George Manville Fenn

“ Their journey might have been upon some peaceful lake, whose left-hand shore was one succession of cocoa-nut groves; and beyond that, rocky jungle, full of ridge and hollow, mound of verdure, and darksome glade and chasm, down which trickled streams of water, such as had risen in the heights which culminated in the smoking cone of the volcano, while here and there the streams gave marked traces of their sources by sending up faint clouds of steam.
Mark felt as he lay back in the stern and gazed at the glorious panorama that he could watch the various phases of beauty in the landscape for ever. ”

“ The major did not move, but laid one hand on Mark’s knee and gave it a firm grip, sighing hard the while, and then there was silence for a time, as the gig rocked easily in the darkness, while the thunderous roar of the breakers grew less violent; and, instead of being deluged with spray as every billow curved over, there was a sensation as of shelter and warmth which pointed to the fact that the boat must have drifted behind rocks as into some channel; but the intense darkness rendered everything obscure. ”

“ The warmth of the sun and the wonders of the coral-reef beneath his eyes made Mark forget his troubles for a time, but he was recalled to his position by his sensations of hunger, a whine from Bruff, and an inquiring chatter from the monkey, who changed his position and sat up on one of the thwarts looking very skinny and miserable, his face wrinkled and puckered, and the appealing inquiring look in his eyes growing more intense. ”

“ Gregory and Morgan stood ready to hoist the sail, but there was not a breath of air where the cutter lay. It was one awful calm, with the glow from the volcano seeming to scorch their cheeks, though high overhead there was a rushing sound as of a mighty wind setting toward the burning mountain, which now began to hurl volleys of red-hot stones through the dense cloud which hung above the top, and reflected the light far and wide upon the sea.
“Hopeless!” said the captain suddenly. “Arm, major, and let’s fight it out like men! Stop!” he cried; “the boat—the shore!” ”

“ There was so much decision in Mr Gregory’s tone and words that Mark’s heart grew light again, and the horrible picture his fancy painted of his father and mother being left at the mercy of the Malays once more grew dim.
“What shall we do, then, next?—go west?”
“No, sir, I think north,” replied Gregory. “There isn’t a breath of air, so we cannot have gone far. What say, Morgan?”
“The tide may have taken her many miles,” said the second-mate, speaking painfully; “but try north.” ”

“ The arms were passed round, and every man’s eyes glistened in the ruddy glare as with a furious yelling the prau came on, the water looking like golden foam on either side, and the glint of spears flashing out from her crowded bamboo deck.
“Don’t fire till you can make sure of your man!” said the major sternly; and a low murmur arose from the little group behind the cutter’s bulwarks, which told in its fierce intensity that if stubborn determination could save the helpless women crouching below they had nought to fear. ”

“ Before many minutes had elapsed she had glided majestically into a narrow canal with stone walls, and from the high stern deck Mark saw that a pair of great gates were closed behind them, as if the ship had been taken in a trap. But no sooner was this achieved than another pair of gates was opened before her bows, and the slow gliding motion was continued till, almost before he knew it, the Black Petrel East Indiaman, Captain Strong, outward-bound for Colombo, Singapore, and Hong-Kong, was out in the river without having crushed any other craft. ”

“ Mark stepped softly into the saloon, which was now full of light from the stern windows, and a dull sense of horror and misery came over him as he noted the desolate aspect of the place, with the screwed-up doors, the barricade, the look of the men asleep, and above all the pallid aspect of Mr Morgan, who seemed to have grown old since the previous day, so seriously had his wound affected him. ”

“ All at once the water seemed to change colour from dark blue to pale green, and on looking over the side the little party found that, instead of gazing down into the black depths, they were gliding over rocky shallows illumined by the sun, which showed them sea gardens full of growths of the most wondrous shapes, among which startled shoals of fish glided, while others, unmoved by the coming of the boat, played about, showing their armoured sides dazzling with orange and scarlet, blue and gold. ”

“ I should not make a good sailor,” said Mark lingering.
“Not if I took you in hand, my lad? Why, I’d make a man of you in no time. Is the skipper going to hand you over to me?”
“No; I’m only going as far as Plymouth or Penzance for a trip.”
“More’s the pity, my lad. Think twiced of it, and don’t you go wasting your time ashore when there’s such a profession as the sea opening of its arms to you and a arstin of you to come. Look at your father: there’s a man!” ”

“ Hardly had the major spoken when there was a deafening roar, accompanied by a rushing sound; Billy Widgeon dropped down, and rolled over, to lie among some ferns, crouched together like a ball; Small ran to the nearest tree, and peered round it, taking aim, while the other two men followed Small’s example. The captain, major, and Mark stood firm, but the latter had so hard a fight with self that he would have had but little for any furious beast that had charged. For all the time nature kept on saying, “Run for your life!” while education whispered, “Face the danger like a man!” ”

“ The captain’s answer was a firm grip of the hand extended to him in the dark.
“That’s it, my boy,” whispered the major. “Now, next time you speak try and forget you are wounded, if you can, and say things cheerily. It puts heart in your men and yourself too. That’s the beauty of being a soldier, sir. He isn’t often called upon to fight; but when he does he has to take his wounds pleasantly, and set an example to his men by dying with a smile on his lip and a laugh in his eye.” ”

“ They soon reached the spot, to find that quite a fount of pure-looking water was welling up out of a rock basin, trickling over and losing itself in the sand, while upon a tree close at hand were at least a hundred tiny parrots not larger than sparrows, fluttering, piping, and whistling as they rifled the tree of its fruit.
“Too small for food unless we were starving,” said the major. “We shall have to fill our bags with what answer here to cockles and mussels, Mark. We must not go home empty-handed.” ”

“ A pin fall might have been heard the next moment, and the silence was broken by the low piteous moan.
“It seems down here at one time, and then more forward there,” said Mark.
“Yes, it does now,” said the first-mate. “Here, Billy Widgeon, Small, you come and try.”
The boatswain and the little sailor both lay down in different places on the cases and bales and listened, but only to rise up and declare that the sound came from quite a different direction.
“Hang it all!” cried the first-mate; “it isn’t a question of amount of cargo to unstow, but of time before we get at the miserable wretch. ”

“ It was a wild and desolate scene, for instead of the volcano being shut off in its lower parts by bands of vegetation, there rose from the water great swarthy walls of basaltic rock, all looking as if they had lately cooled down after being in a state of incandescence; while to add to the weird aspect of the place, so strange in the midst of so much verdure and lush growth, the waters of the little bay were of pitchy blackness, and hardly showed a ripple upon the jetty sand. ”

“ The sea was like crystal, and with the sun hot, but not to discomfort, and a soft breeze blowing, the great vessel glided gently eastward. It was a trifle monotonous, but this troubled Mark in only small degree, for there was always something fresh to take his attention. Sea-birds were seen; then some fish or another reared itself out of the limpid sea, and fell back with a splash. Then a shoal of some smaller kind rippled the surface as they played about, silvering the blue water with their armoured sides.
Small the boatswain and Billy Widgeon rigged up tackle for the lad to fish ”

“ Look out of the window yonder, how the sea is lit up, and then through that hole; why, the mainmast and rigging must be all in a blaze!”
“Yes,” said the captain, as if to himself, “from deck to truck, and the burning pitch falling in a fiery rain. But if we could master the flames, now the enemy are gone—”
“They would be waiting close at hand to come back and take possession, my dear sir. Come, Strong, you’ve done your duty to everyone; it is now time to save life.”
“I cannot go,” cried the captain fiercely. “I must have one try first.” ”

“ And so an hour passed away, after which Mark took a tin and fetched some of the cool spring-water which came trickling down from the interior, deeply shaded by the ferns, and so low among mossy stones that he had to climb into a narrow chasm to the clear basin-like pool.
With this he prepared to bathe Morgan’s forehead; but as he bent over him the poor fellow’s countenance wore so terrible an aspect, the skin being absolutely green, that the lad shrank away and signed to the major. ”

“ Take what comes, like a man; do the best you can for everybody, and leave the rest.”
“I’ll try, sir.”
“Try! nonsense! I know you already, my lad, better than you know yourself. You’ll do it naturally without trying.”
They sat here in that golden glow of shelter for some time in silence, watching their patients and the glittering sea, broken every now and then by the splash of a fish.
“Do you think Mr Morgan will get better, sir?” whispered Mark at last.
“Certainly I do. Why shouldn’t he? A strong healthy man with his wound waiting to heal as soon as he could have rest and proper sleep. ”

“ I am no climber. But won’t they hear us on deck?”
“I wonder they have not already,” said the mate, though all was perfectly still, and the stern stood out so much that they were in some degree protected.
“This is confoundedly undignified, sir, confoundedly,” said the major, as the cotton rope was secured about his waist. “Hang it, Gregory, I don’t like it, sir. Can’t I climb?”
“You said you could not. Will you try?”
“No; it’s of no use. But really I do object to be swinging there at the end of a string like a confounded leg of mutton under a bottle-jack. Not too tight.” ”

“ It was a curious position, for the yelling of the Malays was as that of so many wild beasts unable to reach their prey, the long low spit of rocky sand lying between them and the bay, and near as they were now, they could only attack by rowing or sailing right out to where the current ran swiftly and tumultuously about the point, rounding it, and then making straight for the bay.
“They are going to fire,” said the captain quietly as he stood at the tiller; “everyone but the men at the sweeps lie down or keep below.”
“Which order does not apply to me, Mark,” said the major coolly. ”

“ For the black water that always lay so smooth and calm was now rapidly changing its character, and there was no doubt that a tremendous amount of volcanic action was going on beneath their feet. The surface heaved and eddied; waves rose in unexpected places; huge bubbles rushed to the top from the terrible depths below and burst with a loud puff. And all the time the cutter swayed and seemed to be receiving a succession of blows below water-mark, always suggesting rocks about her keel. ”

“ Beauty is beauty, but the loveliest scene is soon forgotten by a hungry man. Rest, freedom from peril, wounds and bruises amending, and the fact that the previous day’s supply had been very short, combined to make everybody ravenous; and the captain, though without a ship, had his hands full.
He satisfied himself that Morgan and the sailor were better, the fever having abated, and then gave his orders shortly.
Two men were set to make a fire, two more to cut down a cocoa-nut tree that was of small size and yet bore several fruits. ”

“ How Mark Strong wanted to go.
“Go with me, Mark? What for? To live hard, work hard, and run the risk every day of having to die hard. Get out! You’re as bad as your mother.”
“Not very bad, is it, James, to wish to share my husband’s life and cares?”
Captain Strong put down his pipe, got up from his easy-chair, crossed to the other side of the fire, and laid his hand upon Mrs Strong’s shoulder, while she turned her pleasant sweet womanly face upward and smiled in that of the fine, manly, handsome merchant captain, tanned and reddened by many a fight with the sea. ”

“ It was a long pull for the men, and from time to time the captain and mate exchanged places to give them a rest; but it was far more easy for all than toiling over the heated sands, while, as far as they could judge, there seemed every probability of their being able to row on as far as they liked, the broad canal-shaped lagoon being continued right onward—the reef of coral only varying a little by coming nearer at times, and always acting as a barrier to break the heavy swell. ”

“ The heat was great and it was rather exhausting toil, but at every turn the beauties of the place were quite startling to Mark in their novelty. Over the clear sun-spangled stream drooped the loveliest of ferns, whose fronds were like the most delicate lace; while by way of contrast other ferns clung to the boles of trees, that were dark-green and forked like the horns of some huge stag; great masses and clusters, six or seven feet long, hung here and there pendent from the old stumps. ”

“ Lie down, sir! Do you want to be shot?”
“Certainly not, sir,” replied Mark, who, in spite of his dread and excitement, could not help feeling amused at the major’s satisfied air, and the way in which he seemed to play with his gun.
Bang! A sharp ringing report from a lelah as the praus began to move, and the charge of tin bullets came screaming overhead as the report echoed from the rocks that surrounded the bay.
“Bad shot at close quarters,” said the major; “and they are moving off. Can’t you whistle for the wind and let’s show them our heels!” ”

“ A long piteous howl now fell upon Mark’s ears, and recalling how the dog had gone below, he concluded that the animal was eager to escape on deck, but after his experience in falling down the steps he did not care to attack them again.
“What a noise!” cried Mark, as the long persistent howl came up. “Has he got stuck somewhere in the cargo?”
“No; he could not be, I think. Hark, there’s the monkey too.”
An angry chattering sound came up, followed by another howl and an angry bark.
“There, go down and quiet him. The men in the forecastle can’t sleep.” ”

“ The monkey seemed to enjoy the task, and catching the smooth stem with its fore-paws he began to ascend quite readily, while those below watched him till he reached the crown of the graceful tree, fifty feet above their heads.
“Bravo, Jack!” said the major. “I claim the three first nuts for the ladies.”
“And I the next for the wounded men,” said Mark.
“And you shall have ’em, my lad,” said Billy excitedly. “I say, Mr Mark, sir, aren’t he a monkey to be proud on? He’s cleverer than lots o’ men.” ”