HARRIGAN

MAX BRAND

1918

Also by Max Brand: BLACK JACK; TROUBLE KID; CLUNG; THUNDER MOON;THE STINGAREE; RIPPON RIDES DOUBLE; ON THE TRAIL OF FOUR;STEVE TRAIN'S ORDEAL; LARRAMEE'S RANCH; RIDE THE WILD TRAIL;THE GUNS OF DORKING HOLLOW; TORTURE TRAIL; THE GENTLE GUNMAN;THE GARDEN OF EDEN; GOLDEN LIGHTNING; THE STRANGER; MIGHTY LOBO

CHAPTER 1

"That fellow with the red hair, " said the police captain as he pointed. 

"I'll watch him, " the sergeant answered. 

The captain had raided two opium dens the day before, and the pride ofaccomplishment puffed his chest. He would have given advice to thesheriff of Oahu that evening. 

He went on: "I can pick some men out of the crowd by the way they walk, and others by their eyes. That fellow has it written all over him. "

The red-headed man came nearer through the crowd. Because of thewarmth, he had stuffed his soft hat into a back pocket, and now thelight from a window shone steadily on his hair and made a fire of it, adanger signal. He encountered the searching glances of the two officersand answered with cold, measuring eyes, like the gaze of a prizefighter who waits for a blow. The sergeant turned to his superior witha grunt. 

"You're right, " he nodded. 

"Trail him, " said the captain, "and take a man with you. If that fellowgets into trouble, you may need help. "

He stepped into his automobile and the sergeant beckoned to a nearbypoliceman. 

"Akana, " he said, "we have a man-sized job tonight. Are you feelingfit?"

The Kanaka smiled without enthusiasm. 

"The man of the red hair?"

The sergeant nodded, and Akana tightened his belt. He had eaten fishbaked in ti leaves that evening. 

He suggested: "Morley has little to do. His beat is quiet. Shall I tellhim to come with us?"

"No, " grinned the sergeant, and then looked up and watched the broadshoulders of the red-haired man, who advanced through the crowd as theprow of a ship lunges through the waves. "Go get Morley, " he saidabruptly. 

But Harrigan went on his way without misgivings, not that he forgot thepoliceman, but he was accustomed to stand under the suspicious eye ofthe law. In all the course of his wanderings it had been upon him. Hiscoming was to the men in uniform like the sound of the battle trumpetto the cavalry horse. This, however, was Harrigan's first night inHonolulu, and there was much to see, much to do. He had rambled throughthe streets; now he was headed for the Ivilei district. Instinctbrought him there, the still, small voice which had guided him fromtrouble to trouble all his life. 

At a corner he stopped to watch a group of Kanakas who passed him, wreathed with leis and thrumming their ukuleles. They sang in theirsoft, many-voweled language and the sound was to Harrigan like the rushand lapse of water on a beach, infinitely soothing and as lazy as theatmosphere of Honolulu. All things are subdued in the strange citywhere East and West meet in the middle of the Pacific. The gayestcrowds cannot quite disturb the brooding peace which is like thepromise of sleep and rest at sunset. It was not pleasing to Harrigan. He frowned and drew a quick, impatient breath, muttering: "I'm not longfor this joint. I gotta be moving. "

He joined a crowd which eddied toward the center of Ivilei. In there itwas better. Negro soldiers, marines from the _Maryland_, Kanakas, Chinamen, Japanese, Portuguese, Americans; a score of nationalities andcomplexions rubbed shoulders as they wandered aimlessly among the manybright-painted cottages. 

Yet even in that careless throng of pleasure-seekers no one rubbedshoulders with Harrigan. The flame of his hair was like a red lampwhich warned them away. Or perhaps it was his eye, which seemed tolinger for a cold, incurious instant on every face that approached. Hepicked out the prettiest of the girls who sat at the windows chattingwith all who passed. He did not have to shoulder to win a way throughthe crowd of her admirers. 

She was a _hap haoli_, with the fine features of the Caucasian and theblack of hair and eye which shows the islander. A rounded elbow restedon the sill of the window; her chin was cupped in her hand. 

"Send these away, " said Harrigan, and leaned an elbow beside hers. 

"Oh, " she murmured; then: "And if I send them away?"

"I'll reward you. "

"Reward?"

For answer he dragged a crimson carnation from the buttonhole of a tallman who stood at his side. 

"What in hell--" began the victim, but Harrigan smiled and the otherdrew slowly back through the crowd. 

"Now send them away. "

She looked at him an instant longer with a light coming slowly upbehind her eyes. Then she leaned out and waved to the chucklingsemicircle. 

"Run away for a while, " she said; "I want to talk to my brother. "

She patted the thick red hair to emphasize the relationship, and thelittle crowd departed, laughing uproariously. Harrigan slipped thecarnation into the jetty hair. His hand lingered a moment against thesoft masses, and she drew it down, grown suddenly serious. 

"There are three policemen in the shadow of that cottage over there. They're watching you. "

"Ah-h!"

The sound was so soft that it was almost a sigh, but she shiveredperceptibly. 

"What have you been doing?"

He answered regretfully: "Nothing. "

"They're coming this way. The man who had the carnation is with them. You better beat it. "

"Nope. I like it here. "

She shook her head, but the flame was blowing high nowin her eyes. A hand fell on Harrigan's shoulder. 

"Hey!" said the sergeant in a loud voice. 

Harrigan turned slowly and the sergeant's hand fell away. The man ofthe carnation was far in the background. 

"Well?"

"That flower. You can't get away with little tricks like that. Youbetter be starting on. Move along. "

Harrigan glanced slowly from face to face. The three policemen drewcloser together as if for mutual protection. 

"Please--honey!" urged the whisper of the girl. 

The hand of Harrigan resting on the window sill had gathered to ahard-bunched fist, white at the knuckles, but he nodded across the openspace between the cottages. 

"If you're looking for work, " he said, "seems as though you'd find ahandful over there. "

A clatter of sharp, quick voices rose from a group of Negro soldiersgathering around a white man. No one could tell the cause of thequarrel. It might have been anything from an oath to a blow. 

"Watch him, " said Harrigan. "He looks like a man. " He addedplaintively: "But looks are deceivin'. "

The center of the disturbance appeared to be a man indeed. He was eventaller than Harrigan and broader of shoulder, and, like the latter, there was a suggestion of strength in him which could not be defined byhis size alone. At the distance they could guess his smile as he facedthe clamoring mob. 

"Break in there!" ordered the sergeant to his companions, and startedtoward the angry circle. 

As he spoke, they heard one of the Negroes curse and the fist of thetall man darted at the face of a soldier and drove him toppling backamong his comrades. They closed on the white man with a yell; a passinggroup of their compatriots joined the affray; the whole mass surged inaround the tall fellow. Harrigan's head went back and his eyes halfclosed like a critic listening to an exquisite symphony. 

"Ah-h!" he whispered to himself. "Watch him fight!"

The policemen struck the outer edge of the circle with drawn clubs, butthere they stopped. They could not dent that compacted mass. Thesoldiers struggled manfully, but they were held at bay. Harrigan couldsee the heaving shoulders of the defender over the heads of theassailants, and the crack of hard-driven fists. The attackers werecrushed together and had little room to swing their arms with fullforce, while the big man stood with his back against the wall of thecottage and made every smashing punch count. 

As if by common assent, the soldiers suddenly desisted and gave backfrom this deadly fighter. His bellow of triumph rang over the clamor. His hat was off; his long black hair stood straight up in the wind; andhe leaped after them with flailing arms. 

But now the police had managed to pry their way into the mass by dintof indiscriminate battering. As the black-haired man came face to facewith the sergeant, the light gleamed on a high-swung club that thuddedhome; and the big man dropped out of sight. He came up again almost atonce, but with men draped from every portion of his body. The soldiersand police had joined forces, and once more a dozen men clutched him, spilling over him like football players in a scrimmage. He was knockedfrom his feet by the impact. 

"Coming!" shouted Harrigan. 

He raced with long strides, head lowered and back bowed until his longarms nearly swept the ground. Gathering impetus at every stride, hecrushed into the floundering heap of arms and legs. The police sergeantrose and whirled with lifted club. Harrigan grunted with joy as he dughis left into the man's midsection. The sergeant collapsed upon theground, embracing his stomach with both arms. Harrigan jerked away theupper layers of the attackers and dragged the black-haired man to hisfeet. 

"Shoulder to shoulder!" thundered Harrigan, and smote Officer Akanaupon the point of the chin. 

The victory was not yet won. The black soldiers of Uncle Sam's regulararmy need not take second place to any body of troops in the world. These men had tasted their own blood and they came tearing in now forrevenge. 

Harrigan, standing full in front of the rescued man until the lattershould have recovered his breath, found food for both fists, and hislove of battle was fed. The other man had fought stiffly erect, standing with feet braced to give the weight of his whole body to everypunch; Harrigan raged back and forth like a panther, avoiding blows bythe catlike agility of his movements, which left both hands free tostrike sledge-hammer blows. Presently he heard a chuckling at his side. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the black-haired man come into thebattle, straight and stiff as before, with long arms shooting out likepistons. 

It was a glorious sight. Something made Harrigan's heart big; rose andswelled his throat; rose again and came as a wild yell upon his tongue. The unfortunates who have faced Irish legions in battle know that yell. The soldiers did not know it, and they held back for a moment. Something else lowered their spirits still more. It was the clanging ofthe police patrol as it swung to a halt and a body of reserves pouredout. 

"Here comes our finish!" panted Harrigan to his comrade in arms. "Butoh, man, I'm thinkin' it was swate while it lasted!"

In his great moments the Irish brogue thronged thick upon his tongue. 

"Finish, hell!" grunted the other. "After me, lad!"

And lowering his head like a bull, he drove forward against the crowd. Harrigan caught the idea in a flash. He put his shoulder to the hip ofhis friend. They became a flying wedge with the jabbing fists of theblack-haired man for a point--and they sank into the mass of soldierslike a hot knife into butter, shearing them apart. 

There were few who wished more action, for the police reserves werecapturing man after man. One or two resisted, but a revolver firedstraight in the air put a sudden period to such thoughts. The crowdscattered in all directions and Harrigan was taking to his heels amongthe rest when an iron hand caught his shoulder and jerked him to ahalt. It was the black-haired man. 

"Easy, " he cautioned. He pulled a cap out and settled it upon his head. Harrigan followed suit with his soft hat. 

"Are you after givin' yourself away to the law?" he queried, bewildered. 

"Steady, you fool, " said the other; "they're only after the ones whorun away. "

An excited Kanaka confronted them with brandished club. 

"What's the cause of the disturbance, officer?" asked the big man. 

The policeman for answer waved them away and darted after a runningsoldier. 

"I'll be damned!" murmured Harrigan, and his eyes dwelt on hiscompanion's face almost tenderly. 

They were at the edge of the crowd when a shrill voice called: "Thosetwo big men! Halt 'em! Stand!"

Officer Akana ran through the crowd with his regulation Colt brandishedabove his head. 

"The time's come!" said Harrigan's new friend, and broke into a run. 

CHAPTER 2

They were past the thick of the mob now and they dodged rapidly amongthe cottages until the clamor of police fell away to a murmur behindthem, and they swung out onto the narrow, dark street which led backtoward the heart of Honolulu. For ten minutes they strode along withouta word. Under the light of a street lamp they stopped of one accord. 

"I'm McTee. "

"I'm Harrigan. "

The gripping of the hands was more than fellowship; it was like a testof strength which left each uncertain of the other's resources. Theywere exactly opposite types. McTee was long of face, with an arched, cruel nose, gleaming eyes, heavy, straight brows which pointed up andgave a touch of the Mephistophelian to his expression, a narrow, jutting chin, and lips habitually compressed to a thin line. It was ahandsome face, in a way, but it showed such a brutal dominance that itinspired fear first and admiration afterward. 

Such a man must command. He might be only the boss of a gang oflaborers, or he might be a financier, but never in any case anunderling. Altogether he combined physical and intellectual strength tosuch a degree that both men and women would have stopped to look athim, and once seen he would be remembered. 

On the other hand, in Harrigan one felt only force, not directed andcontrolled as in McTee, but impulsive, irregular, irresponsible, uncompassed. He carried a contradiction in his face. The heavy, hard-cut jaw, the massive cheekbones, the stiff, straight upper lipindicated merely brutal endurance and energy, but these qualities weretempered by possibilities of tenderness about the lips and by thesingular lights forever changing in the blue eyes. He would be hard forthe shrewdest judge to understand, for the simple reason that he didnot know himself. 

In looking at McTee, one asked: "What is he?" In looking at Harrigan, the question was: "What will he become?"

"Stayin' in town long?" asked Harrigan, and his voice was a littlewistful. 

"I'm bound out tonight. "

"So long, then. "

"So long. "

They turned on their heels into opposite streets without further words, with no thanks given for service rendered, with no exchange ofcongratulations for the danger they had just escaped. That partingproved them hardened knights of the road which leads across the worldand never turns back home. 

Harrigan strode on full of thought. His uncertain course brought him atlast to the waterfront, and he idled along the black, odorous docksuntil he came to a pier where a ship was under steam, making ready toput out to sea. The spur touched the heart of Harrigan. The urge neverfailed to prick him when he heard the scream of a steamer's horn as itput to sea. It brought the thoughts of far lands and distant cities. 

He strolled out to the pier and watched the last ropes cast loose. Theship was not large, and even in the dark it seemed dingy anddilapidated. He guessed that, big or small, this boat would carry hercrew to some distant quarter of the world, and therefore to a place tobe desired. 

A strong voice gave an order from the deck--a hard voice with a ring init like the striking of iron against iron. Harrigan glanced up with astart of recognition, and by the light of a swinging lantern he sawMcTee. If he were in command, this ship was certainly going to a farport. Black water showed between the dock and the ship. In a momentmore it would be beyond reach, and that thought decided Harrigan. Hemade a few paces back, noted the aperture in the rail of the ship wherethe gangplank was being drawn in, then ran at full speed and leapedhigh in the air. 

The three sailors at the rail shouted their astonishment as Harriganstruck the edge of the gangplank, reeled, and then pitched forward tohis knees. He rose and shook himself like a cat that has dropped from ahigh fence to the ground. 

"What're you?"

"I'm the extra hand. "

And Harrigan ran up the steps to the bridge. There he found McTee withthe first and second mates. 

"McTee, " he said, "I came on your ship by chance an' saw you. If you_can_ use an extra hand, let me stay. I'm footfree an' I need to bemovin' on. "

Even through the gloom he caught the glint of the Scotchman's eye. 

"Get off the bridge!" thundered McTee. 

"But I'm Harrigan, and--"

McTee turned to his first and second mates. 

"Throw that man off the bridge!" he ordered. 

Harrigan didn't wait. He retreated down the steps to the deck and wentto the rail. A wide gap of swarthy water now extended between the shipand the dock, but he placed his knee on the rail ready to dive. Then heturned and stood with folded arms looking up to the bridge, for hismind was dark with many doubts. He tapped a passing sailor on theshoulder. 

"What sort of an old boy is the captain?"

He made up his mind that according to the answer he would stay with theship or swim to the shore, but the sailor merely stared stupidly at himfor a moment and then grinned slowly. There might be malice, theremight be mere ridicule in that smile. He passed on before anotherquestion could be asked. 

"Huh!" grunted Harrigan. "I stay!"

He kept his eyes fixed on the bridge, remaining motionless at the railfor an hour while the glow of Honolulu grew dimmer and dimmer past thestern. There were lights in the after-cabin and he guessed that theship, in a small way, carried both freight and passengers. At lastMcTee came down the steps to the deck and as he passed Harrigansnapped: "Follow me. "

He led the way aft and up another flight of steps to the after-cabin, unlocked a door, and showed Harrigan into the captain's room. Here hetook one chair and Harrigan dropped easily into another. 

"Now, what 'n hell was your line of thinkin', McTee, " he began, "whenyou told me to--"

"Stand up!" said McTee. 

"What?"

"Stand up!"

Harrigan rose very slowly. His jaw was setting harder and harder, andhis face became grim. 

"Harrigan, you took a chance and came with me. "

"Yes. "

"I didn't ask you to come. "

"Sure you didn't, but if you think you can treat me like a swine andget away with it--"

It was wonderful to see the eyes of McTee grow small. They seemed toretreat until they became points of light shining from the deep shadowof his brow. They were met by the cold, incurious light of Harrigan'sstare. 

"You're a hard man, Harrigan. "

He made no answer, but listened to the deep thrum of the engines. Itseemed to him that the force which drove the ship was like a part ofMcTee's will, a thing of steel. 

"And I'm a hard man, Harrigan. On this ship I'm king. There's no willbut my will; there's no right but my right; there's no law but my law. Remember, on land we stood as equals. On this ship you stand and Isit. "

The thin lips did not curve, and yet they seemed to be smiling cruelly, and the eyes were probing deep, deep, deep into Harrigan's soul, weighing, measuring, searching. 

"When we reach land, " said Harrigan, "I got an idea I'll have to breakyou. "

He raised his hands, which trembled with the restrained power of hisarms, and moved them as though slowly breaking a stick of wood. 

"I've broken men--like that, " he finished. 

"When I'm through with you, Harrigan, you'll take water from aChinaman. You're the first man I've ever seen who could make me stopand look twice. I need a fellow like you, but first I've got to makeyou my man. The best colt in the world is no good until he learns totake the whip without bucking. I'm going to get you used to the whip. This is frank talk, eh? Well, I'm a frank man. You're in the harnessnow, Harrigan; make up your mind: Will you pull or will you balk? Answerme!"

"I'll see you damned!"

"Good. You've started to balk, so now you'll have to feel the whip. "

He pulled a cord, and while they waited, the relentless duel of theeyes continued. A flash of instinct like a woman's intuition toldHarrigan what impulse was moving McTee. He knew it was the same thingwhich makes the small schoolboy fight with the stranger; the samecuriosity as to the unknown power, the same relentless will to bemaster, but now intensified a thousandfold in McTee, who looked for thefirst time, perhaps, on a man who might be his master. Harrigan knew, and smiled. He was confident. He half rejoiced in looking forward tothe long struggle. 

A knock came and the door opened. 

"Masters, " said McTee to the boatswain, "we're three hands short. "

"Yes, sir. "

"Here are the three hands. Take them forward. "

CHAPTER 3

Masters looked at Harrigan, started to laugh, looked again, and thensilently held the door open. Harrigan stepped through it and followedto the forecastle, a dingy retreat in the high bow of the ship. He hadto bend low to pass through the door, and inside he found that he couldnot stand erect. It was his first experience of working aboard a ship, and he expected to find a scrupulous neatness, and hammocks in place ofbeds. Instead he looked on a double row of bunks heaped with swarthyquilts, and the boatswain with a silent gesture indicated that one ofthese belonged to Harrigan. He went to it without a word and sat downcross-legged to survey his new quarters. It was more like the bunkhouseof a western ranch than anything else he had been in, but all reducedto a miniature, cramped and confined. 

Now his eyes grew accustomed to the dim, unpleasant light which camefrom a single lantern hanging on the central post, and he began to makeout the faces of the sailors. An oily-skinned Greek squatted on thebunk to his left. To his right was a Chinaman, marvelously emaciated;his lips pulled back in a continual smile, meaningless, like the grinof a corpse. 

Opposite was the inevitable Englishman, slender, good-looking, withpale hair and bright, active eyes. Harrigan had traveled over half theworld and never failed to find at least one subject of John Bull in anyconsiderable group of men. This young fellow was talking with a giantNegro, his neighbor. The black man chattered with enthusiasm while theEnglishman listened, nodding, intent. 

One thing at least was certain about this crew: the Negro, theChinaman, the Greek, even the Englishman, despite his slender build, they were all hard, strong men. 

The cook brought out supper in buckets--stews, chunks of stale bread, tea. As they ate, the sailors grew talkative. 

"Slide the slum this way, " said the Englishman. 

The Negro pushed the bucket across the deck with his foot. 

"A hard trip, " went on the first speaker. 

"All trips on the _Mary Rogers_ is hard, " rumbled a voice. 

"Aye, but Black McTee is blacker'n ever today. "

"He belted the bos'n with a rope end, " commented the Negro. 

"He ain't human. This is my last trip with him. How about you, John?You got a lump on your jaw yet where he cracked you for breakin' thattruck. "

This was to the Chinaman, who answered in a soft guttural as if therewere bubbling oil in his throat: "Me sail two year Black McTee, an'--"

To finish his speech he passed a tentative hand across his swollen jaw. 

"And you'll sail with him till you die, John, " said the Englishman. "When a man has had Black McTee for a boss, he'll want no other. He'sto other captains what whisky is to beer. "

The white teeth of the Negro showed. "Maybe Black McTee won't livelong, " he suggested. 

There was a long silence. It lasted until the supper was finished. Itlasted until the men slid into their bunks. And Harrigan knew thatevery man was repeating slowly to himself: "Maybe Black McTee won'tlive long. "

"Not if this gang goes after him, " muttered Harrigan, "and yet--"

He remembered the fight in Ivilei and the heaving shoulders whichshowed above the heads of the swarming soldiers. With that picture inhis mind he went to sleep. 

They were far out of sight of land in the morning and loafing southbefore the trade wind, with a heavy ground swell kicking them alongfrom behind. Harrigan saw the _Mary Rogers_ plainly for the first time. She was small, not more than fifteen hundred or two thousand tons, andthe dingiest, sootiest of all tramp freighters. He had little time tomake observations. 

In the first place all hands washed down the decks, some of the men inrubber boots, the others barefooted, with their trousers rolled upabove the knees. Harrigan was one of this number. The cool water fromthe hose swished pleasantly about his toes. He began to think better oflife at sea as the wind blew from his nostrils the musty odors of theforecastle. Then the bos'n, with the suggestion of a grin in his eyes, ordered him up to scrub the bridge. He climbed the steps with a bucketin one hand and a brush in the other. There stood McTee leaning againstthe wheelhouse and staring straight ahead across the bows. He seemedquite oblivious of his presence until, having finished his job, Harrigan started back down the steps. 

"D'you call this clean?" rumbled McTee. "All over again!"

And Harrigan dropped to his knees without protest and commencedscrubbing again. As he worked, he hummed a tune and saw the narrow jawof McTee jut out. Harrigan smiled. 

He had scarcely finished stowing his bucket and brush away when thebos'n brought him word that he was wanted in the fireroom. Masters'sface was serious. 

"What's the main idea?" asked Harrigan. 

The bos'n cast a worried eye fore and aft. 

"Black McTee's breakin' you, " he said; "you're getting the whip. "

"Well?"

"God help you, that's all. Now get below. "

There was a certain fervency about this speech which impressed evenHarrigan. He brooded over it on his way to the fireroom. There he wasset to work passing coal. He had to stand in a narrow passage scarcelywide enough for him to turn about in. On either side was a toweringblack heap which slanted down to his feet. Midway between the piles wasthe little door through which he shoveled the coal into the fireroom. 

All was stifling hot, with a breath of coal dust and smoke to choke thelungs. Even the Greek firemen sweated and cursed, though they were usedto that environment. An ordinary man might have succumbed simply tothat fiery, foul atmosphere. It was like a glimpse of hell, dark, hopeless. 

It was not the heat or the atmosphere which troubled Harrigan, but hishands. His skin was puffed and soft from the scrubbing of the bridge. Now as he grasped the rough wood of the short-handled scoop theepidermis wore quickly and left his palms half raw. For a time hemanaged to shift his grip, bringing new portions of his hands to bearon the wood, but even this skin was worn away in time. When he finishedhis shift, his hands were bleeding in places and raw in the palms. 

As he came on deck, he tied them up with bits of soft waste in lieu ofa bandage and made no complaint, yet his fingers were trembling when heate supper that night. He caught the eyes of the rest of the crewstudying him with a cold calculation. They were estimating the strengthof his endurance and he knew at once that they had been through thesame trial one by one until they were broken. 

He could see that they hated the captain and he wondered why they wouldship with him time and again. He watched their expressions when BlackMcTee was mentioned, and then he understood. They were waiting for thetime when the captain should weaken. Then they would have theirrevenge. 

The second day was a repetition of the first. He began with scrubbingdown the bridge. The suds, strong with lye, ate shrewdly at his rawhands. Still he hummed as he worked and watched McTee's frown growdark. When he was ordered below to the fireroom, he wrapped his handsin the soft waste again. That helped him for a time, but after thefirst two hours the waste matted and grew hard with perspiration andblood. He had to throw it away and take the shovel handle against hisbare skin. He told himself that it was only a matter of time beforecalluses would form, but what chance was there for a formation ofcalluses when the water and suds softened his hands every morning?

On the third day he was a little more used to the torture. His handswere hopelessly raw now, but still he made no complaint and stuck withhis task. That night he secured a rag and retreated to the stretch ofdeck between the wheelhouse and the after-cabin, where he squattedbeside a bucket of water and washed his hands carefully. Both handswere puffed and red; one of the creases in the left palm bled a steadytrickle. He washed them slowly, with infinite relish of the cool water, until he felt that peculiar sensation which warns us that we arewatched by another eye. 

He looked up to see a young woman standing above him at the rail of theafter-cabin. She had been watching him by the light from the window ofthe wheelhouse. 

CHAPTER 4

"Let me bandage your hands, " she said. "I have some salve in my room. "

Her voice was a balm to the troubled heart of Harrigan. His knottedforehead relaxed. 

"Are you coming up?"

"Aye. "

He ran up the ladder and followed her to a cabin. She rummaged througha suitcase and finally brought out a little tin box of salve and a rollof gauze. As she stooped with her back to him, he saw that her hair wasred--not fiery red like his, but a deep dull bronze, with points ofgold where the light struck it. When she straightened and turned, hereyes went wide, looking up to him, for he bulked huge in the tinycabin. 

"What a big fellow you are!"

He did not answer for a moment; he was too busy watching her eyes, which were sea-green, and strangely pleasant and restful. 

"Do you know me?" she asked with a slight frown. 

"'Scuse me, " muttered Harrigan. "I thought at first I did. "

He abased his glance while she took one of his hands and turned it palmup. 

"Ugh!" she muttered. "How did this happen?"

"Work. "

"Do you mean to say they make you work with your hands in thiscondition?"

"Sure. "

"Poor fellow! That black captain!"

Her voice had changed from a peculiarly soft, low accent to a shrilltone that made Harrigan start. 

"Poor fellow!" she repeated. "Sit down. "

The campstool creaked under the burden of his weight. She pulled up thechair in front of him and placed his left hand on her knees. 

"This is peroxide. Tell me if it hurts too much. "

She spilled some of the liquid across his palm; it frothed. 

"Ouch!" grunted Harrigan involuntarily. 

She caught his wrists with both hands. 

"Why, your whole arm is trembling! You must be in torture with this. Have you made any complaint?"

"No. "

She studied him for a moment, scenting a mystery somewhere and guessingthat he would not speak of it. And she asked no questions. She said nota word and merely bowed her head and started to apply the salve withdelicate touches. For the result, a confession of all his troublestumbled up the big man's throat to his tongue. He had to set his teethto keep it back. 

She became aware of those cold, incurious eyes studying her face as shewrapped the gauze bandage deftly around the injured palms. 

"Why do you watch me so closely?"

It disarmed him. Those possibilities of tenderness came about hisstiff-set lips, and the girl wondered. 

"I was thinkin' about my home town. "

"Where is it?"

He frowned and waved his hand in a sweep which included half the pointson the compass. 

"Back there. "

She waited, wrapping up the gauze bandage. 

"When I was a kid, I used to go down to the harbor an' watch the shipscomin' in an' goin' out, " he went on cautiously. 

She nodded, and he resumed with more confidence: "I'd sit on thepierhead an' watch the ships. I knew they was bringing the smell of farlands in their holds. "

There was a little pause; then his head tilted back and he burst intothe soft, thick brogue: "Ah-h, I was afther bein' woild about theschooners blowin' out to sea wid their sails shook out like clouds. An'then I'd look down to the wather around the pier, an' it was green, deep green, ah-h, the deep sea-green av it! An' I would look into itan' dream. Whin I seen your eyes--"

He stopped, grown cold as a man will when he feels that he has laid hisinner self indecently bare to the eye of the world. But she did notstir; she did not smile. 

"I felt like a kid again, " said Harrigan, recovering from the brogue. "Like a kid sittin' on the pierhead an' watchin' the green water. Youreyes are that green, " he finished. 

Self-consciousness, the very thing which she had been trying to keepthe big sailor from, turned her blood to fire. She knew the quick colorwas running from throat to cheek; she knew the cold, incurious eyewould note the change. He was so far aware of the alteration that herose and glanced at the door. 

"Good-by, " she said, and then quite forgetting herself: "I shall askthe captain to see that you are treated like a white man. "

"You will not!"

"I beg your pardon?" she said, but the hint of insulted dignity waslost on Harrigan. 

"You will not, " he repeated. "It'd simply make him worse. "

She was glad of the chance to be angry; it would explain herheightening color. 

"The captain must be an utter brute. "

"I figger he's nine tenths man, an' the other tenth devil, but thereain't no human bein' can change any of them ten parts. Good-by. I'mthankin' you. My name's Harrigan. "

She opened the door for him. 

"If you wish to have that dressing changed, ask for Miss Malone. "

"Ah-h!" said Harrigan. "Malone!"

She explained coldly: "I'm Scotch, not Irish. "

"Scotch or Irish, " said Harrigan, and his head tilted back as it alwaysdid when he was excited. "You're afther bein' a real shport, MissMalone!"

"Miss Malone, " she repeated, closing the door after him, and vainlyattempting to imitate the thrill which he gave to the word. "What aman!"

She smiled for a moment into space and then pulled the cord for thecabin boy. 

CHAPTER 5

The cabin boy did duty for all the dozen passengers, and therefore hewas slow in answering. When he appeared, she asked him to carry thecaptain word that she wished to speak with him. He returned in a shorttime to say that Captain McTee would talk with her now in his cabin. She followed aft to the captain's room. He did not rise when sheentered, but turned in his chair and relinquished a long, black, fragrant cigar. 

"Don't stop smoking, " she said. "I want you in a pleasant mood to hearwhat I have to say. "

Without reply he placed the cigar in his mouth and the bright blackeyes fastened upon her. That suddenly intent regard was startling, asif he had leaned over and spoken a word in her ear. She shrugged hershoulders as if trying to shake off a compelling hand and then settledinto a chair. 

"I've come to say something that's disagreeable for you to hear and forme to speak. "

Still he would not talk. He was as silent as Harrigan. She clenched herhands and drove bravely ahead. She told how she had called thered-headed sailor up to the after-cabin and dressed his hurts, and shedescribed succinctly, but with rising anger the raw and swollencondition of his fingers. The captain listened with apparent enjoyment;she could not tell whether he was relishing her story or his slowlypuffed cigar. In the end she waited for his answer, but evidently nonewas forthcoming. 

"Now, " she said at last, "I know something about ships and sailors, andI know that if this fellow was to appeal against you after you touchport, a judge would weigh a single word of yours against a wholesentence of Harrigan's. It would be a different matter if adisinterested person pressed a charge of cruelty against you. I am sucha person; I would press such a charge; I have the money, the time, andthe inclination to do it. "

She read the slight hesitation in his manner, not as if he wereimpressed by what she had to say, but as though he was questioninghimself as to whether he should give her any answer at all. It made herwish fervently that she were a man--and a big one. He spoke then, as ifan illuminating thought had occurred to him. 

"You know Harrigan's record?"

"No, " she admitted grudgingly. 

McTee sighed as if with deep relief and leaned back in his chair. Hissmile was sympathetic and it altered his face so marvelously that shecaught her breath. 

"Of course that explains it, Miss Malone. I don't doubt that he wasclever enough to make you think him abused. "

"He didn't say a word of accusation against anyone. "

"Naturally not. When a man is bad enough to seem honest--"

He drew a long, slow puff on his cigar by way of finishing his sentenceand his eyes smiled kindly upon her. 

"I knew that he would do his worst to start mutiny among the crew; Ididn't think he could get as far as the passengers. "

Her confidence was shaken to the ground. Then a new suspicion came toher. 

"If he is such a terrible character, why did you let him come aboardyour ship?"

Instead of answering, he pulled a cord. The bos'n appeared in a moment. 

"Tell this lady how Harrigan came aboard, " ordered the captain, and hefastened a keen eye upon the bos'n. 

"Made it on the jump while we was pullin' out of dock, " said thesailor. "Just managed to get his feet on the gangplank--came within anace of falling into the sea. "

"That's all. "

The bos'n retreated and McTee turned back to Kate Malone. 

"He had asked me to sign him up for this trip, " he explained. "If I'dset him ashore, he'd probably have been in the police court the nextmorning. So I let him stay. To be perfectly frank with you, I had avague hope that gratitude might make a decent sailor out of him for afew days. But the very first night he started his work he began to talkdiscontent among the men in the forecastle, and such fellows are alwaysready to listen. Of course I could throw Harrigan in irons and feed himon bread and water; my authority is absolute at sea. But I don't wantto do that if I can help it. Instead, I have been trying to disciplinehim with hard work. He knows that he can come to me at any time andspeak three words which will release him from his troubles. But hewon't say them--yet!"

"Really?" she breathed. 

She began to feel deeply honored that such a man as McTee would make solong an explanation to her. 

"Shall I call him up here and ask him to say them now?"

"Would you do that? Captain McTee, I'm afraid that I've been veryfoolish to bother you in this matter, but--"

He silenced her with a wave of the hand, and pulled the cord. 

"Bring up Harrigan, " he said, when the bos'n appeared again. 

"I've considered myself a judge of human nature, " she apologized, "butI shall think a long time before I venture another decision. "

"You're wrong to feel that way. It would take a shrewd judge to seethrough Harrigan unless his record were known. "

The door opened and the bos'n entered with Harrigan. He fixed his eyesupon the captain without a glance for Kate Malone. 

"Harrigan, " said McTee, "I've been telling Miss Malone that you can bereleased from your trouble by saying half a dozen words to me. And youknow that you can. You will be treated better than anyone in the crewif you will put your hand in mine and say: 'Captain McTee, I give youmy word of honor as a man to do my best to obey orders during the restof this trip and to hold no malice against you for anything that hashappened to me so far. '

"For you see, " he explained to the girl, "he probably thinks himselfaggrieved by my discipline. Will you say it, Harrigan?"

Instead of answering, the cold eye of Harrigan turned on Kate. 

"I told you not to speak to the captain, " he said. 

"Ah, " said McTee, "you were clever enough for that?"

"Do you say nothing, Harrigan?" she said incredulously. "Do you reallyrefuse to speak those words to the captain after he has been generousenough to give you a last chance to make a man of yourself?"

Harrigan turned pale as he glanced at the captain. Her scorn andcontempt gave a little metallic ring to her voice. 

"You need not be afraid. Captain McTee hasn't told me anything aboutyour record. "

Harrigan smiled, but in such a manner that she stepped back. "Easy, "said McTee, "you don't need to fear him in here. He knows that I'm hismaster. "

"I'm glad you didn't tell me his record, " she answered. 

"I can read it in his eyes. "

"Lady, " said Harrigan, and his head tilted back till the cords stoodstrongly out at the base of his throat, "I'm afther askin' your pardonfor thinkin' ye had ever a dr-rop av hot Irish blood in ye. "

"Take him below, bos'n, " broke in McTee, "and put him in on the nightshift in the fireroom. "

No hours of Harrigan's life were bitterer than that night shift. Thebandages saved his hands from much of the torture of the shovel handle, but there was deep night in his heart. Early in the morning one of thefiremen ran to the chief engineer's room and forced open the door. 

"The red-headed man, sir, " he stammered breathlessly. 

The chief engineer awoke with a snarl. He had drunk much good Scotchwhisky that evening, and the smoke of it was still dry in his throatand cloudy in his brain. 

"And what the hell is wrong with the red-headed man now?" he roared. "Ain't he doin' two men's work still?"

"Two? He's doin' ten men's work with his hands rolled in cloth and theblood soakin' through, an' he sings like a devil while he works. He'sgone crazy, sir. "

"Naw, he ain't, " growled the chief; "that'll come later. Black McTee isbreakin' him an' he'll be broke before he goes off his nut. Now get tohell out of here. I ain't slept a wink for ten days. "

The fireman went back to his work muttering, and Harrigan sang the restof the night. 

CHAPTER 6

In the morning there was the usual task of scrubbing down the bridge. The suds soaked through the bandages at once and burned his hands likefire. He tore away the cloths and kept at his task, for he knew that ifhe refused to continue, he became by that act of disobedience amutineer. 

The fourth day was a long nightmare, but at the end of it Harrigan wasstill at his post. That night the pain kept him awake. For forty-eighthours he had not closed his eyes. The next morning, as he prepared hisbucket of suds and looked down at his blood-caked hands, the thought ofsurrender rose strongly for the first time. Two things fought againstit: his fierce pride and a certain awe which he had noted as it grewfrom day to day in the eyes of the rest of the crew. They werefollowing the silent battle between the great Irishman and the captainwith a profound, an almost uncanny interest. 

As he scrubbed the bridge that morning, McTee, as always, stood staringout across the bows, impassive, self-contained as a general overlookinga field of battle. And the temptation to surrender swelled up in thethroat of Harrigan like the desire for speech in a child. He kept histeeth hard together and prayed for endurance. Only five days, and itmight be weeks before they made a port. Even then the captain might puthim in irons rather than risk his escape. 

"Harrigan, " said McTee suddenly. "Don't keep it up. You're bound tobreak. Speak those words now that I told you to say and you're a freeman. "

Harrigan looked up and the words formed at the base of his tongue. Harrigan looked down and saw his crimson hands. The words fell backlike dust on his heart. 

"Take you for my master an' swear to forget what you've done?" he said, and his voice was hardly more than a whisper. "McTee, if I promised youthat I'd perjure blacker 'n hell an' kill you someday when your backwas turned. As it is, I'll kill you while we're standin' face to face. "

McTee laughed, low, deep, and his eyes were half closed as if he heardpleasant music. Harrigan grinned up at him. 

"I'll kill you with my bare hands. There's no gun or knife could dojustice to what's inside of me. "

His head tilted back and his whisper went thick like that of adrunkard: "Ah-h, McTee, look at the hands, look at the hands! They'rered now for a sign av the blood av ye that'll someday be on 'em!"

And he picked up his bucket and brush and went down the deck. The laughof McTee followed him. 

Having framed the wish in words, it was never absent from Harrigan'smind now. It made that day easier for him. He stopped singing. Heneeded all his brain energy to think of how he should kill McTee. 

It was this hungry desire which sustained him during the days whichfollowed. The rest of the crew began to sense the mighty emotion whichconsumed Harrigan. When they saw both him and McTee on the deck, theireyes traveled from one to the other making comparisons, for they feltthat these men would one day meet hand to hand. They could not stayapart any more than the iron can keep from the magnet. 

Finally Harrigan knew that they were nearing the end of their longjourney. The port was only a few days distant, for they were far in thesouth seas and they began to pass islands, and sometimes caught sightof green patches of water. Those were the coral reefs, the terror ofall navigators, for they grow and change from year to year. To alight-draught ship like the _Mary Rogers_ these seas were comparativelysafe, but not altogether. Even small sailing craft had come to grief inthose regions. 

Yet the islands, the reefs, the keen sun, the soft winds, the singingof the sailors, all these things came dimly to Harrigan, for he knewthat his powers of resistance were almost worn away. His face was amask of tragedy, and his body was as lean as a starved wolf in winter. His will to live, his will to hate, alone remained. 

Each morning it was harder for him to leave the bridge without speakingthose words to the captain. He rehearsed them every day and vowed theywould never pass his lips. And every day he knew that his vow wasweaker. When he was about to give in, he chanced to see McTee and KateMalone laughing together on the promenade. 

It was McTee who saw Harrigan first and pointed him out to Kate. Sheleaned against the rail and peered down at him, shuddering at the sightof his drawn face and shadowed eyes. Then she turned with a littleshrug of repulsion. 

McTee must have made some humorous comment, for she turned to glancedown at Harrigan again and this time she laughed. Blind rage made theblood of the Irishman hot. That gave him his last strength, but eventhis ran out. Finally he knew that the next day was his last, and whenthat day came, he counted the hours. They passed heavy-footed, as timegoes for one condemned to die. And then he sat cross-legged on his bunkand waited. 

The giant Negro came, bringing word that the bos'n wanted him to scrubdown the bridge. He remained with his head bowed, unhearing. The bos'nhimself came, cursing. He called to Harrigan, and getting no answershook him by the shoulder. He put his hand under Harrigan's chin andraised the listless head. It rolled heavily back and the dull eyesstared up at him. 

"God!" said the bos'n, and started back. 

The head remained where he had placed it, the eyes staring straight upat the ceiling. 

"God!" whispered the bos'n again, and ran from the forecastle. 

In time--it seemed hours--Harrigan heard many voices approaching. McTee's bass was not among them, but he knew that McTee was coming, andHarrigan wondered whether he would have the strength to refuse to obeyand accept the fate of the mutineer; or whether terror would overwhelmhim and he would drop to his knees and beg for mercy. He had once seena sight as horrible. The voices swept closer. McTee was bringing allthe available crew to watch the surrender, and Harrigan prayed with allhis soul to a nameless deity for strength. 

Something stopped in the Irishman. It was not his heart, but somethingas vital. The very movement of the earth seemed to be suspended whenthe great form blocked the door to the forecastle and the ringing voicecalled: "Harrigan!"

At the summons Harrigan's jaw fell loosely like that of an exhausteddistance-runner, and long-suppressed words grew achingly large in histhroat. 

"I've had enough!" he groaned. 

"Harrigan!" thundered the captain, and Harrigan knew that his attemptedspeech had been merely a silent wish. 

"God help me!" he whispered hoarsely, and in response to that briefprayer a warm pulse of strength flooded through him. He sprang to hisfeet. 

"I refuse to work!" he cried, and this time the sound echoed backagainst his ears. 

There was a long pause. 

"Mutiny!" said McTee at last, and his voice was harsh with theknowledge of his failure. "Bring him outside in the open. I'll dealwith him!"

He retreated from the door, but before any of the sailors could go into fulfill the order, Harrigan walked of his own accord out onto thedeck. The wind on his face was sweet and keen; the vapors blew fromeyes and brain. He was himself again, weaker, but himself. He saw thecircle of wondering, awe-stricken faces; he saw McTee standing withfolded arms. 

CHAPTER 7

"Mutiny on the high seas, " the captain was saying, "is as bad as murderon dry land. I could swing you by the neck from the mast for this, Harrigan, and every court would uphold me. Or I can throw you into theirons and leave your trial until we touch port. But--stand back!"

At the wave of his hand the circle spread. McTee stepped close toHarrigan. 

"I could do all that I've said, but why should I waste you on a prisonwhen there's a chance that I can use for myself? Harrigan, will youstand up to me, man to man, and fist to fist, fighting fair and squarewithout advantage, and then if I thrash you, will you be my man? If Ibeat you, will you swear to follow me, to do my bidding? Harrigan, if Ihave you to work for me--I'll be king of the south seas!"

"Man to man--fair and square?" repeated Harrigan vaguely. "I'm weak. You've had me in hell an' sweated me thin, McTee. If I was my old self, I'd jump at the chance. "

"Then it's irons for you and ten years for mutiny when we reach port. "

"Ah-h, damn your heart!"

"But if I beat you, you'll be a lord of men, Harrigan, with only oneking over you--McTee! You'll live on the fat of the land and theplunder of the high seas if you serve McTee. "

"What oath could I swear that you'd believe?"

"Your hand in mind for a pledge--I ask no more. "

He held out his hand. The lean, strong fingers fascinated Harrigan. 

"I'd rather take your throat than your hand, McTee--an' mebbe Iwill--an' mebbe I will!"

He caught the hand in his own cracked, stained, black palm. The smileof McTee was like the smile of Satan when he watched Adam driven fromthe Eden. 

"Strip to the waist, " he said, and turned on the crew. 

"You know me, lads. I've tried to break Harrigan, but I've only benthim, and now he's going to stand up to me man to man, and if he wins, he's free to do as he likes and never lift a hand till we reach port. Aye, lick your chops, you dogs. There's none of you had the heart totry what Harrigan is going to try. "

If they did not actually lick their chops, there was hunger in theireyes and a strange wistfulness as they watched Harrigan strip off hisshirt, but when they saw the wasted arms, lean, with the musclesdefined and corded as if by famine, their faces went blank again. Forthey glanced in turn at the vast torso of McTee. When he moved hisarms, his smooth shoulders rippled in significant spots--the spotswhere the driving muscles lay. But Harrigan saw nothing save the throatof which he had dreamed. 

"This is to the finish?" said McTee. 

"Aye. "

"And no quarter?"

Harrigan grinned, and slipped out to the middle of the deck. Both ofthem kicked off their shoes. Even in their bare feet it would bedifficult to keep upright, for the _Mary Rogers_ was rollicking througha choppy sea. Harrigan sensed the crew standing in a loose circle withthe hunger of the wolf pack in winter stamped in their eyes. 

McTee stood with his feet braced strongly, his hands poised. ButHarrigan stole about him with a gliding, unequal step. He did not seempreparing to strike with his hands, which hung low, but rather like onewho would leap at the throat with his teeth. The ship heaved andHarrigan sprang and his fists cracked--one, two. He leaped out againunder the captain's clubbed hands. Two spots of red glowed on McTee'sribs and the wolf pack moistened their lips. 

"Come again, Harrigan, for I've smelled the meat, not tasted it. "

"It tastes red--like this. "

And feinting at McTee's body, he suddenly straightened and smashed bothhands against the captain's mouth. McTee's head jarred back under theimpact. The wolf pack murmured. The captain made a long step, waiteduntil Harrigan had leaped back to the side of the deck to avoid theplunge, and then, as the deck heaved up to give added impetus to hislunge, he rushed. The angle of the deck kept the Irishman from takingadvantage of his agility. He could not escape. One pile-driver handcracked against his forehead--another thudded on his ribs. He leapedthrough a shower of blows and clinched. 

He was crushed against the rail. He was shaken by a quick succession ofshort arm punches. But anything was preferable to another of thoselong, driving blows. He clung until his head cleared. Then he shookhimself loose and dropped, as if dazed, to one knee. McTee's bellow oftriumph filled his ears. The captain bore down on him with outstretchedhands to grapple at his throat, but at the right instant Harrigan roseand lurched out with stiff arm. The punch drove home to the face with ashock that jarred Harrigan to his feet and jerked McTee back as ifdrawn by a hand. Before he recovered his balance, Harrigan planted halfa dozen punches, but though they shook the captain, they did not sendhim down, and Harrigan groaned. 

McTee bellowed again. It was not pain. It was not mere rage. It was abattle cry, and with it he rushed Harrigan. They raged back and forthacross the deck, and the wolf pack drew close, cursing beneath theirbreath. They had looked for a quick end to the struggle, but now theysaw that the fighters were mated. The greater strength was McTee's; thegreater purpose was Harrigan's. McTee fought to crush and conquer;Harrigan fought to kill. 

The blows of the captain flung Harrigan here and there, yet he cameback to meet the attack, slinking with sure, catlike steps. The heeland pitch of the deck sometimes staggered the captain, but Harriganseemed to know beforehand what would happen, and he leaped in at everyopening with blows that cut the skin. 

His own flesh was bruised. He bled from mouth and nose, but what wasany other pain compared with the torture of his clenched fists? It madehis arms numb to the elbow and sent currents of fire through his veins. His eyes kept on the thick throat of McTee. Though he was knockedreeling and half senseless, his stare never changed, and the wolf pack, with their heads jutting forward with eagerness watched, waited. The"Ha!" of McTee rang with the strength of five throats. The "Wah-h!" ofHarrigan purred like a furious panther's snarl. 

Then as the frenzy left Harrigan and the numbness departed from hisarms, he knew that he was growing weaker and weaker. In McTee's eyes hesaw the growing light of victory, the confidence. His own wild hungerfor blood grew apace with his desperation. He flung himself forward ina last effort. 

A ponderous fist cracked home between his eyes, fairly lifting him fromhis feet and hurling him against the base of the wheelhouse. Then aforearm shot under his shoulder and a hand fastened on the back of hisneck in an incomplete half-Nelson. As McTee applied the pressure, Harrigan felt his vertebral column give under the tremendous strain. Hestruggled furiously but could not break the grip. Far away, like thestorm wind in the forest, he heard the moan of the wolf pack. 

"Give in! Give in!" panted McTee. 

"Ah-h!" snarled Harrigan. 

He felt the deck swing and jerked his legs high in the air. He couldnot have broken that grip of his own strength, but the sway of the deckgave his movement a mighty leverage. The hand slipped from his neck, scraping skin away, as if a red-hot iron had been drawn across theflesh. But he was half loosed, and that twist of his body sent themboth rolling one over the other to the scuppers of the ship--and it wasMcTee who crashed against the rail, receiving the blow on the back ofhis head. His eyes went dull; the red hands of Harrigan fastened on histhroat. 

"God!" screamed McTee, and gripped Harrigan's wrists, but the Irishmanheaved him up and beat his head against the deck. 

McTee's jaws fell open, and a bloody froth bubbled to hislips; his eyes thrust out hideously. 

"Ah-h!" snarled Harrigan, and shifted his grip lower, his thumbsdigging relentlessly into the great throat. This time the giant limbsof the captain relaxed as if in sleep. Then through the fierce singingin his ears the Irishman heard a yell. He turned his head. The wolfpack saw their prey pulled down at last. They ran now to join the kill, not men, but raging devils. Harrigan sprang to his feet, catching up amarlinspike, and whirled it above his head. 

"Back!" he shouted. 

They shrank back, growling one to the other savagely, irresolute. Therecame a moan at Harrigan's feet. He leaned over and lifted the bulk ofthe captain's inert body. As if through a haze he saw the chiefengineer and the two mates running toward him and caught the glitter ofa revolver in the hands of the first officer. The Irishman's batteredlips stretched to a shapeless grin. 

"Help me to the captain's cabin, " he said. "He's afther bein' sick. "

CHAPTER 8

And the four of them went aft carrying McTee's body. On the promenadethey passed Kate Malone. She shrank against the rail, her eyes blankand her face white. 

"He's dead!" she cried. 

"He's just beginnin' to live, " said Harrigan. 

The captain was muttering faintly as they laid him on the bunk in hisroom. "Now get out, " commanded Harrigan. "I will be alone with him whenhe wakes up. I have something to whisper in his ear. "

"Is it safe?" said the first mate to the chief engineer, gesturing withhis weapon. 

Harrigan snatched it away and waved it like a club above his head. 

"Get out, or I'll bash your skull in. "

His face was hideous, cut and blood-stained, starved with the longhunger and lighted with the victory. They slunk from the cabin, backingout as if they expected him to rush them. Harrigan locked the door andstarted to tend the captain. He washed McTee to the waist, cleansed thecut places carefully, and covered them with narrow strips of adhesivetape which he found in a small medicine chest. As the heavier breathingof the captain indicated that he was about to recover his senses, Harrigan performed the same services for himself. It was slow work, fornow that the stimulus of action was gone, his weakness grew on him inrecurrent waves. Finally a sound made him turn to see McTee proppinghimself up on the bunk with one elbow; his eyes, unconfused and steady, looked brightly out at Harrigan. 

"You beat me?"

"It was the swing of the deck that rolled you over and broke your grip. I've stayed to tell you that. "

"Chances or no chances, you beat me. "

"Man, you'd have busted my back if it hadn't been for that buck of theship. When your hand came away, it took the skin with it. "

"And that's why you didn't finish me?"

"Aye. "

"You'll never have the chance again. "

"I want no chances; I want no help except my own strength as it wasbefore you withered me with your hellfire. "

"When we stand up again, I'll kill you, Harrigan. "

"When we stand up again, I'll break you, Black McTee--like a rottenstick. "

"Lie down here, " said the captain, rising quickly. "You're sick. "

He forced Harrigan onto the bunk and stretched him out at full length. The Irishman clenched his hands and fought against the sleep whichcrept over his senses. 

"There's fire in my brain, " muttered Harrigan, "an' it's trying to burnits way out. "

McTee dipped a towel in cool water. 

"I kept the rest of them away, " went on the Irishman. "When you wokeup, I wanted you to hear why I didn't finish you. "

He raised his shaking hands and gripped at the air. 

"Ah-h! When me ould silf is back, I'll shtand up to ye. Tis a promise, McTee. Black McTee, Black McTee--I'll make ye Red McTee--red as thepalms av me hands. "

McTee tied the cold, wet towel around Harrigan's forehead. 

"I'll kill you by inches, Harrigan. You'll read hell in my eyes beforeyour end. Drink this!"

He raised Harrigan's almost lifeless head and forced the neck of awhisky bottle between his teeth. 

"Ah-h!" said Harrigan, blinking and coughing after the strong liquorhad burned its way down his throat. "The feel av your throat under methumbs was sweeter than the touch av a colleen's hand, McTee! I'm deadfor shlape!"

And instantly his eyes closed; his breathing was deep and sonorous. Thecaptain watched him for a long moment, then sat down and laying a handon the sleeping man's wrist, he counted the pulse carefully. It wasirregular and feeble. 

"Time is all he needs, " muttered McTee to himself, and he sat staringbefore him, dreaming. "A fool can live well, " he was thinking, "but ittakes a great man to die well. Harrigan will make a fine death. " In themeantime the big Irishman slept heavily, and Black McTee tended himwell, keeping the towel cool and wet about his forehead. The pulse wasgaining rapidly in strength and regularity; sleep seemed to act uponHarrigan as food acts upon a starved man. At times he smiled, and McTeecould guess at the dream which caused it. He was dreaming of killingMcTee, and McTee sat by and understood, and smiled with deep content. He, also, was tasting his thoughts of the battle-to-be when, withoutany warning rap, the door swung open and the burly form of Bos'nMasters appeared. 

"The first mate--" he began. 

"Did you knock?"

"I've got no time to waste, the first mate--"

McTee rose. In the frank, bold eyes of the bos'n he read the openrevolt, and understood. He had been beaten in open battle; his crewfelt that they were liberated by the victory of their champion. 

"Who told you to enter without knocking?" he brokein. 

"I don't need telling, " said the dauntless bos'n. "The first mate'sdrunk an'--"

The heavy fist of McTee landed on Masters's mouth and hurled him in aheap into the corner of the cabin. The captain seized him by the napeof the neck and jerked him back to his feet, blinking and gasping, thoroughly subdued. 

"Get out and come in as you should. "

The bos'n fled. A moment later a timid knock came at the door and McTeebade him enter. He stepped in, cap in hand, his eyes on the floor. 

"The first mate's drunk, sir, an' runnin' amuck with the ship. He's atthe wheel an' he won't leave it. We've nearly scraped one reef already. You know this ain't any open sea, sir. There's green water everywhere. "

"Go up and give the fool my orders. Tell the second officer to take thewheel. "

The bos'n retreated, but he returned within a few moments. 

"He won't leave the wheel, " he reported. "He said you could take yourorders to the devil, sir. "

"I'll tie him to the deck and skin him alive, " said McTee calmly. "Stayhere and watch Harrigan while I--"

He was jerked from his feet and hurled across the room, crashingagainst the cabin wall. When his senses returned, he was sitting on thefloor staring stupidly into the white face of the bos'n, who was in asimilar posture. Harrigan, who had been flung from the bunk, staggeredto his feet. 

"What the deuce is up?" asked the Irishman. 

A chorus of piercing yells rose in answer from the deck outside. 

"The end of the _Mary Rogers_, " said McTee. "Stay with me, Harrigan. "

He caught the latter by the arm and dragged him out onto the deck. Thehull of the ship at the bow must have been literally ripped away by theimpact against the reef; already the deck sloped sharply to the bows. 

McTee raised a voice that rang like a trumpet over the clamor as hegave his orders to clear away the boats. If he had been a momentearlier, he might have succeeded in getting at least one of them safelylaunched, but now the _Mary Rogers_ was settling to her doom with aspeed which made the crew senseless with terror. A half-gale whichpromised to swell soon into a veritable hurricane seemed to be liftingthe freighter by the heel and driving her nose into the sea. The quicksettling twilight of the tropics made the waters doubly cold and dark. 

Not till the bows of the _Mary Rogers_ were deep below the waves andher propeller humming loudly in the air did the captain desist from hisefforts to bring order out of the panic of the crew. Half a dozen men, with the Chinaman at their head, had cut one boat from its davits, butplunging into it before it fairly struck the water, they tipped it farto one side. It filled instantly and sank, leaving its occupantsstruggling on the surface. The Chinaman, who apparently could not swim, gave up the struggle at once. He threw his clutching hands high abovehis head and went down; his scream was the first death cry of the wreckof the _Mary Rogers_. 

McTee, with Harrigan at his heels, rushed for the second lifeboat. Under the directions of the captain, pointed and emphasized by blows ofhis fist, the boat was swung safely from the davits and lowered to thesea. The instant that it rode the waves, bouncing up and down on thechoppy surface, the crew began leaping in, the drunken mate being thefirst overside. 

The lifeboat was loaded from stem to stern, and only Harrigan, McTee, and half a dozen more remained on the ship when the boat swung a dozenfeet away from the _Mary Rogers_ and with the next wave was picked upand smashed against the freighter. Its side went in like a matchboxpressed by a strong thumb, and it zigzagged quickly below the surface. The yells of the swimmers rose in a long wail. McTee caught Harrigan bythe shoulder and shouted in his ear: "Stay close and do what I do. "

"Miss Malone!" yelled Harrigan in answer, and pointed. 

She stood by the after-cabin, clinging to the rail with one hand whileshe attempted to adjust a life preserver with the other. The _MaryRogers_ lurched forward, a long slide that buried half of the shipunder the sea. A giant wave towered above the side and licked thewheelhouse away. 

"Let her go!" roared McTee. "Save ourselves and let hergo. "

It was a matter of seconds now before the last of the _Mary Rogers_should disappear. They clambered up to the after-cabin. 

"For the love av God, McTee, she's a woman!"

The Irishman struggled up the deck toward the girl, but the captaincaught him and held him fast. 

"There's one chance, " shouted Black McTee, and he pointed to the litterof the wrecked wheelhouse which tossed on the waves. "Overboard andmake for a big timber. "

But the eyes of Harrigan held on the form of the girl. They could onlymake out the shadow of her form with her hair blowing wildly on thewind. Then as swift as the sway of a bird's wing, a mass of black watertossed over the side of the _Mary Rogers_. When it was gone, theshadowy figure of the girl had disappeared with it. 

"Now!" thundered McTee. 

"Aye, " said Harrigan. 

CHAPTER 9

They climbed the rail. Plainly Harrigan had made them delay too long, for now they had not time to swim beyond the reach of the swirl thatwould form when the ship went down. The _Mary Rogers_ lurched to hergrave as they sprang from the rail. A wave caught them and washed thembeyond the grip of the whirlpool; another wave swung them back, and thewaters sucked them down. Such was the force of that downward pull thatit seemed to Harrigan as if a weight were attached to either foot. Hedrew a great, gasping breath before his head went under and then struckout with all his might. 

When his lungs seemed bursting with the labor, he whirled to thesurface again and drew another gasping breath. The storm had torn arift in the clouds and through it looked the moon as if some god werepeering through the curtain of mist to watch the havoc he was working. By this light Harrigan saw that he was being drawn down in a narrowingcircle. Straight before him loomed a black fragment of the wreckage. Hetried to swing to one side, but the current of the water bore him on. He received a heavy blow on the head and his senses went out like asnuffed light. 

When consciousness returned, there was a sharp pain in both head andright shoulder, for it was on his shoulder that McTee had fastened hisgrip. The captain sprawled on a great timber, clutching it with bothlegs and one arm. With the free hand he held Harrigan. All this theIrishman saw by the haggard moonlight. Then they were pitched high upon the crest of a wave. As Harrigan grappled the timber with arms andlegs, it turned over and over and then pitched down through emptyspace. The wind had literally cut away the top of the wave. He wentdown, submerged, and then rose to a giddy height again. As he caught agreat breath of air, he saw that McTee was no longer on the timber. 

A shout reached him, the sound being cut off in the middle by the noiseof the wind and waves. He saw McTee a dozen feet away, swimmingfuriously. He came almost close enough to touch the timber with hishands, and then a twist of the wave separated them. Harrigan workeddown the timber until he reached the end of the stanchion which wasnearest Black McTee. All that time the captain was struggling, butcould not draw closer. The wood was drifting before the wind fasterthan he could swim. 

When he reached the end of the timber, Harrigan wound his long armstightly around it and let his legs draw out on the water. McTee, seeingthe purpose of the maneuver, redoubled his efforts. On a wave crest thestorm swept Harrigan still farther away; then they dropped into ahollow and instantly he felt a mighty grip fall on his ankle. Theypitched up again with the surge of a wave so sharp and sudden that whatwith his own weight and the tugging burden of McTee behind him, Harrigan felt as if his arms would be torn from their sockets. He kepthis hold by a mighty effort, and the tremendous grip of McTee held faston his ankle until they dropped once more into a hollow. Then thecaptain jerked himself hand over hand up the body of Harrigan until hereached the timber. They lay panting and exhausted on the stanchion, embracing it with arms and legs. 

Sometimes the wind sent the timber with its human freight lungingthrough a towering wave; and several times the force of the stormcaught them and whirled them over and over. When they rose to a wavecrest, they struggled bitterly for life; when they fell into thetrough, they drew long breaths and freshened their holds. 

Save once when Harrigan reached out his hand and set it upon that ofBlack McTee. The captain met the grip, and by the wild moonlight theystared into each other's faces. That handshake almost cost them theirlives, for the next moment the full breath of the storm caught them andwrenched furiously at their bodies. Yet neither of them regretted thehandclasp, for all its cost. If they died now, it would be as brothers. They had at least escaped from the greatest of all horrors, a lonelydeath. 

It seemed as if the storm acknowledged the strength of theirdetermination. It fell away as suddenly as it had risen. A heavy groundswell still ran, but without the wind to roughen the surface andsharpen the crests, the big timber rode safely through the sea. Thestorm clouds were dropping back in a widening circle beneath the moonwhen, as they heaved up on the top of a wave, Harrigan suddenly pointedstraight ahead and shouted hoarsely. On the horizon squatted a blackshadow, darker than any cloud. 

All night they watched the shadow grow, and when the morning came andthe tropic dawn stepped suddenly up from the east, the light glinted onthe unmistakable green of verdure. 

With the help of the steady wind they drifted slowly closer and closerto the island. By noon they abandoned the timber and started swimming, but the submerged beach went out far more gradually than they hadexpected. The last hundred yards they walked arm in arm, flounderingthrough the gentle surf. 

Then they stumbled up the beach, reeling with weariness, and sprawledout in the shade of a palm tree. They were asleep almost before theystruck the sand. 

It was late afternoon when they woke, ravenously hungry, their throatsburning with thirst. For food McTee climbed a coconut palm and knockeddown some of the fruit. They split the gourds open on a rock, drank theliquor, and ate heartily of the meat. That quelled their appetites, butthe sweet liquor only partially appeased their thirst, and they startedto search the island for a spring. First they went to the center of theplace to a small hill, and from the top of this they surveyed theirdomain. The island was not more than a thousand yards in width andthree or four miles in length. Nowhere was there any sign of even ahut. 

"Well?" queried Harrigan, seeing McTee frown. 

"We can live here, " explained the captain, "but God knows how long itwill be before we sight a ship. Our only hope is for some trampfreighter that's trying to find a short cut through the reefs. Even ifwe sight a tramp, how'll we signal her?"

"With a fire. "

"Aye, if one passes at night. We could stack up wood on the top of thishill. The island isn't charted. If a skipper saw a light, he might takea chance and send a boat. But how could we kindle a fire?"

They went slowly down the hill, their heads bent. At the base, as ifplaced in their path to cheer them in this moment of gloom, they founda spring. It ran a dozen feet and disappeared into a crevice. Theycupped the water in their hands and drank long and deep. When theystood up again, McTee dropped a hand on Harrigan's shoulder. He said:"You've cause enough for hating me. "

"Pal, " said Harrigan, "you're nine parts devil, but the part of youthat's a man makes up for all the rest. "

McTee brooded: "Now we're standing on the rim of the world, and we'vegot to be brother to each other. But what if we get off theisland--there's small chance of it, but what if we should? Would weremember then how we took hands in the trough of the sea?"

Harrigan raised his hand. 

"So help me God--" he began. 

"Wait!" broke in McTee. "Don't say it. Suppose we get off the island, and when we reach port find one thing which we both want. What then?"

Harrigan remembered a word from the Bible. 

"I'll never covet one of your belongin's, McTee, an' I'll never crossyour wishes. "

"Your hair is red, Harrigan, and mine is black; your eye is blue andmine is black. We were made to want the same thing in different ways. I've never met my mate before. I can stand it here on the rim of theworld--but in the world itself--what then, Harrigan?"

They stepped apart, and the glance of the black eye crossed that of thecold blue. 

"Ah-h, McTee, are ye dark inside and out? Is the black av your eye thesame as the soot in your heart?"

"Harrigan, you were born to fight and forget; I was born to fight andremember. Well, I take no oath, but here's my hand. It's better thanthe oath of most men. "

"A strange fist, " grinned Harrigan; "soft in the palm and hard over theknuckles--like mine. "

They went down the hill toward the beach, Harrigan singing and McTeesilent, with downward head. On the beach they started for some rockswhich shelved out into the water, for it was possible that they mightfind some sort of shellfish on the rocks below the surface of thewater. Before they reached the place, however, McTee stopped andpointed out across the waves. Some object tossed slowly up and down ashort distance from the beach. 

"From the wreck, " said McTee. "I didn't think it would drift quite asfast as this. "

They waded out to examine; the water was not over their waists whenthey reached it. They found a whole section from the side of thewheelhouse, the timbers intact. 

_On it lay Kate Malone, unconscious. _

Manifestly she never could have kept on the big fragment during thenight of the storm had it not been for a piece of stout twine withwhich she had tied her left wrist to a projecting bolt. She had wrappedthe cord many times, but despite this it had worn away her skin andsunk deep in the flesh of her arm. Half her clothes were torn away asshe had been thrown about on the boards. Whether from exhaustion or thepain of her cut wrist, she had fainted and evidently lain in thisposition for several hours; one side of her face was burned pink by theheat of the sun. 

They dragged the float in, and McTee knelt beside the girl and pressedan ear against her breast. 

"Living!" he announced. "Now we're three on the rim of the world. "

"Which makes a crowd, " grinned Harrigan. 

CHAPTER 10

They started working eagerly to revive her. While McTee bathed her faceand throat with handfuls of the sea water, Harrigan worked to liberateher from the twine. It was not easy. The twine was wet, and the knotheld fast. Finally he gnawed it in two with his teeth. McTee, at thesame time, elicited a faint moan. Her wrist was bruised and swollenrather than dangerously cut. Harrigan stuffed the twine into his hippocket; then the two Adams carried their Eve to the shade of a tree andwatched the color come back to her face by slow degrees. 

The wind now increased suddenly as it had done on the evening of thewreck. It rose even as the day darkened, and in a moment it was rushingthrough the trees screaming in a constantly rising crescendo. The rainwas coming, and against that tropical squall shelter was necessary. 

The two men ran down the beach and returned dragging the ponderoussection of the wheelhouse. They leaned the frame against two trunks atthe same instant that the first big drops of rain rattled against it. Overhead they were quite securely protected by the dense andinterweaving foliage of the two trees, but still the wind whistled inat either side and over and under the frame of boards. Of one accordthey dropped beside their patient. 

She was trembling violently; they heard the light, continuouschattering of her teeth. After her many hours under the merciless sun, this sudden change of temperature might bring on the fever againstwhich they could not fight. They stripped off their shirts and woundthem carefully around her shivering body. McTee lifted her in his armsand sat down with his back to the wind. Harrigan took a place besidehim, and they caught her close. They seemed to be striving by the forceof their will to drive the heat from their own blood into her tremblingbody. But still she moaned in her delirium, and the shivering would notstop. 

Then the great idea came to Harrigan. He rose without a word and ranout into the rain to a fallen tree which must have been blown downyears before, for now the trunk and the splintered stump were rotten tothe core. He had noticed it that day. There was only a rim of firm woodleft of the wreck. The stump gave readily enough under his pull. Heripped away long strips of the casing, bark and wood, and carried itback to the shelter. He made a second trip to secure a great armful ofthe powder-dry time-rotted core of the stump. 

His third expedition carried him a little farther afield to a smallsapling which he could barely make out through the night. He bent downthe top of the little tree and snapped off about five feet of itslength. This in turn he brought to the shelter. He stopped short here, frozen with amazement. The girl was raving in her delirium, and tosoothe her, McTee was singing to her horrible sailor chanteys, piecedout with improvised and foolish words. 

Harrigan listened only while his astonishment kept him helpless; thenhe took up his work. He first stripped away the twigs from his saplingtop. Then he tied the twine firmly at either end of the stick, leavingthe string loose. Next he fumbled among the mass of rubbish he hadbrought in from the rotten trunk and broke off a chunk of hard woodseveral inches in length. By rubbing this against the fragment of thewheelhouse, he managed to reduce one end of the little stick to a roughpoint. 

He took the largest slab of the rim wood from the stump and knelt uponit to hold it firm. On this wood he rested his peg, which was wrappedin several folds of the twine and pressed down by the second fragmentof wood. When he moved the long stick back and forth, the peg revolvedat a tremendous rate of speed, its partially sharpened end digging intothe wood on which it rested. It is a method of starting a fire whichwas once familiarly used by Indians. 

For half an hour Harrigan sweated and groaned uselessly over his labor. Once he smelled a taint of smoke and shouted his triumph, but the pegslipped and the work was undone. He started all over again after ashort rest and the peg creaked against the slab of wood with the speedof its rotation--a small sound of protest drowned by the bellowing ofthe storm and the ringing songs of McTee. Now the smoke rose again andthis time the peg kept firm. The smoke grew pungent; there was a spark, then a glow, and it spread and widened among the powdery, rotten woodwhich Harrigan had heaped around his rotating peg. 

He tossed the peg and bow aside and blew softly and steadily on theglowing point. It spread still more and now a small tongue of flamerose and flickered. Instantly Harrigan laid small bits of woodcriss-cross on the pile of tinder. The flame licked at themtentatively, recoiled, rose again and caught hold. The fire was wellstarted. 

With gusts of wind fanning it roughly, the flame rose fast. Harriganmade other journeys to the rotten stump and wrenched away great chunksof bark and wood. He came back and piled them on the fire. It toweredhigh, the upper tongues twisting among the branches of the tree. Theylaid Kate Malone between the windbreak and the fire. In a short timeher trembling ceased; she turned her face to the blaze and slept. 

They watched her with jealous care all night. In lieu of a pillow theyheaped some of the wood dust from the stump beneath her head. Whentheir large hands hovered over her to straighten the clothes which thewind fluttered, she seemed marvelously delicate and fragile. It wasastonishing that so fragile a creature should have lived through thebuffeting of the sea. 

Toward morning the storm fell at a breath and the rain died away. Theyagreed that it might be safe to leave her alone while they ventured outto look for food, and at the first hint of light they started out, oneto the north, and one to the south. Harrigan started at an easy run. Hefelt a joyous exultation like that of a boy eager for play. He tried tofind shellfish first, but without success. His search carried him fardown the beach to a group of big rocks rolling out to sea. On theleeward side of these rocks, in little hollows of the stone, he found aquantity of the eggs of some seafowl. They were quite large, the shellsa dirty, faint blue and apparently very thick. He collected all hecould carry and started back. 

As he approached the shelter, he heard voices and stopped short with asudden pang; McTee had returned first and awakened the girl. Harrigansighed. He knew now how he had wanted to watch her eyes open for thefirst time, the cool sea-green eyes lighted by bewilderment, surprise, and joy. All that delight had been McTee's. It was that dark, handsomeface she had seen leaning over her when she awoke. He was firmlyimplanted in her mind by this time as her savior. She opened her eyes, hungered, and she had seen McTee bringing food. Harrigan drew a longbreath and went on slowly with lowered head. 

They sat cross-legged, facing each other. The captain was showing Katehis prizes, which seemed to consist of a quantity of shellfish. Sheclapped her hands at something McTee said, and her laughter, wonderfully clear, reminded Harrigan of the chiming of faraway churchbells. Blind anger suddenly possessed him as he stood by the fireglowering down at them. 

CHAPTER 11

"Eggs! How perfectly wonderful, Mr. Harrigan! And I'm starved!"

She looked up to him, radiant with delight; but the triumphant eye ofHarrigan fell not upon her but on McTee, who had suddenly grownpensive. 

"But how can we cook them? There's nothing to boil water in--and no panfor frying them, " ventured McTee. 

"Roast 'em, " said Harrigan scornfully. "Like this. "

He wrapped several eggs in wet clay and placed them in the glowingashes of the fire which had now burned low. 

"While they're cooking, " said McTee, "I'm going off. I've an idea. "

Harrigan watched him with a shade of suspicion while he retreated. Heturned his head to find Kate studying him gravely. 

"Before you came, Mr. Harrigan--"

"My name's Dan. That'll save time. "

"While you were gone, " she went on, thanking him with a smile, "CaptainMcTee told me a great many things about you. "

Harrigan stirred uneasily. 

"Among other things, that you had no such record as he hinted at whilewe were on the _Mary Rogers_. So I have to ask you to forgive me--"

The blue eyes grew bright as he watched her. 

"I've forgotten all that, for the sea washed it away from my mind. "

"Really?"

"As clean as the wind has washed the sky. "

Not a cloud stained the broad expanse from horizon to horizon. 

"That's a beautiful way to put it. Now that we are here on the island, we begin all over again and forget what happened on the ship?"

"Aye, all of it. "

"Shake on it. "

He took her hand, but so gingerly that she laughed. 

"We have to be careful of you, " he explained seriously. "Here we are, as McTee puts it, on the rim of the world, two men an' one woman. Ifsomething happens to one of us, a third of our population's gone. "

"A third of our population! Then I'm very important?"

"You are. "

He was so serious that it disconcerted her. It suddenly becameimpossible for her to meet his eyes, they burned so bright, so eager, with something like a threat in them. She hailed the returning figureof McTee with relief. 

He came bearing a large gourd, and he knelt before Kate so that shemight look into it. She cried out at what she saw, for he had washedthe inside of the gourd and filled it with cool water from the spring. 

"Look!" said she to Harrigan. "It's water--and my throat is fairlyburning. "

"Humph, " growled Harrigan, and he avoided the eye of McTee. 

The gourd was too heavy and clumsy for her to handle. The captain hadto raise and tip it so that she might drink, and as she drank, her eyeswent up to his with gratitude. 

Harrigan set his teeth and commenced raking the roasted eggs from thehot ashes. When her thirst was quenched, she looked in amazement atHarrigan; even his back showed anger. In some mysterious manner it wasplain that she had displeased the big Irishman. 

He turned now and offered her an egg, after removing the clay mold. Butwhen she thanked him with the most flattering of smiles, she becameaware that McTee in turn was vexed, while the Irishman seemed perfectlyhappy again. 

"Have an egg, McTee, " he offered, and rolled a couple toward the bigcaptain. 

"I will not. I never had a taste for eggs. "

"Why, captain, " murmured Kate, "you can't live on shellfish?"

"Humph! Can't I? Very nutritious, Kate, and very healthful. Have to becareful what you eat in this climate. Those eggs, for instance. Can youtell, Harrigan, whether or not they're fresh?"

Harrigan, his mouth full of egg, paused and glared at the captain. 

"For the captain of a ship, McTee, " he said coldly, "your head ispacked with fool ideas. Eat your fish an' don't spoil the appetites ofothers. "

He turned to Kate. 

"These eggs are new-laid--they're--they're not more than twenty-fourhours old. "

His glance dared McTee to doubt the statement. The captain accepted thechallenge. 

"I suppose you watched 'em being laid, Harrigan?"

Harrigan sneered. 

"I can tell by the taste partly and partly"--here he cracked the shellof another egg and, stripping it off, held up the little white oval tothe light--"and partly by the color. It's dead white, isn't it?"

"Yes. "

"That shows it's fresh. If there was a bit of blue in it, it'd bestale. "

McTee breathed hard. 

"You win, " he said. "You ought to be on the stage, Harrigan. "

But Harrigan was deep in another egg. Kate watched the two with covertglances, amazed, wondering. They had saved each other from death atsea, and now they were quarreling bitterly over the qualities of eggs. 

And not eggs alone, for McTee, not to be outdone in courtesy, passed ahandful of his shellfish to Harrigan. The Irishman regarded the fishand then McTee with cold disgust. 

"D'you really think I'm crazy enough to eat one of these?" he queried. 

Black McTee was black indeed as he glowered at the big Irishman. 

"Open up; let's hear what you got to say about these shellfish, " hedemanded. 

Harrigan announced laconically: "Scurvy. "

"What?" This from Kate and McTee at one breath. 

"Sure. There ain't any salt in 'em. No salt is as bad as too much salt. A friend of mine was once in a place where he couldn't get any saltfood, an' he ate a lot of these shellfish. What was the result? Scurvy!He hasn't a tooth in his head today. An' he's only thirty. "

"Why didn't you tell me?" cried Kate indignantly, and she laid atentative finger against her white teeth, as if expecting to find themloose. 

"I didn't want to hurt McTee's feelin's. Besides, maybe a few of themwon't hurt you--much!"

McTee suddenly burst into laughter, but there was little mirth in thesound. 

"Maybe you know these are the great blue clams that are famous fortheir salt. "

"Really?" said Kate, greatly relieved. 

"Yes, " went on McTee, his eyes wandering slightly. "This species ofclam has an unusual organ by which it extracts some of the salt fromthe sea water while taking its food. Look here!"

He held up a shell and indicated a blue-green spot on the inside. 

"You see that color? That's what gives these clams their name and thisis also the place where the salt deposit forms. This clam has a highpercentage of salt--more than any other. "

Harrigan, sending a bitter side glance at McTee, rose to bring somemore wood, for it was imperative that they should keep the fire burningalways. 

"I'm so glad, " said Kate, "that we have both the eggs and the clams torely on. At least they will keep us from starving in this terribleplace. "

"H'm. I'm not so sure about the eggs. "

He eyed them with a watering mouth, for his raging hunger had not beenin the least appeased by the shellfish. 

"But I'll try one just to keep you company. "

He peeled away the shell and swallowed the egg hastily, lest Harrigan, returning, should see that he had changed his mind. 

"Maybe the eggs are all right, " he admitted as soon as he could speak, and he picked up another, "but between you and me, I'll confess that Ishall not pay much attention to what Harrigan has to say. He's neverbeen to sea before. You can't expect a landlubber to understand all theconditions of a life like this. "

But a new thought which was gradually forming in her brain made Katereserve judgment. Harrigan came back and placed a few more sticks ofwood on the fire. 

"I can't understand, " said Kate, "how you could make a fire without asign of a match. "

"That's simple, " said McTee easily. "When a man has traveled about asmuch as I have, he has to pick up all sorts of unusual ways of doingthings. The way we made that fire was to--"

"The way _we_ made it?" interjected Harrigan with bitter emphasis. 

Kate frowned as she glanced from one to the other. There was the samedeep hostility in their eyes which she had noticed when they faced eachother in the captain's cabin aboard the _Mary Rogers_. 

"An' why were ye sittin' prayin' for fire with the gir-rl thremblin'and freezin' to death in yer ar-rms if ye knew so well how to be makin'one?"

"Hush--Dan, " said Kate; for the fire of anger blew high. 

McTee started. 

"You know each other pretty well, eh?"

"Tut, tut!" said Harrigan airily. "You can't expect a slip of a girl tobe calling a black man like _you_ by the front name?"

McTee moistened his white lips. He rose. 

"I'm going for a walk--I always do after eating. "

And he strode off down the beach. Harrigan instantly secured a handfulof the shellfish. 

"Speakin' of salt, " he said apologetically, "I'll have to try a coupleof these to be sure that the captain's right. I can tell by a taste ortwo. "

He pried open one of the shells and ate the contents hastily, keepingone eye askance against the return of McTee. 

"Maybe he's right about these shellfish, " he pronounced judicially, "but it's a hard thing an' a dangerous thing to take the word of a manlike McTee--he's that hasty. We must go easy on believin' what he says, Kate. "

CHAPTER 12

Then understanding flooded Kate's mind like waves of light in a darkroom. She tilted back her head and laughed, laughed heartily, laughedtill the tears brimmed her eyes. The gloomy scowl of Harrigan stoppedher at last. As her mirth died out, the tall form of McTee appearedsuddenly before them with his arms crossed. Where they touched hisbreast, the muscles spread out to a giant size. He was turned towardher, but the gleam of his eye fell full upon Harrigan. 

"I suppose, " said McTee, and his teeth clicked after each word like thebolt of a rifle shot home, "I suppose that you were laughing at me?"

The Irishman rose and faced the Scotchman, his head thrust forward anda devil in his eyes. 

"An' what if we were, Misther McTee?" he purred. "An' what if wewer-r-re, I'm askin'?"

Kate leaped to her feet and sprang between them. 

"Is there anything we can do, " she broke in hurriedly, "to get awayfrom the island?"

"A raft?" suggested Harrigan. 

McTee smiled his contempt. 

"A raft? And how would you cut down the trees to make it?"

"Burn 'em down with a circle of fire at the bottom. "

"And then set green logs afloat? And how fasten 'em together, evensupposing we could burn them down and drag them to the water? No, there's no way of getting off the island unless a boat passes andcatches a glimpse of our fire. "

"Then we'll have to move this fire to the top of the hill, " saidHarrigan. 

"Suppose we go now and look over the hill and see what dry wood is nearit, " said McTee. 

"Good. "

Something in their eagerness had a meaning for Kate. 

"Would you both leave me?" she reproached them. 

"It was McTee suggested it, " said Harrigan. 

McTee favored his comrade with a glance that would have made any otherman give ground. It merely made Harrigan grin. 

"We'll draw straws for who goes and who stays, " said McTee. 

Kate picked up two bits of wood. 

"The short one stays, " she said. 

"Draw, " said Harrigan in a low voice. 

"I was taught manners young, " said McTee. "After you. "

They exchanged glares again. The whole sense of her power over thesegiants came home to her as she watched them fighting their duel of theeyes. 

"You suggested it, " she said to McTee. 

He stepped forward with an expression as grim as that of a prizefighter facing an antagonist of unknown prowess. Once and again hishand hovered above the sticks before he drew. 

"You've chosen the walk to the hill, " she said, and showed the shorterstick. "Do you mind?"

"No, " mocked Harrigan, "he always walks after meals. "

Their eyes dwelt almost fondly upon each other. They were both menafter the other's heart. Then the Scotchman turned and strode away. 

Kate watched Harrigan suspiciously, but his eyes, following McTee, weregentle and dreamy. 

"Ah, " he murmured, "there's a jewel of a man. "

"Do you like him so much?"

"Do I like him? Me dear, I love the man; I'll break his head with morejoy than a shtarvin' man cracks a nut!"

He recovered himself instantly. 

"I didn't mean that--I--"

"Dan, you and McTee have planned to fight!"

He growled: "If a man told me that, I'd say he was a liar. "

"Yes; but you won't lie to a girl, Harrigan. "

She rose and faced him, reaching up to lay her hands on his thickshoulders. 

"Will you give me your promise as an honest man to try to avoid a fightwith him?"

For she saw death in it if they met alone; certainly death for one, andperhaps for both. 

"Kate, would you ask a tree to promise to avoid the lightning?"

She caught a little breath through set teeth in her angry impatience, then: "Dan, you're like a naughty boy. Can't you be reasonable?"

Despite her wrath, she noticed a quick change in his face. The blue ofhis eyes was no longer cold and incurious, but lighted, warm, andmarvelously deep. 

And she said rapidly, making her voice cold to quell the uneasy, risingfire behind his eyes: "If you have made McTee angry, aren't you manenough to smooth things over--to ask his pardon?"

He answered vaguely: "Beg his pardon?"

"Why is that so impossible? For my sake, Dan!"

The light went out of his face as if a candle had been snuffed. 

"For you, Kate?"

Then she understood her power fully for the first time, and found thething which she must do. 

"For me. I--I--"

She let her head droop, and then glanced up as if beseeching him to askno questions. 

"Look me square in the eye--so!"

He caught her beneath the chin with a grip that threatened a bruise, and his eyes burned down upon her. 

"Are ye playin' with me, Kate? Are ye tryin' to torment me, or do yereally care for McTee?"

She tried with all her might, but could not answer. The rumble and ringof his voice brought her heart to her throat. 

"You're tremblin', " said Harrigan, and he released her. "So it's alltrue. McTee!"

He turned on his heel like a soldier, lest she should mark the changeof his expression; but she must have noticed something, for she called:"Harrigan--Dan!"

He stopped, but would not face her. 

"You have your hands clenched. Are you going out to hunt for McTee inthat black mood?"

"Kate, " said Harrigan, "by my honor I'm swearin' he's as safe in myhands as a child. "

CHAPTER 13

Harrigan strode off through the trees. To loosen the tight, achingmuscles of his throat he began to sing--old Irish songs with a wail anda swing to them. He had taken no certain direction, for he only wishedto be alone and far away from the other two; but after a time herealized that he was on the side of the central hill to which McTee hadgone to look for the dry wood. Above all things in the world he wishedto avoid the Scotchman now, and as soon as he became conscious of hiswhereabouts, he veered sharply to the right. He had scarcely walked aminute in the new direction before he met McTee. The latter had seenhim first, and now stood with braced feet in his position of battle, rolling the sleeves of his shirt away from his forearms. Harriganstepped behind a tree. 

"Come out, " roared McTee. "I've seen you. Don't try to sneak behind andtake me from the back. "

With an exceeding bitterness of heart, Harrigan stepped into viewagain. 

"You look sick, " went on McTee. "If you knew what would happen when wemet, why did you come? If you fear me, go back and hug the skirts ofthe girl. She'll take pity on you, Harrigan. "

The Irishman groaned. "Think your thoughts an' say your say, McTee. Ican't lay a hand on you today. "

The latter stepped close, stupefied with wonder. 

"Do I hear you right? Are you taking water, Harrigan?"

Harrigan bowed his head, praying mutely for strength to endure. 

"Don't say it!" pleaded McTee. "I've hunted the world and worn theroads bare looking for one man who could stand up to me--and now thatI've found him, he turns yellow inside!"

And he looked upon the Irishman with a sick horror, as if the bigfellow were turning into a reptile before his eyes. On the face ofHarrigan there was an expression like that of the starving man whom thefear of poison induces to push away food. 

"There's no word I can speak to you, McTee. You could never understand. Go back to the girl. Maybe she'll explain. "

"The girl?"

At the wild hope in that voice Harrigan shuddered, and he could notlook up. 

"Harrigan, what do you mean?"

"Don't ask me. Leave me alone, McTee. "

"Here's a mystery, " said the Scotchman, "and our little party ispostponed. The date is changed, that's all. Remember!"

He stepped off through the trees in the direction of the shelter on thebeach, leaving Harrigan to throw himself upon the ground in a paroxysmof shame and hate. 

But McTee, with hope to spur him on--a vague hope; a thought halfformed and therefore doubly delightful--went with great strides untilhe came to Kate where she sat tending the fire. He broke at once intothe heart of his question. 

"I met Harrigan. He's changed. Something has happened. Tell me what itis. He says you know. "

He crouched close to her, intent and eager, his eyes ready to read athousand meanings into the very lowering of her lashes; but she let herglance rove past him. 

"Well?" he asked impatiently. 

"It is hard to speak of it. "

Cold doubt fell upon the captain; he moistened his lips before hespoke. 

"Hit straight from the shoulder. There's something between you and theIrishman?"

She dropped a hand over his mighty fist. 

"After all, you are our only friend, Angus. Why shouldn't you know?"

He stood up and made a few paces to and fro, his hands locked behindhim and his leonine head fallen low. 

"Yes, why shouldn't you tell me! I think I understand already. "

All desire to laugh went from her, and deep fear took its place; hereyes were held fascinated upon his interlaced fingers, white undertheir own terrific pressure; yet she understood that she must go on. Ifshe failed, this mighty force would be turned against Harrigan; andHarrigan, not less grim in battle, as she could guess, would be turnedagainst him. 

She said quickly, to conceal her fear: "I thought there was sometrouble between you and Dan. I asked him to promise that he would notfight with you. But I don't need to ask you to promise not to fightwith him, for now that you know--"

He leaped up and beat his hands together over his head. 

"And that was why! I taunted him and all the time he was laughing tohimself!"

He stopped and then whispered to himself: "Still, it's only postponed. The tune will come! The time will come!"

She understood the promise. 

"Angus! What are you saying?"

He said quietly: "Harrigan's safe from me while you care for him. Doyou think I'm fool enough to make a martyr of him? Not I! But when weget back to the world--"

He finished the sentence by slowly flexing his fingers. 

"I love you, Kate, and until the strength goes out of my hands, I'llstill love you. I want you; and what I want I get. You'll hate me forit, eh?"

He went off without waiting for an answer, stumbling as he walked likeone who was dazed. Her strength held with her until he was out of sightamong the trees, but then she sank to the ground, panting. Sooner orlater they were sure to discover her ruse, and the moment one of themlearned that she did not love the other, they would rush into battle. She only prayed that the discovery would not come till they were safelyoff the island. Once back in the world the strong arm of the law mightsuffice to keep them apart. 

The falling of the fire roused her at last and she set about gatheringwood to keep it alive. It was the Irishman who returned first. He wavedher to the shade of the shelter and finished collecting the wood. 

CHAPTER 14

Afterward he inquired, frowning: "Where's McTee? I met him an' hestarted back to find you. "

"He's gone off with his thoughts, Dan. "

Harrigan sighed, looking up to the stainless blue of the sky: "Aye, that's the way of the Scotch. When they're happy in love, they go offby themselves an' brood like a dog that's thinking of a fight. But wereI he, I'd never be leavin' your side, colleen. "

His head tilted back in the way she had come to know, and she waitedfor the soft dialect: "I'd be singin' songs av love an' war-r-r, an'braggin' me hear-rt out, an' talkin' av the sea-green av your eyes, colleen. Look at him now!"

For the great form of McTee left the circle of the trees and approachedthem. 

"He's got his head down between his shoulders like a whipped cur. He'sbroodin', an' his soul is thick in a fog. "

"Dan, I trust you to cheer him up; but you'll not speak of me?"

"Not I. He's a proud man, Black McTee, an' he'd be angered to the coreof him if he thought you'd talked about him an' his love to Harrigan. Whisht, Kate, I'll handle him like fire!

"The wood, " he began, as McTee came in. "Did you find it on top of thehill, lad?"

McTee rumbled after a pause, and without looking at Harrigan: "There'splenty of it there. I made a little heap of the driest on the crown ofthe hill. "

"Then the next thing is to move our fire up there. "

"Move our fire?" cried Kate. "How can you carry the fire?"

"Easy. Take two pieces of burnin' wood an' walk along holdin' themclose together. That way they burn each other an' the flame keepsgoin'. Watch!"

He selected two good-sized brands from the fire and raised them, holding one in either hand and keeping the ignited portions of thesticks together. McTee looked from Kate to Harrigan. 

"Sit down and talk to Kate. I'll carry the sticks; I know where thepile of timber is. "

Harrigan made a significant and covert nod and winked at McTee withinfinite understanding. 

"Stay here yourself, lad. I wouldn't be robbing you----"

Kate coughed for warning, and he broke off sharply. 

"You've made one trip to the hill. This is my turn. Besides, youwouldn't know how to keep the stick burnin'. I've done it before. "

McTee stared, agape with astonishment. The meaning of that wink stillpuzzled his brain. He turned to Kate for explanation, and she beckonedhim to stay. When Harrigan disappeared, he said: "What's the meaning?Doesn't Harrigan want to be with you?"

She allowed her eyes to wander dreamily after Harrigan. 

"Don't you see? He's like a big boy. He's overflowing with happinessand he has to go off to play by himself. "

McTee watched her with deep suspicion. 

"It's queer, " he pondered. "I know the Irish like a book, and whenthey're in love, they're always singing and shouting and raising thedevil. It looked to me as if Harrigan was making himself be cheerful. "

He went on: "I'll take him aside and tell him that I understand. Otherwise he'll think he's fooling me. "

"Please! You won't do that? Angus, you know how proud he is! He will befurious if he finds out that I've spoken to you about--about--our love. Won't you wait until he tells you of his own accord?"

He ground his teeth in an ugly fury. 

"You understand? If I find you've been playing with me, it'll meandeath for Harrigan, and worse than that for you?"

She made her glance sad and gentle. 

"Will you never trust me, Angus?"

He answered, with a sort of wonder at himself: "Since I was a child, you are the first person in the world who has had the right to call meby my first name. "

"Not a single woman?" and she shivered. 

"Not one. "

She pondered: "No love, no friendship, not even pity to bring you closeto a single human being all your life?"

"No child has ever come near me, for I've never had room for pity. Noman has been my friend, for I've spent my time fighting them andbreaking them. And I've despised women too much to love them. "

The tears rose to her eyes as she spoke: "I pity you from the bottom ofmy soul!"

"Pity? Me? By God, Kate, you'll teach me to hate you!"

"I can't help it. Why, if you have never loved, you have never lived!"

"You talk like a girl in a Sunday school! Ha, have I never lived? Menwere made strong so that a stronger man should be their master; andwomen--"

"And women, Angus?"

"All women are fools; one woman is divine!"

The yearning of his eyes gave a bitter meaning to his words, and shewas shaken like a leaf blown here and there by contrary winds. Unheeded, the sudden tropic night swooped upon them like the shadow ofa giant bird, and as the dark increased, they saw the glimmering of thefire upon the hill. She rose, and he followed her until they reachedthe upward slope. 

Then he said: "You will want to be alone with him for a time. Can youfind the rest of the way?"

"Yes. You'll come soon?"

"I'll come soon, but I have to be by myself for a while. I may hate youfor it afterward, but now I'm weak and soft inside--like a child--and Ionly wish for your happiness. "

"God bless you, Angus!"

"God help me, " he answered harshly, and stepped into the blank night ofthe shadow of the trees. 

Harrigan shook his head in wonder when he saw her coming alone. He hadbuilt up the fire and heaped fresh fuel in towering piles nearby. Theflames shot up twenty and thirty feet, making a wide signal across thesea. 

"He's gone off by himself again?" questioned the Irishman. 

She complained: "I can't understand him. Will he be always like this?What shall I do, Dan?"

He met her appeal with a smile, but the blue eyes went cold at once andhe sighed. It would never do to have the two sitting silent beside thatfire. The brooding of McTee would excite no suspicions in the mind ofHarrigan, but the quiet of the Irishman would be sure to excite thesuspicions of the other. 

"Will you do something for me, Dan?"

He looked up with a whimsical yearning. 

"Teach McTee manners? Aye, with all me heart!"

She laughed: "No; but cheer him up. You said that if you were in hisplace, you'd be singing all the time. "

"And I would. "

"Then sing for me--for Angus and me--tonight when we're sitting by thefire. He's fallen into a brooding melancholy, and I can't altogethertrust him. Can you understand?"

"And I'm to do the cheering up?"

"You won't fail me?"

He turned and occupied himself for a moment by hurling great armfuls ofwood upon the fire. The flames burst up with showering sparks, roaringand leaping. Then, as if inspired by the sight, he came to her with hishead tilting back hi the way he had. 

"I'll do it--I'll sing my heart out for you. "

As McTee came up, the three sat down; a strange group, for the two menstared fixedly before them at the fire, conscientiously avoiding anymovement of the eyes toward Kate and the other; and she sat betweenthem, watching each of them covertly and humming all the while as iffrom happiness. Each of them thought the humming a love song meant forthe ears of the other. Finally McTee turned and stared curiously, firstat Kate and then at Harrigan. Manifestly he could not understand eithertheir silence or their aloofness. It was for the Scotchman that shewould have to play her role; Harrigan was blind. The Irishman also, asif he felt the eyes of McTee, turned his head. Kate noddedsignificantly and moved closer to him. 

Obedient to his promise, he turned away again and raised his head tosing. Alternate light and shadow swept across his face and made fireand dark in his hair as the wind tossed the flame back and forth. Atthe other side of her McTee rested upon one elbow. Whenever she turnedher head, she caught the steel-cold glitter of his eyes. 

The first note from Harrigan's lips was low and faltering and off key;she trembled lest McTee should understand, but the Scotchman attributedthe emotion to another cause. As his singing continued, moreover, itincreased hi power and steadiness. One thing, however, she had notcounted on, and that was the emotion of Harrigan. Every one of hissongs carried on the theme of love in a greater or less degree, and nowhis own singing swept him beyond the bounds of caution; he turneddirectly to Kate and sang for her alone "Kathleen Mavourneen. " Therewas love and farewell at once in his singing, there was yearning anddespair. 

She knew that a crisis had come, and that McTee was pressed to thelimits of his endurance. The game had gone too far, and yet she darednot appear indifferent to the singing. That would have been too directa betrayal, so she sat with her head back and a smile on her lips. 

There was a groan and a stifled curse. McTee rose; the song died in thethroat of Harrigan. 

CHAPTER 15

"Is this what you feared?" said the Scotchman. "Is this what you wantedprotection against? No; you're in league together to torture me, andall this time you've been laughing up your sleeves at my expense!"

"At your expense?" growled Harrigan, rising in turn. "Is it at yourexpense that I've been sittin' here breakin' me heart with singin' lovetunes for you an' the girl?"

She sprang up in an agony of fear. 

"Go! Go!" she begged of McTee. "If you doubt me, go, and when you comeback calm, I will explain. "

He brushed her to one side and made a step toward Harrigan. 

"Love songs for _me?_" he repeated incredulously. 

"Aye, love songs for you. Ye black swine, ye could not be happy till Iwas brought in to be the piper while you an' Kate danced!"

"While I and Kate danced?" thundered McTee. "My God, man--"

He broke off short, and a cruel light of understanding was in his eyes. 

"Harrigan, " he said quietly, "did Kate tell you she loved me?"

"Ye fool! Why else am I sittin' here singin' for your sake? Would I notrather be amusin' myself by takin' the hollow of your throat under mythumbs--so?"

McTee laughed softly, and Kate could not meet his eye. 

"Well?" he said. 

"Yes, I lied to you. "

She turned to Harrigan: "And to you. Don't you see? I found you on theverge of a fight, and I knew that in it you would both be killed. Whatelse could I do? I hoped that for my sake you would spare each other. Was it wrong of me, Dan? Angus, will you forgive me?"

Harrigan raised his arms high above his head and stretched like onefrom whose wrists the manacles have been unlocked after a longimprisonment. 

"McTee, are ye ready? There's a weight gone off mysoul!"

"Harrigan, I've been a driver of men, but this girl has put me underthe whip. When I'm through with you, I'm coming back to her. "

"It'll be your ghost that returns. "

Kate hesitated one instant as if to judge which was the greatest forcetoward evil. Then she dropped to her knees and caught the hands ofMcTee, those strong, cruel hands. 

"If you will not fight, I'll--I'll be kind to you, I'll be everythingyou ask of me--"

"You're pleading for him?"

"No, no! For him and for you; for your two souls!"

"Bah! Mine was lost long ago, and I'll answer that there's a claim onHarrigan filed away in hell. He's too strong to have lived clean. "

"Angus, we're all alone here--on the rim of the world, you've said--andin places like this the eye of God is on you. "

He laughed brutally: "If He sees me, He'll look the other way. "

"Have done with the chatter, " broke in Harrigan. "Ah-h, McTee, I seewhere my hands'll fit on your throat. "

"Come, " McTee answered without raising his voice; "there's a corner ofthe beach where a current stands in close by the shore. You've been atraveling man, Harrigan. When I've killed you, I'll throw your bodyinto the sea, and the tide will take you out to see the rest of theworld. "

"Come, " said Harrigan; "I'd as soon finish you there as here, and whenyou're dead, I'll sit you up against a tree and come down every day towatch you rot. "

The girl fell to the ground between them with her face buried in herarms, silent. The two men lowered their eyes for a moment upon her, andthen turned and walked down the hill, going shoulder to shoulder likefriends. So they came out upon the beach and walked along it until theyreached the point of which McTee had spoken. 

It was a level, hard-packed stretch of sand which offered firm footingand no rocks over which one of the fighters might stumble at a criticalmoment. 

"Tis a lovely spot, " sighed Harrigan. "Captain, you're a jewel of a manto have thought of it. "

"Aye, this is no deck at sea that can heave and twist and spoil mywork. "

"It is not; and the palms of my hands are almost healed. Had youthought of that, captain?"

"As you lie choking, Harrigan, think of the girl. The minute I'veheaved you into the sea, I go back to her. "

The hard breathing of the Irishman filled up the interval. 

"I see one thing clear. It's that I'll have to kill you slow. A manlike you, McTee, ought to taste his death a while before it comes. Cometo me ar-rms, captain, I've a little secret to whisper in your ear. Whisht! 'Twill not be long in the tellin'!"

McTee replied with a snarl, and the two commenced to circle slowly, drawing nearer at every step. On the very edge of leaping forward, Harrigan was astonished to see McTee straighten from his crouch andpoint out to sea. 

"The eye of God!" muttered the Scotchman. "She was right!"

Harrigan jumped back lest this should prove a maneuver to place him offhis guard, and then looked in the indicated direction. It was true; apoint of light, a white eye, peered at them from far across the water. Then the shout of McTee rang joyously: "A ship!"

"The fire!" answered Harrigan, and pointed back to the hill, for Katehad allowed the flames to fall in their absence. 

All thought of the battle left them. They started back on the run tobuild high their signal light, and when they came to the top of thehill, they found Kate lying as they had left her. She started to herknees at the sound of their footsteps and stretched out her arms tothem. 

"God has sent you back to me!"

"A ship!" thundered McTee for answer, and he flung a great armful ofwood upon the blaze. It rose with a rush, leaping and crackling, butall three kept at their work until the pile of wood was higher thantheir heads. Only when the supply of dry fuel was exhausted did theypause to look out to sea. In place of the one eye of white there werethree lights, one of white, one of red, and one of green--the lights ofa ship running in toward land. 

In a moment the moon slipped up above the eastern waters, and rightacross that broad white circle moved a ship with the smoke streamingback from her funnel. Unquestionably the captain had seen the signalfire and understood its meaning. 

They waited until the red light became fairly stationary, showing thatthe steamer had been laid-to. Then they ran for the beach and took uptheir position on the line between the glow of their fire and theposition of the ship, guessing that in this way they would be on thespot where the ship's boat would be most likely to touch the shore. 

"McTee, " said Harrigan, "it may be half an hour before that boatreaches the beach. Is there any reason why both of us should go aboardit?"

"Harrigan, there is none! Stand up to me. "

"If you do this, " broke in Kate, "I will bring the sailors who comeashore to the spot where the dead man lies, and I'll tell how he died. "

They looked at her, knowing that she could be trusted to fulfill thatthreat. The moon lay on the beauty of her face; never had she seemed sodesirable. They looked to each other, and each seemed doubly hateful tothe other. 

"Kate, dear, " said Harrigan hastily, "I see the boat come tossin' thereover the water. Speak out like a brave girl. Neither of us will leavethe other in peace as long as we have a hope of you. Choose between usbefore we put a foot in that boat, and if you choose McTee, I'll giveyou God's blessin' an' say no more nor ever raise my hand against ye. McTee, will ye do the like?"

"For the sake of the day of the fight and the wreck I will. If shechooses you now, I'll raise no hand against you. "

A shout came faintly across the rush and ripple of the breakers. 

"Speak out, " said Harrigan. 

"Hallo!" she screamed in answer to the hail from the boat, and thenturning to them: "I choose neither of you!"

"McTee, " growled Harrigan, "I'm thinkin' we've both been fools. "

"Think what you will, I'll have her; and if you cross me again, I'llfinish you, Harrigan. "

"McTee, ten of your like couldn't finish me. But look! There's the girlwadin' out to the boat. Let's steady her through the waves. "

They ran out and, catching her beneath the shoulders, bore her safe andhigh through the small rollers. When they were waist-deep, the boatswung near. A lantern was raised by the man in the bows, and under thatlight they saw the four men at the oars, now backing water to keeptheir boat from washing to the beach. The sailors cheered as the twomen swung Kate over the gunwale and then clambered in after her. Theman at the bows all this time had kept his lantern high above his headwith a rigid arm, and now he bellowed: "Black McTee!"

"Right!" said McTee. "And you?"

"Salvain--put back for the ship, lads--Pietro Salvain. D'you mean tosay you've forgotten me?"

"Shanghai!" said McTee, as light broke on his memory. "What a nightthat was. "

"But you--"

"The _Mary Rogers_ took a header for Davy Jones's locker; first matedrunk and ran her on a reef; all hands went under except the three ofus; we drifted to this island. "

"Black McTee shipwrecked! By God, if we get to port with our old tramp, I'll get a farm and stick to dry land. "

"Your ship?"

"The _Heron_, four thousand tons, White Henshaw, skipper. "

"White Henshaw?" cried McTee in almost reverent tones. 

"The same. Old White still sticks to his wheel. He's as hard a man asyou, McTee, in his own way. "

They were pulling close to the freighter by this time, and Salvain gavequick orders to lay the boat alongside. In another moment they stood onthe deck, where a tall man in white clothes advanced to meet them. 

"Good fishing, sir, " said Salvain. "We've picked up three shipwreckedpeople, with Angus McTee among them. "

"Black McTee!" cried the other, and even in the dim light he picked outthe towering form of the Scotchman. 

"It took a wreck to bring us together, Captain Henshaw, " said McTee, "but here we are, I've combed the South Seas for ten years for the sakeof meeting you. "

"H-m!" grunted Henshaw. "We'll drink on the strength of that. Come intothe cabin. "

They trooped after him, Salvain and the three rescued, and stood in theroomy cabin, the captain and the first mate dapper and cool in theirwhite uniforms, the other three marvelously ragged. Barefooted, theirhair falling in jags across their foreheads, their muscles bulgingthrough the rents in their shirts, McTee and Harrigan looked batteredbut triumphant. Kate Malone might have been the prize which they hadsafely carried away. She was even more ragged than her companions, andnow she withdrew into a shadowy corner of the cabin and shook the long, loose masses of her hair about her shoulders. 

CHAPTER 16

The dark eye of Pietro Salvain was quick to note her condition. He wasa rather small, lean-faced man with the skin drawn so tightly acrosshis high cheekbones that it glistened. He was emaciated; his energyconsumed him as hunger consumes other men. 

"There is a berth for me below, " he said to Kate. "You must take myroom. And I have a cap, some silk shirts, a loose coat which you mightwear--so?"

"This is Miss Malone, Salvain, " said McTee before she could answer. 

"You are very kind, Mr. Salvain, " she said. 

He smiled and bowed very low, and then opened the door for her; but allthe while his glance was upon McTee, who stared at him so significantlythat before following Kate through the door, Salvain shrugged hisshoulders and made a gesture of resignation. 

The captain turned to Harrigan. Henshaw was very old. He was always soerect and carried his chin so high that the loose skin of his throathung in two sharp ridges. In spite of the tight-lipped mouth, thebeaklike nose, and the small, gleaming eyes, there was something abouthis face which intensified his age. Perhaps it was the yellow skin, dryas the parchment from an Egyptian tomb and criss-crossed by a myriadlittle wrinkles. 

"And you, sir?" he said to the Irishman. 

"One of my crew, " broke in McTee carelessly. "He'll be quite contentedin the forecastle. Eh, Harrigan?"

"Quite, " said Harrigan, and his glance acknowledged the state of war. 

"Then if you'll go forward, Harrigan, " said the captain, and his voicewas dry and dead as his skin--"if you'll go forward and report to thebos'n, he'll see that you have a bunk. "

"Thank you, sir, " murmured Harrigan, and slipped from the room on hisbare feet. 

"That man, " stated Henshaw, "is as strong as you are, McTee, and yetthey call you the huskiest sailor of the South Seas. "

"He is almost as strong, " answered McTee with a certain emphasis. 

Something like a smile appeared in the eyes of Henshaw, but did notdisturb the fixed lines of his mouth. For a moment Henshaw and McTeemeasured each other. 

The Scotchman spoke first: "Captain, you're as keen as the stories theytell of you. "

"And you're as hard, McTee. "

The latter waved the somewhat dubious compliment away. 

"I was breaking that fellow, and he held out longer than any man I'veever handled. The shipwreck interrupted me, or I would have finishedwhat I started. "

"You'd like to have me finish what you began?"

"You read my mind. "

"Discipline is a great thing. "

"Absolutely necessary at sea. "

Henshaw answered coldly: "There's no need for us to act the hypocrite, eh?"

McTee hesitated, and then grinned: "Not a bit. I know what you didtwenty years ago in the Solomons. "

"And I know the story of you and the pearl divers. "

"That's enough. "

"Quite. "

"And Harrigan?"

"As a favor to you, McTee, I'll break him. Maybe you'll be interestedin my methods. "

"Try mine first. I made him scrub down the bridge with suds everymorning, and while his hands were puffed and soft, I sent him down tothe fireroom to pass coal. "

"He'll kill you someday. "

"If he can. "

They smiled strangely at each other. 

A knock came at the door, and Salvain entered, radiant. 

"She is divine!" he cried. "Her hair is old copper with golden lights. McTee, if she is yours, you have found another Venus!"

"If she is not mine, " answered McTee, "at least she belongs to no otherman. "

Salvain studied him, first with eagerness, then with doubt, and last ofall with despair. 

"If any other man said that I would question it--so!--with my life. ButMcTee? No, I love life too well!"

"Now, " Henshaw said to Salvain, "Captain McTee and I have business totalk. "

"Aye, sir, " said Salvain. 

"One minute, Salvain, " broke in McTee. "I haven't thanked you in thegirl's name for taking care of Miss Malone. "

The first mate paused at the door. 

"I begin to wonder, captain, " he answered, "whether or not you have theright to thank me in her name!"

He disappeared through the door without waiting for an answer. 

"Salvain has forgotten me, " muttered McTee, balling his fist, "but I'llfreshen his memory. "

He flushed as he became aware of the cold eye of Henshaw upon him. 

"Even Samson fell, " said the old man. "But she hasn't cut your hairyet, McTee?"

"What the devil do you mean?"

Henshaw silently poured another drink and passed it to the Scotchman. The latter gripped the glass hard and tossed off the drink with asingle gesture. At once his eyes came back to Henshaw's face with thefierce question. He was astonished to note kindliness in the answeringgaze. 

Old Henshaw said gently: "Tut, tut! You're a proper man, McTee, and aproper man has always the thought of some woman tucked away in hisheart. Look at me! For almost sixty years I've been the King of theSouth Seas!"

At the thought of his glories his face altered, as soldiers change whenthey receive the order to charge. 

"You're a rare man and a bold man, McTee, but you'll never be whatWhite Henshaw has been--the Shark of the Sea! Ha! Yet think of it! Tenyears ago, after all my harvesting of the sea, I had not a dollar toshow for it! Why? Because I was working for no woman. But here I amsailing home from my last voyage--rich! And why? Because for ten yearsI've been working for a woman. For ourselves we make and we spend. Butfor a woman we make and we save. Aye!"

"For a woman?" repeated McTee, wondering. "Do you mean to say--"

"Tut, man, it's my granddaughter. Look!"

Perhaps the whisky had loosened the old man's tongue; perhaps theseconfidences were merely a tribute to the name and fame of McTee; butwhatever was the reason, McTee knew he was hearing things which hadnever been spoken before. Now Henshaw produced a leather wallet fromwhich he selected two pictures, and handed one to the Scotchman. Itshowed a little girl of some ten years with her hair braided down herback. McTee looked his question. 

"That picture was sent to me by my son ten years ago. "

It showed the effect of time and rough usage. The edges of the cheapportrait were yellow and cracked. 

"He was worthless, that son of mine. So I shut him out of my mind untilI got a letter saying he was about to die and giving his daughter intomy hands. That picture was in the letter. Ah, McTee, how I pored overit! For, you see, I saw the face of my wife in the face of the littlegirl, Beatrice. She had come back to life in the second generation. Isuppose that happens sometimes. 

"I made up my mind that night to make a fortune for little Beatrice. First I sold my name and honor to get a half share and captaincy of asmall tramp freighter. Then I went to the Solomon Islands. You knowwhat I did there? Yes, the South Seas rang with it. It was brutal, butit brought me money. 

"I sent enough of that money to the States to keep the girl in luxury. The rest of it I put back into my trading ventures. I got a largerboat. I did unheard-of things; and everything I touched turned intogold. All into gold!

"From time to time I got letters from Beatrice. First they were carefulscrawls which said nothing. Then the handwriting grew more fluent. Italarmed me to notice the growth of her mind; I was afraid that when Ifinally saw her, she would see in me only a barbarian. So I educatedmyself in odd hours. I've read a book while a hurricane was standing myship on her beam ends. "

McTee, leaning forward with a frown of almost painful interest, understood. He saw it in the wild light of the old man's eyes; aspecies of insanity, this love of the old man for the child he hadnever seen. 

"Notice my language now? Never a taint of the beach lingo in it. Irubbed all that out. Aye, McTee, it took me ten years to educate myselffor that girl's sake. In the meantime, I made money, as I've said. Tenyears of that!

"Beatrice was in college, and six months ago I got the word that shehad graduated. A month later I heard that she was going into a decline. It was nothing very serious, but the doctors feared for the strength ofher lungs. It made me glad. Now I knew that she would need me. An oldman is like a woman, McTee; he needs to have things dependent on him. 

"I turned everything I had into cash. I did it so hurriedly that I musthave lost close to twenty per cent on the forced sales. What did Icare? I had enough, and I made myself into a grandfather who could meetBeatrice's educated friends on their own level. 

"I kept this old ship, the _Heron_, out of the list of my boats. I amgoing back to Beatrice with gold in my hands and gold in my brain! Allfor her. But is she not worth it? Look!"

He thrust the second portrait into McTee's hands. It showed a ratherthin-faced girl with abnormally large eyes and a rather pathetic smile. It was an appealing face rather than a pretty one. 

"Beautiful!" said McTee with forced enthusiasm. 

"Yes, beautiful! A little pinched, perhaps, but she'll fill out as shegrows older. And those are her grandmother's eyes! Aye!"

He took the photograph and touched it lightly. 

His voice grew lower, and the roughness was plainly a tremolo now: "Thedoctors say she's sick, a little sick, quite sick, in fact. Twice everyday I make them send me wireless reports of her condition. One day it'sbetter--one day it's worse. "

He began to walk the cabin, his step marvelously elastic and nervousfor so aged a man. 

"Is it not well, McTee? Let her be at death's door! I shall come to herbedside with gold in either hand and raise her up to life! She shallowe everything to me! Will that not make her love me? Will it?"

He grasped McTee's shoulder tightly. 

"I'm not a pretty lad to look at, eh, lad?"

McTee poured himself a drink hastily, and drained the glass before heanswered. 

"A pretty man? Nonsense, Henshaw! A little weather-beaten, but a tightcraft at that; she'll worship the ground you walk! Character, Henshaw, that's what these new American girls want to see in a man!"

Henshaw sighed with deep relief. 

"Ah-h, McTee, you comfort me more than a drink on a stormy night! Forreward, you shall see what I'm bringing back to her. Come!"

He rose and led McTee into his bedroom, for two cabins were retainedfor the captain's use. Filling one corner of the room was a huge safealmost as tall as a man. 

He squatted before the safe and commenced to work the combination witha swift sureness which told McTee at once that the old buccaneer camehere many times a day to gloat over his treasure. At length the door ofthe safe fell open. Inside was a great mass of little canvas bags. McTee was panting as if he had run a great distance at full speed. 

"Take one. "

The Scotchman raised one of the bags and shook it. A musical clinkingsounded. 

"Forty pounds of gold coin, " said Henshaw, "and about ten thousanddollars in all. There are eighty-five of those bags, and every oneholds the same amount. Also--"

He opened a little drawer at the top of the safe and took from it achamois bag. When he untied it, McTee looked within and saw a quantityof pearls. He took out a small handful. They were chosen jewels, flawless, glowing. His hand seemed to overflow with white fire. Hedropped them back in the bag, letting each pearl run over the end ofhis fingers. Henshaw restored the bag and locked the safe. Then the twomen stared at each other. They had been opposite types the momentbefore, but now their lips parted in the same thirsty eagerness. 

"If she were dead, " said McTee almost reverently, "the sight of thatwould bring her back to life. "

"McTee, you're a worthy lad. They've told me lies about you. Indeed itwould bring her back to life! It must be so! And yet--" Suddenmelancholy fell on him as they returned to the other room and sat down. "Yet I think night and day of what an old devil of a black magiciantold me in the Solomon Islands. He said I and my gold should burntogether. I laughed at him and told him I could not die on dry land. Hesaid I would not, but that I should burn at sea! Think of that, McTee!Suppose I should be robbed of the sight of my girl and of my gold atthe same time!"

McTee started to say something cheerful, but his voice died away to amutter. Henshaw was staring at the wall with visionary eyes filled withhorror and despair. 

"Lad, do you think ghosts have power?"

"Henshaw, you've drunk a bit too much!"

"If they have no power, I'm safe. I fear no living man!" He addedsoftly: "No man but myself!"

"I'm tired out, " said McTee suddenly. "Where shall I bunk, captain?"

"Here! Here in this room! Take that couch in the corner over there. Ithas a good set of springs. With gold in my hands. Here are someblankets. With gold in my hands and my brain. Though you don't needmuch covering in this latitude. I would raise her from the grave. "

He went about, interspersing his remarks to McTee with half-audiblemurmurs addressed to his own ears. 

"Is this, " thought McTee, "the Shark of the South Seas?"

A knock came and the door opened. A fat sailor in an oilskin hat stoodat the entrance. 

"The cook ain't put out no lunch for the night watches, sir, " hewhined. 

Henshaw had stood with his back turned as the door opened. He turnednow slowly toward the open door. McTee could not see his face nor guessat its expression, but the moment the big sailor caught a glimpse ofhis skipper's countenance, he blanched and jumped back into the night, slamming the door behind him. That sight recalled something to McTee. 

"One thing more, captain, " he said. "What of Harrigan? Do we break himbetween us?"

"Aye, in your own way!"

"Good! Then start him scrubbing the bridge and send him down to thefireroom afterwards, eh?"

"It's done. Why do you hate him, McTee? Is it the girl?"

"No; the color of his hair. Good night. "

CHAPTER 17

Long before this, Harrigan had reported to the bos'n, burly JerryHovey, and had been assigned to a bunk into which he fairly dived andfell asleep in the posture in which he landed. In the morning hetumbled out with the other men and became the object of a crossfire ofquestions from the curious sailors who wanted to know all the detailsof the wreck of the _Mary Rogers_ and the life on the island. He wassaved from answering nine-tenths of the chatter by a signal from thebos'n, who beckoned Harrigan to a stool a little apart from the rest ofthe crew. Jerry Hovey was a cheery fellow of considerable bulk, with anhabitual smile. That smile went out, however, when he talked withHarrigan, and the Irishman became conscious of a pair of steady, alertgray eyes. 

"Look here, " said Hovey, and he talked out of the corner of his mouthwith a skill which would have become an old convict of many terms, "I've had it put to me straight that you're a hard one. Is that theright dope?"

Harrigan smiled. 

"Because if it is, " said Hovey, "we're the best gang at bustin' upthese hard guys that ever walked the deck of a ship. If you try anyside steps and fancy ducking of your work, there'll be a disciplinin'comin' your way at a gallop. Are you wise?"

Harrigan still smiled, but the coldness of his eye made the bos'nthoughtful. He was not one, however, to be easily cowed. Now he balledhis fist and smote it against the palm of his other hand with a slapthat resounded. 

"On my own hook, " he stated, "I can sling my mitts with the best ofthem, an' I'm always lookin' for work in that line. Now I'm sayin' allthis in private, sonny, to let you know that Black McTee has wised upthe skipper about you, and I'm keepin' a weather eye open. If you makeone funny move, I'll be on your back. "

"All right, Jerry. "

"Don't call me Jerry, you swab! I'm the bos'n. "

"Look me in the eye, Jerry Hovey, me dear. If you so much as bat thelashes av wan eye in lookin' at me, I'll bust ye in two pieces like asea biscuit, Jerry, an' I'll eat the biggest half an' throw the restinto the sea. Ar-r-re ye wise?"

Now, Jerry Hovey was a very big man, and he had thrashed men of largerbulk than Harrigan. But there was something about the Irishman'sthickness of shoulder and length of arm that gave him pause. So firstof all Jerry grew very thoughtful indeed, and then his habitual smilereturned. Nevertheless, Harrigan did not forget those gray, alert eyes. 

The bos'n went on in a gentler voice: "I was tryin' you out, Harrigan. I'll lay to it that the cap'n has the wrong idea about you. But willyou tell me why he's ridin' you?"

"Sure. It's Black McTee. Before the _Mary Rogers_ went down, McTee wastryin' to break me. I guess he's asked this White Henshaw to try ahand. What have they got lined up for me?"

"You're to scrub down the bridge an' while your hands are still softyou go down to the fireroom an' pass coal. It'll tear your hands off, that work. "

Harrigan was gray, but he answered. "That's an old story. McTee workedme like that all the time. "

"An' you didn't break?" gasped Hovey. 

Harrigan grinned, but his smile stopped when he noticed a certaincalculation in the face of the bos'n. 

"Mate, " said Hovey, "I guess you're about ripe for something I'm goin'to say to you one of these days. Now go up to the bridge an' scrub itdown. "

With the prospect of the long torture before him once more, Harrigan ina daze picked up the bucket of suds to which he was pointed and wentwith his brush toward the bridge. Through the mist which enveloped hisbrain broke wild thoughts--to steal upon McTee at the first meeting andhurl his hated body overboard. Yet even in his bewildered condition herealized what such an act would mean. Murder on land is bad enough, butmurder at sea is doubly damned by the law. It was in the power of WhiteHenshaw to hang him up to the mast. 

Revolving these dismal prospects with downward head, he climbed fromthe waist of the ship to the cabin promenade, and there a voice hailedhim, and he turned to see Kate Malone approaching. She was all inwhite--cap, canvas shoes, silk shirt absurdly lose at the throat, andlinen coat with the sleeves turned far back so that her hands would notbe enveloped. The duck trousers were also taken up several reefs. 

"Good morning, " she said, and held out her hand. 

He watched her smile wistfully, and then made a little gesture with hisown hands, one burdened with the scrubbing brush and the other with thebucket. 

"What does it mean?"

"Hell, " said Harrigan. 

"Explain. "

"It's McTee again, damn his eyes!"

"Do you mean to say they've started to treat you as they did on the_Mary Rogers_? The scrubbing and then the work in the fireroom?"

"Right. "

She stamped her foot in impotent fury. 

"What manner of man is he, Dan? He's not all brute; why does he treatyou like this?"

The Irishman smiled. 

She cried with increasing anger: "What can I do?"

"Make your skin yellow an' your hair gray an' walk with no spring inyour step. He wants to break me now because of you. "

There was moist pity in her eyes, yet they gleamed with excitement atthe thought of this battle of the Titans for her sake. 

"I will go to him, " she said after a moment, "and tell him that youmean nothing to me. Then he will stop. "

The cold, incurious eyes studied her without passion, and once more hesmiled. 

"He'll not stop. Whether you like me or not, Kate, doesn't count. Oneof us'll go down, an' you'll be for the one that's left. He knows it--Iknow it. "

"Harrigan!" called the voice of McTee from the bridge, and the tallScotchman lifted his cap to Kate. 

"I'm the slave, " said Harrigan, "and there's the whip. Good-by. "

She stamped her foot with an almost childish fury, saying: "Someday heshall regret this brutal tyranny. Good-by, Dan, and good luck!"

She took his hand in both of hers, but her eyes held spitefully uponthe bridge, as if she hoped that McTee would witness the handshake; thecaptain, however, had turned his back upon them. 

Dan muttered to himself as he climbed the bridge: "Did she do that toanger McTee or to please me?" And the thought so occupied his mind thathe paid no attention to the Scotchman when he reached the bridge. Hemerely dropped to his knees and commenced scrubbing. McTee, in themeanwhile, loitered about the bridge as if on his own ship. In due timeHarrigan drew near, the suds swishing under his brush. The Irishman, remembering suddenly, commenced to hum a tune. 

"The old grind, eh, Harrigan?" said McTee. 

The Irishman, humming idly still, looked up, calmly surveyed thecaptain, and then went on as if he had heard merely empty wind insteadof words. 

"After the scrubbing brush the shovel, " went on McTee, but stillHarrigan paid no attention. He rose when his task was completed andmade his eyes gentle as if with pity while he gazed upon McTee. 

"I'm sorry for you, McTee; you've made a hard fight; it's strangeyou've got no ghost of a chance of winnin'. "

"What d'you mean?"

"Couldn't you hear her when she talked to me?"

"I could not. "

"Couldn't you see her face? It was written there as plain as print. "

McTee cleared his throat. 

"What was written there?"

"The thing you want to see. When she took my hand in both of hers--"

"Hell!"

"Ah-h, man, it was wonderful! The scrubbing brush an' the shovel--theymean nothin' to me now. "

"Harrigan, you're lying. "

The latter dropped his scrubbing brush into the bucket of suds andstood with arms akimbo studying the captain. 

"For a smart man, McTee, you've been a fool. I could of gone down on meknees an' begged to do what you've done. Don't you see? You've thrownher with her will or against it into me arms. I'm poor Harrigan, braveand downtrodden; you're Black McTee once more, the tyrant. She lookssick at the mention of your name. "

"I never dreamed you'd go whining to her. I thought you were a man;you're only a spineless dog, Harrigan!"

"Am I that? She pities me, McTee, an' from pity it's only one step tosomething bigger. Can you trust me to lead her that one step? You can!"

"If I went to her and told her how you boasted of having won her?"

"She wouldn't believe what you said about me if you swore it with bothhands on the Bible. Be wise, McTee. Give up the game. You've lost her, me boy! For every day that I work in the fireroom I'll come to her an'show her the palms of me bleedin' hands an' mention your name. An' forevery day I work in the hole the hate of you will burn blacker into herheart. "

"I'd rather have her hate than her pity. "

"You'll have both; her hate for torturin' Harrigan; her pity forlettin' the devil in you get the best of the man. You're done for, McTee. "

Each one of the short phrases was like a whip flicked across the faceof McTee, but he would not wince. 

"You've said enough. Now get down to the fireroom. I've had Henshawprepare the chief engineer for your coming. "

Harrigan turned. 

"Wait! Remember when you're in hell that the old compact still holds. Your hand in mine and a promise to be my man will end the war. "

Only the low laughter of the Irishman answered as he made his way downto the deck. 

CHAPTER 18

"There's times for truth an' there's times for lying, " murmuredHarrigan, as he stowed away the bucket and brush and started down forthe fireroom, "an' this was one of the times for lyin'. He's sick forthe love of her, an' he's hatin' the thought of Harrigan. "

So he was humming a rollicking tune when he reached the fireroom. Itwas stifling hot, to be sure, but it was twice as large as that of theMary Rogers. The firemen were all glistening with sweat. One of them, larger than the rest and with a bristling, shoebrush mustache like asign of authority, said to the newcomer: "You're Harrigan?"

He nodded. 

"The chief wants to see you, boss, before you start swingin' theshovel. "

"Where's the chief's cabin?"

"Take him up, Alex, " directed the big fireman, and Harrigan followedone of the men up the narrow ladder and then aft. He was grateful forthis light respite from the heat of the hole, but his joy faded whenthe man opened a door and he stood at last before the chief, DouglasCampbell, who looked up at the burly Irishman in a long silence. 

The scion of the ancient and glorious clan of the Campbells had fallenfar indeed. His face was a brilliant red, and the nose, comicallyswollen at the end, was crossed with many blue veins. Like Milton's_Satan_, however, he retained some traces of his original brightness. Harrigan knew at once that the chief engineer was fully worthy ofjoining those rulers of the south seas and harriers of weaker men, McTee and White Henshaw. 

"Stand straight and look me in the eye, " said Campbell, and in hisvoice was a slight "bur-r-r" of the Scotch accent. 

Harrigan jerked back his shoulders and stood like a soldier atattention. 

"A drinkin' man, " he was saying to himself, "may be hard an' fallenlow, but he's sure to have a heart. "

"So you're the mutineer, my fine buck?"

Harrigan hesitated, and this seemed to infuriate Campbell, who banged abrawny fist on a table and thundered: "Answer me, or I'll skin yourworthless carcass!"

The cold, blue eyes of Harrigan did not falter. They studied the faceof the Campbell as a fighter gauges his opponent. 

"If I say 'yes, '" he responded at length, "it's as good as puttin'myself in chains; if I say 'no, ' you'll be thinkin' I'm givin' in, youan' McTee, damn his eyes!"

Campbell grew still redder. 

"You damn him, do you? McTee is Scotch; he's a gentleman too good to benamed by swine!"

The irrepressible Harrigan replied: "He's enough to make swine speak!"

Amazement and then a gleam of laughter shone in the eyes of the chiefengineer. He was seized, apparently, by a fit of violent coughing andhad to turn away, hiding his face with his hand. When he faced theIrishman again, his jaw was set hard, but his eyes were moist. 

"Look me in the eye, laddie. Men say a good many things about me; theycall me a slave driver and worse. Why? Because when I say 'move, ' mymen have to jump. I've asked you a question, and I'm going to get ananswer. Are you a mutineer or not?"

"I will not pleasure McTee by sayin' I'm not!"

The ponderous hand rose over the table, but it was checked before itfell. 

"What the devil has McTee to do with this?" he bellowed. 

"He's the one that sent me here. " Harrigan was thinking fast as he wenton: "And you're going to keep me here for the sake of McTee. "

Campbell changed from red to purple and exploded: "I'll keep no manhere to please another; not White Henshaw himself. He rules on deck, and I rule below. D'you hear? Tell me you're a liar! Speak up!"

"You're a liar, " said Harrigan instantly. 

The engineer's mouth opened and closed twice while he stared atHarrigan. 

"Get out!" he shouted, springing to his feet. "I'll have you boxed upand sweated; I'll have you pounded to a pulp! Wait! Stay here! I'llbring in some men!"

Harrigan was desperate. He knew that what he had said was equivalent toa mutiny. He threw caution to the wind. Campbell had rung a bell. 

"Bring your men an' be damned!" he answered; and now his head tiltedback and he set his shoulders to the wall. "I'll be afther lickin' yourwhole crew! A man do ye call yourself? Ah-h, ye're not fit to belickin' the boots ay a man! Slave driver? No, ye're an overseer, an'Henshaw kicks you an' you pass the kick along. But lay a hand onHarrigan, an' he'll tear the rotten head off your shoulders!"

The door flew open, and the second assistant engineer, a burly man, with two or three others, appeared at the entrance, drawn by thefurious clamor of the bell. 

"What--" began the second assistant, and then stopped as he caughtsight of Harrigan against the wall with his hands poised, ready for thefirst attack. 

"Who called you?" roared Campbell. 

"Your bell--" began the assistant. 

"You lie! Get out! I was telling a joke to my old friend Harrigan. Maybe I leaned back against the bell. Shake hands with Harrigan. I'veknown him for years. "

Incredulous, Harrigan lowered his clenched fist and relaxed it to meetthe hesitant hand of the assistant. 

"Now be off, " growled the chief, and the others fled. 

As the door closed, Harrigan turned in stupid amazement upon theScotchman. The latter had dropped into his chair again and now lookedat Harrigan with twinkling eyes. 

"You'd have fought 'em all, eh, lad?"

He burst into heavy laughter. 

"Ah, the blue devil that came in your eyes! Why did I not let them haveone whirl at you? Ha, ha, ha!"

"Wake me up, " muttered Harrigan. "I'm dreamin'!"

"There's a thick lie in my throat, " said Campbell. "I must wash it outand leave a truth there!"

He opened a small cupboard, exposing a formidable array of black andgreen bottles. One of the black he pulled down, as well as two smallglasses, which he filled to the brim. 

"To your bonny blue eyes, lad!" he said, and raised a glass. "Here's anend to the mutiny--and a drop to our old friendship!"

Harrigan, still with clouded mind, raised the glass and drank. It was afine sherry wine. 

"How old would you say that wine was?" queried the Scotchman withexaggerated carelessness. 

The carelessness did not deceive Harrigan. His mind went blanker still, for he knew little about good wines. 

"Well?" asked the engineer. 

"H-m!" muttered Harrigan, and racked his brain to remember the ages atwhich a good vintage becomes a rare old wine. "About thirty-fiveyears. "

"By the Lord!" cried Campbell. "It never fails--a strong man knows hisliquor like a book! You're almost right. Add three years and you haveit! Thirty-eight years in sunshine and shadow!"

He leaned back and gazed dreamily up to the ceiling. 

"Think of it, " he went on in a reverent murmur. "Men have been born andgrown strong and then started toward the shady side of life since thiswine was put in the bottle. For thirty-eight years it has beengathering and saving its perfume--draw a breath of it now, lad!--andwhen I uncork the bottle, all the odor blows out to me at once. "

"True, " said Harrigan, nodding sagely. "I've thought the same thing, but never found the words for it, chief. "

"Have you?" asked Campbell eagerly. "Sit down, lad; sit down! Well, well! Good wine was put on earth for a blessing, but men have misusedit, Harrigan--but hear me preaching when I ought to be praying!"

"Prayin'?" repeated the diplomatic Harrigan. "No, no, man! Maybe you'vedrunk a good store of liquor, but it shines through you. It puts aflush on your face like a sun shinin' through a cloud. You'd heartenany man on a dark day!"

He could not resist the play on the words, and a shadow crossed theface of the engineer. 

"Harrigan, " he growled, "there's a double meaning in what you say, butI'll not think of it. You're no fool, lad, but do not vex me. But sayyour say. I suppose I'm red enough to be seen by my own light on a darknight. What does Bobbie say?

"Oh, wad some power the giftie gie usTo see oursels as others see us!

"Well, well! I forgave you for the sake of Bobbie! Do you know hisrhymes, lad?"

A light shone in the eye of Harrigan. He began to sing softly in hismusical, deep voice: "Ye banks and braes of bonny Doon--"

"No, no, man!" cried Campbell, raising his hand in horror at the soundof the false accent. "It should go like this!"

He pulled a guitar out of a case and commenced to strum lightly on it, while he rendered the old song in a voice roughened by ill usage butstill strong and true. A knock at the door interrupted him at theclimax of his song, and he glared toward the unseen and rash intruder. 

"What will ye hae?" he roared, continuing the dialect which the songhad freshened on his tongue. 

"The shift in the fireroom is short-handed, " said the voice. "Thatfellow Harrigan has not shown up. Shall we search for him?"

"Search for the de'il!" thundered Campbell. "Harrigan is doing a finepiece of work for me; shall I let him go to the fireroom to swing ashovel?"

"The captain's orders, sir, " persisted the voice rashly. 

Campbell leaped for the door and jerked it open a few inches. 

"Be off!" he cried; "or I'll set you passin' coal yourself, my finelad! What? Will ye be asking questions? Is there no discipline? Mutiny, mutiny--that's what this is!"

"Aye, aye, sir!" murmured a rapidly retreating voice. 

Campbell closed and locked the door and turned back to Harrigan with agrin. 

"The world's a wide place, " he said, "but there's few enough in it whoknow our Bobbie, God bless him! When I've found one, shall I let him godown to the fireroom? Ha! Now tell me what's wrong between you andMcTee. "

"I will not talk, " said Harrigan with another bold stroke of diplomacy, "till I hear the rest of that song. The true Scotch comes hard on mytongue, but I'll learn it. "

"You will, laddie, for your heart's right. Man, man, I'm nothing now, but you should have heard me sing in the old days--"

"When we were in Glasgow, " grinned Harrigan. 

"In Glasgow, " repeated Campbell, and then lifted his head and finishedthe song. "Now for the story, laddie. "

Harrigan started, as though recalled from a dream built up by themusic. Then he told briefly the tale of the tyranny aboard the _MaryRogers_, now apparently to be repeated. 

"So I thought, " he concluded, "that it was to be the old story overagain--look at my hands!"

He held them out. The palms were still red and deeply scarred. Campbellsaid nothing, but his jaw set savagely. 

"I thought it was to be this all over again, " went on Harrigan, "till Imet you, chief. But with you for a friend I'll weather the storm. McTee's a hard man, but when Scot meets Scot--I'll bet on theCampbells. "

"Would you bet on me against Black McTee?" queried the engineer, deeplymoved. "Well, lad, McTee's a dour man, but dour or not he shall not runthe engine room of the _Heron_. "

And he banged on the table for emphasis. 

"Scrub down the bridge every morning, as they tell you, but when theysend you below to pass the coal, come and report to me first. I'll havework for you to do--chiefly practicing the right accent for Bobbie'ssongs. Is not that a man's work?"

CHAPTER 19

To make good this promise, Campbell straightway sang for Harrigan'sdelectation two or three more of his favorite selections. It wasevening, and the shift in the fireroom was ended before Harrigan leftthe engineer's room. On his way to the deck he passed the tired firemenfrom the hole of the ship. They stared at the Irishman with wide eyes, for it was known that he had been hi the chief engineer's room forseveral hours; they looked upon nun as one who has been in hell and hasescaped from thence to the upper air. 

He was, in fact, a marked man when he reached the forecastle. Rumortravels through a ship's crew and it was already known that Black McTeehated the Irishman and that White Henshaw had commenced to persecutehim in a new and terrible manner. 

This would have been sufficient tragedy to burden the shoulders of anyone man, however strong, and when to this was added the fact that hehad been kept by the grim chief engineer for several hours in thechief's own room, and finally considering that this man had passedthrough a shipwreck, one of three lone survivors, it is easy tounderstand why the sailors gave him ample elbow room. 

It was evidently expected that he would break out into a torrent ofabuse, and when he, perceiving this, remained silent, their aweincreased. All through supper he was aware of their wondering glances;above all he felt the gray, steady eyes of Jerry Hovey, the bos'n, yethe ate without speaking, replying to their tentative questions withgrunts. Before the meal was finished and the pipes and cigaretteslighted, he was a made man. Persevering in his role, as soon as he hadeaten he went out on deck and sat down in the corner between the railand the forecastle upon a coil of rope. 

As deep as the blue sea in the evening light was the peace which lay onthe soul of Harrigan, for the day had brought two great victories, oneover McTee and the other over the chief engineer. It was not a stolidcontent, for he knew the danger of the implacable hate of McTee, butwith the aid of Campbell he felt that he would have a fighting chanceat least to survive, and that was all he asked. 

So he sat on the coil of rope leaning against the rail, and lookedahead. It was almost completely dark when a hand fell on his shoulderand he looked up into the steady, gray-blue eyes of the bos'n. 

"I promised to talk to you tonight, " said that worthy, and sat downuninvited on a neighboring coil of rope. 

He waited for a response. As a rule, sailors are glad to curry favorwith the bos'n. Harrigan, however, sat without speaking, staringthrough the gloom. 

"Well?" said Hovey at length. "You're a silent man, Harrigan. "

There was no response. 

"All right; I like a silent man. In a way of speakin', I need 'em likeyou! If you say little to me, you're likely to say little to others. 

"I don't talk much myself, " went on Hovey, "until I know my man. Iain't seen much of you, but I guess I figure you straight. "

He grew suddenly cautious, cunning, and the steady, gray-blue eyesreminded Harrigan of a cat when she crouches for hours watching therathole. 

"You ain't got much reason for standing in with White Henshaw?" hepurred. 

"H'm, " grunted the Irishman, and waited. 

"Sure, you ain't, " went on Hovey soothingly, "because McTee has raisedhell between you. They say McTee tried his damnedest to break you?"

The last question was put in a different manner; it came suddenly likea surprise blow in the dark. 

"Well?" queried Harrigan. "What of it?"

"He tried all the way from Honolulu?"

"He did. "

"Did he try his fists?"

"He did. "

Jerry Hovey cursed with excitement. 

"And?"

"I carried him to his cabin afterward, " said Harrigan truthfully. 

"Would you take on McTee again? Black McTee?"

"If I had to. Why?"

"Oh, nothin'. But McTee has started White Henshaw on your trail. Maybeyou know what Henshaw is? The whole South Seas know him!"

"Well?"

"You'll have a sweet hell of a time before this boat touches port, Harrigan. "

"I'll weather it. "

"Yes, this trip, but what about the next? If Henshaw is breakin' a man, he keeps him on the ship till the man gives in or dies. I know!Henshaw'll get so much against you that he could soak you for ten yearsin the courts by the time we touch port. Then he'll offer to let youoff from the courts if you'll ship with him again, and then the oldgame will start all over again. You may last one trip--other menhave--one or two--but no one has ever lasted out three or fourshippings under White Henshaw. It can't be done!"

He paused to let this vital point sink home. Only the same dull silencecame in reply, and this continued taciturnity seemed to irritate Hovey. When he spoke again, his voice was cold and sharp. 

"He's got you trapped, Harrigan. You're a strong man, but you'll neverget his rope off your neck. He'll either hang you with it or else tieyou hand and foot an' make you his slave. I _know!_"

There was a bitter emphasis on the last word that left no doubt as tohis meaning, and Harrigan understood now the light of that steady, gray-blue eye which made the habitual smile of good nature meaningless. 

"Ten years ago I shipped with White Henshaw. Ten years ago I didn'thave a crooked thought or a mean one in my brain. Today there's hellinside me, understand? Hell!" He paused, breathing hard. 

"There's others on this ship that have been through the same grind, some of them longer than me. There's others that ain't here, but thatain't forgotten, because me an' some of the rest, we seen them dyin' ontheir feet. Maybe they ain't dropped into the sea, but they're just thesame, or worse. You'll find 'em loafin' along the beaches. They takewater from the natives, they do. "

He went on in a hoarse whisper: "On this ship I've seen 'em busted. An'Henshaw has done the bustin'. This is a coffin ship, Harrigan, an'Henshaw he's the undertaker. He don't bring 'em to Davy Jones'slocker--he does worse--he brings 'em to hell on earth, a hell so badthat when they go below, they don't notice no difference. Harrigan, mean' a few of the rest, we know what's been done, an' some of us havethought wouldn't it be a sort of joke, maybe, if sometime what Henshawhas done to others was done to himself, what?"

The sweat was standing out on Harrigan's face wet and cold. It seemedto him that through the darkness he could make out whole troops ofthose broken men littering the decks. He peered through the dark at thebos'n, and made out the hint of the gray-blue eyes watching him againas the cat watches the mousehole, and the heart of Harrigan ached. 

"Hovey, are you bound for the loincloth an' the beaches, like therest?"

"No, because I've sold my soul to White Henshaw; but you're boundthere, Harrigan, because you can never sell your soul. I looked in youreyes and seen it written there like it was in a book. "

He gripped the Irishman by the shoulder. 

"There's some say this is the last voyage of White Henshaw, but me an'some of the rest, we know different. He can't leave the sea, whichmeans that he won't take us out of hell. Now, talk straight. You stoodup to McTee; would you stand up to Henshaw?"

Harrigan muttered after a moment of thought: "I suppose this is mutiny, bos'n?"

"Aye, but I'm safe in talkin' it. White Henshaw trusts me, he does, because I've sold my soul to him. If you was to go an' tell nun whatI've said, he'd laugh at you an' say you was tryin' to incitediscontent. What's it goin' to be, Harrigan? Will you join me an' therest who can set you free an' make a man of you, or will you stay byMcTee and White Henshaw and that devil Campbell?"

"How could you set me free?"

"One move--altogether--in the night--we'd have the ship for our own, an' we could beach her and take to the shore at any place we pleased. "

Harrigan repeated: "One move--altogether--in the night! I don't likeit, bos'n. I'll stand up to my man foot to foot an' hand to hand, butfor strikin' at him in the dark--I can't do it. "

He caught the sound of Hovey's gritting teeth. 

"Think it over, " persisted the bos'n. "We need you, Harrigan, but ifyou don't join, we'll help McTee and Henshaw and Campbell to make lifehell for you. "

"I've thought it over. I don't like the game. This mutiny atnight--it's like hittin' a man who's down. "

"That's final?"

"It is. "

"Then God help you, Harrigan, for you ain't the man I took you for. "

CHAPTER 20

He rose and left Harrigan to the dark, which now lay so thick over thesea that he could only dimly make out the black, wallowing length ofthe ship. After a time, he went into the dingy forecastle and stretchedout on his bunk. Some of the sailors were already in bed, proppingtheir heads up with brawny, tattooed arms while they smoked theirpipes. For a time Harrigan pondered the mutiny, glancing at the stolidfaces of the smokers and trying to picture them in action when theywould steal through the night barefooted across the deck--some of themwith bludgeons, others with knives, and all with a thirst for murder. 

Sleep began to overcome him, and he fought vainly against it. In achoppy sea the bows of a ship make the worst possible bed, for theytoss up and down with sickening rapidity and jar quickly from side toside; but when a vessel is plowing through a long-running ground swell, the bows of the ship move with a sway more soothing than the swing of ahammock in a wind. Under these circumstances Harrigan was lulled tosleep. 

He woke at length with a consciousness, not of a light shining in hisface, but of one that had just been flashed across his eyes. Then aguarded voice said: "He's dead to the world; he won't hear nothin'. "

Peering cautiously up from under the shelter of his eyelashes, he madeout a bulky figure leaning above him. 

"Sure he's dead to the world, " said a more distant voice. "After theday he must have put in with Campbell, he won't wake up till he'sdragged out. I know!"

"Lift his foot and let it drop, " advised another. "If you can do thatto a man without waking him, you know he's not going to be waked up byany talkin'. "

Harrigan's foot was immediately raised and dropped. He merely sighed asif in sleep, and continued to breathe heavily, regularly. After amoment he was conscious that the form above him had disappeared. Thenvery slowly he turned his head and raised his eyelids merely enough topeer through the lashes. The sailors sat cross-legged in a loose circleon the floor of the forecastle. At the four corners of the group satfour significant figures. They were like the posts of the prize ringsupporting the rope; that is to say, the less important sailors who satbetween them. Each of the four was a man of mark. 

Facing Harrigan were Jacob Flint and Sam Hall. The former was a littleman, who might have lived unnoticed forever had it not been for aterrible scar which deformed his face. It was a cut received in a knifefight at a Chinese port. The white, gleaming line ran from the top ofhis temple, across the side of his right eye, and down to thecheekbone. The eye was blind as a result of the wound, but in healingthe cut had drawn the skin so that the lids of the eye were pulled awryin a perpetual, villainous squint. It was said that before this woundFlint had been merely an ordinary sailor, but that afterward he wasinspired to live up to the terror of his deformed face. 

Sam Hall, the "corner post, " at Flint's right, was a type of blondstupidity, huge of body, with a bull throat and a round, featurelessface. You looked in vain to find anything significant in this fellowbeyond his physical strength, until your glance lingered on his eyes. They were pale blue, expressionless, but they hinted at possibilitiesof berserker rage. 

The other two, whose backs were toward Harrigan, were Garry Cochraneand Jim Kyle. The latter might have stood for a portrait of a pirate ofthe eighteenth century, with a drooping, red mustache and bristlingbeard. The reputation of this monster, however, was far less terriblethan that of any of the other three, certainly far less than GarryCochrane. This was a lean fellow with bright black eyes, glitteringlike a suspicious wolf's. 

Between these corner posts sat the less distinguished sailors. Theymight have been notable cutthroats in any other assemblage ofhard-living men, but here they granted precedence willingly to the fourmore notable heroes. 

Around the circle walked Jerry Hovey like a shepherd about his flock. It was apparent that they all held him in high favor. His chief claimto distinction, or perhaps his only one, was that he had served asbos'n for ten years under White Henshaw; but this record was enough towin the respect of even Garry Cochrane. 

It was Jim Kyle who had peered into the face of Harrigan, for now hewas pushing to one side the lantern he had used and settling back intohis place in the circle. He gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. 

"How'd you happen to miss out with the Irishman, Jerry?"

"Talk low or you may wake him, " warned Hovey. "I lost him because thefool ain't sailed long enough to know White Henshaw. He has an ideathat mutiny at night is like hittin' a man when he's down--as if therewas any other way of hittin' Henshaw an' gettin' away with it!"

The chuckle of the sailors was like the rumble of the machinery below, blended and lost with that sound. 

"So he's out--an' you know what that means, " went on Hovey. 

A light came into the pale eyes of Sam Hall, and his thick lips pulledback in a grin. 

"Aye, " he growled, "we do! He's a strong man, but"--and here he raisedhis vast arms and stretched them--"I'll tend to Harrigan!"

The voice of the bos'n was sharp: "None o' that! Wait till I giveorders, Sam, before you raise a hand. We're too far from the coast. Letold Henshaw bring us close inshore, an' then we'll turn loose. "

"What I don't see, " said one of the sailors, "is how we make out forhard cash after we hit the coast. We beach the Heron--all right; butthen we're turned loose in the woods without a cent. "

"You're a fool, " said Garry Cochrane. "We loot the ship before weabandon her. There'll be money somewhere. "

"Aye, " said Hovey, "there's money. That's what I got you together fortonight. There's money, and more of it than you ever dreamed of. "

He waited for his words to take effect in the brains of the men, running his glance around the circle, and a light flashed in responseto each eye as it met his. 

He continued: "White Henshaw cashed in every cent of his propertybefore he sailed in the _Heron_. I know, because he used me for some ofhis errands. And I know that he had a big safe put into his cabin. Forten years everything that White Henshaw has looked at turned into gold. I know! All that gold he's got in that safe--you can lay to that. "

He turned to the sailor who had first raised the question: "Money?You'll have your share of the loot--if you can carry it!"

They drew in their breath as if they were drinking. 

Hovey continued: "Now, lads, I know you're gettin' excited andimpatient. That's why I've got you together. You've got to wait. Anduntil I give the word, you've got to keep your eyes on the deck an' runevery time one of the mates of White Henshaw--damn his heart!--givesthe word. Why? Because one wrong word--one queer look--will tip off theskipper that something's wrong, and once he gets suspicious, you canlay to it that he'll find out what we're plannin'. I _know!_"

There was a grim significance in that repeated phrase, "I _know_, " forit hinted at a knowledge more complete and evil than falls to the shareof the ordinary mortal. 

"Lads, keep your eyes on the deck and play the game until I give theword! If the wind of this comes to the captain, it's overboard forJerry Hovey. I'd rather give myself to the sharks than to WhiteHenshaw. That's all. 

"Now, lads, it's come to the point where we've got to know what we'lldo. There's two ways. One is to crowd all them what ain't in the mutinyinto one cabin an' keep 'em there till we beach the boat. "

"So that they can get out and tell the land sharks what we've done?"suggested Garry Cochrane in disgust. 

"Garry, " said Hovey with deep feeling, "you're a lad after my heart. And you're right. If one of them lives, he'll be enough to put a halteraround the necks of each of us. We couldn't get away. If we're oncedescribed, there ain't no way we could dodge the law. "

He grinned sardonically as he looked about the circle: "There'ssomething about us, lads, that makes us different from other men. "

The sailors glanced appreciatively at the scarred countenances of theirfellows and laughed hoarsely. 

"So the second way is the only way, " went on Hovey, seeing that he hadscored his point. "The rest of the crew that ain't with us has got togo under. Are you with me?"

"Aye, " croaked the chorus, and every man looked down at the floor. Eachone had picked out the man he hated the most, and was preparing themanner of the killing. 

"Good, " said Hovey; "and now that we've agreed on that, we've got tochoose--"

He stopped, going rigid and blank of face. He had seen the open, chilling blue eye of Harrigan, who, drawn on into forgetfulness, hadlain for some time on his bunk watching the scene without caution. 

CHAPTER 21

"He's heard!" stammered Hovey, pointing. "Guard the door! Get him!"

"Bash in his head an' overboard with the lubber!" growled Sam Hall. 

Not one of the others spoke; their actions were the more significant. Some leaped to the door and barred the exit. 

Others started for Harrigan. The latter leaped off his bunk and, sweeping up a short-legged, heavy stool, sprang back against the wall. This he held poised, ready to drive it at the first man who approached. Their semicircle grew compact before him, but still they hesitated, forthe man who made the first move would die. 

"You fools!" said Harrigan, brandishing his stool. "Keep off!"

He was thinking desperately, quickly. 

"Harrigan, " said Hovey, edging his way to the front of the sailors, "you heard!"

"I did!"

They growled, infuriated. His death was certain now, but they kept backfor another moment, astonished that this man would sign his ownsentence of doom. From marlinspikes to pocketknives, every man heldsome sort of a weapon. Garry Cochrane, flattening himself against thewall at one side, edged inch by inch toward Harrigan. 

"I heard it all, " said the Irishman, "and until the last word I thoughtyou were a lot of bluffin' cowards. "

"You had your chance, Harrigan, " said Hovey, "an' you turned me down. Now you get what's due you. "

The sailors crouched a little as if at a command to leap forward in theattack. Cochrane was perilously near. 

"If I get my due, " said Harrigan coolly, "you'll go down on your knees. Stand back, Cochrane, or I'll brain ye! You'll go down on your kneesan' thank God that I'm with ye!"

"Stand fast, Garry!" ordered Hovey. "What do you mean, Harrigan?"

The Irishman laughed. Every son of Erin is an actor, and now Harrigan'slaughter rang true. 

"What should I mean except what I said?" he answered. 

"He's tryin' to save his head, " broke in Kyle, "but with the fear ofdeath lookin' him in the eye, any man would join us. Finish him, lads. "

"You fool!" said Harrigan authoritatively. "Don't talk so loud, oryou'll have White Henshaw down on our heads. Maybe he's heard that bullvoice of yours already!"

It was a master stroke. The mention of the terrible skipper and theskillful insinuation that he was one of them, made them straighten andstare at him. 

"Go guard the door, " said Hovey to one of his sailors, "an' see thatnone of the mates is near. Now, Harrigan, what d'you mean? You'd hearno word of mutiny when I talked to you. Speak for your life now, because we're hard to convince. "

"We can't be convinced, " said Garry Cochrane, "but maybe it'll be funto hear him talk before we dump him overboard. "

Instead of answering the speaker, Harrigan looked upon Hovey with acold eye of scorn. 

He said: "I changed my mind. I'm _not_ one of you. I thought the bos'nwas a real captain for the gang, but I'll not follow a dog that letsevery one of his pack yelp. "

"I'm a dog, am I?" snarled Hovey furiously. "I'll teach you what I am, Harrigan. An' you, Cochrane, keep your face shut. I'll learn you who'sboss of this little crew!"

"If you're half the man you seem, " went on Harrigan, "this game looksgood to me. "

"You lie, " said the bos'n. "You turned me down cold when I talked toyou. "

"You fool, that was because you said no word outright of wipin' out theofficers an' takin' control of the ship. You sneaked up to me in thedark; you felt me out before you said a word; you were like a catwatchin' a rathole. Am I a rat? Am I a sneak? Do I have to be whisperedto? No, I'm Harrigan, an' anyone who wants to talk to me has got tospeak out like a man!"

The very impudence of his speech held them in check for anotherprecious moment. He whirled the heavy stool. 

"If you wanted me, why didn't you come an' say: 'Harrigan, I know you. You hate Henshaw an' McTee an' the rest. We're goin' to wipe 'em outan' beach the ship. Are you with us?' Why, then I'd of shook hands withyou, and that would end it. But when you come whisperin' andinsinuatin', sayin' nothin' straight from the shoulder, how'd I knowyou weren't sent by Henshaw to feel me out, eh? How do any of you knowthe bos'n ain't feelin' you out for the skipper he's sailed with tenyears?"

The circle shifted, loosened; half the men were facing Hovey withsuspicious eyes. They had not thought of this greater danger, and thebos'n was desperate in the crisis. 

"Boys, " he pleaded, "are you goin' to let one stranger ball up ourgame? Are you goin' to start doubtin' me on his say-so?"

The men glanced from him to Harrigan. Plainly they were deep in doubt, and the Irishman made his second masterful move. He stepped forward, dropping his stool with a crash to the floor, and clapped a hand uponHovey's shoulder. 

"I spoke too quick, " he said frankly, "but you got me mad, bos'n. Iknow you're straight, an' I'm with you, for one. A man Harrigan willtoiler ought to be good enough for the rest, eh?"

Jerry Hovey wiped his gleaming forehead. The kingdom of his ambitionwas rebuilt by this speech. 

"Sit down, boys, " he ordered. "The last man in the forecastle is withus now. We're solid. Sit down and we'll plan our game. "

The plan, as it developed after the circle re-formed, was a simple one. They were to wait until the ship was within two or three days' voyagefrom the coast of Central America--their destination--and then theywould act. They had secured to their side the firemen and the firstassistant engineer. That meant that they could run the ship safely withthe bos'n, who understood navigation, at the wheel. They would select anight, and then, on the command of Hovey, the men would take the armswhich they had prepared. 

One of the Japanese cabin boys, Kamasura, was a member of the plot. Hewould furnish butcherknives and cleavers from the kitchen. Besidesthis, there were various implements which could be used as bludgeons;and finally there were the pocketknives with which every sailor isalways equipped, generally stout, long-bladed instruments. Theadvantage of firearms was with the officers of the ship, but apparentlythere were no rifles and probably very few revolvers aboard. Againstpowder and lead they would have the advantage of a surprise attack. 

First, Sam Hall and Kyle were to go down to the hole of the ship andlead the firemen in their attack upon the oilers and wipers, most ofwhom had not been approachable with the plan of mutiny because theywere newly signed on the ship. In this part of the campaign the mostimportant feature would be the capturing of Campbell, who would bereserved for a finely drawn-out, tortured death. The firemen hadinsisted upon this. 

In the meantime Hovey with Flint and the rest would attack the cabinsof Henshaw, McTee, and the mates. Here they depended chiefly upon theeffect of the surprise. If it were possible, Henshaw also was to betaken alive and reserved for a long death like Campbell. This done, they would lead the ship to an uninhabited part of the shore, beachher, and scatter over the mainland, each with his share of the booty. 

Harrigan forced himself to take an active part in the discussion of theplans. Several features were his own suggestion, among others the ideaof presenting a petition for better food to Henshaw, and beating himdown while he was reading it; but all the time that the Irishman spoke, he was thinking of Kate. 

When the crew turned into their bunks at last, he went over a thousandschemes in his head. In the first place he might go to Henshaw at onceand warn him of the coming danger, but he remembered what the bos'n hadsaid--in such a case he would not be believed, and both the crew andthe commander would be against him. 

Finally it seemed to him that the best thing was to wait until thecritical moment had arrived. He could warn the captain just in time--orif absolutely necessary he could warn McTee, who would certainlybelieve him. In the mean-time there were possibilities that the mutinywould come to nothing through internal dissension among the crew. Inany case he must play a detestable part, acting as a spy upon the crewand pretending enthusiasm for the mutiny. 

With that shame like a taste of soot in his throat, he climbed to thebridge the next morning with his bucket of suds and his brush, andthere as usual he found McTee, cool and clean in the white outfit ofHenshaw. At sight of the Scotchman he remembered at once that he mustpretend the double exhaustion which comes of pain and hard labor. Therefore he thrust out his lower jaw and favored McTee with a glare ofhate. He was repaid by the glow of content which showed in thecaptain's face. 

"And the hole of the _Heron_, " he said, speaking softly lest his voiceshould carry to the man in the wheelhouse, "is it cooler than thefireroom of the _Mary Rogers?_"

Harrigan glanced up, glowering. 

"Damn you, McTee!"

"The palms of your hands, lad, are they raw? Is the lye of the sudscool to them?"

Another black glance came in reply and McTee leaned back against therail, tapping one contented toe against the floor. 

"It was a fine tale you told me yesterday, Harrigan, " he said atlength, "but afterward I saw Kate, and she was never kinder. I spoke ofyou, and we laughed together about it. She said you were like a horsethat's too proud--you need the whip!"

Harrigan was in doubt, but he concealed his trouble with a mightyeffort and smiled. 

"That's a weak lie, Angus. When I was a boy of ten, I would of hung mehead for shame if I could not have made a better lie. Shall I tell youwhat really happened when you met Kate? You came up smilin' an'grinnin' like a baboon, an' she passed you by with a look that wentthrough you as if you were just a cloud on the edge of the sky. Am Iright, McTee?"

"You've seen her, and she's told you this, " exclaimed the captain. 

Harrigan chuckled his triumph and went on with the scrubbing of thebridge. 

"No, Angus, me dear, I've not seen her, but when two souls are as closeas hers and mine--well, cap'n, I leave it to you!"

McTee ground his teeth with rage and turned his back on the worker fora moment until he could master the contorted muscles of his face. 

"Tut, McTee, " went on the Irishman, "you've but felt the tickle of thespur; when I drive it in, you'll yell like a whipped kid. Always youplay into me hands, McTee. Now when you see Kate, you'll feel me grinin the background mockin' ye, eh?"

The banter gave the captain a shrewd inspiration. He leaned, andcatching one of Harrigan's hands with a quick movement, turned it palmup. It was as he suspected; the palm, though red from the effect of thestrong suds and still scarcely healed after the torment of the _MaryRogers_, was nevertheless manifestly unharmed by the labor which it wassupposed Harrigan had performed the day before. The hand was wrenchedaway and a balled fist held under McTee's nose. 

"If you're curious, Angus, look at me knuckles, not me palm. It's theknuckles you'll feel the most, cap'n. "

CHAPTER 22

But McTee, deep in thought, was walking from the bridge. He wentstraight to the hole of the ship and questioned some of the firemen, and they told him that Harrigan had done no work passing coal the daybefore; Campbell, it appeared, had taken him for some special job. Withthis tidings the Scotchman hastened back to Henshaw. 

"The game's slipping through our hands, captain, " he said. 

"Harrigan?" queried Henshaw. 

"Aye. He didn't pass a shovelful of coal in the hole yesterday. "

"Tut, tut, " answered the other with a wave of the hand. "I sent ordersto Campbell, and told him what sort of a man he could expect to find inHarrigan. "

"I've just talked to the firemen. They say that Harrigan didn't handlea single pound of coal. That ought to be final. "

Henshaw went black. 

"It may be so. I've given more rope to old Campbell than to any manthat ever sailed the seas with White Henshaw, and it may be he's usingthe rope now to hang himself. We'll find out, McTee; we'll find out!Where's Harrigan now?"

"Gone below a while ago after he finished scrubbing down the bridge. "

"We'll speak with Douglas. Come along, McTee. There's nothing likediscipline on the high seas. "

He went below, murmuring to himself, with McTee close behind him. Strange sounds were coming from the room of the chief engineer, soundswhich seemed much like the strumming of a guitar. 

"He's playing his songs, " grinned Henshaw, and he chuckled noiselessly. "Listen! We'll give him something to sing about--and it'll be inanother key. Ha-ha!"

He tasted the results of his disciplining already, but just as heplaced his hand on the knob of the door, another sound checked him andmade him turn with a puzzled frown toward McTee. It was a ringingbaritone voice which rose in an Irish love song. 

"What the devil--" began Henshaw. 

"You're right, " nodded McTee. "It's the devil--Harrigan. Open thedoor!"

The captain flung it open, and they discovered the two worthies seatedat ease with a black bottle and two glasses at hand. Campbell, in themanner of a musical critic of some skill, leaned back in a chair withhis brawny arms folded behind his head and his eyes half closed. Harrigan, tilted back hi a chair, rested his feet on the edge of asmall table and swept the guitar which lay on his lap. In the midst ofa high note he saw the ominous pair standing in the door, and the musicdied abruptly on his lips. 

He rose to his feet and nudged Campbell at the same time. The latteropened his eyes and, glimpsing the unwelcome visitors, sprang up, gasping, stammering. 

"What? Come in! Don't be standing there, Cap'n Henshaw. Come in and sitdown!"

In spite of his bluster his red face was growing blotched with patchesof gray. Harrigan, less moved than any of the others, calmly replacedthe guitar in its green cloth case. 

"I sent this fellow down to be put at hard work, " said Henshaw, andwaited. 

It was obvious to Harrigan that the chief engineer was in mortal fear. He himself felt strangely ill at ease as he looked at White Henshawwith his skin yellow as Egyptian papyrus from a tomb. 

"Just a minute, captain, " began the engineer. "You sent Harrigan downto the hole because he's considered a hard man to handle, eh?"

Henshaw waited for a fuller explanation; he seemed to be enjoying thedistress of Campbell. 

"Just so, " went on the Scotchman, "but there are two ways of handling adifficult sailor. One is by using the club and the other by usingkindness. The club has been tried and hasn't worked very well withHarrigan. I decided to take a hand with kindness. The results have beenexcellent. I was just about--"

His voice died away, for McTee was chuckling in a deep bass rumble, andHenshaw was smiling in a way that boded no good. 

The captain broke in coldly: "I've heard enough of your explanation, Campbell. Send Harrigan down to the hole at once. We'll work him adouble shift today, for a starter. "

Campbell was trembling like a self-conscious girl, for he was drawnbetween shame and dread of the captain. 

"Look!" he cried, and taking the hand of Harrigan, he turned it palmup. "This chap has been brutally treated. He's been at work that fairlytore the skin from the palms of his hands. One hour's work with ashovel, captain, would make Harrigan useless at any sort of a job for amonth. "

"Which goes to show, " said McTee, "that you don't know Harrigan. "

"I've heard what you have to say, " said Henshaw. "I sent him down towork hi the hole; I come down and find him singing in your room. Iexpect you to have him passing coal inside of fifteen minutes, Campbell. "

Harrigan started for the door, feeling that the game had been playedout, and glad of even this small respite of a day or more from thelabor of the shovel. Before he left the room, however, the voice ofCampbell halted him. 

"Wait! Stay here! You'll do what I tell you, Harrigan. I'm the bossbelowdecks. "

It was a declaration of war, and what it cost Campbell no one couldever tell. He stood swaying slightly from side to side, while he glaredat Henshaw. 

"You're drunk, " remarked the captain coldly. "I'll give you half anhour, Campbell, to come to your senses--but after that--"

"Damn you and your time! I want no tune! I say the lad has been putthrough hell and shan't go back to it, do you hear me?"

Henshaw was controlling himself carefully, or else he wished to drawout the engineer. 

He said: "You know the record of Harrigan?"

"What record? The one McTee told you? Would you believe what BlackMcTee says of a man he tried to break and couldn't?"

"My friend McTee is out of the matter. All that you have to do with ismy order. You've heard that order, Campbell!"

"I'll see you in hell before I send him to the hole. "

Henshaw waited another moment, quietly enjoying the wild excitement ofthe engineer like the Spanish gentleman who sits in safety in thegallery and watches the baiting of the bull in the arena below. 

"I shall send that order to you in writing. If you refuse to obey then, I shall act!"

He turned on his heel; McTee stayed a moment to smile upon Harrigan, and then followed. As the door closed, Harrigan turned to Campbell andfound him sitting, shuddering, with his face buried in his hands. Hetouched the Scotchman on the shoulder. 

"You've done your part, chief. I won't let you do any more. I'mstarting now for the hole. "

"What?" bellowed Campbell. "Am I no longer the boss of my engine room?You'll sit here till I tell you to move! Damn Henshaw and his writtenorders!"

"If you refuse to obey a written order, he can take your license awayfrom you in any marine court. "

"Let it go. "

"Ah-h, chief, ye're afther bein' a thrue man an' a bould one, but I'drather stay the rest av me life in the hole than let ye ruin yourselffor me. Whisht, man, I'm goin'! Think no more av it!"

Campbell's eyes grew moist with the temptation, but then the fightingblood of his clan ran hot through his veins. 

"Sit down, " he commanded. "Sit down and wait till the order comes. It'sa fine thing to be chief engineer, but it's a better thing to be a man. What does Bobbie say?"

And he quoted in a ringing voice: "A man's a man for a' that!"Afterward they sat in silence that grew more tense as the minutespassed, but it seemed that Henshaw, with demoniac cunning, had decidedto prolong the agony by delaying his written order and the consequentdecision of the engineer. And Harrigan, watching the suffused face ofCampbell, knew that the time had come when his will would not sufficeto make him follow the dictates of his conscience. 

All of which Henshaw knew perfectly well as he sat in his cabin fillingthe glass of McTee with choice Scotch. 

They sat for an hour or more, chatting, and McTee drew a picture of thepair waiting below in silent dread--a picture so vivid that Henshawlaughed hi his breathless way. In time, however, he decided that theyhad delayed long enough, and took up pen and paper to write the orderwhich was to convince the dauntless Campbell that even he was a slave. As he did so, Sloan, the wireless operator, appeared at the door, saying: "The report has come, sir. "

CHAPTER 23

He held a little folded paper in his hand. At sight of it Henshawturned in his chair and faced Sloan with a wistful glance. 

"Good?"

"Not very, sir. "

Henshaw rose slowly and frowned like the king on the messenger whobears tidings of the lost battie. 

"Then very bad?"

"I'm afraid so. "

"Very well. Let me have the message. You may go. "

He took the slip of paper cautiously, as if it were dangerous initself, and then called back the operator as the latter reached thedoor. 

"Come back a minute. Sloan, you're a good boy--a very good boy. Faithful, intelligent; you know your business. H-m! Here--here's a fivespot"--he slipped the money into Sloan's hand--"and you shall have morewhen we touch port. Now this message, my lad--you couldn't have madeany mistake in receiving it? You couldn't have twisted any of the wordsa little?"

"No mistake, I'm sure, sir. It was repeated twice. "

"That makes it certain, then--certain, " muttered Henshaw. "That is all, Sloan. "

As the latter left the cabin, the old captain went back to his chairand sat with the paper resting upon his knee, as if a little delaymight change its import. 

"I am growing old, McTee, " he said at last, apologetically, "and ageaffects the eyes first of all. Suppose you take this message, eh? Andread it through to me--slowly--I hate fast reading, McTee. "

The big Scotchman took the slip of paper and read with a long pausebetween each word:

_Beatrice--failing--rapidly--hemorrhage--this--morning--very--weak. _

The paper was snatched from his hand, and Henshaw repeated the wordsover and over to himself: "Weak--failing--hemorrhage--the fools! Alittle bleeding at the nose they call a hemorrhage!"

McTee broke in: "A good many doctors are apt to make a case seem moreserious than it is. They get more credit that way for the cure, eh?"

"God bless you, lad! Aye, they're a lot of damnable curs! Burning atsea--death by fire at sea! He was right! The old devil was right! Look, McTee! I'm safe on my ship; I'm rich; but still I'm burning to death inthe middle of the ocean. "

He shook the Scotchman by his massive shoulder. 

"Go get Sloan--bring him here!"

McTee rose. 

"No! Don't let me lay eyes on him--he brought me this! Go yourselfand carry him a message to send. The doctors are letting her die;they think she has no money. Send them this message:

"_Save Beatrice at all costs. Call in the greatest doctors. I will payall bills ten times over. _

"Quick! Why are you waiting here? You fool! Run! Minutes mean life ordeath to her!"

McTee hastened back to the wireless house in the after-part of theship. To Sloan he gave the message, even exaggerating it somewhat. After it was sent, he said: "Look here, my boy, do you realize thatit's dangerous to bring the captain messages like that last one youcarried to him?"

"Do I know it? I should say I do! Once the old boy jumped at me likea tiger because I carried in a bad report. "

"Could you make up a false message?"

"It's against the law, sir. "

"It's not against the law to keep a man from going crazy. "

"Crazy?"

"I mean what I say. Henshaw is balancing on the ragged edge ofinsanity. Mark my words! If the news comes of his granddaughter'sdeath, he'll fall on the other side. Why can't you give him some hopein the meantime? Suppose you work up something this afternoon likethis: 'Beatrice rallying rapidly. Doctor's much more hopeful. ' What doyou say?"

"Crazy!" repeated the wireless operator, fascinated. "If the old manloses his reason, we're all in danger. "

"He's on the verge of it. I know something of this subject. I'vestudied it a lot. A common sign is when one fancy occupies a man'sbrain. Henshaw has two of them. One is what an old soothsayer told him:that he would die by fire at sea; the other is his love for this girl. Between the two, he's hi bad shape. Remember that he's an old man. "

"You're right, sir; and I'll do it. It may not be legal, but we can'tstop for law in a case like this. "

McTee nodded and went back to Henshaw, whom he found walking the cabinwith a step surprisingly elastic and quick. 

"Go back and send another message, " he called. "I made a mistake. Ididn't send one that was strong enough. They may not understand. What Ishould have said was--"

"I made it twice as strong as the way you put it, " said McTee; and herepeated his phrasing of the message with some exaggeration. 

The lean hand of the captain wrung his. 

"You're a good lad, McTee--a fine fellow. Stand by me. You'd neverguess how my brain is on fire; the old devil of a soothsayer was right. But that message you sent will bring those deadheaded doctors to life. Ah, McTee, if I were only there for a minute in spirit, I could restoreher to life--yes, one minute!"

"Of course you could. But in the meantime, for a change of thought, suppose you finish that order you were about to write out and send toCampbell. "

"What order?"

"About Harrigan. "

"Who the devil is Harrigan?"

McTee drew a deep breath and answered quietly: "The man you ordered towork in the hole. Here's the paper and your pen. "

He placed them in the hands of the captain, but the latter held themidly. 

"It's the frail ones who are carried off by the white plague. Am Iright?"

"No, you're wrong. The frail ones sometimes have a better chance thanthe husky people. Look at the number of athletes who are carried awayby it!"

"God bless you, McTee!"

"The strength that counts is the strength of spirit, and this girl hasyour own fighting spirit. "

"Do you think so?"

"Yes; I saw it in her eyes. "

Henshaw shook his head sadly. 

"No; they're the eyes of her grandmother, and she had no fightingspirit. I think I married her more for pity than for love. Hergrandmother died by that same disease, McTee. "

The latter gave up the struggle and spent an hour soothing the excitedold man. When he managed to escape, he went up and down the deckbreathing deeply of the fresh air. For the moment Harrigan was safe, but it would not be long before he would force Henshaw to deliver theorder. Into this reverie broke the voice of Jerry Hovey. 

"Beg your pardon, Captain McTee. "

The Scotchman turned to the bos'n with the smile still softening hisstern lips. 

"Well?" he asked good-naturedly. 

"Let me have half a dozen words, sir. "

"A thousand, bos'n. What is it?"

Now, Hovey remembered what Harrigan had said about coming straight tothe point, and he appreciated the value of the advice. Particularly inspeaking to a man like McTee, for he recognized in the Scotchman someof the same strong, blunt characteristics of Harrigan. 

"Every man who's sailed the South Seas knows Captain McTee, " he began. 

"None of that, lad. If you know me, you also know that I'm called BlackMcTee--and for a reason. "

"More than that, sir, we know that whatever men say of you, your wordhas always been good. "

"Well?"

"I'm going to ask you to give me your word that what I have to say, ifit doesn't please you, will go out one ear as fast as it goes in theother. "

"You have my word. "

"And maybe your hand, sir?"

McTee, stirred by curiosity, shook hands. 

Hovey began: "Some of us have sailed a long time and never got much inthe pocket to show for it. "

"Yes, that's true of me. "

"But there's none of us would turn our backs on the long green?"

McTee grinned. 

"Well, sir, I have a little plan. Suppose you knew an old man--a man soold, sir, that he was sure to die in a year or so. And suppose he hadone heir--a girl who was about to die--"

"Mutiny, bos'n, " said McTee coldly. 

But the eye of Hovey was fully as cold; he knew his man. 

"Well?" he queried. 

"Talk ahead. I've given you my word to keep quiet. "

"Suppose this old man had a lot of money. Would it be any crime--anygreat crime to slip a little of that long green into our pockets?"

Two pictures were in McTee's mind--one of the safe piled full of gold, and the other of the half-crazed old skipper with his dyinggranddaughter. After all, it was only a matter of months before Henshawwould be dead, for certainly he would not long survive the death ofBeatrice. Even a small portion of that hoard would enable him to leavethe sea--to woo Kate as she must be wooed before he could win her. Golden would be the veil with which he could blind her eyes to thememory of Harrigan after he had removed the Irishman from his path. 

"Very well, bos'n. I understand what you mean. I've seen the inside ofthat safe in the cabin. Now I come straight to the point. Why do youtalk with me?"

"Because I need a man like you. "

"To lead the mutiny?"

"Tell me first, are you with us?"

"Who are us?"

"You'll have to speak first. "

"I'm with you. "

"Now I'll tell you. The whole forecastle is hungry for the end of WhiteHenshaw. Your share of the money is whatever you want to make it. Youcan have all my part; what I want is the sight of Henshaw crawlin' atour feet. "

"You're a good deal of a man, Hovey. Henshaw has put you in his school, and now you're about to graduate, eh? But why do you want me? Whatbrought you to me?"

"I thought I didn't need you a while ago; now I have to have somebodystronger than I am. I was the king of the bunch yesterday; but the lastman we took into our plan proved to be stronger than I am. "

"Who?"

"Harrigan. "

McTee straightened slowly and his eyes brightened. Hovey went on:"Before he'd been with us ten minutes, the rest of the men in theforecastle were looking up to him. He has the reputation. He won it byfacing you and Henshaw at the same time. Now the lads listen to me, butthey keep their eyes on Harrigan. I know what that means. That's why Icome here and offer the leadership to you. "

McTee was thinking rapidly. 

"A plan like this is fire, bos'n, and I have an idea I might burn myfingers unless you have enough of the crew with you. If you haveHarrigan, it certainly means that you have a majority of the rest. "

Hovey grinned: "Aye, you know Harrigan. "

The insinuation made McTee hot, but he went on seriously: "If you couldmake me sure that you have Harrigan, I'd be one of you. "

"What proof do you want?"

"None will do except the word out of his own mouth. Listen! Along aboutfour bells this afternoon I'll find some way of sending Miss Malone outof her cabin. Then I'll go in there and wait. Bring Harrigan close tothat door at that tune and make him talk about the mutiny. Can you doit?"

"But why the room of the girl?"

"You're stupid, Hovey. Because if you talked outside of the cabin whereI sleep--that being the office of Henshaw--he'd hear you as well as Iwould. "

"Then I'll bring him to the door of the girl's cabin. At four bells?"

"Right. "

"After that we'll talk over the details, sir?"

"We will. And keep away from me, Hovey. If Henshaw sees me talking withmembers of his crew, he might begin to think--and any of his thinkingis dangerous for the other fellow. "

The bos'n touched his cap. 

"Aye, aye, sir. You can begin hearin' the chink of the money, and Ibegin to see White Henshaw eatin' dirt. With Black McTee--excusin' thename, sir--to lead us, there ain't nothin' can stop us. "

CHAPTER 24

He went off toward the forecastle hitching at his trousers andwhistling an old English song of the Spanish Main. As for Black McTee, he remained staring after Hovey with a rising thought of perjury. Theloot of the _Heron_ was a deep temptation, and his pledged word to thebos'n was a strong bond, for as Hovey had said, the honor of BlackMcTee, in spite of his other failings, was respected throughout theSouth Seas. For one purpose, however, he would have sacrificed allhopes of plunder and a thousand plighted words, and that purpose wasthe undoing of Harrigan in the eyes of Kate. 

She had grown into a necessity to him. Though were she twice asbeautiful, he would never have paid her the dangerous honor of a secondglance under ordinary conditions, but their life together on the islandand his rivalry with Harrigan for her sake had made her infinitely dearto him. 

Seeing the opportunity to destroy all her respect for Harrigan, heschemed instantly to betray his word to Hovey. Like Harrigan earlier inthe day, he had no purpose to reveal the planned mutiny at once. TheIrishman waited because he did not know to whom he could confide thedangerous information; McTee delayed hi the hope of nippinginsurrection in the bud at the very instant when it was about toflower. It would be far more spectacular. Moreover, he saw in this amanner of enlisting Kate on his side. 

Shortly before four bells in the afternoon he went to her cabin andknocked at the door. When she opened it to him, she stood with one handupon the knob, blocking the way and waiting silently for an explanationof his coming. That quiet coldness banished from his mind the speechwhich he had prepared. 

He said at last: "Kate, I want you to talk with me for a few minutes. "

She considered him seriously--without fear, but with such a deepdistrust that he was startled. He had not dreamed that matters hadprogressed as far as that. At length she stepped back, and without aword beckoned him to come inside. He entered and then his eyes raisedand met her glance with such a deep, still yearning that she wasstartled. No woman can see the revelation of a man's love without beingmoved to the heart. 

She said: "You are in trouble, Angus?"

The hunger of his eyes came full in her face. 

"Aye, trouble. "

"And you have come to me--" she asked; and before she could finish hersentence, McTee broke in, pleadingly:

"For help. "

He saw her lips part, her eyes brighten; he knew it was his despairwhich was winning her. 

"Tell me!" And she made a little gesture with both hands toward him. 

"I have seen it for days. I have lost all hope of you, Kate. "

Her glance wandered slightly, and his hope increased. 

"Because of Harrigan, " he said. 

She was remembering what Harrigan had said: "How to stop McTee? Makeyourself old and your skin yellow, and your hair gray, and take thespring out of your step. "

"Why do you keep the whip over him, Angus? He has saved your life, andyou his. Why will you not treat him as one strong and generous manwould treat another?"

"Because I love you, Kate. "

"Angus, would you stop if you knew I loved him?"

"Is that a fair question, Kate? Even if you said you loved him, I couldnot stop, because I would have to do my best to save you fromyourself. "

She looked her query silently. 

"He is not worthy of you, Kate. Because he seems generous and simple, do not be deceived. He is capable of things which even Black McTeewould turn from. I know it, for I know his type. But I, Kate--your headis turned; do you hear me?"

She rose and cried: "Why have you both thought from the first that Imust choose between you? Are there no other men in the whole world?"

He answered doggedly: "You will never find another who will love you aswe do. To one of us you must finally belong. "

"And that is why you go ahead with your schemes to torture Harrigan, certain that when he is finished I will be helpless?"

"No, I am certain of nothing. But I am absolutely sure that Harriganstands between you and me, and I will have him done for. "

"Let me think, Angus. You have pulled my old world about my ears, andnow I am trying to build another kingdom where force is the only god. Can there be such a place?"

Four bells sounded. He wondered if Hovey would bring Harrigan at thetime they had agreed upon. And she stood with her hands pressed againsther eyes, trembling. 

"In one thing at least you spoke the truth, Angus. There are only twomen left for me in the world. I must choose between you and Harrigan. "

"Until that time comes, I must fight for you, Kate, in the only way Iknow how to fight--with both my hands, trying to kill the things thatstand between us--Hush!"

For he heard the rumble of two deep voices near the door. 

CHAPTER 25

Kate and McTee both stood frozen with attention, for one of the voiceswas Harrigan's, saying: "And why the devil have you brought me away uphere, bos'n?"

"Because we have to watch sharp, Harrigan. There are some of the ladswe can't trust too far, and they mustn't overhear us when we talk. "

"Why, Hovey, they can hear us inside the cabin. "

"She cannot. This is the girl's cabin, and I saw her go out a whileago. "

"Well, then, what is it you want to know?"

"I'll tell you, man to man. When you said you were with us last night, I've been thinking you might have said it for fear of the lads. "

"Hovey, you're thick in the head. Didn't you hear me talk?"

"I did, and I may be thick in the head, but I can't rest easy till yougive me your hand and tell me you're playin' straight with us. You werebackward at first, Harrigan. "

There was an instant of pause, and then Harrigan answered: "I can'ttake your hand, Hovey. "

McTee set his teeth. To have his plans upset when all so far had gonewith perfect smoothness was maddening. 

"Why not?" asked Hovey sharply. 

"It's just a queer hunch I've always had. I don't like the idea oftakin' any oath. I'm a man of action, Hovey. When the night comes, giveme a club, and you'll see where I stand!"

There was a subdued, purring danger in his voice which made Katetremble. Evidently it convinced Hovey. 

"I guess you're right, Harrigan. I don't want to doubt you; God knowswe got a need for men like you when the time comes. The other ladsthink there'll be nothin' to it, but I know Henshaw--I _know_!"

"It'll be a hard nut to crack. I don't make any mistake about that, "said Harrigan; "but if we work cool and with a rush, we'll sweep themoff their feet. "

"Now you're talkin', " said Hovey. "Speed is the thing we want most. Speed, and no quarter. "

"You'll need no urging for that. The boys are all set to kill. Have theofficers many revolvers?"

"Not many. Salvain has one, and so has Henshaw. I don't think the restpack any. Harrigan, I've got a weight off my mind, knowing that you'resure with us. And you'll get any share of the loot you want to name. "

There was another brief pause. 

"I'm easy satisfied, " said Harrigan. "What I want is that the girl whohas this cabin--Kate Malone--should be handled with gloves. "

"Ah, there speaks the Irish!"

"I want the care of her to fall to my hands. "

"Aye, you could have ten like her, as far as I'm concerned. "

"Then I'm your man, Hovey. There comes one of the mates. Let's moveon. "

"Right-o, lad. "

Their voices retreated, and after a time McTee looked down at Kate. Shewas dazed, as if someone had struck her in the face. 

"What does it mean, Angus?"

"Wasn't it plain? Mutiny!"

She struck her hand sharply across her forehead with a little moan. 

"I warned you, Kate, that he was capable of anything, but I neverdreamed of a proof coming as quickly as this. "

"I can't believe it; I won't believe it. "

He shrugged his shoulders. 

"Why should I blame him?" he said. "He sees a way to get you. I couldalmost sink as low as that myself--but not quite--not quite! I knowsomething of mutinies at sea. Have you noticed the fellows who are inthis crew?"

"I don't know--yes--I'm too sick to remember a single face except onescar-faced man. "

"On the whole they're the roughest lot I've ever seen cooped uptogether. If they should be turned loose, they would make a shambles ofthis ship--a red shambles, Kate!"

There was not a trace of color in her face. She watched him with ahorrified fascination. 

"Of course, " he went on easily, "I'll be the first one to go down. Harrigan would see to that. Well, it would be a worthwhile fight--whileI lasted!"

"It can never take place!" she said desperately. "You are forewarned. Tell Captain Henshaw at once, and--"

He raised his hand solemnly. 

"You must not do that, Kate. You must promise me not to speak a word onthe subject until I have given you leave. "

"I will promise you anything--but why not speak of it at once? I feelas if we were standing over a--a magazine of powder!"

"We are--only worse. But it would be madness to warn Henshaw now. He isunnerved--almost insane. His granddaughter, for whom he had made allhis fortune and to whom he is going in the States--"

"Yes, Salvain told me. She is dying; it is pitiful, Angus, but--"

"He must not be told. He would start with the hand of iron, and thefirst act of violence which he committed would be the touch of firewhich would set off this powder magazine. No, we must wait. Perhaps ina little time I may be able to win over one of the mutineers and fromhim learn all their plans, and then turn the tables on them. But I mustfirst know all the men who are concerned in the uprising. When we _do_move--shall I spare Harrigan, Kate?"

He tried to ask it frankly, but a devil of malice was in his eyes. 

"I don't know--I can't think! Angus, what did Dan mean?"

"I warned you of what he was capable, " he said. 

She caught his hands, stammering: "You are all that is left to me. Youwill stand between me and danger, Angus? You will protect me? But wait!I could go to Harrigan. I _know_ that if I plead with him, I can winhim away from the mutineers!"

"Kate, you are hysterical! Don't you see that a man who is capable ofplanning a wholesale murder in the night would be quite able to lie toyou? No, no! Whatever you do, you must promise me not to speak a wordof this to anyone, most of all, to Harrigan. "

"I will promise anything--I will do anything. It all rests with you, Angus. "

"And when we strike at the mutineers--if Harrigan falls, will youabsolve me of his death, Kate?"

She was terribly moved, standing stiff and straight and helpless like achild about to be punished. 

"Angus, for the sake of pity, do not ask me. "

"I must know. "

"Angus, " came her broken voice, "I _cannot_ give up my faith in him. "

His face grew as dark as night, but he laid a gentle hand on hershoulder and said: "Your mind is distraught. You shall have time tothink this over; but remember, Kate, we must fight fire with fire, andthe time has come when you must choose between us. "

And then, very wisely, he slipped from the room. 

CHAPTER 26

On the promenade outside he met Sloan, the wireless operator, on hisway to Captain Henshaw's cabin with a slip of paper in his hand. Sloanwinked at him broadly. 

"The good news has come, sir, " he grinned. "Take a look at this!"

And McTee eagerly read the typewritten slip. 

_Beatrice is rallying. Doctors have decided effusion of blood was nothemorrhage. Opinion now very hopeful. _

"Will that bring the old boy around for a while?" asked Sloan. 

"He'll slip you a twenty on the strength of that and give you a drinkas well, " said McTee. 

They reached the cabin and entered together to find that White Henshawlay on the couch in the corner. His physical strength was apparentlyexhausted, and one long, lean arm dangled to the floor. At sight of thedreaded wireless operator with the message in his hand, his yellow faceturned from yellow to pale ivory. He rose and supported himself withone hand against the wall, scowling as if he dared them to notice hisweakness. 

"Good news!" called Sloan cheerily, and extended the paper. 

The captain snatched the paper, his eyes were positively wolfish whilehe devoured the message. 

"Sloan--good lad, " he stammered. "Stay by your instrument every minute, my boy. Before night we'll have word that she's past all danger. "

Sloan touched his cap and withdrew. 

"Good news!" said McTee amiably. "I'm mighty glad to hear it, captain. "

The old man fell back into a chair, holding the precious piece of paperwith its written lie in both trembling hands. 

"Good news, " he croaked. "Aye, McTee. You were right, lad! Those damneddoctors don't know their business. They're making the case out bad sothey'll get more credit for the cure. See how they're fooling with me--and me with my heart on fire in the middle of the sea!"

His eyes wandered strangely in the midst of his exultation. 

"That would be a strange death, eh, McTee--to burn in the middle of thesea with a ship full of gold?"

The Scotchman shuddered. 

"Forget that, man. You're not going to burn at sea. You're going toreach port with all your gold and you're going to stand beside Beatriceand say--"

Henshaw broke in: "And say, 'Beatrice, I've come to make you happy. We'll leave this country where the fogs are so thick and the sun nevershines, and we'll go south, far south, where there's summer all theyear. ' That's what I'll say!"

"Right, " nodded McTee. "If her lungs are weak, that's the place to takeher. "

Henshaw jerked erect in his chair. "Weak lungs? Who said she had weaklungs? McTee, you're a fool! A little cold on the chest, that's allthat's the matter with the girl! The doctors have made the sickness--they and their rotten medicines! And now they're making sport out ofWhite Henshaw. I'll skin them alive, I will!"

McTee lighted a cigar and nodded judiciously as he puffed it. 

"Very good idea, Henshaw. If you want me to, I'll go along and help youout. "

"You're a brick, McTee. Maybe I'll need you. Getting old; not what Iused to be. "

"I see you're not, " said McTee boldly. 

Henshaw scowled: "What do you mean?"

"That affair of Harrigan. He's still going scot-free, you know. "

"Right! McTee, I'm getting feeble-minded, but I'll make up for losttime. "

He caught up pen and paper, while McTee drew a long breath of relief. Amoment later he was astonished to note that the captain had not writtena single letter. 

"I'd forgotten, " murmured Henshaw. "When I started to write that orderthis morning--just as I was putting pen to paper--in came Sloan withthe message from the doctors saying that Beatrice was in a criticalsituation. It may be, captain, that this message is bad luck for me, eh?"

"Nonsense, " said McTee easily, gripping his hand with rage, while hefought to control his voice. "You mustn't let superstitions run awaywith you. "

"So! So!" frowned Henshaw. "You're a young man to give me advice, McTee. I've followed superstitions all my life. I tell you there'ssomething in those star-gazing devils of the South Seas. They knowthings that aren't in the books. "

"What about the old fool who prophesied that you'd die by fire at sea?"

Henshaw shivered, and his eyes narrowed as he stared at McTee. 

"How do you know he's an old fool, eh? We haven't reached port yet--notby a long sight!"

"Well, " said McTee, with a carefully assumed carelessness, "this shipbelongs to you--you're the skipper; but on a boat I was captain of, nodamned engineer would pull my beard and tell me to rightabout. Theynever got away with a line of chatter like that when Black McTee wasspeaking to them. Never!"

At this comparison the face of Henshaw grew marvelously evil. 

"McTee, " he said, "men step lively when you speak to them--but theyjump out of their skins when they hear White Henshaw's voice. "

"That's what I've heard, " said the other dauntlessly, "but d'you thinkCampbell ever would have taken this chance if he didn't know you're notwhat you used to be?"

For reply Henshaw set his teeth and dipped the pen into the ink. As hepoised it above the paper, Sloan appeared at the door calling: "Oneminute, captain!"

The captain turned livid and rose slowly, crumpling the paper as he didso and letting it drop to the floor. 

"Out with it!" he muttered in a hoarse whisper. "She's worse again!Damn you, McTee, I told you this message was bad luck!"

The wireless operator was much puzzled and glance from the Scotchmanto his skipper. 

"I only wanted to know, sir, if you wish to send an answerto this last wireless. Any congratulations?"

"No--get out!"

And as Sloan fled from the door with a wondering side glance at McTee, Henshaw sank back into his chair, picked up the paper on which he wasabout to write, and tore it into small bits. Not until this task wasfinished was he able to speak to McTee. 

"D'you see now? Is there nothing in my superstitions? Why, sir, justholding that pen over this piece of damnable paper brought Sloan onthe run to my door. If I'd written a single word, he'd of had a messagefrom the doctors saying that Beatrice was dying. I know!"

"You really think, " began McTee, and some of his furious impatiencecrept into his voice--"you really think that writing on that piece ofpaper with your pen would have brought in Sloan with a wireless messagefrom the mainland?"

Henshaw shook his head slowly. 

"There's no use trying to explain these things, " he said, "butsometimes, McTee, there's a small voice that comes up inside of me andtells me what to do and what not to do. When I first saw the picture ofBeatrice--that one where she's just a slip of a child--there was avoice that said: 'Here's the spirit of your dead wife come back tolife. You must work for her and cherish her. ' So I've done it. Andbecause I started to do it, the voice never left me. It warned me whento put to sea and when to stay hi port. It gave me a hint when to buyand when to sell, and the result is that I'm rich--rich--rich. Gold inmy hand and gold in my brain, McTee!"

The Scotchman began to feel more and more that old age or his monomaniahad shaken White Henshaw's reason, but he said bitterly: "And Isuppose, if that voice never fails you and if these South Seas nativescan read the future, that you are bound to burn at sea?"

"Damn you!" said Henshaw, terribly moved. "What devil keeps puttingthat in your brain? Isn't it in mine all the day and all the night?Don't I see hellfire in the dark? Don't I see the same flames, blue andthin, dancing in the light of the sun at midday? Is the thing ever outof my mind? Were you put on this ship to keep dinning the idea into myears? If there's something more than the life on earth, then there mustbe a hell--and if there's a hell, then it's real hellfire that I see!"

He paused and pointed a gaunt, trembling arm at McTee:

"D'you understand? The men I've killed before they died--they sendtheir spirits here to walk beside me. They wait in the dark--and theywhisper in my ear!"

McTee swallowed hard and commenced to edge toward the door. 

"Farley is always hanging around--Farley, as I saw him on the beachthat last time in his loincloth, with his pig eyes; sometimes he seemsto be begging me to take pity on him; sometimes he seems to be laughingat me. And he's always got his hand outstretched. And Collins comesstroking his beard in the way he had, and he keeps his hand stretchedout to me. What do they want? Alms! Alms! Alms! They want my soul foralms to take it below and burn it in the hellfire--the thin, blueflames!"

He stopped in the midst of his ravings and drew himself erect, a smileof infinite cruelty on his lips. 

"Let them all come with their damned, empty palms! They're ghosts, andthey cannot stop me so long as I follow the small voice that's insideof me. They can't stop me, and I'll win back to Beatrice. There I'msafe--safe! Her hands are thin and light and cool and as fragrant asflowers. She'll lay them on my eyelids and I'll go to sleep! And theghosts will close their empty hands. Ha! McTee, d'you know aught of thepower of a woman's love?"

He stepped close to the burly Scotchman. 

"Keep off, " growled McTee. "I want none of you! There's poison in yourtouch!"

He raised his hand like a guard, but two lean, thin hands, incredibly strong, closed on his wrists. 

"A woman's love, " went on the old buccaneer of the South Seas, "isstronger than armor plate to save the man she cares for. You can't seeit; you could never see it! But I tell you there are times when theghosts have come close to me, and then sometimes I've seen the shadowsof thin, small hands come in front of me and push them back. The handsof Beatrice push them back, and they're helpless to harm me!"

CHAPTER 27

But McTee wrenched his arms away and fled out on the deck. He blunderedinto Jerry Hovey, who started back at sight of him. 

"What's happened, sir?" asked the bos'n. "Been seein' ghosts?"

"Damn you, " growled McTee, "I had a nap and a bad dream--a hell of anightmare. "

"You look it! You heard what Harrigan said? Does that sound as if I hadenough backing?"

"If the rest of them are as strong for it as Harrigan, it does. "

"As strong for it as Harrigan? Between you and me--just a whisper inyour ear--I don't think Harrigan is half as strong for it as he talks. I don't trust him, somehow. "

"No?"

"Look here, " said the bos'n cautiously. "We hear there was once sometrouble between you and Harrigan?"

"Well?"

"Would you waste much tune if somethin' was to happen to him--say inthe middle of the night, silent and unexpected?"

"I would not! Take him by the foot and heave him into the sea. Verygood idea, Hovey. Is he getting the eyes of the lads too much?"

Hovey fenced: "He's a landlubber, and he don't understand sea things. He's better out of the way. "

"How'll you do it?" asked McTee softly. "Speak out, Hovey. Would youtry your own hand on Harrigan?"

"Not me! I know a better way. There's one that's in the mutiny who hasa hand as strong as mine--almost--and a foot as silent as the paw of acat. I'll give him the tip. "

"And now for the details of the attack, " said McTee, anxious not to laytoo much stress upon the destruction of Harrigan. 

"Here it is, " answered Hovey, and entered into an elaborate descriptionof all their plans. McTee listened with faraway eyes. He heard thewords, but he was thinking of the death of Harrigan. 

That invincible Irishman, after his talk with Hovey in front of thecabin of Kate, returned to the cool room of the chief engineer. Theworthy Campbell, in wait for the ultimatum of White Henshaw, had beenfortifying himself steadily with liquor, and by the middle of theafternoon he had reached a state in which he had no care forconsequences; he would have defied all the powers upon earth and beyondit. 

The next morning, as he went up to his usual task of scrubbing thebridge, Harrigan thought he perceived a possible reason why hispersecution was being neglected. It was the picture of McTee and KateMalone leaning at the rail. McTee was content. There was no doubt ofthat. He leaned above Kate and talked seriously down into her face. Harrigan was mightily tempted to turn about and climb to the bridgefrom the other side of the deck, but he made himself march on and beginwhistling a tune. 

McTee raised his head instantly, and, staring at the Irishman, hemurmured a word to Kate, and she turned and regarded Harrigan with analmost painful curiosity. He was about to swagger past her when sheshook off the detaining hand of McTee and ran to the Irishman. 

"Dan, " she said eagerly, and laid a hand on his arm. 

"Come back, Kate, " growled McTee. "You've promised me not to speak--"

"Did you promise him not to speak with me again?" broke in Harrigan. 

"I only meant--" she began. 

"It's little I care what you meant, " said the Irishman coldly, and heshook off her hand. "Go play with McTee. I want none of ye! After I'veslaved for ye an' saved ye from God knows what, ye dare to turn andmake them eyes cold and distant when ye look at me? Ah-h, get back toMcTee! I'm through with ye!"

She only insisted the more: "I _will_ speak to you, Dan!"

"Come away, Kate, " urged McTee, grinding his teeth. "Doesn't this provewhat I told you?"

"I don't care what it proves, " she said hotly. "Dan, I've been thinkinggrisly things of you. I simply can't believe them now that I look youin the face. "

"Whisht!" said Harrigan, and his face was black. "Have you the right todoubt me?"

She answered sadly: "I have, Dan. "

The Irishman turned slowly away and started up for the bridge withoutanswer. As he went, he groaned beneath his breath: "Ochone! Ochone!She's heard!"

He could not dream how she knew of the mutiny, but if it was carriedthrough, he was damned in her eyes forever. What she guessed McTee mustknow. What McTee knew must be familiar to White Henshaw, yet Henshawcould not know, for if he did, the ringleaders would be instantlyclapped into irons. Once or twice he looked down from his work to Kateand McTee. They still leaned at the rail, talking seriously. 

And McTee was saying: "I have learned what I want to know. Every detailof the plot is in my hands. Now I am going to the cabin of WhiteHenshaw and tell him everything. It's the simplest way. And you'vestarted a suspicion in the mind of Harrigan. He'll spread the word tothe rest of the mutineers, and they'll be on their watch against us. "

She made a little gesture of appeal. "I couldn't help speaking to him, Angus. Suspecting him of such a thing is like--is like suspectingmyself!"

"Let it go. It's done. Now I'm going up to see White Henshaw. The oldman will be crazy when he hears it. "

He found the captain giving some orders to Salvain, and waited untilthey were alone. Then he said: "There are about ten of us against therest of the crew of the ship. Can we hold them in case of a mutiny?"

He had planned this laconic statement carefully, expecting to seeHenshaw turn pale and stammer in terror. Instead, the captain regardedMcTee with quietly contemplative eyes. 

"So, " he murmured, "you've heard of the mutiny?"

The tables were completely turned on the Scotchman. He gasped: "Youhave known all the time?"

"Certainly, " said Henshaw; "I even know every word that Hovey said toyou. "

McTee turned crimson. 

"I have eyes that see everything on the ship, " went on Henshaw, as ifhe wished to cover the embarrassment of the Scotchman, "and I have earswhich hear everything. I have lines of information tangled through theforecastle. I can almost guess what they are about to think, let alonewhat they will speak or do. The blockheads are always planning amutiny, though I confess none of them have ever taken the proportionsof this one. However, this will go the way of the rest. "

"The way of the rest?" queried McTee almost stupidly. 

"Yes. They plan to hold their action till we're close to the land. About that time I'll call up one or two of the ring-leaders and tellthem just what they have planned to do. That'll make them think I haveunknown means of meeting the mutiny. It will die. "

McTee sat down, loosened his shirt at the throat, and gaped uponHenshaw as a child might gape upon a magician. 

"I don't blame you for taking a day to think over the temptation, "smiled the old buccaneer. "The gold I showed you would have tempted anyman. But I'm glad you came to me. I expected you last night. It tookyou a little longer to settle the details in your mind, eh?"

"Henshaw, I feel like a yellow dog!"

"Come! Come! You're a man after my own heart. You took the temptationin your hand--you looked it over--and then you turned away from it. Well, and suppose the mutiny should actually come to the breakingpoint; they would be right in thinking I have means of fighting them. Ihave no firearms on the ship; they know that. They don't know that Ihave these. "

He went into the next room and returned carrying a heavy box. This heplaced on the desk and took a small, heavy ball of metal from it. 

"A bomb?" queried McTee. 

"It is. The moment a group gathers, one of these tossed among them willend the mutiny the moment it begins. "

McTee handed back the bomb in silence. There was something about thiscold-blooded way of speaking of death which was not cruelty--it wassomething greater--it was an absolute disregard of life. 

"Of course, " said Henshaw, as he came back from depositing the box inthe next room, "there are only half a dozen of those bombs, but thatwill be enough. The explosion of a couple of them would just aboutwreck the deck. However, the mutiny will never reach the point ofaction. I'll see to that. What always ties the hands of the crew isthat it lacks real leaders. Hovey, for instance, will turn to waterwhen I say three words about the mutiny to him. "

"But Harrigan, " said McTee quietly, "will not. "

"The Irishman!" Henshaw muttered. "I forgot. McTee, I'm getting old!"

"Only careless, " answered the other, "but it's a bad thing to becareless where Harrigan is concerned. A man like that, Henshaw, couldlead your mutineers, and lead them well. Hovey told me that every oneof the crew looks up to the Irishman. "

"He's got to be crippled--or put out of the way, " stated Henshawcalmly. "I was a fool. I forgot about Harrigan. "

"It may be, " said McTee, "that he'll be put out of the way tonight. "

"McTee, I begin to see that you have brains. "

The latter waved the sinister compliment aside. 

"Suppose the little--er--experiment fails? Doesn't it occur to you thatthat message might be written out and sent to Campbell?"

The captain changed color, and his eyes shifted. 

"I've told you--" he began. 

"Nonsense, " said McTee. "I'll write the thing, if you want, and allyou'll have to do is to sign it. "

"Would that make any difference?" asked Henshaw wistfully. 

"Of course, " said McTee. "Here we go. You've got to do something totame Harrigan, captain, or there'll be the deuce to pay. "

And as he spoke, he picked up pen and paper and began to write, Henshawin the meantime walking to the door in an agony of apprehension as ifhe expected to see the dreaded figure of Sloan appear. McTee wrote:

_From Captain Henshaw to Chief Engineer Douglas Campbell

Sir:

On the receipt of this order, you will at once place Daniel Harrigan atwork passing coal, beginning this day with a double shift, andcontinuing hereafter one shift a day. 

(Signed)_

"Here you are, captain, " he called, and Henshaw turned reluctantly fromthe door and sat down at the table. 

"Bad luck's in it, " he muttered, "but something has to be done--something has to be done!"

He wrote: "Captain Hensh--" but at this point the voice of Sloan spokefrom the open door. 

"A message, captain. "

With a choked cry Henshaw whirled and rose, supporting himself againstthe edge of the table with both trembling hands. His accusing eyes wereon McTee. 

"Sloan!" he called in his hoarse whisper at last, but stillhis damning gaze held hard upon McTee. 

The wireless operator advanced a step at a time into the room, placedthe written message on the edge of the table, and then sprang back asif in mortal fear. Henshaw, still keeping his glance upon the Scotchmanwith a terrible earnestness, picked up the sheet of paper on which hehad been signing his name, and tore it slowly, methodically, into smallstrips. As the last of the small fragments fluttered to the floor, hishand went out to the message Sloan had brought and drew it to his side. He waved his arm in a sweeping gesture that commanded the other twofrom his presence, and they slipped from the cabin without a word. 

CHAPTER 28

"She's dead?" McTee asked softly when they stood on the promenadeoutside. 

"She is. She must have been dying at about the time I brought in thatother message--the one you told me to bring. "

They avoided each other's eyes. Inside the cabin they heard a faintsound like paper crumpled up. Then they caught a moan from the room--asoft sound such as the wind makes when it hums around the corners of atall building. 

They were silent for a time, listening with painful intentness. Notanother murmur came from the cabin. Sloan wiped his wet forehead andwhispered shakily: "I wouldn't mind it so much if he'd curse and rave. But to sit like that, not making a sound--it ain't natural, CaptainMcTee. "

"Hush, you fool, " said McTee. "White Henshaw is alone with his dead. And it's me that he blames for it. I brought him the bad luck. "

Sloan shuddered. 

"Then I wouldn't have your name for ten thousand dollars, sir. "

"If there's bad luck, " said McTee solemnly, for every sailor has somesuperstitious belief, "it's on the entire ship--on every one of thecrew as well as on me. We'll have to pay for this--all of us--and payhigh. We're apt to _feel_ it before long. And I've got to go back tothat cabin after a while!"

He spoke it as another man might say: "And an hour from now I have toface the firing squad. "

But when he returned to the cabin, he heard no outburst of reproachesfrom White Henshaw. The door to Henshaw's bedroom was closed, and McTeecould hear the captain stirring about in it, working at some namelesstask over which he hummed continually, now and then breaking intolittle snatches of song. McTee was stupefied. He tried to explain tohimself by imagining that Henshaw was one of those hard-headed men wholive for the present and never waste time thinking of the past. He hadmade many plans for his granddaughter. Now she was dead, and hedismissed her from his mind. 

This explanation might be the truth, but nevertheless the steadyhumming wore on McTee's nerves until finally he knocked on the door ofthe inner cabin. It was dusk by this time, and when Henshaw opened thedoor, he was carrying a lantern. 

"You!" he muttered. "Well, captain?"

"You seem busy, " said McTee uneasily, shifting under the steady lightfrom the lantern. "I thought I might be able to help you. "

"At the work I'm doing no man can help, " answered Henshaw. 

"What work?"

"I'm calculating profit and loss. "

"On your cargo?"

"Cargo? Yes, yes! Profit and loss on this cargo. "

And he broke into a harsh laugh. Obviously Henshaw was lying, yet theScotchman went on with the conversation, eager to draw out some hiddenmeaning. 

"It's an odd idea of yours, this, to bring a shipment of wheat from thesouth seas to Central America. "

"Aye, the first time it's ever been done. This wheat came all the wayfrom Australia and the United States, and now it's going back again. I'll tell you why. Wheat is scarce for export even in the States justnow, so I'm taking a gambling chance on getting this to port before thefirst quantities come from the north. If I get in in time, I'll cleanup--big. "

"I understand, " said McTee. 

The captain raised his lantern again and shone it in the eyes of McTee. 

"Do you understand?" he queried. "Do you?"

And he broke again into the harsh laughter. McTee started back with ascowl. 

"What's the mystery, captain? What's the secret you're laughing about?"

Again Henshaw chuckled. 

"You're a curious man, McTee. Well, well! What am I laughing about?Money always makes me want to laugh, and now I'm laughing about money. Do you understand that? No, you don't. Perhaps you will before long. Patience, my friend!"

For some reason the blood of McTee grew cold and colder as he listened. His original suspicion of insanity grew weaker. He was being mocked, and the mad do not mock. 

"So tonight is the last night of Harrigan, eh?" said Henshaw suddenly. 

"In the name of God, " said McTee, deeply shaken, "why do you speak ofthat? Yes, tonight he dies!"

"Alone!" said Henshaw in a changed voice. "He dies alone! It must be agrim thing to die alone at sea--to slip into the black water--to drinkthe salt--a little struggle--and then the light goes out. So!"

He shivered and folded his arms. He seemed to be embracing himself tofind warmth. 

"But to die in the middle of the ocean with many men around you, " hewent on, speaking half to himself, "that would not be so bad. What doyou say, McTee?"

But McTee was not in a mood for speaking. He only stared, fascinatedand dumb. Henshaw continued: "In the middle of night, with the enginesthrumming, and the lights burning in every port, suppose a ship shouldput her nose under the surface and dive for the bottom! The men aresinging in the forecastle, and suddenly their song goes out. Thecaptain is in the wheelhouse. He is dreaming of his home town, maybe, when he sees the black waters rising over the prow. He thinks it is adream and rubs his eyes. Before he can look again, the waves are uponhim. There is no alarm; the wireless, perhaps, is broken; the boats, perhaps, are useless; and so the brave ship dives down to Davy Jones'slocker with all on board, and the next minute the waves wash over thespot and rub out all memory of those who died there. Well, well, McTee, there's a way of dying that would please White Henshaw more than adeath in a bed at a home port, with the landsharks sitting round yourbed grinning and nodding out your minutes of life. Ha?"

But Black McTee, like a frightened child caught in a dark room, turnedand fled in shameless fear into the deep night. Not till he was far aftdid he stop in a quiet place to think of Harrigan dying alone, chokingin the black water. 

But Harrigan was far from fear. He lay on the deck above theforecastle, cradled by the swing of the bows. He shook away the lurkinghorror of the mutiny and gave himself up to peace. 

In the midst of his sleep he dreamed of lying in a pitch-dark room andstaring up at a brilliant point of light, like a dark lantern partiallyunshuttered. And suddenly Harrigan woke, and looking up, he caught aflashing point of light directly above his eyes. In another moment hewas aware of the dark figure of a man crouched beside him, and then heknew that the light which glittered over his head was the shimmer ofthe stars against a steel blade. 

The knife, as he stared, jerked up and then down with a sweep; Harriganshot up his hand to meet the blow, and his grip fastened on a wrist. Wrenching on that wrist, he jerked himself to his knees, and the knifeclattered on the deck, but at the same instant the other man--a dimfigure which he could barely make out in the thick night--rushed onhim, a shoulder struck against his chest, and he was thrown sprawlingon the deck, sliding with the toss of the deck underneath the rail. Hewould have fallen overboard had he not kept his grip on that wrist, andas he reached the perilous edge, the other man jerked back to free hisarm. 

He succeeded, but the effort checked the slide of Harrigan's greatbody, and the next instant the Irishman was on his feet. He drove atthe elusive figure with his balled fist, but the other ducked beneaththe blow and fled down the ladder. Harrigan stopped only long enough tosweep up the fallen knife before he followed, but when he reached theedge of the deck, the waist of the ship extending back to the maincabin was empty. The man, whoever he was, must have fled into theforecastle. 

Harrigan knew that if one of the sailors had dared to attack him, hemust be suspected, and if he was suspected by one, that one wouldpoison the minds of a dozen others in a short time. It was evenpossible that someone in authority had given orders for his death. Withthis in mind he climbed down the ladder and opened the door of theforecastle. He found the sailors sitting in a loose circle on the floorrolling battered dice out of a time-blackened leather box. 

Harrigan sat down on the edge of his bunk, produced the captured knife, and commenced to sharpen it slowly, without ostentation, on the sole ofhis shoe. It was already of a razor keenness. It was a carving knifeevidently stolen from the galley of the ship; it had been ground sooften that the steel which remained was thin and narrow. A sharp blowwith that knife would drive it to the handle through human flesh. As hepassed it slowly back and forth across his shoe, Harrigan watched thefaces of the others with a side glance. 

One or two looked up frankly and nodded approval when they saw hisoccupation. The others, however, kept at their game, and of these theonly one to pay no attention to his presence was Jerry Hovey. Itconvinced Harrigan at once that the bos'n had given orders for hisdeath. It might have been the bos'n himself who had made the attemptjust a moment before and had retreated to the forecastle. 

On the other hand, the bos'n seemed to be breathing regularly, and theman with whom he had fought would not be able to keep his chest fromheaving a little after that violent effort. It was more probable thatone of the men who lay in their bunks had made the attempt, but itwould be useless to examine them. Then his glance fell on Kamasura, thecabin boy. 

The little, flat-faced Jap was a favorite with Jerry Hovey, and he waspermitted to come forward whenever he pleased to the forecastle. He nowsat on a box against a wall, watching the dice game with his slanteyes. Once or twice he met the searching scrutiny of Harrigan with acalm glance, and when it was repeated for the third time, nodded andgrinned in the most friendly manner. 

Harrigan was about to dismiss his suspicion from his mind, when henoticed that the Jap's arms were folded and the hands thrust up theopposite sleeves, concealing both wrists. Harrigan considered a moment, and then stooped over and commenced to unlace his boots. When the firstone was unloosened, he kicked it off, but with such careless vigor thatit skidded far across the floor and smashed against the box on whichKamasura sat. The little Oriental leaped to his feet and caught up theshoe. As he did so, Harrigan's watchful eye saw a bright-red spot onthe Jap's wrist. That was where the grip of his fingers had lain whenthey struggled on the deck above. 

"'Scuse me, Kamasura, " he called cheerily, and raised his hand tobetoken that the boot had come from him. 

There was a flash of teeth and a glint of almond eyes as the Japgrinned in answer and the boot was tossed back. Harrigan caught it, buthis eye was not on the shoe. He was staring covertly at Jerry Hovey, and now he saw the gray-blue eyes of the bos'n flash up and glance witha singular meaning at Kamasura. If he had heard every detail of theplot, Harrigan could not have understood more fully. Thereafter, everymoment he spent on the _Heron_ would be full of danger, but apparentlyHovey had confided his hatred of the Irishman to Kamasura alone. IfHovey had spoken to the rest of the forecastle, those blunt sailorswould have showed their feelings by some scowling side glance atHarrigan. It flashed across his mind that the reason Hovey wished himout of the way was because he feared him. 

CHAPTER 29

He slipped onto his bunk and lay with his hands folded under his head, thinking; for between the danger from the leader of the mutiny and thedanger from McTee and Henshaw, he was utterly confused. He made out thevoices of the two gamblers, Hall and Cochrane. 

"Three deuces to beat, " said Hall. 

"I'd beat three fives to get Van Roos, " answered Cochrane. 

Jan Van Roos was the second mate, a genial Dutchman with rosy cheeksand a hearty laugh for all occasions; but he was an excellent sailorand a strict disciplinarian. Therefore he had won the hatred of thecrew. The entire group of mutineers had shaken dice to have thedisposing of the mate in case he was captured alive. Now the dicerattled and clicked on the deck as Cochrane made his cast. 

"Forty-three!" called Cochrane. "Now watch the fours. "

He swept up the other three dice and made his second cast. Another fourrolled upon the deck. He had won Van Roos, to dispose of him as he sawfit. Harrigan heard the rumble of Sam Hall's cursing. 

"Easy, lad, " said Cochrane soothingly. "We'll work on Van Roostogether, and if we don't sweat every ounce of blubber out of his fatcarcass, my name is not Garry. "

There was a sharp knock at the door of the forecastle, and a momentlater Shida, the other Japanese cabin boy, entered and came directly tothe bunk of Harrigan. 

He whispered in the ear of the Irishman: "Meester Harrigan, get up. Cap'n McTee, he want. "

"Where is he?" growled Harrigan. 

"I show. "

Harrigan slipped on his shoes and followed Shida aft, wondering. Thelittle, quick-footed Jap brought him back of the wheelhouse and thendisappeared. Leaning against the rail was McTee, unaware of theircoming and peering out at the wake of the ship. 

As the Heron's stern dipped to a trough of a wave that towered blacklyinto the night, the outlines of McTee's form were blurred, but the nextmoment he was tossed up against the very heart of the starry sky. Withthat peculiar mixture of fear and thrilling exultation which he alwaysfelt when he came into the presence of the captain, Harrigan drewclose. Perhaps the sailor had chosen this heaving afterdeck as theplace for their final death struggle, ending when one of them washurled into the black ocean. 

It was this thought which gave the ring to his voice when he called, "I've come, McTee!"

The captain whirled, bracing himself against the rail with both hands, as though prepared to meet an attempt to thrust him overboard. Then--and Harrigan thought his ears deceived him as he listened--McTee saidwith a great, outgoing breath: "Thank God!"

He explained: "Come closer; talk soft! Harrigan, guard yourselftonight. There'll be an attempt at your life!"

"Another?" queried Harrigan. 

"They've tackled you already?"

Harrigan took out the knife and waved it in the faint starlight. 

"They did, " he said jauntily, "and they left this behind them as atoken. "

"Listen, " said McTee; "it's not for nothing that men call me Black, butall evening I've been remembering the time when we took hands in thetrough of the sea. I've thought of that, Harrigan, and it made me weakinside--"

He paused, but Harrigan would not speak. 

"Because I planned your death tonight, Dan. "

"Angus, the steel ain't been sharpened that can kill me. "

"Don't be too confident. Get every word I say. I'm washing my soul outfor you. It's Hovey and the little Jap, Kamasura, that you'll have toguard against. "

"I know 'em both. "

"D'you mean to say--"

"No, I didn't make 'em confess, but I saw 'em lookin' at each other. What made you hitch up with swine like them? Was it because of--her?"

"Yes. "

"Then I forgive you for it. Angus, I got a sort of a desire to shakehands with you. There's nothin' but swine an' snakes aboard the Heron. I'd like to feel the grip of a man's hand. "

They fumbled in the dark and then their hands met. They retained thatgrasp till the ship sank twice to the deep shadow of the trough andswung up again to the crest. 

"There's no peace between us till she's out of the way, " mutteredHarrigan at last. "What d'you say, Angus?"

"Harrigan, there are times when you're a poet. Strip!"

The Irishman was tearing off his shirt, when three crashing, rattlingexplosions sent a shudder through the Heron, and his arms droppednervelessly. 

"Where was it?" gasped Harrigan. 

"Forward, " answered McTee. 

"Kate!" they cried in the same breath, and rushed for the main cabin. 

CHAPTER 30

The decks were already thick with half-dressed sailors. Here and therelanterns gleamed, and what they showed was the three lifeboats of theHeron--two on one side of the cabin and one on the other--blown intomatchwood. Only shapeless fragments and bundles of kindling wooddangled from the davits. Captain Henshaw, cool and calm in his whiteclothes, stood with folded arms examining the wreckage on one side. 

The sailors from the forecastle went here and there, muttering, growling surlily; for a shrewd blow had been struck at their plan ofmutiny, the last item of which was to abandon the Heron off a desertedcoast and then row ashore in the lifeboats. Over their clamor andcursing broke two voices, one accusing in a deep bass and the otherprotesting innocence in a harsh treble. It was the third mate, EricBorgson, who approached carrying little Kamasura under his arm like abundle. 

"Here's the little devil who done the work, " he snarled, and flungKamasura at the feet of White Henshaw. 

The Japanese are a brave people, but in that dreadful presence Kamasuramade no effort to regain his feet, but remained on his knees, grovelingand clinging to the hands of the captain, while he shrieked out anexplanation. To remove his hands from those clinging fingers, Henshawsimply raised his foot, laid it against the breast of the Jap, andthrust out. The kick sent Kamasura rolling head over heels till hecrashed against the rail. He lay partially stunned by the impact, andEric Borgson, bellowing his enjoyment of this pleasant jest, collaredpoor Kamasura and dragged him back before White Henshaw. The Jap wasnow inarticulate with terror and pain. 

"I was comin' down out of the wheelhouse, " said the mate, "to get abite of lunch--this bein' a night watch--when I seen this little yellowrat sneakin' down the deck like a thief. I didn't think nothin' muchabout it, supposin' he'd just lifted some chow, maybe, and then I heardthem explosions. They knocked me off my pins, but I scrambled over an'collared this fellow. He showed he was guilty right off the bat byyellin' for mercy. "

"Captain, captain!" screamed Kamasura. "Lies, lies-all lies. I go downthe deck--"

The heavy hand of Eric Borgson smashed against Kamasura's mouth. TheJap sagged back, was jerked upright, and the mate's clubbed fist jarredhome again. 

"Lies, are they?" thundered Borgson. "I'll teach you to say that wordto Eric Borgson, ha!"

And he struck the half-conscious Jap again full in the face. There wasa slight commotion in the back of the gathering crowd of sailors. Harrigan was urging forward, but he was caught by the iron hands ofMcTee and held back. 

"For the love of Mike, " moaned the Irishman softly, "let me at thatswine of a mate!"

"Shut up!" cautioned McTee savagely, but in a whisper. "That's the Japwho tried to knife you!"

"I will--I'll shut up, " sighed Harrigan, panting, "but ah-h, to get inpunchin' distance of Borgson for one second!"

"What shall we do with him?" Borgson was asking. 

"Captain!" begged the husky voice of Kamasura, fighting his way back tosemi-consciousness. 

"If he tries to speak again, smash his mouth in, " said Henshaw withoutraising his voice. "Tonight put him in irons. I'll tend to himtomorrow. Go get the irons. Hovey, take Kamasura below. "

"Aye, aye, sir, " said Hovey, and caught the Jap by the arms behind. 

That touch quieted Kamasura, and as he was led off, he began to whisperquickly. 

The moment they were away from the crowd, Hovey said: "Say it slow--no, you don't have to beg me to help you. I'll do what I can. You knowthat. Now tell me what you saw. "

"Cap'n McTee--behind the wireless house--holding the hand of Harrigan. They were talkin' soft--like friends!"

"By God, " muttered Hovey fiercely, "an' yet McTee told me he wantedHarrigan put out of the way. He's double-crossin' us. They're teamin'it together. What did they say?"

The Jap spat blood copiously before he could answer: "I could nothear. "

"You ain't worth your salt, " responded Hovey. 

"I cannot help--I am crush--I am defeat. Do not let them bring mebefore Henshaw. To look at him--it puts the cold in my heart. I cannotspeak. I shall die--I--"

"Keep your head up, " said Hovey. "There's nothing I can say that'llhelp you--just now. Later on you'll be able to deal with Henshaw andBorgson just the way they dealt with you. Does that help any?"

"Ah-h, " whispered the Jap and drew in his breath sharply with delight. 

"I might start the boys--I might turn them loose on the ship, " went onHovey, "but the time ain't come yet for that. We're too far from thecoast. Whatever happens, Kamasura, can you promise me to keep your faceshut about the mutiny?"

"Yes-s. "

"Even if they was to tie you up an' feed you the lash? Henshaw's equalto that. "

Kamasura stammered, hesitated. 

"Don't make no mistake, " said Hovey fiercely, "because we'll bestandin' close, some of us, an' the first tune you open your damnedmouth, we'll bash your head in. Get me?"

The entrance of Eric Borgson made it impossible for the Jap to answerwith words, but his eyes were eloquent with promise. Hovey started backfor the forecastle; he had much to say to the sailors, and thereafterlife on the Heron would be equally dangerous for both Harrigan andMcTee. 

The two, in the meantime, were making their way aft shoulder toshoulder. When they reached the stretch of deck behind the wirelesshouse, McTee said: "Harrigan, what's it to be? Are you for fighting itout?"

"I'm with you in anything you say, " retorted the dauntless Irishman, and then with a changed voice, "but I'm feelin' sort of sick inside, Angus. Did ye see that murtherin' dog smash the mouth of that Jap whenhe hadn't the strength to lift his head? Ah-h!"

"I'm sick, too, " said McTee, "but not because of the Jap. It'ssomething worse that bothers me. "

"What?"

"It's the thought of White Henshaw, Dan. The brain of that old devil isgoing back on him. I think he loves death more than life. His memoriesof what he's done put him in hell every minute he lives. "

"Go easy, McTee, " said Harrigan. "D'you mean to say that Henshaw blewup those boats--an' his ship still in the middle of the Pacific?"

"I say nothing. All I know is that he talked damned queerly of howwonderful it would be if a ship in the middle of the sea put her noseunder the waves and started for Davy Jones's locker. Yes, if she wentdown with all hands--dived for the bottom, in fact. "

"What can we do?"

"I don't know, but I'm beginning to think that this ship--and ourlives--would be safer in the hands of Hovey and his gang of cutthroatsthan they will be under White Henshaw. Queer things are going to happenon the _Heron_, Harrigan, mark my word. "

"You think Henshaw blew up the boats so not one of the crew couldescape?"

"It sounds too crazy to repeat. "

"McTee!"

"Yes, I'm thinking of her, too. "

"Between the mutiny and the crazy captain, Angus, it'll take both of usto pull her through. "

"It will. "

"Then gimme your hand once more, cap'n. We're in the trough of the seaonce more, an' God knows when we'll reach dry land, but while we're onthe _Heron_, we're brothers once more. For her sake I'll forget I hateyou till we've got the honest ground under our feet once more. "

"When the time comes, " said McTee, "it'll be a wonderful fight. "

"It will, " agreed Harrigan fervently. "But first, McTee, we must lether know that we're standin' shoulder to shoulder to fight for her. Otherwise she won't give us her trust. "

"You're right again. We'll go to her cabin now and tell her. But don'tgive her a hint of all that we fear. She already knows about themutiny--and she knows about your part in it. "

"You saw to that, McTee?" said Harrigan softly, as he pulled on hisshirt. 

"I did. "

"Ah-h, Angus, that fight'll be even better than I was afther thinkin'. "

And they went forward, walking again shoulder to shoulder. It wasHarrigan who stood in front at her door and knocked. She opened itwide, but at sight of him started to slam it again. He blocked it withhis foot. 

"I've not come for my own sake, " he said in a hard voice, "but the twoof us have come together. "

He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, and she made out the toweringform of McTee. At that she opened the door, glancing curiously from oneto the other. The eyes of Harrigan went from her face to McTee, and hiseyes flamed. 

"Speak up, McTee, " he said savagely. "Tell her you lied about me. "

The Scotchman glowered upon him. 

"I'll tell her what I've just found out, " he answered coldly, andturned to Kate. "We were mistaken in what we thought when we overheardHovey talking with Harrigan. Dan was simply playing a part with them--he was trying to learn their plans so as to use them against themutineers when the time came. "

There was a joyousness in her voice that cut McTee like a knife as shecried: "I knew! I knew! My instinct fought for you, Dan. I couldn'tbelieve what I heard!"

"What you both heard?" he said bitterly. "I remember now. It was when Italked with Hovey in front of this cabin?"

"Ask no more questions, " said McTee. "I'm seeing red now. "

"Black! You see nothin' but black, ye swine! The soot in your soul is astain hi your eyes, McTee. "

They turned toward the door, but she sprang before it and set hershoulders against the boards. 

"Sit down--you too, Dan. "

They obeyed slowly, McTee taking the edge of the bunk and Harriganlowering his bulk to the little campstool, which groaned beneath hisweight. She sat on a chair between them, while she looked from face toface. 

"When you came in you were friends, " she said, "and the only thing thatcould bring you to friendship was danger. There is danger. What?"

They exchanged glances of wonder at this shrewd interpretation. 

"There is danger, " said McTee at length, "and it's a danger which issomething more than the mutiny, perhaps. "

"I will tell it, " said Harrigan. 

He drew his chair closer to Kate and leaned over so that his face wasnear hers. She knew at once that he had forgotten all about thepresence of McTee. 

"Kate, I will not lie to ye, colleen"--here McTee set his teeth, butHarrigan went on--"I hate McTee, and it's for your sake that I hatehim. And it's for your sake that I'm goin' to forget it for a while. There's throuble abroad--there's a cloud over this ship an' a curse onit--"

"What he means to say, " broke in McTee, and then he became aware thatshe had not heard him speak, and he saw her smiling as she drank in themusical brogue of the Irishman. 

"A curse on it, acushla, an' a promise av death that only two shtrongmen can save you from--an' McTee is shtrong--so I've put away desire avkillin' him till we get you safe an' sound to the shore, colleen, acushla; but ye must trust in us, an' follow us as ye love your lifean' as I love ye!"

She straightened in her chair and turned her eyes toward McTee. 

"And you cannot tell me what the danger is?"

"We cannot, " he answered, "but you must pay no attention to anythingthat happens or to anything that is said to you by others. There areonly two men on the _Heron_ whom you can trust--and here we are. Butthere may be wild happenings on the _Heron_. Keep your courage andtrust hi Angus McTee and--"

"And Harrigan, " broke in the Irishman quickly, with a glare at thecaptain. 

She reached an impulsive hand to both of them, and they met the clasp, keeping, as it were, one eye upon her and one eye of hate upon eachother. 

She said, and her voice was low and musical with exultation: "I've nocare what happens. I know we shall pull through safely. The three ofus--Dan, Angus--we lived through the storm when the _Mary Rogers_ sank, we lived on the island and survived, we reached the _Heron_ in safety, and as long as we stay together, we'd be safe if the whole world wereagainst us. Don't you feel it?"

She rose, and they stood up, towering above her, while she went on in avoice trembling somewhat: "But we must not be seen together if allthese dangers threaten us; they must not know that the three of us arelike one great heart. "

They stepped back, and McTee pulled open the door, but still sheretained their hands, and now she raised them both to her lips with agesture so swift that they could not resist it. 

"Both of you, " she said; "God bless you both!"

CHAPTER 31

She released their hands; the door closed upon them; they stood facingeach other on the deck in the dark. 

"McTee, " said Harrigan with deep emotion, "we're swine. We were aboutto fight before--her. "

"Harrigan, " said McTee, "we _are_ swine. But when the time comes, we'llmake up for it to her. If you hear a word in the forecastle, let meknow about it; if I hear a word in the captain's cabin, I'll send foryou. I may be wrong. Henshaw may be in his right senses. We'll see. Inthe meantime there are just the two of us, Harrigan, and against usthere's a mutinous crew on one side and a mad captain, I think, on theother. "

"There's no use in thinkin', " said Harrigan; "when the time comes, we'll fight. So long, Angus. When the trouble starts, our assemblin'point is Kate. "

And he went forward to the forecastle. In the morning he discoveredwhat he wanted to know. The men were aloof from him. He was consciousof eyes upon him whenever his back was turned, but while he faced them, no one would meet his glance. 

In some way Hovey had learned that Harrigan was no longer to be trustedas a member of the mutineers, and he must have spread his tidings amongthe rest of the sailors. What he sensed in those covert glances, however, was not an immediate danger, but rather a waiting--anexpectancy, and he deduced rightly that they would not attempt to lay ahand upon him until the mutiny was started. Then he would be reservedfor some lingering death as a traitor doubly dyed. 

While they were eating breakfast, Hovey came in late with the word thatduring the night someone had tampered with the dynamo, and the resultwas that the ship must complete her voyage without electric lightsand--far more important--without the use of the wireless. Sam Hallstarted to blurt a comment on this, but a glance from Hovey silencedhim. It was plain that the bos'n would risk no conversation from hisblunt sailors while Harrigan was in earshot. The Irishman hurriedthrough his breakfast and took his bucket and scrubbing brush towardthe bridge, for he had many questions to ask McTee. He had scarcelyleft the forecastle when Hovey said to Garry Cochrane: "Watch the door. I've got something important to say. "

Cochrane took up the designated position, and Hovey went on: "Lads, I've bad news, bad and good news together. The boats are gone--thoughwho the devil destroyed them we don't know--and now the wireless isdestroyed. The boats are a big loss, for now we'll have to rig up somesort of a raft to make shore when we beach the _Heron_. The busting ofthe wireless almost balances that loss. Now we're sure they can't slipout any quick wireless call that would bring a dozen ships after us. Bad news and good news together; and here's some more of the same kind. 

"Henshaw has made up his mind to give Kamasura the whip. You know whatthat means? Well, I'll tell you. It means that after the first dozenstrokes--as Borgson will lay them on--Kamasura will break down and telleverything we don't want him to say. Understand? With the cabin warnedof what we're going to do, what chance would we have to take them? Sowe'll hang around close, lads, and the minute Kamasura opens his faceto say the wrong thing, we'll rush 'em--are you with me? And go for twomen first--Black McTee and Harrigan. With them out of the way we'llsimply chew up the rest. Try to take the others alive, but don't wasteany time with McTee and the Irishman. You can lay to it before youstart that they'll never be taken till they're dead. "

For some minutes he talked on, appointing to each man or group of menthe work he would be expected to perform when Hovey gave the signal toattack, which would be one long blast on his whistle. 

While they planned, Harrigan had reached the bridge and found McTeeimpatiently awaiting him. 

"You're late, " frowned the Scotchman. "What's happened in theforecastle?"

"Black looks on all sides, and no talk, " said Harrigan. 

"A falling barometer, " nodded McTee, "and things are just as bad in thecabin. You've heard about the wireless breaking?"

"I have. What does it mean?"

"It may have been done by the mutineers. I doubt it. But that isn't allthat's happened. This is a pretty cool day for the tropics. "

Harrigan stared at him, baffled by the sudden change of theconversation. 

"It is cool, " he assented. 

"But in the fireroom it's hotter than it's been at any time since the_Heron_ started on this trip. The second assistant came up to complainto Henshaw, and I heard them. 

"'There's something wrong with the air shafts, ' he said to WhiteHenshaw. 

"'Look here, ' said Henshaw, 'I've had enough grumbling from thefireroom. Put a fan in the air shaft, and don't come up here again withany nonsense. D'you expect to find cool breezes in the South Seas? No, they're hot as fire--hot as fire--hot as fire!'

"He repeated those words three times over in a way that made my fleshcreep, and then he laughed. Even the second saw that something waswrong. He took a long look at Henshaw, and then he went out with hishead down. "

"What did it all mean?" asked Harrigan. 

"I don't know. I don't dare think what it means. But if my guess isright, then the _Heron_ is a lot nearer hell than even you and Iexpected. Look, there goes Fritz Klopp, the first assistant engineer. I'll wager he's got another complaint about the heat in the fireroom. "

They watched Klopp go into the captain's cabin, waited a moment, andthen the door flew open and Klopp sprang out and fled aft like a manpursued. Henshaw came to the open door and peered after the engineerand laughed silently. 

McTee muttered: "That's the way the devil laughs when he watches thedamned souls pass by. "

Here Henshaw glanced up and saw them watching him from the bridge. Hisface altered suddenly to a malevolence so terrible that both the menstepped back. Harrigan was trembling like a hysterical girl. He lookedin the face of McTee and saw that the Scotchman had blanched. For along moment they exchanged glances, and then McTee went down from thebridge and entered the cabin. 

Henshaw was not there. He had evidently gone into the inner room, andMcTee sat down to wait. The time had come for him to ask questions, andhe was nerving himself for the ordeal. His plans were disturbed by amuffled sound from the inner cabin, a sound so unusual that McTeestiffened in his chair with horror and then rose slowly. 

Tiptoe he stole across the floor and laid a hand lightly on the knob ofthe door of the captain's private room. It turned easily without anycreak, and the door opened a few inches. There sat Henshaw with hisback to McTee, leaning over a table. Gold pieces were spilled looselyacross the surface of the wood--possibly the contents of three or fourof those small canvas bags--and Henshaw leaned forward with hisforehead resting upon the glittering yellow coins and one handclutching a quantity of them. His other hand held a photograph of thedead Beatrice. The sound continued. It was the low sobbing of thecaptain, a hoarse and horrible murmur. 

McTee closed the door and went back onto the deck, for he suddenlyunderstood the futility of questions. Harrigan, in the meantime, hadwaited for the return of McTee, and when the latter did not come, theIrishman lingered on the bridge for an hour or more, pottering aboutwith his brush in a pretense of finishing up a perfect job. Hisattention was drawn then by a gathering crowd and bustle in the waistof the ship between the wheelhouse and the forecastle. The entire crewof the _Heron_ seemed to be mustering, with the exception of thoseneeded to keep the engines running. They stood in a circle, leaving thecover of the hatch clear. 

He hurried down to witness the ceremony, and as he reached the waist, he saw Henshaw take up his position with folded arms in the very centerof the hatch. A moment later Kamasura was led up by Eric Borgson andJan Van Roos. 

The two mates, under the direction of Henshaw, lashed the Japanese facedown upon the hatch, pulling his arms and legs taut with ropes thatfastened to the bolts on all sides of the hatch cover. 

When he was securely tied, Kamasura was stripped to the waist, and thenHarrigan saw Borgson, grinning evilly, step up with a long whip in hishand. It was a blacksnake, heavily loaded and stiff at the butt andtapering gradually to a slender, supple, snakelike body, with a thin, sinister lash. Borgson whirled the whip around his head to get itsbalance. Henshaw stepped back, still with folded arms. 

"This fellow Kamasura, " he announced to the crew, "has blown up theboats of the _Heron_. There's no doubt of it. Borgson caught him almostin the act. I could do worse things than this to Kamasura, but I'vedecided to flog him until he confesses. "

There was not a word of answer from the crew; they waited, hushed, ominous. A whisper sounded in the ear of Harrigan, who stood withgritting teeth and clenched hands. 

It was McTee who murmured: "Hold onto yourself, Harrigan. Our timehasn't come. "

"I'll hold onto myself all right, " said Harrigan, "but look at thecrew. "

In fact, there was something more deadly than any snarling of a crowdin this unnatural silence of many men. Also they were not looking atKamasura; they were staring, every man, at the bos'n, who stood withhis whistle hanging from a cord around his neck. 

"Begin!" said Henshaw. 

The blacksnake whistled around the head of the third mate and there wasa long scream from Kamasura--but the blacksnake only cracked loudly inthe air. Borgson laughed with a hideous delight. Harrigan, sicklywhite, bowed his head. Again the blacksnake whirled and again itcracked, but this time on naked flesh, and the scream of Kamasura waslike the cut of a knife. 

Again, again, and again the blacksnake fell, and now Kamasura twistedhis head toward the captain and cried in a voice made thin by pain andrage at once: "I confess! Captain, let me speak!"

At a gesture from Henshaw, the third mate reluctantly stepped back, drawing the lash of the blacksnake slowly through his hands with acaressing touch. Van Roos, the color completely gone from his usuallyblooming cheeks, cut the ropes, and Kamasura rose, facing the captain. He extended a naked, trembling arm toward Hovey. 

"Mutiny!" he yelled. "The whole crew--the whole forecastle--mutiny, Cap'n Henshaw! I know--"

The piercing whistle of the bos'n cut into his speech, and the crewrolled forward over the hatch with a single shout that might have comefrom one throat except for its shrill volume. 

CHAPTER 32

"It's come!" cried Harrigan to McTee. "Kate!"

But even as he whirled, two sailors leaped on him from behind and borehim to the deck. At the same time a gun flashed in the hand of Henshaw, and he fired twice into the onrushing host. Two men crumpled up on deckand the others gave back a little--they were glad to turn to the easierprey of Van Roos and Borgson, who were instantly overpowered, whileHenshaw, with brandished revolver, made his way toward the main cabin. 

The second and smaller rush of the mutineers had been toward Harriganand McTee, where the two men stood together. Harrigan, taken frombehind, went down at once and then grappled with his assailants beforethey could use their knives. McTee stood over the struggling three andsmote right and left among the mutineers. A knife caught his shirt atthe shoulder and ripped it to the waist; a club whizzed past his head, but his great fists smashed home on face and head and sent menstaggering and sprawling back. The confusion gave him an instant offreedom in a small circle, and he leaned and caught one of Harrigan'sassailants by the heels. It was a little man, a withered fellowscarcely five feet tall and literally dried up by the tropic heat. Hewas wrenched from his hold, heaved into the air, and then whirled aboutthe head of McTee like a mighty bludgeon. As the sailors rushed again, that living club smashed against them and flung them back. Even to theherculean strength of McTee it was a prodigious feat, but the dangergave him for the moment the power of a madman. Twice he swung theshrieking little sailor, and twice that body smashed back the attack, while Harrigan leaped to his feet in time to knock down a man whosprang at McTee from behind with a brandished knife. 

All this had occurred in the space of half a dozen seconds; the firstrush of the mutineers was spent; before they could lunge forward again, McTee flung the half-lifeless body of his human weapon into the midstof the crowd and, turning with Harrigan at his shoulder, they sprang upthe ladder to the main cabin door. 

Hovey was screaming commands over the din; the crowd rushed after thefugitives. 

Harrigan shouted at McTee: "Get Kate! Take her aft to the wirelesshouse! I'll hold 'em here a minute and then join you!"

McTee nodded and tore down the deck toward Kate's cabin, while Harriganpulled the knife of Kamasura from his trousers and thrust it in theface of the first man up the ladder. The blade slashed him from nose tocheekbone, and he toppled back with a yell, bearing with him in thefall the two men immediately below. Harrigan glanced across to theother ladder on the farther side of the deck, and saw Kate and McTeerunning aft. He turned and raced after them. 

The wireless house was their one hope. There the sea would be at theirbacks, and the only approach for the mutineers in their rush would beup the ladders reaching from the deck below; the main cabin, on theother hand, had half a dozen places from which it could be assailed. This had been instantly seen by the other officers, and when Harriganreached the ladder to the deck at the other end of the cabin, he sawSalvain standing in front of the wireless house, Kate and McTee in theact of climbing the steps from the waist, and White Henshaw, with hishair blowing, following hard in their tracks. 

Harrigan reached the waist at a leap, and in another moment joined thesurvivors in the shelter of the wireless house--Kate, McTee, Henshaw, Salvain, and Sloan, a party of six. They were safe for the moment, forthe mutineers would certainly never venture an attack against thewheelhouse, where they could be beaten from the ladders by thedefendants, but they were safe without food, without water. 

Then, as they stared hopelessly across the waist, they saw three menled across the rear promenade of the main cabin. Their hands were tiedbehind them, and they were kicked forward by the mutineers, first JacobVan Roos--they could note his pallor even at that distance--then EricBorgson, scowling and defiant, and dragged along by the men of theforecastle; and last came Douglas Campbell, surrounded by the firemen. Finally, Jerry Hovey shouted across the waist:

"Black McTee! Oh, Black McTee!"

The Scotchman raised his hand as a token that he heard. 

"You're done for, McTee, you and all the rest. You're bound to starve, and when you're weak, we'll come and carry you forward, and you'll dieby inches as the other three are going to die; but if you want tolive--you and the girl and all of you, give us White Henshaw to treatas he ought to be treated. Give us him, an' the rest of you'll besaved. If you won't trust us, we'll bring you food and water enough tokeep you alive till we reach shore. Give us Henshaw and--"

He broke off, for he heard the harsh, ringing laughter of WhiteHenshaw. The captain held up his revolver. 

"No use, Hovey, " he called. "I fired five shots, but I saved one formyself. Ha, ha, ha!" And his mirthless cackle broke out once more. 

"Look!" cried Kate, and pointed at the captain. 

Down the left side of Henshaw, bright against the white of his coat, was a rapidly growing stain of red. They could see the small slit inthe cloth where a knife thrust had entered his side, but the oldbuccaneer would give no sign of his injury. He waved his gun towardKate as she advanced an impulsive step toward him. 

"Keep back!" he commanded. "Woman and man, I trust none of you. Give medistance or I'll use this bullet on the first of you and give what'sleft of me to the sea. "

"By the Lord, he's wounded!" cried Harrigan. "Steady, old heart of oak, you've nothing to fear from us. Hovey! Oh-h, Hovey, we'll see youdamned before we give up the captain!"

The bos'n, choking with his fury, shook his clenched fist at them anddisappeared into the cabin. 

"Now lie down, " said McTee to the captain, "and we'll fix you up. Areyou badly hurt?"

"Enough to finish me, " said Henshaw calmly, "but keep off! I'll havenone of you! None of your tricks!"

His old body was trembling with the pain of his wound, but the handwhich held the gun leveled on McTee was as steady as a rock. Katepushed McTee aside and turned a glance of scorn on the others. 

"You'd let him die among you--for fear of an old man and his wretchedrevolver?"

She faced Henshaw. 

"Go into the wireless house, Captain Henshaw, and I will go in alonewith you. If you don't trust me, you can keep your revolver at mybreast while I dress your wound--but see!--you will bleed to death in ashort time!"

He laughed again, saying: "Girl, there's nothing between heaven andhell that can make me die by anything but fire--fire at sea--bluefire. "

She whitened at sight of his frenzied, yellow face, and then she sawHarrigan slipping around to take the captain from the rear. He saw theshadow of the Irishman just too late, and whirled with a curse at thesame time that Harrigan's iron hand seized the gun. For an instant hestruggled, but those mighty arms gathered him as easily as a womanlifts a stubborn child, and he was carried into the wireless house andplaced on Sloan's bunk. As soon as he discovered that he was helplessin their hands, he ceased struggling and lay without a motion whilethey tore away his coat and shirt and Kate started to dress the deep, ugly wound. 

She had scarcely finished when a shout, or rather a scream, from fiftythroats brought them running out of the wireless house. Again and againthat cry was repeated from the main cabin, and they could not tellwhether it was despair or agony that inspired it. 

Neither of these emotions caused it. All that time Hovey had beenkneeling in front of the captain's safe working at the combination, forhe had seen Henshaw open it several times and thought that he couldimitate the captain's motions. But he failed. Around him packed thesailors in both cabins, a serried mass of intent faces and burningeyes. But at last Hovey stood up and announced his failure--he couldnot work the combination. Then came that yell which those in thewireless house heard, a cry of mingled rage and disappointment. Gold inuntold quantities was here just within their reach--and yet just beyondit. A few inches of steel kept the gold safe. 

Men beat it with their bare hands in a senseless fury, till GarryCochrane slipped through the dense mass of sailors. 

"I know something about locks. What do I get, lads, if I open thisone?"

"Five shares!"

"Ten shares!"

"Ten shares!" nodded Cochrane. "Good! Now keep still. I need quiet. "

They were mute; not a breath was drawn; they scarcely dared move theireyes lest he should be disturbed. Cochrane touched the lock lightly andthen rubbed his fingertips vigorously back and forth on the carpet--anything to stimulate those fine nerves which are as valuable to somecriminals as eyes are to normal people. 

With ear pressed close to the combination, he turned it slowly, bydelicate degrees, waiting for the telltale click. They saw him set histeeth and grow eager as a hound on a scent of blood; they saw thefingers move rapidly and nervously, and then came a click which wasaudible through the entire room, and the door of the safe swung open. Still no one stirred, no one breathed. He took out a small canvas bag, he untied the top, he spilled the contents out, and then they sawbright gold, gold which inspires, and gold which destroys, gold thetempter and the murderer. 

A wild scramble followed. They swept the gold up in handfuls and tossedit into the air, laughing like madmen as the light gleamed on theyellow surfaces. And at length when they were wearied of touching itand caressing it, Hovey apportioned the spoils: to Cochrane, by commonassent, the ten shares, a fortune; to Sam Hall, Kyle, and Flint, twoshares each, for they had been leaders in the fight; to himself tenshares, also by universal voice, and to each of the others, forty inall, his portion. 

There was no fighting or complaint over the division of the spoils. What difference did a few hundred pieces here or there matter? Gold infloods, gold in oceans, was before them, and each man gathered his ownshare close. 

But where there is gold there is death. One of the firemen said in theear of Hovey: "The second assistant--Fritz Klopp--he is dying. "

It was upon Klopp that they depended for the running of the Heron. Hovey merely laughed: "Carry him in here. He'll come to life when hesees this!"

They had left Klopp lying on the deck. He had been one of the first toleap at White Henshaw, and a bullet from the captain's revolver hadtorn its way through his lungs; his eyes were glazing fast when two ofthe firemen carried him into the outer cabin of White Henshaw andplaced him in an armchair beside the desk. 

"How are you, Klopp?" asked Hovey. 

"I am dying, " answered the engineer, and a faint pink froth bubbled tohis lips as he spoke. 

Hovey merely laughed; he spilled Klopp's share of the gold across thesurface of the table, a gleaming pile. 

"How are you, Klopp?" he repeated. 

"I will live, " croaked the dying man, and instantly his clutches wereamong the hundreds of coins, and his red mouth grinned with a ghastlyjoy. He had forgotten death. 

"You will live!" rumbled Sam Hall. "A man would be a fool to die whenthere's so much money in sight. Where's your hurt?"

"I have no hurt, " whispered Klopp hoarsely, "but I'm on fire inside. Water! Something to drink!"

"Something to drink, but not water, " responded Hovey. "Hey, Kamasura!Drink! Whisky!"

Instantly Kamasura, who had evidently anticipated the order, camestaggering into the room with a literal armful of bottles. Hoveyhimself brought a glass and placed it in the hand of Klopp and filledit to the brim. 

"Drink!" shouted Hovey, and sprang upon a chair so that all might seehim. "Drink to Fritz Klopp! White Henshaw potted him, but he laughs atdeath, and he'll bring the old _Heron_ to shore. Here's to FritzKlopp!"

Many a glass was raised high. They drank with a shout of applause toFritz Klopp, who sat without stirring his glass, one hand upon it, andthe other buried among the heaps of gold, his head resting against theback of the chair, and his red mouth still ajar in that horrible grin. 

"What ye laughin' at?" yelled Sam Hall in his ear. "Are ye drunk at thesight of the money, man?"

There was no answer. Hall caught him by the shoulder to rouse him, butKlopp's head merely sagged far to one side, though his glazed eyesstill seemed to be fixed upward upon the same spot on the ceiling atwhich he had been staring before. 

"What is it?" cried one or two. "What does he see?"

"Death, you fools!" answered Hovey. "And how the devil will we bringthe _Heron_ to land without an engineer?"

CHAPTER 33

"Make Campbell run the ship, " said Cochrane. 

"You can't _make_ a Scotchman do anything. "

"Persuade him, then, " went on Cochrane. "He'd sell his soul for a drinkof that whisky. But if you can't persuade him, I'd trust to thosefellows to make him do what you want. "

And he pointed to the firemen. 

"I'll let 'em play their little game till they're tired of it, "answered Hovey, "an' then we'll bring up Campbell an' try what we cando with him. "

The "little game" had now become a wild debauch. Except for the fewunfortunates who had been detailed by Hovey to guard the prisoners andsee that the fugitives in the wireless house made no attempt to rushthe main cabin as a forlorn hope, every man of the crew was gathered inthe captain's cabins or on the deck nearby. The fireroom was deserted;the engines stopped; the _Heron_ floated idly on the swell of the sea;but heedless of this the mutineers celebrated their victory. 

They divided their attention between drinking and gambling. They seemedfeverishly eager to throw away their piles of gold. Some of themflipped coins at ten dollars a throw. Others tossed dice. One group offour sat around a greasy pack of cards betting on which man would drawthe first jack. 

Those who lost did not envy the winners. They looked about; gold was onall sides, heaps of it; if their hands were empty, their eyes wererich. Sam Hall lost his entire share within an hour, bettingrecklessly. He approached a gigantic fireman who squatted by the wallwith a canvas bag clutched in one hand and a broken bottle in theother. The whisky had run out on the floor, but the fellow was too fargone to know the difference, and from time to time he raised the emptybottle to his lips. 

"Money gone, " said Hall. "Gimme!" And he held out his hand. 

The fireman, with a vast grin, delved his hand into the bag and broughtit forth loaded with gold, which Hall took without a word and returnedto his game of rolling dice, one throw at five hundred dollars a throw. In ten minutes he went back to the fireman with a double handful ofcorns. 

"Principal an' interest, " grunted the big sailor, and dumped his goldinto the canvas bag which, filled to overflowing, spilled a dozen coinsupon the floor. 

The fireman, with a groan of dull content, slipped prone on the floorand was instantly asleep, embracing the canvas bag in both arms. Everyman in the crew was in a somewhat similar condition, saving Hovey, withhis gray-blue, steady eyes, and Cochrane, with his glittering, shiftyblack. These two watched the rest descend toward swinishunconsciousness; they saw, and waited coolly, and now and then glancedat each other with faint smiles of understanding. 

Somewhere in the waist of the ship Jacob Flint was singing shrill songsof infinite profanity, but otherwise there was no sound on the _Heron_as the sun went down, and all night long the old freighter wallowedsluggishly up and down on the waves, as if she waited for dawn beforeresuming her journey toward the shore. 

There was a wisdom, however, in Hovey's laxness of discipline duringthe first day of his mastery. The next morning the men slept late, sprawling about the deck, and Hovey and Cochrane first roused ominousJacob Flint and Sam Hall and Kyle. With this nucleus of five mightymen, men to be feared on land or sea, Hovey started to rouse the restof the mutineers. They woke cursing and sad of stomach and head, and tothe first orders they responded with cursing; the reply was asledge-hammer blow from the fist of Hall or Kyle, and while the man layon the deck, it was explained curtly and forcibly to him that while the_Heron_ was at sea, he would have to obey Bos'n Hovey; but as soon asthe ship reached land, each man could be his own master. 

First of all the firemen were commanded to the hole to get up steam, but when this was done, it was found that there was some minor troublewith the machinery. An engineer was needed; Hovey, with Cochrane, Flintand Hall beside him, sent for Campbell, and retired to the cabin toawait his coming. 

There sat the body of Fritz Klopp as it had remained ever since thebeginning of the revels the day before, grinning up at the ceiling. Hall and Flint raised the body, and the clutching fingers were found tobe frozen by death immovably around a whole handful of gold. As Hallsuggested, this would serve as lead to take him to the bottom of thesea. The others applauded the thought, and with his hand still full ofgold, they carried Fritz Klopp to the rail and dumped him into thewater. 

As they re-entered the cabin, Campbell was kicked in from the oppositedoor. His hands were manacled behind him, and the force of the kick, together with a sway of the ship, threw him off his balance. He crashedon his face at the feet of Hovey. The bos'n grew positively pale withpleasure. He selected a cigar from an open box on the table and lightedit leisurely. 

At last he ordered: "Pick him up. "

The chief engineer was jerked to his feet and stood with a trickle ofblood running down from his split lip. His face was rather purple thanred, and the dark pouches underneath his eyes told the horror of thenight he had passed. Nevertheless, the eyes themselves were bright. 

Far away, half heard, and drowned by any noise near at hand, was asound of singing. It was Black McTee in the wireless house, halfmaddened by thirst and hunger and despair, and singing in defiancesongs of bonny Scotland. 

"There's been trouble aboard, chief, " he said, "but now trouble's over. All over! We want you to take charge of the engines again and bring usto shore. "

Campbell waited, not as if he had not heard. In spite of himself, Hoveystirred a trifle and grew uneasy. From a corner of the room he pickedup a canvas bag and dropped it with a melodious jingling on the tablein front of the engineer. 

"This is your share, " he said. 

Campbell smiled faintly. 

"And this, " said Hovey, with a glance at his companions. 

The smile had not altered on the lips of the Scotchman. 

"With this money, " said Hovey, forcing himself to remain calm, "you canretire from active work. You can get yourself a little place on thecoast somewhere"--he had heard Campbell name some of his dreams--"andhave a little cellar full of the right stuff, and have your friends runout to see you now an' then, an' talk over things that're goin' on atsea--where you ain't. "

Here he placed a third bag of money on the table. 

"You could do all that and more, chief--a lot more--with this money. "

Hovey cut the lace which tied the mouth of one of the bags; he pouredthe gleaming contents across the table. 

"Well?" he asked softly. 

"Damn you!" whispered Campbell, and then, "You fool, am I not Scotch?"

"At least, " went on the bos'n easily, "think it over, chief, and whileyou're thinkin', what d'you say to a drop of the real stuff?"

Campbell had not tasted either food or liquid since early the daybefore, and his eyes were moist as they stared at the two bottles. 

"Set his hands free, " said Hovey, "so that the chief can drink. Weain't half-bad fellers, Campbell; but we've got good cause for raisin'the hell you've seen on the _Heron. _"

While he spoke, the arms of Campbell were set free, and glasses wereshoved toward him, one full of Scotch and the other of seltzer. Themutineers were already raising their drinks for a toast when Campbelltook his with a violently trembling hand. But as he lifted the liquor, he was fully conscious for the first time of a singing which had beenfaint in the air for some time, the songs of Black McTee in thewireless house, and now the big-throated Scotchman swung into a newair, plaintive and rapid in cadence, a death song and a war song atonce, the speech of Bruce before Bannockburn, as Burns conceived it. Loud and true rang the voice of Black McTee, breaker of men:

"Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled, Scots wham Bruce hae aften led, Welcome to your gory bed, Or to victory!"

And the hand of Campbell checked on its way to his lips. "We're lookin'in your eyes, chief, " said Hovey. And the song broke in:

"Wha would be a traitor slave, Let him turn and flee!"

Campbell was staring at the wall like one who sees avision but cannot make out its meaning. 

The voice of Black McTee swelled high and strong:

"Wha for Scotland's king and lawFreedom's sword will strongly draw, Freemen stand and freemen fa', Let him on wi' me!"

And the glass dropped from the lips of the Scotchman. It crashedagainst the hard floor. Broad Scotch was on his tongue. 

"I canna drink wi' murderers!" he cried. 

"Damn you!" said Hovey, and drove his fist into Campbell's face, hurling him to the deck. 

The manacles were clapped on his wrists again; he was dragged once moreto his feet. 

"Take him out, " said Hovey to the grinning sailors who had lingered inthe door. "Take him back to the waist of the ship before the wirelesshouse. Wait for me there. And see that Van Roos and Borgson are broughtthere also. "

CHAPTER 34

As Campbell was dragged away, the bos'n said to his companions: "Now, lads, you see where Campbell stands!"

They growled for answer. 

"But I'll get him!" went on Hovey. "I'm going to kill Van Roos andBorgson by inches before his eyes. And when he sees 'em die--they'llhave to die, anyway, before we reach shore--Campbell will be water inour hands. He'll see 'em die, an' them in the wireless house will see'em die. Their throats are thick with thirst by now. We'll show 'emwater an' food, an' offer it to 'em if they'll give up Henshaw. If theywon't, we'll show 'em how we'll kill 'em when they're too weak toresist. They'll see a sample in Van Roos and Borgson. Every yell theylet out'll be an argument for us. We'll have Henshaw before the day'sdone. "

Sam Hall pushed his thick fingers slowly through his hair, stupefied bythis careful cruelty, and even the one eye of Jacob Flint grew dim, butGarry Cochrane slapped the bos'n on the shoulder heartily. 

"Jerry, " he said, "you got the makin's of a great man. Let's go startthe fun. "

On the way aft they passed the firemen sprawling on the shady side ofthe deck. They stumbled to their feet at sight of Hovey, and sworevolubly that the hole of the ship was too hot for a man to live in itfive minutes. Hovey passed them without a word. He had to tend toCampbell now, and without an engineer it was useless to work men in thefireroom. 

First of all he had two buckets of water carried aft and placed justbelow the edge of the raised deck which supported the wireless house. There were dippers floating invitingly on the surface of the water ineach bucket. Then from the galley of the ship Kamasura and Shida, thecabin boys, brought out steaming meats and cut loaves of bread anddisplayed the feast near the buckets of water. Upon this outlay gazedthe famine-stricken fugitives, Sloan, McTee and Harrigan; Kate did notsee, for she was caring for the sick captain. Hovey advanced and made aspeech. 

"We're actin' generous and open to you, " he began. "We're offerin' youfood an' water--all you want--in exchange for White Henshaw. He soldhis soul to hell long ago, an' we've come to claim payment. It'soverdue, that's what it is!"

"Aye, aye!" came a chorus of yells from the sailors. "White Henshaw'soverdue. "

"Look at this here water, " went on Hovey, with a tempting wave of hishand. "Why not take this up an' help yourselves--after you've given usHenshaw?"

Sloan crowded in between Harrigan and McTee; his voice was a slaveringmurmur: "For pity's sake, boys, what we going to do?"

Harrigan and the big Scot exchanged glances. Faintly and slowly theysmiled. There was a profound mutual understanding in that smile. 

"I'm dying, " went on Sloan eagerly and still in that slavering voice. "I'm burnin' up inside. For God's sake let 'em take him and finish himoff!"

And always as he spoke his quick eyes went back and forth from face toface. They had neither eye nor voice for him. They turned theirattention back to Hovey, who now spoke again hastily. 

"But if you don't give us Henshaw, we'll take him, anyway. In one moreday--or maybe two at the most--we'll come an' get you--understand? An'what we'll do to you when we get you will be this!"

He gestured over his shoulder. Eric Borgson was being led out on thedeck by some of the crew. 

"Look him over, Cap'n McTee. He's a big man, an' we're goin' to killhim by inches. So we're goin' to finish Van Roos--the same way. Speakout, lads; d'you want to die like these two are goin' to die, or willyou turn over Henshaw--who needs killin'?"

McTee smiled benevolently down upon the upturned, furious faces of themutineers, and muttered: "Harrigan, I could drink blood. "

"An' lick your lips afther it, " groaned the Irishman softly. "An' socould I, Angus! They're startin' their devil work. Let's go inside. Ican't be standing the sight of it, McTee. "

"Go inside an' let 'em rush the wireless house?" said McTeeincredulously. "No, lad. We _got_ to stay an' watch. Besides, maybethis is the way we'll all die--after we're too weak to fight 'em. AndI'm rather curious to learn just how I'll die; I've always been!"

They were binding Borgson face down on the hatch. 

"Look, " said Harrigan. "Maybe it ain't goin' to be so bad as wethought. They're just goin' to lick Borgson the way he licked the Jap. "

"They'll do more, " replied McTee, shaking his head. "Henshaw andBorgson and Van Roos have really put those wild men through hell, andnow they're going to get it back with interest. "

In the meantime little Kamasura stepped out from the crowd. He wasnaked to the waist, for the raw incisions which the lash had left wouldnot bear the weight of clothes. He carried the blacksnake in his hands, drawing it caressingly through his hands as Borgson had done. Now thetying of Borgson was completed, and the sailors spread back in a loosecircle to watch their entertainment. 

The Japanese took his distance carefully, shifting repeatedly a matterof inches to make sure that no stroke would be wasted. Then he whirledthe blacksnake over his head. They could see Borgson wince as the lashsang above him, and the muscles of his bare back flexed and stood up inknots that glistened under the sunlight. But the stroke did not fall. Kamasura had learned the lesson of creating suspense from the very manhe was now about to torture. Harrigan bowed his head in his hands. 

"I can't look, McTee, " he muttered. "I'm sick inside--sick--sick!"

The last words came in a growl from the hollow of his throat. Theblacksnake whirled through the air again and fell with a sharp slaplike two broad hands clapped together, but Borgson did not cry out. Hisbody writhed mutely, and down his back appeared a red mark. The whipwhirled again and fell, this time bringing a stifled curse for aresponse. Once more it whirled, and this time merely cracked in theair. Again and again an idle snap in the air. Broken by that grimsuspense, Borgson yelled in terror. 

Kamasura laughed and glanced at the circle of sailors like a ringmasterin a circus in search of applause. The whip now whirled rapidly overhis head and fell again and again, and every stroke brought a fresh andlouder scream from the mate. Another sound, rhythmic and barbarous, punctuated those shrieks of anguish. It was the singing of Kamasura, who as he wielded the lash remembered a chant of his native land andshouted it now in time with the blows of the blacksnake. 

On the upper deck Sloan lay prone on his face, sobbing with terror;Harrigan kept his face hid and clutched at his head with both hands;McTee stared straight down upon the scene of the torture with burningeyes. Inside the wheelhouse Kate crouched beside the bunk on whichHenshaw was stretched, staring straight above his head. The fever haddeprived him of the last of his senses. 

"Your hands!" he muttered at length. 

She placed them upon his forehead. She had done that repeatedly duringthe past day, and each time the effect had been marvelously soothing tothe old man. Now at the touch he drew a deep breath of relief. 

"Even in hell, " he whispered at length--"even in hell you come to me, Beatrice! I knew you would!"

He caught her hands at the wrists; his fingers, despite his fever, weredeadly cold, and a chill ate into her blood. 

"I hear them yelling--the souls of the damned, " he said quietly. "Youcan't hear it?"

"No, no!" she said. "I cannot hear!"

"Of course not, " he went on with the same lack of emotion; "for, yousee, you've come from heaven, and the coolness of heaven is in yourhands, Beatrice. Put them against my temples, so! For every bit of thelove I have given you you are permitted to repay me with coolness--coolness and comfort in hell!"

Suddenly he broke into exultant laughter, a sound more terrible thanthe wild wails from the deck. 

"See!" he said, and his eyes twinkled as he stretched out a gaunt armtoward a corner of the room. "There's Johnny Carson lying naked on abed of blue fire. Ha, ha, ha! Have you been waiting long for me tocome, lad?"

She shut out the hungry, hideous light of his eyes with the palms ofher hands. Now the screaming on the deck ceased abruptly. 

"Beatrice!" he cried with a sudden terror. 

"Yes, " answered Kate. 

"Ah, " he said, and patted her hands endearingly. "When the silencecame, I feared maybe you were leaving me. You won't do that?"

"No. I'll stay. "

"So! Then I'll sleep. But waken me when they begin yelling again. Theythought I'd come down to the same hell I sent them to, and that they'dwatch me burn. But I fooled 'em, Beatrice, by loving you. You're thechip of wood that keeps me afloat--afloat--afloat--"

And he drifted into sleep, while she leaned against the bunk, almostunconscious from fear and exhaustion. 

CHAPTER 35

Kamasura, in nowise loath to bring his work to an end, stood back andlaid on the whip with redoubled vigor. The lash spatted sharply againstthe raw and bleeding flesh. The screams sank into moans, and the moansin turn declined to a mere horrible gasping of the breath. Even thisceased at length, and the quivering of the body stopped. Kamasuraleaned over and slipped his hand under the body in the region of theheart. When he straightened up again, he made a gesture of finalitywith his crimsoned hands. The mate was dead. 

They cut his body loose at once and pitched him over the rail, thenturned their attention to Van Roos. Sam Hall was the inspired man thistime, and according to his directions they lashed the body of the bigmate on the same blood-spotted hatch cover where Borgson had lain amoment before, but this time the victim was placed upon his back. Hallhimself attended to the tying of Van Roos's head, and he performed hiswork so ably that the mate could not change his position in the leastparticle. He was literally swathed in ropes; so much so, in fact, thatit was difficult to see how he could be tormented. Sam Hall, however, insisted that this was what he wanted, and the crew consented to lethim do his work. 

"You've heard something, an' you've seen something, " said Hovey at thisjuncture to Campbell; "but what you've seen and heard isn't nothin' towhat'll happen to you unless you start handling the engines of the_Heron_. Why, Campbell, I'm goin' to give you to the firemen!"

"Hovey, " answered the engineer calmly, "the only place I'd run thisship would be down to hell--your home port. That's final!"

The bos'n was white with rage. 

"I'd like to tear your heart out an' feed it to the fish, " he said, stepping close to Campbell, and then, remembering himself, he movedback and grinned: "But the men will find something better to do withyou. "

He crossed the deck and held up a bucket of water toward Harrigan andMcTee. He raised a dipperful and allowed it to splash back in thebucket. 

"Well?" asked Hovey. 

They merely stared at him as if they had not heard him speak. 

"All right, " said Hovey, quite unmoved, "there's plenty of time for youto make up your minds. But if you wait too long--well, we'll come andget him. And the girl, too!"

He laughed and turned away. 

"I thought, " muttered McTee, "that we could end it by simply dying--butI forgot the girl. "

"The girl, " answered Harrigan, "and--and them! She's got to die beforewe're too far gone. You'll do that to save her from--them?"

McTee moistened his parched lips before he could speak. 

"One of us has to do it, but it can't be me, Harrigan. "

"Nor me, Angus. We'll wait till tonight. Maybe a ship'll pass and seeus lyin' like a derelict and put a boat aboard, eh?"

"But if no ship comes, then we'll draw straws, eh?"

"Yes. "

Two sharp, sudden cries now called their attention back to the waist ofthe ship to the blood-stained hatch cover where Van Roos lay. 

Sam Hall had approached the big mate with a knife in his hand. Hekneeled beside the prostrate body and fumbled at the face an instant. No one had been able to make out the significance of his act. Then theknife gleamed, and twice he plucked with one hand and cut with theknife. The two sharp cries answered him. Then he rose; two littletrickles of blood ran down the face of the mate. 

"Well?" asked Jacob Flint. "When does the game begin?"

"The game is just started, " said Hall, "an' the sun will do the rest. I've cut off his eyelids!"

They stared a moment in amazement, and then an understanding broke onthem. Every tribe of savages in the world has been accredited with thisingenious torture which blinded their victim and usually drove him mad. The sun was now climbing the sky rapidly, and already fell on the faceof the mate. The tropic sun which scorches and burns the toughest ofskins was now directed full on the pupils of his eyes. 

The sailors sought comfortable positions and waited for a longexhibition of pain, but they were mistaken. The torture acted far morequickly than even the whip. There was no outcry. Not once during hisstruggles did Van Roos make a sound from his throat, save for a quick, heavy panting. Perhaps by contrast with the yells of Borgson, whichwere still in the ears of the men, this silence was more horrible thanthe most throat-filling shrieks. They could see Van Roos twisting hishead ceaselessly and vainly to escape that blinding light. His ruddyface became swollen like the features of a drowned man. And that wasall that happened--only that, and the panting, the quick, choppypanting like a running man. Finally one of the sailors rose with amallet in his hand. 

"Where you goin'?" asked Hall ominously. 

"Going to finish him. "

Hall caught the fellow's arm. 

"Listen!" he whispered, and such was the silence that the hoarsewhisper was audible all over the deck. "Don't you hear?"

And with one hand he kept beat for the quick breaths of the torturedman. At that moment there was a long sigh, and the breathing stopped. Hall strode angrily forward to his victim, but when he reached thehatch, Van Roos was dead. A blood vessel must have burst in his brain, and death was as instantaneous as though a bullet had struck him. Sothey cut him free, and his body followed that of Borgson over the rail. Then the eyes of the mutineers turned aft toward the wireless house, and then back upon Campbell. Six victims remained. One of the firemenslipped close to Hovey on naked feet. He did not speak, but his long, thin arm pointed toward the engineer. 

"Not yet, " said Hovey, "not yet! Tomorrow if he doesn't give in, we'llturn you loose on him. "

The fireman grinned and went back on noiseless feet to his companionsto spread the good tidings. Hovey approached the wireless house. 

"We've got one show left to offer, but we're savin' it till tomorrow, "he said. "So brace up, hearties, and keep cheer. You'll see Campbell goa way worse than either of these tomorrow. "

"Wait, " called Harrigan, suddenly roused. "D'you mean to say that you'dtry your hellwork on a kind man like Campbell?"

"A kind man like Campbell?" echoed Hovey, and then laughed. "A kindman?"

And he retreated with no other answer, and left the fugitives aft tothe merciless, sweltering heat of the sun. By the time the sun wentdown, they were so fevered by the need of water that they had not thestrength to bless the cool falling of the dark; they still carried thefire of the sunlight in their blood. 

CHAPTER 36

"This man Campbell, " said Harrigan, "he's a true man, McTee, and hestood up to White Henshaw for my sake--for the sake of me and hisBobbie Burns. They plan to take him to hell tomorrow, Angus, and I'vean idea that there's one chance in the thousand that I could steal inon the dogs tonight and bring him back with me. "

"Can they do anything worse to him than they're doing to us?"

"Maybe not, but my heart would lie easier, McTee. I'll wait for thefever o' the sun to go out of me head an' for the crew to get drunk an'a little drunker. "

So they waited while the noise of the nightly carousal waxed high andhigher, and then died away by slow degrees. At length Harrigan stoodup, gripped the hand of McTee in silent farewell, heard a whispered"Good luck!" and slipped noiselessly down the ladder and started acrossthe deck in the shadow of the rail. From any portion of the main cabineyes might be watching him; there was only the one chance in ten thatthe lookout whom Hovey had certainly stationed would not perceive himas he crept along under the shadow. Accordingly he went blindlyforward. 

If the lookout saw him, at least there was no outcry, no general alarm. He stood flat against the wall of the main cabin at length andrehearsed a plan, listening the while to the lapping of the wavesagainst the side of the ship. Then he stole step by step up the ladderto the upper deck. His head was already above the ladder when he heardthe light padding of a bare foot and saw a figure around the corner ofthe cabin. 

Harrigan ducked out of sight and clung to the iron rounds ready to leapup and strike if the sailor should descend the ladder, though in thatcase the alarm would be given and his errand spoiled; but the sailorwas apparently the lookout set there by Hovey. He stayed at the head ofthe ladder a moment, humming to himself, and then turned and walked onhis beat to the other side of the ship. Harrigan slipped onto the deckand ran noiselessly to the side of the cabin. Here he flattened himselfagainst the wall until the sentinel had again made the turn of hisbeat, and as the latter moved dimly out of sight through the darkness, the Irishman stole down the deck toward the forward cabins. 

The first two windows showed dark and empty; if there were anyoneinside, he must be asleep in the drunken torpor into which most of thecrew seemed to have fallen. The door of the third room, formerlyoccupied by the second mate, stood ajar, and here by the dull light ofan oil lantern, he saw Campbell tied hand and foot to a chair. He wasplaced close to a little table whereon sat a bottle of whisky, a siphonof seltzer, a tall glass, meat, bread, water--everything, in fact, withwhich the senses of the starving man could be tormented. And near him, sitting with elbows spread out on the edge of the table, was one of thefiremen, grinning continually as if he had just heard some monstrousjoke. The expression of Campbell was just as fixed, for his small eyesshifted eagerly, swiftly, from the food to the water, and back again. 

The fireman--the same tall, gaunt fellow who had demanded that Hoveyturn over Campbell to him and his companions that day--now leanedforward and raised a dipper of water from a bucket which sat on thefloor, and allowed it to trickle back, splashing with what seemed toHarrigan the sweetest music in the world. Hovey must have taught himthat trick, and its effect upon Campbell was worse than the beating ofthe whips. The fireman let his head roll loosely back as he laughed, and while his head was still back and his eyes squinting shut in theecstasy of his delight, Harrigan leaped from the shadow of the door andstruck at the throat--at the great Adam's apple which shook with thelaughter. The blow must have nearly broken the man's neck. His headjerked forward with a whistling gasp of breath, and as he reached forthe knife on the table, Harrigan struck again, this time just behindthe ear. The man slid from his chair to the floor and lay in a queerheap--as if all the bones in his body were broken. 

"Harrigan! Harrigan! Harrigan!" Campbell was whispering over and over, but still his eyes held like those of a starved wolf on the food. Themoment his ropes were cut, he buried his teeth in the great chunk ofroasted meat. 

Harrigan jerked him away and held him by main force. 

"Be a man!" he whispered. "We've got to take this food and this waterback to the wireless house--if we can get there with it. Take hold ofyourself, Campbell!"

The engineer nodded. Voices came close down the deck; instantlyHarrigan jerked up the glass globe which protected the lantern's flameand blew out the light. They crouched shoulder to shoulder. 

"I thought he was in here, " said a voice at the door. 

"He was, " answered Hovey's voice, "but I guess they took him below--they said it was too cool for him up there. Ha, ha, ha!"

Their steps disappeared down the deck. After that Harrigan dared notshow a light in the cabin window. He and Campbell located the meat andbread, which were given into the engineer's keeping, while Harrigantook the bucket of water. They slipped out onto the deck and hurriedaft, keeping close to the side of the cabin, for the starlight wouldshow their figures to any watchful eyes. At the rear edge of the cabinHarrigan halted Campbell and whispered: "There's a guard here. I gotpast him in the dark, but two of us loaded down like this can never gounseen down that ladder. We've got to get rid of him. "

And he pulled out the knife which he had kept with him ever since theoutbreak of the mutiny. They waited without daring to draw breath untilthe sailor came padding by with his naked feet. Harrigan crept outbehind him, and when the sailor turned at the rail, the Irishman leapedin and struck, not with the blade, but with the haft of the knife; hecould not kill from behind. 

If it had been a solid blow, the sailor would have crumpled silently asthe fireman had done a few moments before, but the impact glanced andmerely cut his scalp as it knocked him down. He fell with a shout whichwas instantly answered from the front of the ship. 

"Down the ladder! Run for it!" cried Harrigan to Campbell, and as theengineer clambered down, he stood guard above. 

The sailor leaped up from the deck and lunged with a knife gleaming inhis hand, but Harrigan slashed him across the arm, and he fled howlinginto the dark. Before Hovey and his men could reach the spot, Harriganhad climbed down the ladder with his precious bucket and was fleeingaft to the wireless house. 

As he reached it, lights were showing from the main cabin, and therewere choruses of yells announcing the discovery that Campbell wasmissed. But Harrigan and the rest of the fugitives scarcely heard thesounds. The Irishman was busy measuring as carefully as he could in thedark dippers of water which the others drank. 

There was no sleep that night, partly from fear lest the infuriatedmutineers should at last attempt to rush the wireless house, partlybecause they ate sparingly but long of the meat which Harrigan carvedfor them, and the bread, and partly also because of a singular odorwhich they had not noticed when they were tortured by thirst andhunger, and which now they observed for the first time. It waspeculiarly pungent and heavy with a sickening suggestion of sweetnessabout it. None of them could describe it, saving Harrigan, who had beenmuch in the country and likened the odor to the smell of an old strawstack which lay molding and rotting. 

It seemed to increase--that smell--during the night, probably becausetheir strength was returning and all their senses grew more acute. Itwas a torrid night, without moon, so that the blanket of dark pressedthe heat down upon them and seemed to stifle the very breath. 

With the coming of the first light of the dawn they noticed a peculiarphenomenon. Perhaps it was because of the evaporation of water underthe fire of the sun, but the _Heron_ seemed to be surrounded with awhite vapor which rose shimmering in the slant rays of the morning. Buteven when the sun had risen well up in the sky, the vapor was stillvisible, clinging like a wraith about the ship. They wondered idly uponit, and wondered still more at the heat, which was now intense. Theywere interrupted in their conjectures by the call of Kate summoningthem to the wireless house where Henshaw lay apparently at the lastgasp. 

He had altered marvelously in the past two days. That resemblance whichhe had always had to a mummy was now oddly intensified, for the cheekswere fallen, the neck withered to scarcely half its former size, theeyes sunk in purple hollows. He murmured without ceasing, his voice nowrising hardly above a low whisper. Kate sat beside him, passing herhands slowly over his temples, for he complained of a fire risingwithin his brain. 

His complaints died away under her touches, and he said at last, calmlybut very, very faintly: "Beatrice, there is one thing I have not yettold you. "

"Yes?" she asked gently, though she averted her eyes, for all the longhours he had filled with the stories of his crimes upon earth werepoured into the ear of the spirit of his Beatrice, as he thought. Onelast and crowning atrocity was yet to be told. 

"I have left out the greatest thing of all. "

He paused to smile at the memory. 

"You remember Samson's death, Beatrice? And how he pulled the housedown on the shoulders of his enemies?"

"Yes. "

"That was a wonderful way to die--wonderful! But I, Beatrice, look atme, child!--I have surpassed Samson! Listen! You will wonder and youwill admire when you hear it! When I got the word that you were dead, Iknew two things: first, that the prophecy of my death at sea would cometrue, and secondly that my gold must perish with me. You will neverguess how long I pondered over a way to destroy my gold before I died!You will think I could have simply thrown it into the sea? Yes, but theship was filled with men ready to mutiny, and they were hungry for mywealth. They would never have allowed me to destroy that gold! So Ithought of a way--ah, it was an inspiration!--by which I could destroymy body, my wealth, and the lives of all the mutineers at once. LikeSamson, I would pull the house on the heads of my enemies. Ha, ha, ha!"

His laughter was rather a grimace than a sound. 

He went on: "See how cunningly, how carefully I worked! First I blew upthe three lifeboats so that there would be no escape for the crew. ThenI tampered with the dynamo so that it burned out, and they could notsend out a wireless call for help. That touch was the best of all. Well, well! Then I went down into the hold, deep down, and I started afire in the cargo. And then--"

"Oh, my God!" stammered Sloan. 

The others were white, but they gestured at Sloan to silence him. Thewhisper continued: "And then I knew that they were done for. The wheatwould not break into a sudden flame, but it would smolder and glow andspread from hour to hour and from day to day. The crew would knownothing of it for a long time. But when they guessed at what washappening, they would open the hatches to fight the fire with water. Then what would happen? Ah, my dear, there was the crowning touch; forwhen they opened the hatches, the current of air would feed the fireand the ship would be instantly in flames. And so they would burn likedogs with water, water all around them, and no boats to put off in--noboats. Ha, ha, ha!"

He choked with his laughter and gasped for breath. 

"If it were possible for a bodiless spirit to perish, I should thinkthat I am dying twice, Beatrice. The air is thick--this air of hell!"

He broke off short in his whispering and raised himself suddenly to anelbow. With the coming of death his voice grew strong and rang clearly:"They are in the corners--they are coming closer! Beatrice! Brush themaway with your fingers as cold as snow. Beatrice, oh, my dear!"

And he was dead as he fell back on the bunk. 

Sloan was already on the deck outside the wireless house, shriekingwith all the power of his lungs: "Fire! Fire! The wheat in the hold!"

CHAPTER 37

And as Harrigan and McTee, followed by Kate and Campbell, ran out tothe open air, they saw the crowd of the mutineers surge across thewaist toward Sloan with upturned faces, wondering, and ready forterror. Hovey broke through their midst. 

"Hovey!" shouted McTee. "Look at the mist over the sides! Draw abreath; smell of it! It is fire! Henshaw has set fire in the hold!"

It was plain to every brain in the instant. To every man came thethought of the complaints of the firemen concerning the heat in thehold of the _Heron_; the noxious odor like musty straw; the warmth, thedeadly warmth of the decks. A volcano smoldered beneath them, and themist was the sign of the coming outbreak of flames. And the mutineersstood mute, gaping at one another, looking for some hope, some comfort, and finding the same question repeated in every eye. McTee climbed downthe ladder to the waist, followed by the rest of the fugitives. Tenminutes before they would have been torn to pieces by the wolf pack. Now no man had a thought for anything save his own death. 

"Hovey, " ordered McTee in his voice of thunder, "tell these fellowsthey must obey my voice from now on. "

They roared, snatching at this ghost of a hope: "We will! We'll followBlack McTee! Hovey has brought us to hell!"

In a moment everyone was in frantic motion. Campbell started for theengine room to see what had caused the stopping of the ship. McTeehimself, followed by Harrigan and the stokers, went down to thefireroom. It was fiery hot there, indeed. When the Scotchman swung downthe ladder into the hole, it was like a blast from a furnace, and theair was foul with the nauseating odor of the smoldering wheat. The mengasped and struggled for breath, and yet they began to work withoutcomplaint. 

All hands set to. The fires were shaken down and started afresh; thecoal shoveled out from the bunkers. Then a fireman collapsed without acry of warning. They carried him out to the upper air, and brought downtwo of the sailors to take his place. And the sailors went without amurmur. They were fighting for the one chance in ten thousand, thechance of bringing the ship to shore before the fire burst out in flamewhich would lick the _Heron_ from one end to the other within an hour. 

McTee went up to the bridge to take the bearings and lay the course. Bythe time his reckonings were completed, steam was up; Campbell hadremedied the trouble in the engine room; the propeller began to turn, and a yell went up from the ship and tingled to heaven. When McTee camedown from the bridge to the waist, leaving Hovey at the wheel, a dozenof the tars gathered about the new skipper, weeping and shouting, forin their eyes he was the deliverer, it was he who was giving them thefighting chance to live. 

And how they fought! There was something awe-inspiring and almostbeyond the human in the fury with which they labored. It was in thefireroom that their chief difficulty lay. The fireroom of a largesteamer is a veritable furnace, and when to this heat was added thatfrom the hold of the ship, it was truly a miracle that any living thingcould exist there. 

But Harrigan was in charge. When men wilted and pitched to their faceson the sooty, dusty floor, he trussed them under one arm and bore themup to the air. Then he went back and drove them on again. Before theend of that day, however, with the coast still a full thirty-hour runahead of them, it became literally impossible to continue longer in thefireroom. But Harrigan would not leave. He had a hose introduced intothe hold. The men worked absolutely naked with a stream of waterplaying on them. Now and again when one of them collapsed, Harrigansnatched the fire bar or the shovel from the hands of the worker andlabored furiously until another substitute was found. 

The necessity of his presence was amply demonstrated that night. TheIrishman was too exhausted to continue another minute, and the menhelped him to the deck and sluiced buckets of salt water over hisgreat, trembling body. To keep the men at work, Campbell went down inthe hole. 

They had to carry him up in half an hour. Then McTee tried his hand. Hestood the heat as well as Harrigan, but he could not inspire suchdaredevil enthusiasm in the men. They missed the raucous, cheery voiceof Harrigan; they missed the inspiring sight of that flame-red hair;and they missed above all his peculiar driving force. In other words, when Harrigan came among them, they felt _hope_, and when a man hashope, he will work on in the face of death. 

And at last McTee came up and begged Harrigan to go back. He went, andfound an empty fireroom and dying fires. He ran back to the deck, andat his shout the dead veritably rose to life. Men staggered to theirfeet to follow him below. Every man on the ship took his turn. Hoveycame down and passed coal; McTee came down and wielded the fire bar, doing the labor of three men while he could endure. 

And the _Heron_ drove on toward the shore. The morning passed; theafternoon wore away. It was a matter of hours now before the shorewould be in sight, and McTee spread this news among the crew. He sentlittle Kamasura and Shida, the cabin boys, running here and theresaying to every man they passed: "Four hours! Four hours! Four hours!"And then: "Three hours! Three hours! Three hours!"

And the crew swallowed whisky neat and returned to the fireroom. 

At sunset, dim as a shadow, a thing to be guessed at rather than known, the man on the bridge sighted land. The word spread like lightning. Thestaggering workers in the fireroom heard and joined the cheer whichHarrigan started. Then the catastrophe came. 

A torch of red fire licked up the stern of the ship; the flames hadeaten their way out to the open air!

It was the quick action of McTee which kept the panic from spreading tothe hold of the ship at once and bringing up every one of the workersfrom the fireroom. He gathered the sailors on deck who had strengthenough left to walk, and they made a line and attacked the flames withbuckets of water. There was, of course, no possibility of quelling thefire at its source, for by this time the hold of the ship where thewheat was stowed must have been one glowing mass of smoldering matter. Yet they were able, for a time, to keep the course of the fire fromspreading over the decks of the ship. 

With this work fairly started, McTee ran back to the forward cabin andupper deck of the _Heron_ and set several men to tear down some of theframework, sufficient at least to build enough rafts to maintain thecrew in the water. So the three sections of the work went on--thefirefighting, the lifesaving, and the driving of the ship. McTee ondeck managed two ends of it; Harrigan in the fireroom handled the mostdesperate responsibility. It seemed as if these two men by their nakedwill power were lifting the lives of the crew away from the touch ofdeath and hurling the ship toward the shore. 

And now for an hour, for two hours, that ghastly labor continued. Theentire stern of the _Heron_ was a sheet of flames when the last workersstaggered up from the fireroom, their skin seared and blistered by theterrific heat. Last of all came Harrigan, raving and cursing andimploring the men to return to their work. As he staggered up the deck, reeling and sobbing hoarsely, Kate Malone ran to him. She pointed outacross the waters ahead of the ship. There rose the black shadow of theshore and under it a thin line of white--the breakers!

Now by McTee's direction the rafts were hoisted and dragged over theside of the ship, while one frail line of men remained to struggleagainst the encroaching flames. 

They were licking into the waist of the _Heron_, and the wireless housewas a mass of red; White Henshaw was burning at sea, and the prophecywas fulfilled. 

The last of the rafts were hoisted overboard and half a dozen mentumbled into each. When the rest of the crew were overboard, McTee, Kate, and Harrigan, lingering behind by mutual consent, took one raftto themselves. All about them tossed the other rafts, and not one manof all the crowd had thought of the golden treasure which they wereabandoning with the _Heron_. Each might be carrying a few gold pieces, but the wealth of White Henshaw would go back into the sea from whichit came. 

They had not abandoned the flaming ship too soon. A fresh breeze wassweeping from the ocean onto the shore, and red tongues licked aboutthe main cabin and darted like reaching hands into the heart of thesky. By these flashes they could make out the struggling rafts wherethe sailors cheered and yelled in the triumph of their escape. ButMcTee set about erecting a jury sail. 

He wrenched off two strips of board from their raft and across these heand Harrigan affixed their shirts. The same wind which had lashed thefires forward on the _Heron_ now hurried the fugitives toward theshore. They had a serious purpose in outstripping the rest of therafts, because when the mutineers reached the shore, the mood ofgratitude which they held for Harrigan and McTee was sure to change, for these two men could submit enough evidence to hang them in anycountry in the world. 

Looking back, the _Heron_ was a belching volcano, which suddenly liftedin the center with the sound of a dozen siege guns in volleyed unison, and a column of fire vaulted high into the heavens. Before they reachedthe tossing heart of the breakers, the _Heron_ was dwindling andsliding, fragment by fragment into the sea. 

Through those breakers the last light from the ship helped them, andthe wind tugging at their little jury sail aided to drive them on untilthey could swing off the raft and walk toward the beach, carrying Katebetween them. On the safe, dry sands they turned, and as they lookedback, the Heron slid forward into the ocean and quenched her fires witha hiss that was like a far-heard whisper of the sea. 

CHAPTER 38

Meanwhile the shouts of the mutineers rang louder and louder as theirrafts edged in toward the land, so the three turned again and madedirectly inland. A hundred yards from the edge of the water they werein a dense jungle such as only exists in a Central American swampregion, but they waded and splashed on, and clambered over rottenstumps, slick with wet moss, and stepped on fragments of wood thatcrumbled under their feet. And all the time they kept the girl betweenthem, lifting her clear of the noisome water as much as possible. 

The shouting of the mutineers, however, urged them on, and from thesound of the voices there was no doubt that Hovey and his men werecombing the marsh for the fugitives. Torches had been made by thesailors, and behind them, now and then, they caught a glimpse of awinking eye of light. This drove them on, and just when the shouts ofthe mutineers began to die away, the marsh ended as abruptly as it hadbegun, and they started to climb a slope where the thicket changed toan almost open wood. The rise was not long, for after some hours ofweary trudging, they reached a road. 

Down this they straggled with stumbling feet. They had not spoken fornearly two hours, as though they wished to save even the breath ofspeech for some trial which might still await them. Kate was halfunconscious with fatigue, and McTee on her left and Harrigan on herright carried most of her weight. 

In this manner they came in sight of a light which developed into alow-roofed, broad house with a hospitable veranda stretching about it. They made directly for it, traversing a level field until they came tothe door. McTee supported Kate while Harrigan knocked. There wassilence within the house, and then a whisper, a stir, the padding of aslippered foot, and the door was jerked open. A tall man with a narrow, pointed beard appeared. He held a lantern in one hand and a pistol inthe other; for those were troubled times in that republic. The lightfell full on the haggard face of Kate, and the man started back. 

"Enter, my children, " he said in Spanish, and tossing his weapon onto alittle hall table, he held out his hand to them. 

With a great voice he brought his family and servants about them in afew seconds. To a wide-eyed girl with a frightened voice, he gave thecare of Kate, and the two went off together. The master of the househimself attended to the needs of Harrigan and McTee. 

There were few questions asked. This was a question of dire need, andthe Spanish-American loves to show his hospitality. Talking was for themorning. In the meantime his guests would require what? Perhaps sleep?Perhaps a bath first? They answered him with one voice, for they bothspoke a little Spanish, picked up in their wanderings. Sleep!

The next day they woke about noon to find clothes laid out for them, the immaculate white clothes which the tropics require. They were ledto a high-ceilinged bathroom cool with glazed, white bricks which linedit, where the two servants poured over them bucket after bucket of coldwater, and the grime of the voyage and the labors in the fireroom andthe mighty weariness of their muscles disappeared little by little inslow degrees. Then a shave, then the white clothes, and they were readyfor presentation to Senor Jose, Barrydos y Maria y Leon and his family. 

And here was a time of many words indeed. It was McTee who told thestory of the wreck, and even with his broken Spanish the tale was sovivid that Senor Jose was forced to rise and walk up and down the room, calling out upon a hundred various saints. In the end it was clear inhis eyes that he had to deal with two heroes. As such they could havelived with him as honored guests forever. 

Then Kate came into the room with the daughter of the house. She wore agreen dress of some light material which fluttered into folds at everymove. The Spaniard straightened up from his chair. The two big menfollowed suit, staring wide-eyed upon her. It seemed as if some miraclehad been worked in her, for they looked in vain for any traces of herhelpless weariness of the night before. 

There was a color in her cheeks and her eyes were bright and quiet. ToSenor Jose Barrydos y Maria y Leon she gave both her hands, and hebowed over them and kissed them both. His courtliness made Harrigan andMcTee exchange a glance, perhaps of envy and perhaps of disquiet, forshe accepted this profound courtesy with an ease as if she had beenaccustomed to nothing else all her life. 

But what a smile there was for each of them afterward! It left themspeechless, so that they glowered upon each other and were glad of thesoft flow of Senor Jose's words as he led them in to the breakfasttable. 

And when the meal had progressed a little and some of the edge of thenovelty of the situation and story had worn away, the Spaniard said:"But is it not true? Strange news floats in the air this week. "

"What news?" asked Harrigan. "Our wireless was out of commission fordays. "

"True! Then you must learn from me?"

He drew a breath and stiffened in his chair, then with a gesture ofapology and a smile he added: "Why should I hunt for pompous words? Ican tell you in one phrase: the world is at war, gentlemen!"

They merely gaped upon him. 

"German troops have entered Belgium; France, England, and Russia are atwar with Germany and Austria!"

He waited for the astonishment to die away in their eyes. 

Kate was shaking her head. "It is impossible, " she said. "There may bea disturbance, but the world is past the time of great wars. Men arenow too civilized, and--"

Here she stopped, for her eyes fell on the faces of Harrigan and McTee. Civilized? No; she had seen enough to know that civilization strikes nodeeper in human nature than clothes go to change the man. 

"Civilized?" Don Jose had taken her up. "Ah, madam, already wild talesreach us of the Germans in Belgium. "

"But there was a treaty, " she cried, "and the greatest nations in theworld have guaranteed the neutrality of Belgium. Germany herself--"

"True!" said Jose; "but it is because of the violation of Belgianneutrality, among other things, that England has entered the war, it issaid. "

"Ah-h!" said Harrigan, lapsing suddenly from Spanish into his Irishbrogue. "Thrue for ye, man! John Bull will take the Kaiser by thethroat. In time of peace, why, to hell with England, say I, like allgood Irishmen; but in time av war-r, it's shoulder to shoulder, JohnBull an' Paddy, say I, an' we'll lick the wor-r-rld!"

And McTee broke in savagely. "You forget the Scotch. Without theScotch, England and Ireland--what could they do? Nothing!"

"Could they not?" said Harrigan, with rising temper. "I tell ye, yeblack Highlander, that wan Irishman--"

"Hush, " said Kate earnestly; for the Spaniard was staring at them inamaze. "It is a world war, and no time for jealousy. England--Scotland--Ireland--and America, too, in time--we will all be fighting for onepurpose. And when the last test comes, the United States--"

She stopped with a gesture of pride, and Harrigan said with deepfeeling: "Aye, they're a hard lot, the Yankees. But as for the Scotch, "he went on in a murmur which only McTee could hear--"as for the Scotch, I wouldn't be wipin' my feet on 'em, when it comes to the fightin'. D'ye hear me, McTee?"

"And understand, " said McTee, smiling broadly, so that none of the restmight understand; "our time is close at hand, Harrigan. We're on dryland. "

"We are--thank God, " answered Harrigan, "but play the game, McTee, tillthe girl is cared for. "

In the meantime Senor Jose had explained to Kate the nearness of thecity--El Ciudad Grande--for she had been asking many urgent questions. The upshot of their conversation was that their host offered to takethem immediately into the town, where they could find accommodation atthe one hotel--if they refused his further hospitality. So in half anhour Senor Jose's carriage of state was harnessed and the fourjourneyed into El Ciudad Grande. 

Senor Jose went with them to explain to the hotel owner that these werehis guests--his dear friends--his friends of many years' standing--infact, his relatives in close blood. In short, he recommended the partyto the special care of the hotelkeeper. Business called the hospitableSpaniard away. He refused to accept any consideration for the clotheswhich he donated to the party, and McTee jingled a handful of Henshaw'sgold in vain. Senor Jose must depart, but he would return the next day. So the three stood alone together at last. Harrigan was the first tospeak. 

"I've an engagement. I'm afther havin' some important business on hand, Kate, colleen, so I'll be steppin' out. " And he turned to go. 

"Wait, " she called. "I know what your engagements are when the Irishcomes so thick on your tongue, Dan. You were about to have anengagement also, Angus?"

McTee glowered on Harrigan for having so clumsily betrayed them. 

"You are like children, " she said softly, "and you let me read yourminds. "

She bowed her head in long thought. 

Then: "Didn't we pass the sign of the British consul down the streetover that little building?"

"Yes, " said McTee, wondering, and again she was lost in thought. 

Then she raised her head and stepped close to them with that smile, half whimsical and half sad. 

"I'm going to ask you to let me be alone for a time--for a long time. It will be sunset in five hours. Will you let me have that long to dosome hard thinking? And will you promise me during that time that youwill not fly at each other's throats the moment you are out of mysight? For what I will have to say at sunset I know will make a greatdeal of difference in your attitude to each other. "

"I'll promise, " said Harrigan suddenly. "I've waited so long--I canstand five hours more. "

"I'll promise, " said McTee; but he scowled upon the floor. 

CHAPTER 39

They left her and walked from the hotel. At the door Harrigan turnedfiercely upon the Scotchman. 

"Do what ye please for the five hours, McTee, but give me the room Ineed for breathin'. D'ye hear? Otherwise I'll be forgettin' mepromises. "

"Do I hear ye?" answered McTee, snarling. "Aye, growl while you may. I'll stop that throat of yours for good--tonight. "

He turned on his heel, and the two men separated. Harrigan struck witha long swing out over a road which led into the rolling fields near thelittle town. He walked rapidly, and his thoughts kept pace, for he wascounting his chances to win Kate as a miser counts his hoard of gold. Two pictures weighed large in his mind. One was of Kate at ease in thehome of the Spaniard. Such ease would never be his; she came fromanother social world--a higher sphere. The second picture was of McTeeclimbing down from the wireless house and calmly assuming command ofthe mutineers in the crisis. Such a maneuver would never have occurredto the Irishman, and it was only through that maneuver that the shiphad been brought to shore, for nothing save the iron will of McTeecould have directed the mutineers. 

When the sun hung low, he turned and strode back toward the village, and despair trailed him like his shadow. 

He began to see clearly now what he had always feared. She lovedMcTee--McTee, who spoke clear, pure English, when he chose, and whocould talk of many things. She loved McTee, but she dared not avow thatlove for fear of infuriating Harrigan and thereby risking the life ofthe Scotchman. It grew plainer and plainer. With the thought of Katecame another, far different, and yet blending one with another. When hereached the village, it was still a short time before sunset. He wentstraight to the British consulate and entered, for he had reached thesolution of his puzzle. 

"My name's Harrigan, " he said to the little man with the sideburns andthe studious eyes, "and I've come to know if the old country has sentfor volunteers. I want to go over. "

"The old country, " said the consul, "has called for volunteers, and Ihave discovered a means of sending our boys across the water; but"--andhere he examined Harrigan shrewdly--"but it's an easy thing to take anIrish name. How am I to know you're not a German, my friend? I've neverseen you before. "

Harrigan swelled. 

"A German? Me?" he muttered, and then, his head tilted back: "Ye littlewan-eyed, lantern-jawed, flat-headed block, is it me--is it Harrigan yecall a German? Shtep out from behind the desk an' let me see av you'rea man!"

Strangely enough, the consul did not seem irritated by this outburst. He was, in fact, smiling. Then his hand went out to the Irishman. 

"Mr. Harrigan, " he said, "I'm honored by knowing you. "

Harrigan stared and accepted the hand with caution; there was stillbattle in his eyes. 

"And can you send me over?" he asked doubtfully. 

"I can. As I said before, we've raised a small fund for just thispurpose. "

He drew out a piece of paper and commenced taking down the particularsof Harrigan's name and birth and other details. Then a shorttypewritten note signed by the consul ended the interview. He gaveHarrigan directions about how he could reach a shipping agent on theeastern coast, handed over the note, and the Irishman stepped out ofthe little office already on his way to the world war. He took nopleasure in his resolution, but wandered slowly back toward the hotelwith downward head. He would speak a curt farewell and step out of thelives of the two. It would be very simple unless McTee showed someexultation, but if he did--Here Harrigan refused to think further. 

It was well after sunset when he crossed the veranda, and at the doorhe found McTee striding up and down. 

"Harrigan, " said McTee. 

"Well?", growled Harrigan. 

"Stand over here close to me, and keep your face shut while I'mspeaking. It won't take me long. "

The words were insulting enough, but the voice which spoke them wassadly subdued. 

"Listen, " said McTee. "What I've got to say is harder for me to do thananything I've ever done in my life. So don't make me repeat anything. Harrigan, I've tried to beat you by fair means or foul ever since wemet--ever since you saved my hide in the Ivilei district of Honolulu. I've tried to get you down, and I've failed. I fought you"--here heground his teeth in agony--"and you beat me. "

"It was the bucking of the deck that beat you, " put in Harrigan. 

"Shut up till I'm through or I'll wring your neck and break your back!I've failed to down you, Harrigan. You beat me on the Mary Rogers. Youmade a fool of me on the island. And on the Heron--"

He paused again, breathing hard. 

"On the _Heron_, it was you who brought us food and water when we weredying. And afterward, when Henshaw died, I jumped out before themutineers and took command of them because I thought I could win backin Kate's mind any ground which I'd lost before. I paraded the deckbefore her eyes; I gave commands; I was the man of the hour; I wasdriving the _Heron_ to the shore in spite of the fire. "

"You were, " admitted Harrigan sadly. "It was a great work you did, McTee. It was that which won her--"

"But even when I was in command, you proved yourself the better man, Harrigan. "

The Irishman leaned back against the wall, gasping, weak withastonishment. 

McTee went on: "I paraded the deck; I made a play to make her admireme, and for a while I succeeded, until the time came when you werecarried up to the deck too weak to keep the men at work in thefireroom. Ah, Harrigan, that was a great moment to me. I said to Kate:'Harrigan has done well, but of course he can't control men--his mindis too simple. '"

"Did you say that?" murmured Harrigan, and hatred made his voice soft, almost reverent. 

"I did, and I went on: 'I suppose I'll have to go down there and drivethe lads back to their work. ' So down I went, but you know whathappened. They wouldn't work for me. They stood around looking stupidat me and left me alone in the fireroom, and I had to come back ondeck, in the sight of Kate, and rouse you out of your sleep and beg youto go back and try to make the lads keep at their work. And you got upto your knees, struggling to get back your consciousness! And youstaggered to your feet, and you called to the firemen who lay senselessand sick on the deck around you--sick for sleep--and when they heardyou call, they got up, groaning, and they reeled after you back totheir work in the fireroom, and some of them dragged themselves alongon their hands and knees. Oh, God!"

He struck his clenched fist across his eyes. 

"And all the time I was watching the awe and the wonder come up like afire in the eyes of Kate, while she looked after you. "

Harrigan watched him with the same stupid amazement. 

"Harrigan, " said McTee at last, "you've won her. When I walked out bymyself today, I saw that I was the only obstacle between her and herhappiness. She doesn't dare tell you she loves you, for fear that I'lltry to kill you. So I've decided to step out from between--I _have_stepped out! I'm going back to Scotland and get into the war. If I havefighting enough, I can forget the girl, maybe, and you! I've talked tothe British consul already, and he's given me a note that will take meover the water. So, Harrigan, I've merely come to say good-by to you--and you can say good-by for me to Kate. "

"Wait, " said Harrigan. "There are a good many kinds of fools, but aScotch fool is the worst of all. Take that paper out of your pocket andtear it up. Ah-h, McTee, ye blind man! Can't ye see that gir-rl's beeneatin' out her hear-rt for the love av ye, damn your eyes? Can't ye seethat the only thing that keeps her from throwin' her ar-rms around yourneck is the fear of Harrigan? Look!"

He pulled out the note which the consul had given him. 

"I've got the same thing you have. I'm going to go over the water. Itell you, I've seen her eyes whin she looked at ye, McTee, an' that'show I know she loves ye. Tear up your paper! A blight on ye! May yehave long life and make the girl happy--an' rot in hell after!"

"By God, " said McTee, "we've both been thinking the same thing at thesame time. And maybe we're both wrong. Kate said she had something tosay to us. Let's see her first and hear her speak. "

"It'll break my heart to hear her confess she loves ye, McTee--but I'llgo!"

They went to the sleepy clerk behind the desk and asked him to send upword to Miss Malone that they wished to see her. 

"Ah, Miss Malone, " said the clerk, nodding, "before she left--"

"Left?" echoed the two giants in voices of thunder. 

"She gave me this note to deliver to you. "

And he passed them the envelope. Each of them placed a hand upon it andstared stupidly at the other. 

"Open it!" said Harrigan hoarsely. 

"I'm troubled with my old failing--a weakness of the eyes, " said McTee. "Open it yourself. "

Harrigan opened it at last and drew out the paper within. They stoodunder a light, shoulder to shoulder, and read with difficulty, for thehand of Harrigan which held the paper shook. 

_Dear lads, dear Dan and Angus:

As soon as you left me, I went to the British consul, and from him Ilearned the shortest way of cutting across country to the railroad. Bythe time you read this, I am on the train and speeding north to theStates. 

I have known for a long time that the only thing which keeps you frombeing fast friends is the love which each of you says he has for me. SoI have decided to step from between you, for there is nothing on earthso glorious as the deep friendship of one strong man for another. 

I fear you may try to follow me, but I warn you that it would beuseless. I have taken a course of training, and I am qualified as anurse. The Red Cross of America will soon be sending units across thewater to care for the wounded of the Allies. I shall go with one of thefirst units. You might be able to trace me to the States, but you willnever be able to trace me overseas. This is good-by. 

It is hard to say it in writing. I want to take your hands and tell youhow much you mean to me. But I could not wait to do that. For your ownsakes I have to flee from you both. 

Now that I have said good-by, it is easier to add another thing. I carefor both of you more than for any man I have ever known, but one of youI love with all my soul. Even now I dare not say which, for it mightmake enmity and jealousy between you, and enmity between such men asyou means only one thing--death. 

I have tried to find courage to stand before you and say which of you Ilove, but I cannot. At the last moment I grow weak at the thought ofthe battle which would follow. My only resort is to resign him I carefor beyond all friends, and him I love beyond all other men. 

I know that when I am gone, you will become fast friends, and togetheryou will be kings of men. And in time--for a man's life is filled withactions which rub out all memories--you will forget that you loved me, I know; but perhaps you will not forget that because I resigned youboth, I built a foundation of rock for your friendship. 

You will be happy, you will be strong, you will be true to one another. And for that I am glad. But to you whom I love: Oh, my dear, it isbreaking my heart to leave you!

Kate

One hand of each was on the paper as they lowered it and stared intoeach other's face, with a black doubt, and a wild hope. Then of oneaccord they raised the paper and read it through again. 

"And to think, " muttered Harrigan at last, "that I should have ruinedher happiness. I could tear my heart out, McTee!"

"Harrigan, " said the big Scotchman solemnly, "it is you she means. See!She cried over the paper while she was writing. No woman could weep forBlack McTee!"

"And no woman could write like that to Harrigan. Angus, you can keepthe knowledge that she loves you, but let me keep the letter. Ah-h, McTee, I'll be afther keepin' it forninst me heart!"

"Let's go outside, " said McTee. "There is no air in this room. "

They went out into the black night, and as they walked, each kept hishand upon the letter, so that it seemed to be a power which tied themtogether. 

"Angus, " said Harrigan after a time, "we'll be fightin' for the lettersoon. Why should we? I know every line of it by heart. "

"I know every word, " answered McTee. 

"I've a thought, " said Harrigan. "In the ould days, whin a great mandied, they used to burn his body. An' now I'm feelin' as if somethin'had died in me--the hope av winnin' Kate, McTee. So let's burn herletter between us, eh?"

"Harrigan, " said McTee with heartfelt emotion, "that thought is wellworthy of you!"

They knelt on the little spot. They placed the paper between them. Eachscratched a match and lighted one side of the paper; the flames roseand met in the middle of the letter. Yet they did not watch theprogress of the fire; by the sudden flare of light they gazed steadilyinto each other's face, straining their eyes as the light died away asthough each had discovered in the other something new and strange. Whenthey looked down, the paper was merely a dim, red glow which passedaway as quickly as a flush dies from the face, and the wind carriedaway the frail ashes. Then they rose and walked shoulder to shoulder onand into the night.