George Manville Fenn

“ For, as the smoke rose, she could see the fugitives still running, and that quite a cloud of sea-birds had risen from the mew-stone, a hundred yards from shore, to fly circling round, screaming querulously, as they slowly flapped their black-tipped wings.
“They’ll escape—they’ll escape!” cried Mary, clapping her hands joyously. “The coward, to fire! And they’re afraid to run hard and catch them now they are out in the open. Yes, they’ll escape!” she cried again, as she saw the distance increasing between pursuer and pursued. “They’ll get to the boat; the sail’s in, and there’s a good breeze. ”

“ Humphrey made a menacing gesture; but the buccaneer did not stir.
“Look here, sir,” he continued. “I am in this place more powerful among my people than the king you serve. You smile; but you will find that it is true.”
“If I am not killed, sir, trying to make some effort to escape.”
“Escape!” cried the buccaneer, with his face lighting up. “Man, you have been warned before that you cannot escape. The forest beyond where we stand is one dense thicket through which no man can pass unless he cut his way inch by inch. It is one vast solitude, standing as it has stood since the world was made.” ”

“ Bart set down the case and Dinny the lantern beneath the cocoa-nut trees close by the levelled patch of shore; and then, with the dull light shining through the horn panes upon the sand, the two men stood in the midst of the faint halo listening to the soft whispering of the tide among the shingle, and the more distant boom of the surf.
“It’s an unked job,” said Bart at last. “But, poor lad, it’s the skipper’s wish. A lovely spot for a man to be put to rest.” ”

“ Did you and poor Abel find him so brave when you met him that night on the road to Slapton Lea?”
“What!” cried Bart. “No; ’tisn’t him!”
“That ship is commanded by Captain Armstrong,” said the captain, hoarsely; “by the man, Bart, who blasted my life; who sent my brother to his death out here, for it was through him poor Abel died.”
“No! Never!” cried Bart, incredulously.
“It’s true, Bart. I have just learned that it is he by Dinny, who has returned from Belize. She is commanded by the man I once thought I loved.” ”

“ There was a splash, a hoarse gurgle, a beating of the water as a dog beats it before it sinks.
Again silence and the whispering and lapping against the sides more faint; then a gurgling sound, the water beat once or twice, a fainter echo or two, and then what sounded like a sigh of relief, and a silence that was indeed the silence of death.
Suddenly the silence in that darkness was broken, for a hoarse voice said—
“Climb up!”
“Climb!” exclaimed Humphrey, who seemed to have recovered his voice, while his frozen energies appeared to expand.
“Yes. Climb. I can hold you thus, but no more. ”

“ A dead silence fell upon the little group, and at last it was Bart who spoke, as if to himself.
“If you helps yourself to a bit o’ anything that comes ashore, they says it’s wrecking; and if you want a drop o’ brandy or a bit o’ lace from a furrin boat, it’s smuggling; and now, if a man wants to get away, and fights for his liberty, he’s a pirate.”
“For seizing a vessel, Bart,” said Jack.
“Yes, lad, I know. Well, they may call me what they like. Here we are, and we’ve got to live.” ”

“ Jack grasped the situation clearly, and felt how little time there was to lose. At any moment the heads of the hunting party might appear as they came down the ravine to the bay, while, supposing these to be really asleep, the first shout would bring them to their feet, and then all chance of escape would be gone.
The men had laid down close up under the cliff so as to be sheltered from the sun and from an instinctive desire to be beyond the reach of any venturesome wave, so that to reach the cutter the fugitives would have to pass her guardians between them and the sea. ”

“ Ask her, Bart. She likes you.”
“Ay, she likes me, bless her, and she’s allus got a kind word for a fellow as wishes a’most as he was her dog.”
“What’s the good o’ that, lad? Better be her man.”
“Ay, of course; but if you can’t be her man, why not be her dog. She would pat your head and pull your ears; but I allus feels as she’ll never pat my head or pull my ears, Abel, lad; you see, I’m such a hugly one. Blubbering, eh?”
“Does nothing else. She don’t let me see it; but I know. She don’t sleep of a night, and she looks wild and queer, as Sanderson’s lass did who drowned herself.” ”

“ Now, Captain Humphrey Armstrong, can we be friends?”
“Yes!” exclaimed Humphrey, eagerly, as he stretched out his hand. “No!” he cried, letting it fall. “It is impossible, sir. I have my duty to do to my king and those I’ve left at home. I am your prisoner; do with me as you please, for, as a gentleman, I tell you that what you ask is impossible. We are enemies, and I must escape. When I do escape my task begins again—to root out your nest of hornets. ”

“ Fighting down the strange hesitancy which kept assailing in various forms, especially now in that of conjuring up difficulties in the way of escape, he plunged sturdily into the forest path, and, as fast as the darkness allowed, went on straight for the old temple, a grim place of refuge, with its ghastly relics; of Abel Dell lying, as it were, in state; and the horrible, haunting recollections of the huge cavernous cenote where the would-be assassin had met his fate, and the other had been consigned as to his tomb. ”

“ I was coming to save you when we met. Will you not believe?”
“Yes!” cried Humphrey, hoarsely. “I will trust you!”
“Hah!”
That was all. His hand was gripped more tightly; and, as he yielded it to his companion, he felt himself led with unerring decision in and out among the mouldering ruins of the edge of the clearing to the side of the old amphitheatre, a faint metallic clink from time to time indicating that a sword was being struck upon the stones to make sure of the way.
“You are going back there?” said Humphrey.
“Yes,” came back hoarsely. “Do not speak. We may be heard.” ”

“ The grapnel was hauled in, the jib hoisted, and Jack stationed at the tiller; but the sail slowly flapped to and fro, refusing to fill, and the only way on the cutter was that given by the falling tide.
“She’ll be aboard of us, Bart, long before we get out of the bay,” said Abel, with a groan of despair.
“Niver say die,” cried Dinny, who had just given a turn to the painter which held the cutter’s boat.
“Are there any arms aboard?” growled Bart. “Cuss it! look there!” ”

“ Man had spoiled it as far as he could, his cultivation being but a poor recompense for turning so lovely a spot into a plantation, worked by convicts—by men who fouled the ambient air each moment they opened their lips; while from time to time the earth was stained with blood.
In the distance shone the sea, and between the plantation and the silver coral sands lay patches of virgin forest, where the richest and most luxuriant of tropic growth revelled in the heat and moisture, while in the sunny patches brilliant flowers blossomed. ”

“ There was not much lost, for Bartholomew Wrigley, at the age of thirty—wrecker, smuggler, fisherman, sea-dog, anything by turn—was about as ugly an athletic specimen of humanity as ever stepped. Nature and his ancestors had been very unkind to him in the way of features, and accidents by flood and fight had marred what required no disfigurement, a fall of a spar having knocked his nose sidewise and broken the bridge, while a chop from a sword in a smuggling affray had given him a divided upper lip. ”

“ Before they could recover from their surprise he had torn a sword from one of them, and, whirling it round his head, he drove them back, and clasping Mary Dell’s waist, stood with flashing eyes, ready for the first who would attack.
“Is there no man here who will help?” he shouted.
“Bedad there is!” cried Dinny, leaping upon the nearest, and in a moment tearing his weapon from his hand. “If I die for it, captain, it shall be like a man.”
Black Mazzard stood for a moment aghast at the daring displayed. Then a grim look of savagery crossed his evil countenance, and he drew his sword. ”

“ Abel did not answer, only scowled fiercely; and Bart sighed, and repeated his question.
“Till we die!” said Abel, savagely; “same as we’ve seen other fellows die—of fever, and hard work, and the lash. Curse the captain! Curse—”
Bart clapped one hand over his companion’s lips, and he held the other behind his head, dropping his hoe to leave full liberty to act.
“I never quarrels with you, Abel, lad,” he said, shortly; “but if you says words again that poor gell, I’m going to fight—and that won’t do. Is it easy?” ”

“ Are you there?”
“Yes,” came from close to Humphrey’s face.
“Forgive me, skipper, and help me up! I’ll be faithful to you! I’ll kill Black Mazzard!”
“I can do nothing,” said the buccaneer, hoarsely. “You are beyond my reach.”
“Then go and fetch the lads and a rope. Don’t let me fall into this cursed, watery hell!”
“If I quit my hold here, man, you will both go down; unless help comes, nothing can be done.”
“Then, call help! Call help now, captain, and I’ll be your slave! Curse him for leaving me here! Where’s Joe Thorpe?” ”

“ Bart Wrigley was silent that calm, still evening for a long time after the captain had spoken, and then—
“It’s a mistake, my dear lad,” he said angrily. “You do as you like, and I’ll follow you through with it, and so will the men; but I say it’s a mistake.”
“And why!” asked the captain, coldly. “Are you afraid to meet the ship!”
“Nay, I don’t know as I’m afraid,” said Bart; “but where’s the good? She’s twice stronger than we, and we shall get nothing but hard knocks.” ”

“ A man in my position makes many enemies. Even you have yours.”
“Yes—you,” cried Humphrey.
“No; I am a friend. There, I thank you for your warning. It is a proof, though you do not know it, that the gap between us grows less. Some day, Captain Armstrong, you will take my hand. We shall be friends.”
Humphrey remained silent as the buccaneer left the chamber, and, once more alone, the prisoner asked himself if this was true—that he had bidden farewell to civilisation for ever, and this was to be his home, this strange compound of savage fierceness and gentle friendliness his companion to the end? ”

“ Listen! These men will search every spot to find and slay me—and you; but you shall escape. Now, listen? Below this old place there is a rock chamber, known only to me and Bart—who lies wounded yonder and helpless; but he will not betray the secret, even if he thinks that you are there. You will go to the end of your couch, press heavily with your shoulder against the corner, forcing it in this direction, and then the great stone will move upon a pivot. There is a way down—”
“You need not tell me,” said Humphrey at this point. ”

“ The Irishman lightened his weary hours too, and every time he came the captive felt some little hope of winning him over to help him to escape.
“Ah, Dinny, my lad!” he said as he heard a step, and the hanging curtain was drawn aside, “what is it to-day?”
“Fish, eggs, and fruit,” said Bart, gruffly.
“Oh! it’s you!” said Humphrey, bitterly. “Dinny away with that cursed schooner!”
“Schooner’s as fine a craft as ever sailed,” growled Bart. “Orders to answer no questions.”
“You need not answer, my good fellow,” said the prisoner, haughtily. ”

“ One never used to think much of dying in the old days; but if one did, it was of being drowned at sea, washed ashore, and buried decently in the old church-yard atop of the hill. And now, old mate, after being a captain out here, we’re a-going to lie you over yonder in the warm, dry sand, where the sun always shines and the cocoa-nuts grow ”

“ Discovery, extra labour, the lash, more irons, and the chance of evasion gone; all those displayed, as it were, before Abel Dell’s gaze as he thought of his sister waiting for them with that boat all plainly seen by the gleaming light of that lantern as the soldiers came steadily on. ”

“ An ordinary woman would have shrunk away sobbing; but as Mary was flung off, she caught at Bart’s wrist, and clung to that.
“Bart, I didn’t! I didn’t!” she whispered, hoarsely. “Tell him I wouldn’t—I couldn’t do such a thing. It isn’t true!”
Bart’s face puckered up, and he looked tenderly down in the agitated face before him.
“Well, lass,” he said, softly, “I believe—”
“That you turned against us!” interposed Abel, savagely, for his temper, consequent upon the way matters had gone against him, was all on edge. “Come on, Bart; she’ll have her own way now.” ”

“ The proposal was agreed to at once, and a long, tedious time of waiting ensued, at the end of which Bart bared his arm.
“We’re strong enough for ’em,” he whispered. “Let’s go at once and fight it out.”
At that moment, high above their heads, a branch was seen waving just as a shot rang out at no great distance, shouts were heard, and the grunting of a herd of the wild pigs rose from the wooded part on their left.
“Too late!” whispered Abel.
“Right!” growled Bart.
“Then we’ll foight for it,” whispered Dinny. “Bedad, I believe they’ll run as soon as they find us here, and small blame to ’em.” ”

“ Jack could not speak for a few moments, being breathless with exertion.
“Three men left with the cutter and they are ashore, lying upon the sands.”
“Abel,” said Jack, after a long, thoughtful silence, “we shall never be safe here with these people coming from time to time.”
“No; that settles our plans. We must take the boat and go.”
“Why not take our enemy’s vessel? We could sail where we liked then.”
“Didn’t I say he was a born gin’ral?” cried Dinny, enthusiastically.
“Take their boat!” said Abel.
“They’re three men, and we’re three,” said Bart, in a low growl.
“Four!” cried Dinny, excitedly. ”

“ And in the future, when you are away—and happy—don’t curse me—think of me as a poor lost woman, driven by fate—to what I am—but who saw and loved you, Humphrey Armstrong, as woman has seldom loved before. ”

“ Even I could not save you then, for the first man you met would shoot you down. Besides that risk, escape is impossible by land; and we shall take care that you do not get away by sea. Now, sir, have I listened to all you have to say?”
“One word, sir. I am growing stronger every day. Will you grant me some freedom?”
“Captain Armstrong is a gentleman,” said his visitor; “if he will give his word that he will not attempt to escape, he shall be free to go anywhere within the bounds of our little settlement.”
Humphrey sat thinking, with his brow knit and his teeth compressed. ”

“ Thus adjured, Dinny went once more to the foot of the shallow trench, and stooped down.
“Now, then, together!” said Bart. “The dead can’t hurt the quick.”
Dinny thrust his hands down in the sand on either side of the rolled-up canvas, made as if to lift, and then, as his hands met, he uttered another yell and fell upon his knees.
Bart started away as well, and stood in the dim light, trembling.
“There! Didn’t you fale him move?” whispered Dinny, who was shaking violently. “Captin darlin’, we were only obeying ordhers. ”

“ Captain Junk’s orders—where you like, so long as you don’t try to escape.”
“But I must escape!” cried Humphrey, angrily. “Tell the captain I will not give my parole.”
“He don’t want it, sir. You can go where you like, only if you try to escape you will be shot.”
Humphrey Armstrong rose from where he had been lying, and made as if to go to the door, his face full of excitement, his eyes flashing, and his hands all of a tremble.
“Go!” he said, sharply. “Send that man who has acted as my servant.”
“Servant!” muttered Bart, as he passed the curtain; “and him a prisoner! ”

“ If we do escape?”
“Leave the plans to me,” she said, with a little laugh. “I have boat and sail, and the world is very wide. Only escape. Take care; the men are coming back.”
Mary’s voice ceased; and Abel took hold of Bart’s arm, rose, raised his hoe, and walked with him to where they had left off work, to begin again slowly, the two men trembling with excitement now; for, as the overseer neared them, a bird began flying to and fro over the edge of the jungle, screaming wildly, evidently from the fact that somebody was hidden there. ”

“ Dick did not answer, but he returned the grip, and Bart went aft directly to relieve Jack at the tiller, while the darkness came on rapidly, and with it the breeze increased in force till the cutter careened over and rapidly left the island behind.
“Well, Dennis Kelly,” said the sailor, as they sat together on board later, with the stars gathering overhead, and faint sounds wafted to them from time to time as they glided rapidly along a few miles from land, “you can only make one thing of it, my boy, and that’s piracy; and piracy’s yard-arm, and a swing at the end of the rope.” ”