, " hazarded Pulz. "I've seen them almost like thatin the Behring Seas. "

"Northern lights your eye!" sneered Handy Solomon. "You may have seenthem in the Behring Seas, but never this far south, and in August, and you can, kiss the Book on that. "

"What do you think, sir?" Thrackles inquired of the assistant. 

"Devil's fire, " replied Percy Darrow briefly. "The island's a littlequeer. I've noticed it before. "

"Debbil fire, " repeated the Nigger. 

Darrow turned directly to him. 

"Yes, devil's fire; and devils, too, for all I know; and certainlyvampires. Did you ever hear of vampires, Doctor?"

"No, " growled the Nigger. 

"Well, they are women, wonderful, beautiful women. A man on a longvoyage would just smack his lips to see them. They have shiny greyeyes, and lips red as raspberries. When you meet them they will talkwith you and go home with you. And then when you're asleep they teara little hole in your neck with their sharp claws, and they suck theblood with their red lips. When they aren't women, they take the shapeof big bats like birds. " He turned to me with so beautifully casualan air that I wanted to clap him on the back with the joy of it. 

"By the way, Eagen, have you noticed those big bats the last fewevenings, over by the cliff? _I_ can't make out in the duskwhether they are vampires or just plain bats. " He directed his remarksagain to the Nigger. "Next time you see any of those big bats, Doctor, just you notice close. If they have just plain, black eyes, they'reall right; but if they have grey eyes, with red rims around 'em, they're vampires. I wish you'd let me know, if you do find out. It'sinteresting. "

"Don' get me near no bats, " growled the Nigger. 

"Where's Selover?" inquired Darrow. 

"He stays aboard, " I hastened to say. "Wants to keep an eye on theship. "

"That's laudable. What have you been doing?"

"We've been cleaning ship. Just finished yesterday evening. "

"What next?"

"We were thinking of wrecking the _Golden Horn_. "

"Quite right. Well, if you want any help with your engines or anythingof the sort, call on me. "

He arose and began to light his lantern. "I hope as how you're gettingon well there above, sir?" ventured Handy Solomon insinuatingly. 

"Very well, I thank you, my man, " replied Percy Darrow drily. "Remember those vampires, Doctor. "

He swung the lantern and departed without further speech. We followedthe spark of it until it disappeared in the arroyo. 

Behind us bellowed the sea; over against us in the sky was the dullthreatening glow of the volcano; about us were mysterious noises ofcrying birds, barking seals, rustling or rushing winds. I felt thethronging ghosts of all the old world's superstition swirling madlybehind us in the eddies that twisted the smoke of our fire. 

We wrecked the _Golden Horn_. Forward was a rusted-out donkeyengine, which we took to pieces and put together again. It was no meanjob, for all the running parts had to be cleaned smooth, and with theexception of a rudimentary knowledge on the part of Pulz and Perdosa, we were ignorant. In fact we should not have succeeded at all had itnot been for Percy Darrow and his lantern. The first evening we tookhim over to the cliff's edge he laughed aloud. 

"Jove, boys, how could you guess it _all_ wrong, " he wondered. 

With a few brief words he set us right, Pulz, Perdosa, and I listeningintently; the others indifferent in the hopelessness of being ableto comprehend. Of course, we went wrong again in our next day'sexperiments; but Darrow was down two or three times a week, andgradually we edged toward a practical result. 

His explanations consumed but a few moments. After they were finished, we adjourned to the fire. 

Thus we came gradually to a better acquaintance with the doctor'sassistant. In many respects he remained always a puzzle, to me. Certainly the men never knew how to take him. He was evidently notonly unafraid of them, but genuinely indifferent to them. 

Yet he displayed a certain interest in their needs and affairs. Hispractical knowledge was enormous. I think I have told you of thecompleteness of his arrangements--everything had been foreseen fromgrindstones to gas nippers. The same quality of concrete speculationshowed him what we lacked in our own lives. 

There was, as you remember, the matter of Handy Solomon's steel claw. He showed Thrackles a kind of lanyard knot that deep-sea person hadnever used. He taught Captain Selover how to make soft soap out ofone species of seaweed. Me, he initiated in the art of fishing witha white bone lure. Our camp itself he reconstructed on scientific linesso that we enjoyed less aromatic smoke and more palatable dinner. Andall of it he did amusedly, as though his ideas were almost too obviousto need communication. 

We became in a manner intimate with him. He guyed the men in hisindolent fashion, playing on their credulity, their good nature, eventheir forbearance. They alternately grinned and scowled. He leftalways a confused impression, so that no one really knew whether hecherished rancour against Percy Darrow or kindly feeling. 

The Nigger was Darrow's especial prey. The assistant had earlydiscovered that the cook was given to signs, omens, and superstitions. 

From a curious scholar's lore he drew fantastics with which to tormenthis victim. We heard of all the witches, warlocks, incubi, succibi, harpies, devils, imps, and haunters of Avitchi, from all the teachingsof history, sacred and profane, Hindu, Egyptian, Greek, mediaeval, Swedenborg, Rosicrucian, theosophy, theology, with every last ounceof horror, mystery, shivers, and creeps squeezed out of them. Theywere gorgeous ghost stories, for they were told by a man fully informedas to all the legendary and gruesome details. At first I used to thinkhe might have communicated it more effectively. Then I saw that thecool, drawling manner, the level voice, were in reality the highestart. He told his stories in a half-amused, detached manner which imposedconfidence more readily than any amount of earnest asseveration. Themere fact of his own belief in what he said came to matter little. He was the vehicle by which was brought accurate knowledge. He hadread all these things, and now reported them as he had read: each mancould decide for himself as to their credibility. 

At last the donkey engine was cleared and reinstalled, atop the cliff. The Nigger built under her a fire of black walnut; Captain Seloverhanded out grog all around; and we started her up with a cheer, justto see the wheels revolve. 

Next we half buried some long hatches, end up, to serve as bitts forthe lines, hitched our cables to them, and joyfully commenced the taskof pulling the _Golden Horn_ piece by piece up the side of thecliff. 

The stores were badly damaged by the wet, and there was no liquor, for which I was sincerely grateful. We broke into the boxes, and arrayedourselves in various garments--which speedily fell to pieces--andappropriated gim-cracks of all sorts. There were some arms, but theammunition had gone bad. Perdosa, out of forty or fifty mis-fires, got one feeble sputter, and a tremendous _bang_ which blew uphis piece, leaving only the stock in his hand. A few tinned goods wereedible; but all the rest was destroyed. A lot of hard woods, athousand feet of chain cable, and a fairly good anchor might beconsidered as prizes. As for the rest, it was foolishness, but wehauled it up just the same until nothing at all remained. Then we shutoff the donkey engine, and put on dry clothes. We had been quite happyfor the eight months. 

It was now well along toward spring. The winter had been like summer, and with the exception of a few rains of a week or so, we had enjoyedbeautiful skies. The seals had thinned out considerably, but were nowreturning in vast numbers ready for their annual domesticarrangements. 

Our Sundays we had mostly spent in resting, or in fishing. There weremany deep sea fish to be had, of great palatability, but smallgameness; they came like so many leaden weights. A few of us hadclimbed some of the hills in a half-hearted curiosity, but from theirsummits saw nothing to tempt weariness. Practically we knew nothingbeyond the mile or so of beach on which we lived. 

Captain Selover had made a habit of coming ashore at least once duringthe day. He had contented himself with standing aloof, but I tookpains to seem to confer with him, so that the men might suppose thatI, as mate, was engaged in carrying out his directions. The dread ofhim was my most potent influence over them. 

During the last few days of our wrecking, Captain Selover had omittedhis daily visit. The fact made me uneasy, so that at my firstopportunity I sculled myself out to the schooner. I found him, moist-eyed as usual, leaning against the mainmast doing nothing. 

"We've finished, sir, " said I. 

He looked at me. 

"Will you come ashore and have a look, sir?" I inquired. 

"I ain't going ashore again, " he muttered thickly. 

"What!" I cried. 

"I ain't going ashore again, " he repeated obstinately, "and that'sall there is to it. It's too much of a strain on any man. Suit yourself. You run them. I shipped as captain of a vessel. I'm no dock walloper. I won't _do_ it--for no man!"

I gasped with dismay at the man's complete moral collapse. It seemedincredible. I caught myself wondering whether he would recover tonewere he again to put to sea. 

"My God, man, but you _must_!" I cried at last. 

"I won't, and that's flat, " said he, and turned deliberately on hisheel and disappeared in the cabin. 

I went ashore thoughtful and a little scared. But on reflection Iregained a great part of my ease of mind. You see, I had been withthese men now eight months, during which they had been as orderly asso many primary schoolboys. They had worked hard, without grumbling, and had even approached a sort of friendliness about the camp fire. My first impression was overlaid. As I looked back on the voyage, withwhat I took to be a clearer vision, I could not but admit that theincidents were in themselves trivial enough--a natural excitement bya superstitious negro, a little tall talk that meant nothing. It musthave been the glamour of the adventure that had deceived me; that, and the unusual stage setting and costuming. Certainly few men wouldwork hard for eight months without a murmur, without a chance to lookabout them. 

In that, of course, I was deceived by my inexperience. I realisedlater the wonderful effect Captain Selover threw away with his emptybrandy bottles. The crew might grumble and plot during the watchbelow; but when Captain Ezra Selover said _work_, they worked. He had been saying work, for eight months. They had, from force ofexperience, obeyed him. It was all very simple. 

IX

THE EMPTY BRANDY BOTTLE

So there I was at once deprived of my chief support. Although nodanger seemed imminent, nevertheless the necessity of acting on myown initiative and responsibility oppressed me somewhat. 

Truth to tell, after the first, I was more relieved than dismayed atthe captain's resolution to stay aboard. His drinking habit wasgrowing on him, and afloat or ashore he was now little more than afigurehead, so that my chief asset as far as he was concerned, wasrather his reputation than his direct influence. In contact with themen, I dreaded lest sooner or later he do something to lessen ordestroy the awe in which they held him. 

Of course Dr. Schermerhorn had been mistaken in his man: A realcaptain of men would have risen to circumstances wherever he foundthem. But who could have foretold? Captain Selover had been a rascalalways, but a successful and courageous rascal. He had run desperatechances, dominated desperate crews. Who could know that a crumble ofisland beach and six months ashore would turn him into what he hadbecome? Yet I believe such cases are not uncommon in other walks oflife. A man and his work combine to mean something; yet both may beabsolutely useless when separated. It was the weak link----

I put in some time praying earnestly that the eyes of the crew mightbe blinded, and that the doctor would finish his experiments beforethe cauldron could boil up again. 

My first act as real commander was to announce holiday. My idea wasthat the island would keep the men busy for a while. Then I wouldassign them more work to do. They proposed at once a tour into theinterior. 

We started up the west coast. After three or four miles along a mesaformation where often we had to circle long detours to avoid thegullies, we came upon another short beach, and beyond it a series ofledges on which basked several hundred seals. They did not seemalarmed. In fact one old bull, scarred by many battles, made towardus. 

We left him, scaled the cliff, and turned up a broad, pleasant valleytoward the interior. 

There the later lava flow had been deflected. All that showed of theoriginal eruption were occasional red outcropping rocks. Soil andgrass had overlaid the mineral. Scattered trees were plantedthroughout the flat. Cacti and semi-tropical bushes mingled with brushon the rounded side hills. A number of brilliant birds fluttered atour approach. 

Suddenly Handy Solomon, who was in advance, stopped and pointed tothe crest of the hill. A file of animals moved along the sky line. 

"Mutton!" said he, "or the devil's a preacher!"

"Sheep!" cried Thrackles. "Where did they come from?"

"_Golden Horn_, " I suggested. "Remember that wide, empty deckforward? They carried sheep there. " The men separated, intending freshmeat. The affair was ridiculous. These sheep had become as wild asdeer. Our surrounding party with its silly bared knives could onlylook after them open-mouthed, as they skipped nimbly between itsmembers. 

"Get a gun of the Old Man, Mr. Eagen, " suggested Pulz, "and we'll havesomething besides salt horse and fish. "

I nodded. 

We continued. The island was like this as far as we went. When weclimbed a ridge, we found ourselves looking down on a spider-web ofother valleys and cañons of the same nature, all diverging to broaddowns and a jump into the sea, all converging to the outworks thatguarded the volcano with its canopy of vapour. 

On our way home we cut across the higher country and the heads of thecañons until we found ourselves looking down on the valley and Dr. Schermerhorn's camp. The steam from the volcanic blowholes swayedbelow us. Through its rifts we saw the tops of the buildings. Presently we made out Percy Darrow, dressed in overalls, his sleevesrolled back, and carrying a retort. He walked, very preoccupied, toone of the miniature craters, where he knelt and went through someoperation indistinguishable at the distance. I looked around to seemy companions staring at him fascinated, their necks craned out, theirbodies drawn back into hiding. In a moment he had finished, andcarried the retort carefully into the laboratory. The men sighed andstood erect, once more themselves. As we turned away Perdosa voicedwhat must have been in the minds of all. 

"A man could climb down there, " said he. 

"Why should he want to?" I demanded sharply. 

"_Quien sabe_?" shrugged he. 

We turned in silence toward the beach. Each brooded his thoughts. Thesight of that man dressed in overalls, carrying on some mysteriousbusiness, brought home to each of us the fact that our expedition hadan object, as yet unknown to us. The thought had of late dropped intothe background. For my part I had been so immersed in the adventureand the labour and the insistent need of the hour that I had forgottenwhy I had come. Dr. Schermerhorn's purpose was as inscrutable to meas at first. What had I accomplished?

The men, too, seemed struck with some such idea. There were no yarnsabout the camp fire that night. Percy Darrow did not appear, for whichI was sincerely sorry. His presence might have created a diversion. For some unknown reason all my old apprehensions, my sense ofimpending disaster, had returned to me strengthened. In the firelightthe Nigger's sullen face looked sinister, Pulz's nervous whitecountenance looked vicious. Thrackles' heavy, bulldog expression wasthreatening, Perdosa's Mexican cast fit for knife work in the back. And Handy Solomon, stretched out, leaning on his elbow, with his redheadgear, his snaky hair, his hook nose, his restless eye and hisglittering steel claw--the glow wrote across his aura the names ofKid, Morgan, Blackbeard. They sat smoking, staring into the fire withmesmerised eyes. The silence got on my nerves I arose impatiently andwalked down the pale beach, where the stars glimmered in splashesalong the wettest sands. The black silhouette of the hills againstthe dark blue of the night sky; the white of breakers athwart theindistinct heave of the ocean, a faint light marking the position ofthe _Laughing Lass_--that was everything in the world. I madeout some object rolled about in the edge of the wash. At the cost ofwet feet I rescued it. It was an empty brandy bottle. 

[Illustration: "These sheep had become as wild as deer"]

X

CHANGE OF MASTERS

The next day we continued our explorations by land, and so for a weekafter that. I thought it best not to relinquish all authority, so Iorganised regular expeditions, and ordered their direction. The mendid not object. It was all good enough fun to them. 

The net results were that we found a nesting place of sea birds--toolate in the season for eggs; a hot spring near enough camp to beuseful; and that was about all. The sheep were the only animals onthe island, although there were several sorts of birds. In general, the country was as I have described it--either volcanic or overlaidwith fertile earth. In any case it was cañon and hill. We soon grewtired of climbing and turned our attention to the sea. 

With the surf boat we skirted the coast. It was impregnable exceptin three places: our own beach, that near the seal rookery, and onthe south side of the island. We landed at each one of these places. But returning close to the coast we happened upon a cave mouth moreor less guarded by an outlying rock. 

The day was calm, so we ventured in. At first I thought it merely agorge in the rock, but even while peering for the end wall we slippedunder the archway and found ourselves in a vast room. 

Our eyes were dazzled so we could make out little at first. Butthrough the still, clear water the light filtered freely from below, showing the bottom as through a sea glass. We saw the fish near theentrance, and coral and sea growths of marvellous vividness. Theywaved slowly as in a draught of air. The medium in which they floatedwas absolutely invisible, for, of course, there were no reflectionsfrom its surface. We seemed to be suspended in mid-air, and only whenthe dipping oars made rings could we realise that anything sustainedus. 

Suddenly the place let loose in pandemonium. The most fiendish cries, groans, shrieks, broke out, confusing themselves so thoroughly withtheir own echoes that the volume of sound was continuous. Heavysplashes shook the water. The boat rocked. The invisible surface wasbroken into facets. 

We shrank, terrified. From all about us glowed hundreds of eyes likecoals of fire--on a level with us, above us, almost over our heads. Two by two the coals were extinguished. 

Below us the bottom was clouded with black figures, darting rapidlylike a school of minnows beneath a boat. They darkened the coral andthe sands and the glistening sea growths just as a cloud temporarilydarkens the landscape--only the occultations and brighteningssucceeded each other much more swiftly. 

We stared stupefied, our thinking power blurred by the incessent whirlof motion and noise. 

Suddenly Thrackles laughed aloud. 

"Seals!" he shouted through his trumpeted hands. 

Our eyes were expanding to the twilight. We could make out the archof the room, its shelves, and hollows, and niches. Lying on them wecould discern the seals, hundreds and hundreds of them, all staringat us, all barking and bellowing. As we approached, they scrambledfrom their elevations, and, diving to the bottom, scurried to the entranceof the cave. 

We lay on our oars for ten minutes. Then silence fell. There persisteda tiny _drip, drip, drip_ from some point in the darkness. Itmerely accentuated the hush. Suddenly from far in the interior of thehill there came a long, hollow _boo-o-o-m_! It reverberated, roaring. The surge that had lifted our boat some minutes before thusreached its journey's end. 

The chamber was very lofty. As we rowed cautiously in, it lost nothingof its height, but something in width. It was marvellously coloured, like all the volcanic rocks of this island. In addition some chemicaldrip had thrown across its vividness long gauzy streamers of white. We rowed in as far as the faintest daylight lasted us. The occasionalreverberating _boom_ of the surges seemed as distant as ever. 

This was beyond the seal rookery on the beach. Below it we enteredan open cleft of some size to another squarer cave. It was now hightide; the water extended a scant ten fathoms to end on an interiorshale beach. The cave was a perfectly straight passage following theline of the cleft. How far in it reached we could not determine, forit, too, was full of seals, and after we had driven them back a hundredfeet or so their fiery eyes scared us out. We did not care to put themat bay. The next day I rowed out to the _Laughing Lass_ and gota rifle. I found the captain asleep in his bunk, and did not disturbhim. Perdosa and I, with infinite pains, tracked and stalked thesheep, of which I killed one. We found the mutton excellent. Thehunting was difficult, and the quarry, as time went on, more and moresuspicious, but henceforward we did not lack for fresh meat. Furthermore we soon discovered that fine trolling was to be hadoutside the reef. We rigged a sail for the extra dory, and spent muchof our time at the sport. I do not know the names of the fish. Theywere very gamy indeed, and ran from five to an indeterminate numberof pounds in weight. Above fifty pounds our light tackle parted, sowe had no means of knowing how large they may have been. 

Thus we spent very pleasantly the greater part of two weeks. At theend of that time I made up my mind that it would be just as well toget back to business. Accordingly I called Perdosa and directed himto sort and clear of rust the salvaged chain cable. He refused flatly. I took a step toward him. He drew his knife and backed away. 

"Perdosa, " said I firmly, "put up that knife. "

"No, " said he. 

I pulled the saw-barrelled Colt's 45 and raised it slowly to a levelwith his breast. 

"Perdosa, " I repeated, "drop that knife. "

The crisis had come, but my resolution was fully prepared for it. Ishould not have cared greatly if I had had to shoot the man--as Icertainly should have done had he disobeyed. There would then havebeen one less to deal with in the final accounting, which strangelyenough I now for a moment never doubted would come. I had not beforeaimed at a man's life, so you can see to what tensity the bafflingmystery had strung me. 

Perdosa hesitated a fraction of an instant. I really think he mighthave chanced it, but Handy Solomon, who had been watching me closely, growled at him. 

"Drop it, you fool!" he said. 

Perdosa let fall the knife. 

"Now, get at that cable, " I commanded, still at white heat. I stoodover him until he was well at work, then turned back to set tasks forthe other men. Handy Solomon met me halfway. 

"Begging your pardon, Mr. Eagen, " said he, "I want a word with you. "

"I have nothing to say to you, " I snapped, still excited. 

"It ain't reasonable not to hear a man's say, " he advised in his mostconciliatory manner, "I'm talking for all of us. "

He paused a moment, took my silence for consent, and went ahead. 

"Begging your pardon, Mr. Eagen, " said he, "we ain't going to do anymore useless work. There ain't no laziness about us, but we ain'tgoing to be busy at nothing. All the camp work and the haulin' andcuttin' and cleanin' and the rest of it, we'll do gladly. But we ain'tgoin' to pound any more cable, and you can kiss the Book on that. "

"You mean to mutiny?" I asked. 

He made a deprecatory gesture. 

"Put us aboard ship, sir, and let us hear the Old Man give his orders, and you'll find no mutiny in us. But here ashore it's different. Didthe Old Man give orders to pound the cable?"

"I represent the captain, " I stammered. 

He caught the evasion. "I thought so. Well, if you got any kick onus, please, sir, go get the Old Man. If he says to our face, poundcable, why pound cable it is. Ain't that right, boys?"

They murmured something. Perdosa deliberately dropped his hammer andjoined the group. My hand strayed again toward the sawed-off Colt's45. 

"I wouldn't do that, " said Handy Solomon, almost kindly. "You couldn'tkill us all. And w'at good would it do? I asks you that. I can cutdown a chicken with my knife at twenty feet. You must surely see, sir, that I could have killed you too easy while you were covering Panchothere. This ain't got to be a war, Mr. Eagen, just because we don'twant to work without any sense to it. "

There was more of the same sort. I had plenty of time to see mydilemma. Either I would have to abandon my attempt to keep the menbusy, or I would have to invoke the authority of Captain Selover. Todo the latter would be to destroy it. The master had become a stuffedfigure, a bogie with which to frighten, an empty bladder that a prickwould collapse. With what grace I could muster, I had to give in. 

"You'll have to have it your own way, I suppose, " I snapped. 

Thrackles grinned, and Pulz started to say something, but HandySolomon, with a peremptory gesture, and a black scowl, stopped himshort. 

"Now that's what I calls right proper and handsome!" he criedadmiringly. "We reely had no right to expect that, boys, as seamen, from our first officer! You can kiss the Book on it, that very fewcrews have such kind masters. Mr. Eagen has the right, and we signedto it all straight, to work us as he pleases; and w'at does he do?Why, he up and gives us a week shore leave, and then he gives us lightwatches, and all the time our pay goes on just the same. Now that'sw'at I calls right proper and handsome conduct, or the devil's apreacher, and I ventures with all respect to propose three cheers forMr. Eagen. "

They gave them, grinning broadly. The villain stood looking at me, a sardonic gleam in the back of his eye. Then he gave a little hitchto his red head covering, and sauntered away humming between his teeth. I stood watching him, choked with rage and indecision. The hummingbroke into words. 

 "'Oh, quarter, oh, quarter!' the jolly pirates cried. _Blow high, blow low! What care we_? But the quarter that we gave them was to sink them in the sea, _Down on the coast of the high Barbare-e-e_. "

"Here, you swab, " he cried to Thrackles, "and you, Pancho! get somewood, lively! And Pulz, bring us a pail of water. Doctor, let's haveduff to celebrate on. "

The men fell to work with alacrity. 

XI

THE CORROSIVE

That evening I smoked in a splendid isolation while the men whisperedapart. I had nothing to do but smoke, and to chew my cud, which wasbitter. There could be no doubt, however I may have saved my face, that command had been taken from me by that rascal, Handy Solomon. I was in two minds as to whether or not I should attempt to warn Darrowor the doctor. Yet what could I say? and against whom should I warnthem? The men had grumbled, as men always do grumble in idleness, andhad perhaps talked a little wildly; but that was nothing. 

The only indisputable fact I could adduce was that I had allowed myauthority to slip through my fingers. And adequately to excuse that, I should have to confess that I was a writer and no handler of men. 

I abandoned the unpleasant train of thought with a snort of disgust, but it had led me to another. In the joy and uncertainty of livingI had practically lost sight of the reason for my coming. With me ithad always been more the adventure than the story; my writing was aby-product, a utilisation of what life offered me. I had set sailpossessed by the sole idea of ferreting out Dr. Schermerhorn'sinvestigations, but the gradual development of affairs had ended byabsorbing my every faculty. Now, cast into an eddy by my change offortunes, the original idea regained its force. I was out of theactive government of affairs, with leisure on my hands, and mythoughts naturally turned with curiosity again to the laboratory inthe valley. 

Darrow's "devil fires" were again painting the sky. I had noticed themfrom time to time, always with increasing wonder. The men acceptedthem easily as only one of the unexplained phenomena of a sailor'sexperience, but I had not as yet hit on a hypothesis that suited me. They were not allied to the aurora; they differed radically from theordinary volcanic emanations; and scarcely resembled any electricaldisplays I had ever seen. The night was cool; the stars bright: Iresolved to investigate. 

Without further delay I arose to my feet and set off into thedarkness. Immediately one of the group detached himself from the fireand joined me. 

"Going for a little walk, sir?" asked Handy Solomon sweetly. "That'squite right and proper. Nothin' like a little walk to get you fit andright for your bunk. "

He held close to my elbow. We got just as far as the stockade in thebed of the arroyo. The lights we could make out now across the zenith;but owing to the precipitance of the cliffs, and the rise of thearroyo bed, it was impossible to see more. Handy Solomon felt thedefences carefully. 

"A man would think, sir, it was a cannibal island, " he observed. "Allso tight and tidy-like here. It would take a ship's guns to batterher down. A man might dig under these here two gate logs, if no onewas against him. Like to try it, sir?"

"No, " I answered gruffly. 

From that time on I was virtually a prisoner; yet so carefully wasmy surveillance accomplished that I could place my finger on nothingdefinite. Someone always accompanied me on my walks; and in theevening I was herded as closely as any cattle. 

Handy Solomon took the direction of affairs off my hands. You may besure he set no very heavy tasks. The men cut a little wood, carriedup a few pails of water--that was all. 

Lacking incentive to stir about, they came to spend most of their timelying on their backs watching the sky. This in turn bred a languorwhich is the sickest, most soul- and temper-destroying affair inventedby the devil. They could not muster up energy enough to walk down thebeach and back, and yet they were wearied to death of the inaction. After a little they became irritable toward one another. Eachsuspected the other of doing less than he should. You who know menwill realise what this meant. 

The atmosphere of our camp became surly. I recognised the precursorof its becoming dangerous. One day on a walk in the hills I came onThrackles and Pulz lying on their stomachs gazing down fixedly at Dr. Schermerhorn's camp. This was nothing extraordinary, but they startedguiltily to their feet when they saw me, and made off, growling undertheir breaths. 

All this that I have told you so briefly, took time. It was the eatingthrough of men's spirits by that worst of corrosives, idleness. Iconceive it unnecessary to weary you with the details----

The situation was as yet uneasy but not alarming. One evening Ioverheard the beginning of an absurd plot to gain entrance to theValley--that was as far as detail went. I became convinced at lastthat I should in some way warn Percy Darrow. 

That seems a simple enough proposition, does it not? But if you willstop to think one moment of the difficulties of my position, you willsee that it was not as easy as at first it appears. Darrow stillvisited us in the evening. The men never allowed me even the chanceof private communication while he was with us. One or two took painsto stretch out between us. Twice I arose when the assistant did, resolvedto accompany him part way back. Both times men resolutely escortedus, and as resolutely separated us from the opportunity of a singleword apart. The crew never threatened me by word or look. But we understoodeach other. 

I was not permitted to row out to the _Laughing Lass_ withoutescort. Therefore I never attempted to visit her again. The men werenot anxious to do so, their awe of the captain made them only too gladto escape his notice. That empty shell of a past reputation was myonly hope. It shielded the arms and ammunition. 

As I look back on it now, the period seems to me to be one of merelypotential trouble. The men had not taken the pains to crystallisetheir ideas. I really think their compelling emotion was that ofcuriosity. They wanted to _see_. It needed a definite impulseto change that desire to one of greed. 

The impulse came from Percy Darrow and his idle talk of voodoos. Asusual he was directing his remarks to the sullen Nigger. 

"Voodoos?" he said. "Of course there are. Don't fool yourself for aminute on that. There are good ones and bad ones. You can tame themif you know how, and they will do anything you want them to. " Pulzchuckled in his throat. "You don't believe it?" drawled the assistantturning to him. "Well, it's so. You know that heavy box we are socareful of? Well, that's got a tame voodoo in it. "

The others laughed. 

"What he like?" asked the Nigger gravely. 

"He's a fine voodoo, with wavery arms and green eyes, and red glows. "Watching narrowly its effect he swung off into one of the genuine oldcrooning voodoo songs, once so common down South, now so rarely heard. No one knows what the words mean--they are generally held to becharm-words only--a magic gibberish. But the Nigger sprang across thefire like lightning, his face altered by terror, to seize Darrow bythe shoulders. 

"Doan you! Doan you!" he gasped, shaking the assistant violently backand forth. "Dat he King Voodoo song! Dat call him all de voodoo--all!"

He stared wildly about in the darkness as though expecting to see thenight thronged. There was a moment of confusion. Eager for any chanceI hissed under my breath; "Danger! Look out!"

I could not tell whether or not Darrow heard me. He left soon after. The mention of the chest had focussed the men's interest. 

"Well, " Pulz began, "we've been here on this spot o' hell for a longtime. "

"A year and five months, " reckoned Thrackles. 

"A man can do a lot in that time. "

"If he's busy. "

"They've been busy. "

"Yes. "

"Wonder what they've done?"

There was no answer to this, and the sea lawyer took a new tack. 

"I suppose we're all getting double wages. "

"That's so. "

"And that's say four hunder' for us and Mr. Eagen here. I suppose theOld Man don't let the schooner go for nothing. "

"Two hundred and fifty a month, " said I, and then would have had thewords back. 

They cried out in prolonged astonishment. 

"Seventeen months, " pursued the logician after a few moments. Hescratched with a stub of lead. "That makes over eleven thousanddollars since we've been out. How much do you suppose his outfitstands him?" he appealed to me. 

"I'm sure I can't tell you, " I replied shortly. 

"Well, it's a pile of money, anyway. "

Nobody said anything for some time. 

"Wonder what they've done?" Pulz asked again. 

"Something that pays big. " Thrackles supplied the desired answer. 

"Dat chis'----" suggested Perdosa. 

"Voodoo----" muttered the Nigger. 

"That's to scare us out, " said Handy Solomon, with vast contempt. "That's what makes me sure it _is_ the chest. "

Pulz muttered some of the jargon of alchemy. 

"That's it, " approved Handy Solomon. "If we could get----"

"We wouldn't know how to use it, " interrupted Pulz. 

"The book----" said Thrackles. 

"Well, the book----" asserted Pulz pugnaciously. 

"How do you know what it will be? It may be the Philosopher's Stoneand it may be one of these other damn things. And then where'd we be?"

It was astounding to hear this nonsense bandied about so seriously. And yet they more than half believed, for they were deep-sea men ofthe old school, and this was in print. Thrackles voiced approximatelythe general attitude. 

"Philosopher's stone or not, something's up. The old boy took too goodcare of that box, and he's spending too much money, and he's got holdof too much hell afloat to be doing it for his health. "

"You know w'at I t'ink?" smiled Perdosa. "He mak' di'mon's. He_say_ dat. "

The Nigger had entered one of his black, brooding moods from whichthese men expected oracles. 

"Get him ches', " he muttered. "I see him full--full of di'mon's!"

They listened to him with vast respect, and were visibly impressed. So deep was the sense of awe that Handy Solomon unbent enough to whisperto me:

"I don't take any stock in the Nigger's talk _ordinarily_. He'sa hell of a fool nigger. But when his eye looks like that, then youwant to listen close. He sees things then. Lots of times he's seenthings. Even last year--the _Oyama_--he told about her three daysahead. That's why we were so ready for her, " he chuckled. 

Nothing more developed for a long time except a savage fight betweenPulz and Perdosa. I hunted sheep, fished, wandered about--always withan escort tired to death before he started. The thought came to meto kill this man and so to escape and make cause with the scientists. My common sense forbade me. I begin to think that common sense is avery foolish faculty indeed. 

It taught me the obvious--that all this idle, vapouring talk wascommon enough among men of this class, so common that it would hardlyjustify a murder, would hardly explain an unwarranted intrusion onthose who employed me. How would it look for me to go to them withthese words in my mouth:

"The captain has taken to drinking to dull the monotony. The crewthink you are an alchemist and are making diamonds. Their interestin this fact seemed to me excessive, so I killed one of them, and hereI am. "

"And who are you?" they could ask. 

"I am a reporter, " would be my only truthful reply. 

You can see the false difficulties of my position. I do not defendmy attitude. Undoubtedly a born leader of men, like Captain Seloverat his best, would have known how to act with the proper decision bothnow and in the inception of the first mutiny. At heart I never doubtedthe reality of the crisis. 

Even Percy Darrow saw the surliness of the men's attitudes, and withhis usual good sense divined the cause. 

"You chaps are getting lazy, " said he, "why don't you do something?Where's the captain?"

They growled something about there being nothing to do, and explainedthat the captain preferred to live aboard. 

"Don't blame him, " said Darrow, "but he might give us a little of hissqueaky company occasionally. Boys, I'll tell you something aboutseals. The old bull seals have long, stiff whiskers--a foot long. Doyou know there's a market for those whiskers? Well, there is. TheChinese mount them in gold and use them for cleaners for their longpipes. Each whisker is worth from six bits to a dollar and a quarter. Why don't you kill a few bull seal for the 'trimmings'?"

"Nothin' to do with a voodoo?" grunted Handy Solomon. 

Darrow laughed amusedly. "No, this is the truth, " he assured. "I'lltell you what: I'll give you boys six bits apiece for the whiskerhairs, and four bits for the galls. I expect to sell them at aprofit. "

Next morning they shook off their lethargy and went seal-hunting. I was practically commanded to attend. This attitude had been growingof late: now it began to take a definite form. 

"Mr. Eagan, don't you want to go hunting?" or "Mr. Eagen, I guess I'lljust go along with you to stretch my legs, " had given way to, "We'regoing fishing: you'd better come along. "

I had known for a long time that I had lost any real control of them;and that perhaps humiliated me a little. However, my inexperience athandling such men, and the anomalous character of my position to someextent consoled me. In the filaments brushed across the face of myunderstanding I could discover none so strong as to support an overtact on my part. I cannot doubt, that had the affair come to a focus, I should have warned the scientists even at the risk of my life. Infact, as I shall have occasion to show you, I did my best. But at themoment, in all policy I could see my way to little besidesacquiescence. 

We killed seals by sequestrating the bulls, surrounding them, andclubbing them at a certain point of the forehead. It was surprisingto see how hard they fought, and how quickly they succumbed to a blowproperly directed. Then we stripped the mask with its bristle of longwhiskers, took the gall, and dragged the carcass into the surf whereit was devoured by fish. At first the men, pleased by the novelty, stripped the skins. The blubber, often two or three inches inthickness, had then to be cut away from the pelt, cube by cube. Itwas a long, an oily, and odoriferous job. We stunk mightily of sealoil; our garments were shiny with it, the very pores of our skins seemedto ooze it. And even after the pelt was fairly well cleared, it hadstill to be tanned. Percy Darrow suggested the method, but the processwas long, and generally unsatisfactory. With the acquisition of thefifth greasy, heavy, and ill-smelling piece of fur the men's interestin peltries waned. They confined themselves in all strictness to the"trimmings. "

Percy Darrow showed us how to clean the whiskers. The process wasevil. The masks were, quite simply, to be advanced so far in the wayof putrefaction that the bristles would part readily from theirsockets. The first batch the men hung out on a line. A few momentslater we heard a mighty squawking, and rushed out to find the islandravens making off with the entire catch. Protection of netting hadto be rigged. We caught seals for a month or so. There was noveltyin it, and it satisfied the lust for killing. As time went on, thebulls grew warier. Then we made expeditions to outlying rocks. 

Later Handy Solomon approached me on another diplomatic errand. 

"The seals is getting shy, sir, " said he. 

"They are, " said I. 

"The only way to do is to shoot them, " said he. 

"Quite like, " I agreed. 

A pause ensued. 

"We've got no cartridges, " he insinuated. 

"And you've taken charge of my rifle, " I pointed out. 

"Oh, not a bit, sir, " he cried. "Thrackles, he just took it to cleanit--you can have it whenever you want it, sir. "

"I have no cartridges--as you have observed, " said I. 

"There's plenty aboard, " he suggested. 

"And they're in very good hands there, " said I. 

He ruminated a moment, polishing the steel of his hook against theother arm of his shirt. Suddenly he looked up at me with a humoroustwinkle. 

"You're afraid of us!" he accused. 

I was silent, not knowing just how to meet so direct an attack. 

"No need to be, " he continued. 

I said nothing. 

He looked at me shrewdly; then stood off on another tack. 

"Well, sir, I didn't mean just that. I didn't mean you was reallyscared of us. But we're gettin' to know each other, livin' here onthis old island, brothers-like. There ain't no officers and menashore--is there, now, sir? When we gets back to the old _LaughingLass_, then we drops back into our dooty again all right andproper. You can kiss the Book on that. Old Scrubs, he knows that. Hedon't want no shore in his. _He_ knows enough to stay aboard, where we'd all rather be. "

He stopped abruptly, spat, and looked at me. I wondered whither thisdevious diplomacy led us. 

"Still, in one way, an officer's an officer, and a seaman's a seaman, thinks you, and discipline must be held up among mates ashore orafloat, thinks you. Quite proper, sir. And I can see you think thatthe arms is for the afterguard except in case of trouble. Quiteproper. You can do the shooting, and you can keep the cartridgesalways by you. Just for discipline, sir. "

The man's boldness in so fully arming me was astonishing, and hiscarelessness in allowing me aboard with Captain Selover astonishedme still more. Nevertheless I promised to go for the desired cartridges, fully resolved to make an appeal. 

A further consideration of the elements of the game convinced me, however, of the fellow's shrewdness. It was no more dangerous to allowme a rifle--under direct surveillance--for the purposes of hunting, than to leave me my sawed--off revolver, which I still retained. Thearguments he had used against my shooting Perdosa were quite as cogentnow. As to the second point, I, finding the sun unexpectedly strong, returned from the cove for my hat, and so overheard the followingbetween Thrackles and his leader:

"What's to keep him from staying aboard?" cried Thrackles, protesting. 

"Well, he might, " acknowledged Handy Solomon, "and then are we theworse off? You ain't going to make a boat attack against Old Scrubs, are you?"

Thrackles hesitated. 

"You can kiss the Book on it, you ain't, " went on Handy Solomoneasily, "nor me, nor Pulz, nor the Greaser, nor the Nigger, nor noneof us all together. We've had our dose of that. Well, if he goesaboard and _stays_, where are we the worse off? I asks you that. But he won't. This is w'ats goin' to happen. Says he to Old Scrubs, 'Sir, the men needs you to bash in their heads. ' 'Bash 'em inyourself, ' says he, 'that's w'at you're for. ' And if he should comeashore, w'at could he do? I asks you that. We ain't disobeyed noorders dooly delivered. We're ready to pull halliards at the word. No, let him go aboard, and if he peaches to the Old Man, why all thebetter, for it just gets the Old Man down on him. "

"How about Old Scrubs----"

"Don't you believe none in luck?" asked Handy Solomon. "Aye. "

"Well, so do I, with w'at that law-crimp used to call joodiciousassistance. "

I rowed out to the _Laughing Lass_ very thoughtful, and a littleshaken by the plausible argument. Captain Selover was lying dead drunkacross the cabin table. I did my best to waken him, but failed, tooka score of cartridges--no more--and departed sadly. Nothing could begained by staying aboard; every chance might be lost. Besides, anopening to escape in the direction of the laboratory might offer--I, as well as they, believed in luck judiciously assisted. 

In the ensuing days I learned much of the habits of seals. We sneakedalong the cliff tops until over the rookeries; then lay flat on ourstomachs and peered cautiously down on our quarry. The seals hadbecome very wary. A slight jar, the fall of a pebble, sometimes evensounds unnoticed by ourselves, were enough to send them into thewater. There they lined up just outside the surf, their sleek headsglossy with the wet, their calm, soft eyes fixed unblinkingly on us. 

It was useless to shoot them in the water: they sank at once. 

When, however, we succeeded in gaining an advantageous position, itwas necessary to shoot with extreme accuracy. A bullet directlythrough the back of the head would kill cleanly. A hit anywhere elsewas practically useless, for even in death the animals seemed toretain enough blind instinctive vitality to flop them into the water. There they were lost. 

Each rookery consisted of one tremendous bull who officiatedapparently as the standing army; a number of smaller bulls, his directdescendants; the cows, and the pups. The big bull held his positionby force of arms. Occasionally other, unattached, bulls would comeswimming by. On arriving opposite the rookery the stranger would uttera peculiar challenge. It was never refused by the resident champion, who promptly slid into the sea, and engaged battle. If he conquered, the stranger went on his way. If, however, the stranger won, the bigbull immediately struck out to sea, abandoning his rookery, while thenew-comer swam in and attempted to make his title good with all theyounger bulls. I have seen some fierce combats out there in the bluewater. They gashed each other deep----

You can see by this how our hunting was never at an end. On Tuesdaywe would kill the boss bull of a certain establishment. By Thursday, at latest, another would be installed. 

I learned curious facts about seals in those days. The hunting didnot appeal to me particularly, because it seemed to me useless to killso large an animal for so small a spoil. Still, it was a means to myall-absorbing end, and I confess that the stalking, the lying bellydown on the sun-warmed grass over the surge and under the clear sky, was extremely pleasant. While awaiting the return of the big bull oftenwe had opportunity to watch the others at their daily affairs, andeven the unresponsive Thrackles was struck with their almost humanintelligence. Did you know that seals kiss each other, and weep tearswhen grieved?

The men often discussed among themselves the narrow, dry cave. Therethe animals were practically penned in. They agreed that a greatkilling could be made there, but the impossibility of distinguishingbetween the bulls and the cows deterred them. The cave was quite dark. 

Immerced in our own affairs thus, the days, weeks, and months wentby. Events had slipped beyond my control. I had embarked on a journalisticenterprise, and now that purpose was entirely out of my reach. 

Up the valley Dr. Schermerhorn and his assistant were engaged in someexperiment of whose very nature I was still ignorant. Also I waslikely to remain so. The precautions taken against interference bythe men were equally effective against me. As if that were not enough, any move of investigation on my part would be radically misinterpreted, and to my own danger, by the men. I might as well have been in London. 

However, as to my first purpose in this adventure I had evolvedanother plan, and therefore was content. I made up my mind that onthe voyage home, if nothing prevented, I would tell my story to PercyDarrow, and throw myself on his mercy. The results of the experimentwould probably by then be ready for the public, and there was noreason, as far as I could see, why I should not get the "scoop" atfirst hand. 

Certainly my sincerity would be without question; and I hoped thattwo years or more of service such as I had rendered would tickle Dr. Schermerhorn's sense of his own importance. So adequate did this planseem, that I gave up thought on the subject. 

My whole life now lay on the shores. I was not again permitted toboard the _Laughing Lass_. Captain Selover I saw twice at adistance. Both times he seemed to be rather uncertain. The men didnot remark it. The days went by. I relapsed into that state so wellknown to you all, when one seems caught in the meshes of a dream existencewhich has had no beginning and which is destined never to have an end. 

We were to hunt seals, and fish, and pry bivalves from the rocks atlow tide, and build fires, and talk, and alternate between suspicionand security, between the danger of sedition and the insanity of menwithout defined purpose, world without end forever. 

XII

"OLD SCRUBS" COMES ASHORE

The inevitable happened. One noon Pulz looked up from his labour ofpulling the whiskers from the evil-smelling masks. 

"How many of these damn things we got?" he inquired. 

"About three hunder' and fifty, " Thrackles replied. 

"Well, we've got enough for me. I'm sick of this job. It stinks. "

They looked at each other. I could see the disgust rising in theireyes, the reek of rotten blubber expanding their nostrils. With oneaccord they cast aside the masks. 

"It ain't such a hell of a fortune, " growled Pulz, his evil littlewhite face thrust forward. "There's other things worth all the sealtrimmin's of the islands. "

"Diamon's, " gloomed the Nigger. 

"You've hit it, Doctor, " cut in Solomon. 

There we were again, back to the old difficulty, only worse. Idlenessdescended on us again. We grew touchy on little things, as a misplacedplate, a shortage of firewood, too deep a draught at the nearly emptybucket. The noise of bickering became as constant as the noise of thesurf. If we valued peace, we kept our mouths shut. The way a man spat, or ate, or slept, or even breathed became a cause of irritation toevery other member of the company. We stood the outrage as long aswe could; then we objected in a wild and ridiculous explosion whichcommunicated its heat to the object of our wrath. Then there was afight. It needed only liquor to complete the deplorable state ofaffairs. 

Gradually the smaller things came to worry us more and more. A certainharmless singer of the cricket or perhaps of the tree-toad varietyused to chirp his innocent note a short distance from our cabin. Forall I know he had done so from the moment of our installation, butI had never noticed him before. Now I caught myself listening for hisirregular recurrence with every nerve on the quiver. If he delayedby ever so little, it was an agony; yet when he did pipe up, his feeblestrain struck to my heart cold and paralysing like a dagger. And withevery advancing minute of the night I became broader awake, moretense, fairly sweating with nervousness. One night--good God, was itonly last week? . . . It seems ages ago, another existence . . . A statecut off from this by the wonder of a transmigration, at least . . . Lastweek!

I did not sleep at all. The moon had risen, had mounted the heavens, and now was sailing overhead. By the fretwork of its radiance throughthe chinks of our rudely-built cabin I had marked off the hours. Athunderstorm rumbled and flashed, hull down over the horizon. It wasmany miles distant, and yet I do not doubt that its electricalinfluence had dried the moisture of our equanimity, leaving usrattling husks for the winds of destiny to play upon. Certainly I canremember no other time, in a rather wide experience, when I have feltmyself more on edge, more choked with the restless, purposelessnervous energy that leaves a man's tongue parched and his eyesstaring. And still that infernal cricket, or whatever it was, chirped. 

I had thought myself alone in my vigil, but when finally I could standit no longer, and kicked aside my covering with an oath of protest, I was surprised to hear it echoed from all about me. 

"Damn that cricket!" I cried. 

And the dead shadows stirred from the bunks, and the hollow-eyedvictims of insomnia crept out to curse their tormentor. We organisedan expedition to hunt him down. It was ridiculous enough, six strongmen prowling for the life of one poor little insect. We did not findhim, however, though we succeeded in silencing him. But no sooner werewe back in our bunks than he began it again, and such was the turmoilof our nerves that day found us sitting wan about a fire, hugging ourknees. 

We were so genuinely emptied, not so much by the cricket as by thetwo years of fermentation, that not one of us stirred toward breakfast, in fact not one of us moved from the listless attitude in which dayfound him, until after nine o'clock. Then we pulled ourselves togetherand cooked coffee and salt horse. As a significant fact, the Niggerleft the dishes unwashed, and no one cared. 

Handy Solomon finally shook himself and arose. 

"I'm sick of this, " said he, "I'm goin' seal-hunting. "

They arose without a word. They were sick of it, too, sick to death. We were a silent, gloomy crew indeed as we thrust the surf boatafloat, clambered in, and shipped the oars. No one spoke a word; noone had a comment to make, even when we saw the rookery slide intothe water while we were still fifty yards from the beach. We pulledback slowly along the coast. Beyond the rock we made out the entranceto the dry cave. 

"There's seal in there, " cried Handy Solomon, "lots of 'em!"

He thrust the rudder over, and we headed for the cave. No oneexpressed an opinion. 

As it was again high tide, we rowed in to the steep shore inside thecave's mouth and beached the boat. The place was full of seals; wecould hear them bellowing. 

"Two of you stand here, " shouted Handy Solomon, "and take them as theygo out. We'll go in and scare 'em down to you. "

"They'll run over us, " screamed Pulz. 

"No, they won't. You can dodge up the sides when they go by. "

This was indeed well possible, so we gripped our clubs and venturedinto the darkness. 

We advanced four abreast, for the cave was wide enough for that. Aswe penetrated, the bellowing and barking became more deafening. It was impossible to see anything, although we _felt_ anindistinguishable tumbling mass receding before our footsteps. Thrackles swore violently as he stumbled over a laggard. With uncannyabruptness the black wall of darkness in front of us was alive withfiery eyeballs. The seals had reached the end of the cave and hadturned toward us. We, too, stopped, a little uncertain as to how toproceed. 

The first plan had been to get behind the band and to drive it slowlytoward the entrance to the cave. This was now seen to be impossible. The cavern was too narrow; its sides at this point too steep, and theanimals too thickly congested. Our eyes, becoming accustomed to thetwilight, now began to make out dimly the individual bodies of theseals and the general configuration of the rocks. One big boulder laydirectly in our path, like an island in the shale of the cave's floor. Perdosa stepped to the top of it for a better look. The men attemptedto communicate their ideas of what was to be done, but could not makethemselves heard above the uproar. I could see their faces contortingwith the fury of being baffled. A big bull made a dash to get by; allthe herd flippered after him. If he had won past they would havefollowed as obstinately as sheep, and nothing could have stopped them, but the big bull went down beneath the clubs. Thrackles hit the animaltwo vindictive blows after it had succumbed. 

This settled the revolt, and we stood as before. Pulz and HandySolomon tried to converse by signs, but evidently failed, for theirfaces showed angry in the twilight. Perdosa, on his rock, rolled andlit a cigarette. Thrackles paced to and fro, and the Nigger leanedon his club, farther down the cave. They had been left at the entrance, but now in lack of results had joined their companions. 

Now Thrackles approached and screamed himself black trying to impartsome plan. He failed; but stooped and picked up a stone and threw itinto the mass of seals. The others understood. A shower of stonesfollowed. The animals milled like cattle, bellowed the louder, butwould not face their tormentors. Finally an old cow flopped by in apanic. I thought they would have let her go, but she died a littlebeyond the bull. No more followed, although the men threw stones asfast and hard as they were able. Their faces were livid with anger, like that of an evil-tempered man with an obstinate horse. 

Suddenly Handy Solomon put his head down, and with a roar distinctlyaudible even above the din that filled the cave, charged directly intothe herd. I saw the beasts cringe before him; I saw his club risingand falling indiscriminately; and then the whole back of the caveseemed to rise and come at us. 

This was no chance of sport now, but a struggle for very life. Werealised that once down there would be no hope, for while the sealswere more anxious to escape than to fight, we knew that their jawswere powerful. There was no time to pick and choose. We hit out withall the strength and quickness we possessed. It was like a bad dream, like struggling with an elusive hydra-headed monster, knee high, invulnerable. We hit, but without apparent effect. New heads rose, the press behind increased. We gave ground. We staggered, strugglingdesperately to keep our feet. 

How long this lasted I cannot tell. It seemed hours. I know my armsbecame leaden from swinging my club; my eyes were full of sweat; mybreath gasped. A sharp pain in my knee nearly doubled me to the groundand yet I remember clamping to the thought that I must keep my feet, keep my feet at any cost. Then all at once I recalled the fact thatI was armed. I jerked out the short-barrelled Colt's 45 and turnedit loose in their faces. 

Whether the flash and detonation frightened them; whether Perdosa, still clinging to his rock, managed to turn their attention by hisflanking efforts, or whether, quite simply, the wall of dead finallyturned them back, I do not know, but with one accord they gave overthe attempt. 

I looked at once for Handy Solomon, and was surprised to see him stillalive, standing upright on a ledge the other side of the herd. Hisclothing was literally torn to shreds, and he was covered with blood. But in this plight he was not alone, for when I turned toward mycompanions they, too, were tattered, torn, and gory. We were adreadful crew, standing there in the half-light, our chests heaving, our rags dripping red. 

For perhaps ten seconds no one moved. Then with a yell of demoniacrage my companions clambered over the rampart of dead seals andattacked the herd. 

The seals were now cowed and defenceless. It was a slaughter, and themost debauching and brutal I have ever known. I had hit out with therest when it had been a question of defence, but from this I turnedaside in a sick loathing. The men seemed possessed of devils, and oftheir unnatural energy. Perdosa cast aside the club and took to hisnatural weapon, the knife. 

I can see him yet rolling over and over embracing a big cow, his headjammed in an ecstasy of ferocity between the animal's front flippers, his legs clasped to hold her body, only his right arm rising andfalling as he plunged his knife again and again. She struggled, turning him over and under, wept great tears, and fairly whined withterror and pain. Finally she was still, and Perdosa staggered to hisfeet, only to stare about him drunkenly for a moment before throwinghimself with a screech on another victim. 

The Nigger alone did not jump into the turmoil. He stood just downthe cave, his club ready. Occasionally a disorganised rush to escapewould be made. The Nigger's lips snarled, and with a truly mad enjoymenthe beat the poor animals back. 

I pressed against the wall horrified, fascinated, unable either tointerfere or to leave. A close, sticky smell took possession of theair. After a little a tiny stream, growing each moment, began to flowpast my feet. It sought its channel daintily, as streamlets do, feeling among the stones in eddies, quiet pools, miniature falls, andrapids. For the moment I did not realise what it could be. Then thelight caught it down where the Nigger waited, and I saw it was red. 

At first the racket of the seals was overpowering. Now, gradually, it was losing volume. I began to hear the blasphemies, ferocious cries, screams of anger hurled against the cave walls by the men. The thick, sticky smell grew stronger; the light seemed to grow dimmer, as thoughit could not burn in that fetid air. A seal came and looked up at me, big tears rolling from her eyes; then she flippered aimlessly away, out of her poor wits with terror. The sight finished me. I staggereddown the length of the black tunnel to the boat. 

After a long interval a little three months' pup waddled down to thewater's edge, caught sight of me, and with a squeal of fright divedfar. Poor little devil! I would not have hurt him for worlds. As faras I know this was the only survivor of all that herd. 

The men soon appeared, one by one, tired, sleepy-eyed, glutted, walking in a cat-like trance of satiety. They were blood and tattersfrom head to foot, and from drying red masks peered their bloodshoteyes. Not a word said they, but tumbled into the boat, pushed off, and in a moment we were floating in the full sunshine again. We rowedhome in an abstraction. For the moment Berserker rage had burned itselfout. Handy Solomon continually wetted his lips, like an animal lickingits chops. Thrackles stared into space through eyes drugged withkilling. No one spoke. 

We landed in the cove, and were surprised to find it in shadow. Theafternoon was far advanced. Over the hill we dragged ourselves, anddown to the spring. There the men threw themselves flat and drank ingreat gulps until they could drink no more. We built a fire, but theNigger refused to cook. 

"Someone else turn, " he growled, "I cook aboard ship. "

Perdosa, who had hewed the fuel, at once became angry. 

"I cut heem de wood!" he said, "I do my share; eef I cut heem de woodyou mus' cook heem de grub!"

But the Nigger shook his head, and Perdosa went into an ecstasy ofrage. He kicked the fire to pieces; he scattered the unburned woodup and down the beach; he even threw some of it into the sea. 

"Eef you no cook heem de grub, you no hab my wood!" he shrieked, withenough oaths to sink his soul. 

Finally Pulz interfered. 

"Here you damn foreigners, " said he, "quit it! Let up, I say! We gotto eat. You let that wood alone, or you'll pick it up again!"

Perdosa sprang at him with a screech. Pulz was small but nimble, andunderstood rough and tumble fighting. He met Perdosa's rush with twoswift blows--a short arm jab and an upper-cut. Then they clinched, and in a moment were rolling over and over just beyond the wash ofthe surf. 

The row waked the Nigger from his sullen abstraction. He seemed tocome to himself with a start; his eye fell surprisedly on thecombatants, then lit up with an unholy joy. He drew his knife andcrept down on the fighters. It was too good an opportunity to pay offthe Mexican. 

But Thrackles interfered sharply. 

"Come off!" he commanded. "None o' that!"

"Go to hell!" growled the Nigger. 

A great rage fell on them all, blind and terrible, like that leadingto the slaughter of the seals. They fought indiscriminately, hittingat each other with fists and knives. It was difficult to tell who wasagainst whom. The sound of heavy breathing, dull blows, the tear ofcloth; and grunts of punishment received; the swirl of the sand, theheave of struggling bodies, all riveted my attention, so that I didnot see Captain Ezra Selover until he stood almost at my elbow. "Stop!" he shrieked in his high, falsetto voice. 

And would you believe it, even through the blood haze of their combatthe men heard him, and heeded. They drew reluctantly apart, got totheir feet, stood looking at him through reeking brows half submissiveand half defiant. The bull-headed Thrackles even took a half stepforward, but froze in his tracks when Old Scrubs looked at him. 

"I hire you men to fight when I tell you to, and only then, " said thecaptain sternly. "What does this mean?"

He menaced them one after another with his eyes, and one after anotherthey quailed. All their plottings, their threats, their dangerousnessdissipated like mist before the command of this one resolute man. These pirates who had seemed so dreadful to me, now were nothing morethan cringing schoolboys before their master. 

And then suddenly to my horror I, watching closely, saw the captain'seye turn blank. I am sure the men must have felt the change, thoughcertainly they were too far away to see it, for they shifted by everso little from their first frozen attitude. The captain's hand soughthis pocket, and they froze again, but instead of the expectedrevolver, he produced a half-full brandy bottle. 

The change in his eyes had crept into his features. They had turnedfoolishly amiable, vacant, confiding. 

"'llo boys, " said he appealingly, "you good fellowsh, ain't you? Havea drink. 'S good stuff. Good ol' bottl', " he lurched, caught himself, and advanced toward them, still with the empty smile. 

They stared at him for ten seconds, quite at a loss. Then:

"By God, he's drunk!" Handy Solomon breathed, scarcely louder thana whisper. 

There was no other signal given. They sprang as with a single impulse. One instant I saw clear against the waning daylight the bulky, foolish-swaying form of Captain Selover: the next it had disappeared, carried down and obliterated by the rush of attacking bodies. Knivesgleamed ruddy in the sunset. There was no struggle. I heard a deepgroan. Then the murderers rose slowly to their feet. 

XIII

I MAKE MY ESCAPE

I had plenty of time to run away. I do not know why I did not do so;but the fact stands that I remained where I was until they hadfinished Captain Selover. Then I took to my heels, but was sooncornered. I drew my revolver, remembered that I had emptied it in theseal cave--and had time for no more coherent mental processes. Asmothering weight flung itself on me, against which I struggled ashard as I could, shrinking in anticipation from the thirsty plungeof the knives. However, though the weight increased until furtherstruggle was impossible, I was not harmed, and in a few moments foundmyself, wrists and ankles tied, beside a roaring fire. While Icollected myself I heard the grate of a boat being shoved off fromthe cove, and a few moments later made out lights aboard the _LaughingLass_. 

The looting party returned very shortly. Their plundering had goneonly as far as liquor and arms. Thrackles let down from the cliff topa keg at the end of a line. Perdosa and the Nigger each carried anarmful of the 30-40 rifles. The keg was rolled to the fire andbroached. 

The men got drunk, wildly drunk, but not helplessly so. A flamecommunicated itself to them through the liquor. The ordinarycharacteristics of their composition sprung into sharper relief. TheNigger became more sullen; Perdosa more snake-like; Pulz moreviciously evil; Thrackles more brutal; while Handy Solomon staggeringfrom his seat to the open keg and back again, roaring fragments ofa chanty, his red headgear contrasting with his smoky black hair andhis swarthy hook-nosed countenance--he needed no further touch. 

Their evil passions were all awake, and the plan, so long indefinite, developed like a photographer's plate. 

"That's one, " said Thrackles. "One gone to hell. "

"And now the diamonds, " muttered Pulz. 

 "There's a ship upon the windward, a wreck upon the lee, _Down on the coast of the high Barbare-e-e_, "

roared Handy Solomon. "Damn it all, boys, it's the best night's workwe ever did. The stuff's ours. Then it's me for a big stone house inFrisco O!"

"Frisco, hell, " sneered Pulz, "that's all you know. You ought totravel. Paris for me and a little gal to learn the language from. "

"I get heem a fine _caballo_, an' fine saddle, an' fine clo's, "breathed Perdosa sentimentally. "I ride, and the silver jingle, andthe _señorita_ look----"

Thrackles was for a ship and the China trade. 

"What you want, Doctor?" they demanded of the silent Nigger. 

But the Nigger only rolled his eyes and shook his head. By and by hearose and disappeared in the dusk and was no more seen. 

"Dam' fool, " muttered Handy Solomon. "Well, here's to crime!"

He drank a deep cup of the raw rum, and staggered back to his seaton the sands. 

 "'I am not a man-o'-war, nor a privateer, ' said he. _Blow high, blow low! What care we_! 'But I am a jolly pirate and I'm sailing for my fee, ' _Down on the coast of the high Barbare-e-e_. "

he sang. "We'll land in Valparaiso and we'll go every man his way;and we'll sink the old _Laughing Lass_ so deep the mermaids can'tfind her. "

Thrackles piled on more wood and the fire leaped high. 

"Let's get after 'em, ' said he. 

"To-morrow's jes' 's good, " muttered Pulz. "Les' hav' 'nother drink. "

"We'll stay here 'n see if our ol' frien' Percy don' show up, " saidHandy Solomon. He threw back his head and roared forth a volume ofsound toward the dim stars. 

 "Broadside to broadside the gallant ships did lay, _Blow high, blow low! What care we_? 'Til the jolly man-o'-war shot the pirate's mast away, _Down on the coast of the high Barbare-e-e_. "

I saw near me a live coal dislodged from the fire when Thrackles hadthrown on the armful of wood. An idea came to me. I hitched myselfto the spark, and laid across it the rope with which my wrists weretied. This, behind my back, was not easy to accomplish, and twice Iburned my wrists before I succeeded. 

Fortunately I was at the edge of illumination, and behind the group. I turned over on my side so that my back was toward the fire. Thenrapidly I cast loose my ankle lashings. Thus I was free, and selectinga moment when universal attention was turned toward the rum barrel, I rolled over a sand dune, got to my hands and knees, and crept away. 

Through the coarse grass I crept thus, to the very entrance of thearroyo, then rose to my feet. In the middle distance the fire leapedred. Its glow fell intermittently on the surges rolling in. The menstaggered or lay prone, either as gigantic silhouettes or astatterdemalions painted by the light. The keg stood solid andsubstantial, the hub about which reeled the orgy. At the edge of thewash I could make out something prone, dim, limp, thrown constantlyin new positions of weariness as the water ebbed and flowed beneathit, now an arm thrown out, now cast back, as though Old Scrubs sleptfeverishly. The drunkards were getting noisy. Handy Solomon stillreeled off the verses of, his song. The others joined in, frightfullyoff the key; or punctuated the performance by wild staccato yells. 

 "Their coffin was their ship and their grave it was the sea, _Blow high, blow low! What care we_? And the quarter that we gave them was to sink them in the sea, _Down on the coast of the high Barbare-e-e, _"

bellowed Handy Solomon. 

I turned and plunged into the cool darkness of the cañon. 

XIV

AN ADVENTURE IN THE NIGHT

Ten seconds after entering the arroyo I was stumbling along in anabsolute blackness. It almost seemed to me that I could reach out myhands and touch it, as one would touch a wall. Or perhaps not exactlythat, for a wall is hard, and this darkness was soft and yielding, in the manner of enveloping hangings. Directly above me was a narrow, jagged, and irregular strip of sky with stars. I splashed in thebrook, finding its waters strangely warm, rustled through the grasses, my head back, chin out, hands extended as one makes his way througha house at night. There were no sounds except the tinkle of thesulphurous stream: successive bends in the cañon wall had shut offeven the faintest echoes of the bacchanalia on the beach. 

The way seemed much longer than by daylight. Already in my calculationI had traversed many times the distance, when, with a jump at theheart, I made out a glow ahead, and in front of it the upright logsof the stockade. 

To my surprise the gate was open. I ascended the gentle slope to thevalley's level--and stumbled over a man lying prostrate, shiveringviolently, and moaning. 

I bent over to discover whom it might be. As I did so a brilliantlight seemed to fill the valley, throwing an illumination on the manat my feet. I saw it was the Nigger, and perceived at the same instantthat he was almost beside himself with terror. His eyes rolled, histeeth chattered, his frame contracted in a strong convulsion, and theblack of his complexion had faded to a washed-out dirty grey, revolting to contemplate. He felt my touch and sprang to his feet, clutching me by the shoulder as a man clutching rescue. 

"My Gawd!" he shivered. "Look! Dar it is again!"

He fell to pattering in a tongue unknown to me--charms, spells, undoubtedly, to exorcise the devils that had hold of him. I followedthe direction of his gaze, and myself cried out. 

The doctor's laboratory stood in plain sight between the two columnsof steam blown straight upward through the stillness of the evening. It seemed bursting with light. Every little crack leaked it ingenerous streams, while the main illumination appeared fairly to bulgethe walls outward. This was in itself nothing extraordinary, andindicated only the activity of those within, but while I looked anirregular patch of incandescence suddenly splashed the cliff opposite. For a single instant the very substance of the rock glowed white hot;then from the spot a shower of spiteful flakes shot as from apyrotechnic, and the light was blotted out as suddenly as it came. At the same moment it appeared at another point, exhibited the samephenomena, died, flashed out at still a third place, and so wasrepeated here and there with bewildering rapidity until the walls ofthe valley crackled and spat sparks. Abruptly the darkness fell. 

As abruptly it was broken again by a similar exhibition; only thistime the fire was blue. Blue was followed by purple, purple by red. Then ensued the briefest possible pause, in which a figure movedacross the bars of light escaping through the chinks of thelaboratory, and then the whole valley blazed with patches ofvari-coloured fire. It was not a reflection: it was actual physicalconflagration of the solid rock, in irregular areas. Some of the fireshapes were most fantastic. And with the unexpectedness of a burstingshell the surface of the ground before our feet crackled into aghastly blue flame. 

The Nigger uttered a cry in his throat and disappeared. I felt a sharpbreath on my neck, an ejaculation of surprise at my very ear. It wasstartling enough to scare the soul out of a man, but I held fast andwas just about to step forward, when my collar was twisted tight frombehind. I raised both hands, felt steel, and knew that I was in thegrasp of Handy Solomon's claw. 

The sailor had me foul. I did my best to twist around, to unbuttonthe collar, but in vain. I felt my wind leaving me, the ghastly bluelight was shot with red. Distinctly I heard the man's sharp intakenbreath as some new phenomenon met his eye, and his great oath as heswore. "By the mother of God!" he cried, "it's the devil. "

Then I was jerked off my feet, and the next I knew I was lying on myback, very wet, on the beach; the day was breaking, and the men, quitesober, were talking vehemently. 

It was impossible to make out what they said, but as Handy Solomonand the Nigger were the centre of discussion, I could imagine the subject. I felt very stiff and sore and hazy in my mind. My neck was lame fromthe dragging and my tongue dry from the choking. For some time I layin a half-torpor watching the lilac of dawn change to the rose ofsunrise, utterly indifferent to everything. They had thrown me downacross the first rise of the little sand dunes back of the tide sands, and from it I could at once look out over the sea full of the restlessshadows of dawn, and the land narrowing to the mouth of the arroyo. I remember wondering whether Captain Selover were up yet. Then witha sharp stab at the heart I remembered. 

The thought was like a dash of cold water in clearing my faculties. I raised my head. Seaward a white gull had caught the first rays ofthe sun beyond the cliffs. Landward--I saw with a choke in my throat--afigure emerging from the arroyo. 

At the sight I made a desperate attempt to move, but with the effortdiscovered that I was again bound. My stirring thus called Pulz'sattention. Before I could look away he had followed the direction ofmy gaze. The discussion instantly ceased. They waited in grim silence. 

I did not know what to do. Percy Darrow, carrying some sort of largebook, was walking rapidly toward us. Perdosa had disappeared. Thrackles after an instant came and sat beside me and clapped his bighand over my mouth. It was horrible. 

When within a hundred paces or so, I could see that Darrow labouredunder some great excitement. His usual indifferent saunter had, asI have indicated, given way to a firm and decided step; his ironicaleye glistened; his sallow cheek glowed. 

"Boys, " he shouted cheerfully. "The time's up. We've succeeded. We'llsail just as soon as the Lord'll let us get ready. Rustle the stuffaboard. The doctor'll be down in a short time, and we ought to beloaded by night. "

Handy Solomon and Pulz laid hand on two of the rifles near by andbegan surreptitiously to fill their magazines. The Nigger shook hisknife free of the scabbard and sat with it in his left hand, concealedby his body. I could feel Thrackles's muscles stiffen. Another fiftypaces and it would be no longer necessary to stop my mouth. 

The thought made me desperate. I had failed as a leader of these men, and I had been forced to stand by at debauching, cruel, and murderousaffairs, but now it is over I thank Heaven the reproach cannot be madeagainst me that at any time I counted the consequences to myself. Thrackles's hand lay heavy across my mouth. I bit it to the bone, andas he involuntarily snatched it away, I rolled over toward the sea. 

Thus for an instant I had my mouth free. "Run! Run!" I shouted. "ForGod's sake----"

Thrackles leaped upon me and struck me heavily upon the mouth, thensprang for a rifle. I managed to struggle back to the dune, whenceI could see. 

XV

FIVE HUNDRED YARDS' RANGE

Percy Darrow, with the keenness that always characterised his mentalapprehension, had understood enough of my strangled cry. He had nothesitated nor delayed for an explanation, but had turned track andwas now running as fast as his long legs would carry him back towardthe opening of the ravine. My companions stood watching him, but makingno attempt either to shoot or to follow. For a moment I could notunderstand this, then remembered the disappearance of Perdosa. Myheart jumped wildly, for the Mexican had been gone quite long enoughto have cut off the assistant's escape. I could not doubt that hewould pick off his man at close range as soon as the fugitive shouldhave reached the entrance to the arroyo. 

There can be no question that he would have done so had not hisMexican impatience betrayed him. He shot too soon. Percy Darrowstopped in his tracks. Although we heard the bullet sing by us, foran instant we thought he was hit. Then Perdosa fired a second time, again without result. Darrow turned sharp to the left and began desperatelyto scale the steep cliffs. 

I once took part in a wild boar hunt on the coast of California. Ourdogs had penned a small band at the head of a narrow _barranca_, from which a single steep trail led over the hill. We, perched onanother hill some three or four hundred yards away, shot at theanimals as they toiled up the trail. The range was long, but we hadtime, for the severity of the climb forced the boars to a foot pace. 

It was exactly like that. Percy Darrow had two hundred feet of ascentto make. He could go just so fast; must consume just so much time inhis snail-like progress up the face of the hill. During that time hefurnished an excellent target, and the loose sandstone showed whereeach shot struck. 

A significant indication was that the men did not take the troubleto get nearer, for which manoeuvre they would have had time in plenty, but distributed themselves leisurely for a shooting match. 

"First shot, " claimed Handy Solomon, and without delay fired off-hand. A puff of dust showed to the right. "Nerve no good, " he commented, "jerked her just as I pulled. "

Pulz fired from the knee. The dust this time puffed below. 

"Thought she'd carry up at that distance, " he muttered. 

The Nigger, too, missed, and Thrackles grinned triumphantly. 

"I get a show, " said he. He spread his massive legs apart, drew a deepbreath, and raised his weapon. It lay in his grasp steady as a log, and I saw that Percy Darrow's fate was in the hands of that dangerousclass of natural marksman that possesses no nerves. But for the secondtime my teeth saved his life. The trigger guard slipped againstThrackles's lacerated hand almost at the instant of discharge. Hemissed; and the bullet went wide. 

Darrow had climbed a matter of twenty feet. 

Now the seamen distributed themselves for more leisurely and accuratemarksmanship. Handy Solomon lay flat on his stomach, resting the riflemuzzle across the top of a sand dune. Pulz sat down, an elbow oneither knee for the greater steadiness. The Nigger knelt; butThrackles remained on his feet. No rest could be steadier than thestone-like rigidity of his thick arms. 

The firing now became miscellaneous. No one paid any attention toanyone else. Each discovered what I could have told them, that eventhe human figure at five hundred yards is a small mark for a strangerifle. The constant correction of elevation, however, brought thepuffs of dust always closer, and I could not but realise that thedoctrine of chances must bring home some of the bullets. I soondiscovered by way of comfort that only Thrackles and Handy Solomonreally understood firearms; and of those two Thrackles alone had hadmuch experience at long range. He told me afterward he had huntedotter. 

About halfway up the cliff Thrackles fired his fifth shot. No dustfollowed the discharge; and I saw Percy Darrow stagger and almost losehis hold. The men yelled savagely, but the assistant pulled himselftogether and continued his crawling. 

The sun had been shining in our faces. I could imagine its blurringeffect on the sights. Now abruptly it was blotted out, and asemi-twilight fell. We all looked up, in spite of ourselves. An opaqueveil had been drawn quite across the heavens, through which we couldnot make out even the shape of the sun. It was like a thunder cloudexcept that its under surface instead of being the usual grey-blackwas a deep earth-brown. As we looked up, a deep bellow stirred the air, which had fallen quite still, long forks of lightning shothorizontally from the direction of the island's interior, and flashesof dull red were reflected from the canopy of cloud. 

The men stared with their mouths open. Undoubtedly the change had beensome time in preparation, but all had been so absorbed in the affairof the doctor's assistant that no one had noticed. It came to ourconsciousness with the suddenness of a theatrical change. A dullroaring commenced, grew in volume, and then a great explosion shookthe very ground under our feet. 

We stared at each other, our faces whitening. 

"What kind of hell has broke loose?" muttered Pulz. 

The Nigger fell flat on his face, uttering deep lamentations. 

"Voodoo! Voodoo!" he groaned. 

A gentle shower of white flakes began, powdering the surface ofeverything. Far out to sea we could make out the sun on the water. Gradually the roaring died down; the lightning ceased. Comparativepeace ensued. We looked again toward the cliff. Percy Darrow had notfor one instant ceased to climb. He was just topping the edge of thebluff. Handy Solomon, with a cry of rage, seized another rifle andemptied the magazine at him as fast as the lever could be worked. Thedust flew wild in a half dozen places. Darrow drew himself up to thesky line, raised his hat ironically, and disappeared. 

[Illustration: The firing now became miscellaneous. No one paid anyattention to any one else. ]

"Damn his soul!" cried Handy Solomon, his face livid. He threw hisrifle to the beach and danced on it in an ecstasy of rage. 

"What do we care, " growled Thrackles, "he's no good to us. W'at I wantto know is, wat's up here, anyhow!"

"Didn't you never see a volcano go off, you swab?" snapped HandySolomon. 

"Easy with your names, mate. No, I never did. We better get out. "

"Without the chest?"

"S'pose we go up the gulch and get it, then, " suggested Thrackles. 

But at this Handy Solomon drew back in evident terror. 

"Up that hole of hell?" he objected. "Not I. You an' Pulz go. "

They wrangled over it, Pulz joining. Perdosa, shaken to the soul, crept in, and made a bee-line for the rum barrel. He and the Niggerwere frankly scared. They had the nervous jumps at every little noiseor unexpected movement; and even the natural explanation of thesephenomena gave them very little reassurance. I knew that Darrow wouldhurry as fast as he could back to the valley by way of the upperhills; I knew that he had there several sporting rifles; and I hopedgreatly that he and Dr. Schermerhorn might accomplish something beforethe men had recovered their wits to the point of foreseeing hisprobable attack. The uncanny cloud in the heavens, the weirdhalf-light, and the explosions, which now grew more frequent, hadtheir strong effect in spite of explanation. The men were not reallyafraid to venture in quest of the supposed treasure; but they were ina frame of mind that dreaded the first plunge. And time was going by. 

But the fates were against us, as always in this ill-starred voyage. I, watching from my sand dune, saw a second figure emerge from thearroyo's mouth. It appeared to stagger as though hurt; and every eightor ten paces it stopped and rested in a bent-over position. The murkylight was too dim for me to make out details; but after a moment arift in the veil enabled me to identify Dr. Schermerhorn carrying, with great difficulty, the chest. 

XVI

THE MURDER

I took no chances, but began at once to shout, as soon as I saw the menhad noticed his coming. It was impossible for me to tell whether or notDr. Schermerhorn heard me. If he did, he misunderstood my intention, forhe continued painfully to advance. The only result I gained was to getmyself well gagged with my own pocket handkerchief, and thrown in a hollowbetween the dunes. Thence I could hear Handy Solomon speaking fiercely andrapidly. 

"Now you let me run this, " he commanded; "we got to find out somethin'. Itain't no good to us without we knows--and we want to find out how he's gotthe rest hid. "

They assented. 

"I'm goin' out to help him carry her in, " announced the seaman. 

A long pause ensued, in which I watched the deep canopy of red-blackthicken overhead. A strange and unearthly light had fallen on the world, and the air was quite still. After a while I heard Handy Solomon and Dr. Schermerhorn join the group. 

"There you are, Perfessor, " cried Handy Solomon, in tones of the greatestheartiness, "I'll put her right there, and she'll be as safe as a babby athome. She's heavy, though. "

Dr. Schermerhorn laughed a pleased and excited laugh. I could tell by thetone of his voice that he was strung high, and guessed that his triumphneeded an audience. 

"You may say so well!" he said. "It iss heafy; and it iss heafy with theworld-desire, the great substance than can do efferything. Where issPercy?"

"He's gone aboard. "

"We must embark. The time is joost right. A day sooner and the egsperimentwould haf been spoilt; but now"--he laughed--"let the island sink, we donot care. We must embark hastily. "

"It'll take a man long time to carry down all your things, Perfessor. "

"Oh, led them go! The eruption has alretty swallowed them oop. The lavaiss by now a foot deep in the valley. Before long it flows here, so wemust embark. "

"But you've lost all them vallyable things, Perfessor, " said HandySolomon. "Now, I call that hard luck. "

Dr. Schermerhorn snapped his fingers. 

"They do not amoundt to that!" he cried. "Here, here, in this leetle boxiss all the treasure! Here iss the labour of ten years! Here iss the_Laughing Lass_, and the crew, and all the equipmendt comprised. Here issthe world!"

"I'm a plain seaman, Perfessor, and I suppose I got to believe you; butshe's a main small box for all that. "

"With that small box you can haf all your wishes, " asserted the Professor, still in the German lyric strain over his triumph. "It iss the box ofenchantments. You haf but to will the change you would haf taig place--itiss done. The substance of the rocks, the molecule--all!"

"Could a man make diamonds?" asked Pulz abruptly. I could hear the sharpintake of the men's breathing as they hung on the reply. 

"Much more wonderful changes than that it can accomplish, " replied thedoctor, with an indulgent laugh. "That change iss simple. Carbon iss coal;carbon iss diamond. You see? One has but to change the form, not thesubstance. "

"Then it'll change coal to diamonds?" asked Handy Solomon. 

"Yes, you gather my meanings--"

I heard a sharp squeak like a terrified mouse. Then a long, dreadfulsilence; then two dull, heavy blows, spaced with deliberation. A momentlater I caught a glimpse of Handy Solomon bent forward to the labour ofdragging a body toward the sea, his steel claw hooked under the angle ofthe jaw as a man handles a fish. Pulz came and threw off my bonds and gag. 

"Come along!" said he. 

All kept looking fearfully toward the arroyo. A dense white steam markedits course. The air was now heavy with portent. Successive explosions, some light, some severe, shook the foundations of the island. Great rocksand boulders bounded down the hills. The flashes of lightning had becomemore frequent. We moved, exaggerated to each other's vision by the strangelight, uncouth and gigantic. 

"Let's get out of this!" cried Thrackles. 

We turned at the word and ran, Thrackles staggering under the weight ofthe chest. All our belongings we abandoned, and set out for the _LaughingLass_ with only the tatters in which we stood. Luckily for us a great partof the ship's stores had been returned to her hold after the last thoroughscrubbing, so we were in subsistence, but all our clothes, all ourpersonal belongings, were left behind us on the beach. For after once wehad topped the cliff that led over to the cove, I doubt if anyconsideration on earth would have induced us to return to that accursedplace. 

The row out to the ship was wet and dangerous. Seismic disturbances wereundoubtedly responsible for high pyramidic waves that lifted and fellwithout onward movement. We fairly tumbled up out of the dory, which wedid not hoist on deck, but left at the end of the painter to beat hersides against the ship. 

XVII

THE OPEN SEA

Our haste, however, availed us little, for there was no wind at all. Welay for over two hours under the weird light, over-canopied by the red-brown cloud, while the explosions shook the foundations of the world. Nobody ventured below. The sails flapped idly from the masts: the blocksand spars creaked: the three-cornered waves rose straight up and fellagain as though reaching from the deep. 

When the men first began to sweat the sails up, evidently in preparationfor an immediate departure, I objected vehemently. 

"You aren't going to leave him on the island, " I cried. "He'll die ofstarvation. "

They did not answer me; but after a little more, when my expostulationshad become more positive, Handy Solomon dropped the halliard, and drew meto one side. 

"Look here, you, " he snarled, "you'd better just stow your gab. You'relucky to be here yourself, let alone botherin' your thick head aboutanybody else, and you can kiss the Book on that! Do you know why you ain'twith them carrion?" He jerked his thumb toward the beach. "It's becauseSolomon Anderson's your friend. Thrackles would have killed you in aminute 'count of his bit hand. I got you your chance. Now don't you be afool, for I ain't goin' to stand between you and them another time. Besides, he won't last long if that volcano keeps at it. "

He left me. Whatever truth lay in his assumption of friendship, and Idoubted there existed much of either truth or friendship in him, I saw thecommon sense of his advice. I was in no position to dictate a course ofaction. 

After the sails were on her we gathered at the starboard rail to watch theshore. There the hills ran into inky blackness, as the horizon sometimesmerges into a thunder squall. A dense white steam came from the creek bedwithin the arroyo. The surges beat on the shore louder than the ordinary, and the foam, even in these day hours, seemed to throw up a faintphosphorescence. Frequent earthquakes oscillated the landscape. Wewatched, I do not know for what, our eyes straining into the murk of theisland. Nobody thought of the chest, which lay on the cabin table aft. Icontributed maliciously my bit to their fear. 

"These volcanic islands sometimes sink entirely, " I suggested, "and inthat case we'd be carried down by the suction. "

It was intended merely to increase their uneasiness, but, strangelyenough, after a few moments it ended by imposing itself on my own fears. Ibegan to be afraid the island would sink, began to watch for it, began toshare the fascinated terror of these men. 

The suspense after a time became unbearable, for while the portent--whether physical or moral we were too far under its influence todistinguish--grew momentarily, our own souls did not expand in duecorrespondence. We talked of towing, of kedging out, of going to anyextreme, even to small boats. Then just as we were about to move towardsome accomplishment, a new phenomenon chained our attention to the shore. 

In the mouth of the arroyo appeared a red glow. A moment later a wave oflava, white-hot, red, iridescent, cooling to a black crust cracked inincandescence, rolled majestically out over the grassy plain. Each instantit grew in volume, until the ravine must have been flowing half full. 

Before its scorching the grasses even at the edge of the sea were smoking, and our camp had already burst into flames. We had to shield our facesagainst the heat, and the wooden railing under our hands was growing warm. 

Pulz turned an ashy countenance toward us. 

"My God, " he screamed. "What's going to happen when she hits the sea?"

She hit the sea, and immediately a great cloud of steam arose, and thehissing as of a thousand serpents. We felt the strong suction under ourkeel, and staggered under the jerk of the ship's cable as she swung towardthe beach. The paint was beginning to crackle along the rail. We could seenothing for the scalding white veil that enveloped us; we could hearnothing for the roar of steam, the bombardment of explosions, and thecrash of thunder; but our nostrils were assaulted by a most unearthlymedley of smells. 

"Hell's loose, " growled Thrackles. 

We were clinging hard as the ship reeled. Huge surges were racing in fromseaward, growing larger with each successive billow. 

Handy Solomon raised his head, listened intently, and struck his forehead. 

"Wind, " he screamed at the top of his voice, and jumped for the halliards. 

Thrackles followed him, but no one else moved. In an instant the two wereback, striking and kicking savagely, rousing their companions to thedanger. We all laid into the canvas like mad, and in no time had snuggeddown to a staysail and the peak of our mainsail. Thrackles drew his knifeand jumped for the cable, while Handy Solomon, his eyes snapping, seizedthe wheel. 

We finished just in time. I was turning away after tying the last gasketon the foresail, when the deck up-ended and tipped me headforemost intothe starboard scupper. At the same time a smother of salt water blew overthe port rail, now far above me, to drench me as thoroughly as though Ihad fallen overboard. I brushed out my eyes to find the ship smack on herbeam ends, and the wind howling by from the sea. 

I had company enough in the scuppers. Only Handy Solomon clung desperatelyto the wheel, jamming his weight to port in the hope she might pay up:Thrackles, too, his eye squinted along some bearing of his own, waswaiting for her to drag. Presently it became evident that she was doingso, whereupon he drew his knife across our hawser. 

"My God, " chattered Pulz at my ear. "If we go ashore--"

He did not need to finish. Unless the _Laughing Lass_ could recover beforethe squall had driven her to leeward a scant half mile, we should becooked alive in the boiling cauldron at the shore's edge. 

For an interminable time, as it seemed to me, we lay absolutelymotionless. The scene is stamped indelibly on my memory--the bulwarks highabove me, the steep, sleek deck, the piratical figure tense at the wheel, the snarling water racing from beneath us, the lurid glow to landwardcrawling up on us inch by inch like a hungry wild beast. Then almostimperceptibly the brave schooner righted. The strained lines on HandySolomon's carven features relaxed little by little. Thrackles, staringover the side, let out a mighty roar. 

"Steerage way, " he shouted, and executed an awkward clog dance on thereeling deck. 

She moved forward, there was no doubt of that, for gradually we wereeating toward the wind--but we made considerable leeway as well. HandySolomon, taut as the weather rigging, took his little advantages one byone like precious gifts. Light there was none; the land was blotted out bythe steam and murk which had crept to sea and now was hurled back by thewind. All we could do was to hang there, tasting the copper of excitement, waiting for these different forces to adjust themselves. Inch by inch wecrept forward: foot by foot we made leeway. The intensest of the lava glowworked its way from directly abeam to the quarter. By this we knew we mustbe nearly opposite the cove. At once a new doubt sprang up in our minds. 

A moment ago all the energy of our desires had gone up in the ambition toavoid being cast on the beach. Now we saw that that was not enough. It wasnecessary to squeeze around the point where lay the _Golden Horn_, inorder to avoid the fate that had overtaken her. Handy Solomon yelledsomething at us. We could not hear, but our own knowledge told us what itmust be, and with one accord we turned to on the foresail. With the peakof it hoisted we moved a trifle faster, though the schooner lay over at aperilous angle. A moment later the fogs parted to show us the cliffslooming startlingly near. There were the donkey engine and the works wehad constructed for wrecking--and there beside them, watching usreflectively, stood Percy Darrow. 

For ten minutes we stared at him fascinated, during which time the shiplaboured against the staggering winds, gained and lost in its buffetingwith the great surges. The breakers hurling themselves in wild abandonagainst the rocks sent their back-wash of tumbling peaks to our verybilges. The few remains of the _Golden Horn_, alternately drenched anddraining, seemed to picture to us our inevitable end. 

I think we had all selected the same two points for our "bearings, " a rockand a drop of the cliff bolder than the ordinary. If the rock opened fromthe cliff to eastward, we were lost; if it remained stationary, we were atleast holding our own; if it opened out to westward, we were saved. Wewatched with a strained eagerness impossible to describe. At eachmomentary gain or rebuff we uttered ejaculations. The Nigger mumbledcharms. Every once in a while one of us would snatch a glance to leewardat the cruel, white waters, the whirl of eddies where the sea was beaten, only to hurry back to the rock and the point of the cliff whence ourmessage of safety or destruction was to be flung. Once I looked up. PercyDarrow was leaning gracefully against a stanchion, watching. His soft hatwas pulled over his eyes; he stroked softly his little moustache; I caughtthe white puff of his cigarette. During the moment of my inattentionsomething happened. A wild shout burst from the men. I whirled, and saw tomy great joy a strip of sky westward between the cliff and the rock. Andat that very instant a billow larger than the ordinary rolled beneath us, and in the back suction of its passage I could dimly make out cruel, dangerous rocks lying almost under our keel. 

Slowly we crept away. Our progress seemed infinitesimal, and yet it wasreal. In a while we had gained sea room; in a while more we were fairlyunder sailing way, and the cliffs had begun to drop from our quarter. Withone accord we looked back. Percy Darrow waved his hand in an indescribablygraceful and ironic gesture; then turned square on his heel and saunteredaway to the north valley, out of the course of the lava. That was the lastI ever saw of him. 

As we made our way from beneath the island, the weight of the wind seemedto lessen. We got the foresail on her, then a standing jib; finally littleby little all her ordinary working canvas. Before we knew it, we werebowling along under a stiff breeze, and the island was dropping astern. 

From a distance it presented a truly imposing sight. The centre shotintermittent blasts of ruddy light; explosions, deadened by distance, still reverberated strongly; the broad canopy of brown-red, split withlightnings, spread out like a huge umbrella. The lurid gloom that hadenveloped us in the atmosphere apparently of a nether world had givenplace to a twilight. Abruptly we passed from it to a sun-kissed, sparklingsea. The breeze blew sweet and strong; the waves ran untortured in theirnatural long courses. 

At once the men seemed to throw off the superstitious terror that hadcowed them. Pulz and Thrackles went to bail the extra dory, alongside, which by a miracle had escaped swamping. The Nigger disappeared in thegalley. Perdosa relieved Handy Solomon at the wheel; and Handy Solomoncame directly over to me. 

XVIII

THE CATASTROPHE

He approached me with a confidence that proclaimed the new leader. A braceof Colt's revolvers swung from his belt, the tatters of his blood-stainedgarments hung about him. 

"Well, here we are, " he remarked. 

I nodded, waiting for what he had to disclose. 

"And lucky for you that you're here at all, say I, " he continued. "And nowthat you're here, w'at are you going to do? That's the question--w'at areyou going to do?" He cocked his head sidewise and looked at mespeculatively as a cat might look at a rather large mouse. "We been alittle rough, " he went on after a moment, "and some folks is strait-laced. There might be trouble. And you know a heap too much. "

"What do you want of me?" I demanded. 

"It's just this, " he returned briskly. "If you'll lay us our course to SanSalvador, we'll let you go as one of us and no questions asked. "

"If not?" I inquired. 

He shrugged his shoulders. "I leave it to you. "

"There's always the sea, " I suggested. 

"And it's deep, " he agreed. 

We looked out to the horizon in a diplomatic silence. I did not knowwhether to be angry, amused, or alarmed that the man estimated mycleverness so slightly. Why, the hook was barely concealed, and the baitof the coarsest. That I would go safe to a sight of San Salvador I did notdoubt: that I would never enter the harbour I was absolutely certain. Thechoice offered me was practically whether I preferred being thrownoverboard now or several hundred miles to southeastward. 

I thought rapidly. It might be possible to announce a daily falsereckoning to the crew, to sail the ship within rowing distance of somecoast; and then to escape while the men believed themselves many hundredmiles at sea. It would take nice calculation to prevent suspicion, but asit was the only chance I resolved upon it immediately. 

"That's all very well, " I said firmly, "but you can't get anywhere withoutme, and I'm not going to put in two years and then keep my mouth shut fornothing. I want a share in the swag--an even share with the rest of you. "

"Oh, that'll be all right, " he cried; "you can have it. "

If anything was needed to convince me of the man's sinister intentions, this too ready acquiescence would have been enough. I knew him too well. If he had had the slightest intention of permitting me to go free, hewould have bargained. 

The Nigger called us to mess. We ate in the after cabin. The chest waslocked and the men had as yet been unable to break into it. Pulz professedsome skill in locksmithing and promised to experiment later. After mess wewent on deck again. The island had dropped down to the horizon and showedas a brilliant glow under a dark canopy. I leaned over the rail looking atit. Below me the extra dory bumped along. The idea came to me that if Icould escape that night, I could row back to Percy Darrow. The two of uscould make shift to live on fish and shellfish and mutton. The planrapidly defined itself in my brain. From the remains of the _Golden Horn_we could construct some kind of a craft in which to run free to the summertrades. Thus we might in time reach some one or another of the SandwichIslands, whence a passing trader could take us back to civilisation. Therewere many elements of uncertainty in the scheme, but it seemed to me lessdesperate than trusting to the caprices of these men, especially sincethey now had free access to the liquor stores. 

While I leaned over the rail engrossed in these thoughts, one of the blackthunder clouds that had been gathering and dissipating over the islandduring the entire afternoon suddenly glowed overhead with a strange whiteincandescence startlingly akin to Darrow's so-called "devil fires. "Strangely enough, this illumination, unlike the volcanic glows, appearedto be cast on the clouds from without rather than shot through them fromwithin, as were the other volcanic emanations. At the same instant Iexperienced a sharp interior revulsion of some sort, most brieflymomentary, but of a character that shook me from head to toe. 

I had no time to analyse these various impressions, however, for myattention was almost instantly distracted. From the cabin came the soundof a sharp fall, then a man cried out, and on the heels of it Pulz dartedfrom the cabin, screaming horribly. We were all on deck, and as the littleman rushed toward the stern Handy Solomon twisted him deftly from hisfeet. 

"My God, mate, what is it?" he cried, as he pinned the sufferer to thedeck. 

But Pulz could not answer. He shivered, stiffened, and lay rigid, his eyesrolled back. 

"Fits, " remarked Thrackles impatiently. 

The excitement died. Rum was forced between the victim's lips. After alittle he recovered, but could tell us nothing of his seizure. 

After the dishes had been swept aside from supper, Handy Solomon announceda second attempt to open the chest. 

"Pancho, here, says he's been a mechanic, " said he. "I right well knowhe's been a housebreaker. So he's got the _sabe_ for the job, and you cankiss the Book on that. "

Perdosa, with a grin, leaned over the cover from behind and began to pickaway at the lock with a long, crooked wire. The others drew close about. Islipped nearer the door, imagining that in their riveted interest I saw myopportunity. To my surprise I caught a glimpse of legs disappearing up thecompanion. I took stock. Pulz had gone on deck. 

This surprised me, for I should have thought every man interested enoughin the supposed treasure to wish to be present at its uncovering; and itannoyed me still more--the success of my plan demanded a clear deck. However, there was nothing for it now but to trust that Pulz had wished tovisit the forecastle, and that I might find the afterworks empty. 

I paused at the foot of the companion and looked back. A breathlessness ofexcitement held the pirates in a vise. From above, the hanging lamp threwstrong shadows across their faces, bringing out the deep lines, accentuating the dominant passions. With their rags and blood, theirunshaven faces, their firearms, their filth, they showed in violentantithesis to the immaculate white of Old Scrubs's cabin, its glitteringbrass, and its shining leather. I darted up the steps. 

The contrast of the starry night with the glare of the cabin lamp dazzledmy eyes. I stood stock still for a moment, during which the only soundsaudible were the singing of the winds through the rigging, the wash of thesea, and the small, sharp click of Perdosa's instrument as he worked atthe chest. 

Presently I could see better. I looked forward and aft for Pulz, but couldsee nothing of him, and had just about concluded that he had gone forwardwhen I happened to glance aloft. There, to my astonishment, I made himout, huddled in silhouette against the stars, close to the main truck. What he was doing there I could not imagine. However, I did not have timeto bother my head about him, further than to rejoice that he could notobstruct me. 

I should very much have liked to get hold of a rifle and ammunition, or atleast to lay in biscuit and water, but for this there was no time. It wasnot absolutely essential. The dull glow of the island was still visible. Ihad my pillar of fire and smoke to guide me. 

Without further delay I jerked loose the painter and drew the extra doryalongside. 

I had proceeded just so far in my movements, when the most extraordinarything happened. I shall try to tell you of it as accurately as possible, and in the exact order of its occurrence. First a long, straight shaft ofwhite light shot straight up through the cabin roof to a great height. Itshone through the wooden planks as an ordinary light shines through glass. By contrast the surrounding blackness was thrown into a deeper shade, andyet the shaft itself was so brilliant as almost to scotch the sight. Curiously enough, it was defined accurately, being exactly in shape likeone of the rectangular tin air-shafts you see so often in city hotels. Atthe instant of its appearance, the wind fell quite calm. 

Almost immediately the rectangle on the roof through which the light madeits passage began to splay out, like lighted oil, although the columnretained still the integrity of its outline. The fire, if such it could becalled, ran with incredible rapidity along the seams between the planks, forward and aft, until the entire deck was sketched like a pyrotechnicdisplay in thin, vivid lines of incandescence. From each of these linesthen the fire began again to spread, as though soaking through the planks. 

All took place practically in an instant of time. I had no opportunity tomove nor to cry out; indeed, my perceptions were inadequate to the task ofmere observation. Up to now there had been no sound. The wind had fallen;the waters passed unnoticed. A stillness of death seemed to have descendedon the ship. It was broken by a sharp double report, one as of the fall ofa metallic substance, the other caused by the body of Pulz, which, shakenloose from the truck by a heavy roll, smashed against the rail of the shipand splashed overboard. Someone cried out sharply. An instant later theentire crew struggled out from the companionway, rushed in grim silence tothe side of the vessel, and threw themselves into the sea. 

My own ideas were somewhat confused. The fire had practically envelopedthe ship. I thought to feel it; and yet my skin was cool to the touch. Theship's outlines became blurred. A dizziness overtook me; and then all atonce a great desire seized and shook my very soul. I cannot tell you thevehemence of this desire. It was a madness; nothing could stand in the wayof its gratification. Whatever happened, I must have water. It was notthirst, nor yet a purpose to allay the very real physical burning of whichI was now dimly conscious; but a craving for the liquid itself assomething apart from and unconnected with anything else. Withouthesitation, and as though it were the most natural thing in the world, Ivaulted the rail to cast myself into the ocean. I dimly remember a lastflying impression of a furnace of light, then a great shock thuddedthrough me, and I lost consciousness. 

PART THREE

THE MAROON

I

IN THE WARDROOM

Over the wardroom of the _Wolverine_ had fallen a silence. It held afterSlade had finished. Captain Parkinson, stiff and erect in his chair, staring fixedly at a spot two feet above the reporter's head, seemed toweigh, as a judge weighs, the facts so picturesquely, set forth. Dr. Trendon, his sturdy frame half in shadow, had slouched far down intohimself. Only the regard of his keen eyes fixed upon Slade's face, unwaveringly and a bit anxiously, showed that he was thinking of thenarrator as well as of the narrative. The others had fallen completelyunder the spell of the tale. They sat, as children in a theatre, absorbed, forgetful of the world around them, wrapped in a more vivid element. Atthe close, they stirred and blinked, half dazed by the abrupt fall of thecurtain. 

Slade had told his story with fire, with something of passion, even. Nowhe felt the sharp reflex. He muttered uncertainly beneath his breath andglanced from one to another of the circled faces. 

"That's all, " he said unsteadily. 

There passed through the group a stir and a murmur. Someone broke intosharp coughing. Chairs, shoved back, grated on the floor. 

"Well, of all the extraordinary--" began a voice, ruminatingly, and brokeshort off, as if abashed at its own infraction of the silence. 

"That's all, " repeated Slade, a note of insistence in his voice. "Whydon't you say something? Confound you, why don't you say something?" Hisspeech rose husky and cracked. "Don't you believe it?"

"Hold on, " said the surgeon quietly. "No need to get excited. "

"Oh, well, " muttered the reporter, with a sudden lapse. "Possibly youthink I'm romancing. It doesn't matter. I don't suppose I'd believe itmyself, in your place. "

"But we're heading for the island, " suggested Forsythe. 

"That's so, " cried Slade. "Well, that's all right. Believe or disbelieveas much as you like. Only get Percy Darrow off that island. Then we'llhave his version. There are a few things I want to find out about, myself. "

"There are several that promise to be fairly interesting, " said Forsythe, under his breath. 

Slade turned to the captain. "Have you any questions to put to me, sir?"he asked formally. 

"Just one moment, " interrupted Trendon. "Boy, a pony of brandy for Mr. Slade. "

The reporter drank the liquor and again turned to Captain Parkinson. 

"Only about our men, " said the commanding officer, after a little thought. 

Slade shook his head. 

"I'm sorry I can't help you there, sir. "

"Dr. Trendon said that you knew nothing about Edwards. "

"Edwards?" repeated Slade inquiringly. His mind, still absorbed in theevents which he had been relating, groped backward. 

Trendon came to his aid. "Barnett asked you about him, you remember. Itwas when you recovered consciousness. Our ensign. Took over charge of the_Laughing Lass_. "

"Oh, of course. I was a little dazed, I fancy. "

"We put Mr. Edwards aboard when we first picked up the deserted schooner, "explained the captain. 

"Pardon me, " said the other. "My head doesn't seem to work quite rightyet. Just a moment, please. " He sat silent, with closed eyes. "You say youpicked up the _Laughing Lass_. When?" he asked presently. 

"Four--five--six days ago, the first time. "

"Then you put out the fire. "

The circle closed in on Slade, with an unconscious hitching forward ofchairs. He had fixed his eyes on the captain. His mouth worked. Obviouslyhe was under a tensity of endeavour in keeping his faculties set to theproblem. The surgeon watched him, frowning. 

"There was no fire, " said the captain. 

Slade leaped in his chair. "No fire! But I saw her, I tell you. When Iwent overboard she was one living flame!"

"You landed in the small boat. Knocked you senseless, " said Trendon. "Concussion of the brain. Idea of flame might have been a retroactivehallucination. "

"Retroactive rot, " cried the other. "I beg your pardon, Dr. Trendon. Butif you'd seen her as I saw her--Barnett!"

He turned in appeal to his old acquaintance. 

"There was no fire, Slade, " replied the executive officer gently. "No signof fire that we could find, except that the starboard rail was blistered. "

"Oh, that was from the volcano, " said Slade. "That was nothing. "

"It was all there was, " returned Barnett. 

"Just let me run this thing over, " said the free lance slowly. "You foundthe schooner. She wasn't afire. She didn't even seem to have been afire. You put a crew aboard under your ensign, Edwards. Storm separated you fromher. You picked her up again deserted. Is that right?"

"Day before yesterday morning. "

"Then, " cried the other excitedly, "the fire was smouldering all the time. It broke out and your men took to the water. "

"Impossible, " said Barnett. 

"Fiddlesticks!" said the more downright surgeon. 

"I hardly think Mr. Edwards would be driven overboard by a fire which didnot even scorch his ship, " suggested the captain mildly. 

"It drove our lot overboard, " insisted Slade. "Do you think we were a packof cowards? I tell you, when that hellish thing broke loose, you had togo. It wasn't fear. It wasn't pain. It was--What's the use. You can'texplain a thing like that. "

"We certainly saw the glow the night Billy Edwards was--disappeared, "mused Forsythe. 

"And again, night before last, " said the captain. 

"What's that!" cried Slade. "Where is the _Laughing Lass_?"

"I'd give something pretty to know, " said Barnett. 

"Isn't she in tow?"

"In tow?" said Forsythe. "No, indeed. We hadn't adequate facilities fortowing her. Didn't you tell him, Mr. Barnett?"

"Where is she, then?" Slade fired the question at them like a cross-examiner. 

"Why, we shipped another crew under Ives and McGuire that noon. We wereparted again, and haven't seen them since. "

"God forgive you!" said the reporter. "After the warnings you'd had, too. It was--it was--"

"My orders, Mr. Slade, " said Captain Parkinson, with quiet dignity. 

"Of course, sir. I beg your pardon, " returned the other. "But--you say yousaw the light again?"

"The first night they were out, " said Barnett, in a low voice. 

"Then your second crew is with your first crew, " said Slade, shakily. "Andthey're with Thrackles, and Pulz and Solomon, and many another black-hearted scoundrel and brave seaman. Down there!"

He pointed under foot. Captain Parkinson rose and went to his cabin. Sladerose, too, but his knees were unsteady. He tottered, and but for the swiftaid of Barnett's arm, would have fallen. 

"Overdone, " said Dr. Trendon, with some irritation. "Cost you something instrength. Foolish performance. Turn in now. "

Slade tried to protest, but the surgeon would not hear of it, and marchedhim incontinently to his berth. Returning, Trendon reported, with growlsof discontent, that his patient was in a fever. 

"Couldn't expect anything else, " he fumed. "Pack of human interrogationpoints hounding him all over the place. "

"What do you think of his story?" asked Forsythe. 

The grizzled surgeon drew out a cigar, lighted it, took three deliberatepuffs, turned it about, examined the ash end with concentration, andreplied:

"Man's telling a straight story. "

"You think it's all true?" cried Forsythe. 

"Humph!" grunted the other. "_He thinks it's all true_. "

An orderly appeared and knocked at the captain's cabin. 

"Beg pardon, sir, " they heard him say. "Mr. Carter would like to know howclose in to run. Volcano's acting up pretty bad, sir. "

Captain Parkinson went on deck, followed by the rest. 

II

THE JOLLY ROGER

Feeling the way forward, the cruiser was soon caught in a maze of crosscurrents. Hither and thither she was borne, a creature bereft of volition. Order followed order like the rattle of quick-fire, and was obeyed withsomething more than the _Wolverine's_ customary smartness. From the bridgeCaptain Parkinson himself directed his ship. His face was placid: hisbearing steady and confident. This in itself was sufficient earnest thatthe cruiser was in ticklish case. For it was an axiom of the men whosailed under Parkinson that the calmer that nervous man grew, the morecause was there for nervousness on the part of others. 

The approach was from the south, but suspicious aspects of the water hadfended the cruiser out and around, until now she stood prow-on to a boldheadland at the northwest corner of the island. Above this headland lay adark pall of vapour. In the shifting breeze it swayed sluggishly, heavily, as if riding at anchor like a logy ship of the air. Only once did it showany marked movement. 

"It's spreading out toward us, " said Barnett to his fellow officers, gathered aft. 

"Time to move, then, " grunted Trendon. 

The others looked at him inquiringly. 

"About as healthful as prussic acid, those volcanic gases, " explained thesurgeon. 

The ship edged on and inward. Presently the sing-song of the leadsmansounded in measured distinctness through the silence. Then a suddenactivity and bustle forward, the rattle of chains, and the _Wolverine_ wasat anchor. The captain came down from the bridge. 

"What do you think, Dr. Trendon?" he asked. 

More explicit inquiry was not necessary. 

The surgeon understood what was in his superior's mind. 

"Never can tell about volcanoes, sir, " he said. 

"Of course, " agreed the captain. "But--well, do you recognise any of thesymptoms?"

"Want me to diagnose a case of earthquake, sir?" grinned Trendon. "Shemight go off to-day, or she might behave herself for a century. "

"Well, it's all chance, " said the other, cheerfully. "The man _might_ bealive. At any rate we must do our best on that theory. What do you make ofthat cloud on the peak?"

"Poisonous vapours, I suppose. Thought we'd have a chance to make surejust now. Seemed to be coming right for us. Wind's shifted it since. "

"There couldn't be anything alive up there?"

"Not so much as a bug, " replied the doctor positively. 

"Yet I thought when the vapour lifted a bit that I saw something moving. "

"When was that, sir?"

"Ten or fifteen minutes back. "

"We'll see soon enough, sir, " put in Forsythe. "The wind is driving itdown to the south'ard. "

Sullenly, reluctantly, the forbidding mass moved across the headland. Allglasses were bent upon it. Without taking his binocular from his eyes, Trendon began to ruminate aloud. 

"If he could have got to the beach. . . . No vapour there. . . . Signal, though. . . . Perhaps he hadn't time. . . . And I'd hate to risk good men onthat hell's cauldron. . . . Just as much risk here, perhaps. Only it seems--"

"There it is, " cried Forsythe. "Look. The highest point. "

Dull, gray wisps of murk, the afterguard of the gaseous cloud, weretwisting and spiraling in a witch-dance across the landscape, and, seen bysnatches and glimpses through it, something flapped darkly in the breeze. Suddenly the veil parted and fled. A flag stood forth in the sharp gust, rigid, and appalling. It was black. 

"The Jolly Roger, by God! They've come back!" exclaimed Forsythe. 

"And set up the sign of their shop, " added Barnett. 

"If they stuck to their flag--good-bye, " observed Trendon grimly. 

"Dr. Trendon, " said Captain Parkinson, "you will arm yourself and go withme in the gig to make a landing. "

"Yes, sir, " responded the surgeon. 

"Mr. Barnett. "

"Yes, sir. "

"Should we be overtaken by the vapour while on the highland and be unableto get back to the beach, you are to send no rescuing party up there untilthe air has cleared. "

"But, sir, may we not--"

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. "

"In case of an attack you will at once send in another boat with ahowitzer. "

"Yes, sir. "

"Dr. Trendon, will you see Mr. Slade and inquire of him the best point forlanding?"

Trendon hesitated. 

"I suppose it would hardly do to take him with us?" pursued the commandingofficer. 

"If he is roused now, even for a moment, I won't answer for theconsequences, sir, " said the surgeon bluntly. 

"Surely you can have him point out a landing place, " said the captain. 

"On your responsibility, " returned the other, obstinately. "He's underopiate now. "

"Be it so, " said Captain Parkinson, after a time. 

Going in, they saw no sign of life along the shore. Even the birds haddeserted it. For the time the volcano seemed to have pretermitted itsactivity. Now and again there was a spurtle of smoke from the cone, followed by subterranean growlings, but, on the whole, the conditions werereassuring. 

"Penny-pop-pinwheel of a volcano, anyhow, " remarked Trendon, disparagingly. "Real man-size eruption would have wiped the whole thingoff the map, first whack. "

As they drew in, it became apparent that they must scale the cliff fromthe boat. Farther to the south opened out a wide cove that suggested easybeaching, but over it hung a cloud of steam. 

"Lava pouring down, " said Trendon. 

Fortunately at the point where the cliff looked easiest the seas ran low. Ropes had been brought. After some dainty manoeuvring two of the sailorsgained foothold and slung the ropes so that the remainder of thedisembarcation was simple. Nor was the ascent of the cliff a harsh task. Half an hour after the landing the exploring party stood on the summit ofthe hill, where the black flag waved over a scene of utter desolation. Thevegetation was withered to pallid rags: even the tiniest weedling in therock crevices had been poisoned by the devastating blast. 

In the midst of that deathly scene, the flag seemed instinct with asinister liveliness. Whoever had set it there had accurately chosen thehighest available point on that side of the island, the spot of all otherswhere it would make good its signal to the eye of any chance farer uponthose shipless seas. For the staff a ten-foot sapling, finely polished, served. A mound of rock-slabs supported it firmly. Upon the cloth itselfwas no design. It was of a dull black, the hue of soot. Captain Parkinson, standing a few yards off, viewed it with disfavour. 

"Furl that flag, " he ordered. 

Congdon, the coxswain of the gig, stepped forward and began to work at thefastenings. Presently he turned a grinning face to the captain, who wasscanning the landscape through his glass. 

"Beggin' your pardon, sir, " he said. 

"Well, what is it?" demanded Captain Parkinson. 

"Beggin' your pardon, sir, that ain't rightly no flag. That's what youmight rightly call a garment, sir. It's an undershirt, beggin' yourpardon. "

"Black undershirt's a new one to me, " muttered Trendon. 

"No, sir. It ain't rightly black, look. "

Wrenching the object from its fastenings, he flapped it violently. A cloudof sooty dust, beaten out, spread about his face. With a strangled cry thesailor cast the shirt from him and rolled in agony upon the ground. 

"You fool!" cried Trendon. "Stand back, all of you. "

Opening his medicine case, he bent over the racked sufferer. Presently theman sat up, pale and abashed. 

"That's how poisonous volcanic gas is, " said the surgeon to his commandingofficer. "Only inhaled remnants of the dust, too. "

"An ill outlook for the man we're seeking, " the captain mused. 

"Dead if he's anywhere on this highland, " declared Trendon. "Let's look athis flag-pole. "

He examined the staff. "Came from the beach, " he pronounced. "Waterworn. H'm! Maybe he ain't so dead, either. "

"I don't quite follow you, Dr. Trendon. "

"Why, I guess our man has figured this thing all out. Brought this pole upfrom the beach to plant it here. Why? Because this was the bestobservation point. No good as a permanent residence, though. Planted hisflag and went back. "

"Why didn't we see him on the beach, then?"

"Did you notice a cave around to the north? Good refuge in case of fumes. "

"It's worth trying, " said the captain, putting up his glass. 

"Hold on, sir. What's this? Here's something. Look here. "

Trendon pointed to a small bit of wood rather neatly carved to the shapeof an indicatory finger, and lashed to the staff, at the height of a man'sface. The others clustered around. 

"Oh, the devil!" cried Trendon. "It must have got twisted. It's pointingstraight down. "

"Strange performance, " said the captain. "However, since it points thatway--heave aside those rocks, men. "

The first slab lifted brought to light a corner of cardboard. This, oncloser examination, proved to be the cover of a book. The rocks rolledright and left, and as the flag-staff, deprived of its support, totteredand fell, the trove was dragged forth and handed to the captain. While theground jarred with occasional tremors and the mountain puffed forth itsvaporous threats, he and the surgeon, seated on a rock, gave themselveswith complete absorption to the reading. 

III

THE CACHE

Outwardly the book accorded ill with its surroundings. In that place ofdesolation and death, it typified the petty neatness of office processes. Properly placed, it should have been found on a desk, with pens, rulers, and other paraphernalia forming exact angles or parallels to it. It was aquarto, bound in marbled paper, with black leather over the hinges. Noexternal label suggested its ownership or uses, but through one corner, blackened and formidable in its contrast to the peaceful purposes of thevolume, a hole had been bored. The agency of perforation was obvious. Abullet had made it. 

"Seen something of life, I reckon, " said Trendon, as the captain turnedthe volume about slowly in his hands. 

"And of death, " returned Captain Parkinson solemnly. "Do you know, Trendon, I almost dread to open this. "

"Pshaw!" returned the other. "What is it to us?"

He threw the cover back. Neatly lettered on the inside, in the fine andslightly angular writing characteristic of the Teutonic scholar, was thelegend:

 Karl Augustus Schermerhorn, 1409-1/2 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 

[Illustration: With a strangled cry the sailor cast the shirt from him]

The opposite page was blank. Captain Parkinson turned half a dozen leaves. 

"German!" he cried, in a note of disappointment, "Can you read Germanscript?"

"After a fashion, " replied the other. "Let's see. _Es wonnte sechs--und--dreissig unterjacke_, " he read. "Why, blast it, was the man running ahaberdashery? What have three dozen undershirts to do with this?"

"A memorandum for outfitting, probably, " suggested the captain. "Tryhere. "

"Chemical formulae, " said Trendon. "Pages of 'em. The devil! Can't make athing of it. "

"Well, here's something in English. "

"Good, " said the other. "_By combining the hyper-sulphate of iridium withthe fumes arising from oxide of copper heated to 1000 C. And combiningwith picric acid in the proportions described in formula x 18, a reaction, the nature of which I have not fully determined, follows. This must beperformed with extreme care owing to the unstable nature of the benzenecompounds. _"

"Picric acid? Benzene compounds? Those are high explosives, " said CaptainParkinson. "We should have Barnett go over this. "

"Here's a name under the formula. _Dr. A. Mardenter, Ann Arbor, Mich_. That explains its being in English. Probably copied from a letter. "

"This must have been one of the experiments in the valley that Slade toldus of, " said the captain, thoughtfully. "Why, see here, " he cried, withsomething like exultation. "That's what Dr. Schermerhorn was doing here. He has the clue to some explosive so terrific that he goes far out of theworld to experiment with its manufacture. For companions he chooses a gangof cutthroats that the world would never miss in case anything went wrong. Possibly it was some trial of the finished product that started theeruption, even. Do you see?"

"Don't explain enough, " grunted Trendon. "Deserted ship. Billy Edwards. Mysterious lights. Slade and his story. Any explosives in those? Goodenough, far as it goes. Don't go far enough. "

"It certainly leaves gaps, " admitted the other. 

He turned over a few more pages. 

"Formulas, formulas, formulas. What's this? Here are some marginalannotations. "

"Unbehasslich, " read Trendon. "Let's see. That means 'highlyunsatisfactory, ' or words to that effect. Hi! Here's where the old manloses his temper. Listen: _'May the devil take Carroll and Crum forcareless'_--h'm--well, _'pig-dogs. '_ Now, where do Carroll and Crum comein?"

"They're a firm of analytical chemists in Washington, " said the captain. "When I was on the ordnance board I used to get their circulars. "

"Fits in. What? More English? Worse than the German, this is. "

The writing, beginning evenly enough at the top of a page, ran along for aline or two, then fell, sprawling in huge, ragged characters the fulllength. Trendon stumbled among them, indignantly. 

"_June 1, 1904_, " he read. "_It is done. Triumph_. (German word. ) _Eureka. Es ist gefillt. From the_ (can't make out that word) _of theinspiration--god-like power--solution of the world-problems_. Why, theold fool is crazy! And his writing is crazier. Can't make head or tail ofit. "

The captain turned several more pages. They were blank. "At any rate, itseems to be the end, " he said. 

"I should hope so, " returned the other, disgustedly. 

He took the book on his knees, fluttering the leaves between thumb andfinger. Suddenly he checked, cast back, and threw the book wide open. 

"Here beginneth a new chapter, " said he, quietly. 

No imaginable chirography could have struck the eye with more of contrastto the professor's small and nervous hand. Large, rounded, and rambling, it filled the page with few and careless words. 

_June 2, 1904. On this date I find myself sole occupant and absolutemonarch of this valuable island. This morning I was a member of acommunity, interesting if not precisely peaceful. To-night I am the lastleaf. 'All his lovely companions are faded and gone, ' the sprightlySolomon, the psychic Nigger, the amiable Thrackles, the cheerful Perdosa, the genial Pulz, and the high-minded Eagen. Undoubtedly the socialatmosphere has cleared; moreover, I am for the first time in my life alanded proprietor. Item: several square miles of grass land; item: severaldozen head of sheep; item: a cove full of fish; item: a handsomelydecorated cave; item: a sportive though somewhat unruly volcano. At times, it may be, I shall feel the lack of company. The seagulls alone are notdistrustful of me. Undoubtedly the seagull is an estimable creature, buthe leaves something to be desired in the way of companionship. Hence thisdiary, the inevitable refuge of the empty-minded. Materially, I shall dowell enough, though I face one tragic circumstance. My cigarette material, I find, is short. Upon counting up--"_

"Damn his cigarettes!" cried the surgeon. "This must be Darrow. Finickybeast! Let's see if it's signed. "

He whirled the leaves over to the last sheet, glanced at it, and sprang tohis feet. There, sprawled in tremulous characters, as by a hand shakenwith agony or terror, was written:

 _Look for me in the cave. Percy Darrow. _

The bullet hole in the corner furnished a sinister period to thesignature. 

Trendon handed the ledger back to the captain, who took one quick look, closed it, and handed it to Congdon. 

"Wrap that up and carry it carefully, " he said. 

"Aye, aye, sir, " said the coxswain, swathing it in his jacket and tuckingit under his arm. 

"Now to find that cave, " said Captain Parkinson to the surgeon. 

"The cave in the cliff, of course, " said Trendon. "Noticed it coming in, you know. "

"Where?"

"On the north shore, about a mile to the east of here. "

"Then we'll cut directly across. "

"Beg your pardon, sir, " put in Congdon, "but I don't think we can make itfrom this side, sir. "

"Why not?"

"No beach, sir, and the cliff's like the side of a ship. Looks to be deepwater right into the cave's mouth. "

"Back to the boat, then. Bring that flag along. "

The descent was swift, at times reckless, but the party embarked withoutaccident. Soon they were forging through the water at racing speed, theboat leaping to the impulsion of the sailorman's strongest motives, curiosity and the hope of saving a life. 

IV

THE TWIN SLABS

Within half an hour the gig had reached the mouth of the cave. As thecoxswain had predicted, the seas ran into the lofty entrance. Elsewherethe surf fell whitely, but through the arch the waves rolled unbroken intoa heavy stillness. Only as the boat hovered for a moment at the face ofthe cliff could the exploring party hear, far within, the hollow boom thattold of breakers on a distant, subterranean beach. 

"Run her in easy, " came the captain's order. "Keep a sharp lookout forhidden rocks. "

To the whispering plash of the oars they moved from sunlight intotwilight, from twilight into darkness. Of a sudden the oars jerkedconvulsively. A great roar had broken upon the ears of the sailors; theinvisible roof above them, the water heaving beneath them, the walls thathemmed them in, called, with a multiplication of resonance, upon the nameof Darrow. The boat quivered with the start of its occupants. Then one ortwo laughed weakly as they realised that what they had heard was nosupernatural voice. It was the captain hailing for the marooned man. 

No vocal answer came. But an indeterminable space away they could hear alow splash followed by a second and a third. Something coughed weakly infront and to the right. Trendon's hand went to his revolver. The men sat, stiffened. One of them swore, in a whisper, and the oath came back uponthem, echoing the name of the Saviour in hideous sibilance. 

"Silence in the boat, " said the captain, in such buoyant tones that themen braced themselves against the expected peril. 

"Light the lantern and pass it to me, " came the order. "Keep below thegunwale, men. "

As the match spluttered: "Do you see something, a few rods to port?" askedthe captain in Trendon's ear. 

"Pair of green lights, " said Trendon. "Eyes. _Seals!_"

"_Seals! Seals! Seals_!" shouted the walls, for the surgeon had suddenlyreleased his voice. And as the mockery boomed, the green lightsdisappeared and there was more splashing from the distance. The crew satup again. 

The lantern spread its radiance. It was reflected from battlements offairy beauty. Everywhere the walls were set, as with gems, in broad walesof varied and vivid hues. Dazzled at first, the explorers soon were ableto discern the general nature of the subterranean world which they hadentered. In most places the walls rose sheer and unscaleable from thewater. In others, turretted rocks thrust their gleaming crags upward. Overto starboard a little beach shone with Quaker greyness in that spectaculardisplay. The end of the cavern was still beyond the area of light. 

"Must have been a swimmer to get in here, " commented Trendon, glancing atthe walls. 

"Unless he had a boat, " said the captain. "But why doesn't he answer?"

"Better try again. No telling how much more there is of this. "

The surgeon raised his ponderous bellow, and the cave roared again withthe summons. Silence, formidable and unbroken, succeeded. 

"House to house search is now in order, " he said. "Must be in heresomewhere--unless the seals got him. "

Cautiously the boat moved forward. Once she grazed on a half submergedrock. Again a tiny islet loomed before her. Scattered bones glistened onthe rocky shore, but they were not human relics. Occasional beachestempted a landing, but all of these led back to precipitous cliffs exceptone, from the side of which opened two small caves. Into the first thelantern cast its glare, revealing emptiness, for the arch was wide and thecave shallow. The entrance to the other was so narrow as to send a visitorto his knees. But inside it seemed to open out. Moreover, there were fishbones at the entrance. The captain, the surgeon, and Congdon, thecoxswain, landed. Captain Parkinson reached the spot first. Stooping, hethrust his head in at the orifice. A sharp exclamation broke from him. Herose to his feet, turning a contorted face to the others. 

"Poisonous, " he cried. 

"More volcano, " said Trendon. He bent to the black hole and sniffedcautiously. 

"I'll go in, sir, " volunteered Congdon. "I've had fire-practice. "

"My business, " said Trendon, briefly. "Decomposition; unpleasant, but notdangerous. "

Pushing the lantern before him, he wormed his way until the light wasblotted out. Presently it shone forth from the funnel, showing that theexplorer had reached the inner open space. Captain Parkinson dropped downand peered in, but the evil odour was too much for him. He retired, gagging and coughing. Trendon was gone for what seemed an interminabletime. His superior officer fidgeted uneasily. At last he could stand it nolonger. 

"Dr. Trendon, are you all right?" he shouted. 

"Yup, " answered a choked voice. "Cubbing oud dow. "

Again the funnel was darkened. A pair of feet appeared; then the surgeon'schunky trunk, his head, and the lantern. Once, twice, and thrice heinhaled deeply. 

"Phew!" he gasped. "Thought I was tough, but--Phee-ee-ee-ew!"

"Did you find--"

"No, sir. Not Darrow. Only a poor devil of a seal that crawled in there todie. "

The exploration continued. Half a mile, as they estimated, from the open, they reached a narrow beach, shut off by a perpendicular wall of rock. Skirting this, they returned on the other side, minutely examining everypossible crevice. When they again reached the light of day, they hadarrived at the certain conclusion that no living man was within thosewalls. 

"Would a corpse rise to the surface soon in waters such as these, Dr. Trendon?" asked the captain. 

"Might, sir. Might not. No telling that. "

The captain ruminated. Then he beat his fist on his knee. 

"The other cave!"

"What other cave?" asked the surgeon. 

"The cave where they killed the seals. "

"Surely!" exclaimed Trendon. "Wait, though. Didn't Slade say it wasbetween here and the point?"

"Yes. Beyond the small beach. "

"No cave there, " declared the surgeon positively. 

"There must be. Congdon, did you see an opening anywhere in the cliff aswe came along?"

"No, sir. This is the only one, sir. "

"We'll see about that, " said the captain, grimly. "Head her about. Skirtthe shore as near the breakers as you safely can. "

The gig retraced its journey. 

"There's the beach, as Slade described it, " said Captain Parkinson, asthey came abreast of the little reach of sand. 

"And what are those two bird-roosts on it?" asked Trendon. "See 'em? Deadagainst that patch of shore-weed. "

"Bits of wreckage fixed in the sand. "

"Don't think so, sir. Too well matched. "

"We have no time to settle the matter now, " said the captain impatiently. "We must find that cave, if it is to be found. "

Hovering just outside the final drag of the surf, under the skilfulguidance of Congdon, the boat moved slowly along the line of beach to theline of cliff. All was open as the day. The blazing sun picked out eachdetail of jut and hollow. Evidently the poisonous vapours from the volcanohad not spread their blight here, for the face of the precipice was brightwith many flowers. So close in moved the boat that its occupants couldeven see butterflies fluttering above the bloom. But that which theireager eyes sought was still denied them. No opening offered in thatsmiling cliff-side. Not by so much as would admit a terrier did the massof rock and rubble gape. 

"And Slade described the cave as big enough to ram the _Wolverine_ into, "muttered Trendon. 

Up to the point of the headland, and back, passed the boat. Blankdisappointment was the result. 

"What is your opinion now, Dr. Trendon?" asked the captain of the olderman. 

"Don't know, sir, " answered the surgeon hopelessly. "Looks as if the cavemight have been a hallucination. "

"I shall have something to say to Mr. Slade on our return, " said thecaptain crisply. "If the cave was an hallucination, as you suggest, theseal-murder was fiction. "

"Looks so, " agreed the other. 

"And the murder of the captain. How about that?"

"And the mutiny of the men, " added the surgeon. 

"And the killing of the doctor. Your patient seems to be a romanticgenius. "

"And the escape of Darrow. Hold hard, " quoth Trendon. "Darrow's noromance. Nothing fictional about the flag and ledger. "

"True enough, " said the captain, and fell to consideration. 

"Anyway, " said Trendon vigorously, "I'd like to have a look at those bird-roosts. Mighty like signposts, to my mind. "

"Very well, " said the captain. "It'll cost us only a wetting. Run her in, Congdon. "

With all the coxswain's skill, and the oarsmen's technique, the passage ofthe surf was a lively one, and little driblets of water marked the trailof the officers as they shuffled up the beach. 

The two slabs stood less than fifty yards beyond high water tide. Nearingthem, the visitors saw that each marked a mound, but not until they wereclose up could they read the neat carving on the first. It ran as follows:

 _Here lies_ SOLOMON ANDERSON _alias_ HANDY SOLOMON _who murdered his employer, his captain, and his shipmates, and was found, dead of his deserts, on these shores, June 5, 1904. 

 This slab is erected as a memento of admiring esteem by the last of his victims. 

 "And you can kiss the Book on that. "_

"Percy Darrow _fecit_, " said the surgeon. "You can kiss the Book on_that_, too. "

"Then Slade was telling the truth!"

"Apparently. Seems good corroboration. "

The captain turned to the other mound. Its slab was carved by the samehand. 

 _Sacred to the memory of an Ensign of the U. S. Navy, whose body, washed upon this coast, is here buried with all reverence, by strange hands; whose soul may God rest. "The seas shall sing his requiem. " June the Sixth, MXMIV. _

"Billy Edwards, " said the captain, very low. 

He uncovered. The surgeon did likewise. So, for a space, they stood withbared heads between the twin graves. 

V

THE PINWHEEL VOLCANO

The surgeon spoke first. 

"Another point, " said he. "Darrow was alive within a few days. "

Captain Parkinson turned slowly away from the grave. "You are right, " hesaid, with an effort. "Our business is with the living now. The dead mustwait. "

"Hide and seek, " growled Trendon. "If he's here why don't he showhimself?"

The other shook his head. 

"Place is all trampled up with his footprints, " said Trendon. "He'splodded back and forth like a prisoner in a cell. "

"The ledger, " said the captain. "I'd forgotten it. That grave droveeverything else out of my mind. "

"Bring the book here, " called Trendon. 

Congdon unwrapped it from his jacket and handed it to him. The sailorscast curious glances at the two headstones. 

"Mount guard over Mr. Edwards's grave, " commanded the captain. 

The coxswain saluted and gave an order. One of the sailors stepped forwardto the first mound. 

"Not that one, " rasped the officer. "The other. "

The man saluted and moved on. 

"With your permission, sir, " said Trendon. 

On a nod from his superior officer he opened the ledger and took upDarrow's record. 

"Here it is. Entry of June 3d. "

"_Everything lovely. Schooner lost to sight. Query--to memory dear? Notexactly. Though I shouldn't mind having her under orders for a few days. Queer glow in the sky last night: if they've been investigating they mayhave got what's coming to them. Volcano exhibiting fits of temper. Spoutedout considerable fire about nine o'clock. Quite spectacular, but no harmdone. Can foresee short rations of tobacco. Lava in valley still too hotfor comfort. No sign of Dr. Schermerhorn. Still sleep on beach_. 

"Not much there, " sniffed Trendon. "Go on, " said the captain. 

"_June 3. Evening. Thick and squally weather again. Local atmosphericconditions seem upset. Volcano still leading strenuous life. Climbed theheadland this afternoon. Wind very shifty. Got an occasional whiff ofvolcanic output. One in particular would have sent a skunk to the camphorbottle. No living on the headland. Will explore cave to-morrow with a viewto domicile. Have come down to an allowance of seven cigarettes per diem. 

"June 4. Explored cave to-day. Full of dead seals. Not only dead, but allbitten and cut to pieces. Must have been lively doings in Seal-Town. Notmuch choice between air in the cave and vapours from the volcano. Barringseals, everything suitable for light housekeeping, such as mine. Undertookto clean house. Dragged late lamented out into the water. Some sank andwere swept away by the sea-puss. Others, I regret to say, floated. Foundtrickle of fresh water in depth of cave, and little sand-ledge to sleepon. So far, so good: we may be 'appy yet. If only I had my cigarettesupply. Once heard a botanist say that leaves of the white shore-willowmade fair substitute for tobacco. Fair substitute for nux vomica! Wouldlike to interview said botanist_. 

"The fellow is a tobacco maniac, " growled Trendon, feeling in his breastpocket. "The devil, " he cried, bringing forth an empty hand. 

Silently the captain handed him a cigar. "Thank you, sir, " he said, lighted it, and continued reading. 

"_June 5. Had a caller to-day. Climbed the headland this morning. Foundvolcano taking a day off. Looking for sign of _Laughing Lass_, noticedsomething heliographing to me from the waves beyond the reef. Seemed to bemetal. I guessed a tin can. Caught in the swirl, it rounded the cape, andI came down to the shore to meet it. Halfway down the cliff I had a betterview. I saw it was not a tin can. There was a dark body under it, whichthe waves were tossing about, and as the metal moved with the body, itglinted in the sun. Suddenly it was borne in upon me that an arm was doingthe signalling, waving to me with a sprightly, even a jocularfriendliness. Then I saw what it really was. It was Handy Solomon and hissteel hook. He was riding quite high. Every now and again he would bow andwave. He grounded gently on the sand beach. I planted him promptly. First, however, I removed a bag of tobacco from his pocket. Poor stuff, and watersoaked, but still tobacco. Spent a quiet afternoon carving a headstone forthe dear departed. Pity it were that virtues so shining should beuncommemorated. Idle as the speculation is, I wonder who my next visitorwill be. Thrackles, I hope. Evidently some of them have been playing thepart of Pandora. Spent last night in the cave. Air quite fresh. 

"June 6. Saw the glow again last night. "_

The surgeon paused in his reading. "That would be the night of the 5th:the night before we picked her up empty. "

"Yes, " agreed Captain Parkinson. "That was the night Billy Edwards--Goon. "

"_Saw the glow again last night. Don't understand it. Once should havebeen enough for them. This matter of hoarding tobacco may be a sad error. If Old Spitfire keeps on the way she has to-day I shan't need much more. It would be a raw jest to be burned or swallowed up with a month's supplyof unsmoked cigarettes on one. Cave getting shaky. Still, I think I'llstick there. As between being burned alive and buried alive, I'm for therespectable and time honoured fashion of interment. Bombardment was mostlyto the east to-day, but no telling when it may shift. 

"June 7. This morning I found a body rolling in the surf. It was the bodyof a young man, large and strongly built, dressed in the uniform of anensign of our navy. Surely a strange visitor to these shores! There was nomark of identification upon him except a cigarette case graven with anundecipherable monogram in Tiffany's most illegible style of arrow-headedinscription. This I buried with him, and staked the grave with aheadboard. An officer and a gentleman, a youth of friendly ways and kindlyliving, if one may judge by the face of the dead; and he comes by the sameend to the same goal as Handy Solomon. Why not? And why should onephilosophise in a book that will never be read? Hold on! Perhaps--justperhaps--it may be read. The officer was not long dead. Ensigns of the U. S. Navy do not wander about untraversed waters alone. There must be awarship somewhere in the vicinity. But why, then, an unburied officerfloating on the ocean? I will smoke upon this, luxuriously andplentifully. (Later. ) No use. I can't solve it. But one thing I do. I putup a signal pole on the headland and cache this record under it thisafternoon. From day to day, with the kindly permission of the volcano, Iwill add to it. . . . Bad doings by Old Spitfire. The cloud is coming down onme. Also seems to be moving along the cliff. I will retire hastily to myprivate estate in the cave_. 

"That's all, except the scrawl on the last page, " said Trendon. "Someaction of the volcano scared him off. He just had time to scrawl that lastmessage and drop the book into the cache. The question is, did he get backalive?"

"I doubt it, " said the captain. "We will search the headland for hisbody. "

"But the cave, " insisted the surgeon. "We ought to have found some sign ofhim there. "

"Slade is the solution, " said the captain. "We must ask him. "

They put back to the ship. Barnett was anxiously awaiting them. 

"Your patient has been in a bad way, Dr. Trendon, " he said. 

"What's wrong?" asked Trendon, frowning. 

"He came up on deck, wild-eyed and staggering. There was a sheet of paperin his hand which seemed to have some bearing on his trouble. When hefound you had gone to the island without him he began to rage like amaniac. I had to have him carried down by force. In the rumpus the paperdisappeared. I assumed the responsibility of giving him an opiate. "

"Quite right, " approved Trendon. "I'll go down. Will you come with me, sir?" he said to the captain. 

They found Slade in profound slumber. 

"Won't do to wake him now, " growled Trendon. "Hello, what's here?"

Lying in the hollow of the sick man's right hand, where it had beencrushed to a ball, was a crumpled mass of tracing paper. Trendon smoothedit out, peered at it and passed it to the captain. 

"It's a sketch of an Indian arrow-head, " he exclaimed in surprise, at thefirst glance. "What are all these marks?"

"Map of the island, " barked Trendon. "Look here. "

The drawing was a fairly careful one, showing such geographical points ashad been of concern to the two-year inhabitants. There was the largecavern, indicated as they had found it, and at a point between it and theheadland the legend, "Seal Cave. "

"But it's wrong, " cried Captain Parkinson, setting finger to the spot. "Wepassed there twice. There's no opening. "

"No guarantee that there may not have been, " returned the other. "Thisisland has been considerably shaken up lately. Entrance may have beenclosed by a landslide down the cliff. Noticed signs myself, but didn'tthink of it in connection with the cave. "

"That's work for Barnett, then, " said the captain, brightening. "We'llblow up the whole face of the cliff, if necessary, but we'll get at thatcave. "

He hurried out. Order followed order, and soon the gig, with the captain, Trendon, and the torpedo expert, was driving for the point marked "SealCave" on the map over which they were bent. 

VI

MR. DARROW RECEIVES

"You say the last entry is June 7th?" asked Barnett, as the boat enteredthe light surf. 

Trendon nodded. 

"That was the night we saw the last glow, and the big burst from thevolcano, wasn't it?"

"Right. "

"The island would have been badly shaken up. "

"Not so violently but that the flag-pole stood, " said the captain. 

"That's true, sir. But there's been a good deal of volcanic gas going. Theman's been penned up for four days. "

"Give the fellow a chance, " growled Trendon. "Air may be all right in thecave. Good water there, too. Says so himself. By Slade's account he's apretty capable citizen when it comes to looking after himself. Wouldn'twonder if we'd find him fit as a fiddle. "

"There was no clue to Ives and McGuire?" asked Barnett presently. 

"None. " It was the captain who answered. 

The gig grated, and the tide being high, they waded to the base of thecliff, Barnett carrying his precious explosives aloft in his arms. 

"Here's the spot, " said the captain. "See where the water goes in throughthose crevices. "

"Opening at the top, too, " said Trendon. 

He let out his bellow, roaring Darrow's name. 

"I doubt if you could project your voice far into a cave thus blocked, "said Captain Parkinson. "We'll try this. "

He drew his revolver and fired. The men listened at the crevices of therock. No sound came from within. 

"Your enterprise, Mr. Barnett, " said the commander, with a gesture whichturned over the conduct of the affair to the torpedo expert. 

Barnett examined the rocks with enthusiasm. 

"Looks like moderately easy stuff, " he observed. "See how the veins run. You could almost blow a design to order in that. "

"Yes; but how about bringing down the whole cave?"

"Oh, of course there's always an element of uncertainty when you'redealing with high explosives, " admitted the expert. "But unless I'mmistaken, we can chop this out as neat as with an axe. "

Dropping his load of cartridges carelessly upon a flat rock whichprojected from the water, he busied himself in a search along the face ofthe cliff. Presently, with an "Ah, " of satisfaction, he climbed toward ahand's breadth of platform where grew a patch of purple flowers. 

"Throw me up a knife, somebody, " he called. 

"Take notice, " said Trendon, good-naturedly, "that I'm the botanist ofthis expedition. "

"Oh, you can have the flowers. All I want is what they grow in. "

Loosening a handful of the dry soil, he brought it down and laid it withthe explosives. Next he called one of the sailors to "boost" him, and wassoon perched on the flat slant of a huge rock which formed, as it were, the keystone to the blockade. 

"Let's see, " he ruminated. "We want a slow charge for this. One that willexert a widespread pressure without much shattering force. The No. 3, Ithink. "

"How is that, Mr. Barnett?" asked the captain, with lively interest. 

"You see, sir, " returned the demonstrator, perched high, like a sculptorat work on some heroic masterpiece, "what we want is to split off thisrock. " He patted the flank of the huge slab. "There's a lovely veinrunning at an angle inward from where I sit. Split that through, and therock should roll, of its own weight, away from the entrance. It's heldonly by the upper projection that runs under the arch here. "

"Neat programme, " commented Trendon, with a tinge of sardonic scepticism. 

"Wait and see, " retorted Barnett blithely, for he was in his element now. "I'll appoint you my assistant. Just toss me up that cartridge: the thirdone on the left. "

The surgeon recoiled. 

"Supposing you don't catch it?"

"Well, supposing I don't. "

"It's dynamite, isn't it?"

"Something of the same nature. Joveite, it's called. "

Still the surgeon stared at him. Barnett laughed. 

"Oh, you've got the high explosives superstition, " he said lightly. "Dynamite don't go off as easy as people think. You could drop that stufffrom the cliffhead without danger. Have I got to come down for it?"

With a wry face Trendon tossed up the package. It was deftly caught. 

"Now wet that dirt well. Put it in the canvas bag yonder, and send one ofthe men up with it. I'm going to make a mud pie. "

Breaking the package open, he spread the yellow powder in a slightlycurving line along the rock. With the mud he capped this over, forming alittle arched roof. 

"To keep it from blowing away, " surmised Trendon. 

"No; to make it blow down instead of blowing up. "

"Oh, rot!" returned the downright surgeon. "That pound of dirt won't makethe shadow of a feather's difference. "

"Won't it!" retorted the other. "Curious thing about high explosives. Amud-cap will hold down the force as well as a ton of rock. Wait and seewhat happens to the rock beneath. "

He slid off his perch into the ankle-deep water and waded out to the boat. Here he burrowed for a moment, presently emerging with a box. This hecarried gingerly to a convenient rock and opened. First he lifted out somesoft padding. A small tin box honey-combed inside came to light. Withinfinite precaution Barnett picked out an object that looked like a 22-calibre short cartridge, wadded some cotton batten in his hand, set thething in the wadding, laid it on the rock, carefully returned the smallbox to the large box and the large box to the boat, took up the cartridgeagain and waded back to the cliff. They watched him in silence. 

"This is the little devil, " he said, indicating his delicate burden. "Fulminate of mercury. This is the stuff that'll remove your hand withneatness and despatch. It's the quickest tempered little article in thebusiness. Just give it one hard look and it's off. "

"Here, " said Trendon, "I resign. From now on I'm a spectator. "

Barnett swung the fulminate in his handkerchief and gave it to a sailor tohold. The man dandled it like a new-born infant. Back to his rock wentBarnett. Producing some cord, he let down an end. 

"Tie the handkerchief on, and get out of the way, " he directed. 

With painful slowness the man carried out the first part of the order; thelatter half he obeyed with sprightly alacrity. Very slowly, verydelicately, the expert drew in his dangerous burden. Once a current of airpuffed it against the face of the rock, and the operator's head washastily withdrawn. Nothing happened. Another minute and he had the tinyshell in hand. A fuse was fixed in it and it was shoved under the mud-cap. Barnett stood up. 

"Will you kindly order the boat ready, Captain Parkinson?" he called. 

The order was given. 

"As soon as I light the fuse I will come down and we'll pull out fiftyyards. Leave the rest of the Joveite where it is. All ready? Here goes. "

He touched a match to the fuse. It caught. For a moment he watched it. 

"Going all right, " he reported, as he struck the water. "Plenty of time. "

Some seventy yards out they rested on their oars. They waited. And waited. And waited. 

"It's out, " grunted Trendon. 

From the face of the cliff puffed a cloud of dust. A thudding reportboomed over the water. Just a wisp of whitish-grey smoke arose, andbeneath it the great rock, with a gapping seam across its top, rolledmajestically outward, sending a shower of spray on all sides, and openingto their eager view a black chasm into the heart of the headland. Theexperiment had worked out with the accuracy of a geometric problem. 

"That's all, sir, " Barnett reported officially. 

"Magic! Modern magic!" said the captain. He stared at the open door. Forthe moment the object of the undertaking was forgotten in the wonder ofits exact accomplishment. 

"Darrow'll think an earthquake's come after him, " remarked Trendon. 

"Give way, " ordered the captain. 

The boat grated on the sand. Captain Parkinson would have entered, butBarnett restrained him. 

"It's best to wait a minute or two, " he advised. "Occasionally slidesfollow an explosion tardily, and the gases don't always dissipatequickly. "

Where they stood they could see but a short way into the cave. Trendonsquatted and funnelled his hands to one eye. 

[Illustration: "Sorry not to have met you at the door, " he saidcourteously. ]

"There's fire inside, " he said. 

In a moment they all saw it, a single, pin-point glow, far back in theblackness, a Cyclopean eye, that swayed as it approached. Alternately itwaned and brightened. Suddenly it illuminated the dim lineaments of aface. The face neared them. It joined itself to reality by a very solidpair of shoulders, and a man sauntered into the twilit mouth of thecavern, removed a cigarette from his lips, and gave them greeting. 

"Sorry not to have met you at the door, " he said, courteously. "It was youthat knocked, was it not? Yes? It roused me from my siesta. "

They stared at him in silence. He blinked in the light, with unaccustomedeyes. 

"You will pardon me for not asking you in at once. Past circumstances haverendered me--well--perhaps suspicious is not too strong a word. "

They noticed that he held a revolver in his hand. 

Captain Parkinson came forward a step. The host half raised his weapon. Then he dropped it abruptly. 

"Navy men!" he said, in an altered voice. "I beg your pardon. I could notsee at first. My name is Percy Darrow. "

"I am Captain Parkinson of the United States cruiser _Wolverine_, " saidthe commander. "This is Mr. Barnett, Mr. Darrow. Dr. Trendon, Mr. Darrow. "

They shook hands all around. 

"Like some damned silly afternoon tea, " Trendon said later, in retailingit to the mess. A pause followed. 

"Won't you step in, gentlemen?" said Darrow, "May I offer you the makingsof a cigarette?"

"Wouldn't you be robbing yourself?" inquired the captain, with a twinkle. 

"Oh, you found the diary, then, " said Darrow easily. "Rather silly of meto complain so. But really, in conditions like these, tobacco becomes aserious problem. "

"So one might imagine, " said Trendon drily. He looked closely at Darrow. The man's eyes were light and dancing. From the nostrils two livid linesran diagonally. Such lines one might make with a hard blue pencil pressedstrongly into the flesh. The surgeon moved a little nearer. 

"Can you give me any news of my friend Thrackles?" asked Darrow lightly. "Or the esteemed Pulz? Or the scholarly and urbane Robinson of Ethiopianextraction?"

"Dead, " said the captain. 

"Ah, a pity, " said the other. He put his hand to his forehead. "I hadthought it probable. " His face twitched. "Dead? Very good. In fact . . . Really . . . Er . . . Amusing. "

He began to laugh, quite to himself. It was not a pleasant laugh to hear. Trendon caught and shook him by the shoulder. 

"Drop it, " he said. 

Darrow seemed not to hear him. "Dead, all dead!" he repeated. "And I'veoutlasted 'em! God damn 'em, I've outlasted 'em!" And his mirth brokeforth in a strangely shocking spasm. 

Trendon lifted a hand and struck him so powerfully between the shoulderblades that he all but plunged forward on his face. 

"Quit it!" he ordered again. "Get hold of yourself!"

Darrow turned and gripped him. The surgeon winced with the pain of hisgrasp. "I can't, " gasped the maroon, between paroxysms. "I've been livingin hell. A black, shaking, shivering hell, for God knows how long. . . . Whatdo you know? Have you ever been buried alive?" And again the agony oflaughter shook him. 

"This, then, " muttered the doctor, and the hypodermic needle shot home. 

During the return Darrow lay like a log in the bottom of the gig. Theopiate had done its work. Consciousness was mercifully dead within him. 

VII

THE SURVIVORS

Rest and good food quickly brought Percy Darrow back to his normal poise. One inspection satisfied Dr. Trendon that all was well with him. He askedto see the captain, and that gentleman came to Ives's room, which had beenassigned to the rescued man. 

"I hope you've been able to make yourself comfortable, " said thecommander, courteously. 

"It would be strange indeed if I could not, " returned Darrow, smiling. "You forget that you have set a savage down in the midst of luxury. "

"Make yourself free of Ives's things, " invited Captain Parkinson. "Poorfellow; he will not use them again, I fear. "

"One of your men lost?" asked Darrow. "Ah, the young officer whose body Ifound on the beach, perhaps?"

"No; but we have to thank you for that burial, " said the captain. 

Darrow made a swift gesture. "Oh, if thanks are going, " he cried, andpaused in hopelessness of adequate expression. 

"This has been a bitter cruise for us, " continued the captain. He sighedand was silent for a moment. "There is much to tell and to be told, " heresumed. 

"Much, " agreed the other, gravely. 

"You will want to see Slade first, I presume, " said the captain. 

"One of your officers whom I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting?"

The captain stared. "Slade, " he said. "Ralph Slade. "

"Apparently there's a missing link. Or--I fear I was not wholly myselfyesterday for a time. Possibly something occurred that I did not quitetake in. "

"Perhaps we'd better wait, " said Captain Parkinson, with obviousmisgiving. "You're not quite rested. You will feel more like--"

"If you don't mind, " said Darrow composedly, "I'd like to get at thisthing now. I'm in excellent understanding, I assure you. "

"Very well. I am speaking of the man who acted as mate in the _LaughingLass_. The journalist who--good heavens! What arrant stupidity! I have tobeg your pardon, Mr. Darrow. It has just occurred to me. He called himselfEagen with you. "

"Eagen! What is this? Is Eagen alive?"

"And on this ship. We picked him up in an open boat. "

"And you say he calls himself Slade?"

"He is Ralph Slade, adventurer and journalist. Mr. Barnett knows him andvouches for him. "

"And he was on our island under an assumed name, " said Darrow in tonesthat had the smoothness and the rasp of silk. "Rather annoying. Not goodform, quite, even for a pirate. "

"Yet, I believe he saved your life, " suggested the captain. 

Darrow looked up sharply. "Why, yes, " he admitted. "So he did. I hadhoped--" He checked himself. "I had thought that all of the crew went thesame way. You didn't find any of the others?"

"None. "

Darrow got to his feet. "I think I'd like to see Eagen--Slade--whatever hecalls himself. "

"I don't know, " began the captain. "It might not be--" He hesitated andstopped. 

Darrow drew back a little, misinterpreting the other's attitude. "Do Iunderstand that I am under restraint?" he asked stiffly. 

"Certainly not. Why should you be?"

"Well, " returned the other contemplatively, "it really might be regardedas a subject for investigation. Of course I know only a small part of it. But there have certainly been suspicious circumstances. Piracy there hasbeen: no doubt of that. Murder, too, if my intuitions are not at fault. Orat least, a disappearance to be accounted for. Robbery can't be denied. And there's a dead body or two to be properly accredited. " He looked thecaptain in the eye. 

"Well?"

"You'll find my story highly unsatisfactory in detail, I fancy. I merelywant to know whether I'm to present it as a defence, or only anexplanation. "

"We shall be glad to hear your story when you are ready to tell it--afteryou have seen Mr. Slade. "

"Thank you, " said Darrow simply. "You have heard his?"

"Yes. It needs filling in. "

"When may I see him?"

"That's for Dr. Trendon to say. He came to us almost dead. I'll find out. "

The surgeon reported Slade much better, but all a-quiver with excitement. 

"Hate to put the strain on him, " said he. "But he'll be in a fever till hegets this thing off his mind. Send Mr. Darrow to him. "

After a moment's consideration Darrow said: "I should like to have you andDr. Trendon present, Captain Parkinson, while I ask Eagen one or twoquestions. "

"Understand one thing, Mr. Darrow, " said Trendon briefly. "This is not tobe an inquisition. "

"Ah, " said Darrow, unmoved. "I'm to be neither defendant nor prosecutor. "

"You are to respect the condition of Dr. Trendon's patient, sir, " saidCaptain Parkinson, with emphasis. "Outside of that, your attitude toward aman who has twice thought of your life before his own is for you todetermine. "

No little cynicism lurked in Darrow's tones as he said:

"You have confidence in Mr. Slade, alias Eagen. "

"Yes, " replied Captain Parkinson, in a tone that closed that topic. 

"Still, I should be glad to have you gentlemen present, if only for amoment, " insisted Darrow, presently. 

"Perhaps it would be as well--on account of the patient, " said the surgeonsignificantly. 

"Very well, " assented the captain. 

The three went to Slade's cabin. He was lying propped up in his bunk. Trendon entered first, followed by the captain, then Darrow. 

"Here's your prize, Slade, " said the surgeon. 

Darrow halted, just inside the door. With an eager light in his face Sladeleaned forward and stretched out his hand. 

"I couldn't believe it until I saw you, old man, " he cried. 

Darrow's eyebrows went up. Before Slade had time to note that there was noresponse to his outstretched hand, the surgeon had jumped in and pushedhim roughly back upon his pillow. 

"What did you promise?" he growled. "You were to lie still, weren't you?And you'll do it, or out we go. "

"How are you, Eagen?" drawled Darrow. 

"Not Eagen. I'm done with that. They've told you, haven't they?"

Darrow nodded. "Are you the only survivor?" he inquired. 

"Except yourself. "

"The Nigger? Pulz? Thrackles? The captain? All drowned?"

"Not the captain. They murdered him. "

"Ah, " said Darrow softly. "And you--I beg your pardon--your--er--friendsdisposed of the doctor in the same way?"

"Handy Solomon, " replied Slade with shaking lips. "Hell's got that fiend, if there's a hell for human fiends. They threw the doctor's body in thesurf. "

"You didn't notice whether there were any papers?"

"If there were they must have been destroyed with the body when the lavapoured down the valley into the sea. "

"The lava: of course, " assented Darrow, with elaborate nonchalance. "Well, he was a kind old boy. A cheerful, simple, wise old child. "

"I would have given my right hand to save him, " cried Slade. "It was sosudden--so damnable--"

"Better to have saved him than me, " said Darrow. He spoke with the firsttouch of feeling that he exhibited. "I have to thank you for my life, Eagen--I beg your pardon: Slade. It's hard to remember. "

Dr. Trendon arose, and Captain Parkinson with him. 

"Give you two hours, Mr. Darrow, " said the surgeon. "No more. If he seemsexhausted, give him one of these powders. I'll look in in an hour. "

At the end of an hour he returned. Slade was lying back on his pillow. Darrow was talking, eagerly, confidentially. In another hour he came out. 

"The whole thing is clear, " he said to Captain Parkinson. "I am ready toreport to you. "

"This evening, " said the captain. "The mess will want to hear. "

"Yes, they will want to hear, " assented Darrow. "You've had Slade's story. I'll take it up where he left off, and he'll check me. Mine's asincredible as--as Slade's was. And it's as true. "

VIII

THE MAKER OF MARVELS

As they had gathered to hear Ralph Slade's tale, so now the depleted messof the _Wolverine_ grouped themselves for Percy Darrow's sequel. Sladehimself sat directly across from the doctor's assistant. Before him lay apaper covered with jotted notes. Trendon slouched low in the chair onSlade's right. Captain Parkinson had the other side. Convenient toDarrow's hand lay the material for cigarettes. As he talked he rolledcylinder after cylinder, and between sentences consumed them in long, satisfying puffs. 

"First you will want to learn of the fate of your friends and shipmates, "he began. "They are dead. One of them, Mr. Edwards, fell to my hands tobury, as you know. He lies beside Handy Solomon. The others we shallprobably not see: any one of a score of ocean currents may have swept themfar away. The last great glow that you saw was the signal of theirdestruction. So the work of a great scientist, a potent benefactor of therace, a gentle and kindly old heart, has brought about the death of yourfriends and of my enemies. The innocent and the guilty . . . The murdererwith his plunder, the officer following his duty . . . One and the sameend . . . A paltry thing our vaunted science is in the face of such tangledfates. " He spoke low and bitterly. Then he squared his shoulders and hismanner became businesslike. 

"Interrupt me when any point needs clearing up, " he said. "It's a blindtrail at best. You've the right to see it as plain as I can make it--withSlade's help. Cut right in with your questions: There'll be plenty toanswer and some never will be answered. . . . 

"Now let me get this thing laid out clearly in my own mind. You first sawthe glow--let me see--"

"Night of June 2d, " said Barnett. 

"June 2d, " agreed Darrow. "That was the end of Solomon, Thrackles & Co. Avery surprising end to them, if they had time to think, " he added grimly. 

"Surprising enough, from the survivor's viewpoint, " said Slade. 

"Doubtless. They've had that story from you; I needn't go over it. Thisship picked up the _Laughing Lass_, deserted, and put your first crewaboard. That night, was it not, you saw the second pillar of fire?"

Barnett nodded. 

"So your men met their death. Then came the second finding of the emptyschooner. . . . Captain Parkinson, they must have been brave men who facedthe unknown terrors of that prodigy. "

"They volunteered, sir, " said the Captain, with simple pride. 

Darrow bowed with a suggestion of reverence in the slow movement of hishead. "And that night--or was it two nights later?--you saw the lastappearance of the portent. Well, I shall come to that. . . . Slade has toldyou how they lived on the beach. With us in the valley it was different. Almost from the first I was alone. The doctor ceased to be a companion. Heceased to be human, almost. A machine, that's what he was. His one humaninstinct was--well, distrust. His whole force of being was centred on hisdiscovery. It was to make him the foremost scientist of the world; theforemost individual entity of his time--of all time, possibly. Even tooutline it to you would take too much time. Light, heat, motive power inincredible degrees and under such control as has never been known: thesewere to be the agencies at his call. The push of a button, the turn of ascrew--oh, he was to be master of such power as no monarch ever wielded!Riches--pshaw! Riches were the least of it. He could create them, practically. But they would be superfluous. Power: unlimited, absolutepower was his goal. With his end achieved he could establish an autocracy, a dynasty of science: whatever he chose. Oh, it was a rich-hued, golden, glowing dream; a dream such as men's souls don't formulate in these staledays--not our kind of men. The Teutonic mysticism--you understand. And itwas all true. Oh, quite. "

"Do you mean us to understand that he had this power you describe?" askedCaptain Parkinson. 

"In his grasp. Then comes a practical gentleman with a steel hook. Afollower of dreams, too, in his way. Conflicting interests--you know howit is. One well-aimed blow from the more practical dreamer, and thegreater vision passes. . . . I'm getting ahead of myself. Just a moment. "

His cigarette glowed fiercely in the dimness before he took up his taleagain. 

"You all know who Dr. Schermerhorn was. None of you know--I don't knowmyself, though I've been his factotum for ten years--along how many variedlines of activity that mind played. One of them was the secret of energy:concentrated, resistless energy. Man's contrivances were too puny for him. The most powerful engines he regarded as toys. For a time high explosivesclaimed his attention. He wanted to harness them. Once he got to the pointof practical experiment. You can see the ruins yet: a hole in southern NewJersey. Nobody ever understood how he escaped. But there he was on hisfeet across a ten-foot fence in a ploughed field--yes, he flew the fence--and running, running furiously in the opposite direction, when the dustcleared away. Someone stopped him finally. Told him the danger was over. 'Yet, I will not return, ' he said firmly, and fainted away. That disgustedhim with high explosives. What secrets he discovered he gave to thegovernment. They were not without value, I believe. "

"They were not, indeed, " corroborated Barnett. 

"Next his interest turned to the natural phenomena of high energy. Hestudied lightning in an open steel network laboratory, with few resultssave a succession of rheumatic attacks, and an improved electricinterrupter, since adopted by one of the great telegraph companies. Theformer obliged him to stop these experiments, and the invention heconsidered trivial. Probably the great problem of getting at the secret ofenergy led him into his attempts to study the mysterious electrical wavesradiated by lightning flashes; at any rate he was soon as deep into thesubject of electrical science as his countryman, Hertz, had ever been. Heused to tell me that he often wondered why he hadn't taken up this linebefore--the world of energy he now set out to explore, waves in thattremendous range between those we hear and those we see. It was naturalthat he should then come to the most prominent radio-active elements, uranium, thorium, and radium. But though his knowledge surpassed that ofthe much-exploited authorities, he was never satisfied with any of hisresults. 

"'Pitchblende; no!' he would exclaim. 'It has not the great power. Themines are not deep enough, yet!'

"Then suddenly the great idea that was to bring him success, and cost himhis life, came to him. The bowels of the earth must hold the secret! Hetook up volcanoes. . . . Does all this sound foolish? It was not if you knewthe man. He was a mighty enthusiast, a born martyr. Not cold-blooded, likethe rest of us. The fire was in his veins. . . . A light, please. Thank you. 

"We chased volcanoes. There was a theory under it all. He believed thatvolcanic emanations are caused by a mighty and uncomprehended energy, something that achieves results ascribable neither to explosions nor heat, some eternal, inner source. . . . Radium, if you choose, only he didn't callit that. Radium itself, as known to our modern scientists, he regarded asthe harmless plaything of people with time hanging heavy on their hands. He wasn't after force in pin-point quantities: he wanted bulk results. YetI believe that, after all, what he sought was a sort of higher power ofradium. The phenomena were related. And he had some of that concentratedessence of pitchblende in the chest when we started. Oh, not much: sayabout twenty thousand dollars' worth. Maybe thirty. For use? No; ratherfor comparison, I judge. 

"Yes, we chased volcanoes. I became used to camping between sample hellsof all known varieties. I got so that the fumes of a sulphur match seemedlike a draught of pure, fresh air. Wherever any of the earth's pimplesshowed signs of coming to a head, there were we, taking part in thetrouble. By and by the doctor got so thoroughly poisoned that he had tolay off. Back to Philadelphia we came. There an aged seafaring person, temporarily stranded, mulcted the Professor of a dollar--an undertakingthat required no art--and in the course of his recital touched upon yonderlittle cesspool of infernal iniquities. An uncharted volcanic island: onethat he could have all for his own; you may guess whether Dr. Schermerhornwas interested. 

"'That iss for which we haf so-long-in-vain sought, Percy, ' he said to mein his quaint, link-chain style of speech. 'A leedle prifate volcano-laboratory to ourselves to have. Totally unknown: undescribed, not-on-the-chart-to-be-found. To-morrow we start. I make a list of the things-to-get. '

"He began his list, as I remember, with three dozen undershirts, a gallonof pennyroyal for insect bites, a box of assorted fish hooks, thirtypounds of tea, and a case of carpet tacks. When I hadn't anything else toworry over, I used to lie awake at night and speculate on the purpose ofthose carpet tacks. He had something in mind: if there was anything onwhich he prided himself, it was his practical bent. But the list never gotany further: it ceased short of one page in the ledger, as you may havenoticed. I outfitted by telegraph on the way across the continent. 

"The doctor didn't ask me whether I'd go. He took it for granted. That'sprobably why I didn't back out. Nor did I tell him that the three lifeinsurance companies which had foolishly and trustingly accepted me as arisk merely on the strength of a good constitution were making franticefforts to compromise on the policies. They felt hurt, those companies: myhealthy condition had ceased to appeal to them. What's a good constitutionbetween earthquakes? No, there was no use telling the doctor. It wouldonly have worried him. Besides, I didn't believe that the island wasthere. I thought it was a myth of that stranded ancient mariner'simagination. When it rose to sight at the proper spot, none were moreastounded than the bad risk who now addresses you. 

"Yet, I must say for the island that it came handsomely up tospecifications. Down where you were, Slade. You didn't get a real insightinto its disposition. But in back of us there was any kind of action foryour money. Geysers, hell-spouts, fuming fissures, cunning littlecraterlets with half-portions of molten lava ready to serve hot; moregases than you could create in all the world's chemical laboratories: infact, everything to make the place a paradise for Old Nick--and Dr. Schermerhorn. He brought along in his precious chest, besides the radium, some sort of raw material: also, as near as I could make out, a sort ofcage or guardianship scheme for his concentrated essence of cussedness, when he should get it out of the volcano. 

"In the first seven months he puttered around the little fumers, with anoccasional excursion up to the main crater. It was my duty to follow onand drag him away when he fell unconscious. Sometimes I would try to gethim before he was quite gone. Then he would become indignant, and fightme. Perhaps that helped to lose me his confidence. More and more hewithdrew into himself. There were days when he spoke no word to me. It waslonely. Do you know why I used to visit you at the beach, Slade? I supposeyou thought I was keeping watch on you. It wasn't that, it was loneliness. In a way, it hurt me, too: for one couldn't help but be fond of the oldboy; and at times it seemed as if he weren't quite himself. Pardon me, ifI may trouble you for the matches? Thanks. . . . 

"Matters went very wrong at times: the doctor fumed like his littlecraters; growled out long-winded, exhaustive German imprecations: wouldn'teven eat. Then again the demon of work would drive him with thong andspur: he would rush to his craters, to his laboratories, to his ledger forthe purpose of entering unintelligible commentaries. He had some peculiarcontrivance, like a misshapen retort, with which he collected gases fromthe craterlets. Whenever I'd hear one of those smash, I knew it was a badday. 

"Meantime, the volcano also became--well, what you might calltemperamental. 

"It got to be a year and a quarter--a year and a half. I wondered whetherwe should ever get away. My tobacco was running short. And the bearing ofthe men was becoming fidgetty. My visits to the beach became quiteinteresting--to me. One day the doctor came running out of his laboratorywith so bright a face that I ventured to ask him about departure. 

"'Not so long, now, Percy, ' he said, in his old, kind manner. 'Not solong. The first real success. It iss made. We have yet under-entire-control to bring it, but it iss made. '

"'And about time, sir, ' said I. 'If we don't do something soon we may havetrouble with the men. '

"'So?' said he in surprise. 'But they could do nothing. Nothing. ' Hewagged his great head confidently. 'We are armed. '

"'Oh, yes, armed. So are they. '

"'We are armed, ' he repeated obstinately. 'Such as no man was ever armed, are we armed. '

"He checked himself abruptly and walked away. Well, I've since wonderedwhat would have happened had the men attacked us. It would have been worthseeing, and--and surprising. Yes: I'm quite certain it would have beensurprising. Perhaps, too, I might have learned more of the GreatSecret . . . And yet, I don't know. It's all dark . . . A hinthere . . . Theory . . . Mere glints of light. . . . Where did I put. . . . Ah, thank you. "

IX

THE ACHIEVEMENT

For some moments Darrow sat gazing fixedly at the table before him. Hiscigarette tip glowed and failed. Someone suggested drinks. The captainasked Darrow what he would have, but the question went unnoted. 

"How I passed the next six months I could hardly tell you, " he beganagain, quite abruptly. "At times I was bored--fearfully bored. Yet theelement of mystery, of uncertainty, of underlying peril, gave a certainzest to the affair. In the periods of dulness I found some amusement invisiting the lower camp and baiting the Nigger. Slade will have told youabout him; he possessed quite a fund of bastard Voodooism: he possessedmore before I got through with him. Yes; if he had lived to return to hiscountry, I fancy he would have added considerably to Afro-American witch-lore. You remember the vampire bats, Slade? And the devil-fires? NaturallyI didn't mention to you that the devil-fire business wasn't altogether asclear to me as I pretended. It wasn't, though. But at the time it servedvery well as an amusement. All the while I realised that my self-entertainment was not without its element of danger, too: I rememberglances not altogether friendly but always a little doubtful, a littleawed. Even Handy Solomon, practical as he was, had a scruple or two ofsuperstition in his make-up, on which one might work. Only Eagen--Slade, Imean--was beyond me there. You puzzled me not a little in those days, Slade. Well. . . . 

"Did I say that I was sometimes annoyed by the doctor's attitude? Yes: itseemed that he might have given me a little more of his confidence; butone can't judge such a man as he was. Among the ordinary affairs of lifehe had relied on me for every detail. Now he was independent of me. Independent! I doubt if he remembered my existence at times. Even in hisblackest moods of depression he was sufficient unto himself. It wasstrange. . . . How he did rage the day the chemicals from Washington wentwrong! I was washing my shirt in the hot water spring when he came boltingout of the laboratory and keeled me over. I came out pretty indignant. Apologise? Not at all. He just sputtered. His nearest approach tocoherence seemed to indicate a desire that I should go back to Washingtonat once and destroy a perfectly reputable firm of chemists. Finally hecalmed down and took it out in entering it in his daily record. He wasquite proud of that daily record and remembered to write in it on anaverage of once a week. 

"Then the chest went wrong. Whether it had rusted a bit, or whether thechemicals had got in their work on the hinges, I don't know; but one daythe Professor, of his own initiative, recognised my existence by lugginghis box out in the open and asking me to fix it. Previously he had emptiedit. It was rather a complicated thing, with an inner compartment overwhich was a hollow cover, opening along one rim. That, I conjectured, wasdesigned to hold some chemical compound or salt. There were many minoropenings, too, each guarded by a similar hollow door. My business was withthe heavy top cover. 

"'It should shut and open softly, gently, ' explained the Professor. 'So. Not with-a-grating-sound-to-be-accompanied, ' he added, with his curiouseffect of linked phraseology. 

"Half a day's work fixed it. The lid would stand open of itself untiltipped at a considerable angle, when it would fall and lock. Only on theouter shell was there a lock: that one was a good bit of craftsmanship. 

"'So, Percy, my boy, ' said the doctor kindly. 'That will with-sufficient-safety guard our treasure. When we obtain it, Percy. When it entirely-finished-and-completed shall be. '

"'And when will that be?' I asked. 

"'God knows, ' he said cheerfully. 'It progresses. '

"Whenever I went strolling at night, he would produce his curious lights. Sometimes they were fairly startling. One fact I made out by accident, looking down from a high place. They did not project from the laboratory. He always worked in the open when the light was to be produced. Once theexperiment took a serious turn. The lights had flickered and gone. Dr. Schermerhorn had returned to his laboratory. I came up the arroyo as heflung the door open and rushed out. He was a grotesque figure, clad in anundershirt and a worn pair of trousers, fastened with an old bit of tarredrope in lieu of his suspenders, which I had been repairing. About hiswaist flickered a sort of aura of radiance which was extinguished as heflung himself headforemost into the cold spring. I hauled him out. Heseemed dazed. To my questions he replied only by mumblings, the burden ofwhich was:

"'I do not understand. It is a not-to-be-comprehended accident. ' Itappears that he didn't quite know why he had taken to the water. Or if hedid, he didn't want to tell. 

"Next day he was as good as new. Just as silent as before, but it was asmiling, satisfied silence. So it went for weeks, for months, with theaccesses of depression and anger always rarer. Then came an afternoonwhen, returning from a stalk after sheep, I heard strange and shockingnoises from the laboratory. Strict as was the embargo which kept meoutside the door, I burst in, only to be seized in a suffocating grip. Ofa sudden I realised that I was being embraced. The doctor flourished ahand above my head and jigged with ponderous steps. The dismal noisescontinued to emanate from his mouth. He was singing. I wish I could giveyou a notion of the amazement, the paralysing wonder with which. . . . No, you did not know Dr. Schermerhorn: you would not understand. . . . 

"We polkaed into the open. There he cast me loose. He stopped singing andburst into a rhapsody of disjointed words. Mostly German, it was--awondrous jumble of the scientific and poetic. 'Eureka' occurred atintervals. Then he would leap in the air. It was weird, it wasdistressing. Crazy? Oh, quite. For the time, you understand. If any of usshould suddenly become the most potent individual in the world, wouldn'the be apt to lose balance temporarily? One must make allowances. There wasexcuse for the doctor. He had reached the goal. 

"'Percy, you shall be rewarded, ' he said. 'You haf like-a-trump-card stuckby me. You shall haf riches, gold, what you will. You are young; yourblood runs red. With such riches nothing is beyond you. You could theancient-tombs-of-Egypt explore. It is open to you such collections-as-have-never-been-gathered to make. What shall it be? Scarabs? Missals?Prehistoric implements? Amuse yourself, _mein kind_. We shall be able the-bills-with-usurious-interest to pay. What will you haf?'

"I said I'd like a vacation, if convenient. 

"'Presently, ' he replied. 'There yet remains the guardianship to beperfected. Then to-a-world-astonished-and-respectful we return. To-nightwe celebrate. I play you a rubber of pinochle. '

"We played. With the greatest secret of science resting at our elbows, weplayed. The doctor won; my mind was not strictly on the game. In themorning the doctor sang once more. . . . I shall never hear its like again. Was it a week, or a month, after that?. . . I cannot remember. I fancy I wasexcited. Then, too, there was something in the atmosphere about thelaboratory . . . I don't know; imagination, possibly. Once we had a littlemanifestation: the night that the Nigger and Slade were terrified by therock fires. Days of excitement and pleasant work, with the little volcanogrumbling more sulkily all the time . . . I have spent worse days. 

"Such indifference as the doctor displayed toward the volcano I have neverknown. If I ventured to warn him he would assure me that there was nocause for alarm. I think he regarded that little hell's kitchen as merelya feed-spout for his vast enterprise. He felt a sort of affection towardit; he was tolerant of its petty fits of temper. That he completed hiswork before the destruction came was sheer luck. Nothing else. The daybefore the outburst he came to me with a tiny phial of complicated design. 

"'Percy, I will at-a-reasonable-price sell this to you, ' he said. 

"'How much?' I inquired, responding to his playfulness. 

"'A bargain, ' he cried gaily. 'Five millions dollars. No! Shall I upon-a-needy-friend hard-press? Never. One million. One little million dollars. '

"'I haven't that amount with me, ' I began. 

"'Of no account, ' he declared airily. 'Soon we shall haf many more timesas that. Gif me your C. O. D. '

"'My I. O. U. ?' I inquired. 

"'It makes no matter. See. I will gif it to you gratis. '

"He handed me the metal contrivance. It was closed. 

"'Inside iss a little, such a very little. Not yet iss it arranged themotive-power to give-forth. One more change-to-be-made that shall require. But the other phenomena are all in this little half-grain comprised. LaterI shall tell you more. Take it. It iss without price. ' He laid his hand onmy shoulder. 'Like the love of friends, ' he said gently. "

Feeling in his upper waistcoat pocket, Darrow brought out a phial, so tinythat it rolled in the palm of his hand. He contemplated it, lost inthought. 

"Radium?" queried Barnett, with the keen interest of the scientist. 

"God knows what it is, " said Darrow, rousing himself. "Not the perfectedproduct; the doctor said that when he gave it to me. If I could rememberone-tenth of what he told me that night! It is like a disordered dream, aphantasmagoria of monstrous powers, lit up with an intolerable, almost aninfernal radiance. This much I did gather: that Dr. Schermerhorn hadachieved what the greatest minds before him had barely outlined. Yes, andmore. Becquerel, the Curies, Rutherford--they were playing with theletters of the Greek alphabet, Alphas, Gammas, and Rhos, while the simple, gentle old boy that I served had read the secret. From the molteneruptions of the racked earth he had taken gases and potencies that arenameless. By what methods of combination and refining I do not know, heproduced something that was to be the final word of power. Control--control--that was all that lacked. 

"Reduced to its simplest terms, it meant this: the doctor had something asmuch greater than radium as radium is greater than the pitchblende ofwhich a thousand tons are melted down to the one ounce of extract. And theincredible energies of this he proposed to divide into departments ofactivity. One manifestation should be light, a light that would illuminatethe world. Another was to make motive power so cheap that the work of theworld could be done in an hour out of the day. Some idea he had of healingproperties. Yes; he was to cure mankind. Or kill, kill as no man had everkilled, did he choose. The armies and navies of the powers would be at hismercy. Magnetism was to be his slave. Aerial navigation, transmutation ofmetals, the screening of gravity--does this sound like delirium? SometimesI think it was. 

"That night he turned over to me the key of the large chest and hisledger. The latter he bade me read. It was a complete jumble. You haveseen it. . . . We were up a good part of the night with our pet volcano. Itwas suffering from internal disturbances. 'So, ' the doctor would sayindulgently, when a particularly active rock came bounding down our way. 'Little play-antics-to-exhibit now that the work iss finished. '

"In the morning he insisted on my leaving him alone and going down to givethe orders. I took the ledger, intending to send it aboard. It saved mylife possibly: Solomon's bullet deflected slightly, I think, in passingthrough the heavy paper. Slade has told you about my flight. I ought tohave gone straight up the arroyo. . . . Yet I could hardly have made it. . . . Idid not see him again, the doctor. My last glimpse . . . The old man--Iremember now how the grey had spread through his beard--he was growingold--it had been ageing labour. He stood there at his laboratory door andthe mountain spouted and thundered behind. 

"'We will a name-to-suit-properly gif it, ' he said, as I left him. 'Itshall make us as the gods. We will call it celestium. '

"I left him there smiling. Smiling happily. The greatest force of hisage--if he had lived. Very wise, very simple--a kind old child. May Itrouble you for a light? Thanks. "

X

THE DOOM

"Nothing remained but to search for his body. I was sure they had killedhim and taken the chest. I had little expectation of finding him, dead oralive. None after I saw the stream of lava pouring into the sea. One saveshis own life by instinct, I suppose. There I was. I had to live. It didnot matter much, but I continued to do it by various shifts. That last dayon the headland the fumes nearly got me. You may have noted the ratherexcited scrawl in the back of the ledger? Yes, I thought I was gone thattime. But I got to the cave. It was low tide. Then the earthquake, and Iwas walled in. . . . Mr. Barnett's very accurate explosives--Slade'sinsistence--your risking your lives as you did, mites on the crust of ared-hot cheese--I hope you know how I feel about it all. One can't thank aman properly for the life. . . . 

"Oh, the pirates. Necessarily it must be a matter of theory, but I thinkwe have it right. Slade and I built it up. For what it's worth, here itis. Let me see: you sighted the glow on the night of the 2d. Next day camethe deserted ship. It must have puzzled you outrageously. "

"It did, " said Captain Parkinson, drily. 

"Not an easy problem, even with all the data at hand. You, of course, hadnone. On Slade's showing, Handy Solomon and his worthy associates thoughtthey had a chest full of riches when they got the doctor's treasure;believed they owned the machinery for making diamonds or gold or what-notof ready-to-hand wealth. It's fair to assume a certain eagerness on theirpart. Disturbed weather keeps them busy until they're well out from theisland. Then to the chest. Opening it isn't so easy: I had the key, youknow. " He brought a curious and delicately wrought skeleton from hispocket. "Tipped with platinum, " he observed. "Rather a gem of a key, Ithink. You see, there must have been some action, even through thekeyhole, or he wouldn't have used a metal of this kind. But the crew wasrich in certain qualities, it seems, which I failed, stupidly, torecognise in my acquaintance with them. Both Pulz and Perdosa appear tohave been handy men where locks were concerned. First Pulz sneaks down andhas his turn at the chest. He gets it open. Small profit for him in that:the next we know of him he is scandalising Handy Solomon by having a fiton the deck. "

"That is what I couldn't figure out to save my life, " said Slade eagerly. 

"If you recollect, I told you of the Professor's plunge in the coldspring, in a sort of paroxysm, one day, " said Darrow. "That was thephysiological action of the celestium. At other times, I have seen himcome out and deliberately roll in the creek, head under. Once he explainedthat the medium he worked in caused a kind of uncontrollable longing forwater; something having none of the qualities of burning or thirst, but anirresistible temporary mania. It worried him a good deal; he didn'tunderstand it. That, then, was what ailed Pulz. When he opened the chestthere was, as I surmise, a trifling quantity of this stuff lying in theinner lid. It wasn't the celestium itself, as I imagine, but a sort of by-product with the physiological and radiant effects of the real thing, andit had been set there on guard, a discouragement to the spirit ofinvestigation, as it were. So, when the top was lifted, our littleguardian gets in its work, producing the light phenomenon that so puzzledSlade, and inspiring Pulz with a passion for the rolling wave, which isonly interrupted by Handy Solomon's tackling him. As he fled he must havepulled down the cover. "

"He did, " said Slade. "I heard the clang. But I saw the radiance on theclouds. And the whole thickness of a solid oak deck was in between the skyand the chest. "

"Oh, a little thing like an oak deck wouldn't interrupt the kind of raysthe doctor used. He had his own method of screening, you understand. However, this inconsiderable guardian affair must have used itself up, which true celestium wouldn't have done. So when Perdosa sets his geniusfor lock-picking to the task, the inner box, full of the genuine article, has no warning sign-post, so to speak. Everything's peaceful until theyraise the compound-filled hollow layer of the inner cover, which serves tointerrupt the action. Then comes the general exit and the superiorfireworks. "

"That's when the rays ran through the ship, " said Slade. "It seemed tofollow the deck-lines. "

"The stuff had a strange affinity for tar, " said Darrow. "I told you ofthe circle of fire about Professor Schermerhorn's waist the day he gave mesuch a scare. That was the celestium working on the tarred rope he worefor a belt. It made a livid circle on his skin. Did I tell you of hisexperiments with pitch? It doesn't matter. Where was I?"

"At the place where we all jumped, " said Slade. 

"Oh, yes. And you dove into the small boat, trying to reach the water. "

"Wait a bit, " said Barnett. "If that was the exhibition of radiance wesaw, it died out in a few minutes. How was that? Did they close the chestbefore they ran?"

"Probably not, " replied Darrow. "Slade spoke of Pulz taking to the maintopand being shaken out by the sudden shock of a wave. That may have been avolcanic billow. Whatever it was, it undoubtedly heeled the shipsufficiently to bring down both lids, which were rather delicatelybalanced. "

"Yes, for Billy Edwards found the chest closed and locked, " said Barnett. 

"Of course; it was a spring lock. You sent Mr. Edwards and his men aboard. No such experts as Pulz or Perdosa were in your crew. Consequently it tooklonger to get the chest open. When at length the lid was raised, there wasa repetition of the tragedy. Mr. Edwards and his men leaped. Probably theywere paralysed almost before they struck the water. Your bos'n, whom Sladepicked up, was the only one who had time even to grab a life preserverbefore the impulse toward water became irresistible. There was no elementof fright, you understand: no desertion of their post. They were draggedas by the sweep of a tornado. " Darrow spoke direct to Captain Parkinson. "If there is any feeling among you other than sorrow for their death, itis unjust and unworthy. "

"Thank you, Mr. Darrow, " returned the captain quietly. 

"We found the chest closed again when the empty ship came back, " observedBarnett. 

"Being masterless, the schooner began to yaw, " continued Darrow. "Thefirst time she came about would have heeled her enough to shut the chest. Now came the turn of your other men. "

"Ives and McGuire, " said the Captain, as Darrow paused. 

"The glow came again that night, and the next day we picked up Slade, "said Barnett. 

"You know what the glow meant for your companions, " said Darrow. 

"But the ship. The _Laughing Lass_, man. She's vanished. No one has seenher since. "

"You are wrong there, " said Darrow. "I have seen her. "

In a common impulse the little circle leaned to him. 

"Yes, I have seen her. I wish I had not. Let me bring my story back to thecave on the island. After the volcanic gases had driven me to the refuge, I sat near the mouth of the cave looking out into the darkness. That wasthe night of the 7th, the night you saw the last glow. It was very dark, except for occasional bursts of fire from the crater. Judge of myincredulous amazement when, in an access of this illumination, I sawplainly a schooner hardly a mile off shore, coming in under bare poles. "

"Under bare poles?" cried Slade. 

"The halliards must have disintegrated from some slow action of thecelestium. It could be destructive: terrifically destructive. You shalljudge. There was the schooner, naked as your hand. Possibly I might havethought it a hallucination but for what came after. Darkness fell again. Isupposed then that Handy Solomon's crew were managing--or mismanaging--the_Laughing Lass_ without the aid of their leader, whom I had satisfactorilyburied. I hoped they would come ashore on the rocks. Yes I wasvengeful . . . Then. 

"Of a sudden there sprang from the darkness a ship of light. You have allseen those great electric effects at expositions. Someone touches abutton . . . You know. It was like that. Only that the piercingly brilliantjewelled wonder of a ship was set in the midst of a swirl of vari-colouredradiance such as I can't begin to describe. You saw it from a distance. Imagine what it was, coming close upon you that way--dead on, out of thenight. A living glory, a living terror. . . . "

His voice sank. With a shaking hand he fumbled amid his cigarette papers. 

"It came on. A human figure, glowing like a diamond ablaze, leaped outfrom it; another shot down from the foremast. I don't know how many I sawgo. It was like a theatric effect, unreal, unconvincing, incredible. Theend fitted it. "

Darrow's eye roved. It fell upon a quaintly modelled ship, hung above thedoor. 

"What's that?" he cried. 

"Fool thing some Malay gave me, " grunted Trendon. "Pretended to begrateful because I cut his foot off. No good. Go on with the story. "

"No good? You don't care what happens to it?"

"Meant to heave it overboard before now, " growled the other. 

Someone handed it down to Darrow. 

"If I had something to hold enough water, " muttered he, "I'd like to floatit. I'd like to see for myself how it worked out. I'd like to see thatdevil-work in action. "

He spoke feverishly. 

"Boy, fill the portable rubber tub in Mr. Forsythe's cabin and bring ithere, " ordered the captain. 

"That will do. " said Darrow, recovering himself. 

He floated the model in the tub. 

"Now, I don't know how this will come out, " he said. "Nor do I know whythe _Laughing Lass_ met her fate under Ives and McGuire, and not before. Perhaps the chest lay open longer . . . Long enough, anyway. We'll try it. "

From his pocket he took a curious small phial. 

"Is that what Dr. Schermerhorn gave you?" asked Slade. 

"Yes, " said Darrow. He set it carefully inside the little model andslipped a lever. Slade quietly turned down the light. 

A faint glow shot up. It grew bright and eddied in lovely, variantcolours. As if set to a powder train, it ran through the ship. The palefaces of the spectators shone ghastly in its radiance. From someone bursta sudden gasp. 

"There is not enough for danger, " said Darrow, quietly. 

"As a point of interest, " grunted Trendon. 

Everyone looked at his outstretched hand. A little pocket compass lay inthe palm. The needle spun madly, projecting blue, vivid sparklings. 

"My God!" cried Slade, and covered his eyes for a moment. 

He snatched away his hands as a suppressed cry went up from the others. 

"As I expected, " said Darrow quietly. 

The little craft opened out; it disintegrated. All that radiance dissolvedand with its going the substance upon which it shaped itself vanished. Thelast glow showed a formless pulp, spreading upon the water. 

"So passed the _Laughing Lass_, " said Darrow solemnly. 

"And the chest is at the bottom of the sea, " said Barnett. 

"Good place for it, " muttered Trendon. 

"In all probability it closed as the ship dissolved around it, " saidDarrow. "Otherwise we should see the effects in the water. "

"It might be recovered, " cried Slade, excitedly. 

"Could you chart it, Darrow? Think of the possibilities--"

"Let it lie, " said the captain. "Has it not cost enough? Let it lie. "

The water in the tub fumed and sparkled faintly and was still. Darknessfell, except where Darrow's cigarette point glowed and faded. 

THE END