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diff --git a/40265-8.txt b/40265-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8f44d77..0000000 --- a/40265-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12636 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Great Quest, by Charles Boardman Hawes - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Great Quest - -Author: Charles Boardman Hawes - -Release Date: July 17, 2012 [EBook #40265] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT QUEST *** - - - - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Akers, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - -Transcriber's note: -Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have -been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - - - -THE GREAT QUEST - -[Illustration: _I gave a quick jerk,--literally my foot was -held,--I lost my balance and all but went over._] - - - - - THE - GREAT QUEST - - _A romance of 1826, wherein are recorded - the experiences of Josiah Woods of Topham, - and of those others with whom he sailed - for Cuba and the Gulf of Guinea._ - - BY - - CHARLES BOARDMAN HAWES - Author of "The Mutineers" - - [Illustration] - - _Illustrated by_ - GEORGE VARIAN - - _The_ ATLANTIC MONTHLY PRESS - BOSTON - - Copyright, 1920, 1921 - - By THE TORBELL COMPANY - - (Publishers of _The Open Road_) - - Copyright, 1921 - By CHARLES BOARDMAN HAWES - - First Impression, September, 1921 - Second Impression, January, 1922 - - -_Printed in the United States of America_ - - - - - _To_ - MY FATHER AND MOTHER - - - - -CONTENTS - - - I - AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE - - I The Stranger 3 - II My Uncle Behaves Queerly 12 - III Higgleby's Barn 18 - IV Swords and Ships 26 - V A Mysterious Project 36 - - - II - HANDS ACROSS THE SEA - - VI Good-bye to Old Haunts and Faces 49 - VII A Wild Night 63 - VIII The Brig Adventure 81 - IX An Old Sea Song 87 - - - III - A LOW LAND IN THE EAST - - X Matterson 99 - XI New Light on an Old Friend 109 - XII Captain North Again 119 - XIII Issues Sharply Drawn 132 - XIV Land Ho! 137 - - - IV - THREE DESPERATE MEN - - XV The Island 151 - XVI Strangest of All 165 - XVII The Man from the Jungle 173 - XVIII A Warning Defied 185 - XIX Burned Bridges 193 - - - V - THE HOUSE ON THE HILL - - XX Up Stream 201 - XXI A Grim Surprise 212 - XXII Siege 225 - XXIII Sortie 234 - - - VI - FOR OUR VERY LIVES - - XXIV Spears in the Dark 247 - XXV Cards and Chess 252 - XXVI An Unseen Foe 261 - XXVII The Fort Falls 268 - XXVIII Down the Current 283 - XXIX The Fight at the Landing 295 - - - VII - THE LONG ROAD HOME - - XXX The Cruiser 307 - XXXI A Passage at Arms 321 - XXXII Westward Bound 332 - XXXIII The Door of Disaster 340 - XXXIV An Old, Old Story 352 - XXXV Eheu Fugaces! 357 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - - _I gave a quick jerk--literally my foot was held,--I lost my - balance and all but went over_ Frontispiece - - _Clapping his hand to the wound, the landlord went white - and leaned back against the bar_ 78 - - "_In the name of Heaven, Neil, don't tell! Don't tell!_" 142 - - _There in a chair by the table sat a stark skeleton dressed in - good sound clothes_ 220 - - _And with that the two sat down by the board ... and began - perhaps the most extraordinary game of chess that ever - two men played_ 258 - - - - -I - -OLD ACQUAINTANCE - -[Illustration] - -THE GREAT QUEST - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE STRANGER - - -One morning early in the summer of 1826, I brushed the sweat from my -forehead and the flour from my clothes, unrolled my shirt-sleeves to -my wrists, donned my coat, and, with never a suspicion that that day -was to be unlike any other, calmly walked out into the slanting -sunshine. Rain had fallen in the night, and the air was still fresh -and cool. Although the clock had but just struck six, I had been at -work an hour, and now that my uncle, Seth Upham, had come down to -take charge of the store, I was glad that some business discussed -the evening before gave me an excuse to go on an errand to the other -end of the village. - -Uncle Seth looked up from his ledger as I passed. "You are prompt to -go," said he. "I've scarce got my hat on the peg. Well, the sooner -the better, I suppose. Young Mackay's last shipment of oil was of -poor quality and color. The rascal needs a good wigging, but the -best you can do is tell the old man my opinion of his son's goods. -If he gets a notion that we're likely to go down to nine cents a -gallon on the next lot, he'll bring the boy to taw, I'll warrant -you. Well, be gone. The sooner you go, the sooner you'll come, and -we're like to have a busy day." - -I nodded and went down the steps, but turned again and looked back. -As Uncle Seth sat at his desk just inside the door, his bald head -showing above the ledgers, he made me think of a pigeon-holed -document concerned with matters of trade--weights and measures, and -dollars and cents. He was a brisk, abrupt little man, with keen eyes -and a thin mouth, and lines that cut at sharp angles into his -forehead and drew testy curves around his chin; and in his way he -was prominent in the village. Though ours was a community of -Yankees, he had the reputation, in which he took great pride, of -being an uncommonly sharp hand at a bargain. That it could be a -doubtful compliment, he never suspected. - -He owned property in three towns besides our own village of Topham; -he kept a very considerable balance in a Boston bank; he loaned -money at interest from one end of the county to the other, and he -held shares in two schooners and a bark--not to mention the bustling -general store that was the keystone of his prosperity. - -If anyone had presumed so far as to suggest that a close bargain -could be aught but creditable, Uncle Seth would have shot a testy -glance at him, with some such comment as, "Pooh! He's drunk or -crazy!" And he would then have atoned for any little trickery by his -generosity, come Sunday, when the offering was taken at church. - -There were, to be sure, those who said, by allusion or implication, -that he would beat the devil at his own game, for all his pains to -appear so downright honest. But they were ne'er-do-weels and village -scoundrels, whom Uncle Seth, although he was said to have known them -well enough in early youth, passed without deigning to give them so -much as a nod; and of course no one believed the word of such as -they. - -For my own part, I had only friendly feelings toward him, for he was -always a decent man, and since my mother died, his odd bursts of -generosity had touched me not a little. Grumpy old Uncle Seth! -Others might call him "nigh," but for all his abrupt manner, he was -kind to me after a queer, short fashion, and many a bank-note had -whisked from his pocket to mine at moments when a stranger would -have thought him in furious temper. - -Turning on my heel, I left him busy at his desk amid his barrels and -cans and kegs and boxes, and unwittingly set forth to meet the -beginning of the wildest, maddest adventure that I ever heard of -outside the pages of fiction. - -As I went down past the church, the parsonage, and the smithy,--the -little group of buildings that, together with our general store, -formed the hub on which the life of the country for many miles -thereabouts revolved,--I was surprised to see no one astir. Few -country people then were--or now are--so shameless as to lie in bed -at six o'clock of a summer morning. - -By rights I should have heard the clank of metal, the hum of voices, -men calling to their horses, saws whining through wood, and hammers -driving nails. But there was no sound of speech or labor; the -nail-kegs on which our village worthies habitually reposed during -long intervals of the working day were unoccupied; the fire in the -blacksmith's forge, for want of blowing, had died down to a dull -deep red. Three horses were tugging at their halters inside the -smithy, and a well-fed team was waiting outside by a heavy cart; yet -no one was anywhere to be seen. - -Perceiving all this from a distance, I was frankly puzzled; and as I -approached, I cast about with lively curiosity to see what could -cause so strange a state of affairs. It was only when I had gone -past the smithy, that I saw the smith and his customers and his -habitual guests gathered on the other side of the building, where I -had not been able to see them before. They were staring at the old -village tavern, which stood some distance away on a gentle rise of -land. - -My curiosity so prevailed over my sense of duty that I turned from -the road through the tall grass, temporarily abandoning my errand, -and picked my way among some old wheels and scrap iron to join the -men. - -Their talk only aggravated my wonder. - -Clearing his throat, the smith gruffly muttered, "It does act like -him, and yet I can't believe it'll be him." - -"Why shouldn't he come back?" one of the farmers asked in a louder -voice. "Things done twenty years ago will never be dragged up to -face him, and he'd know that." - -The smith grunted. "Where would Neil Gleazen find the money to buy a -suit of good clothes and a beaver hat?" - -"That's easy answered," a third speaker put in. And they all -exchanged significant glances. - -In the silence that followed I made bold to put a question for -myself. "Of whom are you talking?" I asked. - -They looked closely at me and again exchanged glances. - -"There's someone up yonder at the inn, Joe," the smith said kindly; -"and Ben, here, getting sight of him last night and again this -morning, has took a notion that it's a fellow who used to live here -years ago and who left town--well, in a hurry. As to that, I can't -be sure, but I vum, I'd not be surprised if it was Neil Gleazen -after all." - -I now discerned in one of the rocking-chairs on the porch the figure -of a stranger, well dressed so far as we could see at that distance, -who wore a big beaver hat set rakishly a trifle forward. He had -thrust his thumbs into the armholes of his waistcoat, and as he -leaned back, with his feet raised against one of the columns that -supported the porch-roof, he sent clouds of white cigar-smoke -eddying up and away. - -The others were so intent on their random speculations that, when I -asked more about who and what Neil Gleazen was, they ignored my -question, and continued to exchange observations in low voices. - -I could hear little of their talk without forcing myself into their -very midst, and of what little I heard I made still less, for it was -full of unfamiliar names and reminiscences that meant nothing to me. - -When some one spoke of Seth Upham, my mother's brother, I was all -ears on the instant; but I saw the smith glance at me, and probably -he nudged the speaker, for, after a moment's pause, they went on -about indifferent matters. I then perceived that I was unlikely to -learn more, so I returned to the road and continued on my way. - -As I passed the tavern I took occasion to see what I could, in -courtesy, of the stranger; but he looked so hard at me while I was -passing that I could steal only glances at him, unless I gave him -stare for stare, which I did not wish to do. So I got only a brief -glimpse of tall hat, bold dark eyes under bushy brows, big nose, -smooth-shaven chin, and smiling mouth, all of which a heavy stock -and voluminous coat seemed to support. I thought that I caught the -flash of a jeweled pin in the man's stock and of a ring on his -finger, but of that I was not sure until later. Pushing on, I left -him in the old inn chair, as proud as a sultan, puffing clouds of -white smoke from a long cigar and surveying the village as grandly -as if he owned it, while I went about my uncle's business at the -other end of the town. - -But when I had gone far on my way, his dark face and arrogant manner -were still in my mind. While I was arguing with surly old Dan Mackay -about whale-oil and horses and sugar and lumber, I was thinking of -those proud, keen eyes and that smiling, scornful mouth; while I was -bargaining with Mrs. Mackay for eggs and early peas, I was thinking -of the beaver that the man had worn and the big ring on his finger; -and while I was walking back over two miles of country road, on -which the sun was now pouring down with ever-increasing heat, I was -thinking of how my uncle's name had popped out in the conversation -beside the smithy--and how it had popped, so to speak, discreetly -back again. - -I was all eagerness, now, for another and better look at the -stranger, and was resolved to stare him out of countenance, if need -be, to get it. Imagine, then, my disappointment when, hot and -sweaty, I once more came in sight of the tavern and saw the -unmistakable figure under the beaver hat walk jauntily down the -steps, pause a moment in the road, and, turning in the opposite -direction, go rapidly away from me. - -The stranger should not escape me like that, I thought with a grim -chuckle; and warm though I was, I lengthened my stride and drew -slowly up on him. - -As he passed the smithy, he looked to neither right nor left, yet I -was by no means sure that he did not see the curious faces that -filled the door when he went by. A man can see so much without -turning his head! - -While I toiled on after him, trying to appear indifferent and yet -striving to overtake him before he should go beyond the store, where -I must turn in, would I or would I not, he passed the church, the -parsonage, and the schoolhouse. He wore his hat tilted forward at -just such an angle, and to one side over his right eye; swinging his -walking-stick nonchalantly, he clipped the blossoms off the -buttercups as he passed them; now he paused to light a fresh cigar -from the butt of the one that he was smoking; now he lingered a -moment in the shade of an old chestnut tree. All the time I was -gaining on him; but now the store was hard by. - -Should I keep on until I had passed him and, turning back, could -meet him face to face? No, Uncle Seth would surely stop me. In my -determination to get a good look at the man, I was about to break -into a run, when, to my amazement, he turned to the left toward the -very place where I was going. - -So close to him had I now come that, when he stood on the threshold, -I was setting foot on the lower step. I could see Uncle Seth's -clerks, Arnold Lamont, a Frenchman, and Simeon Muzzy, busily at work -in the back room. I could see, as before, Uncle Seth's bald head -shining above the top of his desk. But my eyes were all for the -stranger, and I now saw plainly that in the ring on his finger there -flashed a great white diamond. - -Uncle Seth, hearing our steps, raised his head. "Well?" he said -sharply, in the dictatorial way that was so characteristic of him. - -"Well!" repeated the stranger in a voice that startled me. It was -deep and gruff, and into the monosyllable the man put a solid, heavy -emphasis, which made my uncle's sharpness seem as light as a woman's -burst of temper. - -Uncle Seth, too, was startled, I think, for he raised his head and -irritably peered over the steel rims of his spectacles. "Well," he -grumpily responded, "what do you want of me?" - -"An hour of your time," said the stranger, lowering his voice. - -"Time's money," returned my uncle. - -"I'm the lad to transmute it into fine gold for you, Seth Upham," -said the stranger. - -"How do you know my name?" - -"That's a foolish question to ask. Everyone in town can tell a -stranger the name of the man who keeps the village store." - -My uncle grunted irritably, and brushed his chin with the feather of -his quill. - -"Come," said the stranger, "where's a chair?" - -"Them that come to this store to loaf," my uncle cried, "generally -sit on cracker-boxes. I'm a busy man." - -He was still looking closely at the stranger, but his voice -indicated that, after all, it might not be so hard to mollify him. - -"Well, I ain't proud," the stranger said with a conciliatory -gesture, but without the faintest flicker of a smile. "It won't be -the first time I've set on a cracker-box and talked to Seth Upham. I -mind a time once when old Parker used to keep the store, and me and -you had stole our hats full of crackers, which we ate in the little -old camp over by the river." - -"Who," cried Uncle Seth, "who in heaven's name are you?" - -He was pale to the very summit of his bald head; unconscious of what -he was doing, he had thrust his pen down on the open ledger, where -it left a great blotch of wet ink. - -"Hgh! You've got no great memory for old friends, have you, Seth? -You're rich now, I hear. Money-bags full of gold. Well, 'time's -money,' you said. You're going to put in a golden hour with me this -day." - -Uncle Seth got up and laid a trembling hand on the back of his desk. -"Neil Gleazen! Cornelius Gleazen!" he gasped. - -The stranger pushed his beaver back on his head, and with the finger -on which the diamond sparkled flicked the ash from his cigar. "It's -me, Seth," he returned; and for the first time since I had seen him -he laughed a deep, hearty laugh. - -"Well, what'll you have?" Uncle Seth demanded hotly. "I'm an honest -man. I'm a deacon in the church. My business is an honest business. -There's nothing here for you, Neil! What do you want?" - -In spite of his apparent anger,--or because of it,--Uncle Seth's -voice trembled. - -"Well, what do you mean by all this talk of an honest man? Ain't I -an honest man?" - -"Why--why--" - -"Hgh! You've not got much to say to that, have you?" - -"I--why--I don't--know--" - -"Of course you don't know. You don't know an honest man when you see -one. Don't talk to me like that, Seth Upham. You and me has robbed -too many churches together when we was boys to have you talk like -that now. You and me--" - -"For heaven's sake keep still!" Uncle Seth cried. "Customers are -coming." - -Neil Gleazen grunted again. Pushing a cracker-box into the corner -behind Uncle Seth's desk and placing his beaver on it, he settled -back in Uncle Seth's own chair, with a cool impudent wink at me, as -if for a long stay, while Uncle Seth, with an eagerness quite unlike -his usual abrupt, scornful manner, rushed away from his unwelcome -guest and proceeded to make himself surprisingly agreeable to a pair -of country woman who wished to barter butter for cotton cloth. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -MY UNCLE BEHAVES QUEERLY - - -The village of Topham, to which, after an absence of twenty years, -Cornelius Gleazen had returned as a stranger, lay near the sea and -yet not beside it, near the post road and yet not upon it. From the -lower branches of an old pine that used to stand on the hill behind -the tavern we could see a thread of salt water, which gleamed like -silver in the sun; and, on the clearest days, if we climbed higher, -we could sometimes catch a glimpse of tiny ships working up or down -the coast. - -In the other direction, if we faced about, we could see, far down a -long, broad valley, between low hills, a bit of white road that ran -for a mile or two between meadows and marshes; and on the road we -sometimes saw moving black dots trailing tiny clouds of dust, which -we knew were men and horses and coaches. - -In Topham I was born, and there I spent my boyhood. I suppose that I -was quieter than the average boy and more studious, for I was -content to find adventures in the pages of books, and I read from -cover to cover all the journals of the day that came to hand. -Certainly I was a dreamy lad, who knew books better than men, and -who cared so little for "practical affairs" that much passed me by -unnoticed which many another youth of no more native keenness would -instantly have perceived. - -When my mother, some years after my father's death, came to live -with her brother and keep his house for him, it did not make so -great a change in my manner of life as one might have expected. -Bustling, smart Uncle Seth ruled the household with a quick, -nervous hand; and for the time, as he bent all his energies to the -various projects in which he was interested and in which he was more -than ordinarily successful, he almost ignored his nephew. - -It was not strange that after my mother died Uncle Seth should give -me more thought, for he was left a second time alone in the world, -and except for me he had neither close friend nor blood relation. I -think that his very shrewdness, which must have shown him how much a -man needs friends, perversely kept him from making them; it built -around him a fence of cold, calculating, selfish appraisal that -repelled most people whom he might have drawn closer to him. But to -me, who had on him claims of a kind, and whom he had come by slow -stages to know intimately, he gave a queer, testy, impulsive -affection; and although the first well-meant but ill-chosen act by -which he manifested it was to withdraw me from my books to the -store, where he set me to learn the business, for which I was by no -means so grateful as I should have been, both I and his two clerks, -Sim Muzzy and Arnold Lamont, to whom long association had revealed -the spontaneous generosity of which he seemed actually to be -ashamed, had a very real affection for him. - -It was no secret that he intended to make me his heir, and I was -regarded through the town as a young man of rare prospects, which -reconciled me in a measure to exchanging during the day my worn -volumes of Goldsmith and Defoe for neat columns that represented -profit and loss on candles and sugar and spice; and my hard, -faithful work won Uncle Seth's confidence, and with it a curiously -grudging acknowledgment. Thus our little world of business moved -monotonously, though not unpleasantly, round and round the cycle of -the seasons, until the day when Cornelius Gleazen came back to his -native town. - -He continued to sit in my uncle's chair, that first morning, while -Uncle Seth, perspiring, it seemed to me, more freely than the heat -of the day could have occasioned, bustled about and waited on his -customers. I suppose that Neil Gleazen really saw nothing out of the -ordinary in Uncle Seth's manner; but to me, who knew him so well -now, it was plain that, instead of trying to get the troublesome -women and their little business of eggs and cloth done with and out -of the store as quickly as possible, which under the circumstances -was what I should have expected of him, he was trying by every means -in his power to prolong their bartering. And whether or not Neil -Gleazen suspected this, with imperturbable assurance he watched -Uncle Seth pass from one end of the store to the other. - -When at last the women went away and Uncle Seth returned to his -desk, Gleazen removed the beaver from the cracker-box, and blowing a -ring of smoke out across the top of the desk, watched the draft from -the door tear it into thin blue shreds. "Sit down," he said calmly. - -I was already staring at them in amazement; but my amazement was -fourfold when Uncle Seth hesitated, gulped, and _seated himself on -the cracker-box_. - -"Joe," he said in an odd voice, "go help Arnold and Sim in the back -shop." - -So I went out and left them; and when I came back, Cornelius Gleazen -was gone. But the next day he came again, and the next, and the -next. - -That he was the very man the smith and his cronies had thought him, -I learned beyond peradventure of a doubt. Strange tales were -whispered here and there about the village, and women covertly -turned their eyes to watch him when he passed. Some men who had -known him in the old days tried to conceal it, and pretended to be -ignorant of all that concerned him, and gave him the coldest of cold -stares when they chanced to meet him face to face. Others, on the -contrary, courted his attention and called on him at the tavern, and -went away, red with anger, when he coldly snubbed them. - -At the time it seemed to make little difference to him what they -thought. Strangely enough, the Cornelius Gleazen who had come back -to his boyhood home was a very different Cornelius, people found, -from the one who, twenty years before, had gone away by night with -the town officers hot on his trail. - -Strange stories of that wild night passed about the town, and I -learned, in one way and another, that Gleazen was not the only lad -who had then disappeared. There was talk of one Eli Norton, and of -foul play, and an ugly word was whispered. But it had all happened -long before, much had been forgotten, and some things had never come -to light, and the officers who had run Gleazen out of town were long -since dead. So, as the farmer by the smithy had said would be the -case, the old scandals were let lie, and Gleazen went his way -unmolested. - -That my uncle would gladly have been rid of the fellow, for all his -grand airs and the pocketfuls of money that he would throw out on -the bar at the inn or on the counter at the store, I very well knew; -I sometimes saw him wince at Gleazen's effrontery, or start to -retort with his customary sharpness, and then go red or pale and -press his lips to a straight line. Yet I could not imagine why this -should be. If any other man had treated him so, Uncle Seth would -have turned on him with the sharpest words at his command. - -It was not like him to sit meekly down to another's arrogance. He -had been too long a leading man in our community. But Cornelius -Gleazen seemed to have cast a spell upon him. The longer Gleazen -would sit and watch Uncle Seth, the more overbearing would his -manner become and the more nervous would Uncle Seth grow. - -I then believed, and still do, that if my uncle had stood up to him, -as man to man, on that first day, Neil Gleazen would have pursued a -very different course. But Uncle Seth, if he realized it at all, -realized it too late. - -At the end of a week Gleazen seemed to have become a part of the -store. He would frown and look away out of the window, and scarcely -deign to reply if any of the poorer or less reputable villagers -spoke to him, whether their greeting was casual or pretentious; but -he would nod affably, and proffer cigars, and exchange observations -on politics and affairs of the world, when the minister or the -doctor or any other of the solid, substantial men of the place came -in. - -I sometimes saw Uncle Seth surreptitiously watching him with a sort -of blank wonder; and once, when we had come home together late at -night, he broke a silence of a good two hours by remarking as -casually as if we had talked of nothing else all the evening, "I -declare to goodness, Joe, it does seem as if Neil Gleazen had -reformed. I could almost take my oath he's not spoken to one of the -old crowd since he returned. Who would have thought it? It's -strange--passing strange." - -It was the question that the whole town was asking--who would have -thought it? I had heard enough by now of the old escapades,--drunken -revels in the tavern, raids on a score of chicken-roosts and -gardens, arrant burglary, and even, some said, arson,--to understand -why they asked the question. But more remarkable by far to me was -the change that had come over my uncle. Never before had the -business of the store been better; never before had there been more -mortgages and notes locked up in the big safe; never had our affairs -of every description flourished so famously. But whereas, in other -seasons of greater than ordinary prosperity, Uncle Seth had become -almost genial, I had never seen him so dictatorial and testy as now. -Some secret fear seemed to haunt him from day to day and from week -to week. - -Thinking back on that morning when Cornelius Gleazen first came to -our store, I remembered a certain sentence he had spoken. "You and -me has robbed too many churches together when we was boys--" I -wondered if I could not put my finger on the secret of the change -that had come over my uncle. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -HIGGLEBY'S BARN - - -That Cornelius Gleazen had returned to Topham a reformed and honest -man, the less skeptical people in the village now freely asserted. -To be sure, some said that no good could come from any man who wore -a diamond on his finger, to say nothing of another in his stock, and -the minister held aloof for reasons known only to himself. But there -was something hearty and wholesome in Gleazen's gruff voice and -blunt, kindly wit that quite turned aside the shafts of criticism, -particularly when he had made it plain that he would associate only -with people of unquestioned respectability; and his devout air, as -he sat in the very front pew in church and sang the hymns in a fine, -reverberating bass, almost--although never quite--won over even the -minister. All were agreed that you could pardon much in a man who -had lived long in foreign parts; and if any other argument were -needed, Gleazen's own free-handed generosity for every good cause -provided it. - -There were even murmurs that a man with Seth Upham's money might -well learn a lesson from the stranger within our gates, which came -to my uncle's ears, by way of those good people you can find in -every town who feel it incumbent on them to repeat in confidence -that which they have gained in confidence, and caused him no little -uneasiness. - -Of the probity of Cornelius Gleazen the village came gradually to -have few doubts; and those of us who believed in the man were -inclined to belittle the blacksmith, who persisted in thinking ill -of him, and even the minister. Unquestionably Gleazen had seen the -error of his youthful ways and had profited by the view, which, by -all accounts, must have been extensive. - -It was a fine thing to see him sitting on the tavern porch or in my -uncle's store and discoursing on the news of the day. By a gesture, -he would dispose of the riots in England and leave us marveling at -his keenness. The riots held a prominent place in the papers, and we -argued that a man who could so readily place them where they -belonged must have a head of no mean order. Of affairs in South -America, where General Paez had become Civil and Military Dictator -of Venezuela, he had more to say; for General Paez, it seemed, was a -friend of his. I have wondered since about his boasted friendship -with the distinguished general, but at the time he convinced us that -Venezuela was a fortunate state and that her affairs were much more -important to men of the world than a bill to provide for the support -of aged survivors of the Army of the Revolution, which a persistent -one-legged old chap from the Four Corners tried a number of times to -introduce into the conversation. - -There came a day when both the doctor and the minister joined the -circle around Cornelius Gleazen. Never was there prouder man! He -fairly expanded in the warmth of their interest. His gestures were -more impressive than ever before; his voice was more assertive. Yet -behind it all I perceived a curious twinkle in his eyes, and I got a -perverse impression that even then the man was laughing up his -sleeve. This did not in itself set my mind on new thoughts; but to -add to my curiosity, when the doctor and the minister were leaving, -I saw that they were talking in undertones and smiling significantly. - -Late one night toward the end of that week, I was returning from -Boston, whither I had gone to buy ten pipes of Schiedam gin and six -of Old East India Madeira, which a correspondent of my uncle's had -lately imported. An acquaintance from the next town had given me a -lift along the post road as far as a certain short cut, which led -through a pine woods and across an open pasture where once there had -been a farmhouse and where, although the house had burned to the -ground eight or ten years since, a barn still stood, which was known -throughout the countryside as "Higgleby's." - -The sky was overcast, but the moonlight nevertheless sifted through -the thin clouds; and with a word of thanks to the lad who had -brought me thus far, I vaulted the bars and struck off toward the -pines. - -My eyes were already accustomed to the darkness, and the relief from -trying to see my way under the thickly interwoven branches of the -grove made the open pasture, when I came to it, seem nearly as light -as day, although, of course, to anyone coming out into it from a -lighted room, it would have seemed quite otherwise. Of the old barn, -which loomed up on the hill, a black, gaunt, lonesome object a mile -or so away, I thought very little, as I walked along, until it -seemed to me that I saw a glimmer of fire through a breach where a -board had been torn off. - -Now the barn was remote from the woods and from the village; but the -weather had been dry, the dead grass in the old pasture was as -inflammable as tinder, and what wind there was, was blowing toward -the pines. Since it was plain that I ought to investigate that flash -of fire, I left the path and began to climb the hill. - -Stopping suddenly, I listened with all my ears. I thought I had -heard voices; it behooved me to be cautious. Prudently, now, I -advanced, and as silently as possible. Now I _knew_ that I heard -voices. The knowledge that there were men in the old barn relieved -me of any sense of duty in the matter of a possible fire, but at the -same time it kindled my imagination. Who were they, and why had they -come, and what were they doing? Instead of walking boldly up to the -barn door, I began to climb the wall that served as the foundation. - -The wall was six or eight feet high, but built of large stones, -which afforded me easy hold for foot and hand, and from the top I -was confident that I could peek in at a window just above. Very -cautiously I climbed from rock to rock, until I was on my knees on -the topmost tier. Now, twisting about and keeping flat to the barn -with both arms extended so as not to overbalance and fall, I raised -myself little by little, only to find, to my keen disappointment, -that the window was still ten inches above my eyes. - -That I should give up then, never occurred to me. I placed both -hands on the sill and silently lifted myself until my chin was well -above it. - -In the middle of the old barn, by the light of four candles, a -number of men were playing cards. I could hear much of what they -said, but it concerned only the fortunes of the game, and as they -spoke in undertones I could not recognize their voices. - -For all that I got from their conversation they might as well have -said naught, except that the sound of their talking and the clink of -money as it changed hands served to cover whatever small noises I -may have made, and thus enabled me to look in upon them -undiscovered. Nor could I see who they were, for the candle light -was dim and flickered, and those who were back to me, as they -pressed forward in their eagerness to follow the play, concealed the -faces of those opposite them. Moreover, my position was extremely -uncomfortable, perhaps even dangerous. So I lowered myself until my -toes rested on the wall of rock, and kneeling very cautiously, began -to descend. - -Exploring with my foot until I found a likely stone, I put my weight -on it, and felt it turn. Failing to clutch the top of the wall, I -went down with a heavy thud. - -For a moment I lay on the ground with my wind knocked out of me, -completely helpless. Then sharp voices broke the silence, and the -sound of someone opening the barn door instilled enough wholesome -fear into me to enable me to get up on all fours after a fashion, -and creep cautiously away. - -From the darkness outside, my eyes being already accustomed to the -absence of light, I could see a number of men standing together in -front of the barn door. They must have blown out the candles, for -the door and the windows and the chinks between the boards were -dark. Cursing myself for a silly fool, I made off as silently as -possible. - -I had not recognized one of the players, I had got a bad tumble and -sore joints for my trouble, and my pride was hurt. In short, I felt -that I had fallen out of the small end of the horn, and I was in no -cheerful mood as I limped along. But by the time I came into the -village half an hour later, I had recovered my temper and my wind; -and so, although I earnestly desired to go home and to bed, to rest -my lame bones, I decided to go first to the store and report to -Uncle Seth the results of my mission. - -Through the lighted windows of the store, as I approached, I could -see Arnold Lamont and Sim Muzzy playing chess in the back room. They -were a strange pair, and as ill matched as any two you ever saw. -Lamont was a Frenchman, who had appeared, seemingly from nowhere, -ten or a dozen years before, and in quaintly precise English had -asked for work--only because it was so exceedingly precise, would -you have suspected that it was a foreigner's English. He carried -himself with a strange dignity, and his manner, which seemed to -confer a favor rather than to seek one, had impressed Uncle Seth -almost against his will. - -"Why, yes," he had said sharply, "there's work enough to keep -another man. But what, pray, has brought you here?" - -"It is the fortune of war," Lamont had replied. And that was all -that my uncle ever got out of him. - -Without more ado he had joined Sim Muzzy, a well-meaning, simple -fellow who had already worked for Uncle Seth for some eight years, -and there he had stayed ever since. - -Arnold and Sim shared the room above the store and served both as -watchmen and as clerks; but it was Sim who cooked their meals, who -made their beds, who swept and dusted and polished. Although the two -worked for equally small pay and, all in all, were as satisfactory -men as any storekeeper could hope to have, Arnold had carried even -into the work of the store that same odd, foreign dignity; and it -apparently never occurred, even to petulant, talkative Sim, that -Arnold, so reserved, so quietly assured, should have lent his hand -to mere domestic duties. - -Learning early in their acquaintance, each that the other played -chess, they had got a board and a set of men, and, in spite of a -disparity in skill that for some people must have made it very -irksome, had kept the game up ever since. Arnold Lamont played chess -with the same precision with which he spoke English; and if Sim -Muzzy managed to catch him napping, and so to win one game in -twenty, it was a feat to be talked about for a month to come. - -Through the windows, as I said, I saw them playing chess in the back -shop; then, coming round the corner of the store, I saw someone just -entering. It was no other than Cornelius Gleazen, in beaver, stock, -coat, and diamonds, with the perpetual cigar bit tight between his -teeth. - -A little to my surprise, I noticed that there were beads of -perspiration on his forehead. I had been walking fast myself, and -yet I had not thought of it as a warm evening: the overcast sky and -the wind from the sea, with their promise of rain to break the -drouth, combined to make the night the coolest we had had for some -weeks. It surprised me also to see that Gleazen was breathing -hard--but was he? I could not be sure. - -Then, through the open door, I again saw Arnold Lamont in the back -room. In his hand he was holding a knight just over the square on -which it was to rest; but with his eyes he was following Cornelius -Gleazen across the store and round behind my uncle's desk, where now -there was a second chair in place of the cracker-box. - -When Gleazen had sat down beside my uncle, he tapping the desk with -a long pencil, which he had drawn from his pocket, Uncle Seth -bustling about among his papers, with quick useless sallies here and -there, and into the pigeonholes, as if he were confused by the mass -of business that confronted him,--it was a manner he sometimes -affected when visitors were present,--Arnold Lamont put down the -knight and absently, as if his mind were far away, said in his calm, -precise voice, "Check!" - -"No, no! You mustn't do that! You can't do that! That's wrong! See! -You were on that square there--see?--and you moved so! You can't -put your knight there," Sim Muzzy cried. - -That Lamont had transgressed by mistake the rules of the game hit -Sim like a thunderclap and even further befuddled his poor wits. - -"Ah," said Lamont, "I see. I beg you, pardon my error. So! Check." - -He again moved the knight, apparently without thought; and Sim Muzzy -fell to biting his lip and puzzling this way and that and working -his fingers, which he always did when he was getting the worst of -the game. - -Arnold Lamont seemed not to care a straw about the game. Through the -door he was watching Cornelius Gleazen. And Cornelius Gleazen was -wiping his forehead with his handkerchief. - -I wondered if it was my lively imagination that made me think that -he was breathing quickly. How long would it have taken him, I -wondered, to cut across the pasture from Higgleby's barn to the -north road? Coming thus by the Four Corners, could he have reached -the store ahead of me? Or could he, by way of the shun-pike, have -passed me on the road? - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -SWORDS AND SHIPS - - -Having succeeded in establishing himself in the society and -confidence of the more substantial men of the village, and having -discomfited completely those few--among whom remained the -blacksmith--who had treated him shabbily in the first weeks of his -return and had continued ever since to regard him with suspicion, -Cornelius Gleazen began now to extend his campaign to other -quarters, and to curry favor among those whose good-will, so far as -I could see, was really of little weight one way or another. He now -cast off something of his arrogant, disdainful air, and won the -hearts of the children by strange knickknacks and scrimshaws, which -he would produce, sometimes from his pockets, and sometimes, by -delectable sleight of hand, from the very air itself. Before long -half the homes in the village boasted whale's teeth on which were -wrought pictures of whales and ships and savages, or chips of ivory -carved into odd little idols, and every one of them, you would find, -if you took the trouble to ask, came from the old chests that Neil -Gleazen kept under the bed in his room at the tavern, where now he -was regarded as the prince of guests. - -To those who were a little older he gave more elaborate trinkets of -ivory and of dark, strange woods; and the report grew, and found -ready belief, that he had prospered greatly in trade before he -decided to retire, and that he had brought home a fortune with which -to settle down in the old town; for the toys that he gave away so -freely were worth, we judged, no inconsiderable sum. But to the -lads in their early twenties, of whom I was one, he endeared himself -perhaps most of all when, one fine afternoon, smoking one of his -long cigars and wearing his beaver tilted forward at just such an -angle, he came down the road with a great awkward bundle under his -arm, and disclosed on the porch of my uncle's store half a dozen -foils and a pair of masks. - -He smiled when all the young fellows in sight and hearing gathered -round him eagerly, and called one another to come and see, and -picked up the foils and passed at one another awkwardly. There was -an odd satisfaction in his smile, as if he had gained something -worth the having. What a man of his apparent means could care for -our good-will, I could not have said if anyone had asked me, and at -the time I did not think to wonder about it. But his air of triumph, -when I later had occasion to recall it to mind, convinced me that -for our good-will he did care, and that he was manoeuvring to win -and hold it. - -It was interesting to mark how the different ones took his -playthings. Sim Muzzy cried out in wonder and earnestly asked, "Are -those what men kill themselves with in duels? Pray how do they stick -'em in when the points are blunted?" Arnold Lamont, without a word -or a change of expression, picked up a foil at random and tested the -blade by bending it against the wall. Uncle Seth, having satisfied -his curiosity by a glance, cried sharply, "That's all very -interesting, but there's work to be done. Come, come, I pay no one -for gawking out the door." - -The lively hum of voices continued, and a number of town boys -remained to examine the weapons; but Arnold, Sim, and I obediently -turned back into the store. - -"That's all right, lads," Cornelius Gleazen cried. "Come evening, -I'll show you a few points on using these toys. I'll make a -fencing-master and a good one, I'll have you know, and there are -some among you that have the making of swordsmen. You're one, Joe -Woods, you're one." - -I was pleased to be singled out, and went to my work with a will, -thinking meanwhile of the promised lessons. It never occurred to me -that Cornelius Gleazen could have had a motive that did not appear -on the surface for so choosing my name from all the rest. - -That evening, true to his promise, he took us in hand on the village -green, with four fifths of the village standing by to watch, and -gave us lessons in thrusting and parrying and stepping swiftly -forward and backward. We were an awkward company of recruits, and -for our pains we got only hearty laughter from the onlookers; but -the new sport captured our imagination, and realizing that, once -upon a time, even Cornelius Gleazen himself had been a tyro, we -zealously worked to learn what we could, and in our idle moments we -watched with frank admiration the grand flourishes and great leaps -and stamps of which Gleazen was master. - -The diamond on the finger of his gracefully curved left hand flashed -as he sprang about, and his ruffled shirt, damped by his unwonted -exercise, clung close to his big shoulders and well-formed back. -Surely, we thought, few could equal his surprising agility; the -great voice in which he roared his suggestions and commands -increased our confidence in his knowledge of swordsmanship. - -When, after my second turn at his instruction, I came away with my -arms aching from the unaccustomed exertion and saw that Arnold -Lamont was watching us and covertly smiling, I flamed red and all -but lost my temper. Why should he laugh at _me_, I thought. Surely I -was no clumsier than the others. Indeed, he who thought himself so -smart probably could not do half so well. Had not Mr. Gleazen -praised me most of all? In my anger at Arnold's secret amusement, I -avoided him that evening and for several days to come. - -It was on Saturday night, when we were closing the store for the -week, that quite another subject led me back to my resentment in -such a way that we had the matter out between us; and as all that we -had to say is more or less intimately connected with my story I will -set it down word for word. - -A young woman in a great quilted bonnet of the kind that we used to -call calash, and a dress that she no doubt thought very fetching, -came mincing into the store and ordered this thing and that in a way -that kept me attending closely to her desires. When she had gone -mincing out again, I turned so impatiently to put the counter to -rights, that Arnold softly chuckled. - -"Apparently," said he, with a quiet smile, "the lady did not impress -you quite as she desired, Joe." - -"Impress me!" I snorted, ungallantly imitating her mincing manner. -"She impressed me as much as any of them." - -"You must have patience, Joe. Some day there will come a lady--" - -"No, no!" I cried, with the cocksure assertiveness of my years. - -"But yes!" - -"Not I! No, no, Arnold--, 'needles and pins, needles and pins'--" - -"When a man marries his trouble begins?" Sadness now shadowed -Arnold's expressive face. "No! Proverbs sometimes are pernicious." - -"You are laughing at me!" - -I had detected, through the veil of melancholy that seemed to have -fallen over him, a faint ray of something akin to humor. - -"I am not laughing at you, Joe." His voice was sad. "You will marry -some day--marry and settle down. It is good to do so. I--" - -There was something in his stopping that made me look at him in -wonder. Immediately he was himself again, calm, wise, taciturn; but -in spite of my youth I instinctively felt that only by suffering -could a man win his way to such kindly, quiet dignity. - -I had said that I would not marry: no wonder, I have since thought, -that Arnold looked at me with that gentle humor. Never dreaming that -in only a few short months a new name and a new face were to fill my -mind and my heart with a world of new anxieties and sorrows and -joys, never dreaming of the strange and distant adventures through -which Arnold and I were to pass,--if a fortune-teller had foretold -the story, I should have laughed it to scorn,--I was only angry at -his amused smile. Perhaps I had expected him to argue with me, to -try to correct my notions. In any case, when he so kindly and yet -keenly appraised at its true worth my boyish pose, I was sobered for -a moment by the sadness that he himself had revealed; then I all but -flew into a temper. - -"Oh, very well! Go on and laugh at me. You were laughing at me the -other night when I was fencing, too. I saw you. I'd like to see you -do better yourself. Go on and laugh, you who are so wise." - -Arnold's smile vanished. "I am not laughing at you, Joe. Nor was I -laughing at you then." - -"You were not laughing at me?" - -"No." - -"At whom, then, were you laughing?" - -To this Arnold did not reply. - -The fencing lessons, begun so auspiciously that first evening, -became a regular event. Every night we gathered on the green and -fenced together until twilight had all but settled into dark. Little -by little we learned such tricks of attack and defense as our master -could teach us, until we, too, could stamp and leap, and parry with -whistling circles of the blade. And as we did so, we young fellows -of the village came more and more to look upon Cornelius Gleazen -almost as one of us. - -Though his coming had aroused suspicion, though for many weeks there -were few who would say a good word for him, as the summer wore away, -he established himself so firmly in the life of his native town that -people began to forget, as far as anyone could see, that he had ever -had occasion to leave it in great haste. - -If he praised my fencing and gave me more time than the others, I -thought it no more than my due--was I not a young man of great -prospects? If Uncle Seth had at first regarded him with suspicion, -Uncle Seth, too, had quite returned now to his old abrupt, masterful -way and was again as sharp and quick of tongue as ever, even when -Neil Gleazen was sitting in Uncle Seth's own chair and at his own -desk. Perhaps, had we been keener, we should have suspected that -something was wrong, simply because _no one_--except a few stupid -persons like the blacksmith--had a word to say against Neil Gleazen. -You would at least have expected his old cronies to resent his -leaving them for more respectable company. But not even from them -did there come a whisper of suspicion or complaint. - -Why should not a man come home to his native place to enjoy the -prosperity of his later years? we argued. It was the most natural -thing in the world; and when Cornelius Gleazen talked of foreign -wars and the state of the country and the deaths of Mr. Adams and -Mr. Jefferson, and of the duel between Mr. Clay and Mr. Randolph, -the most intelligent of us listened with respect, and found occasion -in his shrewd observations and trenchant comment to rejoice that -Topham had so able a son to return to her in the full power of his -maturity. - -There was even talk of sending him to Congress, and that it was not -idle gossip I know because three politicians from Boston came to -town and conferred with our selectmen and Judge Bordman over their -wine at the inn for a long evening; and Peter Nuttles, whose sister -waited on them, spread the story to the ends of the county. - -Late one night, when Uncle Seth and I were about to set out for -home, leaving Arnold and Sim to lock up the store, we parted with -Gleazen on the porch, he stalking off to the right in the moonlight -and swinging his cane as he went, we turning our backs on the -village and the bright windows of the tavern, and stepping smartly -toward our own dark house, in which the one lighted lamp shone from -the window of the room that Mrs. Jameson, our housekeeper, occupied. - -"He's a man of judgment," Uncle Seth said, as if meditating aloud, -"rare judgment and a wonderful knowledge of the world." - -He seemed to expect no reply, and I made none. - -"He was venturesome to rashness as a boy," Uncle Seth presently -continued. "All that seems to have changed now." - -We walked along through the dust. The weeds beside the road and the -branches of the trees and shrubs were damp with dew. - -"As a boy," Uncle Seth said at last, "I should never have thought of -going to Neil Gleazen for judgment--aye, or for knowledge." And when -we stood on the porch in the moonlight and looked back at the -village, where all the houses were dark now except for a lamp here -and there that continued to burn far into the night, he added, "How -would you like to leave all this, Joe, and wrestle a fall with -fortune for big stakes--aye, for rich stakes, with everything in our -favor to win?" - -At something in his voice I turned on my heel, my heart leaping, and -stared hard at him. - -As if he suddenly realized that he had been saying things he ought -not to say, he gave himself a quick shake, and woke from his -meditations with a start. "We must away to bed," he cried sharply. -"It's close on midnight." - -Here was a matter for speculation. For an hour that afternoon and -for another hour that evening Uncle Seth and Neil Gleazen had sat -behind my uncle's desk, with their chairs drawn close together and -the beaver laid on the cracker-box, and had scribbled endless -columns of figures and mysterious notes on sheet after sheet of -foolscap. What, I wondered, did it mean? - -At noon next day, as I was waiting on customers in the front of the -store, I saw a rider with full saddlebags pass, on a great black -horse, and shortly afterwards I heard one of the customers remark -that the horse was standing at the inn. Glancing out of the window, -I saw that the rider had dismounted and was talking with Cornelius -Gleazen; though the distance was considerable, Gleazen's bearing and -the forward tilt of his beaver were unmistakable. When next I passed -the window, I saw that Gleazen was posting down the road toward the -store, with his beaver tipped even farther over his right eye, his -cane swinging, and a bundle under his arm. - -As I bowed the customers out, Gleazen entered the store, brushing -past me with a nod, and loudly called, "Seth Upham! Seth Upham! -Where are you?" - -"Here I am. What's wanted?" my uncle testily retorted, as he -emerged from a bin into which he had thrust his head and shoulders -in his efforts to fill a peck measure. - -"Come, come," cried Gleazen in his great, gruff voice. "Here's -news!" - -"News," returned my uncle, sharply; "news is no reason to scare a -man out of a year's growth." - -Neil Gleazen laughed loudly and gave my uncle a resounding slap on -the back that made him writhe. "News, Seth, news is the key to -fortune. Come, man, come, lay by your pettifogging. Here's papers -just in by the post. You ain't going to let 'em lie no more than I -am." - -To my amazement,--I could never get used to it,--my uncle's -resentment seemed to go like mist before the sun, and he said not a -word against the boisterous roughness of the friend of his youth, -although I almost believe that, if anyone else had dared to treat -him so, he would have grained the man with a hayfork. Instead, he -wiped his hands on his coarse apron and followed Gleazen to the -desk, where they sat down in the two chairs that now were always -behind it. - -For a time they talked in voices so low that I heard nothing of -their conversation; but after a while, as they became more and more -absorbed in their business, their voices rose, and I perceived that -Gleazen was reading aloud from the papers some advertisements in -which he seemed especially interested. - -"Here's this," he would cry. "Listen to this. If this ain't a good -one, I'll miss my guess. 'Executor's sale, Ship Congress: on -Saturday the 15th, at twelve o'clock, at the wharf of the late -William Gray, Lynn Street, will be sold at public auction the ship -Congress, built at Mattapoisett near New Bedford in the year 1823 -and designed for the whale fishery. Measures 349 tons, is copper -fastened and was copper sheathed over felt in London on the first -voyage, and is in every respect a first-rate vessel. She has two -suits of sails, chain and hemp cables, and is well found in the -usual appurtenances. By order of the executors of the late William -Gray, Whitewell, Bond and Company, Auctioneers.' There, Seth, -there's a vessel for you, I'll warrant you." - -My uncle murmured something that I could not hear; then Gleazen -tipped his beaver back on his head--for once he had neglected to set -it on the cracker-box--and hoarsely laughed. "Well, I'll be shot!" -he roared. "How's a man to better himself, if he's so confounded -cautious? Well, then, how's this: 'Marshal's Sale. United States of -America, District of Massachusetts, Boston, August 31, 1826. -Pursuant to a warrant from the Honorable John Davis, Judge of the -District Court for the District aforesaid, I hereby give public -notice that I shall sell at public auction on Wednesday the 8th day -of September, at 12 o'clock noon, at Long Wharf, the schooner -Caroline and Clara, libelled for wages by William Shipley, and the -money arising from the sale to be paid into court. Samuel D. Hains, -Marshal.' That'll come cheap, if cheap you'll have. But mark what I -tell you, Seth, that what comes cheap, goes cheap. There's no good -in it. It ain't as if you hadn't the money. The plan's mine, and I -tell you, it's a good one, with three merry men waiting for us over -yonder. Half's for you, a whole half, mind you; and half's to be -divided amongst the rest of us. It don't pay to try to do things -cheap. What with gear carried away and goods damaged, it don't pay." - -Uncle Seth was marking lines on the margin of the newspaper before -them. - -"I wonder," he began, "how much--" - -Then they talked in undertones, and I heard nothing more. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -A MYSTERIOUS PROJECT - - -For three days I watched with growing amazement the strange behavior -of my uncle. Now he would sit hunched up over his desk and search -through a great pile of documents from the safe; now he would toss -the papers into his strong box, lock it, and return it to its place -in the vault, and pace the floor in a revery so deep that you could -speak in his very ear without getting a reply. At one minute he -would be as cross as a devil's imp, and turn on you in fury if you -wished to do him a favor; at the next he would fairly laugh aloud -with good humor. - -The only man at whom he never flew out in a rage was Cornelius -Gleazen, and why this should be so, I could only guess. You may be -sure that I, and others, tried hard to fathom the secret, when the -two of them were sitting at my uncle's desk over a huge mass of -papers, as they were for hours at a time. - -On the noon of the third day they settled themselves together at the -desk and talked interminably in undertones. Now Uncle Seth would -bend over his papers; now he would look off across the road and the -meadows to the woods beyond. Now he would put questions; now he -would sit silent. An hour passed, and another, and another. At four -o'clock they were still there, still talking in undertones. At five -o'clock their heads were closer together than ever. Now Neil Gleazen -was tapping on the top of his beaver. He had a strange look, which I -did not understand, and between his eyes and the flashing of his -diamond as his finger tapped the hat, he charmed me as if he were a -snake. Even Sim Muzzy was watching them curiously, and on Arnold -Lamont's fine, sober face there was an expression of mingled wonder -and distrust. - -Customers came, and we waited on them; and when they had gone, the -two were still there. The clocks were striking six when I faced -about, hearing their chairs move, and saw them shaking hands and -smiling. Then Cornelius Gleazen went away, and my uncle, carefully -locking up his papers, went out, too. - -Supper was late that night, for I waited until Uncle Seth came in; -but he made no excuse for his long absence and late return. He ate -rapidly and in silence, as if he were not thinking of his food, and -he took no wine until he had pushed his plate away. Then he poured -himself a glass from the decanter, tasted it, and said, "I am to be -away to-morrow, Joe." - -"Yes, sir," said I. - -"I may be back to-morrow night and I may not. As to that, I can't -say. But I wish, come afternoon, you'd go to Abe Guptil's for me. -I've an errand there I want you to do." - -I waited in silence. - -"I hold a mortgage of two thousand dollars on his place," he -presently went on. "I've let it run, out of good-nature. Good-nature -don't pay. Well, I'm going to need the money. Give him a month to -pay up. If he can't, tell him I'll sell him out." - -"You'll what?" I cried, not believing that I heard him aright. - -"I'll sell him out. Pringle has been wanting the place and he'll -give at least two thousand." - -"Now, Uncle Seth, Abraham Guptil's been a long time sick. His best -horse broke a leg a while back and he had to shoot it, and while he -was sick his crops failed. He can't pay you now. Give him another -year. He's good for the money and he pays his interest on the day -it's due." - -Uncle Seth frowned. "I've been too good-natured," he said sharply. -"I need the money myself. I shall sell him out." - -"But--" - -"Well?" - -I stopped short. After all, I could not save Abe Guptil--I knew -Uncle Seth too well for that. And it might be easier for Abe if I -broke the news than if, say, Uncle Seth did. - -"Very well," I replied after a moment's thought. "I will go." - -Uncle Seth, appeased by my compliance, gave a short grunt, curtly -bade me good-night and stumped off to bed. But I, wondering what was -afoot, sat a long time at table while the candles burned lower and -lower. - -Next morning, clad in his Sunday best, Uncle Seth waited in front of -the store, with his horses harnessed and ready, until the tall -familiar figure, with cane, cigar, and beaver hat, came marching -grandly down from the inn. Then the two got into the carriage and -drove away. - -Some hours later, leaving Arnold Lamont in charge of the store, I -set off in turn, but humbly and on foot, toward the white house by -the distant sea where poor Abraham Guptil lived; and you can be sure -that it made me sick at heart to think of my errand. - -From the pine land and meadows of Topham, the road emerged on the -border of a salt marsh, along which I tramped for an hour or two; -then, passing now through scrubby timber, now between barren farms, -it led up on higher ground, which a few miles farther on fell away -to tawny rocks and yellow sand and the sea, which came rolling in on -the beach in long, white hissing waves. Islands in the offing -seemed to give promise of other, far-distant lands; and the sun was -so bright and the water so blue that I thought to myself how much I -would give to go a-sailing with Uncle Seth in search of adventure. - -Late in the afternoon I saw ahead of me, beside the road, the small -white house, miles away from any other, where Abraham Guptil lived. -A dog came barking out at me, and a little boy came to call back the -dog; then a woman appeared in the door and told me I was welcome. -Abe, it seemed, was away working for a neighbor, but he would be -back soon, for supper-time was near. If I would stay with them for -the meal, she said, they should be glad and honored. - -So I sat down on the doorstone and made friends with the boy and the -dog, and talked away about little things that interested the boy, -until we saw Abraham Guptil coming home across the fields with the -sun at his back. - -He shook hands warmly, but his face was anxious, and when after -supper we went out doors and I told him as kindly as I could the -errand on which my uncle had sent me, he shook his head. - -"I feared it," said he. "It's rumored round the country that Seth -Upham's collecting money wherever he can. Without this, I've been in -desperate straits, and now--" - -He spread his hands hopelessly and leaned against the fence. His -eyes wandered over the acres on which he was raising crops by sheer -strength and determination. It was a poor, stony farm, yet the man -had claimed it from the wilderness and, what with fishing and odd -jobs, had been making a success of life until one misfortune after -another had fairly overwhelmed him. - -"It must go," he said at last. - -As best I could, I was taking leave of him for the long tramp home, -when he suddenly roused himself and cried, "But stay! See! The storm -is hard upon us. You must not go back until to-morrow." - -Heavy clouds were banking in the west, and already we could hear the -rumble of thunder. - -It troubled me to accept the hospitality of the Guptils when I had -come on such an errand; but the kindly souls would hear of no -denial, so I joined Abe in the chores with such good-will, that we -had milked, and fed the stock, and closed the barns for the night -before the first drops fell. - -Meanwhile much had gone forward indoors, and when we returned to the -house I was shown to a great bed made up with clean linen fragrant -of lavender. Darkness had scarcely fallen, but I was so weary that I -undressed and threw myself on the bed and went quietly to sleep -while the storm came raging down the coast. - -As one so often does in a strange place, I woke uncommonly early. -Dawn had no more than touched the eastern horizon, but I got out of -bed and, hearing someone stirring, went to the window. A door closed -very gently, then a man came round the corner of the house and -struck off across the fields. It was Abraham Guptil. What could he -be doing abroad at that hour? Going to the door of my room, which -led into the kitchen, I softly opened it, then stopped in amazement. -Someone was asleep on the kitchen floor. I looked closer and saw -that it was a woman with a child; then I turned back and closed the -door again. - -Rather than send me away, even though I brought a message that meant -the loss of their home, those good people had given me the one bed -in the house, and themselves, man, woman, and child, had slept on -hard boards, with only a blanket under them. - -Since I could not leave my room without their knowing that I had -discovered their secret, I sat down by the window and watched the -dawn come across the sea upon a world that was clean and cool after -the shower of the night. For an hour, as the light grew stronger, I -watched the slow waves that came rolling in and poured upon the long -rocks in cascades of silver; and still the time wore on, and still -Abe remained away. Another hour had nearly gone when I saw him -coming in the distance along the shore, and heard his wife stirring -outside. - -Now someone knocked at my door. - -I replied with a prompt "Good-morning," and presently went into the -kitchen, where the three greeted me warmly. All signs of their -sleeping on the kitchen floor had vanished. - -"I don't know what I shall do, Joe," said Abraham Guptil when I was -taking leave of him an hour later. "This place is all I have." - -I made up my mind there and then that neither Abraham Guptil nor his -wife and child should suffer want. - -"I'll see to that," I replied. "There'll be something for you to do -and some place for you to go." - -Then, with no idea how I should fulfil my promise, I shook his hand -and left him. - -When at last I got back to the store, Arnold Lamont was there alone. -My uncle had not returned, and Sim Muzzy had gone fishing. It was an -uncommonly hot day, and since there were few customers, we sat and -talked of one thing and another. - -When I saw that Arnold was looking closely at the foils, which stood -in a corner, an idea came to me. Cornelius Gleazen had praised my -swordsmanship to the skies, and, indeed, I was truly becoming a -match for him. Twice I had actually taken a bout from him, with a -great swishing and clattering of blades and stamping of feet, and -now, although he continued to give me lessons, he no longer would -meet me in an assault. As for the other young fellows, I had far and -away outstripped them. - -"Would you like to try the foils once, Arnold?" I asked. "I'll give -you a lesson if you say so." - -For a moment I thought there was a twinkle in the depths of his -eyes; but when I looked again they were sober and innocent. - -"Why, yes," he said. - -Something in the way he tested the foils made me a bit uneasy, in -spite of my confidence, but I shrugged it off. - -"You have learned well by watching," I said, as we came on guard. - -"I have tried it before," said he. - -"Then," said I, "I will lunge and you shall see if you can parry -me." - -"Very well." - -After a few perfunctory passes, during which I advanced and -retreated in a way that I flattered myself was exceptionally clever, -and after a quick feint in low line, I disengaged, deceived a -counter-parry by doubling, and confidently lunged. To my amazement -my foil rested against his blade hardly out of line with his -body--so slightly out of line that I honestly believed the attack -had miscarried by my own clumsiness. Certainly I never had seen so -nice a parry. That I escaped a riposte, I attributed to my deft -recovery and the constant pressure of my blade on his; but even then -I had an uncomfortable suspicion that behind the veil of his black -mask Arnold was smiling, and I was really dazed by the failure of an -attack that seemed to me so well planned and executed. - -Then, suddenly, easily, lightly, Arnold Lamont's blade wove its way -through my guard. His arms, his legs, his body moved with a lithe -precision such as I had never dreamed of; my own foil, circling -desperately, failed to find his, and his button rested for a moment -against my right breast so surely and so competently that, in the -face of his skill, I simply dropped my guard and stood in frank -wonder and admiration. - -Even then I was vaguely aware that I could not fully appreciate it. -Though I had thought myself an accomplished swordsman, the man's -dexterity, which had revealed me as a clumsy blunderer, was so -amazingly superior to anything I had ever seen, that I simply could -not realize to the full how remarkable it was. - -I whipped off my mask and cried, "You,--you _are_ a fencer." - -He smiled. "Are you surprised? A man does not tell all he knows." - -As I looked him in the face, I wondered at him. Uncle Seth had come -to rely upon him implicitly for far more than you can get from any -ordinary clerk. Yet we really knew nothing at all about him. "A man -does not tell all he knows"--He had held his tongue without a slip -for all those years. - -I saw him now in a new light. His face was keen, but more than keen. -There was real wisdom in it. The quiet, confident dignity with which -he always bore himself seemed suddenly to assume a new, deeper, more -mysterious significance. Whatever the man might be, it was certain -that he was no mere shopkeeper's clerk. - -That afternoon Uncle Seth and Gleazen, the one strangely elated, the -other more pompous and grand than ever, returned in the carriage. Of -their errand, for the time being they said nothing. - -Uncle Seth merely asked about Abe Guptil's note; and, when I -answered him, impatiently grunted. - -Poor Abe, I thought, and wondered what had come over my uncle. - -In the evening, as we were finishing supper, Uncle Seth leaned back -with a broad smile. "Joe, my lad," he said, "our fortunes are -making. Great days are ahead. I can buy and sell the town of Topham -now, but before we are through, Joe, I--or you with the money I -shall leave you--can buy and sell the city of Boston--aye, or the -Commonwealth of Massachusetts. There are great days ahead, Joe." - -"But what," I asked, with fear at my heart, "but what is this great -venture?" - -Uncle Seth looked at me with a smile that expressed whatever power -of affection was left in his hard old shell of a heart,--a meagre -affection, yet, as far as it went, all centred upon me,--and -revealed a great conceit of his own wisdom. - -"Joe," he said, leaning forward on his elbows till his face, on -which the light threw every testy wrinkle into sharp relief, was -midway between the two candles at the end of the table, "Joe, I've -bought a ship and we're all going to Africa." - -For a moment his voice expressed confidence; for a moment his -affection for me triumphed over his native sharpness. - -"You're all I've got, Joey," he cried, "You're all that's left to -the old man, and I'm going to do well by you. Whatever I have is -yours, Joey; it's all coming to you, every cent and every dollar. -Here,--you must be wanting a bit of money to spend,--here!" He -thrust his hand into his pocket and flung half a dozen gold pieces -down on the dark, well-oiled mahogany where they rang and rolled and -shone dully in the candle-light. "I swear, Joey, I think a lot of -you." - -I suppose that not five people in all Topham had ever seen Uncle -Seth in such a mood. I am sure that, if they had, the town could -never have thought of him as only a cold, exacting man. But now a -fear apparently overwhelmed him lest by so speaking out through his -reticence he had committed some unforgivable offense--lest he had -told too much. He seemed suddenly to snap back into his hard, -cynical shell. "But of that, no more," he said sharply. "Not a -word's to be said, you understand. Not a word--to _any one_." - -When I went back to the store that evening, I sat on the porch in -the darkness and thought of Uncle Seth as I had seen him across the -table, his face thrust forward between the candles, his elbows -planted on the white linen, with the dim, restful walls of the room -behind him, with the faces of my father and my mother looking down -upon us from the gilt frames on the wall. I knew him too well to ask -questions, even though, as I sat on the store porch, he was sitting -just behind me inside the open window. - -What, I wondered, almost in despair, could we, of all people, do -with a ship and a voyage to Africa? Had I not seen Cornelius Gleazen -play upon my uncle's fear and vanity and credulity? I had no doubt -whatever that the same Neil Gleazen, who had been run out of town -thirty years before, was at the bottom of whatever mad voyage my -uncle was going to send his ship upon. - -Then I thought of good old Abraham Guptil, so soon to be turned out -of house and home, and of Arnold Lamont, who saw and knew and -understood so much, yet said so little. And again I thought of -Cornelius Gleazen; and when I was thinking of him, a strange thing -came to pass. - -Down in the village a dog barked fiercely, then another nearer the -store, then another; then I saw coming up the road a figure that I -could not mistake. The man with that tall hat, that flowing coat, -that nonchalant air, which even the faint light of the stars -revealed, could be no other than Cornelius Gleazen himself. - -In the store behind me I heard the low drone of conversation from -the men gathered round the stove, the click of a chessman set firmly -on the board, the voice of Arnold Lamont--so clear, so precise, and -yet so definitely and indescribably foreign--saying, "Check!" -Through the small panes of glass I saw my uncle frowning over his -ledgers. Now he noted some figure on the foolscap at his right, now -he appeared to count on his fingers. - -I turned again to watch Cornelius Gleazen. Of course he could not -know that anyone was sitting on the porch in the darkness. When he -passed the store, he looked over at it with a turn of his head and a -twist of his shoulders. His gesture gave me an impression of scorn -and triumph so strong that I hardly restrained myself from retorting -loudly and angrily. Then I bit my lip and watched him go by and -disappear. - -"Who," I wondered, "who and _what_ really is Cornelius Gleazen?" - -[Illustration] - - - - -II - -HANDS ACROSS THE SEA - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -GOOD-BYE TO OLD HAUNTS AND FACES - - -That some extraordinary thing was afoot next day, every soul who -worked in our store, or who entered it on business, vaguely felt. To -me, who had gained a hint of what was going forward,--baffling and -tantalizing, yet a hint for all that,--and to Arnold Lamont, who, I -was convinced as I saw him watch my uncle's nervous movements, -although he had no such plain hint to go upon, had by his keen, -silent observation unearthed even more than I, the sense of an -impending great event was far from vague. I felt as sure as of my -own name that before nightfall something would happen to uproot me -from my native town, whose white houses and green trees and hedges, -kindly people and familiar associations, lovely scenes and quiet, -homely life I so deeply loved. - -The strange light in Cornelius Gleazen's eyes, as he watched us hard -at work taking an inventory of stock, confirmed me in the -presentiment. My uncle's harassed, nervous manner as he drove us on -with our various duties, Sim Muzzy's garrulous bewilderment, and -Arnold Lamont's keen, silent appraisal, added each its little to the -sum of my convictions. - -The warmer the day grew, the harder we worked. Uncle Seth flew about -like a madman, picking us up on this thing and that, and urging one -to greater haste, another to greater care. Throwing off his coat, he -pitched in with his own hands, and performed such prodigies of labor -that it seemed as if our force were doubled by the addition of -himself alone. And all the time Neil Gleazen sat and smiled and -tapped his beaver. - -He was so cool, so impudent about it, that I longed to turn on him -and vent my spleen; but to Uncle Seth it apparently seemed entirely -suitable that Gleazen should idle while others worked. - -Of the true meaning of all this haste and turmoil I had no further -inkling until in the early afternoon Gleazen called loudly,-- - -"He's here, prompt to the minute." - -Then Uncle Seth drew a long breath, mopped the sweat from his face -and cried,-- - -"I'm ready for him, thank heaven! The boys can be finishing up what -little's left." - -I looked, and saw a gentleman, just alighted from his chaise, tying -a handsome black horse to the hitching-post before the door. - -Turning his back upon us all, Uncle Seth rushed to the door, his -hands extended, and cried, "Welcome, sir! Since cock-crow this -morning we have been hard at work upon the inventory, and it's this -minute done--at least, all but adding a few columns. Sim, another -chair by my desk. Quick! Mr. Gleazen, I wish to present you to Mr. -Brown. Come in, sir, come in." - -The three shook hands, and all sat down together and talked for some -time; then, at the stranger's remark,--"Now for figures. There's -nothing like figures to tell a story, Mr. Upham. Eh, Mr. Gleazen? We -can run over those columns you spoke of, here and now,"--they -bestirred themselves. - -"You're right, sir," Uncle Seth cried: and then he sharply called, -"Arnold, bring me those lists you've just finished. That's right; is -that all? Well, then you take the other boys and return those boxes -in the back room to their shelves. That'll occupy you all of an -hour." - -No longer able to pick up an occasional sentence of their talk, we -glumly retired out of earshot and were more than ever irritated when -Gleazen, his cigar between his teeth, stamped up to the door between -the front room and the back and firmly closed it. - -"Why should they wish so much to be alone?" Arnold asked. - -I ventured no reply; but Sim Muzzy, as if personally affronted, -burst hotly forth:-- - -"You'd think Seth Upham would know enough to ask the advice of a man -who's been working for him ever since Neil Gleazen ran away from -home, now wouldn't you? Here I've toiled day in and out and done -good work for him and learned the business, for all the many times -he's said he never saw a thicker head, until there ain't a better -hand at candling eggs, not this side of Boston, than I be. And does -he ask my advice when he's got something up his sleeve? No, he -don't! And yet I'll leave it to Arnold, here, if my nose ain't -keener to scent sour milk than any nose in Topham--yes, sir." - -The idea of Sim Muzzy's advice on any matter of greater importance -than the condition of an egg or the sweetness of milk, in -determining which, to do him justice, he was entirely competent, -struck me as so funny that I almost sniggered. Nor could I have -restrained myself, even so, when I perceived Arnold looking at me -solemnly and as if reproachfully, had not Uncle Seth just then -opened the door and called, "Sim, there's a lady here wants some -calico and spices. Come and wait on her." - -When, fifteen minutes later, Sim returned, closing the door smartly -behind him, Arnold asked with a droll quirk, which I alone -perceived, "Well, my friend, what did you gather during your stay in -yonder?" - -"Gather? Gather?" Sim spluttered. "I gathered nothing. There was -talk of dollars and cents and pounds and pence, and stocks and -oils, and ships and horses, and though I listened till my head swam, -all I could make out was when Neil Gleazen told me to shut the door -behind my back. If they was to ask my advice, I'd tell 'em to talk -sense, that's what I'd do." - -"Ah, Sim," said Arnold, "if only they were to ask thy advice, what -advice thee would give them!" - -"Now you're talking like a Quaker," Sim replied hotly. "Why do -Quakers talk that way, I'd like to know. Thee-ing and thou-ing till -it is enough to fuddle a sober man's wits. I declare they are almost -as bad as people in foreign parts who, I've heard tell, have such a -queer way of talking that an honest man can't at all understand what -they're saying until he's got used to it." - -"Such, indeed, is the way of the inconsiderate world, Sim," Arnold -dryly replied. - -Then the three of us put our shoulders to a hogshead, and in the -mighty effort of lifting it to the bulkhead sill ceased to talk. - -As we finally raised it and shoved it into the yard, Sim stepped -farther out than Arnold and I, and looking toward the street, -whispered, "He's going." - -I sprang over beside him and saw that the visitor, having already -unhitched his horse, was shaking hands with Uncle Seth. Stepping -into the chaise, he then drove off. - -For a space of time so long that the man must have come to the bend -in the road, Uncle Seth and Cornelius Gleazen watched him as he -went; then, to puzzle us still further, smiling broadly, they shook -hands, and turning about, still entirely unaware that we were -watching them, walked with oddly pleased expressions back into the -store. - -My uncle's face expressed such confidence and friendliness as even I -had seldom seen on it. - -"Now ain't that queer?" Sim began. "If Seth Upham was a little less -set in his ways, I'd--" - -With a shrug Arnold Lamont broke in upon what seemed likely to be a -long harangue, and made a comment that was much more to the point. -"Now," said he, "we are going to hear what has happened." - -Surely enough, we thought. No sooner were we back in the store, all -three of us, than the door opened and in came Uncle Seth. - -"Well," said he, brusquely, and yet with a certain pleased -expression still lingering about his eyes, "I expected you to have -done more. Hm! Well, work hard. We must have things in order come -morning." - -Arnold smiled as my uncle promptly returned to the front room, but -Sim and I were keenly disappointed. - -"How now, you who are so clever?" Sim cried when Uncle Seth again -had closed the door. "How now, Arnold? We have heard nothing." - -"Why," said Arnold, imperturbably, "not exactly 'nothing.' We have -learned that the man is coming back to-morrow." - -"Are you crazy?" Sim responded. "Seth Upham said nothing of the -kind." - -Arnold only smiled again. "Wait and see," he said. - -So we worked until late at night, putting all once more to rights; -and in the morning, true to Arnold's prophecy, the gentleman with -the big black horse, accompanied now by a friend, made a second -visit in the front room of the store. - -This time he talked but briefly with Uncle Seth and Neil Gleazen, -who had already waited an hour for his arrival. As if eager to see -our business for himself, he then walked through the store, -examining every little detail of the stock and fixtures, and asked a -vast number of questions, which in themselves showed that he knew -what he was about and that he was determined to get at the bottom of -our affairs. There was talk of barrels of Alexandria superfine flour -and hogsheads of Kentucky tobacco; of teas--Hyson, young Hyson, -Hyson skin, Powchong and Souchong; of oil, summer and winter; of -Isles of Shoals dun fish and Holland gin and preserved ginger, and -one thing and another, until, with answering the questions they -asked me, I was fairly dizzy. - -Having examined store and stock to his satisfaction, he then went -with Uncle Seth, to my growing wonder, up to our own house; and from -what Sim reported when he came back from a trip to spy upon them, -they examined the house with the same care. In due course they -returned to the store and sat down at the desk, and then the friend -who accompanied our first visitor wrote for some time on an -official-looking document; Uncle Seth and the strange gentleman -signed it; Arnold Lamont, whom they summoned for the purpose, and -Cornelius Gleazen witnessed it; and all four drove away together, -the gentleman and his friend in their chaise and Uncle Seth and Neil -Gleazen in our own. - -"When Seth Upham returns," said Arnold, "we shall be told all." - -And it was so. - -Coming back alone in the late afternoon, Uncle Seth and Gleazen left -the chaise at the door, and entering, announced that we should close -the store early that day. Gleazen was radiant with good-nature, and -there was the odor of liquor on his breath. Uncle Seth, on the -contrary, appeared not to have tasted a drop. He was, if anything, a -little sharper than ever at one moment, a little more jovial at the -next, excited always, and full of some mysterious news that seemed -both to delight and to frighten him. - -Obediently we fastened the shutters and drew the shades and made -ready for the night. - -"Now, lads," said Uncle Seth, "come in by my desk and take chairs. I -have news for you." - -Exchanging glances, we did so. Even Sim Muzzy was silent now. - -We all sat down together, Uncle Seth and Neil Gleazen at the desk, -Arnold Lamont and I a little at one side, and Sim Muzzy tilting back -importantly at a point from which he could watch us all. - -At the time I thought what an interesting study in character the -others made; but since then I have come to think that by my own -attitude toward them I revealed more of the manner of youth I myself -was, than by their bearing they revealed of the manner of men they -were. There was Neil Gleazen, who held his cigar in his left hand -and, with the finger on which his great diamond flashed, knocked -each bit of ash on the floor so promptly after it formed, that the -glowing coal of fire seemed to eat into the dark tobacco and leave -no residue whatever. I was confident that he thought more of me both -for my good fellowship and for my sound sense than he thought of any -of the others present--or in town, for that matter! As for Uncle -Seth, who was at once nervous and elated, I must confess, although -it did not take me long to learn enough to be heartily ashamed of -it, that I was just a little inclined in my own mind to patronize -him; for although all my excellent prospects came entirely from his -shrewd labors, I felt that he was essentially the big toad in the -small puddle. - -With the others, I smiled at Sim Muzzy. But with regard to Arnold -Lamont I was less confident. There had been a world of philosophy in -his brief remark that a man does not tell all he knows; and my -fencing bout with him was still too fresh in my mind to permit me -actually to patronize him. He sat now with his thoughtful eyes -intent on my uncle, and of the five of us he was by long odds the -most composed. - -Although I have betrayed my vanity in a none too flattering light, -it would be unjust, I truly think, not to add, at the risk of -seeming to contradict myself, that I was instinctively kind-hearted, -and that I did not lack for courage. - -"I have news for you, boys," Uncle Seth began, with a manner at once -abrupt and a little pompous, but with a warm smile at me. "I hope -you'll be glad to hear it, although it means a radical change in the -life we've lived together for so many years. First of all, I want to -say that each of you will be well looked after." - -Uncle Seth paused and glanced at Cornelius Gleazen, who nodded as if -to encourage him to go on. - -"Yes, you will be well looked after, however it may appear at first -flush. I'll see that no faithful man suffers to my profit, even -though I have sold the store." - -"What's that? You've sold the store?" Sim wildly broke in. "If -you've--you've gone and sold the store? What--what?" - -"Be still, Sim," Uncle Seth interposed. "Yes, I have sold the store. -I know that Joe'll not be surprised to hear it; but even he has had -only the vaguest hint of what's going forward. The gentleman who was -here yesterday and to-day, has bought me out, store and house, lock, -stock, and barrel." - -"The house!" I cried. - -"Yes," said Uncle Seth shortly. - -"But what'll I do? And Arnold? And Joe?" Sim demanded. "Oh, Seth -Upham! Never did I think to see this day and hear them words." - -"I'm coming to that," said Uncle Seth. "There'll be room here for -the three of you if you want to stay, and there'll be work in -abundance in the store; but--ah, lads, here's the chance for -you!--there'll be room for you with me, if you wish to come. I have -bought a ship--" - -"A brig," Cornelius Gleazen put in. - -"A brig," said Uncle Seth, accepting the correction. "The Adventure, -a very tidy little craft, and well named." - -Cornelius Gleazen gave his cigar a harder flick and in a reminiscent -voice again forced his way into the conversation. "Ninety-seven foot -on deck, twenty-four foot beam, sixteen foot deep, and a good two -hundred and fifty ton, built of white oak and copper fastened. -Baltimore bow and beautiful rake. Trim as a gull and fast as a duck. -Tidy's the word, Seth, tidy." - -Gleazen's fingers were twitching and his eyes were strangely alight. - -"Yes, yes," said Uncle Seth, sharply. - -"But that's not all," Gleazen insisted. - -"Well, what of it?" Uncle Seth demanded. "Are you going to tell 'em -everything?" - -At this Gleazen paused and looked hard at his cigar. His fingers, I -could see, were twitching more than ever. - -"No," he slowly said, "not everything. Go ahead, Seth." - -"If you keep putting in, how can I go ahead." - -"Oh, stow it!" Gleazen suddenly roared. "This is no piffling -storekeeper's game. Go on!" - -As you can imagine, we were all eyes and ears at this brush between -the two; and when Gleazen lost his temper and burst out so hotly, in -spite of my admiration for the man, I hoped, and confidently -expected, to see Uncle Seth come back, hammer and tongs, and give -him as good as he sent. Instead, he suddenly turned white and -became strangely calm, and in a low, subdued voice went on to the -rest of us:-- - -"We shall take on a cargo at Boston and sail for the West Indies, -where we shall add a few men to the crew and thence sail for Africa. -I'm sure the voyage will yield a good profit and--" - -"O Seth, O Seth!" cried Gleazen, abruptly. "That is no manner of way -to talk to the boys. Let me tell 'em!" - -My uncle, at this, drew back in his chair and said with great -dignity, "Sir, whose money is financing this venture?" - -"Money?" Gleazen roared with laughter. "What's money without brains? -I'll tell 'em? You sit tight." - -We were all but dumbfounded. White of face and blue of lip, Seth -Upham sat in his chair--_his no longer!_--and Gleazen told us. - -He threw his cigar-butt on the floor and stepped on it, and drummed -on his beaver hat with nimble fingers. - -"It's like this, lads," he said in a voice that implied that he was -confiding in us: "I've come home here to Topham with a fortune, to -be sure, and I've come to end my days in the town that gave me -birth. But--" his voice now fell almost to a whisper--"I've left a -king's wealth on the coast of Guinea." - -He paused to see the effect of his words. I could hear my uncle -breathing hard, but I held my eyes intently on Neil Gleazen's face. - -"A fit treasure for an emperor!" he whispered, in such a way that -the words came almost hissing to our ears. - -Still we sat in silence and stared at him. - -"With three good men to guard it," he went on after another pause. -"Three tried, true men--friends of mine, every one of them. Suppose -I _have_ made my fortune and come home to end my days in comfort? -I'd as soon have a little more, _hadn't you_? And I'd as soon give a -hand to a hard-working, honest boyhood friend, _hadn't you_? Here's -what I done: I said to Seth Upham, who has robbed many a church with -me--" - -At that, I thought my uncle was going to cry out in protest or -denial; but his words died in his throat. - -"I said to him, 'Seth, you and me is old friends. Now here's this -little scheme. I've got plenty myself, so I'll gladly share with -you. If you'll raise the money for this venture, you'll be helping -three good men to get their little pile out of the hands of heathen -savages, and half of the profits will be yours.' So he says he'll -raise money for the venture, and he done so, and he's sold his store -and his house, and now he can't back down. How about it, Seth?" - -My uncle gulped, but made no reply. Gleazen, who up to this point -had been always deferential and considerate, seemed, out of a clear -sky, suddenly to have assumed absolute control of our united -fortunes. - -"Of course it won't do to turn off old friends," he continued. "So -he made up his mind to give you lads your choice of coming with us -at handsome pay--one third of his lay is to be divided amongst those -of you that come--" - -"No, I never said that," Uncle Seth cried, as if startled into -speech. - -"You never?" Gleazen returned in seeming amazement. "The papers is -signed, Seth." - -"But I never said that!" - -Gleazen turned on my uncle, his eyes blazing. "This from you!" he -cried with a crackling oath. "After all I've done! I swear _I'll_ -back out now--then where'll you be? What's more, I'll tell what I -know." - -My uncle in a dazed way looked around the place that up to now had -been his own little kingdom and uttered some unintelligible murmur. - -"Ah," said Gleazen, "I thought you did." Then, as if Uncle Seth had -not broken in upon him, as if he had not retorted at Uncle Seth, as -if his low, even voice had not been raised in pitch since he began, -he went on, "Or, lads, you can stay. What do you say?" - -Still we sat and stared at him. - -Sim Muzzy, as usual, was first to speak and last to think. "I'll -go," he exclaimed eagerly, "I'll go, for one." - -"Good lad," said Gleazen, who, although they were nearly of an age, -outrageously patronized him. - -With my familiar world torn down about my shoulders, and the -patrimony that I long had regarded as mine about to be imperiled in -this strange expedition, it seemed that I must choose between a -berth in the new vessel and a clerkship with no prospects. It was -not a difficult choice for a youth with a leaning toward adventure, -nor was I altogether unprepared for it. Then, too, there was -something in me that would not suffer me lightly to break all ties -with my mother's only brother. After a moment for reflection, I -said, "I'll go, for two." - -Meanwhile, Arnold Lamont had been studying us all and had seen, I am -confident, more than any of us. He had taken time to notice to the -full the sudden return of all Cornelius Gleazen's arrogance and the -extraordinary meekness of Uncle Seth who, without serious affront, -had just now taken words from Gleazen for which he would once have -blazed out at him in fury. - -It did not take Arnold Lamont's subtlety to see that Gleazen, by -some means or other, had got Seth Upham under his thumb and was -taking keen pleasure in feeling him there. Gleazen's attitude toward -my uncle had undergone a curious series of changes since the day -when, for the first time, I had seen him enter our store: from -arrogance he had descended to courtesy, even to deference; but from -deference he had now returned again to arrogance. In his attitude on -that first day there had been much of the cool insolence that he now -manifested; but after a few days it had seemed to a certain extent -to have vanished. Rather, the consideration with which he had of -late treated my uncle had been so great as to make this new -impudence the more amazing. - -Many things may have influenced Arnold in his decision; but among -them, I think, were his gratitude to Uncle Seth, who had taken him -in and given him a good living, and who, we both could see, was -likely now to need the utmost that a friend could give him; his -friendliness for Sim and me, with whom he had worked so long; and, -which I did not at the time suspect, the desire of a keen, able, -straight-forward man to meet and beat Cornelius Gleazen at his own -game. - -"I will go with you," he quietly said. - -"Good lads!" Gleazen cried. - -"One thing more," said I. - -"Anything--anything--within reason, aye, or without." - -"Uncle Seth once spoke to me of selling out Abraham Guptil." - -My uncle now bestirred himself and, shaking off the discomfiture -with which he had received Gleazen's earlier words, said with -something of his usual sharpness, "The sheriff has had the papers -these three days." - -"Then," I cried, "I beg you, as a favor, let him have a berth with -us." - -"What's that? Some farmer?" Gleazen demanded. - -"He's bred to the sea," I returned. - -"That puts another face on the matter," said Gleazen. - -"Well," said my uncle. "But his lay comes out of the part that goes -to you, then." - -"But," I responded, "I thought of his signing on at regular wages." -Then I blushed at my own selfishness and hastened to add, "Never -mind that. I for one will say that he shall share alike with us." - -And the others, knowing his plight, agreed as with a single voice. - -"Now, then, my lads," Cornelius Gleazen cried, "a word in -confidence: to the village and to the world we'll say that we are -going on a trading voyage. And so we are! All this rest of our -talk," he continued slowly and impressively, "all this rest of our -talk is a secret between you four and me and God Almighty." He -brought his great fist down on the desk with a terrific bang. "If -any one of you four men--I don't care a tinker's damn which -one--lets this story leak, I'll kill him." - -At the time I did not think that he meant it; since then I have come -to think that he did. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -A WILD NIGHT - - -Unless you have lived in a little town where every man's business is -his neighbor's, you cannot imagine the furor in the village of -Topham when our fellow citizens learned that Seth Upham had actually -sold his business and his house, and was to embark with Cornelius -Gleazen on a voyage of speculation to the West Indies and Africa. -The friction with Great Britain that had closed ports in the West -Indies to American ships added zest to their surmises; and the -unexpected news that that very worthy gentleman, Cornelius Gleazen, -who had so recently returned to his old home, was so soon to depart -again, sharpened their regrets. All were united in wishing us good -fortune and a safe, speedy return; all were keenly interested in -whatever hints of the true character of the voyage we let fall, -which you can be sure were few and slender. It was such an -extraordinary affair in the annals of the village, that the more -enterprising began to prepare for a grand farewell, which should -express their feelings in a suitable way and should do honor both to -their respected fellow townsman, Seth Upham, and to their -distinguished resident, Cornelius Gleazen. - -There was to be a parade, with a band from Boston at its head, a -great dinner at the town hall, to which with uncommon generosity -they invited even the doubting blacksmith, and a splendid farewell -ceremony, with speeches by the minister and the doctor, and with -presentations to all who were to leave town. It was to mark an epoch -in the history of Topham. Nothing like it had ever taken place in -all the country round. And as we were to go to Boston in the near -future,--the man who had bought out Uncle Seth was to take over the -house and store almost at once,--they set the date for the first -Saturday in September. - -Because I, in a way, was to be one of the guests of the occasion, I -heard little of the plans directly, for they were supposed to be -secret, in order to surprise us by their splendor. But a less -curious lad than I could not have helped noticing the long benches -carried past the store and the platform that was building on the -green. - -The formal farewell, as I have said, was to take place on the first -Saturday in September, and the following Wednesday we five were to -leave town. But meanwhile, in order to have everything ready for our -departure, and because we needed another pair of hands to help in -the work during the last days at the store, I went on Friday to get -Abraham Guptil to join us. - -He had been so pleased at the chance to ship for a voyage, thus to -recover a little of the goods and gear that misfortune had swept -away from him almost to the last stick and penny, that I was more -than glad I had given him the chance. Well satisfied, accordingly, -with myself and the world, I turned my uncle's team toward the home -of Abe's father-in-law, where Mrs. Guptil and the boy were to stay -until Abe should return from the voyage; and when I passed the -green, where the great platform was almost finished, I thought with -pleasure of what an important part I was to play in the ceremonies -next day. - -It was a long ride to the home of Abraham Guptil's father-in-law, -and the way led through the pines and marshes beside the sea, and up -hill and down valley over a winding road inland. The goldenrod -beside the stone walls along the road was a bright yellow, and the -blue frost flowers were beginning to blossom. In the air, which was -as clear as on a winter night, was the pleasant, almost -indescribable tang of autumn, in which are blended so mysteriously -the mellow odors of stubble fields and fallen leaves, and fruit that -is ready for the market; it suggested bright foliage and mellow -sunsets, and blue smoke curling up from chimneys, and lighted -windows in the early dusk. - -On the outward journey, but partly occupied by driving the -well-broken team, I thought of how Neil Gleazen, before my very -eyes, had at first frightened Uncle Seth, and had then cajoled him, -and, finally, had completely won him over. I had never put it in so -many words before, that Gleazen had got my uncle into such a state -that he could do what he wished with him; but to me it was plain -enough, and I suspected that Arnold Lamont saw it, too. Although I -had watched Gleazen from the moment when he first began to -accomplish the purpose toward which he had been plotting, I could -not understand what power he held over Uncle Seth that had so -changed my uncle's whole character. Then I fell to thinking of that -remark, twice repeated, about robbing churches, and meditated on it -while the horses quietly jogged along. Never, I thought, should the -people of the town learn of my suspicions; they concerned a family -matter, and I would keep them discreetly to myself. - -It was touching to see Abraham Guptil bid farewell to his wife and -son. Their grief was so unaffected that it almost set me sniffling, -and I feared that poor Abe would make a dreary addition to our -little band; but when we had got out of sight of the house, he began -to pick up, and after wiping his eyes and blowing his nose, he -surprised me by becoming, all things considered, quite lively. - -"Now," said he, "you can tell me all about this voyage for which -I've shipped. It seems queer for a man to sign the articles when he -don't know where his lay is coming from, but, I declare, it was a -godsend to me to have a voyage and wages in prospect, and you were a -rare good friend of mine, Joe, to put my name in like you done." - -It puzzled me to know just how much to tell him, but I explained as -well as I could that it was a trading voyage to the West Indies and -Africa, and gave him a hint that there was a secret connected with -it whereby, if all went well, we were to get large profits, and let -him know that he was to share a certain proportion of this extra -money with Arnold, Sim, and me, in addition to the wages that we all -were to draw. - -It seemed to satisfy him, and after thinking it over, he said, "I've -heard Seth Upham was getting all his money together for some reason -or other. There must be more than enough to buy the Adventure. He's -been cashing in notes and mortgages all over the county, and I'm -told the bank is holding it for him in gold coin." - -"In gold!" I cried. - -"Gold coin," he repeated. "It's rumored round the county that Neil -Gleazen's holding something over him that's frightened him into -doing this and that, exactly according to order." - -"Where did you hear that?" I demanded. - -It was so precisely what I myself had been thinking that it seemed -as if I must have talked too freely; yet I knew that I had held my -tongue. - -"Oh, one place and another," he replied. Then, changing the subject, -he remarked, "There'll be a grand time in town to-morrow, what with -speeches and all. I'd like to have brought my wife to see it, but I -was afraid it would make it harder for her when I leave." - -"She doesn't want you to go?" - -"Oh, she's glad for me to have the chance, but she's no hand to bear -up at parting." - -Conversing thus, we drove on into the twilight and falling dusk, -till we came so near the town that we could see ahead of us the -tavern, all alight and cheerful for the evening. - -"I wonder," Abe cried eagerly, "who'll be sitting by the table with -a hot supper in front of him, and Nellie Nuttles to fetch and -carry." - -I was hungry after my day's drive and could not help sharing Abe's -desire for a meal at the tavern, which was known as far as Boston -and beyond for its good food; but I had no permission thus wantonly -to spend Uncle Seth's money, so I snapped the whip and was glad to -hear the louder rattling of wheels as the horses broke into a brisk -trot, which made our own supper seem appreciably nearer. - -And who, indeed, would be sitting now behind those lighted windows? -Abe's question came back to me as we neared the tavern. The broad -roofs seemed to suggest the very essence of hospitality, and as if -to indorse their promise of good fare, a roar of laughter came out -into the night. - -As we passed, I looked through one of the windows that but a moment -since had been rattling from the mirth within, and saw--I looked -again and made sure that I was not mistaken!--saw Neil Gleazen, -red-faced and wild-eyed, standing by the bar with a glass raised in -his hand. - -The sight surprised me, for although Gleazen, like almost everyone -else in old New England, took his wine regularly, in all the months -since his return he had conducted himself so soberly that there had -been not the slightest suggestion that he ever got himself the worse -for liquor; and even more it amazed me to see beside him one Jed -Matthews who was, probably, the most unscrupulous member of the -lawless crew with whom Gleazen was said to have associated much in -the old days, but of whom he had seen, everyone believed, almost -nothing since he had come home. - -As we drove on past the blacksmith shop, I saw the smith smoking his -pipe in the twilight. - -"It's a fine evening," I called. - -"It is," said he, coming into the road. And in a lower voice he -added, "Did you see him when you passed the inn?" - -"Yes," I replied, knowing well enough whom he meant. - -"They've called me a fool," the smith responded, "but before this -night's over we'll see who's a fool." He puffed away at his pipe and -looked at me significantly. "We'll see who's a fool, I or them that -has so much more money and wisdom than I." - -He went back and sat down, and Abe and I drove on, puzzled and -uncomfortable. The smith was vindictive. Could he, I wondered, be -right? - -A good supper was keeping hot for us in the brick oven, and we sat -down to it with the good-will that it merited; but before we were -more than half through, my uncle burst in upon us. He seemed -harassed by anxiety, and went at once to the window, where he stood -looking out into the darkness. - -"Have you heard anything said around town?" he presently demanded, -more sharply, it seemed to me, than ever. - -"I've heard little since I got back," I returned. "Only the smith's -ravings. He was in an ill temper as we passed. But I saw Neil -Gleazen at the inn drinking with Jed Matthews." - -"The ungrateful reprobate!" Uncle Seth cried with an angry gesture. -"He's drawn me into this thing hand and foot--hand and foot. I'm -committed. It's too late to withdraw, and he knows it. And now, now -for the first time, mind you, he's starting on one of his old -sprees." - -"He's not a hard drinker," I said. "In all the time he's been in -Topham he's not been the worse for liquor, and this evening, so far -as I could see, he was just taking a glass--" - -"You don't know him as he used to be," my uncle cried. - -"A glass," put in Abe Guptil; "but with Jed Matthews!" - -"You've hit the nail on the head," Uncle Seth burst out--"with Jed -Matthews. God save we're ruined by this night's work. If he should -go out to Higgleby's barn with that gang of thieves, my good name -will go too. I swear I'll sell the brig." - -Uncle Seth wildly paced the room and scowled until every testy -wrinkle on his face was drawn into one huge knot that centred in his -forehead. - -The only sounds, as Abe and I sat watching him in silence, were the -thumping of his feet as he walked and the hoarse whisper of his -breathing. Plainly, he was keyed up to a pitch higher than ever I -had seen him. - -At that moment, from far beyond the village, shrilly but faintly, -came a wild burst of drunken laughter. It was a single voice and one -strange to me. There was something devilish in its piercing, -unrestrained yell. - -"Merciful heavens!" Uncle Seth cried,--actually his hand was shaking -like the palsy; a note of fear in his strained voice struck to my -heart like a finger of ice,--"I'd know that sound if I heard it in -the shrieking of hell; and I have not heard Neil Gleazen laugh like -that in thirty years. Come, boys, maybe we can stop him before it's -too late." - -Thrusting his fingers through his hair so that it stood out on all -sides in disorder, he wildly dashed from the room. - -Springing up, Abe and I followed him outdoors and down the road. We -ran with a will, but old though he was, a frenzy of fear and anxiety -and shame led him on at a pace we could scarcely equal. Down the -long road into town we ran, all three, breathing harder and harder -as we went, past the store, the parsonage, and the church, and past -the smithy, where someone called to us and hurried out to stop us. - -It was the smith, who loomed up big and black and ominous in the -darkness. - -"They've gone," he said, "they've gone to Higgleby's barn." - -"Who?" my uncle demanded. "Who? Say who! For heaven's sake don't -keep me here on tenterhooks!" - -"Neil Gleazen," said the smith, "and Jed Matthews and all the rest. -Ah, you wouldn't listen to _me_." - -"And all the rest!" Uncle Seth echoed weakly. - -For a moment he reeled as if bewildered, even dazed. Whatever it was -that had come over him, it seemed to have pierced to some -unsuspected weakness in the fibre of the man, some spot so terribly -sensitive that he was fairly crazed by the thrust. To Abe and me, -both of us shocked and appalled, he turned with the madness of -despair in his eyes. - -"Boys," he said hoarsely, "we've got to be ready to leave. Call Sim -and Arnold! Hitch up the horses! Pack my bag and--and, Joe,"--he -laid his hand on my shoulder and whispered in my ear, a mere -trembling breath of a whisper,--"here's the key to the house safe. -Pack all that's in it in the bed of the wagon while the others are -busy elsewhere. O Joe! what a wretched man I am! Why in heaven's -name could he not walk straight for just one day more?" - -Why, indeed? I thought. But I remembered Higgleby's barn, and in my -own heart I knew the reason. Secretly, all this time, Neil Gleazen -had been hand in glove with his old disreputable cronies; now that -he had got Uncle Seth so far committed to this new venture that he -could not desert it, Gleazen was entirely willing to throw away his -hard-won reputation for integrity, for the sake of one farewell -fling with the "old guard." - -"Go, lads," Uncle Seth cried; "go quickly." He rested a shaking hand -on my arm as Abe turned away. "My poor, poor boy!" he murmured. -"I've meant to do so well by you, Joey! Heaven keep us all!" - -"But you?" I asked. - -"I'm going, if I can, to bring Neil Gleazen back before it is too -late," Uncle Seth replied. And with that he set off into the -darkness. - -As we turned back to the store to rouse up Arnold and Sim, I caught -a glimpse of the stark white platform on the green, which was -visible even in the darkness, and ironically I thought of the -farewell ceremonies that were to take place next day. - -I shall never forget how the store looked that night, as Abe and I -came hurrying up to it. The shadows on the porch were as black as -ink, and the shuttered windows seemed to stare like the sightless -eyes of a blind man who hears a familiar voice and turns as if to -see whence it comes. From the windows of the room above, which -Arnold and Sim occupied, there shone a few thin shafts of light -along the edges of the shades, and the window frames divided the -shades themselves into small yellow squares, on which a shadow came -and went as one of the men moved about the room. - -In reply to our cries and knocks, Arnold raised the curtain and we -saw first his head, then Sim's, black against the lighted room. - -"Who is there?" he called, "and what's wanted?" - -Almost before we had finished pouring out our story, Arnold was -downstairs and fumbling at the bolts of the door; and as we entered -the dark store, Sim, his shoes in his hand, followed him, even more -than usually grotesque in the light from above. - -"My friends," said Arnold, calmly, "let us now, all four, prove to -ourselves and to Seth Upham, the mettle that is in us." - -We lost no time in idle speculation. Dividing among us all that was -to be done, we fell to with a will. Working like men possessed, we -packed our own possessions and Uncle Seth's, both at the store and -at the barn; and while the others were still busy in the -carriage-shed, I hurried back to the house and opened the safe, and -brought out bags of money and papers and heaven knows what, and as -secretly as possible packed them in the bottom of the wagon. For -three hours we toiled at one place and the other; then, hot, tired, -excited, apprehensive of we knew not what, we rested by the wagon -and waited. - -"I never heard of anything so rattle-headed in all my life," Sim -Muzzy cried, when he had caught his breath. "Seth Upham gets crazier -every day. Here all's ready for the grand farewell to-morrow and all -of us to be there, and not one of us to leave town until next week, -and yet he gets us up at all hours of the night as if we was to -start come sunrise. I'm not going to run away at such an hour, I can -tell you. Why it may be they'll call on me to make a speech! Who -knows?" - -"We'll be lucky, I fear," said Arnold Lamont, "if we do not start -before sunrise." - -"Before sunrise! Well, I'll have you know--" - -I simply could not endure Sim's interminable talk. "Watch the goods -and the wagon, you three," I said. "I'm going to look for Uncle Seth -and see what he wants us to do next." - -Before they could object, I had left them sitting by the wagon and -the harnessed horses, ready for no one knew what, and had made off -into the night. Having done all that I could to carry out my uncle's -orders, I had no intention of returning until I had solved the -mystery of Higgleby's barn. - -I hurried along and used every short cut that I knew; and though I -now stumbled in the darkness, now fell headlong on the dewy grass, -now barked my shins as I scrambled over a barway, I made reasonably -good progress, all things considered, and came in less than half an -hour to the pasture where Higgleby's lonely barn stood. The door of -the barn, as I saw it from a distance, was open and made a rectangle -of yellow light against the black woods beyond it. When I listened, -I heard confused voices. As I was about to advance toward the barn, -a certain note in the voices warned me that a quarrel was in -progress. I hesitated and stopped where I was, wondering whether to -go forward or not, and there I heard a strange sound and saw a -strange sight. - -First there came a much louder outcry than any that had gone before; -then the light in the barn suddenly went out; then I heard the sound -of running back and forth; then the light appeared again, but -flickering and unsteady; then a single harsh yell came all the way -across the dark pasture; then the light grew and grew and grew. - -It threw its rays out over the pasture land and revealed men running -about like ants around a newly destroyed hill. A tongue of flame -crept out of one window and crawled up the side of the old -building. A great wave of fire came billowing out of the door. -Sparks began to fly and the roar and crackling grew louder and -louder. - -As I breathlessly ran toward the barn, from which now I could see -little streams of fire flowing in every direction through the dry -grass, I suddenly became aware that there was someone ahead of me, -and by stopping short I narrowly escaped colliding with two men -whom, with a sudden shock, I recognized as my uncle and Neil -Gleazen. - -"Uncle Seth!" I gasped out. - -Nothing then, I think, could have surprised Seth Upham. There was -only relief in his voice when he cried, "Quick, Joe, quick, take his -other arm." - -Obediently, if reluctantly, I turned my back on the conflagration -behind us, and locking my right arm through Neil Gleazen's left, -helped partly to drag him, partly to carry him toward the village -and the tavern. - -"I showed the villains!" Gleazen proclaimed thickly. "The -scoundrels! The despicable curs! I showed them how a gentlemen -replies to such as them. I showed them, eh, Seth?" - -"Yes, yes, Neil! Hush! Be still! There are people coming. Merciful -heavens! That fire will bring the whole town out upon us." - -"I showed them, the villains! the scoundrels! the despicable curs! -They are not used to the ways of gentlemen, eh, Seth?" - -"Yes, yes, but do be still! _Do, do_ be still!" - -"I showed them how a gentleman acts--" - -The man was as drunk as a lord, but in his thick ravings there was a -fixed idea that sent a thrill of apprehension running through me. - -"Uncle Seth," I gasped, "Uncle Seth, _what has he done_?" - -"Quick! quick! We must hurry!" - -"What has he done?" - -"Come, come, Joe, never mind that now!" - -For the moment I yielded, and we stumbled along, arm in arm, with -Gleazen now all but a dead weight between us. - -"I showed them!" he cried again. "I showed them!" - -I simply could not ignore the strange muttering in his voice. - -"Tell me," I cried. "Uncle Seth, tell me what he has done." - -"Not yet! Not yet!" - -"Tell me!" - -"Not yet!" - -"Or I'll not go another step!" - -My uncle gasped and staggered. My importunity seemed to be one thing -more than he could bear, poor man! and even in my temper, pity -sobered me and cooled my anger. For a moment he touched my wrist. -His hand was icy cold. But his face, when I looked at him, was set -and hard, and my temper flashed anew. - -"Not another step! Tell me." - -Glancing apprehensively about, my uncle gasped in a hoarse -undertone, "He has killed Jed Matthews." - -As people were appearing now on all sides and running to fight the -fire, Uncle Seth and I tried our best to lead Gleazen into a by-path -and so home by a back way; but with drunken obstinacy he refused to -yield an inch. "No, no," he roared, "I'm going to walk home past all -the people. I'm not afraid of them. If they say aught to me, I'll -show 'em." - -So back we marched, supporting between us, hatless but with the -diamonds still flashing on his finger and in his stock, that maudlin -wretch, Cornelius Gleazen. I felt my own face redden as the curious -turned to stare at us, and for Uncle Seth it was a sad and bitter -experience; but we pushed on as fast as we could go, driven always -by fear of what would follow when the people should learn the whole -story of the brawl in the burning barn. - -Back into the village we came, now loitering for a moment in the -deeper shadows to avoid observation, now pushing at top speed across -a lighter open space, always dragging Cornelius Gleazen between us, -and so up to the open door of the tavern. - -"Now," murmured Uncle Seth, "heaven send us help! Neil, Neil--Neil, -I say!" - -"Well?" - -"We must get your chests and run. Your money, your papers--are they -packed?" - -"Money? What money?" - -"Your fortune! You can never come back here. Sober up, Neil, sober -up! You killed Jed Matthews." - -"Served him right. Despicable cur, villain, scoundrel! I'll show -them." - -"Neil, Neil Gleazen!" cried my uncle, now all but frantic. - -"Well, I hear you." - -"Oh, oh, will he not listen to reason? Take his arm again, Joe." - -We lifted him up the steps and led him into the inn, and there in -the door of the bar-room came face to face with the landlord, who -was hot with anger. - -"Don't bring him in here, Mr. Upham," he cried; "I keep no house for -sots and swine." - -"What!" gasped my uncle, "you'll not receive him?" - -"Not I!" - -"But what's come over you? _But you never would treat Mr. Gleazen -like this!_" - -"But, but, but!" the landlord snarled. "This very night he threw my -good claret in my own face and called it a brew for pigs. Let him -seek his lodgings elsewhere." - -"Where are his chests, then?" my uncle demanded. "We'll take his -chests and go." - -"Not till he's paid my bill." - -For a moment we stood at deadlock, Uncle Seth and I, with Gleazen -between us, and the landlord in the bar-room door. Every sound from -outside struck terror to us lest the village had discovered the -worst; lest at any moment we should have the people about our ears. -But the landlord, who, of course, knew nothing of what had been -going forward all this time, and Gleazen, who seemed too drunk to -care, were imperturbable, until Gleazen raised his head and with -inflamed eyes stared at the man. - -"Who's a swine?" he demanded. "Who's a sot?" - -Lurching forward, he broke away from us and crashed against the -landlord and knocked him into the bar-room, whither he himself -followed. - -"You blackfaced bla'guard!" the landlord cried; and, raising a -chair, he started to bring it down on Gleazen's head. - -I had thought that the man was too drunk to move quickly, but now, -as if a new brawl were all that he needed to bring him again to his -faculties, he stepped back like a flash and raised his hand. - -A sharp, hook-like instrument used to pull corks was kept stuck into -the beam above his head, where, so often was it used, it had worn a -hollow place nearly as big as a bowl. This he seized and, holding it -like a foil, lunged at the landlord as the chair descended. - -The chair struck Gleazen on the head and knocked him down, but the -cork-puller went into the landlord's shoulder, and when Gleazen, -clutching it as he fell, pulled it out again, the hooked end tore a -great hole in the muscles, from which blood spurted. - -Clapping his hand to the wound, the landlord went white and leaned -back against the bar; but Gleazen, having received a blow that might -have killed a horse, got up nimbly and actually appeared to be -sobered by the shock. Certainly he thought clearly and spoke to a -purpose. - -[Illustration: _Clapping his hand to the wound the landlord went -white and leaned back against the bar._] - -"Now, by heaven!" he cried, "I _have_ got to leave town. Come, Seth, -come, Joe." - -"But your chests! Your money!" my uncle repeated in a dazed way. The -events of the night were quite too much for his wits. - -"Let him keep them for the bill," said Gleazen with a harsh laugh. -"Come, I say!" - -"But--but--" - -"Come! Hear that?" - -"Watch the back door," someone was crying. "He's probably dead -drunk, but he's a dangerous man and we can't take chances." - -It was the constable's voice. - -Gleazen was already running through the long hall, and we followed -him at our best speed. - -As we left the room, the landlord fell and carried down with a crash -a table on which a tray of glasses was standing. I would have stayed -to help him, but I knew that other help was near, and to tell the -truth I was beginning to fear the consequences of even so slight a -part as mine had been in the ghastly happenings of the night. So I -followed the others, and we noiselessly slipped away through the -orchard, just as the men sent to guard the back door came hurrying -round the house and took their stations. - -With the distant fire flaming against the sky, with the smell of -smoke stinging in our nostrils, and with the clamor of the aroused -town sounding on every side, we hurried, unobserved, through dark -fields and orchards, to my uncle's house, where Arnold and Sim and -Abe were impatiently waiting. - -They started up from beside the wagon as we drew near, and crowded -round us with eager questions. But there was no time for mere -talking. Already we could hear voices approaching, although as yet -they were not dangerously near. - -"Come, boys," my uncle cried, "into the wagon, every one. Come, -Neil, come--for heaven's sake--" - -"Be still, Seth, I am sober." - -"Sober!" Uncle Seth put a world of disgust into the word. - -"Yes, sober, curse you." - -"Very well, but do climb in--" - -"Climb in? I'll climb in when it suits my convenience." - -Jostling and scrambling, we were all in the wagon at last. Uncle -Seth held reins and whip; Neil Gleazen, who was squeezed in between -him and me on the seat, snored loudly; and the others, finding such -seats as they could on boxes or the bed of the wagon, endured their -discomfort in silence. - -The whip cracked, the horses started forward, the wheels crunched in -gravel and came out on the hard road. Turning our backs on the -village of Topham, we left behind us the benches on the green, the -fine new platform, the banquet that was already half prepared, and -all our anticipations of the great farewell. - -We went up the long hill, from the summit of which we could see the -lights of the town shining in the dark valley, the great flare of -fire at the burning barn, and the country stretching for miles in -every direction, and thence we drove rapidly away. - -Thus, for the second time, twenty years after the first, Cornelius -Gleazen left his native town as a fugitive from justice. But this -time the fortunes of five men were bound up with his, and we whom he -was leading on his mad quest knew now only too well what we could -expect of our drunken leader. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE BRIG ADVENTURE - - -We drove for a long time in silence, with the jolting of the chaise -and the terrible scenes behind us to occupy our minds; and I assure -you it was a grim experience. In all the years that have intervened -I have never been able to escape from the memory of the burning -barn, with the dark figures running this way and that; the shrill -cries of Cornelius Gleazen, staring drunk, and his talk of the man -he had killed; the landlord at the tavern, with the blood spurting -from his shoulder where the hook had pulled through the flesh. - -In a night the whole aspect of the world had changed. From a -care-free, selfish, heedless youth, put to work despite his wish to -linger over books, I had become of a sudden a companion of -criminals, haunted by terrible memories, and through no fault of my -own. After all, I thought, by whose fault was it? Cornelius -Gleazen's, to be sure. But by whose fault was I forced to accompany -Cornelius Gleazen in his flight? Certainly I was guiltless of any -unlawful act--for that matter, we all were, except Gleazen. I had -not a jot of sympathy for him, yet so completely had he interwoven -our affairs with his that, although the man was a drunken beast, we -dared not refuse to share his flight. By whose fault? I again asked -myself. - -For a while I would not accept the answer that came to me. It seemed -disloyal to a well-meaning man who at one time and another had given -a thousand evidences of his real affection for me, which underlay -the veneer of sharpness and irascibility that he presented to the -world at large. It seemed to me that I could hear him saying again, -"You're all I've got, Joey; you're all that's left to the old man -and I'm going to do well by you--"; that I could hear again the -clink of gold thrown down before me on the table; that I could feel -his hand again on my shoulder, his voice again trembling with -despair when he cried, "I've meant to do so well by you, Joey! But -now--heaven keep us all!" Yet, as we jounced away over that rough -road and on into the night, and as I thought of things that one and -another had said, I felt more and more confident that at bottom Seth -Upham was to blame for our predicament. To be sure, he had _meant_ -well, even in this present undertaking; and though he was said to -drive sharp bargains, he lived, I well knew, an honest life. Yet I -was convinced that at some time in the past he must have been guilty -of some sin or other that gave Neil Gleazen his hold over him. It -fairly staggered me to think of the power for good or evil that lies -in every act in a man's life. To be sure, had Seth Upham been a -really strong man, he would have lived down his mistake long since, -whatever it might have been, and would have defied Gleazen to do his -worst. But the crime, if such there was, was his, none the less; and -that it was the seed whence had sprung our great misfortunes, I was -convinced. - -Looking back at Arnold Lamont, I caught his eye by the light of the -rising moon and found great comfort in his steady glance. As if to -reassure me further, he laid his hand on my arm and slightly pressed -it. - -On and on and on we drove, past towns and villages, over bridges and -under arching trees, beside arms of the sea and inland ponds, until, -as dawn was breaking, we came down the road into Boston, with the -waters of the Charles River and of the Back Bay on our left and -Beacon Hill before us. - -Here and there in the town early risers were astir, and the smoke -climbed straight up from their chimneys; but for the most part the -people were still asleep, and the shops that we passed were still -shuttered, except one that an apprentice at that very moment was -opening for the day. Down to the wharves we drove, whence we could -see craft of every description, both in dock and lying at anchor; -and there we fell into a lively discussion. - -As the horses stopped, Gleazen woke, and that he was sick and -miserable a single glance at his face revealed. - -"Well," said he, "there's the brig." - -"Yes," Uncle Seth retorted, "and if you had kept away from -Higgleby's barn, we'd not have seen her for a week to come. We've -got you out of that scrape with a whole skin, and I swear we've done -well." - -"It was _sub rosa_," Gleazen responded thickly, "only _sub rosa_, -mind you. Under the rose--you know, Seth." - -"Yes, I know. If I had had my wits about me, you would never have -pulled the wool over my eyes." - -Gleazen laughed unpleasantly. It was plain that he was in an evil -temper, and Uncle Seth, worn and harassed by the terrible -experiences of the night, was in no mood to humor him. So we sat in -the wagon on a wharf by the harbor, where the clean salt water -licked at the piling and rose slowly with the incoming tide, while -our two leaders bickered together. - -At last, in anger, Seth Upham cried: "I swear I'll not go. I'll hold -back the brig. I'll keep my money. You shall hang." - -Gleazen laughed a low laugh that was more threatening by far than if -as usual he had laughed with a great roar. "No, you don't, Seth," he -quietly said. "You know the stakes that you've put up and you know -that the winnings will be big. I've used you right, and you're not -going to go back on me now--_not while I know what I know_! There's -them that would open their eyes to hear it, Seth. I've bore the -blame for thirty years, but the end's come if you try to go back on -me now." - -I looked at my uncle and saw that his face was white. His fingers -were twisting back and forth and he seemed not to know what to say; -but at last he nodded and said, "All right, Neil," and got down from -the wagon; and we all climbed out and stretched our stiff muscles. - -"Here's a boat handy," Gleazen cried. - -Uncle Seth cut the painter, and drawing her up to a convenient -ladder, we began to carry down our various belongings, finishing -with the big bags that hours before I had packed so carefully in the -bottom of the wagon. Neil Gleazen then seated himself in the stern -sheets, Abe Guptil took the oars, and I climbed into the bow. - -As Uncle Seth was coming on board, Sim Muzzy stopped him. - -"What about the horses?" he exclaimed. "You ain't going off to leave -them, are you? Not with wagon and all. Why, they must be worth a -deal of money; they--" - -"Come, come, you prattling fool," Gleazen called. - -Uncle Seth, after reflecting a moment, added sharply, "They'll maybe -go to pay for the boat we're taking. I don't like to steal, but now -I see no way out. Quick! I hear steps." - -So down came Sim, and out into the harbor we rowed; and when I -turned to look, I saw close at hand for the first time the brig -Adventure. - -She was a trim, well-proportioned craft, with a grace of masts and -spars and a neatness of rigging and black and white paint that quite -captivated me, although coming from what was virtually an inland -town, I was by no means qualified to pass judgment on her merits; -and I was not too weary to be glad to know that she, of all vessels -in the harbor, was the one in which we were to sail. - -When a sleepy sailor on deck called, "Boat ahoy!" Gleazen gave him -better than he sent with a loud, "Ahoy, Adventure!" - -Then we came up to her and swung with the tide under her chains, -until a couple of other sailors came running to help us get our -goods aboard; then up we scrambled, one at a time, and set the boat -adrift. - -I now found myself on a neat clean deck, and was taken with the -buckets and pins and coiled ropes lying in tidy fakes--but I should -say, too, that I was so tired after my long night ride that I could -scarcely keep my eyes open, so that I paid little attention to what -was going on around me until I heard Uncle Seth saying, "And this, -Captain North, is my nephew. If there are quarters for him aft, I'll -be glad, of course." - -"Of course, sir, of course," the captain replied; and I knew when I -first heard his voice that I was going to like him. "If he and the -Frenchman--Lamont you say's his name?--can share a stateroom, I've -one with two berths. Good! And you say we must sail at once? Hm! In -half an hour wind and tide will be in our favor. We're light of -ballast, but if we're careful, I've no doubt it will be safe. We -must get some fresh water. But that we can hurry up. Hm! I hadn't -expected sailing orders so soon; but in an hour's time, Mr. Upham, -if it's necessary, I can weigh anchor." - -"Good!" cried Uncle Seth. - -"Mr. Severance," Captain North called, "take five men and the cutter -for the rest of the fresh water, and be quick about it. Willie, take -Mr. Woods and Mr. Lamont below and show them to the stateroom the -lady passengers had when we came up from Rio. Now then, Guptil, you -take your bag forward and stow it in the forecastle, and if you're -hungry, tell the cook I said to give you a good cup of coffee and a -plate of beans." - -As with Arnold Lamont I followed Willie MacDougald, the little cabin -boy, I was too tired to care a straw about life on board a ship; and -before I should come on deck again, I was to be too sick. But as I -threw myself into one of the berths in our tiny cubby, I welcomed -the prospect of at least a long sleep, and I told Arnold how -sincerely glad I was that we were to be together. - -"Joe," he said, slowly and precisely, "I am very much afraid that we -are going on a wild-goose chase. Seth Upham has been kind to me in -his own way. He is one of the few friends I have in this world. Now, -I think, he would gladly be rid of me. But I shall stay with him to -the end, for I think the time is coming when he will need his -friends." - -I am afraid I fell asleep before Arnold finished what he had to say; -but weary though I was, I felt even then a great confidence in this -quiet, restrained man. He was so wise, so unfathomable. And I felt -already the growing determination, which, before we had seen the -last of Neil Gleazen, was to absorb almost my very life, to work -side by side with Arnold Lamont in order to save what we could of -Uncle Seth's happiness and property from the hands of the man who, -we both saw, had got my poor uncle completely in his power. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -AN OLD SEA SONG - - -The noise of the crew as they catted the anchor and made sail must -have waked me more than once, for to this very day I remember -hearing distinctly the loud chorus of a chantey, the trampling of -many feet, the creaking and rattling and calling--the strange jumble -of sounds heard only when a vessel is getting under way. But strange -and interesting though it all was, I must immediately have fallen -asleep again each time, for the memories come back to me like -strange snatches of a vivid dream, broken and disconnected, for all -that they are so clear. - -When at last, having slept my sleep out, I woke with no inclination -to close my eyes again, and sat up in my berth, the brig was -pitching and rolling in a heavy sea, and a great wave of sickness -engulfed me, such as I had never experienced. How long it lasted, I -do not know, but at the time it seemed like months and years. - -Perhaps, had I been forced to go on deck and work aloft, and eat -coarse sea-food, and meet my sickness like a man, I might have -thrown it off in short order and have got my sea-legs as soon as -another. But coming on board as the owner's nephew, with a stateroom -at my command, I lay and suffered untold wretchedness, now thinking -that I was getting better, now relapsing into agonies that seemed to -me ten times worse than before. Uncle Seth himself, I believe, was -almost as badly off, and Arnold Lamont and Willie MacDougald had a -time of it tending us. Even Arnold suffered a touch of sickness at -first; but recovering from it promptly, he took Uncle Seth and me -in his charge and set Willie jumping to attend our wants, which he -did with a comical alacrity that under other circumstances would -mightily have amused me. - -I took what satisfaction I could in being able to come on deck two -days before Uncle Seth would stir from his bunk; but even then I was -good for nothing except to lie on a blanket that Arnold and Willie -spread for me, or to lean weakly against the rail. - -But now, as I watched the blue seas through which the keen bow of -the brig, a Baltimore craft of clipper lines, swiftly and smoothly -cut its course, the great white sails, with every seam drawn to a -taut, clean curve by the wind, the occasional glimpses of low land -to the west, and the succession of great clouds that swept across -the blue sky like rolling masses of molten silver, I fell to -thinking in a dull, bewildered way of all that we had left behind. - -How long would it be, I wondered, before someone would take charge -of the horses we had left on the wharf in Boston? I could imagine -the advertisement that would appear in the paper, and the questions -of the people, until news should come from Topham of all that had -happened. Who then, I wondered, would get the team? - -Well, all that was done with, and we were embarked on our great -adventure. What was to become of us, no human prophet could -foretell. - -Cornelius Gleazen, who years before had got over his last attack of -seasickness, welcomed me on deck, with rough good-nature; but -something in his manner told me that, from this time on, in his eyes -I was one of the crowd, no further from his favor, perhaps, than any -of the others, but certainly no nearer it. - -To me, so weak from my long sickness that I could scarcely stand -unaided, this came like a blow, even although I had completely lost -my admiration for the man. I had been so sure of his friendly -interest! So confident of my own superiority! As I thought of it, I -slowly came to see that his kindness and flattery had been but a -part of his deep and well-considered plan to work into the -confidence of my uncle; that since he had secured his hold upon Seth -Upham and all his worldly goods, I, vain, credulous youth, might, -for all he cared, sink or swim. - -"Well," he would say carelessly, "how's the lad this morning?" And -when I would reply from the depths of my misery, he would respond -briefly, as he strolled away, "Better pull yourself together. -There's work ahead for all hands." - -It was not in his words, you understand, that I found indication of -his changed attitude,--he was always a man of careless speech,--but -in his manner of saying them. The tilt of his head, and his trick of -not looking at me when he spoke and when I replied, told me as -plainly as direct speech could have done that, having gained -whatever ends he had sought by flattery, he cared not a straw -whether I came with him or followed my own inclinations to the -opposite end of the earth. - -So we sailed, south, until we entered the Straits of Florida. Now we -saw at a distance great scarlet birds flying in a row. Now schools -of porpoises played around us. Now a big crane, speckled brown and -white, alighted on our rigging. Now we passed green islands, now -sandy shoals where the sea rose into great waves and crashed down in -cauldrons of foam. And now we sighted land and learned that it was -Cuba. - -All this time I had constantly been gaining strength, and though -more than once we had passed through spells of rough weather, I had -had no return of seasickness. It was natural, therefore, that I -should take an increasing interest in all that went on around me. -With some of the sailors I established myself on friendly terms, -although others seemed to suspect me of attempting to patronize -them; and thanks to the tutelage of Captain North, I made myself -familiar with the duties of the crew and with the more common -evolutions of a sailing ship. But in all that voyage only one thing -came to my notice that gave any suggestion of what was before us, -and that suggestion was so vague that at the time I did not suspect -how significant it was. - -In the first dog watch one afternoon, the carpenter, who had a good -voice and a good ear for music, got out his guitar and, after -strumming a few chords, began to sing a song so odd that I set my -mind on remembering it, and later wrote the words down: - - "Old King Mungo-Hungo-Ding - A barracoon he made, - And sold his blessed subjects to - A captain in the trade. - And when his subjects all were gone, - Oh, what did Mungo do? - He drove his wives and daughters in - And traded for them, too." - -He sang it to a queer tune that caught my feet and set them -twitching, and it was no surprise to see three or four sailors begin -to shuffle about the deck in time to the music. - -As the carpenter took up the chorus, they, too, began to sing softly -and to dance a kind of a hornpipe; but, I must confess, I was -surprised to hear someone behind me join in the singing under his -breath. The last time when I had heard that voice singing was in the -village church in Topham, and unless my memory serves me wrong, it -then had sung that good hymn:-- - - "No, I shall envy them no more, who grow profanely great; - Though they increase their golden store, and shine in robes of state." - -It was Cornelius Gleazen, who, it appeared, knew both words and tune -of the carpenter's song:-- - - "Tally on the braces! Heave and haul in time! - Four and twenty niggers and all of them was prime! - Old King Mungo's daughters, they bought our lasses rings. - Heave now! Pull now! They never married kings." - -They sang on and on to the strumming of the guitar, while all the -rest stood around and watched them; and when they had finished the -song, which told how King Mungo, when he had sold his family as well -as his subjects, made a raid upon his neighbors and was captured in -his turn and, very justly, was himself sold as a slave, Cornelius -Gleazen cried loudly, "_Encore! Encore!_" and clapped his hands, -until the carpenter, with a droll look in his direction, again began -to strum his guitar and sang the song all over. - -As I have said, at the time I attributed little significance to -Cornelius Gleazen's enthusiasm for the song or to the look that the -carpenter gave him. But when I saw Captain North staring from one to -the other and realized that he had seen and heard only what I had, I -wondered why he wore so queer an expression, and why, for some time -to come, he was so grave and stiff in his dealings with both Gleazen -and Uncle Seth. Nor did it further enlighten me to see that Arnold -Lamont and Captain North exchanged significant glances. - -So at last we came to the mouth of Havana harbor, and you can be -sure that when, after lying off the castle all night, we set our -Jack at the main as signal for a pilot, and passed through the -narrow strait between Moro Castle and the great battery of La -Punta, and came to anchor in the vast and beautiful port where a -thousand ships of war might have lain, I was all eyes for my first -near view of a foreign city. - -On every side were small boats plying back and forth, some laden -with freight of every description, from fresh fruit to nondescript, -dingy bales, others carrying only one or two passengers or a single -oarsman. There were scores of ships, some full of stir and activity -getting up anchor and making sail, others seeming half asleep as -they lay with only a drowsy anchor watch. On shore, besides the -grand buildings and green avenues and long fortifications, I could -catch here and there glimpses of curious two-wheeled vehicles, of -men and women with bundles on their heads, of countless negroes -lolling about on one errand or another, and, here and there, of men -on horseback. I longed to hurry ashore, and when I saw Uncle Seth -and Neil Gleazen deep in conversation, I had great hopes that I -should accomplish my desire. But something at that moment put an end -for the time being to all such thoughts. - -Among the boats that were plying back and forth I saw one that -attracted my attention by her peculiar manoeuvres. A negro was -rowing her at the command of a big dark man, who leaned back in the -stern and looked sharply about from one side to the other. Now he -had gone beyond us, but instead of continuing, he came about and -drew nearer. - -He wore his hair in a pig-tail, an old fashion that not many men -continued to observe, and on several fingers he wore broad gold -rings. His face was seamed and scarred. There were deep cuts on -cheek and chin, which might have been either scars or natural -wrinkles, and across his forehead and down one cheek were two white -lines that must have been torn in the first place by some weapon or -missile. His hands were big and broad and powerful, and there was a -grimly determined air in the set of his head and the thin line of -his mouth that made me think of him as a man I should not like to -meet alone in the dark. - -From the top of his round head to the soles of his feet, his whole -body gave an impression of great physical strength. His jaws and -chin were square and massive; his bull neck sloped down to great -broad shoulders, and his deep chest made his long, heavy arms seem -to hang away from his body. As he lay there in the stern of the -boat, with every muscle relaxed, yet with great swelling masses -standing out under his skin all over him, I thought to myself that -never in all my life had I seen so powerful a man. - -Now he leaned forward and murmured something to the negro, who with -a stroke of his oars deftly brought the boat under the stern of the -Adventure and held her there. Then the man, smiling slightly, amazed -me by calling in a voice so soft and gentle and low that it seemed -almost effeminate: "Neil Gleazen! Neil Gleazen!" - -The effect on Cornelius Gleazen was startling almost beyond words. -Springing up and staring from one side to the other as if he could -not believe his ears, he roared furiously: "By the Holy! Molly -Matterson, where are you?" - -Then the huge bull of a man, speaking in that same low, gentle -voice, said; "So you know me, Neil?" - -"Know you? I'd know your voice from Pongo River to Penzance," -Gleazen replied, whirling about and leaning far over the taffrail. - -The big man laughed so lightly that his voice seemed almost to -tinkle. "You're eager, Neil," he said. Then he glanced at me and -spoke again in a language that I could not understand. At the time I -had no idea what it was, but since then I have come to know -well--too well--that it was Spanish. - -And all the time my uncle stood by with a curiously wistful -expression. It was as if he felt himself barred from their council; -as if he longed to be one of them, hand in glove, and yet felt that -there was between him and them a gap that he could not quite bridge; -as if with his whole heart he had given himself and everything that -was his, as indeed he had, only to receive a cold welcome. -Remembering how haughtily Uncle Seth himself had but a little while -ago regarded the good people of Topham, how seldom he had expressed -even the very deep affection in which he held me, his only sister's -only son, I marveled at the simple, frank eagerness with which he -now watched those two; and since anyone could see that of him they -were thinking lightly, if at all, I felt for him a pang of sympathy. - -For a while the two talked together. Now they glanced at me, now at -the others. I am confident that they told no secrets, for of course -there was always the chance that some of us might speak the tongue, -too. But that they talked more freely than they would have talked in -English, I was very confident. - -At last Gleazen said, "Come aboard at all events." - -Instead of going around to the chains, the big man whom Gleazen had -hailed as Molly Matterson stood up in the boat, crouched slightly, -and leaping straight into the air, caught the taffrail with one -hand. Gracefully, easily, he lifted himself by that one hand to the -rail, placed his other hand upon it, where his gold rings gleamed -dully, and lightly vaulted to the deck. - -I now saw better what a huge man he was, for he towered above us -all, even Neil Gleazen, and he seemed almost as broad across the -chest as any two of us. - -He gently shook hands with Uncle Seth and Captain North, to whom -Gleazen introduced him, again glanced curiously at the rest of us, -and then stepped apart with Gleazen and Uncle Seth. I could hear -only a little of what they said, and the little that I did hear was -concerned with unfamiliar names and mysterious things. - -I saw Arnold Lamont watching them, too, and remembering how they had -talked in a strange language, I wished that Arnold might have -appeared to know what they had been saying. Well as I thought I knew -Arnold, it never occurred to me that he might have known and, for -reasons of his own, have held his tongue. - -Of one thing I was convinced, however; the strange talk that was now -going on was no such puzzle to Captain Gideon North as to me. The -more he listened, the more his lips twitched and the more his frown -deepened. It was queer, I thought, that he should appear to be so -quick-tempered as to show impatience because he was not taken into -their counsel. He had seemed so honest and fair-minded and generous -that I had not suspected him of any such pettiness. - -Presently Gleazen turned about and said loudly, "Captain North, we -are going below to have a glass of wine together. Will you come?" - -The captain hesitated, frowned, and then, as if he had suddenly made -up his mind that he might as well have things over soon as late, -stalked toward the companionway. - -Twenty minutes afterward, to the amazement of every man on deck, he -came stamping up again, red with anger, followed by Willie -MacDougald, who was staggering under the weight of his bag. Ordering -a boat launched, he turned to Uncle Seth, who had followed him and -stood behind him with a blank, dismayed look. - -"Mr. Upham," he said, "I am sorry to leave your vessel like this, -but I will not, sir, I will not remain in command of any craft -afloat, be she coasting brig or ship-of-the-line, where the owner's -friends are suffered to treat me thus. Willie, drop my bag into the -boat." - -And with that, red-faced and breathing hard, he left the Adventure -and gave angry orders to the men in the boat, who rowed him ashore. -But it was not the last that we were to see of Gideon North. - -[Illustration] - - - - -III - -A LOW LAND IN THE EAST - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER X - -MATTERSON - - -"And who," I wondered, as I turned from watching Gideon North go out -of sight between the buildings that lined the harbor side, "who will -now command the Adventure?" - -You would have expected the captain's departure to make a great stir -in a vessel; yet scarcely a person forward knew what was going on, -and aft only Seth Upham and Willie MacDougald, besides myself, were -seeing him off. Uncle Seth still stood in the companionway with that -blank, dazed expression; but Willie MacDougald scratched his head -and looked now at me and now at Uncle Seth, as if whatever had -happened below had frightened him mightily. The picture of their -bewilderment was so funny that I could have burst out laughing; and -yet, so obviously was there much behind it which did not appear on -the surface, that I was really more apprehensive than amused. - -When Uncle Seth suddenly turned and disappeared down the -companionway, and when Willie MacDougald with an inquisitive glance -at me darted over to the companion-hatch and stood there with his -head cocked bird-like on one side to catch any sound that might -issue from the cabin, I boldly followed my uncle. - -The brig was riding almost without motion at her anchorage, and all -on deck was so quiet that we could hear across the silent harbor the -rattle of blocks in a distant ship, the voice of a bos'n driving his -men to greater effort, and from the distant city innumerable street -cries. In the cabin, too, as I descended to it, everything was very -still. When I came to the door, I saw my uncle standing at one side -of the big, round table on which a chart lay. Opposite him sat Neil -Gleazen, and on his right that huge man with the light voice, Molly -Matterson. - -None of them so much as glanced at me when I appeared in the door; -but I saw at once that, although they were saying nothing, they were -thinking deeply and angrily. The intensity with which they glared, -the two now staring hard at Seth Upham and now at each other, my -uncle looking first at Matterson, then at Gleazen, and then at -Matterson again, so completely absorbed my interest, that I think -nothing short of a broadside fired by a man-of-war could have -distracted my attention. - -I heard the steps creak as Willie MacDougald now came on tiptoe part -way down the companion. I heard the heavy breathing of the men in -the cabin. Then, far across the harbor, I heard the great voice of a -chantey man singing while the crew heaved at the windlass. And still -the three men glared in silence at one another. It was Matterson who -broke the spell, when in his almost girlish voice he said; "He don't -seem to like me as captain of his vessel, Neil." - -"You old whited sepulchre," Neil Gleazen cried, speaking not to -Matterson, but to my uncle; "just because you've got money at stake -is no reason to think you know a sailor-man when you see one. Why, -Matterson, here, could give Gideon North a king's cruiser and -outsail him in a Gloucester pinkie." - -My uncle swallowed hard and laughed a little wildly. "If you hadn't -got yourself run out of town, Neil Gleazen, and had to leave your -chests with all that's in them behind you, you might have had money -to put in this vessel yourself. As it is, the brig's mine and I -swear I'll have a voice in saying who's to be her master." - -"A voice you shall have," Gleazen retorted, while the bull-necked -Matterson broadly grinned at the squabble; "a voice you shall have, -but you're only one of five good men, Seth, only one, and a good -long way from being the best of 'em, and your voice is just one vote -in five. Now I, here, vote for Molly and, Molly, here, votes for -himself, and there ain't no need of thinking who the others would -vote for. We've outvoted you already." - -Uncle Seth turned from red to white and from white to red. "Let it -be one vote to four, then. Though it's only one to four, my vote is -better than all the rest. The brig's mine. I swear, if you try to -override me so, I'll put her in the hands of the law. And if these -cursed Spaniards will not do me justice,--" again he laughed a -little wildly,--"there's an American frigate in port and we'll see -what her officers will say." - -"Ah," said Gleazen, gently, "we'll see what we shall see. But you -mark what I'm going to tell you, Seth Upham, mark it and mull it -over: I'm a ruined man; there's a price on _my_ head, I know. But -they'll never take me, because I've friends ashore,--eh, Molly? You -can do _me_ no harm by going to the captain of any frigate you -please. _But_--_But_--let me tell you this, Seth Upham: when you've -called in help and got this brig away from your friends what have -given you a chance to better yourself, news is going to come to the -captain of that ship about all them churches you and me used to -rob together when we was lads in Topham. Aye, Seth, and about one -thing and another that will interest the captain. And supposing -he don't clap you into irons and leave you there to cool your -heels,--supposing he don't, mind you,--which he probably will, to -get the reward that folks will be offering when I've told what I -shall tell,--supposing you come back to Topham from which you run -away with that desperate villain, Neil Gleazen,--supposing, which -ain't likely, that's what happens, you'll find when you get there -that news has come before you. You old fool, unless you and me holds -together like the old friends which we used to be, you'll find -yourself a broken man with the jail doors open and waiting for you. -I know what I know, and you know what I know, but as long as I keep -my mouth shut nobody else is going to know. _As long as I keep my -mouth shut, mind you._ - -"Now I votes for Molly Matterson as captain; and let me tell you, -Seth Upham, you'd better be reasonable and come along like you and -me owned this brig together, which by rights we do, seeing that I've -put in the brains as my share. It ain't fitting to talk of _your_ -owning her outright." - -Uncle Seth, I could see, was baffled and bewildered and hurt. With -an irresolute glance at me, which seemed to express his confusion -plainer than words, he nervously twitched his fingers and at last in -a low, hurried voice said: "That's all talk, and talk's -cheap--unless it's money talking. Now if you hadn't made a fool of -yourself and had to run away and leave your chests and money behind -you, you'd have a right to talk." - -Gleazen suddenly threw back his head and roared with laughter. - -"Them chests!" he bellowed. "Oh, them chests!" - -"Well," Uncle Seth cried, wrinkling his face till his nose seemed to -be the centre of a spider's web, "well, why not? What's so cursedly -funny about them chests?" - -"Oh, ho ho!" Gleazen roared. "Them chests! Money! There warn't no -money in them chests--not a red round copper." - -"But what--but why--" Uncle Seth's face, always quick to express -every emotion, smoothed out until it was as blank with amazement as -before it had been wrinkled with petulance. - -"You silly fool," Gleazen thundered,--no other word can express the -vigor of contempt and derision that his voice conveyed,--"do you -think that, if ever I had got a comfortable fortune safe to Topham, -I'd take to the sea and leave it there? Bah! Them chests was crammed -to the lid with toys and trinkets, which I've long since given to -the children. Them chests served their purpose well, Seth,--" again -he laughed, and we knew that he was laughing at my uncle and me, who -had believed all his great tales of vast wealth,--"and they'll do me -one more good turn when they show their empty sides to whomsoever -pulls 'em open in hope of finding gold." - -Matterson, looking from one to another, laughed with a ladylike -tinkle of his light voice, and Gleazen once more guffawed; but my -uncle sat weakly down and turned toward me his dazed face. - -He and I suddenly, for the first time, realized to the full what we -should of course have been stupid indeed not to have got inklings of -before: that Neil Gleazen had come home to Topham, an all but -penniless adventurer; that, instead of being a rich man who wished -to help my uncle and the rest of us to better ourselves, he had been -working on credulous Uncle Seth's cupidity to get from him the -wherewithal to reëstablish his own shattered fortunes. - -Of the pair of us, I was the less amazed. Although I had by no means -guessed all that Gleazen now revealed, I had nevertheless been more -suspicious than my uncle of the true state of the chests that -Gleazen had so willingly abandoned at the inn. - -"Come," said Matterson, lightly, "let's be friends, Upham. I'm no -ogre. I can sail your vessel. You'll see the crew work as not many -crews know how to work--and yet I'll not drive 'em hard, either. I -make one flogging go a long way, Upham. Here's my hand on it. Nor do -I want to be greedy. Say the word and I'll be mate, not skipper. -Find your own skipper." - -My uncle looked from one to the other. He was still dazed and -disconcerted. We lacked a mate because circumstances had forced us -to sail at little more than a moment's notice, with only Mr. -Severance as second officer. It was manifest that the two regarded -my uncle with good-humored contempt, that he was not in the least -necessary to their plans, yet that with something of the same clumsy -tolerance with which a great, confident dog regards an annoying -terrier, they were entirely willing to forgive his petulant -outbursts, provided always that he did not too long persist in them. -What could the poor man do? He accepted Matterson's proffered hand, -failed to restrain a cry when the mighty fist squeezed his fingers -until the bones crackled, and weakly settled back in his chair, -while Gleazen again laughed. - -When he and Gleazen faced about with hostile glances, I turned away, -carrying with me the knowledge that Matterson was to go to Africa -with the Adventure in one capacity, if not in another, and left the -three in the cabin. - -In the companionway I all but stumbled over Willie MacDougald, who -was such a comical little fellow, with his great round eyes and -freckled face and big ears, which stood out from his head like a -pair of fans, that I was amused by what I assumed to be merely his -lively curiosity. But late that same night I found occasion to -suspect that it was more than mere curiosity, and of that I shall -presently speak again. - -There were, it seemed to me, when I came up on the quarter-deck of -the Adventure, a thousand strange sights to be seen, and in my -eager desire to miss none of them I almost, _but never quite_, -forgot what had been going on below. - -When at last Seth Upham emerged alone from the companion head, he -came and stood beside me without a word, and, like me, fell to -watching the flags of many nations that were flying in the harbor, -the city on its flat, low plain, the softly green hills opposite us, -and the great fortifications that from the entrance to the harbor -and from the distant hilltops guarded town and port. After a while, -he began to pace back and forth across the quarter-deck. His head -was bent forward as he walked and there was an unhappy look in his -eyes. - -I could see that various of the men were watching him; but he gave -no sign of knowing it, and I truly think he was entirely unconscious -of what went on around him. Back and forth he paced, and back and -forth, buried always deep in thought; and though several times I -became aware that he had fixed his eyes upon me, never was I able to -look up quickly enough to meet them squarely, nor had he a word to -say to me. Poor Uncle Seth! Had one who thought himself so shrewd -really fallen such an easy victim to a man whose character he ought -by rights to have known in every phase and trait? I left him still -pacing the deck when I went below to supper. - -Because of my long seasickness I had had comparatively few meals in -the cabin, and always before there had been the honest face of -Gideon North to serve me as a sea anchor, so to speak; but now even -Uncle Seth was absent, and as Arnold Lamont and I sat opposite -Matterson and Gleazen, with Uncle Seth's place standing empty at one -end of the table and the captain's place standing empty at the -other, I could think only of Gideon North going angrily over the -side, and of Uncle Seth pacing ceaselessly back and forth. - -Willie MacDougald slipped from place to place, laying and removing -dishes. Now he was replenishing the glasses,--Gleazen's with port -from a cut-glass decanter, Matterson's with gin from a queer old -blown-glass bottle with a tiny mouth,--now he was scurrying forward, -pursued by a volley of oaths, to get a new pepper for the grinder. -Gleazen, always an able man at his food, said little and ate much; -but Matterson showed us that he could both eat and talk, for he -consumed vast quantities of bread and meat, and all the while he -discoursed so interestingly on one thing and another that, in spite -of myself, I came fairly to hang upon his words. - -As in his incongruously effeminate voice he talked of men in foreign -ports, and strangely rigged ships, and all manner of hairbreadth -escapes, and described desperate fights that had occurred, he said, -not a hundred miles from where at that moment we sat, I could fairly -see the things he spoke of and hear the guns boom. He thrilled me by -tales of wild adventure on the African coast and both fascinated and -horrified me by stories of "the trade," as he called it. - -"Ah," he would say, so lightly that it was hard to believe that the -words actually came from that great bulk of a man, "I have seen them -marching the niggers down to the sea, single file through the -jungle, chained one to another. Men, women and children, all -marching along down to the barracoons, there's a sight for you! -Chained hand and foot they are, too, and horribly afraid until -they're stuffed with rice and meat, and see that naught but good's -intended. They're cheery, then, aye, cheery's the word." - -"Hm!" Gleazen grunted. - -"Aye, it's a grand sight to see 'em clap their hands and sing and -gobble down the good stews and the rice. They're better off than -ever they were before, and it don't take 'em long to learn that." - -Matterson cast a sidelong glance at me as he leaned back and sipped -his gin, and Gleazen grunted again. Gleazen, too, I perceived, was -singularly interested in seeing how I took their talk. - -What they were really driving at, I had no clear idea; but I soon -saw that Arnold Lamont, more keenly than I, had detected the purpose -of Matterson's stories. - -"That," said he, slowly and precisely, "is very interesting. Has Mr. -Gleazen likewise engaged in the slave trade?" - -There was something in his voice that caused the two of them to -exchange quick glances. - -Gleazen looked hard at his wine glass and made no answer; but -Matterson, with a genial smile, replied: "Oh, I said nothing of -engaging in the slave trade. I was just telling of sights I've seen -in Africa, and I've no doubt at all that Mr. Gleazen has seen the -same sights, and merrier ones." - -"It is a wonderful thing," Arnold went on, in a grave voice, "to -travel and see the world and know strange peoples. I have often -wished that I could do so. Now I think that my wish is to be -gratified." - -As before, there was something strangely suggestive in his voice. I -puzzled over it and made nothing of it, yet I could no more ignore -it than could Matterson and Gleazen, who again exchanged glances. - -When Matterson muttered a word or two in Spanish and Gleazen replied -in the same language, I looked hard at Arnold to see if he -understood. - -His expression gave no indication that he did, but I could not -forget the words he had used long ago in Topham before ever I had -suspected Neil Gleazen of being a whit other than he seemed. "A -man," Arnold had said, "does not tell all he knows." There was no -doubt in my mind that Arnold was a _man_ in every sense of the word. - -Again Gleazen and Matterson spoke in Spanish; then Matterson with a -warm smile turned to us and said, "Will you have a glass of wine, -lads? You, Arnold? No? And you, Joe? No?" He raised his eyebrows and -with a deprecatory gesture glanced once more at Gleazen. - -I thought of Uncle Seth still pacing the quarter-deck. I suddenly -realized that I was afraid of the two men who sat opposite -me--afraid to drink with them or even to continue to talk with them. -My fear passed as a mood changes; but in its place came the -determination that I would not drink with them or talk with them. -They were no friends of mine. I pushed back my chair, and, leaving -Arnold below, went on deck. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -NEW LIGHT ON AN OLD FRIEND - - -My uncle was still pacing back and forth when I came out into the -sunset; then, almost at once, the twilight had come and gone, and I -saw him as a deeper shadow moving up and down the deck, with only -the faint sound of his feet to convince me that my eyes saw truly. -The very monotony of his slow, even steps told me that there was no -companionship to be got from him, and at that moment more than -anything else I desired companionship. - -What I then did was for me a new step. Leaving the quarter-deck, I -went forward to the steerage and found Sim Muzzy smoking his pipe -with the sailmaker. - -"So it's you," he querulously said, when he recognized me, "Now -aren't you sorry you ever left Topham? If I had lost as much as you -have by Seth Upham's going into his second childhood, I vow I'd jump -overboard and be done with life. You're slow enough to look up your -old friends, seems to me." - -"But," said I, impatiently, "I've been like to die of seasickness. I -couldn't look you up then, and you never came near me." - -"Oh, that's all very well for you to say, but you know I couldn't -come aft without a trouncing from that Neil Gleazen--I'm sure I'd -like to see something awful happen to him to pay him for breaking up -the store!--and you've had plenty of time since. If I didn't show -more fondness for my friends than you do, I'd at least have the good -grace to stay away from them. You've used me very shabbily indeed, -Joe Woods, and I've got the spirit to resent it." - -The sailmaker, meanwhile, as if he were not listening with vast -interest to all that Sim had to say against me, looked absently away -and quietly smoked his pipe. But I imagined that I detected in his -eyes a glint of amusement at what he assumed to be my discomfiture, -and angered as much by that as by Sim's petulance, I turned my back -on the two and went on forward to the forecastle, where I found -Abraham Guptil, sprawled full length, in quiet conversation with two -shipmates. - -From Abe I got pleasanter greetings. - -"Here's Joe Woods," he cried, "one of the best friends Abe Guptil -ever had. You had a hard voyage, didn't you, Joe? I was sorry to -hear you were so bad off, I'd hoped to see more of you." - -I threw myself down beside Abe and fell to talking with him and the -others about affairs aft and forward, such as Captain North and his -quarrel with Seth Upham, and the meeting of Gleazen and Matterson, -and Sim Muzzy and his irritating garrulousness, and a score of -things that had happened among the crew. It was all so very friendly -and pleasant, that I was sorry to leave them and go back to my -stateroom, and I did so only when I was like to have fallen asleep -in spite of myself. But on the quarter-deck, when I passed, I saw -Seth Upham still pacing back and forth. He must have known that it -was I, for I came close to him and spoke his name, yet he completely -ignored my presence. - -How long he kept it up, I do not know; looking over my shoulder, I -saw last, as I went down the companionway, his stooped figure and -bowed head moving like a shadow back and forth, and back and forth. -Nor do I know just when my drowsy thoughts merged into dreams; but -it seems to me, as I look back upon that night, that my uncle's -bent figure silently pacing the deck haunted me until dawn. Only -when some noise waked me at daybreak, and I crept up the -companionway and found that he was no longer there, did I succeed in -escaping from the spell. - -Returning to our stateroom to dress, I came upon Arnold Lamont lying -wide awake. - -"Joe," said he, when I was pulling on my clothes, "I am surprised to -hear that Seth Upham ever believed Neil Gleazen to be aught but -penniless." - -I turned and looked at him. How could Arnold have learned of the -quarrel between Uncle Seth and Gleazen and Matterson, which only I -had witnessed? Or, if he had not learned of the quarrel and what -transpired in the course of it, where had he heard the story of -Gleazen's empty chests? - -Perceiving my amazement, he smiled. "I know many things that happen -on board this vessel, Joe," he said. - -"How much," I demanded, "do you know about what happened yesterday?" - -"Everything," said he. - -"But how?" I cried. I was at my wit's end with curiosity. - -"Listen!" - -I heard a quick step. - -"Joe," he whispered, "you must never tell. Crawl under your blankets -and cover your head so no one can see that you are there." - -More puzzled, even, than before, I complied. Whatever Arnold had up -his sleeve, I was convinced that he was not merely making game of -me; and, in truth, I had no sooner concealed myself in my tumbled -berth, which was so deep that this was not hard to do, than a gentle -tap sounded on the door. - -"Come in," Arnold said in a low voice. - -The door then opened and I heard hesitant steps. - -"Well?" Arnold said, when I had heard the latch of the door click -shut again. - -"If you please, sir," said a piping little voice, which I knew could -come from only Willie MacDougald, "if you please, sir, they were -laughing hearty at Mr. Upham most of the morning." - -"Yes?" - -"Yes, sir, and they said it was a shame for him to ruin his -complexion by a-walking all night." - -"What else?" - -"Yes, sir, and he was asleep all morning--at least, sir, he was in -his berth, but I heard him groaning, sir." - -"Anything else?" - -"Yes, sir. They didn't seem to like the way you and Joe Woods acted -about their stories of trading niggers, and they said--" - -"Ha!" That Arnold rose suddenly, I knew by the creaking of his bunk. - -"And they said, sir--" Willie's voice fell as if he were afraid to -go on. - -"Yes?" - -"And they said--" - -"Yes, yes! Come, speak out." - -"And they said--" again Willie hesitated, then he continued with a -rush, but in a mere whisper--"that they was going to get rid of you -two." - -For a long time there was silence, then Arnold asked in the same low -voice, "Have they laid their plans?" - -"They was talking of one thing and another, sir, but in such a way -that I couldn't hear." - -Again a long silence followed, which Willie MacDougald broke by -saying, "Please, sir, it was to-day you was to pay me." - -"Ah, yes." - -I heard a clinking sound as if money were changing hands; then -Willie MacDougald said, "Thank you, sir," and turned the latch. - -As he left the stateroom I could not forbear from sticking my head -out of the blankets to look after him. He was so small, so young, -seemingly so innocent! Yet for all his innocence and high voice and -respectful phrases, he had revealed a devilish spirit of hard -bargaining by the tone and manner, if not the words, with which he -demanded his pay; and I was confounded when, as I looked after him, -he turned, met my eyes, and instead of being disconcerted, gave me a -bold, impudent grimace. - -"He is a little devil," Arnold said with a smile. - -"Do you believe what he tells you?" - -"Yes, he does not dare lie to me." - -"But," said I, "what of his story that they intend to get rid of -us?" - -Arnold smiled again. "I shall put it to good use." - -It was evident enough now where Arnold had learned of the quarrel; -and as I noted anew his level, fearless gaze, his clear eyes, and -his erect, commanding carriage, I again recalled his words,--who -could forget them?--"A man does not tell all he knows." More and -more I was coming to realize how little we of Topham had known the -manner of man that this Frenchman truly was. - -It was with a paradoxical sense of security, a new confidence in my -old friend, that I accompanied Arnold to breakfast in the great -cabin, where two vacant places and three plates still laid showed -that Gleazen and Matterson had long since come and gone, and that -Seth Upham was still keeping aloof in his own quarters. But little -Willie MacDougald, appearing as ever a picture of childish -innocence, assiduously waited on us; and before we were through, -Matterson came below, flung his great body into a chair and, calling -for gin, settled himself for a friendly chat. - -"Yes, lads," he said in his oddly light voice, "I've decided to cast -my lot with you. I'm going to ship as mate. Not that I feel I -ought,--I really scarce can afford the time for a voyage now,--but -Neil Gleazen and Seth Upham wouldn't hear to my not going." - -He broadly grinned at me, for he knew well that I had heard every -word that passed between the three the day before. - -"Well, lads," he went on, "it's a great country we're going to, and -there's great adventures ahead. Yes,--" he spoke now with a sort of -humorous significance, as if he were playing boldly with an idea and -enjoying it simply because he was confident that we could not detect -what lay behind it,--"Yes, there's great adventures ahead. It's -queer, but even here in Cuba a young man never knows what's going to -overtake him next. I've seen young fellows, with their plans all -laid, switched sudden to quite another set of plans that no one, no, -sir, not no one ever thought they'd tumble into. It's mysterious. -Yes, sir, mysterious it is." - -That there was a double meaning behind all this talk, I had no doubt -whatever, and it irritated me that he should tease us as if we were -little children; but I could make no particular sense of what he -said, except so far as Willie MacDougald's tale served to indicate -that it was a threat; and Arnold Lamont, apparently not a whit -disturbed, continued his meal with great composure and, whatever he -may have thought, gave no sign to enlighten me. - -We had so little to say to Matterson in reply, that he soon left us, -and for another day we sat idle on deck or amused ourselves as best -we could, The crew had numberless duties to perform, such as -painting and caulking and working on the rigging. Arnold Lamont and -Sim Muzzy got out the chessmen and played for hours, while Matterson -watched them with an interest so intent that I suspected him of -being himself a chess-player; and Gleazen and Uncle Seth -intermittently played at cards. So the day passed, until in the -early evening a boat hailed us, and a sailor came aboard and said -that Captain Jones of the Merry Jack and Eleanor sent his -compliments to Mr. Upham and Mr. Gleazen and would be glad to have -all the gentlemen come visiting and share a bowl of punch, at making -which his steward had an excellent hand. - -My uncle seized upon the invitation with alacrity, for it seemed -that he had met Captain Jones in Havana two days since. He called to -Gleazen and Matterson, saying with something of his old sharp, -pompous manner that they certainly must come, too, and that he was -going also to bring Arnold, Sim, and me, at which, I perceived, the -two exchanged smiles. - -Sim came running aft, ready to complain at the slightest -provocation, but too pleased with the prospect of an outing to burst -forth on no grounds at all; Neil Gleazen and my uncle led the way -toward the quarter-boat in which we were to go; and Arnold followed -them. - -It did not escape me that both Gleazen and Matterson had held their -tongues since the sailor delivered his master's invitation, and -that, as they passed me, they exchanged nudges. I was all but -tempted into staying on board the Adventure. As I meditated on -Willie MacDougald's story, and Matterson's allusions,--how -significant they were, I could not know,--the silence of the two -alarmed me more than direct threats would have done. Why should -Gleazen and Matterson look at each other and smile when all the -rest--all, that is, except myself--were going down by the chains -ahead of them? Would they not, unless they had known more than we -about this Captain Jones and his ship, the Merry Jack and Eleanor, -have asked questions, or perhaps even have declined to go? - -Whatever my thoughts, I had no chance to express them; so over the -side I went, close after the rest, and down into the boat where the -sailors waited at their oars. To none of us did it occur that it was -in any way contrary to the usual etiquette to take Sim Muzzy with -us. Except that force of circumstances had placed him in the -steerage, his position aboard the Adventure was the same as Arnold's -and mine, or even Gleazen's, for that matter. - -Poor Sim! For once he forgot to complain and came with us as gayly -as the fly that walked into the spider's parlor. And yet I now hold -the opinion,--I was a long, long time in coming to it,--that after -all fate was very kind to Simeon Muzzy. - -He settled himself importantly in the boat and began to talk a blue -streak, as the saying is, about one thing and another, until I would -almost have tossed him overboard. Uncle Seth, too, frowned at him, -and the strange sailors smiled, and Gleazen and Matterson spoke -together in Spanish and laughed as if they shared a lively joke. But -Arnold Lamont leaned back and half closed his eyes and appeared to -hear nothing of what was going on. - -All the way to the Merry Jack and Eleanor, which lay about a quarter -of a mile from the Adventure, Gleazen and Matterson continued at -intervals to exchange remarks in Spanish; and although Uncle Seth -and Arnold Lamont completely ignored them, Sim, who by now had got -so used to foreign tongues that they no longer astonished and -confused him, took it hard that he could make nothing of what they -said and went into a lively tantrum about it, at which the strange -sailors chuckled as they rowed. - -Passing under the counter of the vessel, we continued to the -gangway; but just as we came about the stern, Arnold touched my hand -and by a motion so slight as to pass almost unnoticed drew my -attention to a man-of-war that lay perhaps a cable's length away. - -Under cover of the loud exchange of greetings and the bustle that -occurred when the others were going aboard, he whispered, "We are -safe for the time being. See! Yonder is a frigate. But either you or -I must stay on deck, and if there is aught of an outcry below, he -must call for help in such a way that there shall be no doubt of its -coming." - -"What do you mean?" I whispered. - -"Hush! They are watching us." - -As we followed the others, Arnold stopped by the bulwark and half -leaned, half fell, against it. - -"Pardon me, gentlemen," he said in that slow, precise voice, "For -the moment I am ill. It is a mere attack of dizziness, but I dare -not go below. I must stay in the open air. I beg you will pardon me. -I intend no rudeness." - -His face did look pale in the half-light, and the others, whatever -their suspicions may have been, said nothing to indicate that they -doubted him. When Captain Jones of the Merry Jack and Eleanor came -toward us a second time and again with oily courtesy asked us all to -the cabin, Gleazen and Matterson made excuses for Arnold, and the -rest of us went down into the gloomy space below and left him in the -gangway whence he could watch the hills, which were now dark against -the evening sky, and the black masts of the frigate, which stood by -like sentries guarding our lives and fortunes. - -There was a fetid, sickening odor about the ship, such as I had -never before experienced, and the cabin reeked of rum and tobacco. -The skipper had the face of a human brute, and the mate's right hand -was twisted all out of shape, as if some heavy weapon had once -smashed the bones of it. The more I looked about the dark, low -cabin, and the more I saw and heard of the skipper and his mate, the -more I wished I were on deck with Arnold. But the punch was brewed -in a colossal bowl and gave forth a fragrance of spices, and Sim -Muzzy drank with the rest, and for a while the five of them were as -jolly as the name of the ship would indicate. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -CAPTAIN NORTH AGAIN - - -First there was talk of old times, for it seemed that Matterson and -Gleazen and Captain Jones were friends of long standing. Then there -was talk of strange wars and battles, particularly of one battle of -Insamankow, of which neither Gleazen nor Matterson had had other -news than that which Captain Jones now gave them, and in which it -seemed that the British had met with great disaster, although it -puzzled me to know wherein such a battle even remotely concerned any -of us. After that there was talk of various other things--a -murderous plague of smallpox that years before had swept the African -coast, a war between the Fantis and Ashantis, a cruiser that they, -with oaths and laughter, said had struck her flag in battle with a -slaver, a year's journey with desert caravans that traded with the -Arabs, and last of all, and apparently most important, curious ways -of circumventing the laws of England and America and of bribing -Cuban officers of low degree and high. - -All this, in a stuffy little place where the mingled smells of rum -and spices and tobacco hung heavily on the air as they grew stale, -filled me with disgust and almost with nausea. Vile oaths slipped -out between each two sentences, if by rare chance they were not -woven into the very warp of the sentences themselves; such stories -of barbarous and unbelievable cruelty were told and retold as I -cannot bear to call to mind, to say nothing of repeating; and always -I was aware of that sickening odor, now strong, now weak, which I -had detected before we went below. - -The first sign that the others gave of noticing it was when Gleazen -threw back his head and cried, "Pfaw! What a stench! The smell is -all I have against the trade." - -Matterson laughed, and Captain Jones with his grand manner said, -"You have been too long away from it, Mr. Gleazen." - -"Too long? That's as may be. An old horse settles easy into harness -again." - -Captain Jones smiled. With apparent irrelevance, but with a -reminiscent air, he said; "Too long or no, it's a long time since -first we met,--a long, long time, and yet I remember as yesterday -what a night we had of it. It began when that blasted Frenchman -slipped his cables and sought to beat us up the river. It was you, -Gleazen, that saved us then. When your message came, with what haste -we landed the boats and towed the old brig straight up stream! Row? -We rowed like the devil, and though our palms peeled, we won the -race. It was a good cargo you had waiting, too. Only seven died in -the passage." - -In the passage! Already I had suspected, now I knew, that the ship -with her fast lines and cruel officers was none other than a slaver; -that the smell was the stench of a slave-ship; that in that very -cabin men had bartered for human beings. If I could, I would have -turned my back on them there and then; the repugnance that I had -long felt grew into downright loathing. What would I not have given -to be up and away with Arnold Lamont! But I was a mere stripling, -alone, so far as help was concerned, in a den of villains crueler -than wolves. Though I would eagerly have left them, I dared not; and -almost at once something happened that in any case would have held -me where I was. - -Gleazen leaned across the punch-bowl and said to Captain Jones; "Who -is there in port will make a good captain for a smart brig with a -neat bow, swift to sail and clever to work?" - -Captain Jones ran his fingers through his stiff, shaggy hair. "Now, -let me see," he replied, "there's a man--" - -Cutting him sharply off, my uncle spoke up, "Gentlemen, I will -choose the master of my own vessel." - -I knew by his voice that he, as well as I, was sickened by the -situation in which we found ourselves. Poor Uncle Seth, I thought, -how little did he suspect, when he united his fortune with the -golden dreams of Neil Gleazen, that he was to travel such a road as -this! - -"Ah!" said Gleazen. "And who will it be?" An unkind smile played -around his mouth. - -"Gideon North, if he will come back to us," said my uncle. - -"Ah!" Matterson, Gleazen, and Captain Jones exclaimed as if with one -breath. - -For a minute or so the three sat in silence, looking hard at the top -of the table; then Matterson with a queer twist of his lips spoke in -Spanish. When, after another silence, the captain of the Merry Jack -and Eleanor answered at length in the same tongue, Matterson -responded briefly, and all three men nodded. - -A quality so curiously and subtly dramatic pervaded the scene that I -remember thinking, as I looked about, what a rare theme it would -have made for a painter. I believe that a skillful artist, if he had -studied the faces of us all as we sat there, could have put our -characters on his canvas so faithfully that he would have been in -danger of paying for his honesty with his life, had Matterson or the -strange captain had a chance at him in the dark. The very place in -which we sat smelled of villainies, and the rat-like captain of the -ship was a fit master of such a den. - -Gleazen now turned to my uncle. "Very well," said he, with an -amused smile, "Joe, here, and Arnold Lamont are in good odor with -him. Suppose, then, that we let them go ashore and hunt him out and -talk matters over. I've no doubt he'll come back. He went off in a -tantrum, as a man will when he takes pepper up his nose. You must -know where the fellow's staying. You were to send him the money due -him. Captain Jones will lend them one of his boats for now, and I'll -have our boat ready to take them all off together in, say, three -hours' time." - -As I have said in an earlier chapter of this narrative, by -inclination I was a dreamer; and yet I must have been more than a -mere dreamer, and worse, not to have scented by those dark looks and -cryptic words some trouble or other afoot. It was as if for a long -time I had seen the three to be united definitely against us, but as -if I now for the first time perceived what a desperately black and -sinful alliance they made--it was as if the spectacle struck me into -a daze. When Gleazen finished, the other two again nodded, and in -the very manner of their nods there was something as cold and -deliberate as a snake's eye. Had I been able to rely upon the -impressions of the moment, I should have said that time stood as -still as the sun upon Gibeon; that for many minutes we stared at one -another in mutual suspicion; that the beating of my heart had all -but ceased. But the impressions of the moment deceived me. - -When Gleazen stopped speaking, he hit with his elbow the ink-bottle -that stood on the table. It tipped on its side, rolled deliberately -across the table, and fell; but before it struck the floor, -Matterson, leaning out with a swift, dexterous motion, caught it, -tried the stopper, and murmured as if to himself, "There's luck for -you! Not a drop is lost." In the time it had taken that bottle to -roll across the table, and not a second more, I had suffered that -untold suspense. - -Now the spell was shattered, and hearing someone speaking in an -undertone behind me, I turned and caught Captain Jones in the act of -giving instructions _in Spanish_ to his negro steward. - -I was surprised and angry. Though of late I had heard much Spanish, -it seemed to me that to speak it under the circumstances was so rude -as to verge on open affront. Then Uncle Seth, gulping down his -astonishment that Gleazen should so readily accede to his wishes, -spoke up for himself; and because I was so deeply interested in -whatever he might have to say, I turned my back on the mungo, ceased -to watch Captain Jones, and did not notice that the steward went -immediately on deck. Nor did I attribute any significance to the -sound of oars bumping against the pins, which I soon afterwards -heard. Had not Arnold Lamont been waiting on deck with his eyes -fixed apparently on the dark outline of the frigate, my stupidity -must have cost us even more than it did. - -"Very well," said Uncle Seth. "I will do as you suggest." - -"Perhaps," said Gleazen, thoughtfully, "Sim Muzzy, here, would like -to go." - -"Oh, yes," cried Sim, "I'm fair dying for a trip on dry land. Yes, -indeed, I'd like to go. I'd like it mightily. You've always said, -Mr. Gleazen, I was too thick to do harm. Oh, yes indeed!" - -Matterson smiled and Captain Jones covered his mouth with his hand, -but Gleazen gravely nodded. - -"Well, Sim, go you shall," said he. "There ain't one of us here but -is glad to see an honest man take his fling ashore, and Havana's a -city for you. Such handsome women as ride about in their carriages! -And such sights as you'll see in the streets! You'll be a wiser man -e'er you come back to us, Sim. I swear, I'd like to go myself,--but -not to-night! I ain't one to neglect business for pleasure." - -When he shot a glance at Matterson and Captain Jones, my eyes -followed his, and I saw that once more they had fixed their gaze on -the top of the table. Now I was actually unable, so baffling had -been their change of front, to make up my mind whether they were to -be suspected or to be trusted. - -"Well," said Gleazen, "we are all agreed. Lay down your orders, -Seth. They'll carry them out to the last letter." - -So Uncle Seth told me where to find Gideon North, and Neil Gleazen -wrote it on a paper,--_in Spanish_, mind you!--and they put their -heads together, every one, to think up such arguments as would -induce Captain North to return, all with an appearance of enthusiasm -that amazed me and might easily have put my suspicions to shame but -for those other things that had happened. - -"I'll be civil to him," Gleazen cried. "And you can tell him, too, -that this is an _honest voyage_. We're to run no race with the -king's cruisers, Joe." - -"Aye," Captain Jones put in, "an able vessel and an honest voyage." - -"With a mountain of treasure to be got," added Matterson. - -The three spoke so gravely and straightforwardly now, that I -wondered at their insolence; and as Sim and I got up to go, not yet -quite believing that in reality, and not in a dream, we were being -dispatched into the heart of that strange city, they accompanied us -on deck and told Arnold Lamont that he was to go with us on our -errand, and saw us safely started in the long boat of the Merry Jack -and Eleanor before returning to their punch. - -I could see that Arnold had no liking for the mission, but while we -were in the boat he gave me no explanation of his uneasiness. -Indeed, Sim Muzzy talked so much and so fast that, when he once got -started, you could scarcely have thrust the point of a needle into -his monologue. - -"She's a slaver," he murmured as we pulled away from the Merry Jack -and Eleanor. "A cruel-hearted slaver! Thank heaven, we're never to -have a hand in any such iniquity as that." - -We looked back at the ship, black and gloomy against the sky, with -many men moving about on her deck. - -"You're a silly fool," one of the oarsmen cried, having overheard -him, "a man without stomach, heart, or good red blood." - -"Stomach, is it?" Sim retorted. "I'll have you know I eat my three -hearty meals a day and they set well too. I can eat as much victuals -as the next man. Why--" And there was no stopping him till the boat -bumped against a wharf and we three stepped out. - -The boat, I noticed, instead of putting back to the ship, waited by -the wharf. - -I turned and looked at the restless harbor, on which each light was -reflected as a long, tremulous finger of flame that reached almost -to my feet, at the sky, in which the stars were now shining, and at -the anchored ships, each with her own story, could one but have read -it; then I yielded to Sim's importunate call and in the darkness -turned after him and Arnold. What reason was there to suspect that -Simeon Muzzy and I stood at a crossroads where our paths divided? - -Coming to the street, we stopped, and in the light from an open -window put our heads together over the paper that Gleazen had -written out and given to us with instructions to show it to the -first person we met and turn where he pointed. - -"Why, it's all in foreigner's talk!" Sim exclaimed. - -"Let me see it," said Arnold. - -He looked at it a long time and smiled. "I wonder," he said, "do -they think we are so very simple?" - -Now a man came toward us. Before he could pass, Arnold stepped -suddenly forward and _addressed him in Spanish_. - -"Why," cried I, when the passerby had gone, "you, too--do you talk -Spanish?" - -Arnold turned to me with a smile and said, for the second time, "A -man does not tell all he knows." - -Thrusting the paper into his pocket, he continued, "According to the -directions that Mr. Gleazen has written down for our guidance, my -friends, we should turn to the right. But according to my personal -knowledge, which that man confirmed, we shall find Gideon North by -turning to the left." - -To the left, then, we turned; and only Arnold Lamont, who told me of -it afterward, saw one of the boatmen, when we had definitely taken -our course, leave the boat and run into the darkness in the -direction that Neil Gleazen wished to send us. - -Carriages passed us, and men on horseback, and negroes loitering -along the streets. There were bright lights in the windows; and we -saw ladies and their escorts riding in queer two-wheeled vehicles -that I later learned were called _volantes_. - -All was strange and bizarre and extraordinarily interesting. Never -did three men from a little country village in New England find -themselves in a more utterly foreign city. But although Sim and I -had our eyes open for every new sight, I was nevertheless aware that -Arnold was more alert than either of us, and twice he urged us to -keep our eyes and wits about us. - -Seeing nothing to fear, I inclined to smile at him. I now assumed -that I was the bolder and more sophisticated of the two of us. As -we tramped along in the darkness, I got over the sense of unreality -and felt as much at home in that alien city as if I had been back in -the familiar streets and lanes of Boston. - -Three times Arnold stopped to inquire the way; and the last time the -man of whom he asked directions pointed at a house not a hundred -yards distant and said, with a bow, "It is there, señor." - -That he spoke in English, which he had heard Sim and me use, so -surprised us that for the moment we were off our guard. I was -vaguely aware of hearing many feet trampling along, and afterwards I -realized that I had absently noticed the rumble of voices; but the -city was all so strange that I thought nothing of either the feet or -the voices, and gave all my attention to the stranger. He was -turning away, bowing and protesting his pleasure in serving us, when -Sim Muzzy said in a wondering tone, "Why, Arnold,--Joe,--how many -people there are hereabouts! Look there!" - -Arnold, turning as the poor fellow spoke, seized my arm. "_Mon -dieu!_" he gasped, startled into his native French. Then in English -he cried, "Quick, Joe! Quick! _Vite!_ Ha! Strike out, Sim, strike!" - -Around us there were indeed many men. They were approaching us from -ahead and behind. Suddenly, fiercely, three or four of them rushed -at us. - -From his belt Arnold drew a knife and thrust at a man who had caught -my collar. I lost no time in leaping free. - -Two of them, now, were upon Arnold, crying out in Spanish; but he -eluded them by a quick turn. - -I first saw him spring out of their reach, then an arm, flung round -my throat, cut my wind. As I throttled, I saw Arnold come charging -back again, knife in hand. The blade slashed past my ear so closely -that it cut the skin; something spurted over my neck and the back -of my head, and the arm that held me fell. - -Arnold, his hand on my shoulder, dragged me free. Stooping, he -picked up a stone and hurled it into the midst of our assailants, -eliciting a screech of pain and anger. When I bent to follow his -example, I saw a chance light flash on his knife-blade. But where, I -thought, is Sim? Then, somewhere in the crowd, I heard him choking -and gagging. My first impulse was to rush to his rescue, but -instantly I saw the folly of such a course, so greatly were we -outnumbered. For a moment Arnold and I held them off. Just behind us -was a street corner. As we darted toward it, one man dashed out from -the crowd, the rest followed, and a second time, with hoarse shouts, -they charged down upon us. They came in a solid phalanx, but we -rounded the corner and fled. At top speed we raced down the street -and round a second corner. Distancing them for the moment, but with -their yells ringing in our ears, we scrambled up over a wrought-iron -gate that gave us hold for fingers and feet, through a garden rich -with palms and statuary, over another gate and across still another -street. There we scaled one gate more, and throwing ourselves down -in some dense vines, lay quietly and got back our breath, while our -eluded pursuers raced and called on the street outside. - -The last thing I had heard as we ran was poor Sim Muzzy screaming -for help. - -"Who--wh-wh-o--wh-what--were th-they?" I gasped out. - -"I believe it to have been a press-gang," Arnold replied. He, too, -was gasping for breath, but he better controlled his voice. - -After a time he added, "Poor Sim! I fear that he is now on his way -into the service of the royal navy of Spain." - -"But," I returned, "they cannot hold an American citizen." - -"Lawfully," said he, "they cannot." - -"Then we'll soon have Sim out again." - -To this, he did not reply. He said merely, "You and I, Joe, must -keep it a secret between us that I speak their language." - -We lay a long time in the garden, with the stars shining above us -and yellow lights streaming out of the house, and I thought of how -skillfully Arnold Lamont had concealed his interest in what Gleazen -and Matterson had said in a language they thought none of us could -understand. But when the racing and shouting had gone, and come, and -gone again, and when we both were convinced that all danger was -past, we rose and stretched ourselves and went up to the house and -knocked. - -As the door swung open, a flood of light poured out into the garden; -but we saw only an old negro, who stood like a black shadow in our -way and assailed us with a broadside of angry Spanish. His gray head -shook with fury, I suppose at finding us in the garden, and he -spread his arms to keep us from entering the house. Behind him arose -a hubbub, and an angry white man came rushing out. When to his -fierce questions Arnold shot back prompt answers, his anger died, -and tolerance took its place, and finally a wave of cordiality swept -over his face. Stepping back he actually flung the door wide open -and with stately bows ushered us into the high-studded hall. Then -the negro went bustling down the passage and spoke in a low voice, -and I was amazed beyond measure to see Gideon North himself step out -of a lighted room. - -In our flight Arnold, shrewd, quick to think and to act, had led us -to the garden in the rear of the very house of which we had come in -search. - -"Well," said Captain North, when, after warm greetings and quick -explanations, we were seated together behind closed doors, "of all -that rascally crew in the cabin of the Adventure, you two are the -only ones I should be glad to see again. How in the name of -Beelzebub, prince of devils, did you light upon my lodging-house, -and what has brought you here?" - -Now Gleazen had suggested various arguments by which to bring -Captain North back to his command, and not the least of them was an -apology of a kind from himself; but they had all lacked sincerity, -and as I knew well enough that Gleazen really would be very sorry if -we should succeed in our errand, I had wisely determined to have -none of them. It is exceedingly doubtful, however, if I should have -dared to speak quite as plainly as did Arnold Lamont. - -"Sir," he said, "we have come on a strange errand. We ask you to -return to a ship where you have suffered indignities, to resume a -command that you have resigned under just provocation, to help a man -who, I fear, has forfeited every right to call upon you for help." - -"I'm no hand for riddles," said Gideon North. "Talk plain sea-talk." - -"Sir," said Arnold, "I ask you to come back as captain of the -Adventure, to save Seth Upham from his--friends." Arnold smiled -slightly. - -"Blast Upham and his friends!" - -"As you will. But that pair of leeches will get the blood from his -heart, and Joe Woods, his heir, will lose every penny of his -inheritance." - -"Upham should have thought of that before. Leave him alone. He lies -in the bed he made." - -"He, poor man, does not think of it now. Indeed, I fear he's beyond -saving." - -Gideon North got up and went to the barred windows that opened upon -the street. - -"What is this wild-goose chase?" he suddenly demanded. - -"Exactly what the object is I do not know," Arnold replied. "They -talk of a treasure, but they are fit to rule an empire of liars. -They are not, I believe, equipped for the slave trade, though of -that you are a better judge than I." - -Still Gideon North stood by the window. Without turning his head, he -remarked, "I wonder why _they_ want me back." - -"They?" At that Arnold laughed. "_They_ do not want you. Not they! -Seth Upham insisted against their every wish. We came to your door -with a press-gang at our heels. _They_ planned that Joe and I should -share Sim Muzzy's fate and never see you again--or them." - -Thereupon Captain North turned about. - -"I am interested," he said. "Aye, and tempted." - -He stood for a while musing on all he had heard; then he smiled in a -way that gave me confidence. - -"We are three honest men with one purpose," he said; "but Gleazen -and Matterson are a pair of double-dyed villains. I go into this -affair knowing that it is at the risk of my life, but so help me! -I'll take the plunge." - -After a pause he added, "You spend the night with me, lads, and we -will go on board together in the morning. That alone will give 'em a -pretty start, for I've no doubt they think already that they're well -rid of the three of us, and by sun-up they'll be sure of it. What's -more, we'll go armed, lads, knives in our belts and pistols in our -boots." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -ISSUES SHARPLY DRAWN - - -We breakfasted next morning with Gideon North, and discussed in -particular Gleazen and Matterson and in general affairs on board the -Adventure. It seemed ages ago that I had first seen Gleazen on the -porch of the old tavern in Topham. I told all I knew of how he had -come to town and had won the confidence of so many people, of how -the blacksmith alone had stood out against him, and of how that last -wild night had justified the blacksmith in every word that he had -uttered. - -Then Arnold Lamont took up the story and told of scores of things -that I had not perceived: little incidents that his keen eyes had -detected, such as secret greetings passed between Gleazen and men -with whom he pretended to have nothing whatever to do; chance -phrases that I, too, had overheard, but that only Arnold's native -shrewdness had translated aright; until I blushed with shame to -think how great had been my own vanity and conceit--I who thought I -had known so much, but really had known so little! - -Then Captain North in blunt language told of things that had -happened on board the Adventure, which made Uncle Seth out to be a -poor, helpless dupe, and ended by saying vigorously, "Seth Upham is -truly in a bad way, what with Gleazen and Matterson; and brave lads -though you are, you're not their kind. Unless you two were smarter -than human, they'd get you in the end, for they're cruel men, with -no regard for human life, and the odds are all in their favor; but -three of us in the cabin is quite another matter. We'll see what we -can do to turn the cat in the pan. - -"And now,"--he pushed his dishes away and set his elbows on the -table,--"now for facts to work upon. The pair of them are going to -Africa with a purpose. Am I not right?" - -The question required no answer, but Arnold and I both nodded. - -"A cargo's all well and good, and they've no objection to turning an -honest dollar, just because it's honest; but there's more than -honest dollars in this kettle of fish." - -Again we nodded. - -"Now, then, my lads, let me tell you this: when they've got what -they want in Africa, whatever it may be, when they've squeezed Seth -Upham's last dollar out of his wallet, when they no longer need -honest men on board to protect them from cruising men-o'-war, then, -lads, they're going to throw you and me to the sharks. As yet, it is -too soon to strike against them. The odds are in their favor still, -and as far as we're concerned there's no hope in Seth Upham, for -they've got him twirling on a spit. It is for us, lads, to go -through with them to the very end, to walk up and shake hands with -death and the devil if worst comes to worst, but to be ready always -to strike when the iron's hot,--aye, to strike till the sparks fly -white." - -So there we sealed our compact, Arnold Lamont and Gideon North and -I, with no vows and with scant assertions, but with a completeness -of understanding and accord that gave us, every one, unquestioning -confidence in each of our associates. The fate of poor Sim Muzzy, -which Arnold and I had so narrowly escaped, was still perilously -close at hand; and in returning to the brig, which Gideon North had -left in anger, we shared a common danger that bound our alliance -more firmly than any pledge would have bound it. - -Our breakfast eaten, we sorted over some pistols that Captain North -had ordered sent from a shop, and chose, each of us, a pair, for -which our host insisted on standing scot; then he paid the bill for -his lodgings, and, armed against whatever the future might bring, -and firmly resolved that Gleazen and Matterson should not beat us in -a matter of wits, we went into the street. - -The day was beautiful almost beyond belief, and the streets of -Havana were full of wonderful sights; but with the memory of poor -Sim's sad fate in mind, and with our hearts set on the long contest -that we must wage, we saw little of what went on around us. Followed -by two negroes, who between them carried Captain North's bag, we -boldly marched three abreast down through the city to the -harbor-side, where we hailed a boatman and hired him to take us out -to the brig. - -Coming up to the gangway, Captain North loudly called, "Ahoy there!" - -There was a rush to the side of the brig, and a dozen faces looked -down at us; but none of them were the faces that we most desired to -see. - -"Ho!" Captain North exclaimed, "they're not here. You there, pass a -line, and step lively. Two of you bear a hand to lift this bag on -board." - -At that moment we heard steps, and a newcomer appeared at the rail. -It was Cornelius Gleazen. As he stared at us without a word, he -appeared to be the most surprised man that ever I had seen. - -"Good-morning, Mr. Gleazen," Captain North called. "I've got your -messages and thank you kindly. I reciprocate all good wishes and I'm -sure when anyone comes out with a handsome apology, I'm no man to -bear a grudge. I resume command with no hard feelings. Good-morning, -sir." - -By that time he was on deck and advancing aft. - -I had already seen Cornelius Gleazen in some extraordinary -situations, and later I was to see him in certain situations beside -which the others paled to milk and water, but never at any other -time, from the moment when I first saw him on the porch at the -tavern until the day when we parted not to meet again this side of -Judgment, did I see Cornelius Gleazen affected in just the way that -he was affected then. - -He backed away from Captain North, replied loudly as if in greeting, -still backed away, and finally turned and went below, where -evidently he recovered his powers of speech, for up came my uncle -with Matterson at his heels. - -"Captain North," Uncle Seth cried, meeting him with right hand -outstretched, "I declare I'm glad you're back again, and I'm sure -that all will go well from this time on." - -There was real pathos in Uncle Seth's eagerness to secure the -friendship of the stout captain. In his straight-forward, confiding -manner there was no suggestion of his old sharpness and pompousness. -To see him looking from one of us to another, so frankly pleased -that we had returned, you could not have failed to know that he was -sincere, and if any of us had had the least suspicion that Seth -Upham had condoned the scheme to have us fall into the hands of the -press-gang, he lost it there and then forever. - -"But where," he cried, glancing down the deck, "where is Sim Muzzy?" - -Matterson came a step nearer. I saw some of the sailors look -curiously at one another. A stir ran along the deck. - -It was Gideon North who replied. "I am told," he said deliberately, -letting his eyes wander from face to face, "that he has fallen into -the clutches of a press-gang." - -"What!" - -"A press-gang. But of that, Lamont, here, can tell you better than -I." - -And Arnold, in his precise, subtly foreign way, told all that had -happened. - -Completely stunned, my poor uncle went to the rail and buried his -face in his hands. - -As for Matterson, he shook hands with Captain North and nodded at -the rest of us impartially. - -"I'm glad to see you back, sir," he said. "As you know, without -doubt, I've shipped as chief mate." - -"You've what?" Captain North thundered, looking up at the big man -before him. - -"Shipped as chief mate, sir." - -"Is this true?" the captain demanded, turning on Uncle Seth. - -"It is," my uncle replied like a man just waking. "Mr. Gleazen and I -talked it over--" - -Captain North interrupted him without ceremony. "Well," said he to -Matterson, "I've no doubt you'll make a competent officer." - -His abruptness left Matterson no excuse for replying; so, when the -captain went below, the chief mate stepped over to the rail. There, -frowning slightly now and then, he remained for a long time. It did -not take Arnold Lamont's intuition to perceive that he, as well as -Gleazen, was puzzled and disappointed by the way things had turned -out. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -LAND HO! - - -With Captain North back on board again, we felt great confidence for -the future; and while we remained in Havana there was no other -attempt, so far as I know, to do us harm. But there was that in the -wind which kept us always uneasy; and at no time after the night -when Sim Muzzy left us, never to return to the brig Adventure, did -we have a moment of complete security. - -Every one asked questions about poor Sim, and by the way the various -ones received our answers they indicated much of their own attitude -toward us. Abe Guptil was moved almost to tears, and most of the men -forward shook their heads sympathetically, although in my presence, -since I was not one of them, they said little. But Matterson would -smile with a certain unkind satisfaction, and Neil Gleazen would -laugh softly, and here and there some one or other of the men would -make sly jests or cast sidelong glances at Arnold and me. - -Of all the men on board, Seth Upham was conspicuously the most -disturbed; and as he gloomily paced the deck,--a practice he -continued even after Captain North had returned,--I heard him more -than once murmuring to himself, "Sim, Sim, O my poor Sim! Into what -a plight I have led you!" - -Arnold and I suggested in the cabin that we send out a searching -party to see what we could learn of Sim's fate, and Uncle Seth urged -it madly upon the others; but Gleazen and Matterson would hear -nothing of it, and even Gideon North told us frankly that he -regarded such measures as hopeless. - -"The man's gone and I'm sorry," he said; "but I honestly believe it -is useless for us to try to help him now." - -So, reluctantly, we dropped the matter, after reporting it both to -the local authorities and to our own consul; for however deeply we -distrusted Gleazen and Matterson, in Captain North we had implicit -faith. - -To prepare for the voyage, we took on board in the next few days -supplies of divers kinds, and though I had learned much by now of -the ways of life at sea, many of the things puzzled me. One day it -was a vast number of empty water-casks; another day, more than a -hundred barrels of farina; yet another day, a boatload of beans and -one of lumber. There were mysterious gatherings in the cabin from -which Arnold and I were excluded,--we could not fail to notice that -they took place when Captain North was ashore,--but to which gentry -with dingy wristbands and shiny faces were bid; and presently we saw -stowed away forward iron boilers and iron bars, a great box of iron -spoons, a heap of rusty shackles, and still puzzling, although -perhaps less so, a mighty store of gunpowder. - -All this occasioned a long argument between Arnold and Captain North -and myself, which fully enlightened me concerning the purpose of the -mysterious supplies. But reluctant though we were to take the goods -on board, there was nothing that we could do to stop it so long as -my uncle, under Gleazen's influence, insisted on it; for as owner of -the brig, and in that particular port where contraband trade played -so important a part, he could have had us even jailed, if necessary, -to carry his point. Our only way to serve him best in the end was to -stand by in silence and let the stores, such as they were, go into -the hold. - -All the time my uncle came and went in a silence so deep that, if I -had not now and then caught his eyes fixed upon me with a sadness -that revealed, more than words, how unhappy he was, I could scarcely -have believed that he was the same Seth Upham in whose house I had -lived so long. From a person of importance in his own town and a -leader among those of us who had set forth with him, he had fallen -to a place so shameful that I felt for him the deepest concern, and -for the precious villains that were thus dishonoring my mother's -brother, the deepest anger. - -"There are no pirates on the seas nowadays," I remarked one morning -to Neil Gleazen who stood beside me watching all that went -forward--and all the time I watched his face. "Why then should we -set out armed to fight a sloop-of-war? Or ship a pair of -small-swords on the cabin bulkhead?" - -"Trade and barter, Joe," he replied. "The niggers fairly tumble over -themselves to buy such tricks. There's money in it, Joe." Then he -laughed as if mightily pleased with himself. - -"But," I persisted, scarcely veiling my impatience, "you've said -more than once that trade is not the object of our voyage." - -"True, Joe." He lowered his voice. "But that's no reason to neglect -a chance to turn our money over. Ah, Joe, you're a good lad, and we -must have a bout with the foils some day soon. I'm sure we'll get -along well together, you and I." - -He smiled and clapped me on the shoulder; but the old spell was -broken, and when he had gone, I ruminated for a long time on one -thing and another that had occurred in the past months. - -That evening, when Arnold and I stood with Gideon North abaft the -wheel where there was no one to overhear us, Arnold and the honest -captain would have confirmed my worst suspicions, had they needed to -be confirmed. But by then I had observed as much as they, and we -talked only in such vague terms as pleased our mood. - -"No! There's more to this voyage than has appeared on the surface -even yet," Captain North said in an undertone. - -"I have heard them talking in Spanish," said Arnold Lamont, "of -gold--and of other things--of two men on the coast--and of a ship -wrecked at the hour they needed her most. They share a great secret. -They have come scarred through more than one fight and have lost the -vessel on which they counted to make their fortunes. They are taking -us back now, perhaps to fight for them, perhaps to run for them, but -always as their creatures. So much I, too, have learned. We must -walk circumspectly, my friends. We must keep always together and -guard always against treachery. _Mon dieu!_ what men they are!" - -It was the longest speech I had ever heard Arnold make. - -Next day, following the arrival of a boatload of as rascally looking -mariners as ever attempted to ship on board a reputable vessel, -there ensued a quarrel so sudden and violent and so directly -concerned with our fortunes, that Arnold and I hung in breathless -suspense on the issue. - -"Gentlemen," Gideon North cried, hammering the cabin table with his -fist, "as captain of this brig, I and I alone will say who shall -ship with me and who shall not. I'll not have my crew packed with -vagabonds and buccaneers. I'll turn those fellows back on shore, be -it bag in hand and clothes upon them, or be it as stark naked as -they came into this world, and I'll have you leave my crew alone -from this day forth." - -Matterson laughed lightly. "Ah, captain," he said, in bitter -sarcasm, "you are so excitable. They are able men. I'll answer for -them." - -"Mr. Matterson," the captain retorted, "it devolves upon you to -answer for yourself, which bids fair to be no easy task." - -"But," roared Gleazen, cursing viciously, "the owner says they're to -come. And, by heaven, you'll cram them down your throat." - -"Stuff and nonsense--" - -By this time I felt that I could hold my peace no longer. Certainly -I was party to whatever agreement should be reached. "You lie!" I -cried to Gleazen, "the owner said nothing of the kind!" - -"How about it, Seth, how about it?" Gleazen demanded, disdainfully -ignoring me. "Speak out your orders, speak 'em out or--" the man's -voice dropped until it rumbled in his throat "--or--you know what." - -Poor Seth Upham had thought himself so strong and able and shrewd! -So he had been in little Topham. But neither the quick wit nor the -native courage necessary to cope with desperate, resolute men was -left to him now. - -"I--I--" he stammered. "Take one or two of them, Captain North, just -one or two,--do that for me, I beg you,--and let the rest go." - -"What!" exclaimed Gideon North. - -"One or two?" Gleazen thundered, "one or two? Only one or two?" - -Instantly both men had turned upon my uncle. Both men, their eyes -narrowed, their jaws out-thrust, faced him in hot anger. There was a -moment of dreadful silence; then, to my utter amazement, my uncle -actually got down on his knees in front of Neil Gleazen, down on his -marrow bones on the bare boards, and wailed, "In the name of Heaven, -Neil, don't tell! Don't tell!" - -[Illustration: "_In the name of Heaven, Neil, don't tell! Don't -tell!_"] - -While we stared at him, Gideon North, Arnold, and I, literally -doubting what our eyes told us was the plain truth, Matterson said -lightly, as if he were speaking of a sick and fretful child, "Let -him have it, Neil. I hate scenes. Keep only Pedro." - -Gideon North looked first at my uncle, then at Matterson, and then -back at my uncle. As if to a certain extent moved by the scene that -we had just witnessed, he said no more; so of five strange seamen, -next day all save one went ashore again. - -That brief, fierce quarrel had revealed to us, as nothing else could -have, into what a desperately abject plight my uncle had fallen. At -the time it shocked me beyond measure. It was so pitifully, so -inexpressibly disgraceful! In all the years that have passed since -that day in Havana harbor I have not been able to forget it; to this -moment I cannot think of it without feeling in my cheeks the hot -blood of shame. - -The man whom Matterson chose to keep on board the Adventure appeared -to be a good-natured soul, and he went by the name of Pedro. What -other name he had, if any, I never knew; but no seafaring man who -ever met him needed another name. Years afterwards, down on old Long -Wharf in Boston, I elicited an exclamation of amazement by saying to -a sailor who had slyly asked me for the price of a glass of beer, -"Did you ever know a seafaring man named Pedro who had a pet -monkey?" - -By his monkey I verily believe the man was known in half the ports -of the world. He came aboard with the grinning, chattering beast, -which seemed almost as big as himself, perched on his shoulder. He -made it a bed in his own bunk, fed it from his own dipper, and -always spoke affectionately of it as "my leetle frien'." - -The beast was uncannily wise. There was something -veritably Satanic in the leers with which it would regard the men, -and before we crossed the ocean, as I shall relate shortly, it -became the terror of Willie MacDougald's life. - -So far as most of us could see, we were now ready to weigh anchor -and be off; but by my uncle's orders we waited one day more, and on -the morning of that day Uncle Seth and Neil Gleazen went on shore -together. - -When after a long absence they returned, they had words with Captain -North; and though we had become used by now to quarrels between -Gleazen and the captain, there was a different tone in this one, -which puzzled Arnold and me. - -Presently the two and my uncle went below, where Matterson joined -them; and except for Willie MacDougald, Arnold and I might never -have known what took place. But Willie MacDougald, knocking at our -stateroom door that night, thrust his small and apparently innocent -face into the cabin, entered craftily and said, "If you please, sir, -I've got news worth a pretty penny." - -"How much is it worth?" Arnold asked. - -"A shilling," Willie whispered. - -"That is a great deal of money." - -"Ah, but I've got news that's worth it." - -"I shall be the judge of that," Arnold responded. - -Willie squinted up his face and whispered, "They've got new papers." - -"How so?" Arnold demanded. He did not yet understand what Willie -meant. - -"Why, new papers. Portuguese papers." - -"Ah," said Arnold. "Forged, I suppose? Shall we not sail under the -American flag?" - -"Ay, ay, sir, but the schooner Shark and the sloop of war Ontario -are to be sent across for cruising." - -"Ah!" - -"And Seth Upham's sold the brig." - -"Sold it!" Arnold exclaimed. For the moment both he and I thought -that Willie was lying to us. - -"Ay, ay, sir. To be delivered in Africa. Half the money down, and -half on delivery." - -"What do you mean by that?" - -"Why, sir," said the crafty youngster, who understood better than -either of us the various subterfuges to which African traders -resorted in order to elude searching cruisers, "all they have to do -to change registry is to say she's delivered to the new owners, and -fly a new flag and show the bill of sale." - -"Go on, go on. Must I drag the story from you word by word?" - -"Captain North, sir, said he'd be hanged first; and Mr. Gleazen said -he'd be hanged anyway; and ain't that worth two bits?" - -Arnold flung a coin to the grasping little wretch, and he went out -and closed the door behind him. - -It was dark just outside our stateroom, and neither Willie nor we -had been able to see anything that might have been there. For half a -minute after Willie left us, while he was feeling his way toward the -cabin, all was still. Then he suddenly shrieked so wildly that we -leaped from our berths. - -There was a sound of crashing and bumping. Even wilder shrieks -filled the air, and we heard a curious chattering and mumbling. -Something fell against the stateroom door and cracked a panel, the -door flew open, and in toppled Willie with Pedro's monkey grasping -him firmly by the throat from its perch on the little fellow's -shoulders. - -"Help, help!" Willie shrieked. "Lord save me! It's the devil! Help! -I repent! I repent!" And he tripped and fell with a crash. - -As he fell, the coin flew out of his hand, and the monkey, seeing -the flash of silver, leaped after it, picked it up, fled like a lean -brown shadow through the door, and was gone we knew not where. - -To this day I am not able to make up my mind whether the child's -anger or his fear was the greater. Turning like a flash, he saw what -it was that had attacked him; yet he made no move to pursue the -beast, and from that time on he regarded it with exceedingly great -caution and nimbly and prudently betook himself out of its way. -Canny, scheming, selfish Willie MacDougald! - -At peep of dawn we got up our anchors and set sail and put out to -sea, carrying with us heavy knowledge of perils and dangers that -encompassed us, and sad memories of our old home in Topham, of our -old friends in trouble, of high hopes that had fallen into ruin. - -It comforted me to see Abraham Guptil working with the crew. He -stood in good repute with every man on board, from Matterson and -Gleazen to little Willie MacDougald, who now was in the steerage -watching with great, round eyes all that went on about him. Good Abe -Guptil! He, at least, concealed no diabolical craft beneath an -innocent exterior. - -I thought of Sim Muzzy. Poor Sim! Since he had disappeared that -night in the clutches of the press-gang, nothing that we had been -able to do had called forth a single word of his whereabouts. He had -vanished utterly, and though neither Arnold nor I had ever felt any -great affection for the garrulous fellow, we both were sincerely -grieved to lose an old companion thus unhappily. - -Now, as our sails filled, we swept past the Merry Jack and Eleanor, -and the sight came to me like a shock of ill omen. The black -disgrace of her lawless trade, the brutal men who manned her, the -sinister experience that had followed so closely our call upon her -captain, all combined to make me feel that the shadow she had cast -upon us was not easily to be evaded. - -It was good to turn back once more to solid, substantial Gideon -North, firm, wise Arnold Lamont, and kindly, trustworthy Abe Guptil. -On them and on me Uncle Seth's fortunes and my own depended, if not -indeed our very lives. - -Mr. Matterson handled the brig from the forecastle and handled her -ably. Not even Captain North, who watched him constantly with -searching eyes, could find a thing of which to complain. His almost -feminine voice took on a cutting quality that reached each man on -board and conveyed by its hard, keen edge a very clear impression of -what would happen if aught should go astray. But there was that -about him which made it impossible to trust him; and Gleazen, -seeming by his airs far more the owner than my poor, cowed uncle, -stood by Gideon North and looked the triumph that he felt. - -So we passed between the castle and the battery and showed our heels -to Cuba and set our course across the sea and lived always on guard, -always suspicious, yet never confirming further our suspicions, -until, weeks later, the lookout at the masthead cried, "Land ho!" - -The low, dark line that appeared far on the horizon, to mark the end -of an uncommonly tranquil passage, so pleasantly in contrast to our -voyage to Cuba, deepened and took form. There was excitement forward -and aft. Gleazen and Matterson clapped hands on shoulders and roared -their delight and cried that now,--they were vile-mouthed, profane -men,--that now neither God nor devil should thwart them further. - -Through the ship the word went from lip to lip that yonder lay the -coast of Guinea. - -It had become natural to us in the cabin to align ourselves on one -side or the other. Gleazen and Matterson stood shoulder to shoulder, -and Gideon North and Arnold Lamont and I gathered a little farther -aft. We acted unconsciously, for all of us were intent on the land -that we had raised; and my poor uncle, apparently assuming neither -friend nor enemy, leaned against the cabin all alone. His face was -averted and I could catch only a glimpse of his profile; but I was -convinced that I saw his lip tremble. - -Yonder, in truth, lay the coast of Guinea, and there at last every -one of us was to learn the secret of that mad expedition which had -so long since set forth from the little New England town of Topham. - -[Illustration] - - - - -IV - -THREE DESPERATE MEN - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -THE ISLAND - - -To the dark land on the sky-line, we swiftly drew nearer, and -presently saw a low shore where a thread of gleaming white, which -came and went, told us unmistakably that great seas were breaking. -Of the exact point that we had reached on the coast we still were in -doubt, for our charts were poor and Captain North suspected the -quadrant of having developed some fault of a nature so technical -that I neither understood it at the time nor now remember its name; -so we hove to, while Gleazen and Matterson and Gideon North, and -eventually Mr. Severance, of whom I saw less and thought more seldom -than of any other man in the cabin, put their heads together and -argued the matter. - -Mr. Severance was a good enough man in his place, I suppose, but he -was too indolent and self-centred, and too sleepily fond of his -pipe, to command attention. - -For all the headway that the four seemed to be making, they might -have argued until the crack of doom, as far as I could see, when -from the masthead came the cry, "Sail ho!" - -Matterson and Gleazen faced about, as quickly as weasels on a stone -wall, and Gideon North was not much behind them. - -"Where away?" - -"Off the larboard bow!" - -"What do you make her out?" Captain North demanded. - -"As yet, sir, she's too far off to be seen clearly." - -I had known that we were sailing dangerous seas, but nothing else -had so vividly brought our dangers home to me as did the scene of -desperate activity that now ensued. Hoarse orders went booming up -and down the decks. Men sprang to braces and halyards. For a moment -the foresail, newly let fall, roared in the wind, then, clapping -like thunder, it filled, as the men tailed on tack and sheet, and -catching the wind, stiffened like iron. Wearing ship, we set every -stitch of our canvas, and with a breeze that drove us like a -greyhound through the long, swiftly running seas, went lasking up -the coast of Africa, as, intently training glasses across the -taffrail, we waited to see more of the strange vessel. - -Notwithstanding our feverish efforts to elude her, she had drawn -slowly nearer, and we made out that she was a schooner and as fleet -as a bird. For a time there was talk of the armed schooner Shark, -which our own government was reported to have sent out to cruise for -slavers. - -It was with grim interest that we watched her every manoeuvre. Our -men forward would constantly turn their heads to study her more -closely, and those of us aft kept our eyes fixed upon her. Swift as -was the Adventure, it was plain from the first that the schooner was -outsailing her in a way that seemed almost to savor of wizardry. - -"I swear I can see the hangman's knot in her halyard," Gleazen -cried, and roundly braced his oath. "Never before did I feel such an -itching on my neck." - -At that Gideon North sternly said, "If she's a government vessel, -gentlemen, I can assure you that we will not run from her. We have -committed no crime; we carry no contraband. It is not government -vessels I fear." - -"There's reason in that, too!" Gleazen muttered. "Yes, I'd as soon -swing, as go over the side with my throat slit." Then, caustically, -he added, "No! Oh, no! We've no contraband, you say. So we haven't. -But we have enough water-casks for three hundred men, and lumber for -extra decks, and shackles and nigger food." - -Gideon North flamed red and started to respond angrily; but -Matterson, with a sly smile, turned the argument off by saying -lightly, "If she's the Shark she's sailing under false colors. See! -She's broken out the flag of Spain." - -"Humph," Captain North grunted, "she's a trader at best--" - -"In either case, Captain North, she is outsailing us, for all our -Baltimore bow and grand spread of canvas," Matterson interposed. -"But never fear, Captain North, Gleazen and I have a way with us. We -have no wish to meet with any ships of war, but from mere pirates -and slavers we are not, I beg to assure you, in any great danger." - -"Humph! The devil looks well after his own." - -"The devil," Matterson retorted with an ironical smile, "is not so -bad a master as some men would make him out to be." - -Leaning on the rail, we silently watched the swift, strange -schooner. Above the horizon, so perfectly did the bright canvas with -the sun upon it blend into the background of sky, we could see only -the black shadows that appeared on the sails just abaft the masts -and stays; but her hull made a clean, bright line against the vivid -blue of the sea, and against that same blue the foot of her mainsail -stood out as sharp and white as if cut from bone. She continued to -gain on us surely all that afternoon, but our apprehensions, which -grew keener as she drew nearer, were allayed when she stood out to -sea and gave us as wide a berth as we desired. She was a rarely -beautiful sight, when, in the early evening, still far out at sea, -she passed us; and remembering the Merry Jack and Eleanor in Havana -harbor, I could not bear to think that so graceful a craft might -carry sordid sights and smells. - -After a time, as the light changed, her sails turned to a slate-gray -touched with dull blue, and with a great blotch of purple shadow -down the middle, where mainsail merged into staysail and foresail, -and foresail into jib. So grim, now, did she appear in the gathering -darkness, that I could have believed almost anything of her. And now -she was gone! Lost to sight! Vanished into the distant, almost -uncharted waters of the great gulf! Only the memory of her marvelous -swiftness and of the changing light on her sails was left to -us--that and the memory of one more angry encounter with Gleazen and -Matterson. - -That night, while we lay in those long slow seas which roll in upon -the African coast, the two spent hours by the taffrail in low-voiced -conversation, and Gideon North sat below over his charts and papers, -and Arnold and I strolled about the deck, arm in arm, talking of one -project and another. But my uncle, Seth Upham, the man who owned the -Adventure, paced the deck alone in the moonlight, now with his head -bent as if under the weight of a heavy burden, now with his head -erect and with an air of what seemed at some moments wild defiance. -An odor of tobacco drifted back to us on the wind from where the -carpenter and the sailmaker were smoking together, and we heard the -voices of men in the forecastle. - -When, at daybreak, we resumed our course up the coast, we knew that -we were near the end of our journey, for Gleazen and Matterson were -constantly conferring together and with Gideon North; and a dozen -times in two hours, one or the other of them charged the masthead -man to keep a smart lookout. - -Now Gleazen would lean his elbows on the rail and search the -horizon; now he would hand the glass to Matterson and stride the -deck in a fury of impatience. Below, the log-book lay open on the -cabin table at a blank page, on which there was a rough -pencil-sketch of coast and a river and an island. On a chart, which -lay half open across a chair, someone had drawn a circle with a pair -of compasses, half on land and half on sea; and when Arnold silently -drew my attention to it, I saw that in the circle someone had -penciled the same sketch that I had seen on the blank page of the -log-book. - -Coast, river, and island! We studied the sketch in silence and -talked of it afterward. - -That evening, for the first time in many hours, we came on Captain -North alone by the rail. - -"Someone has drawn an island on the chart," said Arnold, slowly. - -Gideon North growled assent. - -"Well?" said Arnold. - -"It would seem that the blithering idiots don't know its bearings -within a hundred miles, and yet they expect me to bring it straight -aboard. One says thus and so; t'other says so and thus. Gleazen -talked loudest and I took his word first--like a fool, for he's no -navigator. I'd not put such foolishness beyond Seth Upham, but the -others ought to know better. Aye! And they do know better." - -"What island?" I demanded. - -He shot a keen glance at me. - -"Hm! Have they said naught to you?" - -"Not a word." - -Arnold was smiling. - -"Nor to you?" Gideon North demanded, seeing him smile. - -"Nor to me." - -"Then," said he, "you two know less than I, and I know little -enough." - -"If you know more than we, pray tell us what you can?" - -"After all," said he, "I only know that we are looking for an -island, and that when we find it the deviltry is yet to begin--" He -smiled grimly. "We'll yet have a chance to see sparks fly from those -weapons Gleazen hung in the cabin. I hear he's a clever man at the -smallsword." - -When he said that, Captain North looked at Arnold and me as if to -question us. - -"Clever?" I replied. "Yes, he's clever, though--" - -I then saw that Arnold was smiling. I remembered seeing him smile -when Gleazen and I were fencing on the green. I remembered his -saying that he had not been laughing at me. And now he was smiling -again! - -I stammered with embarrassment and clumsily concluded, "But--but not -so very--perhaps not very clever." - -In the waist I heard Gleazen call in a low voice, "Masthead! You -there, wake up!" - -"Ay-ay, sir," came the man's reply. - -"Not so loud," said Gleazen. "Have you seen no lights--no land?" - -"No lights, sir, and no land but the coast yonder, which we've seen -these two days." - -I could just make out that Gleazen was leaning on the bulwark and -staring into the northeast. - -"Did you hear that?" Captain North asked in a whisper. - -We both had heard it. - -"I'm thinking," Captain North presently muttered, "that we're like -to see more land than will be good for us. Mark the sky to -westward." - -It was banked with clouds. - -The island, when we found it, which we did early next day, proved -to be low and flat and marshy. Behind it, exactly according to the -sketch in the log-book and on the chart, lay the mouth of a river. -On the mainland in each direction, as far as we could see, and on -the bar at the mouth of the river, and on the outer shore of the -island, which seemed to be in the nature of a delta, although with -deep water behind it where the flow of the river appeared to have -kept a Y-shaped channel open, a great surf broke with muffled roar; -and in the channel a ruffle of choppy waves indicated that stream -and tide combined to make a formidable current. - -As we bore down on it, Gleazen and Matterson and Seth Upham drew -apart and stood smiling as they talked together in undertones. But -Captain North and Mr. Severance and some of the older sailors were -studying sky and wind and currents, and their frowns indicated that -much was amiss. - -To me, watching Gleazen and Matterson, it seemed strange that men -who but a little while ago had been so fiercely eager should all at -once become as subdued as deacons before the communion table; and it -was only when I edged around until I could see Gleazen's face that I -suspected the wild glee that the man was restraining. The light in -his eyes and the change in his expression so fascinated me that for -the moment I almost forgot Arnold Lamont and Gideon North and the -alliance that bound us together, almost forgot my poor uncle and his -wild hopes, almost forgot the very island whose low and sedgy shores -we were approaching. - -"Gentlemen," cried Captain North,--his voice startled me as much as -those whom he addressed,--"would you wreck this vessel by keeping me -here on a lee shore with heaven only knows what weather brewing? -Look for yourselves at those clouds in the southwest. If this -harbor, of which you were talking yesterday, is within fifty miles -of us, we must run for it. If not, we must stand off shore and -prepare to ride out the storm." - -"The harbor, Captain North," Matterson returned, his light voice -hard with antagonism, "is much less than fifty miles from here. You -will lay by for one hour while we go ashore on that island yonder; -then I will pilot you to harbor." - -"_Mister Matterson!_" said Captain North calmly, turning on the -giant of a man beside him, "are you mate or master?" - -"Captain North," Matterson very quietly replied, "I am mate of this -vessel, and as mate I do not dictate. Have I not worked faithfully -and well on this voyage? Have I not carried out every order of -yours?" - -It was true, for to the surprise of Gideon North and Arnold and -myself, he had made a first-class mate. - -"But I also am a friend of the owner and as friend of the owner, I -spoke just now, forgetting my place as mate, I ask you to pardon -me." - -In his words and his manner there was something so oily and -insincere that from the bottom of my heart I distrusted him, and so, -obviously enough, did Gideon North. But the man's sudden change of -front took the weapons, so to speak, out of the captain's hands; and -before he could reply Matterson said, "Mr. Upham, what are your -wishes in the matter?" - -I looked first at my uncle, then I looked back at Matterson, and as -I looked at Matterson, I caught a glimpse over his shoulder of Neil -Gleazen, who was staring at Uncle Seth with a scowl on his brow and -with his lips moving. Turning again to my uncle, I once more saw on -his face, now so weak, the pathetically timid expression that I had -come to know so well. - -"If there's no immediate danger--" he began. - -"There's none at all!" Matterson and Gleazen cried with one voice. - -"Then let us go ashore, say for merely half an hour." - -Captain North, with a shrug as of resignation, put the trumpet to -his lips and gave orders that brought the brig into the wind with -sails ashiver. - -"Come, lads," Gleazen cried to Arnold and me, "the more the -merrier." - -So into the boat we climbed, and I for one was pleased to find that -Abe Guptil had an oar. - -It was about half a mile from the brig to the island, and when we -reached it and hauled out the boat, I pushed ahead of the others. -Climbing from the edge of the water up the little incline at the -head of the beach, I saw first of all, on the farther shore a -quarter of a mile away, the ribs and broken planking of a wrecked -ship. Then, before I had taken another step, I saw some little -creature running through the grass and looked after it eagerly, to -discover what strange kind of animal would inhabit so barren and -remote an isle. - -At first I saw only that the animal was long and gray. Then it came -out into plain sight, and I saw that it was a rat--an ordinary rat -such as I had seen by the hundreds in old barns and in old ships. -And how, I wondered, had an ordinary rat, such as might slink along -the wharves at Boston, come to live on that lonely island? Before an -answer occurred to me, I saw another running away in a different -direction, and another and another. I stopped short and looked about -me. Here, there, everywhere were rats. The island was peopled with -them. With big gray rats! Then I looked at the bones of that wrecked -ship, which stuck up out of the water, and knew that I had found the -answer to my question. They were rats from that ship; they had come -ashore when she was wrecked. - -What they lived on, I never knew; but there they had flourished and -multiplied and formed in the midst of those blue seas a great rat -empire. - -"Rats!" I heard Gleazen exclaim. "Pfaw! How I hate them!" - -Throwing sticks ahead of him to drive away the lean, gray vermin, he -started across the marshy land toward the old wreck, and the rest of -us fell in behind him. - -Of us all, Matterson showed the least repugnance for the multitude -of snaky little beasts that swarmed around us at a distance and -watched us with angry eyes as black as shoe buttons. - -And now we came to the wreck and saw a sight that filled me with -horror. In the hold, into which we could look through holes between -the ribs and between the beams where the waves had torn away the -spar deck, there were five human skeletons chained by their -ankle-bones to the timbers. Yet, so far as there was any outward -sign, I was the only one to see the skeletons. - -Matterson and Gleazen looked long and sadly at the old hulk, and -Gleazen finally said, "She's done for and gone, Molly. There's not a -thing left about her that's worth salving." - -Matterson gloomily nodded. "Mr. Upham," said he, "we lost two -hundred prime niggers that night." - -I turned away from them, as they stood there talking, and went back -to the boat. It would be good, I thought while I waited, to leave -the island forever. - -Whatever the outcome of their talk may have been, the rising wind -presently brought them back to the boat in a hurry. We launched her, -and tumbled aboard, drenched from head to foot, and after a lively -struggle came up alee of the brig. It was plain that we must soon -seek shelter, for already the storm was blowing up and the waves -came charging down upon us in fierce, racing lines. - -"Yonder island," Matterson was saying, at the same time marking a -diagram on the palm of one hand with the forefinger of the other, -"yonder island is part of the delta of the Rio Polo. It runs so--and -so--and all but the island is washed away. You see, do you not, -gentlemen? If Captain North will run straight so,--northeast by -east, say,--holding his bearings by the angle of ripples where you -see the current veer, and when we are four cables' lengths from the -breakers give me the wheel, I will take her over the bar." - -"Mr. Matterson--" - -"The responsibility is mine, Captain North, by the owner's orders." - -"Ah, Mr. Upham," said the captain, with a wry smile, "and is this -the kind of support you give me?" - -Not one word did my uncle say. - - * * * * * - -I had seen Pedro's monkey for a while playfully swinging from rope -to rope and later scratching its ear as it sat on the companion -hatch; but I had not seen it go below, nor had any of the others. To -this day no one knows just how it evaded us, for it was forbidden -the cabin, and every man on board had orders to head it off if it -showed any inclination to go there. Yet the mischievous beast did -slip below, and for once succeeded in catching Willie MacDougald off -his guard. - -Willie, it seems, had been engaged in the praiseworthy occupation of -spying on Neil Gleazen, and had one eye firmly fixed to the keyhole -of the cabin door when the monkey calmly jabbed teeth and claws into -the luckless boy's leg. - -His yell startled every man on deck; but far more than it startled -us did it startle the man in the cabin, who had thought himself safe -from peeping eyes. - -First we heard Willie yelling with all the power of his brazen -little throat; then the cabin door was flung open with a bang; then -suddenly Willie and the monkey literally flew out of the -companionway and alighted on deck. - -The fall was short and neither was much hurt. But when each tried to -escape from the other, both started to run in the same direction and -Willie, tripping, fell on the monkey. At that, the monkey grabbed -Willie's head with its front claws, raked its hind claws across his -face, then snatching out two good handfuls of hair, fled -triumphantly aloft. - -Gleazen burst out on deck at that very instant, and seeing nothing -of Willie who--luckily for him!--had fallen out of sight round the -corner of the cabin, started into the rigging, swearing to skin the -monkey alive. - -Meanwhile Matterson was like to have died laughing at Willie -MacDougald,--and, indeed, so were the rest of us!--for between anger -and fear, and with half a dozen long scratches across his cheeks, he -was in a sad state of mind. I tell you, any ideas of his innocent -childhood that we may have entertained completely vanished before -the flood of oaths that the little wretch was pouring out, when -Gideon North collared him and sent him below with stinging ears. - -And now, since all that takes so long to tell happened quickly, the -breakers were close aboard, when Gleazen, who had followed the -scapegrace monkey to the mizzen royal yard, roared in that great -voice of his:-- - -"Sail ho! By heaven, there's a cruiser in the offing." - -He came down the rigging like a cat, bawling orders as he came, and -at the same time Gideon North was giving counter-orders. It seemed -for a moment that in that scene of confusion, which suddenly from -comedy had changed to the grimmest of grim earnest, we should go on -beam-ends into the surf. - -Seas such as I had never dreamed of were breaking on the bar before -us. Overhead a storm was gathering. In the offing, it was reported, -there sailed a strange and hostile ship. And in the brig Adventure -there were contradictory orders and tangled ropes and men working at -cross purposes. - -Say what you will against Matterson in most respects, in that -emergency he was the man who saved us. Throwing the helmsman from -the wheel so violently that he fell clean over the companion ladder -and down to the spar-deck, he seized the wheel and cried in a voice -as hard as steel, "Gleazen, be still! Be still, I say! Now, Captain -North, with head yards aback and after yards braced for the -starboard tack, we'll make it." - -Captain North, with an able man at the wheel,--to pay the devil his -due,--gave orders in swift succession and the brig came back on her -course and rose to meet the breakers. How Matterson so surely and -confidently found the exact channel, I do not know. But this I do -know: he took the brig in through the breakers without the error of -as much as a hair's breadth, straight in along the channel, with -never a mark to guide him that I could see, except the belt of tidal -chop and the eddies of the intermingling currents, to the -comparative quiet of the mouth of a river that led away before us -into the mazes of vast swamps and tangled waterways, where mangroves -and huge interweaving, overhanging vines and sickly sweet flowers -grew in all the riotous luxury of tropical vegetation. - -To me the calm river seemed an amazing haven from every danger that -we had encountered outside. But not so to Matterson. - -Looking back at the thundering breakers, he thoughtfully shook his -head. - -"Well," said Gleazen significantly, "if worst comes to worst, we can -fight." - -"If worst comes to worst." - -"Well?" - -Matterson shook himself like a dog. "It's the niggers," he said in a -low voice. "If them infernal witch doctors get wind of us!" - -Gleazen stared a long time into the mangroves. - -"It ain't as if we could take an army," Matterson continued. "We've -got to take only them we _know_--_know_, mind you. What'd our lives -be worth if all these here--" he waved his hand at the crew -forward--"if all these here knew. It would pay 'em well to knock us -on the head." - -Still Gleazen stared silently into the tangled swamp. - -"It would pay 'em well," Matterson repeated. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -STRANGEST OF ALL - - -Even had I not suspected already that Matterson had brought vessels -into the mouth of that river many times before, I could not have -doubted it after seeing him bring the Adventure through the narrow -channel across the bar, and up to the mouth of the river itself. I -marveled that, having been more than a year away from it,--how much -more than a year I did not know,--he dared even attempt the passage. -But whatever his faults, indecision and fear were not among them, -and he had justified his bold course by bringing us safely within -the sheltering bar, where the lookouts reported minute by minute -every movement of the suspicious distant sail, which approached -until from the deck we could see her courses, and then wore ship to -haul off shore before the storm caught her. - -"Bah! The cruising curs!" Matterson scornfully exclaimed. "Captain -North, shall I continue to serve as pilot and take the brig up the -river?" - -"Since up the river it seems we are to go," Captain North returned -stiffly, "I place the helm and all responsibility in your hands, Mr. -Matterson." With that he folded his arms and, with a nod to Seth -Upham, withdrew to the weather-rail. - -My poor uncle! - -Never was there merer figurehead than he as owner of the brig -Adventure. It was pathetic to see him try to maintain his dignity -and speak and answer smartly, even sharply as of old, when every man -on board knew that if that reckless, high-handed pair, Gleazen and -Matterson were at any time to cease tolerating him, his life would -be worth no more than the flame of a snuffed candle. He must have -been perfectly well aware of the weak part he had played, yet he -held up his head and boldly returned Gideon North's glance and nod. - -Meanwhile Matterson had climbed to the masthead and with glass at -eye was studying the stranger. Now he came slowly down again, and -said to Gleazen, "She's bearing off in good faith to ride out the -storm, Neil. What say? Shall we anchor here behind the bar?" - -Gleazen shook his head. - -"There's fair shelter," Matterson persisted. - -Gleazen waved his hand at the black sky. "But not shelter enough," -he said. - -"If we go up the river," said Matterson in a low voice, "the news -will spread from here to the hills." - -Gleazen smiled unpleasantly. "Look off the larboard bow," he said. - -We all turned, as did Matterson, and I for one, at first, saw -nothing except the vines and great trees on which fell the shadows -of the premature twilight that foreran the storm. But Matterson -cried out, and Arnold Lamont, seeing my blank expression, touched my -arm and pointed at a dark lane of water and said, "See--there--there!" - - -Then I saw something moving, and made out a canoe. In the canoe was -a big black negro, with round eyes and flat nose and huge, -puffed-out lips. The negro was paddling. Then I saw something else. -I could not believe my eyes. I turned to the others, and knew by -their faces that they and Arnold had seen it, too, and that Seth -Upham had not. - -Then Gleazen, who was looking hard at Matterson, said with an oath, -"The beer is spilt. It's up the river for us." - -And Matterson nodded. - -In that canoe, which had already swiftly and silently disappeared -among the mangroves, I had seen a white girl. - -I cannot describe her to you now as she then appeared in the canoe, -sitting in front of the great, black canoeman. It was long ago, and -even at the time I was so startled, so amazed, that I saw only her -white face and great dark eyes looking out at me from the shadowy -recesses of the swamp. - -I felt as if I had been set down suddenly in the midst of a fairy -story. I strove against a sense of mystery and danger, a thousand -vague terrors. - -I cannot tell you what the girl looked like; yet, though I seem to -deal in contradictions, I have never forgotten that white frightened -face and those dark eyes, which had disappeared as mysteriously as -they had come. - -Then, as the sails filled and the Adventure fell off and got -steerage-way and slipped up the great, swift river, Matterson spun -the wheel with his own hands this way and that. - -At first the shores were low and sedgy and covered deeply with -mangroves; but soon the river widened into a vast mirror, in which -we saw reflected towering trees of numberless varieties, with a -trailing network of vines and flowers, and from among the leaves, -which were unbelievably large, spears of bamboo and cane protruded. -As the wind at our backs drove us slowly up stream, notwithstanding -the swifter current where we passed through the narrows, we saw -plantains, bananas, oranges, lemons, and tall palms. Then between -the trunks we saw fields of rice; and then, as we turned a bend -where the river once more widened, we saw a settlement before us. - -In the centre of a clearing stood low houses built of cane and -thatched with grass, mud huts grouped here and there, and a large -enclosure for some purpose of which I was ignorant. Could the girl -I had seen in the swamp have come thither? On all sides people were -running this way and that, some of them white, but most of them as -black as midnight. So small did the settlement appear, and so -sharply was each figure outlined, that it looked for all the world -like a toy village in a shop window, or like such a tiny model of a -foreign town as sailors sometimes bring home from distant ports. - -As the anchor gripped the bed of the river, and the men, spraddling -out on the footropes and leaning over the yards, clewed up the sails -and hauled in the great folds of canvas, the Adventure brought up on -her cable and lay with her head into the current. - -Matterson and Gleazen who had ordered a boat launched and were -standing in the gangway, now turned and called to Uncle Seth, who -responded by walking toward them with as haughty a manner as if he -were heart and soul in their councils and their plans. All three of -them got into the boat and there talked for a while in undertones. -Then they called Willie MacDougald to come tumbling after them, and -all together they hastily went ashore, where I saw that a crowd had -gathered to meet them; then the storm, which had so long been -threatening, broke with a roar of wind and rain, and Arnold and I, -going below, had the cabin for a time to ourselves. - -Arnold sat down by the cabin table and looked around at ports and -doors, and at the dueling swords on the bulkhead, and up at the -skylight on which the storm was fiercely beating. - -"You, too," he said, with a quiet smile, "you, too, Joe, look around -at the cabin of this good brig. It has not been a pleasant place to -live, but I do believe there are times coming when we shall wish -ourselves back again in this very spot." - -"And what have you learned now of our friends' plans?" I asked. - -"One does not have to learn so much, Joe." - -"But what?" - -Arnold, I knew, was smiling at my impatience, although the light was -so nearly gone that I saw him, when he bent forward, only as a -deeper shadow in the darkness. Yet the ports and the skylight still -were clear enough to be reflected in his eyes when he leaned very -close to me, and whatever his doubts, I saw that he showed no sign -of fear. - -"They talked yesterday and to-day--in Spanish--of the men they call -Bud and Bull, who share the secret that has brought us all the way -from Top--Hark!" - -Arnold half rose. I myself heard a soft step. When Arnold lifted his -hand I saw his knife, now drawn, so far as I knew, for the first -time in apprehension of treachery. Then the step--so soft and -low--sounded again. I reached for my own pistol. The sound was -repeated yet again. It was just outside the door. Then into the -cabin crept a low ambling creature, which we both knew at once must -be Pedro's monkey. - -Arnold laughed quietly and sat down again and breathed deeply. - -"They have discovered--something," he whispered, as if we had -suffered no interruption. - -"That I know well," I said. "But what?" I believed that I, too, had -ferreted out the secret, but I was not yet willing to hazard my -surmises. - -"Sh!" He raised his hand to warn me. "Do you not guess?" he -whispered. "Try! Until they have got what they have found to the -sea, you and I are safe. They must have men to help them who will -not turn and rob them. They do not believe in the saying about honor -among thieves." - -"Come," I cried, "stop speaking in riddles. Tell me!" Then, thinking -of Cornelius Gleazen as I first had seen him, with the rings -flashing on his fingers, I popped out a word that began with D. - -Arnold smiled and nodded. - -"Well," I returned, "speak up and tell me if such a voyage as we -have come upon is not a far-fetched manner of approaching such an -errand as you have described." - -"In a sense, yes. In a sense, no. They are after other things, too. -This good vessel, as we have remarked before, is well found for the -trade." - -Suddenly, he gave me a start by beginning to whistle a lively tune -and to drum on the table. His quick ear had detected another step in -the companionway. As the step drew near, the monkey, which in our -absorption we had quite forgotten, pattered toward the door and -slipped out. - -"What's that? Who's here? Who passed me then?" It was Captain North. - -Arnold struck a spark into tinder and lighted a candle. - -"And what, pray, are you two doing here in the dark?" the captain -demanded. - -"We are passing time with talk of our good friends, Gleazen and -Matterson," said Arnold. - -With an angry exclamation, Captain North took the chair opposite us. - -"Well," said he, "matters have turned out as any sane man might have -known they would. That precious little scamp of a cabin boy will -tell you no more tales, Lamont." - -"You mean--" - -"I'll wager half my wages for the voyage that you and I have seen -the last of him. The monkey betrayed the little scamp after all." - -Although I knew that Willie MacDougald's innocent and childlike face -masked a scheming, rascally mind, I could not so calmly see the -little fellow go, soul and body, into the power of such men as -Gleazen and Matterson, or perhaps worse; and although neither Arnold -nor Gideon North, appraising Willie at his true worth, cared a straw -what became of him, I was so troubled by his probable fate that I -did not listen to the others, who were talking coolly enough about -our own predicament, but, instead, got up and walked around the -cabin. - -It seemed very strange to listen to the roaring wind and driving -rain and yet feel the brig lying quiet underfoot in the strong, deep -current of the river. Now I sat down and listened to a few sentences -of their talk; now I got up and once more paced the cabin. For a -while I thought about Willie MacDougald; then I thought of the -dangers that surrounded us all, and of poor Uncle Seth, once so bold -and arrogant, now become little better than a cowardly, pitiful -wretch; then I thought of the girl I had seen in the jungle, and -strangely enough the memory of her face seemed at once to quiet my -wilder fancies and to enable me to think more clearly than before. - -Becoming aware at last that the storm was passing, I went on deck -and saw lights in the clearing where the houses stood. The wind, -which had come upon us so suddenly and so fiercely, was subsiding as -suddenly as it had arisen, and a deep calm pervaded river, clearing, -and jungle. I had not waited ten minutes before I heard the boat on -the water. - -"I swear," I heard Gleazen say in an angry, excited voice, "I swear -they're lying to us. Bud'll tell us. News travels fast hereabouts. -Bud'll be here soon." - -They came on board, one at a time, all but Willie MacDougald. Of him -there was neither sign nor word. I started forward to question them, -then stopped short. Something in their attitude froze and repelled -me. Of what use were questions--then, at any rate? For a moment -they waited in the gangway, then, all together, they went aft. - -Leaving them and moving to the farther side of the brig, I looked a -long time into the dark, tangled jungle. The clouds had gone and the -stars had come out and the dying wind spoke only in slow, distant -soughs among the leaves. So blackly repellent was the matted and -decaying vegetation, through which dark veins of stagnant water ran, -and so grimly silent, that I could not keep from shuddering with a -sort of childish horror. Surely, I thought, human beings could not -penetrate such depths. Then, almost with my thought, there came -across the dark and fever-laden waters of the great swamp, out of -the black jungle night, a thread of golden melody. Someone in that -very jungle was whistling sweetly an old and plaintive tune. - -I heard the three, Gleazen, Matterson, and my uncle, turn to listen. -By lantern light I saw their faces as they looked intently toward -the jungle. So still had the brig now become, that I actually heard -them breath more quickly. - -Then Neil Gleazen cried, "By the Holy, that's either Bud O'Hara or -his ghost." - -With both hands cupped round his mouth, he was about to send a -hoarse reply roaring back across the river, when Matterson clutched -his hand. - -"Be still," he whispered. "Here's the answer." - -And he, in turn, sent back the answering phrase of that singularly -mournful and haunting ballad: "I Lost my Love in the Nightingale." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -THE MAN FROM THE JUNGLE - - -Very slowly Matterson whistled that old tune, "The Nightingale," and -very slowly an answer came back to us; then a long silence ensued. -The black water of the marsh rose and fell. We could hear it -whispering softly as it washed against the tangled roots of the -mangroves, and once in a while I could distinguish the long, faint -rasp of some branch or vine that dragged across another. But except -for those small noises, the place was as still as a house of death; -and as we watched and waited, the feeling grew upon me that we must -be in the midst of a dream. - -Then something moved and caught my eye, and a canoe silently shot -out upon the river. With a swish and swirl of paddles, she came -alongside us and stayed for a moment, like a dragon-fly pausing in -its flight, then shot silently back the way she had come. I had seen -against the water that there were three men in the canoe when she -came; but when she slipped back into the mangroves, I saw that there -were only two. - -Before I had time to question the reason of all this, I saw a man's -head rise above the bulwark and knew that he had sprung from the -canoe to the chains while the little craft so briefly paused. - -Climbing over the bulwark and dropping to the deck, the man said in -low, cautious voice, "Is it Neil I've been hearing? And Molly?" - -"Here we be, Bud, us two and Seth Upham." - -"And sure, do this fine vessel be ours, Neil?" - -"Ours she is, along with Seth Upham. Come, Bud, here is Mr. Upham, -who has joined in with us and gets a half-and-half lay, and here--" - -"O Neil," the mysterious newcomer drawled, "would he be comin' for -naught short of half shares? And where's Molly? Ah, Molly, you've -been long away." - -They all were shaking hands together. - -"And now," said Matterson, "what news of Bull?" - -"Of Bull, is it?" the man replied. "Sure, he's sitting on the chest -o' treasure. Warnings they give us, that the hill is haunted and all -such. Spirits, you know, Neil; spirits, Molly. Sure the niggers know -more about them things than we do--indeed they do. It's not I would -go agin them rashly. But I fixed 'em, lads." - -"How?" asked Matterson softly. - -"Bull laughed at them fit to kill,--which is his way, as you'll -remember,--but not I. Says I, 'Laugh if you will; 't is well to be -fearless since you're the one to stay.' But I did for him better -than the stiff-necked rascal would do for himself. That night I -hunted me out an old master wizard and paid him in gold, and didn't -he give me a charm that will keep spirits away?" - -To hear a sober white man talk of charms with all the faith of a -credulous child amazed me. I had never dreamed there could be such a -man. Pressing closer, I took a good look at this queer stranger, and -saw him to be a short, broad fellow, with a square jaw and a face so -intelligent that my amazement became even greater. - -He, in turn, saw me looking at him, and half in a drawl, half in a -brogue, asked, "Now who'll this one be?" - -"He's the young man that came with Mr. Upham," Gleazen replied. - -"Is he fearless?" asked the strange Bud. "And is he honest?--Aye," -he rather testily added, "and is he, too, to share half-and-half?" - -To that Gleazen returned no answer, but the man's tone made me think -of Gleazen himself roaring drunk and staggering away from Higgleby's -barn, of Matterson with his voice hardened to a cutting edge, of the -master of the Merry Jack and Eleanor, and of the adventurous night -when we parted from poor Sim Muzzy. I tell you honestly, I would -have given every cent I had in the world and every chance I had of -fortune to have been fifteen hundred leagues away. - -Turning to Matterson, the man went on: "'T is not discreet for the -like o' you two to come sailing in by broad daylight with all sail -set. Now why couldn't ye ha' come in a boat, say, and let the brig -lie off the coast. Then we could 'a' met secret-like and 'a' got -away and up the river with no one the wiser. Sure, and there's not a -soul in a thousand miles, now, that ain't heard a tale o' Neil and -Molly." - -"The storm was hard upon us," said Matterson. - -"And a cruiser lay in the offing," said Gleazen. - -"It would be possible, then," the man returned, "that ye're not as -big--not _quite_ as big fools as I took ye to be." - -Then, as if all had been arranged beforehand, while Matterson and -the strange man and Uncle Seth went below to the cabin, Gleazen took -me by the arm and led me away from the others. - -"Joe," he murmured,--and I saw a new, eager glint in his -eyes,--"Joe, there's great times coming. I've made up my mind I can -trust you, Joe, and I'm going to make you my lieutenant. Yes, sir, -I'm going to make you an officer." - -I wondered what kind of story he would tell next, for by this time I -knew him far too intimately to be deceived by his brazen flattery. -It was singularly trying for me, man grown that I was, to be treated -with an air of patronage that a stripling would have resented, and -there were moments when I was like to have turned on Gleazen with a -vengeance. But I waited my time. It was not hard to see that my -patience need not endure interminably. - -"You, Joe, are one of us," he continued, "and we're glad to take you -into our confidence. But these others--" he waved his hand -generally--"we can't have 'em know too much. Now we're going -to-night to get things sized up and ready, and what I want to know, -Joe, is this: will you--as my lieutenant, you understand--take -Arnold and Mr. Severance and Captain North ashore to call on Mr. -Parmenter?" - -"But who," I asked, "is Mr. Parmenter?" - -"He's an Englishman, Joe, and if you can sort of convey to him--you -know what I mean--that we're after hides and ivory, purely a matter -of trade, it'll be a good thing, Joe. Mind you, as my lieutenant, -Joe." - -Never had I been so _Joe'd_ in all my life before. When Gleazen had -gone, I fairly snorted at my sudden and easy honors. Evidently he -told much the same story to the others, except Captain North, with -whom Gleazen himself very well knew that such a flimsy yarn was not -likely to prevail, and to whom Uncle Seth, accordingly, entrusted -some genuine business; and half an hour later we gathered at the -rail to go ashore. - -"Now, then," Captain North said peremptorily, in such a way that I -knew he was entirely unaware of my recent appointment as Gleazen's -lieutenant, "now then, lads, into the boat all hands together." - -"One moment!" I cried. "I forgot something." And with that I ran -back. - -In changing my jacket in honor of the call we were to make, I had -left my pistol behind me. Of no mind to put off without it, I -hurried down to my stateroom. - -Passing through the cabin, I saw that the four men, Gleazen, -Matterson, the strange Bud, and my uncle, were drawing up around the -great table, on which they had carelessly thrown a pack of cards. -They gave me frowns and hard looks as I passed, and I heard them -muttering among themselves at the interruption; but with scarcely a -thought of what they said, I left them to their game. - -No sooner had our boat crunched on the shore than on all sides black -figures appeared from the darkness, and landing, we found ourselves -surrounded by negroes, who pressed upon us until we fairly had to -thrust them back with oars. It was the first time I had set foot on -the continent of Africa, and the place and the people and the -circumstances were all, to my New England apprehension, so -extraordinary and so alarming that I cast a reluctant glance back at -the dim lights of the Adventure. But now a door opened, and I saw in -the bright rectangle a white man in European clothes; and we went up -and shook his hand,--which seemed for some reason to displease him, -although he did not actually refuse it,--and were ushered into a -large room with a board floor and chairs and tables and pictures, -for all the world as if it were a regular house. - -"Under some circumstances I should no doubt be glad to meet you, -gentlemen," he said, with cold reserve, "for no ship has visited us -for more than three months. But we hereabouts are not friendly to -slavers." - -"Nor are we," Gideon North retorted. - -"I think, sir," said Arnold Lamont, soberly and precisely, "that you -mistake our errand." - -He looked at us a long time without saying more, then he quietly -remarked, "I hope so." - -His cold, measured words repelled us and set us at an infinite -distance from him. - -We looked at one another and then at him, and he in turn studied us. - -We four--for Mr. Severance had accompanied us, although as usual he -scarcely opened his mouth--saw a man whose iron-gray hair indicated -that he was a little beyond middle age. The lamp that burned beside -him revealed a strong, rather sad face; the book at his elbow was a -Bible. It came to me suddenly that he was a missionary. - -"You give us chill welcome, sir," said Gideon North. "What, then, -will you have us do to prove that we are not what you believe us?" - -"Your leaders who were here a little while ago," our host replied, -"tried their best to prove it--and failed. Indeed, had I not seen -them, I should more readily believe you. It is not the first time -that I have seen some of them, you must remember." - -Gideon North bit his lip. "Have you considered," he asked, "that we -may not be in accord with them?" - -"A man must be known by the company he keeps." - -"We are in _neither_ sympathy nor accord with them." - -"It is a virtue, sir, no matter what your circumstances, to be at -least loyal to your associates. If you so glibly repudiate your -friends, on what grounds should a stranger trust you?" - -At that Gideon North got up all hot with temper. "Sir," he cried, "I -will not stay to be insulted." - -"Sir," the man returned, "I have insulted, and would insult, no -one." - -"Of that, sir," Gideon North responded, "I will be my own judge." - -"Captain North," said Arnold, "have patience. One moment and we--" - -Turning in the door, which he had reached in two strides, our -captain cried hotly, "Come, men, come! I tell you, come!" - -Mr. Severance followed him in silence; Arnold stepped forward as if -to restrain him, and I, left for a moment with the missionary, -turned and faced him with all the dignity of which I was master. - -"I am sorry that you think so ill of us," I said. - -"I am sorry," he replied, "to see a youth with an honest face in -such a band as that." - -I could think of no response and was about to turn and go, when I -suddenly remembered our lost cabin boy. - -"Can you, in any case," I asked, "tell me what has become of our -cabin boy, Willie MacDougald?" - -"Of whom?" - -"Of Willie MacDougald--the little fellow that came ashore to-day?" - -"Did he not return to the brig?" - -"No." - -The man stepped forward. - -"No," I repeated, "I have not seen him since." - -"Then," he returned, "you are not likely ever to see him again." - -"What do you mean?" I demanded. "What has happened? Where is he?" - -Getting no answer, I looked around the room at the chairs and tables -and pictures,--they had an air of comfort that made me miserably -homesick,--and at the well-trimmed lamp from which the light fell on -the Bible. Then I turned and went out into the darkness. - -What had befallen that hardened little wretch? Where under the -canopy of heaven could he be? I cared little enough for the mere -fate of Willie MacDougald; but as a new indication of the extremes -to which Matterson and Gleazen would go, his disappearance came at a -time that made it singularly ominous. - -As I stood, thus pondering, on the rough porch from which I was -about to step down and stride into the darkness, where I could make -out the figures of negroes of all ages moving restlessly just beyond -the light that shone from the windows, I received such a start as -seldom has come to me. A hand touched my arm so quietly that for a -moment I nearly had an illusion that that miserable little sinner, -Willie MacDougald, had returned from the next world to haunt me in -this one; a low voice said in my ear, "Stay here with us." - -I turned. Just beside me stood the girl whom I had seen in the -canoe. - -"Stay here," she repeated. "They have gone." - -I stammered and tried to speak, and for the first time in my life I -found that my tongue was tied. - -A step rustled in the grass just under the porch; something touched -the floor beside my foot; then a huge black hand brushed gently over -my shoe and up my leg, and a black, grotesque face, with rolling -eyes and round, slightly parted lips, looked up at me, so close to -my hand that unconsciously I snatched it away lest it be bitten. - -Startled nearly out of my wits by this amazing apparition, I gave a -leap backward and crashed against the wall, at which the absurd -negro uttered a shrill whistle of surprise. - -The girl tossed her head and stamped her foot, and spoke to the -negro in a low voice, which yet was clear enough and sharp enough to -send him without a sound into the darkness. - -For a moment the lights from the window shone full upon her, and I -saw that she was proud as well as comely, and spirited as well as -generous. The toss and the stamp showed it; the quick, precise voice -confirmed it; and withal there was a twinkle of kindliness in her -eyes that would have stormed the heart of a far more sophisticated -youth than I. Such spirit is little, if at all, less fascinating to -a young man than beauty; and when spirit and beauty go hand in hand, -he must be a crabbed old bachelor indeed who can withstand the pair. - -Whatever my theories of life, as I had long since revealed them to -Arnold Lamont, I was no Stoic; and though at the time I was too -excited to be fully aware of it, I thereupon fell, to the crown of -my head, in love. - -As the negro vanished, she turned on me with that same, queenly lift -of her head. - -"Well, sir, will you stay?" - -"Why should I stay?" I managed at last to ask. - -She looked me straight in the eye, "You're not of their kind," she -replied. "Father himself thinks that." - -For the moment I was confused, and thought only of Arnold and Gideon -North. - -"You and he are wrong," I stiffly responded. "I _am_ their kind, and -I am proud to be their kind." - -"Oh," she said, "oh! I beg your pardon." - -A hurt look appeared in her eyes and she stepped back and turned -away. - -All at once I remembered that she had never seen Arnold and Gideon -North; that she had not meant them at all; that she had meant -Gleazen and Matterson. It was at the tip of my tongue to cry out to -her, to call her back, to tell her the whole truth about our party -on board the brig Adventure. I had drawn the very breath to speak, -when Gideon North's voice summoned me from the darkness: - -"Joe, Joe Woods! Where are you?" - -"Here I am," I cried. "I am coming." Then, when I turned to speak to -the girl, I saw that she had gone. - -I stepped off the porch, tripped, stumbled to my knees, got up -again, and strode so recklessly down through the dark to the river -that, before I knew I had reached it, I was ankle-deep in water. - -"Well, my man," cried Gideon North, "you seem to be in a hurry now, -though you were long enough starting." - -Without a word, I got into the boat and took off my shoes and poured -out the water. It irritated me to see Arnold looking at me keenly -and yet with gentle amusement. I had come to have no small respect -for Arnold's unusual insight. - -All the way back to the brig my head was in such a whirl that, for -the first time in my waking moments since we left Cuba, I completely -forgot the one fundamental object for which we three were working, -to save as far as possible poor Seth Upham and his property from the -hands of Cornelius Gleazen and his fellows. Instead I kept hearing -the voice that had said, "You're not of their kind," kept seeing the -face that I had seen there in the dim light--not at all clearly, yet -clearly enough to see that it had a sweet dignity and that it was -good to look upon. - -The boat bumping against the brig woke me from my dreams. Scrambling -aboard, I left my shoes in the galley to dry by the stove and ran -aft in my stocking feet, and down below. In my eagerness to get dry -shoes and stockings I quite outstripped the others, who were -loitering in the gangway. - -It was with no thought or intention of surprising the four men in -the cabin that I burst in upon them on my way to my own stateroom. -They had pushed cards and chips to one side of the table and had -gathered closely round it. In the centre, where their four heads -almost met, was a handful of rough stones, which for all I knew -might have been quartz. - -That I had done anything to anger them, when I came down so -unceremoniously, I was entirely unaware; but O'Hara, the newcomer, -sweeping the stones together with a curse, covered them with his -hands; Gleazen faced about and angrily stared at my stockinged feet; -and Matterson, rising in fury, snarled through his teeth, "You -sniveling, sneaking, prying son of a skulking sea-cook, I swear I'll -have your heart's blood!" - -Before I could turn, the man dived at me straight across the table. -I raised my hands to fend him off, with the intention of shoving his -head into the floor and planting my feet on the back of his neck; -stepped back, tripped and fell. I saw Gleazen lift a chair to bring -it down on my head--even then I thought of the irony of my being his -"lieutenant"! I saw that wild Irishman, Bud O'Hara, laughing like a -fiend at my plight. Then I flung up my feet to receive the blow, and -seizing the legs of the chair, twisted it over between Matterson and -myself, and got up on my knees. Then in came the others. - -Spinning on his heel, Matterson, his jaw out-thrust, stood squarely -in the path of Gideon North. - -"You are hasty," I said. "I came in to get my shoes." - -"Ah," said Bud O'Hara, in biting sarcasm, "and then 't was in the -eyes of us that you was looking for trouble." - -"It was, indeed," I retorted. - -"And perhaps you didn't see what was going on," he persisted. - -"I did not," I replied, not knowing what he meant. - -They looked doubtfully at one another, and then at me, and presently -Gleazen said, "Then we're sorry we used you rough, Joe." - -Meanwhile, I now perceived, the handful of stones had disappeared. - -All this time my uncle had sat in his chair, looking like a man in a -nightmare, and had raised neither hand nor voice to help me. In a -way, so amazing was his silence, it seemed almost as if he himself -had struck me. I could scarcely believe it of him. When I looked at -him in mingled wonder and grief, his eyes fell and he slightly -moistened his lips. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -A WARNING DEFIED - - -The brig Adventure, two thousand miles from home, lay now in the -strong, silent current of a great tropical river, which seemed to me -to have an almost human quality. In its depth and strength and -silence, it was like a determined, taciturn man. I felt keenly its -subtle fascination; I delighted to picture in my mind its course all -the way from the mysterious hills far inland, of which Pedro and -Gleazen and Matterson told stories filled with trade and slaves and -stirring incidents, down to the low, marshy shore, which had already -cast a spell upon me. - -For months since that fearful night when we five fled from Topham, -Arnold and Gideon North and I had been holding ourselves ready at -every moment to stand up against Gleazen and Matterson and meet them -man to man in behalf of my poor, deluded uncle, who now would go -slinking about the deck, now would make a pitiful show of his old -pompous, dictatorial manner. But when I burst in upon them in the -cabin, there had been that in their manner, even after their anger -spent itself, which told me more plainly than harshest words that -the time for action had come very near. - -To Arnold, when we were alone in our stateroom, I said, "What would -you think, were I to load my pistols afresh?" - -He looked curiously at me. - -"You think," said he, slowly, "that there is already need?" - -"I do," I replied. - -I felt a new confidence in myself and in my own judgment. I -regarded our situation calmly and with growing assurance. Although I -did not then realize it, I know now that I was crossing the -threshold between youth and manhood. - -He gravely nodded. - -"It is a wise precaution," he said at last, "although I prophesy -that they will use us further before the time comes when we must -fight for our lives." - -So we both slept that night with new charges in the pistols by our -heads, and Arnold, very likely, as well as I, dreamed of the utterly -reckless, lawless men with whom we were associated. I question, -though, if Arnold thought as much as I of the stern man in the cane -house on the riverbank, or if he thought at all of the girl whose -white face and dark eyes I could not forget. - -For another day we continued to lie in the river; but the brig, alow -and aloft, bustled with various activities. We sorted out firearms -on the cabin floor, and charts and maps on the cabin table, and on -the spar-deck we piled a large store of provisions. And in the -afternoon Matterson took Captain North in the quarter boat down to -the mouth of the river, and there taught him the bearings of the -channel. - -Side by side Arnold and I watched all that went forward, here -lending a hand at whatever task came our way, there noting keenly -how the stores were arranged. - -"Well, sir," said Arnold, quietly, when Captain North for a moment -stood beside us in preoccupied silence, "are we about to load a -cargo of Africans?" - -"I assure you I'd like to know that," the captain replied, with one -of his quick glances. - -Uncle Seth gave me an occasional curt word or sentence--he was in -one of his arrogant moods; Matterson talked to me vaguely and at -length of great times ahead; O'Hara watched me with hostile and -suspicious glances. And still Arnold and I, whenever occasion -offered, put our heads together and made what we could of the -various preparations. Our surmises, time showed, were not far wrong. - -And all this while I had watched the clearing ashore and had seen -neither the missionary nor any other white man. - -When, in the evening, all hands were ordered aft, we on the quarter -deck looked down and saw the men standing expectantly to hear -whatever was to be said. A thousand rumors had spread throughout the -vessel, and of what was really afoot they knew less, even, than -Arnold and I. There was Abe Guptil with his kindly face upturned, -Pedro with his monkey on his shoulder and what seemed to me a -devilish gleam in his eye, and all the rest. As they gathered close -under us, the light from the lanterns slung in the rigging revealed -every one of them to my curious gaze. - -"Men," said Captain North, quietly, "Mr. Gleazen has asked me to -call you together. There are certain things that he wishes to tell -you." - -As the grizzled old mariner stepped back, Cornelius Gleazen -advanced. - -His beaver, donned for the occasion, was tilted over his eye as of -old; his diamonds flashed from finger and throat; he puffed great -clouds of smoke from his ever-present cigar. - -"Lads," he cried in that voice which seemed always so fine and -hearty and honest, "lads, that there's no ordinary purpose in this -voyage, all of you, I make no doubt, have heard. Well, lads, you're -right about that. It is no ordinary purpose that has brought us all -the way from Boston. You've done good work for us so far, and if you -keep up the good work until the end of the voyage has brought us -home again to New England, we ain't going to forget you, lads. No, -sir! Not me and Mr. Matterson and Mr. O'Hara--oh, yes, and Mr. -Upham! We ain't going to forget you." - -Reflectively he knocked the ash from his cigar. Leaning over the -rail, he said, as if taking all the men into his confidence, "All -you've got to do now, lads, is stand by. Captain North will take the -brig to sea for one week. There's a reason for that, lads, a good -reason. At the end of the week he will bring the brig up off the -mouth of the river, and some fine morning you'll wake up and find us -back again. - -"Meanwhile, lads, we're going to make up a little party to go -exploring. Me and Mr. Matterson, Mr. O'Hara, Mr. Upham, and Pedro -and Sanchez are going. And we are going to take John Laughlin with -us, too. It's going to be a hard trip, lads, and you'll none of you -be sorry to miss it. Now, then, lay to and load this gear into the -boat. Be faithful to your work, and you'll be glad when you see what -we're going to do for you." - -As he turned away, proud of his eloquence, there was a low rumble of -voices. - -I looked first at Gleazen and Matterson and O'Hara; then I looked at -poor Seth Upham, once as proud and arrogant as any of them. -Remembering how in little ways he had been kind to me,--how, since -my mother died, his dry, hard affection had gone out to me, as if in -spite of him,--I pitied the man from the bottom of my heart. Surely, -I thought, he must not go alone into the wilds of Africa with such -men as were to make up Gleazen's party. - -No one had spoken, except in undertones, since Gleazen; some one, I -thought, must speak promptly and firmly. - -For a moment, as I looked at the hard faces of the men whom I must -oppose, my courage forsook me utterly; then the new confidence that -had been growing within me once more gave me command of myself. -Whatever should come of my effort, I was determined that my -mother's brother should have at least one honest man beside him. To -reason out all this had taken me the merest fraction of the time -that it takes to read it. - -Stepping suddenly forward, I said in a voice so decided that it -surprised me as much as anyone, if not more:-- - -"Mr. Gleazen, I desire to go with you." - -"And I," said Arnold Lamont. - -"You young pup," Gleazen bellowed, "who are you to desire this or -desire that?" - -"Then," said I, "I _will_ go with you." - -"You will not," he retorted. - -I saw out of the corner of my eye that Matterson and O'Hara were -looking at me keenly, but I never let my gaze veer from Gleazen's. - -"Mr. Gleazen," I said boldly, "Arnold Lamont, Abe Guptil, and I are -going to take the places of Pedro, Sanchez, and John Laughlin." - -He swore a round oath and stepped toward me with his fists clenched, -while the men below us fairly held their breath. In a fist fight the -man could have pounded me to a pulp, for he was half as heavy again -as I; but at the thought of poor Uncle Seth with all his property -tied up in that mad venture, with his happiness and his very life in -the absolute power of that band of godless reprobates, something -stronger than myself rose up within me. At that moment I verily -believe I could have faced the fires of hell without flinching. -Thinking of the old days when Uncle Seth and my mother and I had -been so happy together and of how kind he had been to me in his own -testy, abrupt, reserved way, I stepped out and shook my fist in -Gleazen's face. - -Before he could say another word, I cried, "So help me, unless we -three go with you and those three stay, we'll keep Seth Upham back -and sail away in the Adventure and leave you here forever." - -Never before could I have spoken thus lightly of what my uncle -should, or should not, do. The thought made me feel even more keenly -how helpless the poor man had become, and confirmed me in my -purpose. - -It was on the tip of my tongue to add that Gideon North was to come, -too, but I thought of how essential it was that someone whom -we--Arnold and I--could trust should stand guard upon the brig, and -said nothing more, which probably was better, for my words seemed to -have struck home. - -When I threatened to sail away with the Adventure, Gleazen glared at -me hard and murmured, with a respect and admiration in his voice -that surprised me, "You young cock, I didn't think you had it in -you." - -Throwing overboard the butt of his cigar, which made a bright arc in -its flight through the darkness and fell into the water with a smart -hiss, he smiled to himself. - -Matterson whispered to O'Hara, who touched Gleazen's arm. I thought -I heard him say, "Too honest to make trouble," as they drew apart -and conferred together, glancing now and then at my uncle; then -Gleazen nodded and said, "Very well, Joe"; and I knew that for once -I had come off victorious. - -At least, I thought, we are strong enough to stand up for our rights -and Uncle Seth's. - -The men quietly turned away and went forward, a little disappointed -that the trouble had blown past and the episode had come to naught. -But it had added one more issue to be fought out between Cornelius -Gleazen and myself; and though it was over, it was neither forgotten -nor forgiven. - -I had gone into the waist, where I was watching the arms and -provisions that the men were loading into the boat we were to take, -when I heard a voice at my ear, "I guess--ha-ha!--you come back with -plenty nigger, hey?" - -It was Pedro with his monkey riding on his shoulder. The beast -leered at me and clicked its teeth. - -"No," I replied, "of that I am sure. We are not going after any such -cargo as that." - -"I wonder," he responded. "I t'ink, hey, queer way to get nigger--no -barracoon--go in a boat. But dah plenty nigger food below. Plenty -lumber. Plenty chain'. What you get if not nigger?" - -I said nothing. - -"Maybe so--maybe not," Pedro muttered. His earrings tinkled as he -shook his head and moved away. - -I was surprised to observe that for the moment all work had stopped. - -Seeing that O'Hara was pointing into the swamp, I stepped over -beside him to ascertain what had caught his attention, but found the -darkness impenetrable. - -"I'm telling ye, some one's there," O'Hara muttered with an oath. - -I saw that Gleazen and Matterson were on the other side of him. - -Now the men were whispering. - -"Sh!" - -"See there--there--there it goes!" - -"What--Oh! There it is!" - -I myself saw that something vague and shadowy was moving -indistinctly toward us down one of the long lanes of water. - -Suddenly out of the swamp came a piercing wail. It was so utterly -unhuman that to every one of us it brought, I believe, a nameless -terror. Certainly I can answer for myself. It was as if some -creature from another world had suddenly found a voice and were -crying out to us. Then the wail was repeated, and then, as if -revealed by some preparation of phosphorus, I indistinctly saw, in -the dark of the swamp, an uncouth face, black as midnight, on which -were painted white rings and patches. - -For the third time the cry came out to us; then a voice shrieked in -a queer, wailing minor:-- - -"White man, I come 'peak. Long time past white man go up water. Him -t'ief from king spirit. Him go Dead Land. - -"White man, I come 'peak. We no sell slave. White man go him country -so him not go Dead Land. White man, I go." - -The dim, mysterious face drew away little by little and disappeared. -A single soft splash came from the great marsh, then a yell so wild -and weird that to this very day the memory of it sometimes sets me -to shivering, as if I myself were only a heathen savage and not a -white man and a Christian. - -Three times we heard the wild yell; then far off in the fastnesses -of the swamp, we heard an unholy chanting. It was high and shrill -and piercing, and it brought to us across the dark water suggestions -of a thousand terrors. - -I felt Bud O'Hara's hand on mine, and it was as cold as death. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -BURNED BRIDGES - - -"By Heaven!" O'Hara gasped, "the voice has spoke." - -"Aye, so it has," said Gleazen slowly. - -"Neil, Molly, sure and we'd best put out to sea. This is no time for -us, surely. A month from now, say, we could slip in by night with a -boat--" - -"O'Hara," said Matterson's light, almost silvery voice, "have _you_ -turned coward?" - -"No, not that, Molly! 'T is not I am scairt of any man that walks -the green earth, Molly, but spirits is different." - -"Spirits!" Matterson was softly laughing. "I didn't think, O'Hara, -_you'd_ be one to turn black." - -"Laugh, curse you!" O'Hara cried hotly. "If 'twas you had seen a -glimmer of the things I've seen with my own two eyes; if 't was you -had seen a man die because he went against taboo; if 't was you had -seen a witch doctor bring the yammering spirit back unwilling to a -cold body; if 't was you had seen a man three weeks dead get up and -dance; if 't was you had seen a strong man fall down without the -breath of life in him at all, and all for nothing else but a spell -was on him, maybe then you'd believe me. I swear by the blessed -saints in heaven, it's throwing our lives away to go up river now; -and all I've got to say for Bull is, God help him!" - -The others were looking at O'Hara curiously. The lantern light on -their faces brought out every scar and wrinkle and showed that -strong passions were contending within each of them. - -"It ain't spirits that worries me," said Gleazen, at last, "and it -ain't niggers. It's men." He now seemed quite to shake off the spell -of the strange voice. "What say, Seth?" He turned to my uncle. - -To my surprise, Seth Upham rose manfully to the occasion. "Spirits?" -he cried. "Nonsense!" - -O'Hara uneasily shifted his feet. "Ah, say what you like, men," he -very earnestly replied, "say what you like against spirits and -greegrees and jujus and all the rest. I'll never be one to say -there's nothing in them, nor would you, if you'd seen all that I -have seen. And I'll be telling you this, men: that voice we heard -then was speaking the thoughts of ten thousand fighting niggers up -and down this river." - -"Pfaw!" said Gleazen, stretching his arms. "Niggers won't fight." - -"That from you, Neil!" - -I never learned just what lay behind O'Hara's simple thrust, but -there was no doubt that it struck a weak link in Gleazen's armor, -for he flushed so deeply that we could see it by lantern light. -"Well, now," said he, with a conciliatory inflection, "of course I -meant it in moderation." - -All this time Arnold and Gideon North and I stood by and looked and -listened. - -Now, with a glance at us, Matterson said shortly, "Come, come! -Enough of that. All hands lay to and load the boat." - -"I've warned ye," said O'Hara. - -"At midnight," said Matterson, "_we'll_ go _up_ the river, and -Gideon North'll take the brig _down_ the river. Come morning -there'll be no stick nor timber of us here. They'll bother no more -about us then." - -"Ye'll never fool 'em," said O'Hara. - -Matterson turned his back on him, and the work went forward, and for -an hour there was only the low murmur of voices. The boat, now -ready for the journey, rode at the end of her painter, where the -current made long ripples, which converged at her bow. Here and -there, lights shone in the clearing and set my imagination and my -memory hard at work, but elsewhere the impenetrable blackness of a -cloudy night blanketed the whole world. And meanwhile the others -were holding council in the cabin. - -"I think," Arnold Lamont said, "that Matterson and Gleazen -underestimate the ingenuity and resources of that black yelling -devil." - -"So they do," said Abe Guptil. "So they do, and I'd be glad enough -to be back home, I tell you." - -What would I not have given to be sleeping once more in Abe's -low-studded house beside our wholesome northern sea! - -Now the others came from the cabin. They walked eagerly. Their very -whispers were full of excitement. Even Uncle Seth seemed to have got -from somewhere a new confidence and a new hope, so smartly did he -step about and so sharply did he speak; and the faint odor of brandy -that came with them explained much. - -We climbed down into the loaded boat and settled ourselves on the -thwarts, where Abe Guptil and I took oars. - -"It's turn and turn about at the rowing," Matterson announced. -"We've a long way to go and a current dead against us." - -I saw Gideon North looking down at us anxiously, and waved my hand. -Then someone cast off, and we pulled out into midstream and up above -the brig, where we held our place and watched and waited. - -Soon we heard orders on board the brig. Sails fell from the gaskets -and shook free. The men began to heave at the windlass. The brig -first came up to the anchors, then, with anchors aweigh, she half -turned in the current. - -Now orders followed in quick succession. We could hear them rigging -the fish tackle and catching the hooks on the flukes of the anchors. -Blocks rattled, braces creaked, the yards swung from side to side -according to the word of command. The sails filled with the light -breeze, and coming slowly about, the Adventure gathered steerage-way -and went down the river as if she were some gigantic water bird -lazily swimming between the mangroves. We watched her go and knew -that we seven were now irrevocably left to fend for ourselves. - -When Gleazen whispered to us to give way, we bent to the oars with a -will. For better or for worse, we had embarked on the final stage of -our great quest. - -The lights in the clearing fell astern. The tall trees seemed to -close in above us. Alone in the wilderness, we turned the bow of our -boat toward the heart of Africa. - -That we had set forth in complete secrecy on our voyage up river we -were absolutely confident. What eyes were keen enough to tell at a -distance that the brig had left a boat behind her when she sailed? - -Gleazen now laughed derisively at O'Hara. "You'd have had us sail -away, would you? And wait a month? Or a year, maybe, or maybe two. -Ha, ha!" - -"Don't you laugh at me, Neil," O'Hara replied. "We're not yet out o' -the woods." - -At the man's solemn manner Gleazen laughed again, louder than -before. - -As if to reprove his rashness, as if to bear out every word O'Hara -had said, at that very moment the uncanny yell we had heard before -rose the second time, far off in the swamp. Three times we heard the -yell, then we heard the voice, faint and far away, "White man, I -come 'peak. White man boat him sink. White man him go Dead Land." - -Three times more the wordless wailing yell drifted to us out of the -darkness; then we heard a great multitude of men wildly and savagely -laughing. - -Never again did Cornelius Gleazen scoff at O'Hara. His face now, I -verily believe, was grayer than O'Hara's. He turned about and stared -downstream as if he could see beyond the black wall of mangroves. - -"Now what'll we do?" he gasped, with a choking, profane ejaculation. -"Did you hear that?" - -Had we heard it! There was not one of us whom it had not chilled to -the heart. Our own smallness under those vast trees, our few -resources,--we had only the goods that were piled in the boat,--our -unfathomable loneliness, combined to make us feel utterly without -help or strength. But it was now too late to return. So we bent to -our oars and rowed on, and on, and on, against the current of the -great river. - -The only help that remained to us lay in our own right hands and in -the mercy of divine Providence. Would Providence, I wondered, help -such men as Gleazen and Matterson and O'Hara? - -Nor was that the only doubt that beset us. Although the three -accepted us, and in actual fact trusted us, they made no attempt to -conceal their enmity; and I very well knew that, besides danger from -without our little band, Arnold, Abe, and I must guard against -treachery from within it. - -[Illustration] - - - - -V - -THE HOUSE ON THE HILL - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -UP STREAM - - -Pulling hard at our oars, we rowed up the river, along the shore and -so near it that the shadows of the mangroves almost concealed us. My -breath came in quick, hard gasps; the sweat started from my body and -dripped down my face; every muscle ached from violent exertion. As I -dizzily reeled, I saw, as if it were carved out of wood or stone, -Gleazen's staring, motionless face thrust forth squarely in front of -my own. Then I flopped forward and Gleazen himself caught the oar -from my hands. - -We had taken the gig for our expedition, because it was light and -fast; but although we carried four oars, we used only two of them, -mainly because it had been Gleazen's whim to load our baggage -between the after thwarts, so that while two men rowed for -comparatively short spells, the others could take their ease in bow -and stern. And indeed, had our plan to set forth with utmost secrecy -not gone awry, it would have been a comfortable enough arrangement. - -I had not dreamed that Gleazen was so strong; he set a stroke that -no ordinary oarsman could maintain; and when Abe Guptil lost time -and reeled on the thwart, Matterson slipped into his place and -fairly lifted the boat on the water. - -Of course we could not keep up such a pace for long; but the hard -work in a way relieved our anxiety, as hard work does when one is -troubled; and after each of us, including Uncle Seth, had taken his -turn at the oars until he was dog-tired, we settled down to a saner, -steadier stroke, and thus began in earnest the long journey that -was to be the last stage of our pilgrimage. - -By watching the gray lane overhead, where the arching trees failed -to meet above the river, since it was literally too dark to see the -water, we were able to mark out our course; and skirting the tangled -and interwoven roots as nearly as we could, we doggedly fought our -way against the current to the monotonous rhythm of swinging oars, -loud breathing, and hoarse grunts. The constant whisper of the river -so lulled me, weary as I was, that by and by my head drooped, and -the next thing that I knew was a hand on my shoulder and a voice at -my ear calling me to take my turn at rowing. - -I woke slowly and saw that Abe Guptil like me was rubbing his eyes, -and that my uncle and Arnold Lamont were lying fast asleep on the -bottom of the boat. - -"Come, come," said Gleazen, quietly. "See, now! Mr. Matterson and -I've brought us well on our way. Come, get up and row till it is -fairly light. Wake us then, and we'll haul the boat up and lie in -hiding for the day." - -Matterson handed over his oar without a word, and Abe and I fell to -our task. - -As the dawn grew and widened in the east, we could see how thickly -the roots of the mangroves intertwined. From the ends of the limbs -small "hangers," like ropes, grew down and took root in the ground. -The trees, thus braced and standing from six to twelve feet in air -on their network of tangled, interwoven roots, were the oddest I had -ever seen. - -After a time we came to a large stretch of bush, where innumerable -small palms were crowded together so thickly that among them an -object would have been completely invisible, even in broad day, at a -distance of six feet. In the midst of the bush a great tree grew, -and in the top of it a band of monkeys was swinging and racing and -chattering in the pale light. In an undertone I spoke to Abe about -the monkeys, and he, too, still rowing, turned his head to watch -them. Then, at the very moment when we were intent on their antics, -a new mood seemed to come over them. - -I cannot well describe the change, because at first it was so subtle -that I felt it, as much as saw it, and I was inclined to doubt if -Abe would notice it at all. Yet as I watched the little creatures, -which had now ceased their chattering, I suddenly realized that the -boat was beginning to drift with the current. By common impulse, -attracted by the very same thing, both Abe and I had stopped rowing. - -As I leaned forward and again swung out my oar, Abe touched my arm. -"Hush!" he whispered. "Wait! Listen!" - -Pausing with arms outstretched, ready to throw all my strength into -the catch, I listened and heard a faint _crack_, as of a broken -stick, under the tree in which a moment since the monkeys had been -hard at play. - -We exchanged glances. - -I now realized that daylight, coming with the swiftness that is -characteristic of it in the tropics, had taken us unawares. The sun -had risen and found Abe and me so intent on a band of monkeys -playing in a tree, that we had neglected to wake the others. - -I put out my hand and leaned over the bags to touch Gleazen, the -nearest of the sleepers, when Abe again pressed my arm. Turning, I -saw that his finger was at his lips. Although his gesture puzzled -me, I obeyed it, and we remained silent for a minute or two while -the current carried the boat farther and farther downstream. - -Every foot that we drifted back meant labor lost, and I was so -sorely tempted to put an end to our silence that I was on the point -of speaking out, when, distinctly, unmistakably, we heard another -crackle in the bush. - -"Pull," Abe whispered, "pull, Joe, as hard as you can." - -I leaned back against my oar, heard the water gurgle from under it, -saw bubbles go floating down past the stern, and knew that by one -stroke we had stopped our drifting. With a second swing of the long -blades, we sent the boat once more up against the current. Now we -got back into the old rhythm and went on past the dense palms, until -we again came to the tangled roots of mangroves. - -Laying hold of one of the roots, Abe whispered, "Wake 'em, Joe!" - -They woke testily, and with no thanks to us, even though it was by -their orders that we called them. - -In reply to their questions we told them the whole story, from the -strange hush that came over the monkeys to the second crackling -among the palms; but they appeared not to take our apprehensions -seriously. - -"Belike it was a snake," said O'Hara, "a big feller, Them big -fellers will scare a monkey into fits." - -"Or some kind of an animal," said Gleazen, curtly. "Didn't I say we -was to be called at daylight? When I say a thing I mean it." He -impatiently turned from us to his intimates. "How about it, Bud; -shall we haul up here for the day?" - -"Belike it was only a snake," O'Hara replied, "but 'twas near, -despite of that. Push on, I say." - -There was something in the expression of his face as he stared -downstream that made me even more uneasy than before. - -"Not so! The niggers will see us in the open and end us there and -then," interposed Matterson. "Moreover, unless the place has -changed with the times, there's a town a scant three miles ahead." - -"Belike 'twas only a serpent," O'Hara doggedly repeated, "but 'tis -no place for us here. Let us fare on just half a mile up stream -t'other side the river, in the mouth of the little creek that makes -in there, and, me lads, let us get there quickly." - -As we once more began to row, I was confident that O'Hara's talk of -a great serpent was poppy-cock for us and for Uncle Seth, and that -in any case neither Gleazen nor Matterson nor O'Hara cared a straw -about a serpent half a mile away. At the time I would have given -much to know just what shrewd guess they had made at the cause of -that strange crackling; but they dismissed the subject absolutely, -which probably was as well for all concerned; and refusing to speak -of it again, they urged Abe and me to our rowing until at their -direction we bore across the current and slipped through the -trailing branches of the trees, and through the thick bushes and -dangling vines, into the well-hidden mouth of a little creek. - -By then the sun was shining hotly and I was glad enough to lean on -my oar and get my breath. - - * * * * * - -All that day we lay in the thick vegetation of the creek, which to a -certain extent shielded us from the sun, although the warm, damp air -became almost unendurable. Much of the time we slept, but always one -or another of us was posted as a guard, and at high noon an alarm -called us to our weapons. - -O'Hara, who happened to be standing watch, woke us without a sound, -one after another, by touching us with his hand. - -For a while we saw only the great trees, the sluggish creek, the -slow river, and the interwoven vines; then we heard voices, and -into our sight there swept a long canoe manned by naked negroes, who -swung their paddles strongly and went racing past us down the river. - -How, I wondered, had O'Hara known that they were coming? Human ears -could not have heard their voices as far away as they must have been -when he woke us. - -It was evident, when the blacks had gone, that Matterson and O'Hara -had made sense of their mumbled gutteral speech. - -"I warned ye," O'Hara whispered, glaring at Matterson and Gleazen. -"Had we waited, now, say only a month, they'd not be scouring the -river in search of us." - -"Pfaw! Niggers with bows and arrows," Gleazen scornfully muttered. - -"Yes, niggers with bows and arrows," O'Hara returned. "But I'd no -sooner die by an arrow than by a musket-ball." - -"Die? Who's talking o' dying?" Gleazen whispered. And calmly laying -himself down again, he once more closed his eyes. - -"Sure, and I'd not be one to talk o' dying," O'Hara murmured, as he -resumed his guard with a musket across his knees, "was not the curse -o' rash companions upon me." - -Matterson, holding aloof from their controversy, solemnly looked -from one of the two to the other. There was that in his eyes which I -did not like to see--not fear, certainly, but a look of -understanding, which convinced me that O'Hara had the right of it. - -And now Seth Upham, who had followed all this so sleepily that he -did not more than half understand the significance of what had -occurred, as of old spoke up sharply, even pompously. In that -confused state between sleeping and waking his mind seemed to have -gone back to some mood of months before. "That's all nonsense, -O'Hara; we're safe enough. Gleazen's right." His words fairly -shattered the silence of the marshy woods. - -He was the first of us to speak in an ordinarily loud voice, and -almost before he had finished his sentence a bird about as big as a -crow and as black as jet except for its breast and neck, which were -snowy white, rose from a tree above us, and with a cry that to me -sounded for all the world like a crow cawing, circled high in the -air. - -Hot with anger, O'Hara struck Seth Upham on the mouth with his open -hand. - -That it had been arrant folly for my uncle thus to speak aloud, I -knew as well as any other; and the bird circling above us and crying -out in its slow flight was liable to draw upon us an attack from -heaven only knew what source and quarter. But that O'Hara or any -other should openly strike the man who in his own way had been so -kind to me was something that I could not endure, and my own temper -flamed up as hotly as ever did O'Hara's. - -Quick as a flash I caught his wrist, even before he had withdrawn -his hand, and jerked him from the thwart to his knees. With a -devilish gleam in his eye, he threw off my grip and clubbed his -musket. - -Before I could draw my pistol he would have brained me, had not -Matterson, with no desire whatever to save me from such a fate, but -apparently only eager to have a hand in the affair, seized me from -behind, lifted me bodily from my seat, and plunged me down out of -sight into the creek. - -Of what followed, I know only by hearsay, for I was too much -occupied with saving myself from drowning to observe events in the -boat. But the creek was comparatively shallow, and getting my feet -firmly planted on bottom, I pushed up my head and breathed deeply. - -Meanwhile it seems that Arnold Lamont quietly thrust his knife a -quarter of an inch through the skin between two of Matterson's ribs, -thus effectually distracting his attention, while Abe Guptil deftly -caught O'Hara's clubbed musket in his hands and wrenched it away. - -As I hauled myself back into the boat, Gleazen sat up and stared, -first at the others who, now that Matterson had knocked Arnold's -knife to one side, were momentarily deadlocked, then at me dripping -from my plunge, then at Seth Upham upon whose white face the marks -of O'Hara's hand still showed red. - -"Between you," he whispered angrily, "you _will_ have half the -niggers in Africa upon us." - -"He talked," O'Hara muttered, pointing at Uncle Seth. - -"You struck him," I retorted. - -"'Twas a bird told me they was coming by. 'Twill be that bird surely -will tell them we are here." - -Arnold and Abe and I glared angrily at O'Hara and Matterson and -Gleazen, but by common consent we dropped the brief quarrel, and -when, after an anxious time of waiting, the canoe had not -reappeared, we again lay down to sleep. - -Yet I saw that Uncle Seth's hand was trembling and that he was not -so calm as he tried to appear; and I knew that, although we might go -on with a semblance of tolerance, even of friendship, the rift in -our little party had grown vastly wider. - -Waking at nightfall, we made our evening meal of such cooked -provisions as we had brought from the Adventure, and pushed through -the screen of dense branches, and out on the strongly running, -silent river. Again we bent to the oars and rowed interminably on -against the stream and into the black darkness. - -That night we passed a town with wattled houses and thatched roofs -rising in tall cones high on the riverbank, and a building that -O'Hara said was a _barre_ or courthouse. In the town, we saw against -the sky, which the rising moon now lighted, a few orange trees and -palms, and under it, close beside the bank of the river, we -indistinctly made out a boat, which, Gleazen whispered, was very -likely loaded with camwood and ivory. We passed it in the shadow of -the opposite shore, rowing softly because we were afraid that -someone might be sleeping on the cargo to guard it, and went by and -up the river till the pointed roofs of the houses were miles astern. - -O'Hara and Gleazen and Matterson talked together, and part of their -talk was bickering among themselves, and part was of the man Bull -who, all alone in the wilderness, was waiting for us somewhere in -the jungle, and part was in Spanish, which I could not understand. -But when they talked in Spanish, they looked keenly at Arnold and -Abe and me, and I found comfort then in thinking that, although -Arnold and I now had no chance to exchange confidences, he was -hearing and remembering every word of their conversation. And all -the time that I watched them, I was thinking of the girl at the -mission. - -Remembering my talk with Arnold long ago, when I had expressed so -poor an opinion of all womankind, I felt at once a little amused at -myself and a little sheepish. Who would have thought that, at almost -my first sight of the despised continent of Africa, I should see a -girl whose face I could not forget? That when she spoke to me for -the first time, her low, firm voice would so fasten itself upon my -memory, that I should hear it in my dreams both sleeping and waking? - -Poor Uncle Seth! Never offering to take an oar, never exchanging a -word with any of the rest of us, he sat with his elbows on his knees -and his head bowed. Gleazen and Matterson had dropped even their -unkindly humorous pretense of deferring to him. In our little band -of adventurers he who had once been so assertive, so brimful of -importance, had become the merest nonentity. - -All that night we went up the river, and all the next day we lay -concealed among the mangroves; but about the following midnight we -came to a place where the banks were higher and the current swifter. -Here O'Hara stood up in the bow of the boat and studied the shore -and ordered us now to row, now to rest. For all of two miles we -advanced thus, and heartily tired of his orders we were, when he -directed us to veer sharply to larboard and enter a small creek, -along the banks of which tall water-grass grew right down to the -channel. - -There was barely room for the boat to pass along the stream between -the forests of grass which grew in the water on the two sides; but -as we advanced, the tall grass disappeared, and the stream itself -became narrower and swifter, and the banks became higher. The -country, we now saw, was heavily timbered, and we occasionally came -to logs, which we had to pry out of the way before we could pass. -One moment we would be in water up to our necks, another we would be -poling the boat along with the oars, until at last we grounded on a -bar over which only a runlet gurgled. - -There was a suggestion of dawn in the east, which revealed above and -beyond the wood a line of low, bare hills; but when I looked at the -wood itself, through which we must find our way, my courage oozed -out by every pore and left me wishing from the bottom of my heart -that I were safe at sea with Gideon North. - -Piling all our goods on the bank, we hid the boat in the bushes and -made camp. - -"Hard upon daylight, well be starting," said O'Hara, hoarsely. -"Sleep is it, you ask? Don't that give you your while of sleep? Be -about it. By dark, we'll reach him surely; and if not, we'll be in -the very shadow of the hill." - -The man was all a-quiver with excitement. He jerked his shoulders -and twitched his fingers and rolled his eyes. Matterson and Gleazen, -too, were softly laughing as they stepped a little apart from the -rest of us. - -I looked at Arnold. - -He stood with one hand raised. "What was that?" he asked in a low -voice. - -Very faintly,--very, very far away,--we heard just such a yell as we -had heard that night when in defiance of the wizard's warning we -left the Adventure. - -Coming to our ears at the particular moment when we most firmly -believed that by consummate craft we had so concealed our progress -up the river as to escape every prying eye and deceive every hostile -black, it both taunted us and threatened us. Three times we heard -it, faintly, then silence, deep and ominous, ensued. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -A GRIM SURPRISE - - -To sleep at that moment would have required more than human -self-control. Forgetting every personal grudge, every cause of -enmity, we huddled together, seven men alone in an alien wilderness, -and waited,--listened,--waited. I, for one, more than half expected, -and very deeply feared, to hear coming from the darkness that -ghostly voice which had cried to us twice already, "White man, I -come 'peak." But, except for the whisper of the wind and the ripple -of the creek, there was no sound to be heard. - -The wind gently stirred the leaves, and the creek sang as it flowed -down over the gravel and away through the reeds. The moon cast its -pale light upon us, and the remote stars twinkled in the heavens. -The cries, after that second repetition, died away, and at that -moment did not come back. But our night of adventure was not yet at -an end. - -O'Hara deliberately leveled his index finger at the bed of the -stream above us. "Sure, now, and there do be someone there," he -whispered. "Watch now! Watch me!" - -Stepping forward, with a slow, tigerish motion, he slightly raised -his voice. "Come you out!" he said distinctly. Then he spoke in a -gibberish of which I could make no more sense than if it had been so -much Spanish. - -Before our very eyes, silently, there rose from the undergrowth a -great negro with a spear. - -Arnold Lamont gave a quick gasp and I saw steel flash in the -moonlight as his hand moved. Gleazen swore; Matterson started to -his feet; Abe Guptil came suddenly to a crouching position. But -O'Hara, after one sharply in-drawn breath, uttered a name and -whispered something in that same language, which I knew well I had -never heard before, and the negro answered him in kind. - -For a moment they talked rapidly; then O'Hara turned to his comrades -and in a frightened undertone said, "The black devils know the -worst." - -"Well?" retorted Gleazen, angrily. "What of it?" - -"This"--O'Hara's leveled finger indicated the negro--"is -Kaw-tah-bah." - -"Well?" Gleazen reiterated, still more angrily. - -"The war has razed his village to the ground." - -Matterson now stepped forward and looked closely into the negro's -face. Gleazen followed him. - -"He laid down eight slave money," said O'Hara. "It was no good. They -knew he was our friend. His wives, his children, his old father, all -are dead." - -Now Matterson spoke in the same strange tongue, slowly and -hesitantly, but so that the negro understood him and answered him. - -"He says," O'Hara translated, "that Bull built the house on the -king's grave, and they feared him, because he is a terrible man; and -because they feared him they left him alone in his house and brought -the war to his friend, Kaw-tah-bah. Kaw-tah-bah's people are slaves. -His wives, his children, his old father, all are dead. But he did -not betray the secret." - -Again Matterson spoke and again the negro answered. - -"He says," cried O'Hara, "that Bull is waiting there on the hill by -the king's grave." - -The negro suddenly uttered a low exclamation. - -Standing as still as so many statues, we heard yet again that faint, -unearthly wail far off in the night, a wail, as before, twice -repeated. The third cry had scarcely died away, when the negro, with -a startled gasp, darted into the brush. - -O'Hara raised his hand and called to him to come back; but, never -turning his head, he disappeared like a frightened animal. - -Again we were alone in the wilderness. - -To me, now, all that formerly I had understood only in vague outline -had become clear in every detail. I knew, of course, that, after -their own ship was wrecked, our quartette of adventurers had sent -Gleazen back to America, to get by hook or crook another vessel to -serve their godless purposes; and I knew that they had implicated my -deluded uncle in something more than ordinary slave trade. Their -talk of the man who had stayed behind for a purpose still further -convinced me that Arnold had been right; I remembered the rough -stones on the table in the cabin the night when I took the four by -surprise. But it was only common sense that, if our first guess were -_all_ their secret, they would have smuggled such a find down to the -coast, and have taken their chance in embarking in the first vessel -that came to port. There was more than that of which to be mindful, -and I knew well enough what. - -"I say, now, push forward this very minute," cried O'Hara. "Better -travel a bad road by dark in safety than a good road by day that -will land every mother's son of us in the place where there's no -road back." - -"The black devils are hard upon us," Gleazen cried. "Lay low, I say. -Come afternoon we'll sneak along easy like." - -"I stand with Bud O'Hara," said Matterson, slowly. "It'll not be so -easy to hit us by moonlight as by sunlight." - -"And once we're with Bull in the little fort that he'll have made -for us," Bud persisted, "we'll be safe surely." - -"It is harder to travel by night," said Arnold. "But it is easier by -night than by day to evade an enemy." - -The others looked at him curiously, as if surprised by his temerity -in speaking out; but, oddly, his seemed to be the deciding voice. -Working with furious haste, we sorted our goods and made them up -into six packs, which we shouldered according to our strength. But -as we worked, we would stop and look furtively around; and at the -slightest sound we would start and stare. Our determination to go -through to the end of our adventure had not flagged when at last we -gathered beside the thicket where we had concealed the boat; but we -were seven silent men who left the boat, the creek, and the river -behind us, and with O'Hara to guide us set off straight into the -heart of Africa. - -O'Hara's long sojourn on the continent, which had made him a "black -man" in the sense that he had come to believe, or at least more than -half believe, in the silly superstitions of the natives, had served -him better by giving him an amazing knowledge of the country. That -he was following a trail he had traveled many times before would -have been evident to a less keenly interested observer than I. But -though he had traveled it ever so many times, it was a mystery to me -how he could follow it unerringly, by moonlight alone, through black -tangles of forest growth so dense that scarcely a ray stole down on -the deeply shadowed path. - -Passing over some high hills, we came, sweaty and breathless, down -into a rocky gorge, along which we hurried, now skirting patches of -cotton and corn and yams, now making a long détour around a sleeping -village, until we arrived at a wood in a valley where a deep stream -rumbled. And all this time we had seen no sign whatever of any -living creature other than ourselves. - -It was already full daylight, and throwing off our burdens, we flung -ourselves down and slept. Had our danger been even more urgent, I -believe that we could not have kept awake, so exhausted were we; and -indeed, we were in greater peril than we had supposed, for all that -day, whenever we woke, we heard at no great distance from our place -of concealment the thump of a pestle pounding rice. - -Twelve hours of daylight would easily have brought us to our -destination. But it was slow work traveling in the darkness, and we -still had far to go. Pushing on again that night, we pressed through -a country thickly wooded with tall trees, many of which elephants -had broken down in order to feed on the tender upper branches. - -As we passed them, I was thrilled to see with my own eyes the work -of wild elephants in their native country, and should have liked to -stop for a time; but there was no opportunity to loiter, and leaving -the woods behind us, we came at daylight to a brook, which had cut a -deep channel into dark slate rock and blue clay. - -Here I conjectured that we should camp for another day, but not so: -our three leaders were strangely excited. - -"Sure," O'Hara cried, pointing at a low hill at a distance in the -plain, "sure, gentlemen, and there's our port. Where's the man would -cast anchor this side of it?" - -O'Hara, Gleazen, and Matterson stood at one side, and Arnold, Abe, -and I at the other, with my poor uncle in the middle. We had not -concerted to divide thus. Instinctively and unconsciously we -separated into hostile factions, with poor Seth Upham--neither fish, -flesh, nor fowl, as they say--standing weakly between us. But even -so, the enthusiasm of the three was contagious. Weary though we -were, we strongly felt it. We had come so far, all of us, and had -wondered so much and so often about our mysterious errand, that -now, with the end in sight, not one of us, I believe, would have -stopped. - -Casting caution to the winds, we swung down into a wild country and -across the broad plain, where, after some three hours of rough hard -travel, we came to the foot of the hill. And in all this time, -except the patches of tilled land that we had passed, the towns that -we had avoided, the thumping of pestles and the occasional sounds of -domestic animals, we had seen and heard no sign of human life. It is -not strange that for the moment I forgot the threats that had caused -us such anxiety. Stopping only to catch our breath and drink and -dash over our faces water from a brook, we started up the hill. - -O'Hara, ahead of us all, was like a mad man in his eagerness, and -Matterson and Gleazen were not far behind him. Even Uncle Seth -caught something of their frenzy and assumed an empty show of his -old pompousness and sharp manner. - -Up the hill we went, our three leaders first, then, in nervous -haste, between the two parties literally as well as figuratively, my -uncle, then Arnold and Abe and I, who were soon outdistanced, in -that fierce scramble, by all but Uncle Seth. - -"Do you know, Joe," Abe said in a low voice, as he gave me a hand up -over a bit of a ledge, "I'd sooner be home on my little farm that -Seth Upham sold from under me, with only my crops and fishing to -look forward to, than here with all the gold in Africa to be got? I -wonder, Joe, if I'll ever see my wife and the little boy again." - -"Nonsense!" I cried, "of course you will." - -"Do you think so? I'm not so sure." - -As we stood for a moment on the summit of the ledge, I saw that we -had chosen a rougher, more circuitous path than was necessary. The -others had gone up a sort of swale on our right, where tall, lush -grass indicated that the ground was marshy. It irritated me that we -should have scrambled over the rocks for nothing; my legs were -atremble from our haste. - -"Of course you will," I repeated testily. Then I saw something move. -"See!" I cried. "There goes an animal of some kind." - -While for a moment we waited in hope of seeing again whatever it was -that had moved, I thought, oddly enough, of the girl at the mission; -then my thoughts leaped back half round the world to little Topham, -and returned by swift steps, through all our adventures, to the spot -where we stood. - -Now the others were bawling at us to come along after them, so Abe -and I turned, not having seen distinctly whatever animal there may -have been, and followed them up the hill. - -"Here's the brook!" O'Hara cried, "the brook from the spring!" - -He was running now, straight up through the tall grass beside the -tiny trickle, and we were driving along at his heels as hard as we -could go. - -"Here's the clearing, and never a blade of grass is changed since I -left it last! O Bull! Here we are! See, men, see! Yonder on the old -grave is the house all wattled like a nigger hut! O Bull! Where are -you? But it's fine inside, men, I'll warrant you. He was laying to -build it good. He said he'd fix it up like a duke's mansion. O Bull! -I say, Bull!" - -There indeed was the house, on a low mound, which showed the marks -of sacrilegious pick and shovel. The posts on which it stood were -driven straight down into the hillock. But in reply to O'Hara's loud -hail no answer came from that silent, apparently deserted dwelling. - -O'Hara turned and, as if apologizing, said in a lower voice, but -still loud enough for us to hear, "Sure, now, and he must be out -somewhere." - -Then he waited for us, and we gathered in a little group and looked -at the wattled hut as if in apprehension, although of course there -was no reason on earth why we should have been apprehensive. - -"Well, gentlemen," said Arnold, very quietly, "why not go in?" - -Not a man stirred. - -O'Hara faced about with moodily clouded eyes. "Well, then," he -gasped, "he _would_ build it on the king's grave." - -I am sure that my face, for one, told O'Hara that he only mystified -me. - -"Sure, and he was like others I've seen. More than once I warned -him, but he didn't believe in nigger gods. He didn't believe in -nigger gods, and he built the house on the king's grave! On the -king's grave, mind you! He was that set and reckless." - -"Gentlemen," said Arnold, again, very quietly, very precisely, "why -not go in?" - -All this time my uncle, as was his way except in those rare moments -when he made a pitiful show of regaining his old peremptory manner, -had been standing by in silence, looking from one to another of our -company. But now he hesitantly spoke up. - -"He has not been here for some time," he said. - -Gleazen turned with a scornful grunt. "Much you know whether he has -or not," he retorted. - -"See!" My uncle pointed at the door. "Vines have grown across the -top of it." - -Gleazen softly swore, and Matterson said, "For once, Neil, he's -right." - -Why we had not noticed it before, I cannot say; probably we were -too much excited. But we all saw it now, and Gleazen, staring at the -dark shadow of the leaves on the door, stepped back a pace. - -"By Heaven," he whispered, "I don't like to go in." - -"Gentlemen," said Arnold, speaking for the third time, ever quietly -and precisely, "I am not afraid to go in." - -When he boldly went up to the house ahead of us, we, ashamed to hang -back, reluctantly followed. - -To this day I can see him in every detail as he laid his hand on the -latch. His blue coat, which fitted so snugly his tall, straight -figure, seemed to draw from the warm sunlight a brighter, more -intense hue. His black hair and white, handsome face stood out in -bold relief against the dark door, and the green leaves drooped -round him and formed a living frame. - -Setting his shoulders against the door, he straightened his body and -heaved mightily and broke the rusty latch. The hinges creaked -loudly, the vine tore away, the door opened, and in we walked, to -see the most dreadful sight my eyes have ever beheld. - -There in a chair by the table sat a stark skeleton dressed in good -sound clothes. The arms and skull lay on the table itself beside a -great heap of those rough quartz-like stones,--I knew now well -enough what they were,--and the bony fingers still held a pen, which -rested on a sheet of yellow foolscap where a great brown blot marked -the end of the last word that the man they called Bull had ever -written. Between the ribs of the skeleton, through the good coat and -into the back of the chair in such a way that it held the body in a -sitting posture, stuck a long spear. - -[Illustration: _There in a chair by the table sat a stark skeleton -dressed in good sound clothes._] - -Of the seven of us who stared in horror at that terrible object, -Matterson was the first to utter a word. His voice was singularly -meditative, detached. - -"He never knew--see!--it took him unawares." - - -O'Hara slowly went to the table, leaned over it, and looking -incredulously at the paper, as if he could not believe his eyes, -burst suddenly into a frenzy of grief and rage. - -"Lads," he cried, "look there! My name was the last thing he wrote. -O Bull, I warned ye, I warned ye--how many times I warned ye! And -yet ye _would_, _would_, _would_ build the house on the king's -grave. O Bull!" - -He drew the yellow paper out from under the fleshless fingers and -held it up for all of us to see, and we read in a clear flowing hand -the following inscription:-- - - MY DEAR O'HARA:-- - - Not having heard from you this long time, I take my pen in hand - to inform you that I am well and that despite your silly fears, - no harm has come of building our house on the sightliest spot - hereabouts. Martin Brown, the trader, from whom I bought the - hinges and fittings will carry this letter to you and-- - -There it ended in a great blot. Whence had the spear come? Why had -Martin Brown never called for the letter? Or had he called and gone -away again? - -What scenes that page of cheap, yellowed paper, from which the faded -brown writing stared at us, had witnessed! It was indeed as if a -dead man were speaking; and more than that, for the paper on which -the man had been writing when he died had remained ever since under -his very hands, undisturbed by all that had happened. How long must -the man have been dead, I wondered. The stark white bones uncannily -fascinated me. I saw that the feather had been stripped from the -bare quill of the pen: could moths have done that? A knife could not -have stripped it so cleanly. - -Abe Guptil, who had been prowling about, now spoke, and we looked -where he pointed and saw on the floor under a window the print of a -single bare foot as clearly marked in mud as if it had been placed -there yesterday. - -"Hm! He saw that the job was done and went away again," said -Gleazen, coolly. - -I stared about the hut, from which apparently not a thing had been -stolen, and thought that it was the more remarkable, because there -were pans and knives in plain sight that would have been a fortune -to an African black. The open ink-bottle, in which were a few brown -crystals, the pen, which was cut from the quill of some African -bird, and the faded letter, which was scarcely begun, told us that -the spear, hurled through the open window, had pierced the man's -body and snuffed out his life, without so much as a word of warning. - -O'Hara unsteadily laid the letter down and stepped back. His face -was still white. "It's words from the dead," he gasped. - -"So it is," said Matterson, "but he's panned out a noble lot of -stones." - -As if Matterson's effeminate voice had again goaded him to fury, -O'Hara burst out anew. - -"You'd talk o' stones, would ye? Stones to me, that has lost the -best friend surely ever man had? A man that would ha' laid down his -very life for me; and now the niggers have got him and the ants have -stripped his bones! O-o-oh!--" And throwing himself into a rough -chair that the dead man himself had made, O'Hara sobbed like a -little boy. - -Matterson and Gleazen nodded to each other, as much as to say that -it was too bad, but that no one had any call to take on to such an -extent; and Gleazen with a shrug thrust a finger into that heap of -stones, slowly, as if he could not quite believe his senses,--little -_he_ cared for any man's life!--while those of us who until now -had been so hypnotized by horror that we had not laid down our packs -dropped them on the floor. - -"Ants," O'Hara had said: I knew now why the bones were so clean and -white; why the feather was stripped from the quill. - -From the windows of the hut, which stood in a clearing at the very -top of the hill, we could see for miles through occasional vistas in -the tall timber below us. The edge of the clearing, on all sides -except that by which we had approached it, had grown into a tangled -net of vines, which had crept out into the open space to mingle with -saplings and green shrubs. Half way down the hill, where we had -passed it in our haste, I now saw, by the character of the -vegetation, was the spring from which issued the brook whose course -we had followed. - -Uncle Seth, who had been striving to appear at ease since the first -shock of seeing the single occupant of the house, came over beside -me; and after a few remarks, which touched me because they were so -obviously a pathetic effort to win back my friendship and affection, -said in a louder voice, "Thank God, _we_, at least, are safe!" - -The word to O'Hara was like spark to powder. - -Flaring up again, he shrieked, "Safe--_you!_--and you thank God for -it! You white-livered milk-sop of a country storekeeper, what is -your cowardly life worth to yourself or to any one else? You safe!" -He swore mightily. "You! I tell you, Upham, _there_--" he pointed at -the skeleton by the table--"_there_ was a _man_! You safe!" - -Withered by the contempt in the fellow's voice, Uncle Seth stepped -back from the window, turned round, and, as if puzzling what to say -next, bent his head. - -As he did so, a single arrow flew with a soft hiss in through the -window, passed exactly where his head had just that moment been, and -with a hollow _thump_ struck trembling into the opposite wall. There -was not a sound outside, not the motion of a leaf, to show whence -the arrow came. Only the arrow whispering through the air and -trembling in the wall. - -Uncle Seth, as yellow as old parchment, looked up with distended -eyes at the still quivering missile. - -"Safe, you say?" cried Gleazen with a hoarse laugh, still letting -those little stones fall between his fingers. The man at times was a -fiend for utter recklessness. "Aye, safe on the knees of -Mumbo-Jumbo!" - -I heard this, of course, but in a singularly absent way; for at that -moment, when every man of us was staring at the arrow in the wall, -I, strangely enough, was thinking of the girl at the mission. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -SIEGE - - -Much as I hated and distrusted Cornelius Gleazen,--and in the months -since I first saw him sitting on the tavern porch in Topham he had -given me reason for both,--I continually wondered at his reckless -nonchalance. - -As coolly as if he were in our village store, with a codfish -swinging above the table, instead of a skeleton leaning against it, -and with a boy's dart trembling in a beam, instead of an arrow -thrust half through the wall--with just such a grand gesture as he -had used to overawe the good people of Topham, he stepped to the -door and brushed his hair back from his forehead. The diamond still -flashed on his finger; his bearing was as impressive as ever. - -"Well, lads," he said,--and little as I liked him, his calmness was -somehow reassuring,--"there _may_ be a hundred of 'em out there, but -again there _may_ be only one. First of all, we'll need water. I'll -fetch it." - -From a peg on the wall he took down a bucket and, returning to the -door, stepped out. - -In the clearing, where the hot sun was shining, I could see no sign -of life. - -Pausing on the doorstone, Gleazen shrugged his great shoulders and -stretched himself and moved his fingers so that the diamond in his -ring flashed a score of colors. He was a handsome man in his big, -rakehell way; and in spite of all I knew against him, I could but -admire his bravado as he turned from us. - -Boldly, deliberately, he stepped down into the grass, while we -crowded in the door and watched him. After all, it seemed that there -was really nothing to be afraid of. The rest of us were startled and -angry when O'Hara suddenly called out, "Come back, you blithering -fool! Come back! You don't know them, Neil; I say, you don't know -them. Come back, I say!" - -With a scornful smile Gleazen turned again and airily waved his -hand--I saw the diamond catch the sunlight as he did so. Then he -gave a groan and dropped the bucket and cried out in pain and -stumbled back over the threshold. - -With muskets we sprang to guard door and window. But outside the hut -there was no living thing to be seen. There was not even wind enough -to move the leaves of the trees, which hung motionless in the -sunlight. - -It was as if we were in the midst of a nightmare from which shortly -we should wake up. The whole ghastly incident seemed so utterly -unreal! But when we looked at Gleazen, we knew that it was no mere -nightmare. It was terrible reality. Blood was dripping from his left -hand and running down on his shoe. - -Through his hand, half on one side of it, half on the other, was -thrust an arrow. A second arrow had passed just under the skin of -his leg. - -From the door I could see the bucket lying in the grass where he had -dropped it; but except for a pair of parrots, which were flying from -tree to tree, there still was no living thing in sight. - -The vine-hung walls of the forest, which reached out long tendrils -and straggling clumps of undergrowth as if to seize upon and consume -the space of open ground, stood tall and green and silent. The deep -grass waved in the faintest of breezes. Above a single big rock the -hot air swayed and trembled. - -Without even wincing, Gleazen drew the arrow from his hand and, -refusing assistance, bound the wound himself. - -Turning from the door, Arnold went to the table and touched an arm -of the skeleton, which fell toward the body and collapsed inside the -sleeve with a low rattle. - -O'Hara raised his hand with an angry gesture. - -"I mean no irreverence," said Arnold. - -For a moment the two stood at gaze, then, letting his hand fall, -O'Hara stepped over beside Arnold, and they lifted the bones, which -for the most part fell together in the dead man's clothes, and laid -them by the north wall. - -"And what," asked Matterson, curiously, "are you two doing now?" - -Without answering, Arnold coolly swept the stones on the table -together between his hands into a more compact pile. - -"Hands off, my boy," said Gleazen, quietly. - -"Well?" Gleazen's words had brought a flush to Arnold's cheeks. He -himself was nearly as old as Gleazen and was quick to resent the -patronizing tone, and his very quietness was more threatening than -the loudest bluster. - -"Hands off," Gleazen repeated; and raising his musket, he cocked it -and tapped the muzzle on the opposite side of the table. "This says -'hands off,' too." He glanced around so that we could see that he -meant us all. "Matterson, ain't there a sack somewhere hereabouts?" -But for the blood on his shoe and the stained cloth round his hand, -he gave no sign of having been wounded. - -From under the table Matterson picked up a bag such as might have -been used for salt, but which was made of strong canvas and was -grimy from much handling. - -"He was always a careful man," Gleazen remarked with a glance at the -skeleton heaped up in the shadow of the wall. "I thought he would -have provided a bag." - -Gleazen and Matterson then, with pains not to miss a single one, -picked up the stones by handfuls and let them rattle into the bag -like shot. - -"And now," said Gleazen, when the last one was in and the neck of -the bag was tied, "once more: _hands off!_" - -Laying the bag beside the skeleton, he took his stand in front of -it, with Matterson and O'Hara on his right and left. - -So far as the three of them were concerned, we might have been -killed a dozen times over, had anyone seen fit to attack us. But Abe -and I, all the time keeping one eye on the strange scene inside the -cabin, had kept watch also for trouble from without, and all the -time not a thing had stirred in the clearing. - -"What," Matterson again asked, still watching Arnold curiously, -"what are you going to do now?" - -Tipping the table up on one side and wrenching off one of the boards -that formed the top of it, Arnold placed it across a window, so that -there was a slit at the bottom through which we could watch or -shoot. - -"Now, there's an idea!" Gleazen exclaimed. But he never stirred from -in front of the skeleton and the bag. - -"There are nails in the table," said Arnold. - -Matterson smiled, and taking the board in one hand, tapped a nail -against the table to start it, and with the thumb and forefinger of -the other hand drew it out as easily as if it had been stuck in -putty. "For a hammer," he said lightly, "use the butt of a musket." - -"Look!" my uncle exclaimed: he was pointing at a good claw-hammer, -which hung over the door. - -The hut fell far short of the duke's mansion that its luckless -builder had promised O'Hara, but it had a window in each of three -walls, and the door in the fourth, so that, by cutting a hole -through the door, we were able, after we had barricaded the -windows, to guard against surprise from any quarter without exposing -ourselves to a chance shot; and as we had brought four muskets, we -were able to give each sentry one well loaded. - -The silence deepened. The air was fairly alive with suspicion. When -Uncle Seth nervously moistened his lips, we all heard him; and when -he flushed and shifted his feet, the creaking of a board seemed -harsh and loud. - -"Well," said Gleazen, slowly, "I'll stand in one watch and Matterson -here will stand in the other. For the rest, suit yourselves." - -Another long, uncomfortable silence fell upon us. - -"Then," said Arnold, at last, "since no one else suggests an -arrangement, I would suggest that Mr. Matterson, O'Hara, Mr. Upham, -and I stand the first watch; that Mr. Gleazen, Joe Woods, and Abe -Guptil stand second watch; and in order to put four men in each -watch in turn, since we must have four to guard against surprise -from any direction, I suggest that each man, turn and turn about, -stands a double watch of eight hours. I myself will take the double -watch first." - -"That is good as far as it goes," Matterson interposed in his light -voice. "But a single watch of two hours, with the double watch of -four, is long enough. A man grows sleepy sooner with his eye at a -knothole than if he is walking the deck." - -Arnold nodded, "We agree to that," he replied. - -"Lads," said Gleazen, quite unexpectedly, "let's have an end of hard -looks and hard words. Come, Joe,--come, Arnold,--don't take sides -against us and good Seth Upham. We're all in this fix together, and, -by heaven! unless we stand together and come out together, not one -of us'll come out alive." - -The man now seemed so frank, and in the face of our common danger -so genial, that, if I had not still felt the sting of the flattery -by which he had deceived me so outrageously in the old days in -Topham, I should have been convinced that he was sincere in every -word he uttered. As it was, sincere or false, I knew that for the -moment he was honest. However his attitude toward us might change -when our troubles were past, for the time being we did share a -common danger, and it was imperative that we stand together. But to -speak of my poor uncle as if he were hand in glove with the three of -them and on equal terms exasperated me. - -Seth Upham's face was drawn and anxious. It was plain that his -spirit was broken, and I believed, when I looked at him, that never -again would he make a show of standing up to the man who had -virtually robbed him of all he possessed. - -"Sir," said Arnold Lamont, thoughtfully and with that quaint, almost -indefinable touch of foreign accent, "that is true. We might say -that we don't know what you mean by offering us a truce. We might -pretend that we have always been, and always shall be, on the -friendliest of terms with you. But we know, as well as you, that it -is not so. Since we share a common danger and since our safety -depends on our mutual loyalty, we, sir, agree to your offer. A truce -it shall be while our danger lasts, and here's my hand that it will -be an honest truce." - -It was easy to see that Gleazen and Matterson were not altogether -pleased by his words. They would have liked, I think, to have us -apprehend the situation less clearly. But there was nothing to do -but make the best of matters; so Gleazen shook Arnold's hand, and we -took an inventory of our provisions, which were quite too few to -last through a siege of any length. - -"To-morrow night, surely we can run for it," said O'Hara. "To-night -they'll watch us like hawks, but to-morrow night--" - -Plainly it was that for which we must wait. - -We divided our food into equal portions, each to serve for one -meal,--the meals, we saw, were to be very few,--ate one portion on -the spot and settled ourselves to watch and sleep. But before I fell -asleep I heard something that still further enlightened me. - -"Now, why," asked Gleazen, sourly, as he faced the other two in the -darkness, "couldn't _one_ of you ha' stayed with Bull, even if the -other was fool enough to go a-wandering?" - -Matterson quietly smiled. "Bud, here, swore he'd never leave him." - -"We-e-ell," O'Hara drawled, irritably, "you was both of you too long -gone and Bull was set in his ways. It was 'Step this side,' and -'Step that!' And 'Those stones are yourn and those are mine and -those are for the company.' Says I at last, 'Them that you've laid -out for me, I'll take to the coast. Keep the rest of them if you -wish.' Says he, 'You'll leave me here to rot.' 'Not so,' says I. 'By -hook or by crook Neil will get the vessel surely, and Molly will -arrange the market surely, for they're good men and not to be turned -lightly off. Do you clean the pocket, and build the house. Surely -the pocket that has sent Neil home like a gentleman, and has sent -Molly west like a man of business, will provide us at least the -wherewithal to buy _one_ cargo. And with a cargo under our own -hatches,' says I, 'four fortunes will soon be made.' 'Do you go,' -says he, 'and I'll build a house like a duke's mansion to live in, -and dig the pocket out and make friends with the niggers, which -eventually we will catch, and four fortunes we will make.' So I come -away, and you two surely would 'a' done the same if you'd been in -my breeches instead of me; and then he went and built his house on -the king's grave!" - -As I lay on the floor, not three feet from the skeleton and from the -round bag of quartz-like stones, through half-closed eyes I saw -against the door, beyond which the sun was shining with intense -heat, the great black shadow that I knew was Matterson, with a -musket across his knees; then, so exhausted was I, that I forgot the -grim object within arm's length of where I lay, forgot our feud with -Matterson and Gleazen and O'Hara, forgot every ominous event that -had happened since the Adventure had set sail four days before and -moved down the river toward the open sea, and, falling asleep, -dreamed of someone whom, strangely, I could not forget. - -The sun had set and the moon was up when my turn came to go on -guard. Taking Matterson's musket and his place by the open door -where I could see all that went on without, but where no one outside -could see me in the dark of the hut, I settled myself with my back -against the jamb. In Matterson's motions as he handed me the musket -and went over by the skeleton and lay down, there was the same lithe -strength that he had revealed when he lifted himself to the taffrail -and boarded the Adventure in Havana harbor. I marveled that he could -endure so much with so little drain on his physical powers. - -"Watch sharply, Joe, there's a brave lad," he said in his light -voice. - -As he crossed the hut and laid his great body on the floor, so -slowly yet so lightly, I thought to myself that I had never seen a -lazier man. What a power he might have been at sea or ashore, had he -had but a tithe of Gleazen's bold effrontery! Although he had shown -none of Gleazen's passionate recklessness, he had given no sign of -fear under any circumstances that we had yet encountered. I -wondered if it were not likely that the man's very quietness, the -complete absence of such petulance as Gleazen sometimes showed, -sprang from a deep, well-proved confidence in his own might. - -I was glad that it had fallen to me to guard the door rather than a -window. Whereas from the windows one could see only a short space of -rough open park and then the intermatted tangle of vines, from the -door the vista ran far down the hill to the open glade where, hidden -in deep grass, the spring lay. But though I sat with the musket -beside me for hours, and though the moon rose higher and higher, -revealing every tree and bush, in all my watch I did not see one -thing astir outside the hut. - -I must repeat that we seemed to be living in a dream. We had seen no -enemy, heard no enemy. For all the signs and sights that those walls -of tangled creepers revealed to us, there might have been no human -being within a hundred miles. Yet from behind those walls had come -three arrows, and for the time being those three arrows locked us in -the hut as fast as if they had been bolts and chains and padlocks. - -As I watched, I heard someone get up and walk around the hut; and -when I glanced over my shoulder, I saw that it was my uncle. To my -surprise he was talking in a low voice. Now what, I wondered, -possessed him to stay awake when he might be sleeping. - -"I must be getting home," I heard him say as he came nearer; and his -voice startled me because, although it spoke softly, it was the old -sharp, domineering voice that I had known so long and so well in -Topham; "I must be getting home. I don't know when I've stayed so -late at the store." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -SORTIE - - -Night and morning we got little rest. We ate another meal from our -slender store; but it was a fearful thing to see how few meals -remained; and though in part we satisfied our hunger, our thirst -seemed more unendurable than ever. - -"Eat light and belt tight," O'Hara muttered. "Last night they was -watching like cats at a rat-hole. To-night surely they'll not be so -eager. It'll be to-night that we can make our dash to the river." - -Once more the sun was shining on the green, open space around the -hut. A huge butterfly, blazing with gaudy tropical colors, fluttered -out from some nook among the creepers where it had been hidden, and -on slow wings sailed almost up to us, loitered a moment beside a -blue flower, and again took flight through the still air to the -opposite forest wall. - -"If Neil Gleazen had as much brains under his hair as he has hair to -cover his head," Matterson softly remarked, "we'd have brought -enough food so that we'd not have to go hungry." - -"Food!" Gleazen roared. "Food, is it? You eat like a hog, you -glutton. And who was to know that Bull would not have a house full -of food to feast us on? Who was to know that Bull would be dead?" - -At that a silence fell upon us. - -As usual, though we had agreed to a truce between our two parties, -Gleazen, Matterson, and O'Hara sat on one side of the room, the side -where the skeleton and the bag of pebbles lay, and Arnold, Abe and -I sat on the other, with poor Uncle Seth wandering about at will -between us. - -There was that in my uncle's manner which I could not understand; -and as I watched him, Abe Guptil touched my elbow. - -"Something queer ails Seth Upham," he whispered. - -"I know it," I replied. - -"I don't like to see him act that way." - -"Nor I." - -Abe regarded me thoughtfully. "Now ain't it queer how things turn -out?" he whispered. "I mind the day you come to my house and told me -I'd got to flit. It was a bitter day for me, Joe, and yet do you -know, I'd kind o' like to be back there, even if it was all to go -through again. I swear, though, I'd never sail again with Mr. -Gleazen." - -There was something so ingenuous in Abe's way of saying that he -wished he had never come, that I smiled; but it touched me to -remember all that Abe and I had faced together; and Abe himself, -with keen Yankee shrewdness, added in an undertone, "It's all very -well for O'Hara to talk of making our break to-night. I'm thinking, -Joe, it is upon us a storm will break before we get free and clear -of this camp." - -As the sun rose higher and higher, the sunlight steadily grew -warmer. The air shimmered with heat, and the house itself became as -hot, it seemed, as an oven over a charcoal fire. Sweat streamed from -our faces and, having had no water now for nearly twenty-four hours, -we suffered agonies of thirst. - -Never were men in a more utterly tantalizing predicament. Whether or -not it was cooler outside the hut than within, it surely could have -been no hotter; and from the door straight down the hill to the -spring there led a broad, open path. The spring was only a short -distance away, and there was, so far as we could see, not a living -creature between us and cold water in abundance. Hour after hour the -green, deep grass around it mocked us. Yet in the wattled hut, under -the thatched roof, we were prisoners. - -Three arrows, shot by we knew not whom, every one of them now in our -own hands, were the only warnings that we had received; but not a -man of us dared disobey the message that those three arrows had -brought. - -The day wore on, through the long and dreary watches of the morning, -through the tortures of high noon, and through the less harsh -afternoon hours. We ate another of our few remaining meals and -watched the sun set and the darkness come swiftly. The shadows, -growing longer and longer, reached out across the clearing to the -trees on the opposite side; and suddenly, darkly, swept up the -eastern wall of the forest. As the light vanished, night enfolded -us. The stars that flashed into the sky only intensified the utter -blackness of the woods. - -O'Hara uneasily stirred and stretched himself in the darkness like a -dog. - -"Now, lads," he whispered, "now's the time to gather things -together. At two in the morning we'll run for it. Then's the hour -they'll be sleeping like so many black pigs." - -Gleazen moved and groaned,--it was almost the first time that he had -yielded in the least to the pain of his wound. - -"Can you travel by yourself, Neil?" Matterson asked. "Or shall I -carry you on my back?" - -When it came to me that the question was no joke, that Matterson -actually meant it, I could not keep from staring at him in -amazement. He was a tremendous man, but there was something honestly -heroic in his offering to carry Cornelius Gleazen's weight back over -all those miles. - -Gleazen smiled and shook his head. "Thanks, Mat," he replied, "but -I'll make out to scramble along." - -The word "scramble," it seemed, caught Uncle Seth's attention, and -with a curt nod, he said, "Yes, scramble them; use them any way but -boiled. We can't sell cracked eggs in the store, but they're -perfectly good to use at home." - -We all looked in amazement, and Gleazen, in spite of his pain, -hoarsely laughed. - -"Why, Seth," he cried, "are you gone crazy?" - -My uncle stared blankly at him and continued to pace the room. - -In the silence that ensued, Gleazen's words seemed to echo and -reëcho; though they were spoken quietly, even in jest, their -significance was truly terrible. - -"Gentlemen," said Arnold Lamont in a very low voice, "Seth Upham, I -fear, is not well. We must not let him stand guard. _We cannot trust -him!_" - -"Name of heaven!" whispered Matterson, "the man's right. Upham is -turning queer." - -As I watched my uncle, my mother's only brother, the last of all my -kin, a choking rose in my throat. He did not see me at all. He saw -none of us. In mind and spirit he was thousands of miles away from -us. I started toward him, but when his eyes met mine dully and with -no indication that he recognized me, I swallowed hard and turned -back. - -Never was a night so long and ghastly! With all prepared for our -dash to the river, with Uncle Seth wandering back and forth, and -with the rest of us divided into three watches of two each, that -overlapped by an hour, so that four men were always on guard, we -watched and waited until midnight passed and the morning hours came. - -When the moon was at the zenith, O'Hara woke Matterson, and we -gathered by the packs, which were made up and ready. - -"Poor Bull!" said O'Hara, brushing his hand across his eyes. "Sure, -and I hate to leave him thus. If ever man deserved a decent burial, -it's him." - -"If men got what they deserved," Gleazen briefly retorted, "Bull -would never have drove the ship on the island, and we'd never have -had to divide up this here find which Bull dug up for us, and Bull -would never have had to stand by the hill to get himself killed, in -the first place." - -Each man had tied up his own belongings to suit himself, and had put -in his pocket his share of what little food was left. The different -packs stood in the middle of the hut, but it was noticeable that, -although each man was nearest his own, Matterson was eyeing -Gleazen's with a show of keener interest. - -"Let me carry your bundle, Neil, you with a hole in your leg," he -said. - -"No," Gleazen replied. - -"I'll never notice the weight of it." - -"Keep your hand off, Molly. I'll carry my own bundle." - -"As you please." - -Matterson turned away and stepped to one side. - -All this I noticed, at first, mainly, if the truth be known, because -I saw how closely Arnold Lamont was noticing it, but later because -the manner of the two men convinced me that Gleazen's pack held the -bag that the others were so carefully guarding. - -Now that our food was almost gone, there remained so very little -baggage of any kind for us to carry, that there was no good reason -that I could see for not putting our odds and ends of clothing and -ammunition into, say, two convenient bundles, at which we could take -turns during our forced march to the river, or, indeed, for not -abandoning the mere baggage altogether. But Gleazen, Matterson, and -O'Hara had planned otherwise. Having allotted to each of us his -share of the food that remained, and an equal seventh of our various -common possessions, they kept three of the muskets themselves, and -gave the fourth to poor Seth Upham, which seemed to me so mad an act -that I was on the point of questioning its wisdom, when Arnold -caught my eye and signaled me to be still. - -Gathering in the door of the hut, we looked out into the silent, -moonlit glade that led down the hill and through the valley toward -the distant river. - -"Are we all ready, lads?" Matterson asked in his light voice. - -"Push on, Molly, push on," Gleazen replied. - -Shouldering his pack, Matterson stepped out into the moonlight. -"Now, then," he whispered,--for although we were confident that no -enemy within earshot was then awake (it had not been hard for O'Hara -to persuade us to his own way of thinking), a spell of silence and -secrecy was upon us,--"it's straight for the river, lads, and the -devil take the hindermost. If you're too lame to travel, Neil, so -help me, I'll carry you." - -"Push on!" Gleazen returned hoarsely. "Push on to the spring. After -that we'll talk if you wish." - -"We're going home," I thought. Home, indeed! It seemed that at last -we had turned the corner; that at last we had passed the height of -land and were on the point of racing down the long slope; that at -last our troubles were over and done with. A score of figures to -express it leaped into my mind. And first of all, best of all, at -last we were to get water! - -Arnold said sharply, "Come, Abe; come, Joe; step along." - -Bending low, Matterson led the way, I followed close at his heels, -and the others came in single file behind me. Seven dark figures, -silently slipping from shadow to shadow, we left behind us the -hut,--we believed forever!--and headed straight down the hill to the -spring; for more than anything else we longed to plunge our faces -into cold water and drink until we had quenched our burning thirst. - -Down the hill to the spring we went, slipping along in single file. -All night and all day, without a word, we had endured agony; for it -was by showing no sign of life whatever to those who were guarding -the hut from the forest that we hoped so to lull their watchfulness -that we could escape them just after midnight. And now we were eager -almost beyond words for that water which we had so vividly imagined. -As we darted into the tall grass, it seemed so completely assured -that I swung my pack from my shoulder and broke into a quick trot -after Matterson, whose long, swift strides, as he straightened up, -had carried him on ahead of me. - -If a thousand people read this tale, not one of them, probably, will -know the full meaning of the word thirst; not one will understand -what water had come by then to mean to me. - -I ran--I tried to run faster--faster! But as I dragged my pack -along, bumping at my knees, I was amazed to see Matterson stop. He -threw his musket to his shoulder. The hollow boom of it went rolling -off through the woodland and echoed slowly away into silence among -the mighty trees. Then he threw his hands up, and with a cry fell -into the grass, and lay so still that I could not tell where he had -fallen. - -By the flash of his musket I and those behind me had for an instant -seen by the spring a grotesque figure dressed in skins and rags, and -painted with white rings and bars. When the flash died away, we -could see nothing, not even the waving grasses and the black trees -against the sky, because momentarily the sudden glare had blinded -us. - -As if impelled by another will than mine, I drew back step by step -until I was standing shoulder to shoulder with the others. Whatever -quarrels we had had among ourselves were for the time forgotten. - -"Now, by heaven," Gleazen gasped, "it's back to the hut for all of -us!" - -"But Neil--now, Neil, sure now we can't run away and leave old -Molly," O'Hara cried. - -"Leave him?" Gleazen roared. "We've got to leave him! Where is he? -Tell me if you can! Go find him if you like! Hark! See!" - -With a thin, windy whistle a spear came flying out of the night and -passed just over Gleazen's shoulder and his pack. Another with a -soft _chug_ struck into the ground at my feet; then, my eyes having -once more become accustomed to the moonlight, I saw sneaking into -the clearing a score of dark, slinking figures. - -"They're coming!" I cried. "They're cutting us off! Quick! Quick!" -In panic I started back to the hut, with the others at my heels. - -When they saw the figures that I had seen, Gleazen and O'Hara both -fired their muskets, whereupon the figures disappeared and we, -deafened by the tremendous reports and blinded again by the bright -flashes, ran back as hard as we could go to the hut that so short a -time since we had eagerly abandoned; and with Gleazen limping in the -rear, fairly threw ourselves across the threshold. - -Whether our gunfire had done any real damage, we gravely doubted; -and now we were both a man and a weapon short. But bitterest of all, -and by far the most discouraging, was our intense thirst. - -"Ah, the black devils," O'Hara muttered between grinding teeth. -"Sure, and they planned all that--planned to let us get the water -almost between our lips and then drive us back here. The black -cowards, they dare not meet us man to man, though they are forty to -our one." - -It was significant that no one spoke of Matterson. The silence as -regarded his name marked a certain fatalism, which now possessed -us--something akin to despair, yet not so ignoble as despair; -something akin to resolution, yet not so praiseworthy as resolution. -There seemed, indeed, nothing to say about him. Bull was dead, I -thought, and Matterson was dead; and even if the blacks dared not -rush upon us and take the hut by storm, they would soon kill us by -thirst. We had done our best; if worst came to worst, we would die -with our boots on. - -Meanwhile queer low cries out in the forest were rising little by -little to shrill yells and hoots and cat-calls. If we could judge by -the sounds, there were hundreds of blacks, if not thousands. - -"O Bull! You poor, deluded fool!" O'Hara cried. "Now why--why--_why_ -did he go and build the house on a king's grave?" - -Why indeed? - -It was a fearful thing to hear those cries and yells; yet, although -we watched from door and windows a long while, we did not actually -see any further sign of danger, until Arnold Lamont, who was -guarding the door, said in a subdued voice, "Look--down the -hill--half-way down. Something has moved twice." - -As we gathered behind him, he turned and with a quick gesture said, -"Do not leave the windows. Who knows what trick they may try upon -us?" - -My uncle, who seemed for the moment to comprehend all that was going -forward, and Abe Guptil and Gleazen, went back to the windows, -although it was evident enough that their minds were not so much on -their own duty as on whatever it was that had caught Arnold's -attention. - -"See!" said Arnold. - -There was nothing down there now that seemed not to belong by nature -to the place, and I surmised that Arnold had seen only some small -animal. But that a black object, appearing and disappearing, had -revealed more to the others than to me, I immediately apprehended. - -"It was fifty feet farther down the hill when I first distinguished -it," said Arnold. - -O'Hara went over to my uncle and I heard him say, "Let me take your -gun, since it's loaded, Mr. Upham, and thank you kindly." - -Returning, he sat down in the door beside Arnold, who had begun -meanwhile to load the empty musket that O'Hara had carelessly laid -aside. When the thing, whatever it was, moved again, O'Hara raised -the gun to his shoulder. - -"Don't shoot!" Arnold whispered. - -"And why not?" - -The thing moved once more. - -"Will ye look, now! It's come ten feet in this direction," O'Hara -whispered. - -Now Arnold raised his own musket. - -Again we saw the thing, but so briefly that neither Arnold nor -O'Hara had time to fire. - -Suddenly O'Hara laid his hand on Arnold's shoulder and repeated -Arnold's own words:-- - -"Don't shoot." - -"This time," Arnold whispered, "I shall shoot." - -"Wait a bit, wait a bit!" O'Hara gently pressed down the muzzle of -the gun. - -Meanwhile, you must understand, the yelling and hooting had first -grown loud and near, then had drawn slowly farther away. It was not -easy to let that creature, be it animal or human, come crawling up -the hill in the full light of the moon. As the cries died in the -distance, the thing moved faster and with less concealment, and I -fiercely whispered, "Shoot, Arnold, shoot!" - -"Wait," he replied and lifted a restraining hand. - -At the moment I could not understand why he did not do as I said; -but as the thing came out into open ground, the same thought that -had caused the two to hold their fire occurred likewise to me; and -now we saw that we were right. - -The thing crawling up the hill was a man, and when the man came into -the open clearing directly in front of our camp, we saw that it was -Matterson. - -Without a word, followed closely by O'Hara, who laid his gun on the -threshold, I leaped out past Arnold and ran down to Matterson and -helped him to his feet and led him groaning up to the hut. - -[Illustration] - - - - -VI - -FOR OUR VERY LIVES - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -SPEARS IN THE DARK - - -"O-o-oh!" he moaned. "They got me. It's a wonder they didn't kill -me. But here I am along with old Neil Gleazen." - -"Where's your bundle?" Gleazen demanded. - -"Down in the grass by the spring." - -"Let me tell you, Matterson, it's good I carried my own." - -Matterson repressed another groan and made no answer. - -Blood was running from a great gash above his ear and across his -cheek, which we hastened to bind to the best of our ability, and he -lay down on the floor with his head on his hand. - -"I'm on the sick list," he said at last, "but I've had water, and if -those black sons of hell have not poisoned the spring, I'll call it -quits." - -Matterson's face was a ghastly sight, and already blood had reddened -the strip of sacking round his head; but I believe there was not a -man of us who would not have taken his wound to have got his chance -at water. - -"If only we could catch a king," Gleazen remarked thoughtfully. -"That's the way to end a war in Africa. Catch us a king and make -peace on him." - -"That's one way surely to end a war," said O'Hara, darkly, "but not -this war." - -"And why not this war?" - -"Because," said O'Hara, "Bull built the house on a king's grave. -It's the _spirits_ that are offended." - -Gleazen laughed unkindly. - -"Aye, laugh," cried O'Hara, "that's all you know about spirits. Now -I'll tell ye, believe me or not as it pleases ye, that the spirit of -a nigger is a bad thing to cross. And care as little as ye please -for jujus and fetishes and nigger gods, the times are coming when -they'd serve you well if you'd not turned them off by laughing at -them." - -"Spirits--" said my uncle in an undertone. "Hm! Hollands, Scotch, -and Rye. We must lay in more Hollands, Sim; the stock's getting low. -And while you are about it, we'd best take an inventory of our -cordials." - -Gleazen fluently swore, and watched Seth Upham with a keen, -appraising look. There was no doubt that in his own wandering mind -my uncle was back again in his store in Topham. - -"I'm thirsty," he said suddenly. "I must get a drink of water. Now -where's the bucket? Sim, where's the bucket?" - -As he fumbled along the wall, we stared at one another with eyes in -which there was fear as well as horror. I swallowed hard. Poor, poor -Uncle Seth, I thought. What was to become of him? And indeed, for -the matter of that, of us all? - -By this time I had come to see clearly that poor Seth Upham was in -no condition to stand up for his own rights, and that, whether or -not he could stand up for his rights, he had no chance of getting -them from that precious trio, his associates, without a stronger -advocate than mere justice. - -They had promised unconditionally that half the profits of their mad -voyage should be his, and by that promise alone they had so cruelly -persuaded him to sell home and business and embark in their -enterprise. Now, deceived, bullied, flouted, he bade fair to lose -not only those gains which were rightfully his, but also his vessel, -his stores, and every cent that he had ventured. If there was to be -a copper penny saved for him, Arnold, Abe, and I must save it. - -Through the rough, less pleasant memories of his abrupt, sharp -ways--and so often, even when he was in the abruptest and sharpest -of moods he had betrayed unconsciously, even unwillingly, his -thought of my future, for which he was building, as well as for his -own--there came memories of old days, when he and my mother and I -had lived so quietly and happily together in Topham. - -I started up, all at once awakened from my reveries, with Abe's -dazed voice ringing in my ears. "Look! Look!" he cried. "Look -there!" - -For the moment, in our horror at my uncle's condition, we had almost -forgotten our danger from without. - -"Look!" Abe cried again. "In heaven's name look there!" - -We crowded shoulder to shoulder by the window where Abe had -stationed himself and saw in the moonlit clearing a strange -creature, which came dancing and rolling along from the edge of the -forest. It was dressed in skins and rags. It was painted with big -white rings and bars. Now it began to utter strange whines and -squeals and whimpers, in an unearthly tone that it might have -produced by blowing on a split quill. - -From the corner of my eye I saw that Matterson was biting his lip. -At my side I felt O'Hara violently trembling. - -Out in the moonlight, where the swaying creepers cast dim, spectral -shadows, the gibbering, murmuring creature was coming nearer. Its -boldness was appalling. I had been brought up in a Christian country -and given a Christian education, but even to me that clumsy, dancing -wizard, with his unearthly squeals and cries, brought a -superstitious fear so keen that I could scarcely control my wits. -Small wonder that such tricks impose on credulous savages! - -"Watch, now!" Gleazen said quietly. He leveled a musket across the -window-sill. "Spirits is it? I'll show them." - -"Don't shoot," O'Hara cried. "Don't shoot, Neil, don't shoot!" - -He reached past me toward Gleazen; but before he could lay hands on -the gun, Gleazen fired. A spurt of flame shot from the muzzle, and -as the report went thundering off into the forest the medicine -man--wizard--devil--call him what you will--seemed curiously to wilt -like a drought-killed plant, but more suddenly than ever plant -wilted, and fell in a crumpled heap in the moonlight. - -"You fool!" O'Hara cried, "you cursed fool! First it was Bull that -built the house on a king's grave and now it is you that's killed a -devil!" - -"He's dead enough," Gleazen calmly replied. - -"Look!" - -Here and there, along the edge of the forest, men darted into the -moonlight. They carried spears, which flashed now and then when the -moon fell just so on the points. First they gathered by the body of -the wizard and carried it back into the woods. We saw them, a little -knot of men with the heavy weight of the fallen mummer in their -midst, moving slowly to the wall of vines and through it into the -mysterious depths beyond. Then, coming slowly out again, they moved -back and forth before the hut as if to appraise our chances of -defending it. Then they once more disappeared. - -All this time they had walked as if in a world of death. Although we -had seen their every gesture, we had not heard a sound loud enough -to rival the almost imperceptible drone of insects in the grass. But -now we heard again that grimly familiar, haunting, wild cry. Three -times we heard it, terribly mournful and prolonged; then we heard a -voice wailing, "White man, I come 'peak: white man all go Dead -Land." - -The voice died away, a few formless shrieks and yells followed it, -and a silence, long and deep, settled upon the clearing. - -Once more Arnold, Abe, and I stood on one side of the hut, and -Gleazen, Matterson, and O'Hara on the other, with poor Seth Upham -wandering aimlessly between us. - -There was war within and without. There was almost no food. There -was no water at all. I thought, then, that I should never see the -town of Topham again; and--which oddly enough seemed even harder to -endure--I thought that I never again should see the mission on the -river. - -"I swear," O'Hara whispered,--so clearly did I hear the words, as I -stood with one eye for the inside of the hut and one for the -outside, that I jumped like a nervous girl,--"I swear we've started -a war that will reach from here to Barbary before it's done. Hearken -to that!" - -We heard afar off the throbbing of native drums, the roar of distant -angry voices, a strange chant sung in some remote African -encampment. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -CARDS AND CHESS - - -Hunger and thirst were stripping away the last vestige of our -pretended good-will, and our two parties glared at each other in a -sullen rage, which seemed visibly to grow more intense, until it was -the most natural thing in the world that Arnold should touch with -the toe of his shoe a board that ran from one end of the hut to the -other and divided the floor approximately into halves. - -"That side," he said, "is yours. This side is ours. You shall not -cross that line. You shall guard the hut from that side; we, from -this." - -Gleazen looked at Matterson, then at O'Hara, then both he and -Matterson nodded grim assent. - -But although a board across the hut divided us into two hostile -camps, we shared a peril so imminent and so overwhelming that we -dared not for an instant relax our watchfulness toward our enemies -in the forest. - -With one eye on our foes without and one on our foes within, we -settled ourselves for another night, which I remember by the agonies -of thirst that we endured; and with a certain grim confidence, -shared by both parties in the hut, that neither would betray the -other, since to do so would be to throw away its own one chance for -life, we watched and waited for the dawn. - -And meanwhile we heard in the forest such a clamor and din as few -white men have ever been so unlucky as to hear. First, we heard -unseen people running about and furiously screaming; then, here and -there through the trees and vines we caught glimpses of flaming -torches, which they swung in great circles and again and again -touched to the ground. I was convinced that it preluded an attack, -and I screwed up my courage and fingered my pistols and tried not to -show my fear; but in a brief lull I learned from something that -O'Hara was saying to his companions that they were not preparing for -an attack; they were mourning for the wizard whom Gleazen had -killed, and with the flaming torches they were driving away evil -spirits. Now far down the valley we caught glimpses of moving -lights; and once in a while, through pauses in the nearer din, we -heard a distant droning, by which we knew that the blacks of the -countryside were converging upon us from the remotest districts, -along their narrow trails, in thin streams like ants. Minute by -minute the cries became more general, and rose to such a hideous -intermingling of wails and shrieks as I should not have believed -could issue from merely human throats. - -By its volume and extent the uproar was an appalling revelation of -the number of those who had surrounded us, and I tell you that we -seven men in that hut in the clearing were properly frightened. It -seemed a miracle that they did not sweep over us in one great -irresistible wave and bear us down and blot us out. Yet such was -their superstitious fear of things they did not understand, that -from the cover of our frail little hut our few firearms still held -them at a distance. - -Never dreaming that their own power was infinitely superior to ours, -attributing the death of their wizard to a witchcraft stronger than -his own, they circled round and round us under cover of the forest -and dared not come within gunshot. - -As day broke, and the sun rose like a ball of fire and blazed down -on us and doubled the tortures that we had suffered in the night, we -heard the drummers who had come to pound their drums by the body of -the dead wizard. The drumming throbbed and rolled in waves; bells -rang and hands clapped; and all the time there was shrieking and -wailing and moaning. - -They drummed the stars down and the sun up, and when at noon there -had been no respite from the din, which by then fairly tortured us, -the other three, who had been talking together among themselves, -called us to the board across the hut for conference. - -"Now, men," O'Hara began, "we'll make no foolish talk of being -friends together; surely we and you know how much such talk is -worth. But we and you know, surely, that if one party of us is -killed, the others will be killed likewise; for we are too few to -fight for our lives, even supposing as now that every man jack of us -is alive and bustling. Is not that so? - -"Now, lads, there's a chance we can break through their line and run -for the river while the niggers is praying and mourning over that -corpse yonder." - -O'Hara stopped as if for us to reply, and I glanced at Arnold, who, -meeting my glance, turned to Abe Guptil and thoughtfully said, -"Shall we take that chance, Abe?" - -"Take any chance, is my feeling, Mr. Lamont. Chances are all too -few." - -With a nod at O'Hara, Arnold replied, "We are agreed, I think. As -you say, there is a chance. You three shall go first. We will -follow." - -"It's a chance," O'Hara repeated, almost stubbornly. - -"We are in a mood for chances," Arnold returned. "But you three must -go first." - -When O'Hara frowned, hesitated, and acceded, I wondered if he -thought we were gullible enough to let them come behind us. - -Arnold was quietly smiling, but the others, as they gathered in the -door, were grave indeed. There was not one of us who did not know in -his heart that our hope was utterly forlorn. Only Arnold--time and -again I marveled at him!--sustained that amazing equanimity. - -Gleazen shouldered his pack, but the others let theirs lie. - -"How about the rest of the baggage?" Arnold asked, as composedly as -if he were setting out from the store in Topham upon a two days' -journey. - -"Leave it to the devils and the ants," Matterson thickly retorted. - -Both he and Gleazen were lame from their wounds and must have -suffered more than any of the rest of us. How they could face the -long, forced march, I did not understand; for though hunger and -thirst were my only troubles, my head swam when I moved quickly and -my limbs were now very light, now heavier than so much lead. But -Gleazen had long since shown his mettle, and Matterson, although he -staggered when he walked, set his teeth as he leaned against the -wall and waited to start. - -If the truth were told, we had no real hope of getting away; and -immediately whatever desperate dreams we clung to were frustrated; -for, as we appeared in front of the hut and weakly started down the -hill, there came a sudden lull in the mad wailing over the dead -wizard; black warriors appeared on all sides of us, and a line of -them, like hornets streaming out of their nest, emerged from the -forest and massed between us and the spring. - -"Come, men, it's back to the house," said O'Hara; and back we went, -each party to its own side as before, but each turning to the others -as if for what pitiful mutual reassurance there could be in such a -situation. - -"There's war from here to the coast," Matterson muttered. "Such a -war as never was before." - -The voice that issued from his dry throat was so thick and husky -that I should never have known it for the light, effeminate voice of -Matterson. - -"It's bad," said Gleazen, "but so help me, they'll be cleaning out -old Parmenter and putting an end to the sniveling psalm-singers on -this river. And then, lads! Ah, then'll be great times ahead, if -once we get free and clear of this accursed hornets' nest." - -In the face of our desperate danger, the man was actually exultant. -But I thought of the girl at the mission, and a dread filled my -heart, so strong that the room went black and I sat down, literally -too sick to stand. - -With never a word poor Uncle Seth was pacing back and forth across -the hut. Of us all, he alone had the liberty of the entire place; -but it was a tolerant, contemptuous liberty that the others gave -him, and nothing else would have testified so vividly to the way he -had fallen in their regard. - -It seemed incredible that this pale, gaunt, voiceless man, who -suffered so much in silence, who without comment or remark let -matters take their own course, who resented no indignity and aspired -to no authority, could be that same Seth Upham who had made himself -one of the leading men of our own Topham. And indeed it was not the -same Seth Upham! Something was broken; something was lost. In my -heart of hearts, I knew well enough what it was, but I could not -bear to put the thought into words. No man in my place, who had a -tender regard for old times and old associations, could have done -so. - -There had been no life at all in our last attempt to leave the hut. -We faced the future now in the listlessness of despair. Still the -extraordinary situation continued unchanged. Apparently, so long as -we remained in the hut, we were to be ignored. It seemed as if the -black fiends must know how bitterly we were suffering as hour after -hour the clamor of their mourning rose and fell; as if they were -deliberately torturing us. - -When Matterson sat down on the floor with his back against the wall, -and began to whittle out bits of wood from one of the legs of the -table, I watched him with an inward passion that I made no effort to -control. He, for one, was responsible for Seth Upham's sad plight, -but with a heart as hard as the blade of his knife he calmly sat for -hours whittling, and smiling over his work. - -All that day we heard the tumult in the forest; all that day the sun -blazed down on the hut and doubled and trebled the tortures of our -thirst; all that day Seth Upham paced the hut in silence; and from -noon till late afternoon Matterson whittled at little sticks of -wood. - -Piece by piece there grew before our eyes a set of chessmen. Rough -and crude though the men were, they slowly took the familiar shapes -of kings and queens and bishops and knights and pawns. When they -were done, Matterson hunted through the pockets of the coat that the -skeleton still wore, and found a carpenter's pencil, with which he -blackened half the men. Then, grunting with pain as he moved, he -drew a crude chessboard on the floor squarely in the middle of the -hut. - -"Lamont," said he, "shall we play?" - -Arnold smiled. "I will play you a game," he said. - -And with that the two sat down by the board and tossed for white and -set up the crudely carved men, and began perhaps the most -extraordinary game of chess that ever two men played. - -[Illustration: _And with that the two sat down by the board ... and -began perhaps the most extraordinary game of chess that ever two men -played._] - -There was something admirable in their very bravado. While the rest -of us watched the clearing, every man of us suffering from thirst -and hunger, the tortures of the damned, those two, swaying sometimes -from sheer weakness, played at chess as coolly as if it were one of -the games that Arnold and Sim had played of old in my uncle's store -at Topham; and although to this day I have never really mastered -chess, I knew enough of it to perceive that it was no uneven battle -that they fought. As the pawns and knights advanced, and the bishops -deployed, and the queens came out into the board, the two players -became more and more absorbed in their game, which seemed to take -them out of themselves and to enable them to forget all that had -happened and was happening. - -Indeed, it well-nigh hypnotized those of us who were only watching. -The ghastly calm of the two, the fierceness with which they fixed -their eyes on each move, the coolness with which they ignored the -wild clamor, all helped to compose the rest of us, and by their -example they made us ashamed of revealing to one another the fears -we were struggling against. - -"Neil," said O'Hara suddenly,--his harsh, hoarse voice startled even -the chess-players,--"shall we have a turn at cards? I do believe -there's a wonderful solace in such hazards." - -"Cards!" Gleazen echoed. His own voice was stranger than O'Hara's. -"We have no cards." - -From the pocket of the blue coat on the skeleton O'Hara drew out a -dingy old pack, which a dead man's fingers had placed there. - -"Sure, and I know where to find them," he said. "Never did Bull -travel without them." - -With that the two squatted on the floor, and shuffled the cards with -a pleasant whir, and dealt and played and dealt again. - -It was as if our party had suddenly been transported back to Topham. -Such nonchalance was almost beyond my understanding. Matterson, by -his cool, bold defiance of danger, seemed to have aroused emulation -in every one of us; and Gleazen, always reckless, now talked as -lightly and gayly of the games as if it were a child's play to while -away the dull hours of a holiday afternoon. - -For the time, abandoning the agreement that neither side should -trespass on the other's half of the hut, Abe and I watched from -window to window lest the blacks take us by surprise, and now and -then we would see someone observing the hut from under the trees a -long gunshot away. But although the wails and yells and moans and -the constant drumming over the dead wizard never ceased, no man came -from the cover of the vines into the clearing. - -Now Arnold precisely and clearly said, "Check." - -Matterson swore and snapped his fingers and moved. - -Again Arnold moved, and again he said, "Check!" - -Matterson bent over the board and frowned. After a long delay he -moved once more. - -Instantly Arnold moved again and in his calm voice repeated, -"Check!" - -Matterson looked up at him with a strange new respect in his eyes. - -"You win!" he cried with an oath. "You've done well. I didn't think -you could. You _are_ a chess-player." - -"I have played a good deal," Arnold quietly replied. - -"You have played with better men than Sim Muzzy." - -"Yes." For a moment Arnold hesitated, then he added: "I have beaten -at chess a great man. It was like to have cost me my sword and my -head." - -"Your sword?" Matterson repeated slowly. "Your sword and your head?" - -There was a question in his voice, but Arnold did not answer it. -Returning a curt, "Yes," as if regretting that he had said so much, -he brushed Matterson's chessmen together, and looked out of the door -and down the long slope at the tall green grass beside the spring, -which seemed as far away from us as did our own well, thousands of -miles away in Topham. - -And still Gleazen and O'Hara played on. Time and again we heard the -whir of shuffling and the slap of cards flung on top of one another. - -Now the sun was setting. The swift twilight came upon us and faded -into darkness, and the card-players also stopped their game. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -AN UNSEEN FOE - - -All day Seth Upham had scarcely said a word. From dawn until dark he -had paced the hut, apparently buried deep in thought. Only his -gaunt, pitiful face revealed the extent to which he shared our -tortures. - -Now for the first time in all that day, to our surprise, he spoke; -and his first words confirmed every fear we had felt for him. - -"The boys ought not to make so much noise," he said. "I must speak -to the constable about it." - -Matterson softly swore and shifted the bandage on his face. Gleazen -significantly looked over at me. Abe Guptil stood with his mouth -open and stared at Seth Upham. - -Never boys of a New England town made such an uproar as was going on -outside. Those wails and yells and hideous drummings and trumpetings -were African in every weird cadence and boisterous hoot and clang. - -Then, as if the first words had broken a way through his silence, -Seth Upham began to talk in a low, hurried voice; and however -reluctant we had hitherto been to believe that he was mad, there was -no longer any hope for him at all. The man had lost his mind -completely under the terrific strain that he had endured. - -Small wonder when you think of all that had happened: of how, for -Cornelius Gleazen's mad project, he had thrown away a place of honor -and assured comfort back in Topham; of how he had been driven deeper -and still deeper into Gleazen's nefarious schemes by blackmail for -we knew not what crimes that he had committed in his young-manhood; -of how, even in that alliance of thieves, he had fallen from a place -of authority to such a place that he got not even civil treatment; -of how he had lost reputation, livelihood, money, and now even his -vessel. - -"I declare, we must put in another constable," he muttered. "Johnson -can't even keep the boys in order--In order, did you say? Who else -should keep the place in order?--O Sim, if only you had wits to -match your good intentions! How can you expect to keep books if you -can't keep the stock in order?--" He stopped suddenly and faced the -door. "Hark! Who called? I declare, I thought I was a lad again." - -Moment by moment, as he paced the hut, we watched his expression -change with the mood of his delirium,--sometimes I have wondered if -the fever of the tropics did not precipitate his strange -frenzy,--and moment by moment his emotions seemed to become more -intense. - -Now, pursuing that latest fancy, he talked about his boyhood and -told how deeply he repented of the wicked life he had led as a young -man; told us, all unwittingly, of unsuspected ambitions that had led -him from wild ways into sober ones, and of his youthful -determination to win a creditable place in the community; told us of -the hard honest work that he had given to accomplish it. Now he -revealed the pride he had taken in all that he had succeeded in -doing and building, and--which touched me more than I can tell -you--how he had counted on me, his only kinsman, to take his place -and carry on his work. All this, you understand, not as if he were -talking to us or to anyone else, but as if he were thinking out -loud,--as indeed he was,--merely running over in his own mind the -story of his life. - -Now he reverted again to his repentance for the wicked youth that he -had lived. And now, suddenly, his manner of speaking changed, and -from merely thinking aloud he burst out into wild accusation. - -"The dice are loaded," he cried,--his voice was hoarse and strained -with the agonies that he, like all of us, had endured and was still -enduring,--"the dice are loaded. I'll not play with loaded dice, -Neil Gleazen!" - -At that Gleazen gasped out a queer whisper. - -But already Seth Upham's mind was racing away on another tack. - -"Aye, loaded with the blessed weight of salvation. Didn't my old -mother, God bless her, teach me at her knee that a man's soul can -never die? Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name--" - -Staring at him in horror, we saw that he was not blasphemous. The -words came reverently from his weak lips. He simply was mad. - -Suddenly in a high-pitched voice, he began to sing, - - "Low at Thy gracious feet I bend, - My God, my everlasting friend." - -He sang three stanzas of the hymn in a way that appalled every one -of those three men who of us all, I think, were least easily -appalled--indeed, I think that for once they were more appalled than -the rest of us; certainly none of them had Arnold's composure or -Abe's obvious, almost overpowering sympathy for poor Seth Upham. -Then he stopped and faced about with eyes strangely aflame. In his -manner now there was all his old imperiousness and something more, -an almost noble dignity, a commanding enthusiasm, which, whether it -came from madness alone or whether it had always been in him, got -respect even from Matterson and O'Hara. - -"I am going to meet my God face to face at the throne of Judgment," -he cried. - -It was the first time in days that he had addressed us directly, and -he spoke with a fierce intensity that amazed us; then, before we -guessed what was in his disordered mind, before a man of us could -stop him, he stepped outside the door and flung his arms straight -out like a cross, and with his head thrown back marched, singing, -into the darkness. - -"By Heaven!" Gleazen gasped, "he has set sail now for the port of -Kingdom Come!" - -We who remained in the hut, where a spell of silence had fallen, -could hear him strongly and clearly singing as he strode down the -long, dark vista toward the spring:-- - - "Lo what a glorious sight appears - To our believing eyes! - The earth and seas are past away, - And the old rolling skies!" - -It may seem strange to one who reads of that fearful night that we -did not rush after him and drag him back. But at the time we were -taken completely by surprise, literally stupefied by the -extraordinary climax of our days and nights of suffering and -anxiety; and even then, I think,--certainly I have later come to -believe it,--we felt in our inmost hearts that it was kinder to let -him go. - -He went down the hill, singing like an innocent child. His voice, -which but a moment before had been pathetically weak, had now become -all at once as clear as silver. And still the words came back from -the tall grass by the spring, where creatures ten thousand times -worse than any crawling son of the serpent of Eden lay in wait for -him:-- - - "Attending angels shout for joy, - And the bright armies sing, - Mortals, behold the sacred feet; - Of your descending King." - -Then the song quavered and died away, and there came back to us a -queer choking cry; then the silence of the jungle, enigmatic, -ominous, unfathomable, enfolded us all, and we sat for a long time -with never a word between us. - -The wailing and drumming over the body of the dead wizard had -suddenly and completely ceased. At what was coming next, not a man -of us ventured to guess. - -Gleazen was first to break that ghastly silence. "They got him," he -whispered. For once the man was awed. - -"No," said Arnold Lamont, very quietly, "they have not got him. -Unless I am mistaken, his madness purged his soul of its black -stains, and he went straight to the God whose name was on his lips -when he died." - -Of that we never spoke again. Some thought one thing; some, another. -We had no heart to argue it. - -Poor Uncle Seth! What he had done in his youth that brought him at -last to that bitterly tragic end, perhaps no other besides Cornelius -Gleazen really knew, and Cornelius Gleazen, be it said to his -everlasting credit, never told. But for all that, I was to learn a -certain story long afterward and far away. Not one man in hundreds -of thousands pays such a penalty for blasphemous sins of his mature -years; and whatever Seth Upham had done, however dark the memory, it -had been a boy's fault, which he had so well lived down that, when -Cornelius Gleazen came back to Topham, no one in the whole world, -except those two, would have believed it of him. - -In that grim, threatening silence, which enfolded us like a thick, -new blanket, we forgot our own quarrel; we almost forgot the very -cause for which we had risked, and now bade fair to lose, our lives. - -We were six men, two of us wounded, three of us arrant desperadoes, -but all of us at least white of skin, surrounded by a black horde -that was able, if ever it knew its own power, to wipe us at one -blow clean off the face of the earth. Now that the terrible thing -which had just happened had broken down and done away with every -thought of those trivial enmities that fed on such unworthy motives -as desire for riches, our common danger bound us, in spite of every -antagonism, closer together than brothers. By some strange power -that cry which had come back to us when Seth Upham's song ended not -only enforced a truce between our two parties, but so brought out -the naked sincerity of each one of us, that we knew, each and all, -without a spoken word, that for the time being we could trust one -another. - -Gleazen, always reckless, was the first to break the silence. From -the wall he took down a pewter mug, which the dead man they called -Bull had hung there. Pretending to pour into it wine from an -imaginary bottle, he looked across it at Arnold. - -"This is not the vintage I should choose for my toast," he said with -a wry mouth, "but it must serve. Yes, Lamont, it must serve." He -raised the mug high. "In half an hour we'll be six dead men. I -drink--to the next one to go." - -Arnold coolly smiled. Pretending to raise a glass and clink it -against the mug, he, too, went through the pantomime of drinking. - -I was not surprised that Abe Guptil was staring at them, his lips -parted, or that his face was pale. Although drunk only in -make-believe, it was a toast to make a man think twice. I drew a -deep breath; I could only admire the coolness of the two. - -Yet now and then there flashed in Arnold's eye a hint of resourceful -determination such as Gleazen probably never dreamed of, a hint of -scorn for such theatrical trickery. - -We were all on our feet now, standing together in our silent truce, -when we heard for the last time that sound, so unhappily familiar, -the long-drawn wailing cry that, whenever the wizard spoke, had -preceded and followed his harangue. Coming from the dark forest -beyond the clearing, it brought home to us more vividly than ever -the ominous silence that had ensued since Seth Upham fell by the -spring. Then that familiar, accursed voice, faint but penetrating, -came from the wall of vines:-- - -"White man, him go Dead Land! - -"White man, him go Dead Land! - -"White man, him go Dead Land!" - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -THE FORT FALLS - - -"Now, by the holy," O'Hara whimpered, "it's fight for our lives, or -hand them away like so many maundy pennies." - -"Fight, is it?" Gleazen roared. And forgetting his stiff wounds, he -sprang to his feet. "Load those guns! Name of heaven, be quick!" - -Why at this particular time the bawling voice of the native should -thus have called us to action is not easy to say, for you would -think that, having become familiar with it, we should have regarded -it with proverbial contempt. But we knew that the deadlock could not -last forever; Seth Upham's fate was all too vivid in our minds; and -I really think that, in the strange voice itself, there was more -than a hint of what was to follow. - -Forgotten now was the edict that one party should stay on one side -of the hut, the other on the opposite side. Forgotten, even, was the -bag of stones in Gleazen's pack. Armed with every weapon that the -hut afforded, we stood behind door and window and saw a sight that -appalled the bravest of us. - -Straight up the hill from the spring where they had killed Seth -Upham there streamed a raging black horde. The rising moon shone on -their spears and revealed the endless multitudes that came hard at -the heels of the leaders. Their yells reverberated from wall to wall -of the forest and even, it seemed to us, to the starry sky above -them. - -As we fired on them, the streamers of flame from our guns darted -into the night and the acrid smoke drifted back to us. But though -they faltered, this time they came doggedly on. Already in the -moonlight we could distinguish individuals; now we could see their -contorted features alive with rage and vindictiveness. That they -would take the hut by storm, there was not the slightest doubt; nor -was there a ray of hope that we should survive its fall. - -It was a long, long way from Topham to that wattled hut in a -clearing on the side of an African hill, and in more ways than one -it was a far call from Higgleby's barn. But it was Higgleby's barn -that I thought of then--Higgleby's barn in the pasture, with a light -shining through a crack between the boards, and a boy scaling the -wall under the window; Higgleby's barn in the dark, with tongues of -flame running out from it through the grass. Truly, I thought in -metaphor, which was rare for me, the fire that sprang up so long ago -in Higgleby's barn had already killed Seth Upham, and now it was -going to enfold and engulf us all. - -Then I thought of the mission on the river, and the girl whom I had -seen first among the mangroves, then in the darkness on the mission -porch. Did the war actually reach to the coast? And would the war -wipe out "old Parmenter" as Gleazen had said? By heaven, I thought, -it would not and it should not! - -All this, of course, takes far longer to tell, than it took to go -coursing through my mind. In the time it took to think it out, not -one black foot struck the ground; not one left the ground. Before -that racing army of negroes had advanced another step, the answer -had come to me; and now, no longer the boy who had climbed in idle -curiosity the wall of Higgleby's barn, but a man to think and act, I -cried from my dry throat:-- - -"Out of the back window, men! O'Hara, help me brace the door! Out of -the window and over the hill!" - -With an oath Gleazen cried, "He's right! They're all coming on us up -the hill! The back way's our only chance!" - -O'Hara, in spite of my call for help, led the way out of the back -window; but Arnold paused to jam chairs and boards against the door; -and Gleazen, ever reckless, stooped in the darkness and picked -something up. As we sprang to the window, he came last of all, and I -saw that he, the only one to think of it in that hour of desperate -peril, was of a mind to bring his pack--the pack that had held the -thing for which we had left our homes and crossed the seas. I saw -Matterson clinging to brave Abe Guptil's shoulder, and striving -desperately, with Abe's help, to keep pace with O'Hara, who in all -this time had not got so much as a scratch. I saw the forest wherein -lay our sole hope of safety, and terribly far off it seemed. Then I -rolled out into the moonlight, and ran as if the devil were at my -heels. - -Almost at once I heard Gleazen come tumbling after me, and gasp with -a frightful oath that the pack had caught and he had left it. - -As we ran, we kept, as far as possible, the house between us and the -blacks, and so intent were they on attacking our little citadel, -that for a moment or two they overlooked our flight. - -We heard their cries as they battered down the door, their eager -shouts, their sudden silence, and then the fierce yell of discovery -when they saw us in the moonlight. It occurred to me then that, but -for my poor uncle's death down by the spring, which had very likely -caused them to break their circle and gather there in the open, we -should not have had so easy a time of it when we fled over the hill -behind the hut. Weak though we were, despair was a mighty stimulus -and we ran desperately for the woods; but although we had got a -fair start, the pack was now yelping in full cry on our trail. - -The pitiful futility of it all, I thought. Seth Upham was dead--the -stones were lost--we ourselves were hunted for our lives! As I -staggered after the others straight into the wall of almost -impenetrable vines, I turned in the act of wriggling through it and -let fly with my pistol. Compared with the muskets, the pistol made a -dainty little spit of fire and sound, but it served to delay the -foremost negroes, and with our scanty hopes a little brighter for -their hesitation, I struggled on to come up with the others. - -It was well for us, after all, that O'Hara had taken the lead. Say -what you will against him, the man knew the country. First, guided -by the general lay of the land, he led us down the hill, through -rocks and brush, straight to a stream where we drank and--warned by -Arnold Lamont--fought against the temptation to drink more than a -tiny fraction of what we desired. - -Revived by the plunge into water, we turned and followed O'Hara up -the stream-bed, bending low so that no onlooker could see us, -climbed a great precipitous hill down which the stream tumbled in -noisy cascades that hid every sound of our flight, drank again, and -kept on up into the rocks away from the water. Not daring to raise -our heads above the dry bed of the rainy-season torrent along which -we now hurried, we never once looked back down the slope up which we -had toiled, panting and puffing and reeling; but behind us, far -behind us now, we could hear the shrieks and yells of the -disappointed savages, who, having outflanked the timber into which -we disappeared, and having wasted many minutes in beating through -it, a manoeuvre that their wholesome respect for our firearms had -much delayed, had now come out on the brow of the rocky declivity -leading down to the creek, and were losing much time, if we could -judge by their clamor, in arguing which way we were likely to have -gone. - -I wonder if the whole performance to which we owed our lives was not -characteristic of the natives of the African coast? If therein did -not lie just the difference between a people so easily led into -slavery and a people that never, whatever their weaknesses have -been, have yielded to their oppressors? It all happened long ago, -and it was my only acquaintance with black warfare; but surely we -could never thus have thrown American Indians off the scent. - -It seemed to me, then, that we had made good our escape and could -run straight for the river, and in my enthusiasm I said as much. But -Arnold and Abe Guptil shook their heads, and O'Hara significantly -raised his hand. "Hark!" - -I listened, and realized that an undertone of sound, which I had -heard without noticing it, as one hears a clock ticking, was the -rumble of drums miles and miles away. While I listened, another drum -far to the north took up the grim throbbing note, then another to -the east. Then, mingling with the swelling voice of all the -drums,--how many of them there were, or in how many villages, I had -not the vaguest notion,--I heard human voices down the hill on our -right, and after a time other voices down the hill on our left. I -then knew that however stupid our pursuers might seem, to reach the -river was no such easy task as I had hoped. - -For an hour we lay hidden among the rocks, with the world spread out -before us in the moonlight. Here and there were small points of -fire, which shone as if they were stars reflected on water,--we -knew, of course, that there was no water, and that they must, -therefore, be lights of village or camp,--and twice, at a distance -of half a mile, men passed with torches. But for the most part we -lay shoulder to shoulder, with only the moon and the twinkling -points of light to awaken our meditations. - -I thought of Uncle Seth dead in the grass by the spring down to -which he had gone so bravely. I thought of the hut in which, so far -as we knew, still lay the skeleton and the bag of pebbles. And while -I was thinking thus, I heard to the southeast the sound of gunshots. - -First came several almost together like a volley, then another and -another, then two or three more, and after that, at intervals, still -others. - -O'Hara looked first at the sky and then in the direction of the -shooting. "They're attacking a trader's caravan," he said. "There'll -be white men in it, surely. The thing for us to do, my lads, is to -join up with them. They'll have food." - -"Aye, but how?" asked Gleazen. - -As if in answer to his question,--a terribly discouraging -answer!--we heard, when we stopped to listen, coming up to us out of -the night from every side, near and far, the throbbing of drums. - -"Aye, 'how?'" O'Hara repeated. - -"Can we not," I asked, "work down toward them and break through the -blacks?" - -"The war has gone to the coast by now, and they are attacking all -comers. But it's us they're keen on the trail of, all because Bull -built his house on a king's grave and a blithering idiot killed a -devil. 'Tis true, Joe. If we could work down toward them, come three -o'clock in the morning, it might happen even as you say." - -There were no torches, now, to be seen; no voices were to be heard. -There were only the fixed lights shining like stars and the steadily -throbbing drums. Whether or not, back on our trail, the blacks were -still hunting for us, we did not know; but by all signs that we -could see, they were settling quietly down for the remainder of the -night. - -"And if it don't happen like you say," O'Hara added as an -afterthought, "we'll be nearer the river surely, and there may be -hope for us yet." - -At that he looked at Gleazen and smiled, and Gleazen softly laughed -and nudged Matterson, at which Matterson swore, because Gleazen's -elbow had touched a wound. Then they all three looked at one another -and laughed; and remembering the board in the centre of the hut and -the law that neither side should trespass on the part allotted to -the other, I heartily wished that we had another such board and -another such law. We had agreed upon our truce under the stress of -great danger. Take away that danger, I thought, and there would be -nothing to keep the old coals of hate from springing into flame -anew. - -Down from the hilltop we went, slowly picking our way among the -boulders, to still another brawling stream at the foot. There we -drank and waited and reconnoitred, and finally, convinced that we -were in no immediate danger, pushed on after our guide, O'Hara. - -He first led us down the ravine and through a wild and wooded -country; but within two miles the sound of drums, which had become -louder and nearer, warned us of a village ahead, and, leaving the -stream, we climbed a hill, passed through scattered patches of -plantains and yams, from which we took such food as would dull the -edge of our hunger, came down again into dense timber, worked our -way through it, and emerged at last into an open space above a broad -plain. - -And all this long way faithful Abe Guptil had half carried, half -dragged the great body of Matterson, who fought hard to keep up with -the rest of us and strove to regain the strength that his wound had -taken from him, but who despite his bravest efforts, still was sadly -weak. - -As well as we could judge by the interminable drumming, there were -villages on our right and on our left and behind us. By the stars we -estimated that it was still an hour before dawn, and by lights on -the plain we guessed at the location of the camp of which we had -come in search. - -We had already wandered so far from the road by which we had come to -the mountain, that it seemed as if only a miracle could bring us -back to the place on the river where we had left our boat; but in -that respect O'Hara was no mean worker of miracles, for his years in -Africa had given him an uncanny judgment of direction and distance. - -"Yonder will be the river," he said, pointing slightly to the left; -"and yonder will surely be the camp where we heard guns firing. -Below there'll be a road and the camp will be on the road. I know -this place; I've been here before." - -With that he once more plunged down the steep declivity and through -a growth of scrubby trees to a great prairie, where, even as he had -said, a road ran in the direction that our journey led us. Fire not -long since had burned over the meadow, and spears of grass from -fifteen to twenty feet high had fallen across the road and tangled -and twisted so that most of the time we had to bend almost double as -we walked. But in that early morning hour there were no travelers on -the road except occasional deer, which went dashing off through the -grass; and it crossed many streams into which we plunged our hot -faces. With water for our thirst and plantains for our hunger, we -fared on, until, just as dawn was breaking, we came in sight of the -red coals of a fire. - -O'Hara raised his hand and we stopped. "The niggers are ahead of -us," he whispered. "Beyond the niggers will be the caravan surely, -and beyond the caravan there'll be more niggers." - -"The question, then, my friends," said Arnold, slowly, "is whether -to go round them and on alone, or to go through the blacks and take -our chances on a friendly reception from whoever is camping just -ahead." - -"That," said O'Hara, "is the question." - -"There's no doubt but they're traders," Gleazen muttered. "We'll -have to fight before we reach the river. The more on our side, the -merrier, I say, when it comes to fighting." - -By our silence we assented. - -Arnold raised his hand. "It is by surprise, gentlemen, or not at -all. Are you ready?" - -Breathing hard, we pressed closer together. - -"Quickly, then! Together, and with speed!" - -Arnold's voice snapped out the orders as if we were a company of -military. There was something so commanding, so martial, in his -manner and carriage, yet something that fitted him so well and -seemed so much a part of his old, calm, taciturn, wise way, that I -felt a sudden new wonder at him, a feeling that, well though I -thought I had known him, I never had known him. - -Then, brought all at once into action by the energy and force of his -command, as was every one of the others, I started at the word as -did they. Together we ran straight through the camp of sleeping -blacks,--so strong was Matterson's spirit, so great his eagerness, -that he now kept pace with us almost without help,--straight past -the coals of their campfire, over the remnants of their evening -meal, over their weapons and shields strewn in the road, and on -toward their picket-line. As they woke behind us, bewildered, and -groped to learn the cause of the sudden disorder, and realized what -was happening, and started up with angry cries, we leaped, one -after another, actually leaped, over a black sentry nodding at his -post, over a frail barrier that they had thrown up to conceal their -movements, and charged down upon a threatening stockade behind which -lay the caravan. - -That the caravan kept better watch than their besiegers, we learned -first of all; for even as we leaped the barricade and came racing -down the road, a gun went off in our faces and a cry of warning -called the defenders from their sleep. - -"Don't shoot!" O'Hara yelled. "We're white men! Don't shoot!" - -All now depended on the men of that caravan. Were they friends or -foes, honest men or thieves, we had cast the dice, and on that throw -our fate waited. - -I heard Gleazen bellowing in Spanish and Arnold Lamont calling in -French; then up I came with Matterson and Abe to the crude, hasty -rampart of mud and grass, and over I tumbled upon a man who cried -out in amazement and raised his gun to strike me down, only to -desist at the sight of my white face, which was no whiter than his -own. Arnold was ahead of me; Gleazen and Matterson came in, almost -at the same moment; then came Abe; and last of all, dumb with -terror, O'Hara, who had tripped and fallen midway between the two -barricades and had narrowly escaped perishing at the hands of the -negro guards. - -In we came and about we turned, side by side with the strange -whites, and when the hostile spearmen showed signs of rushing upon -us, we gave them balls from musket and pistol to remember us by, and -they faltered and drew back. But that the end was not yet in sight -the thudding of their drums and the growing chorus of their angry -yells unmistakably told us. - -"Ha! Dey t'ink dey git us yet," one of the strangers cried, hearing -me speak to Arnold in English. "Dis one beeg war. Where he start, -who know? Dey fight, how dey fight! Dey come down upon us--whee! -Gun, spear--when we start we have feefty slave. Ten we loos' before -war hit us so we know and hit back. Ha! Dis one beeg war!" - -"How far, tell me," gasped O'Hara, "has the fighting gone?" - -"Leesten!" The stranger lifted his hand. "Hear dem drum? One -here--one dar--one five mile 'way--one ten mile 'way! Oh, ev'ywhere -dem drum! Hear dem yell! How far dis war gone--dis war gone clean to -Cuba! Dis one beeg war, by damn!" - -"Has the war," I cried, "reached the mission on the river?" - -"Ha! You t'ink you see dat meession, hey? Dat meession, he fall down -long since time, I'll bet. One good t'ing dat war he do." - -If only I had never seen the girl by the river, I thought. If only I -could have forgotten her! I turned away. Yet even then I would not -have spared one iota of my brief memories of that girl with the -strong, kind face and quiet voice. If I never saw her again, I still -had something to hold fast. How many times, since Seth Upham went -down to die by the spring, had I thought of that girl as one of the -few people whom I should be glad to see again, and how many times -had I wished that she did not think so ill of me! - -"Tell me, you man, where from you come?" the stranger now asked. -"You come _pop_! So! Whee!" - -At that Gleazen spoke in Spanish, and the man turned like a cat -taken unawares and looked at him with shrewd, keen eyes. Then -Matterson came up to them and likewise began to talk in Spanish, -and others crowded round them. - -Arnold, after listening for a moment, drew me to one side. "See," he -murmured. - -Following his gesture, I looked around the camp and saw, in the -middle of the clearing, thirty or forty cowering negroes bound fast -by bamboo withes. Behind them and mingling with them were bullocks -and sheep and goats. Moving restlessly about in the light of -earliest morning were numbers of male and female slaves; and on -every side were baled hides and bundles of merchandise: ivory, rice, -beeswax, and even, it was whispered, gold. - -"I fear, my friend," Arnold said in an undertone, "that our hosts -are more to the taste of Gleazen than of ourselves." - -"You have heard them talking," I whispered. "Tell me what they -said." - -"Only," replied Arnold, "that _we_ have a ship and _they_ have a -cargo; that it will be to our mutual advantage to join forces." - -I looked again at the captive negroes, and again thought of the girl -at the mission and of the evil that she had attributed to me. - -"To join forces," I said,--and in my excitement I spoke aloud,--"in -trading human beings? Not that!" - -The others turned. - -"What are you two talking about?" Matterson asked quickly in his -light voice. - -"Of one thing and another," I replied, flushing. - -"Come," said Gleazen, boldly, "let us _all_ talk together." - -"Dis one beeg war!" the trader cried. "To fight--eet is all we can -do. Fighting we go, da's what me, I say. See! Sun, he come up!" - -"To that," said Arnold, "we all agree. We, sir, will go with you and -fight by your side." - -"Good! Me, I's happy. You brave men. Dis one beeg war, but we make -plenty war back again." - -Then he cried out orders in Spanish, and the camp woke to the -activities of the new day; and while some of us held off the blacks, -the rest of us ate our morning meal in the first golden sunlight of -the dawn, with a hum and bustle of packing and harnessing and -herding going on around us. - -But all the time the drums beat, and far away we would hear now and -then calls and shouts that made the strange trader and Gleazen and -O'Hara exchange significant glances. - -As with loaded muskets we fell in to guard the caravan, and the -porters lifted their bundles, and the herders goaded their beasts, -and the captive negroes started hopelessly on the road to the river, -and the sudden hush of voices made the trample of feet seem three -times louder than before, we heard guns behind us. - -"Ha! Dose trade gun, hey?" the trader cried, and fell into Spanish. - -Wheeling his horse, he anxiously looked back along the road. - -One thing for which we had crossed the sea was lost in a hut overrun -by an army of vengeful savages. There was no fortune left for us, I -knew, unless it were a fortune gained by bartering human souls; and -at that, which lay at the real bottom of all Neil Gleazen's schemes, -my heart revolted. What chance should we have had of saving for Seth -Upham his ship and what money was left, even if he had lived? Small -chance, I admitted. - -All day we drove on in a forced march, leaving the war to all -appearances far behind us and stopping only at noon, by a clear cold -stream in the forest, to eat a hasty meal; and at nightfall, -crossing another stretch of prairie, we came to still another -forest. - -"Here," the trader cried, "here ees one fine leetle river! Here we -camp one leetle while! Den we go--like fire--when midnight come, -mebbe we see one beeg river!" - -That we, who had come the night before from the house on the king's -grave, were ready to rest, I can assure you. Never in all my life -have I been so heavy with weariness, nay, with downright exhaustion, -as on that evening at the edge of that African forest. - -The very beasts were weary after the long day's march. The trader's -horse hung its head. The bullocks and goats and sheep plodded on -before their noisy herders and scarcely quickened their pace at -thrust of goad or snap of whip. The captive negroes, wretched -creatures doomed to the horrors of the infamous middle passage in -the hold of some Cuban or Brazilian slave-ship, wearily dragged -along, their chins out-thrust, their hands lashed behind them. The -traders' own slaves, bending under the weight of hides and rice and -ivory, stumbled as they walked, and even the white men themselves, -who had done nothing more than ride or walk over the road, breathed -hard and showed drawn faces as they eagerly pushed on or -apprehensively looked back. - -Into the woods we pressed, thanking in our hearts the Divine -Providence that here at least there was no throb of drum, no howling -of black heathen, no war at all. The aisles between the great trees -were cool and green and inviting. The river rippled over rocks and -suggested by its music the luxury of bathing; fruits were to be had -for the picking, and there was no doubt in my mind that our hosts -would butcher a sheep for the evening meal. - -Water, food, and sleep at that moment seemed more desirable than all -the dominions of Africa; and water, food, and sleep, I was -confident, were but now at hand. Into the forest we marched, for -once relaxing the watchfulness that we had maintained since sunrise, -and down the trail to the creek that we could hear murmuring on its -way over the rocks and through the underbrush. And there, at the end -of our long day's journey, the bushes suddenly blossomed in flame. - -Guns boomed in our very faces. Up and down the creek fire flashed in -long spurts. The wind brought to our nostrils the stinging smell of -powder-smoke. Men and beasts were thrown into wild confusion. In the -dim light of the forest I saw coming at us from all sides, naked men -armed with trade guns and bows and spears and lances. Louder than -the shouts and curses behind us, rang the exultant yells before us. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII - -DOWN THE CURRENT - - -When I was a boy in school, I one day ran across a translation of -Homer's Iliad and carried it home and read it afternoons for a week. -During those days I lived in the great pictures of the battles on -the plains of Troy, and though afterwards I had seldom thought of -them, they had never quite faded from my memory. - -It was far indeed from Homer's Iliad to an ambush in an African -forest; but the fight that ensued when we walked into that hornets' -nest of black warriors nevertheless brought Homer's story vividly to -my mind. The spears, I think, suggested the resemblance; or perhaps -the wild swiftness of the fight. First an arrow came whistling -through the air and struck one of the men on the throat and went -through his neck half the length of the shaft. He spun round, -spattering me with dark blood that ran from a severed vein, and went -down under the feet of the bullocks without a word. Then the -bullocks turned, stampeded by the sight and smell of blood, and -crowded back upon the sheep and goats, and the porters dropped their -burdens and tried to run. O'Hara threw up his musket and shattered -the skull of a huge black who came at him with a knife like the -blade of a scythe, and, himself stooping to pick up the knife, -grappled with another and died, shrieking, from a spear-thrust up -under the ribs. Then one of the porters hurled a bundle at a man who -was about to cut him down, and the bundle broke and a shower of -yellow gold scattered in front of us, whereupon there was a short, -fierce rush for plunder. - -Side by side with Arnold Lamont and Gleazen, emptying my pistol into -the crowd, I saw out of the corner of my eye that the blacks were -cutting their way into the heart of the caravan for slaves and -booty. - -Imagine, if you can, that motley horde which had rushed upon us out -of the wood. Some, naked except for loin cloths, brandished spears -and howled like enraged maniacs; some, in queer quilted armor and -helmets with ostrich plumes, clumsily wielded trade muskets; some -advanced boldly under the cover of shields and others, ranging -through the underbrush, kept up a desultory flight of arrows. It was -primitive, unorganized, ferocious war. - -"_Mon dieu_, what a spectacle!" Arnold exclaimed; then, "Now, my -friends, quick! To the left! While the thieves steal, we yet may -escape!" - -Up from the mêlée, streaked with blood and dust, now came the -trader. "All, all ees gone!" he wailed, and waved his arms and -shrieked and stamped and cursed and jabbered on in Spanish. - -Had our enemies been content to delay their plundering until they -had killed us all, not one of us would have escaped to tell the true -story of that bloody day. But at the sight of a rich caravan and -loose gold, the blacks, in the twinkling of an eye, were fighting -among themselves. - -"Quick!" again cried Arnold's voice, strangely familiar in the midst -of that grotesquely unreal uproar, and as amazingly precise as ever. -"Quick, gentlemen! It is our only chance." - -And with that, he, Gleazen, Matterson, the trader, Abe, and I took -to our heels into the bushes. The woods behind the line of the -ambush appeared to be deserted. At the foot of a ravine ran the -creek. We crossed it by a rude bridge of branches, hastily and -silently climbed the opposite bank, and stole off quite unobserved. - -A hundred yards farther on, at the sound of a great thrash and -clatter, we dove into the undergrowth and lay hidden while a band of -blacks tore past us to the scene of battle. But getting hastily up -as soon as they were out of sight, we resumed our headlong retreat. - -Every bush and tree darkly threatened us. Great rocks, deeply clothed -in moss and tumbled so together as to form damp holes and caves, -at once tempted us by their scores of hiding-places and filled us -with apprehension lest natives might have hidden there before us. -But as if we were playing the old game of follow-my-leader, we -scrambled up and down, and in and out, and always hard ahead, until -we again heard before us a rumble of voices and pounding feet, and -a second time, desperately, flung ourselves into the undergrowth -and lay all atremble while half a hundred naked negroes, armed with -bows and clubs and spears, came trotting, single file, like wolves, -and passed us not fifty feet away. - -As they disappeared, and while we still dared not move, I saw -something stir not five English cubits from my face. I caught my -breath and stared at the thing. Ten feet ahead of it; the leaves and -ferns rustled, and twenty feet ahead of it then, twitching, it -disappeared. I broke out from head to foot in sweat. Unwittingly, we -had thrown ourselves down within hand's reach of a great serpent. -Whether or not newly gorged, and so too sleepy to resent our -nearness, it moved slowly away through the quivering undergrowth. - -When we had put a mile between ourselves and the plundered caravan, -Matterson turned with an oath. "Poor Bud!" he said in his hard, -light voice. "At least, we'll hear no more of jujus and devils and -king's graves." - -Gleazen shrugged and turned to the trader. "How far is the river?" -he asked. - -"Mebbe one mile--mebbe two." - -"Do you, sir, know the road?" Arnold asked. - -The trader nodded and spread his hands as if in despair. "Know heem? -I know heem, yes! T'ree, ten, fifty time I come with slave and ivory -and hide--now all gone! Forty prime slave all gone! Ev'ytheeng -gone!" - -Gleazen grunted. - -"Let us go to the river," said Arnold. - -"Heem reever go by town," wailed the trader. "Heem beeg town! Walls -so high and strong!" - -"Ah, that is another matter," said Arnold. "But let us go forward at -all events. We may, for all that we can tell, strike the river below -the town." - -So forward we went in the darkness, and a slow, tedious journey it -was, particularly for Abe and me, who helped Matterson along as best -we could; but we avoided the town by the sound of drumming that -issued from behind its walls, and having helped ourselves to fruit -from the patches of cultivated land that we passed, we at last -emerged from the darkness of the woods into the half light of a -great clearing, and saw a vast, black, living surface on which -strange lights played unsteadily. It seemed unbelievable that it -really could be the same river that we had left so long ago,--in the -sense of all that had happened, so very long ago,--and yet I knew, -as I watched Gleazen and Matterson, that it must be the same. The -black, swift current recalled to my mind the toil that we had -expended in coming so far to so little purpose. In which direction -the creek lay that we had entered on our way to the ill-fated hut, I -had not the remotest idea; but I looked a long time downstream -toward the mission. - -Bearing around in a rough half-circle, we worked slowly down the -bank, until the walls of the town itself were before us, at a safe -distance. - -"Our boat," said Matterson, grimly, "is fifty miles away." - -"Wait here," said I. "There'll be canoes under the town. I'll get -one." - -Gleazen made a motion as if to go himself, but Arnold shook his -head. "No; let Joe go first. He will learn where the canoes are, and -do it more quietly than we." - -They all sat down by the edge of the water, and, leaving them, I -went on alone. It took all the courage I could muster; but having -rashly offered, I would not hesitate. - -For one thing, it gave me time to think, and in a sense I desired to -think, although in another sense it came to me that I was more -afraid of my own thoughts than of all the walled towns in Africa. -The living nightmare through which we had passed had left me worn in -body and mind. That Uncle Seth, upon whom once I had placed every -confidence, should have died so tragic a death, now brought me a -fresh burst of sorrow, as if I realized it for the first time. It -seemed to me that I could hear his sharp yet kindly voice speaking -to me of little things in our life at Topham. I thought of one -episode after another in those earlier days, some of them, things -that had happened while my mother was alive; others, things that had -happened after her death; all, things that I had almost forgotten -long before. My poor uncle, I thought for the hundredth time--my -poor, poor uncle! - -Then suddenly another thought came to me and I straightened up and -stood well-nigh aghast. By the terms of my uncle's will, of which -more than once he had told me, all that had been his was mine! - -The river silently swept down between its high banks, past me who -stood where the waves licked at my feet, past the black walls of the -town, which stood like a sentinel guarding the unknown fastnesses of -the continent of Africa, past high hill and low gravel shoal and -bottomless morass, past pawpaw and pine palm and mangrove, to the -mission and the sea. - -There I stood, as still as a statue, until after a long time I -remembered my errand and, like one just awakened, continued on my -way. - -I found a score of canoes drawn up on the beach under the town, and -very carefully placing paddles by one that was large enough for our -entire party, I cautiously returned to the others and reported what -I had done. Together we all slipped silently along the shore to the -canoes, launched the one that I had chosen, and with a last glance -up at the pointed roofs of the houses and the sharpened pickets of -the stockade, silently paddled, all unobserved, out on the strong -current and went flying down into the darkness. - -It had been one thing to row up stream against that current. It was -quite another, and vastly easier, even though three of us were -entirely ignorant of handling such a canoe, to paddle down the swift -waters of midstream. Exerting always the greatest care to balance -the ticklish wooden craft, which the blacks with their crude adzes -had hewn out of a solid log, we sent it, even by our clumsy efforts, -fairly flying past the trees ashore; and as it seemed that we had -struck the river many miles below the creek where we had left our -boat, we had hopes that the one night would bring us within striking -distance of the open sea. Indeed, I found myself watching every -point and bend, in hope that the mission lay just beyond it. - -Estimating that daylight was still two hours away, we drew in shore -at Gleazen's suggestion, to raid a patch of yams or plantains. - -"A man," he said arrogantly, but with truth, "can't go forever on an -empty stomach." - -Luckless venture that it was--no sooner did the canoe grate on the -beach than a wakeful woman in a hut on the bank set up a squealing -and squalling. As we put out again incontinently into the river, we -heard, first behind us, then also ahead of us, the roll of those -accursed native drums. - -To this very day I abhor the sound of drumming. It has a devilishly -haunting note that I cannot escape; and small wonder. - -We swept on down the current, but now, here and there, the -river-banks were alive with blacks, and always the booming of drums -ran before us, to warn the country that we were coming. Once, as we -passed a wooded point, a spear flew over our heads and went hissing -into the water, and I was all for putting over to the other bank. -But Arnold, who could use his eyes and ears as well as his head, -cried, "No! Watch!" - -All at once, under the dark bank of the river, there was screaming -and splashing and floundering. The torches that immediately flared -up revealed what Arnold, and now the rest of us, expected to see, -but they also revealed indistinctly another and more dreadful sight: -on the shore, running back and forth in great excitement, were many -men; but in the troubled water a negro was struggling in vain to -escape from the toils of a huge serpent, which was wrapping itself -round him and dragging him down into the river where it had been -lying in wait. - -To me, even though I knew that that very negro had been watching for -a chance to waylay us, the sight of the poor fellow's horrible death -almost overcame me. - -Not so with Matterson and Gleazen. - -With a curse, Matterson cried, "There's one less of them now." His -light voice filled me with loathing. - -And Gleazen softly laughed. - -On down the river we went, with flying paddles, and round a bend. -But as we passed the bend, I looked back, and saw coming after us, -first one canoe, then two, then six, then so many that I lost all -count. - -How far we had come in that one night, I had little or no idea; but -it was easy to see by the attitude of those who knew the river -better than I, that the end of our journey was close at hand. -Glancing round at our pursuers, Gleazen spoke in an undertone to -Matterson, and both they and the trader studied the shore ahead of -us. - -"A scant ten miles," Gleazen muttered; "only ten miles more." - -I felt the heavy dugout leap forward under the fierce pull of our -paddles. The water turned away from the bow in foam, and we fairly -outrode the current. But fast though we were, the war fleets behind -us were faster. By the next bend they had gained a hundred yards, by -the next, another hundred. We now led them by a scant quarter of a -mile, and if Gleazen had estimated our distance rightly, they would -have had us long before we could reach port. But suddenly, all -unexpectedly, round the next bend, not half a mile away, the mission -sprang into sight. - -There it stood, in the early morning sun, as clean and cool and -still as if it were a thousand miles away from Africa and all its -wars. - -"Give me your pistols," Arnold cried; and when we tossed them to him -and in frantic haste resumed our paddling, he coolly renewed the -priming and one by one fired them at our pursuers. - -That the negroes had a gun we then learned, for they retorted by a -single shot; but the shot went wild and the arrows that followed it -fell short, and our pistols cooled their eagerness. So we swept in -to the landing by the mission, and beached the canoe, and ran up -the long straight path to the mission house as fast as we could go, -while the black canoemen paused in midstream and let their craft -swing with the current. - -The place, as we came rushing up to it, was so quiet, so peaceful, -so free from any faintest sign of the terrible days through which we -had passed, that it seemed as if, after all, we had never left it; -as if we were waking from a troubled sleep; as if we had spent a -thousand years in the still, hazy heat of that very clearing. The -face in the window, the opening door, only intensified that uncanny -sense of familiarity. - -The door opened, and the man we had seen before met us. His eyes -were stern and inhospitable. - -"What?" said he. "Must you bring your vile quarrels and vile wars to -the very threshold of one whose whole duty here is to preach the -word of God?" - -"Those," cried Arnold, angry in turn, but as always, precise in -phrase and enunciation, "are hard words to cast at strangers who -come to your gate in trouble." - -"Trouble, sir, of your own brewing," the missionary retorted. "What -you have been up to, I do not know. Nor have I any wish to save your -rascally necks from a fate you no doubt richly merit." - -"Your words are inclusive," I cried. - -"They certainly include you, young man. If you would not be judged -by this company that you are keeping, you should think twice or -three times before embarking with it." - -"Father!" said a low voice. - -My heart leaped, but I did not turn my head. Down the river, manned -by warriors armed to the teeth, came more canoes of the war. Behind -them were more,--and more,--and still more. - -"Come, come, you sniveling parson," Gleazen bellowed, "where are -your guns? Where's your powder? Come, arm yourself!" - -The man turned on him with a look of scorn that no words of mine can -properly describe. - -"You have brought your dirty quarrel to my door," he said in a grim, -hard voice. "Now do you wish me to fight your battles for you?" - -Steadily, silently, the canoes were swinging inshore. I saw negroes -running into the clearing. On my left I heard a cry so shrill and -full of woe that it stood out, even amid the ungodly clamor of the -blacks, and commanded my attention. - -The man stepped down from the porch. - -"This," he said, turning, "is a house of peace. I order you to leave -it. I will go down and talk with these men myself." - -"You'll never come back alive!" Matterson cried, and hoarsely -laughed. - -At that the missionary, John Parmenter, merely smiled, and, afraid -of neither man nor devil, walked down toward the river and fell dead -with a chance arrow through his heart. - -There was something truly magnificent in his cold courage, and -Gleazen paid him almost involuntary tribute by crying, "There, by -heaven, went a brave man!" - -But from the door of the house the girl suddenly ran out. Her face -was deathly white and her voice shook, but as yet there were no -tears in her eyes. - -"Father!" she cried, and ran down the path, where occasional arrows -still fell, and bent over the dead man. - -"Come up, you little fool," Gleazen shouted. "Come back!" Then he -jumped and swore, as an arrow with a longer flight than its fellows -passed above his head. - -The canoes were drawing in upon the shore, very cautiously, -deliberately, grimly, in a great half-moon, and more of them were -arriving at every moment. - -I leaped from the porch and sped down beside the girl. - -"Come," I cried, "you--we--can do nothing for him." - -"Is it you?" she said. "You--I--go back!" - -"Come," I cried hoarsely. - -"Don't leave him here." - -I bent over and lifted the body, and staggering under its weight, -carried it up into the house and laid it on the couch in the big -front room. - -All this time the noise within and without the mission was -deafening. The blacks on the river were howling with fury, and those -ashore, who had not already fled to the woods, were wailing in grief -and terror. Gleazen and Arnold Lamont had joined forces to organize -a defense, the one raving at the arrant cowards who were fleeing -from first sight of an enemy, while the other turned the place -upside down in search of arms. And still the blacks on the river -held off, probably for fear of firearms, though there were -indications that as their numbers grew, they were screwing up their -courage to decisive action. - -The girl, suddenly realizing the object of Arnold's search, said -quietly, "There are no weapons." - -Arnold threw his hands out in a gesture of despair. - -"If you wish to leave," she coldly said, "there is a boat half a -mile downstream. You can reach it by the path that leads from the -chapel. No one will notice you if you hurry." - -"Then," I cried, "we'll go and you shall come with us." - -Gleazen spoke to the trader in Spanish. - -Abe Guptil was beside me now and Arnold behind me. We three, come -what would, were united. - -A louder yell than any before attracted our attention, and -Matterson, who stood where he could see out of the window, called, -"They're coming! Run, Neil, run!" - -At that he turned and fled, with the others after him. - -I stopped and looked into the girl's gray eyes. - -"Come!" I cried, "in heaven's name, make haste!" - -I had clean forgotten that the dead man by whom the girl was -standing was her father; but her next words, which were spoken from -deepest despair, reminded me of it grimly. - -"I will not leave him," she said. - -"You must!" - -"I cannot." - -"What," said I, "would he himself have had you do?" - -Her determination faltered. - -"Come! You cannot do anything more for him! Come." - -She shook her head. - -"Then I shall stay," I said. - -"No," said she, and I saw that there was a change in her manner -toward me. "You will go and I--I--" - -Then she whistled and cried, "Paul! Paul!" - -The great black Fantee servant whom I had seen with her in the canoe -on that day when first we met, appeared suddenly. - -"Come," she said. - -I now saw that Arnold Lamont was running back to the door of the -room. - -"Quick!" he called. "_Mon dieu_, be quick!" - -He stepped aside and let her go through the door first. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX - -THE FIGHT AT THE LANDING - - -As we ran down the footpath, we heard them after us like hounds on -the trail, and I tell you, it galled me to run from that cowardly -pack. Oh, for one good fight, I thought! For a chance to avenge Seth -Upham, who lay miles away beside the spring at the king's grave, to -avenge the stern man who had fallen so bravely in front of the -mission! For a chance to show the black curs that we would and could -meet them, though the odds against us were a hundred to one! A -chance to hold our own with them in defiance of their arms and -numbers! - -The hot pride of youth burned in my cheeks, and I was actually -tempted to turn on them there and then; but now I thought of -something besides myself, of something besides Seth Upham's rights -and my own: I thought of the girl who ran ahead of me so lithely and -easily. Be the hazards what they might, be the shame of our retreat -ever so great, she must not, while one of us lived, be left to that -herd at our heels. - -So, running thus in headlong flight, out we came on the river bank. - -There was a boat on the river, made fast to a peg on the bank, and -there was a long canoe drawn up in the bushes. But at a great -distance, where a narrow channel led through the mangroves, we saw -titanic waves rolling on the bar in shining cascades from which the -sun was brightly reflected, and which, one after another, hurled ton -upon ton of water into a welter of foaming whirlpools. And over the -lifting crests of the surf we saw, standing offshore, the topsails -of a brig. The prospect of riding that surf in any boat ever built -gave me, I confess without shame, a miserably sick feeling; and as -if that were not enough, in through the mangroves to the shore in -front of us shot three canoes of the war, and cut us off from the -river. - -Our time now had come to fight. With blacks behind us and blacks -before us, we could no longer double and turn. The river, we knew, -was alive with the canoes of the war. Already the black hornets were -swarming through the woods and swamps around us. Three times now we -had eluded them; this time we must fight. Our guns were lost and -only pistols were left. No longer, as in that fatal hut on the -king's grave,--in my heart I cursed the bull-headed stupidity of the -man who built it and who had paid but a fraction of the price with -his own life!--could we hold them at a distance by fear of firearms. -Their frenzy by now brooked no such fear. To the brig, whose -topsails we could descry miles off shore, we must win our way; there -lay our only hope. - -I thought of the voice of the wizard--"White man him go Dead Land." -Verily to the door of his Dead Land we had come; and it seemed now -that we must surely follow Bull and Seth Upham and Bud O'Hara and -many another over the threshold. - -"Men," said Arnold Lamont,--and his voice, calm, precise, cutting, -brought us together,--"stones and clubs are not weapons to be -despised in an encounter hand to hand." - -"Have into 'em, then!" Gleazen gasped. "All hands together!" - -"Mademoiselle," said Arnold, "keep close at our heels." - -The girl was beside me now. Her eyes were wide, but her lips were -set with a courage that rose above fear. "Come," she cried, and set -my heart beating faster than ever, if it were possible, "they're -upon us from the rear!" Then she spoke to her great negro in a -language that I had never heard, and came close behind us when we -charged down on the blacks ahead. - -I fired my pistol and saw that the ball accounted for one of our -enemies. I reeled from a glancing blow on the head, which knocked me -to my knees; but, rising, I lifted a great rock on the end of a -rope, which evidently the girl or her father had used for an -anchor,--never negro tied that knot!--and swinging the huge weapon -round my head, brought down one assailant with his shoulder and half -his ribs broken. Now Arnold fired his pistol; now Matterson pitched, -groaning, into the boat. Now, with my bare hand, I parried a -spear-thrust and, again swinging my rock, killed a negro in his -tracks. - -Out of the corner of my eye I saw that the girl had shoved the canoe -into the water. She was calling to us eagerly, but neither I nor the -others could distinguish her words. - -As Gleazen, with an oath, cut the painter of the boat and leaped -into her, the impulse of his jump carried her ten feet out from -shore; and instantly thrusting out the oars, he started to row away -with Matterson and desert us. - -"Come back, you yellow cur!" Arnold cried. - -The trader, who had fought industriously but to no great purpose, -now ran down the bank and, flinging himself full length into the -river, caught the stern of the boat, with outstretched fingers, and -dragged himself into her, and at the same moment Abe Guptil, -obviously with the intention of holding the boat until the rest of -us should have a chance to embark, too, not of saving himself, -fought his own way aboard and, in spite of violent efforts to lay -hands on the oars, was carried, protesting, away. - -It is not to be thought that Gleazen had the remotest notion of -saving _our_ lives. Having got rid of Arnold and me, he could, as he -very well knew, do what he pleased with the brig when once he had -silenced Gideon North. But although he had every desire not to help -us, he in truth did help us in very spite of himself: no sooner did -he appear to be getting safely out into the river, than the blacks, -who had us all but at their mercy, suddenly bent every effort to -keep him, too, from escaping. - -"Let them go! Let them go! Oh, will you not come this way?" - -It was the girl again. There was not a drop of cowardly blood in her -veins. She, in the bow of the canoe and her big black servant in the -stern, held the craft against the bank. - -Taking advantage of the momentary respite that we got while the -enemy was putting after Gleazen, Arnold and I fairly trembling in -our haste--Arnold missed his footing and plunged waist-deep into the -river--climbed in after them. - -All this, which has taken a long time to tell, happened like so many -cracks of the whip. Each event leaped sharply and suddenly at the -heels of another, so that it was really but a few seconds--at all -events less than a minute--after our arrival at the shore when we -found ourselves gliding swiftly and noiselessly through a tiny -channel among the mangroves, of which Gleazen had never dreamed. A -turn of the paddle carried us out of sight of the struggle behind -us, and it now appeared that, once out of sight, we were likewise -out of mind. - -"Mademoiselle," said Arnold, with a manner at once so deferential -and in itself so proud, that it puzzled me more than a little, -"shall we not paddle? Permit me to take your place." - -"Thank you, no," she said. - -"It is not fitting--" he began. - -"I know the canoe, the river and the surf," she said. "It is _safer_ -that I keep the paddle." - -And to my surprise, as well as Arnold's, she did keep it and handled -it in a way that would have shamed our efforts had we been permitted -to try. It was a strange thing in those days, when most women laced -tightly, and fainted gracefully if ever occasion required, and -played at croquet and battledore and shuttlecock, to see a slender -girl swing a paddle with far more than a man's deftness and skill to -make up for what she lacked of a man's strength. But though she -appeared so slender, so frail, there was that in her bearing which -told us that her life in that wild place had given her muscles of -steel. The big Fantee, too, drove the long craft ahead with sure, -powerful strokes; so we shot out of the mangroves, out of the mouth -of the river, into the full glare of the sun. - -For a time the sails of the brig had grown small in the distance, -but already we saw that she had come about and was standing in -again. Why, I wondered, did Gideon North not anchor? Why should he -indefinitely stand off and on? How long had he been beating back and -forth, and how long would he continue to wait for us if we were not -to come? We were long overdue at the meeting-place. - -"To think," I said, "that now we can go home to Topham!" - -"To Topham?" said Arnold. There was a question in his voice. "I -should be surer of going home to Topham if we were rid of Gleazen. -Also, my friend, we must ride that surf to the open sea." - -The negro in the stern of the canoe now spoke up in gutturals. - -"See!" Arnold cried. - -Looking back up the river, we saw Gleazen and Abe Guptil, whom we -had outdistanced by our short cut, now rowing madly downstream. Big -and heavy though the boat was, they rowed with the strength that -precedes despair, and sent her ploughing through the river with a -wake such as a cutter might have left. In the stern beside the -trader lay Matterson; and though his face, we could see, was -streaked with blood, he menaced the negroes upstream with a loaded -pistol. Arrows flew, and then a long spear hurtled through the air -and struck the bow of the boat. But for all that, they bade fair to -get clean away, and none of them appeared aware that we had slipped -ahead of them in the race for life. - -Now we in the canoe had come to the very edge of the surf, where the -surge of the breakers swept past us in waves of foam. Beyond that -surf was the open sea, the brig and safety. Behind it were more -terrors than we had yet endured. For a moment the canoe hung -motionless in the boiling surge; then, taking advantage of the -outward flow and guided and driven by the hands of the great negro -and the white, slender girl, she shot forward like a living -creature, rose on the moving wall of an incoming wave, yielded and -for a brief space drew back, then shot ahead once more and passed -over the crest just before the wave curled and broke. - -I heard a cry from behind us and knew that the others had discovered -us ahead of them. - -Turning, as we pitched on the heavy seas at a safe distance from the -breakers, I watched them, too, row into the surf. I faintly heard -Matterson's pistol spit, then I saw Gleazen drive the boat forward, -saw her hesitate and swing round, lose way and go over as the next -wave broke. - -Then we saw them swimming and heard their cries. - -As a mere matter of cold justice we should, I am convinced, have -left that villainous pair, Matterson and Gleazen, to their fate. -They had been ready enough to leave us to ours. Their whole career -was sown with fraud, cruelty, brazen effrontery, and downright -dishonesty. But even Arnold and I could scarcely have borne to do -that, for the trader was guiltless enough according to his lights, -and Abe Guptil was struggling with them in the water. - -The girl, turning and looking back when she heard their shouts, -spoke to the great negro in his own language. The canoe came about. -Again we paused, waiting for a lull. Then we shot back on the crest -of a wave, back down upon the overturned boat, and within gunshot of -the flotilla of canoes that were spreading to receive us. - -As we passed the wallowing boat I leaned out and caught Gleazen's -hands and drew him up to the canoe. The negro cried a hoarse -warning, and the canoe herself almost went over; but by as clever -use of paddles as ever man achieved, the girl and the negro brought -us up on an even keel, and Arnold and I lifted Gleazen aboard, half -drowned, and gave a hand to Abe Guptil, who had made out to swim to -the canoe. Of Matterson and the trader we saw no sign. - -Then Abe, himself but newly rescued, gave a lurch to starboard, and -with a clutch at something just under water, was whipped, fiercely -struggling to prevent it, clean overboard. - -We could neither stop nor turn; either would have been suicide. -Would we or would we not, we went past him and left him, and drove -on in the wash of the breaking waves down upon the grim line of -canoes. - -To them we must have seemed a visitation. When I sit alone in the -dark I can see again in memory, very clearly, that white girl, her -eyes flashing, that great, black Fantee, his bared teeth thrust out -between his thick lips. The long breakers were roaring as they swept -across the bar and crashed at slow intervals behind us. In those -seething waters the fiercest attack would have been futile; the very -tigers of the sea must have lain just beyond the wash of the surf, -as did the war. To one who has never seen a Fantee on his native -coast, the story that I tell of that wild canoe-ride may seem -incredible. It was an appalling, horrifying thing to those of us who -were forced passively to endure it, who a dozen times were flung to -the very brink of death. And yet every word is true. Though I could -scarce draw breath, so swiftly did we escape one danger only to meet -another, the big black, trained from childhood to face every peril -of the coast, with the white girl paddling in the bow, brought the -canoe through the surf and shipped no more than a bucket of water. -And then that negro and that slim girl turned in the surge, as -coolly as if there were no enemy within a thousand miles, and -started back, out again through the surf, to the Adventure. - -Were we thus, I thought, to lose Abe Guptil, whom but now we had -rescued--good old Abe Guptil, into whose home I had gone long since -with the sad news that had forced him to embark with us on Gleazen's -mad quest? The thunder of the seas was so loud that I could only -wait--no words that I might utter could be heard a hand's-breadth -away. - -For a moment the canoe hung motionless on the racing waters as a -hummingbird hangs in the air, then she shot ahead; and up from the -sea, directly in her path, came a tangle of bodies. Leaning out, -Arnold and I laid hands on Abe and Matterson; and while the negro -held the canoe in place, the girl herself reached back and caught -that rascal of a trader by the hair. Now tons of water broke around -us and the canoe half filled. Now the big negro, by the might of his -single paddle, drove us forward. The wash of water caught us up and -carried us on half a cable's length; the negro again fairly lifted -us by his great strength; we went in safety over the crest of the -next wave, then as we drew the last of the three into the canoe, we -began to pitch in the heavy swell of the open sea. - -With our backs turned forever on the war, we paddled out to meet the -brig. Our great quest had failed. We had left a trail of dead men, -plundered goods, and a broken mission. But though all our hopes had -gone wrong, though Gleazen had lost all that he sought, there was -that in his face as he lay sick and miserable in the canoe which -told me that he had other strings for his bow; and when I looked up -at the brig, I vowed to myself that I would defend my own property -with as much zeal as I would have defended my uncle's. - -"See!" Arnold whispered. "Yonder is a strange ship!" - -I saw the sail, but I thought little of it at the time. I had grown -surprisingly in many ways, but to this very day I have not acquired -Arnold Lamont's wonderful power to appraise seemingly insignificant -events at their true value. - -I only thought of how glad I was to come at last to the shelter of -the brig Adventure, how strangely glad I was to have brought off the -girl from the mission. - -And when we came up under the side of the brig and saw honest Gideon -North and all the others on deck looking down at us, the girl let -her paddle slide into the water and bent her head on her hands and -cried. - - - - -VII - -THE LONG ROAD HOME - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXX - -THE CRUISER - - -Matterson, Gleazen and the trader, Arnold, Abe and I, and the white -girl and her great black servant, all were crowded into a frail -dugout, which must long since have foundered, but for the marvelous -skill of the big Fantee canoeman and the sureness and steadiness -with which the girl had wielded her paddle. And now the girl sat -with her face buried in her hands and her shoulders shaking as she -sobbed; and the big black, awed and frightened by the nearness and -strangeness of the good Adventure, was looking up at the men who had -crowded to the rail above him. As the brig came into the wind and -lay beside the canoe, her yards sharply counter-braced, the long -seas rose to the gunwale of our heavily laden and waterlogged little -craft, and she slowly filled and settled. - -We should have perished there and then, within an arm's length of -the solid planks that promised safety, had not Gideon North acted -promptly. As the canoe settled and the water rose, I suddenly found -myself swimming, and gave the bottom of the canoe a kick and plunged -forward through the water to reach the girl and hold her up. At the -same moment, indistinctly through the rush of the waves, I heard -Captain North giving orders. Then I saw Abe beside me, swimming on -the same errand, and heard someone spluttering and choking behind -me; then I came up beside the girl and, seizing one slender wrist, -drew her arm over my shoulder and swam slowly by the brig. - -There was no excitement or clamor. The canoe, having emerged half -full of water from those vast breakers on the bar, yet having made -out to ride the seas well enough until the girl and the negro -stopped paddling, had then quietly submerged and left us all at once -struggling in the ocean. - -Blocks creaked above us and oars splashed, and suddenly I felt the -girl lifted from my shoulders; then I myself was dragged into a -boat. Thus, after ten days on the continent of Africa, ten such days -of suffering and danger that they were to live always as terrible -nightmares in the memory of those of us who survived them, we came -home to the swift vessel that had belonged to poor Seth Upham. - -To the story that we told, first one talking, then another, all of -us excited and all of us, except Arnold Lamont, who never lost his -calm precision and the girl who did not speak at all, fairly -incoherent with emotion, Gideon North replied scarcely a word. - -"The black beasts!" Gleazen cried in a voice that shook with rage. -"I'd give my last chance of salvation to send a broadside among them -yonder." - -"Ah, that's no great price," Matterson murmured sourly. "I'd give -more than that--many times more, my friend. Think you, Captain -North, that a man of spirit would soon forget or forgive such a -token as this?" And he pointed at the raw wound the spear had left -on his face. - -Gleazen stepped close beside him. "Hm! It's sloughing," he said. - -"It's hot and it throbs like the devil," Matterson replied. - -Arnold also came over to Matterson and looked at the wound. - -"It needs attention," he commented. "It certainly is not healing as -it should." - -Matterson raised his brows angrily. "Let it be," he returned. - -With a slight lift of his head, Arnold faced about and walked slowly -away. - -As Matterson angrily glared from one of us to another, the group -separated and, turning, I saw our guest standing silently apart. - -"Captain North," I said slowly, "this lady--" - -He did not wait for me to finish. - -"I beg your pardon, ma'am," he cried. "You shall have my own -stateroom. I should have spoken before, but that sail troubles me." - -Thereupon others turned to study the sail, which was bearing down on -us, although still some miles away; but I continued to watch the -guest whose presence there in the Adventure seemed so strange as -almost to savor of magic, as she tried to thank Gideon North. - -"Don't say a word," he cried. "Not a word! Remember this: I've a -wife and daughters of my own, and I wish they were on board to make -things comfortable for you. But all we can do, I'm afraid, is give -you a chance to make yourself comfortable. Our cabin boy's gone. He -went ashore with those damnable villains yonder and never came -back." - -"A little boy?" she suddenly asked. - -"Aye." - -"A wicked little rascal?" A strangely roguish light flashed across -her face and she smiled as if in spite of herself. - -Gideon North's chuckle grew into a wide grin. "Ma'am, that's Willie -MacDougald to a T. But what do you know of him?" - -"He ran away from them, and came to us when they had gone up-river, -and said that they were going to beat him, and told a terrible -story of the wrongs he had suffered. But he could not abide our ways -any more than we his,--such a time as he led us with his swearing -and thieving and lying!--and when a boat from the American cruiser -came ashore while you were gone, he told the men such a story of -your search for slaves and of all your gear and goods, they vowed to -capture you if they lay off the coast a year and a day, and they -laughed at his wretched oaths and made much of him and took him on -board. And then--then--" It seemed the thought of all that had -happened since swept upon her in a wave almost as overwhelming as -one of those breakers through which we had fought our way; for she -suddenly turned white and tried to fight back her tears, and for the -time could speak no more. - -"Come, Joe, look alive now!" Captain North roared, trying to mask -his kind heart and lively emotions with a pretense of fierceness. -"Fetch hot water from the galley to my stateroom! Have the cook -bring aft hot coffee and a square meal. I'll take you below myself, -ma'am, to show you the way, and I now order you to help yourself to -all you need for comfort. Off with you, Joe!" - -All this time the cook had been gaping from the galley door at what -had been going on aft; and so eager was he to get a nearer view of -the young lady who had come mysteriously out with us from the river, -and to gather up new threads of the extraordinary story Abe Guptil -had told forward, that, although he was the laziest Yankee who ever -commanded a galley stove, he set out at a dead run aft, with a -coffee-pot in one hand and a pail of hot water, which at every -moment threatened to spill and scald him, in the other. - -Captain North at once came on deck again and found the rest of us -still intent on the approaching ship, which with all her canvas -spread was bearing down upon us like a race-horse. The cook, on his -way forward, paused to survey her. The watch, now glancing anxiously -aft, now studying the stranger, was standing by for whatever orders -should be forthcoming. - -"Sir," said Arnold, "she means trouble." - -"We've waited too long already," Captain North replied. Raising the -trumpet he cried, "Call up all hands, there, Mr. Severance!" - -A moment later he looked keenly at Matterson. "Mr. Matterson," he -said, "you are exhausted." - -"I _am_ a little peaked," Matterson said thoughtfully, "a little -peaked, but not exhausted." - -"Will you take your station, sir?" - -"I will." Still in his wet clothes and cautiously touching his -inflamed wound, Matterson went forward to the forecastle. There was -something soldierly in his promptness. It was so evident that his -strength was scarcely equal to his task, that for his hardihood, -little as I liked him, I freely gave him credit. - -"Mr. Gleazen," said Captain North, "I am afraid we must show her our -heels." - -"If I could lay my hands on the lean neck of William MacDougald," -Gleazen growled, "I'd wring his head clean off." - -"She unquestionably is bearing down on us." - -"She is." - -"And she knows--" - -"She knows," cried Gleazen, "all that Willie MacDougald can tell her -of casks and farina and shackles and lumber for extra decks." - -"And of false papers with which you so carefully provided yourself?" - -Gideon North's face all this time was as sober as a judge's, but -now I saw that he was deliberately tormenting Gleazen with the -various preparations the man had made for that unholy traffic in -slaves. - -Although Gleazen himself by now perceived it, his wrath turned on -our erstwhile cabin boy rather than on Gideon North. He swore -vilely. "Aye," he cried, "we must run--run or hang. And all for the -word of a prying, cursing, eavesdropping young rooster that I might -have wrung the neck of, any day for months past. If ever I lay hands -on his ape's throat--" - -"I gather, sir," Captain North dryly interposed, "you'll use him -harshly." - -With that he turned his back on Gleazen and raised his trumpet:-- - -"Lay aloft and loose the main to'g'l'ants'l.--Man the to'g'lant -sheets and halyards.--Some of you men, there, stand by the clewl'nes -and braces." For a moment he stood, trumpet at lips, watching every -motion of the men; then, as those on the yards loosened the sail, he -thundered, "Let fall!--Lay in!--Sheet home!" Then, "Hoist -away!--Belay the halyards!" - -As we crowded on sail, the brig leaned before the wind, and for a -time we hoped that we were gaining on the stranger; but our hopes -were soon dispelled. - -It seemed queer to run from our own countrymen, but run we did all -that afternoon, through the bluest of blue seas, with white clouds -flying overhead and low lands on the horizon. - -In another sense I could not help feeling that Gideon North himself -showed quite too little anxiety about the outcome of the race. Yet, -as time passed, even his face grew more serious, and all that -afternoon, as we braced the yards and so made or shortened sail as -best to maintain our speed at every change of wind, an anxious -group watched from the quarter-deck of the Adventure the swift -vessel that stood after us and slowly gained on us, with her canvas -spread till she looked on the blue sea for all the world like a -silver cloud racing in the blue sky. - -The nearer she came, the graver grew the faces about me; for, if the -full penalty of the law was exacted, to be convicted as a slaver in -those days was to be hanged, and in all the world there was no place -where a vessel and her men were so sure to be suspected of slaving -as in the very waters where we were then sailing. The track of -vessels outward bound from America to Good Hope and the Far East ran -in general from somewhere about the Cape Verde Islands to the -southeastern coast of Brazil; that of vessels homeward bound, from -Good Hope northwest past St. Helena and across the Equator. Thus the -western coast of Africa formed, with those two lines that vessels -followed, a rough triangle; and looking toward the apex, where the -two converged, it served as the base. In that triangle of seas, as -blue as sapphire and as clear, occurred horrors such as all human -history elsewhere can scarcely equal. There a slaver would leave the -lanes of commerce, run up to the coast one night, and be gone the -next with a cargo of "ebony" under her hatches, to mingle with the -ships inward or outward bound; and there the cruisers hunted. - -The faces of the crew were sober as the man-of-war, cracking on -every stitch of canvas, came slowly up to us at the end of the -afternoon. We all knew then that even to keep a safe lead until -sunset, it would do us precious little good; for in a clear -starlight night our pursuer could follow us almost as well as by -day. Arnold Lamont was inscrutable; Gideon North was gravely silent; -Matterson and Gleazen were angry and sullen; and the luckless -trader, who had escaped from his ambushed caravan only to find -himself in a doomed vessel, was yellow with fear. There was not a -man, forward or aft, who did not know the incalculable stakes for -which we were racing. Pedro with his monkey on and off his shoulder -as he worked, Abe Guptil with his nervous, eager step, and all the -others, each showing the strain after his own manner, leaped to the -ropes at the word of command or fidgeted about the decks in the -occasional moments of inaction. - -Of our passenger I had thought often and with ever keener anxiety. -How the fast-approaching end of our race would affect her future I -could only guess, and really I was more anxious for her than for -myself. But from the moment she went below neither I nor any of the -others saw sign or glimpse of her, until, just at sunset, I ran -thither to fetch the leather-bound spyglass whose lower power and -greater illumination lent itself best to night work. - -As I clattered down the companionway, I heard someone dart out of -the cabin. But when I entered, the girl, as if she had been waiting -to see who it was, came back again, so eager for news from above -that she could no longer remain in hiding. - -"Tell me, sir," she said, lifting her head proudly, "has the cruiser -overhauled us yet?" - -"Not yet," I replied. - -She stood as if waiting for whatever else I had to say; but my -tongue for the moment was tied. - -"If they do?" she said as if to question me. - -"Heaven help us!" - -"Come," she cried with some asperity, "don't stand there staring -like a gaby! Tell me everything. Have not I a right to know?" - -"If you wish," I replied, stung by the scorn in her voice. "The -chances are that, if we are caught, some of us will hang. Which of -us and how many, is a debatable question." - -She thought it over calmly. "That is probably true. I think, -however, that I shall have something to say about which ones will -hang." - -That was a phase of the matter which had not occurred to me. It gave -me a good deal of relief, until I met her eyes regarding me still -scornfully, and realized what an exhibition of myself I was making. -I had been assertive enough hitherto, and I had not lacked -confidence where females were concerned; I remembered well the one -who so long before had come into my uncle's store in Topham, and how -Arnold had smiled at the scorn that I had accorded her. But this -young lady somehow was different. She had a fine, quiet dignity that -seemed always to appraise me with cool precision. She had shown, -once at least, a flash of humor that indicated how lightly, in less -tragic circumstances, she could take light things. Now and then she -had dealt a keen thrust that cut me by its truth. - -And yet she treated me kindly enough, too. She had seemed almost -glad to have me at her side when we ran together from the mission. - -"Mistress--" I began; then stopped and clumsily stammered, "I--I -don't know your name." - -"My name?" With the hint of a smile, but with that fine dignity -which made me feel my awkwardness many times over, she said, "I am -Faith Parmenter." - -Another pause followed, which embarrassed me still more; then, -awkwardly, I reached for the night glass. Things were not happening -at all as I had dreamed. - -"You're long enough finding that glass," Captain North growled when -I handed it to him. "Aye, and red in the face, too." - -I was thankful indeed that the approach of the ship, which had -sailed so swiftly as to overhaul even our Baltimore brig, gave him -other things to think about. - -By now the race was almost over. I heard Gleazen talking of -bail--of judges--of bribes. I saw the man Pedro twitching his -fingers at his throat. I saw Arnold Lamont and Gideon North watching -the stranger intently, minute after minute. Taking in our -studding-sails and royals, we braced sharp by the wind with our head -to westward. At that our pursuer, which had come up almost abreast -of us but a mile away, followed our example, sail for sail and point -for point, whereupon we hauled up our courses, took in topgallant -sails and jib, and tacked. - -When the stranger followed our manoeuvre, but with the same sail -that she had been carrying, she came near enough for us to see that -her lower-deck ports were triced up. When we tacked offshore again, -she hauled up her mizzen staysail and stood for us; and fifteen -minutes later she hauled her jib down, braced her headsails to the -mast, and rounded to about half a cable's length to the windward of -us on our weather quarter. We had already heard the roll of drums -beating the men to their stations, and now Captain North, his glass -leveled at her in the half light, cried gloomily:-- - -"Aye, the tampions are out of her guns already!" - -"Ship ahoy!" came the deep hail. "What ship is that?" - -"Train your guns, Captain North!" Gleazen cried fiercely; "train -your guns!" - -"Mr. Gleazen," Gideon North retorted, with a stern smile, "with one -broadside she can blow us into splinters. Our shot would no more -than rattle on her planks." - -"Ahoy there!" the deep voice roared, now angrily. - -"The brig Adventure from Boston, bound on a legitimate trading -voyage to the Guinea coast," Captain North replied. "Where are you -from?" - -To his question they returned no answer. The curt order that the -speaking-trumpet sent out to us was:-- - -"Standby! We're sending a boat aboard." - -We were caught by a cruiser, and there was evidence below that would -send us, guilty and guiltless alike, to the very gallows if the -courts should impose on us the extreme penalty. - -Up to this point we had not been certain of the nationality of our -pursuers. Too often flags were used to suit the purpose of the -moment. But there was now no doubt that the uniforms in the boat -were those of our own countrymen. - -With long, hasty strides, Gleazen crossed the deck to the captain. -In his face defiance and despair were strangely mingled. He was -nervously working his hands. "Quick now," he cried. "Haul down the -flag, Captain North. Break out the red and yellow. Throw over the -papers. Over with them, quick!" - -"I am not sure I wish to change my registry," Gideon North quietly -returned. - -Gleazen swore furiously. "You'll hang with the rest of us," he -cried. - -"I think, sir, that I can _prove my_ innocence." - -"The casks and shackles will knot the rope round your stiff neck. -Aye, Captain North, you'll have a merry time of it, twitching your -toes against the sunrise." - -In fury Gleazen spun on his heel. For once, as his teeth pulled -shreds of skin from his lips, the man was stark white. - -We heard the creak of blocks as the ship lowered her boat, heard the -splash of oars as the boat came forging toward us, saw in the stern -the bright bars of a lieutenant's uniform. - -There was not one of us who did not feel keenly the suspense. So -surely as the boat came aboard, just so surely would the searchers, -primed for their task, no doubt, by that vengeful little wretch, -MacDougald, find whatever damning evidence was stowed in the hold; -and I was by no means certain that, in the cold light of open court, -we who had fought against every suggestion of illegal traffic could -prove our innocence. But to Gleazen and Matterson the boat promised -more than search and seizure. Whether or not the rest of us effected -our acquittal, for those two a long term in prison was the least -that they could expect, and the alternative caused even Gleazen's -nonchalance to fail him. It is one thing, and a very creditable -thing, to face without fear the prospect of an honest death in a -fair fight; it is quite another, calmly to anticipate hanging. - -Still Gleazen stood there in the fleeting twilight, opening and -closing his hands in indecision. Still Captain North waited with -folded arms, determined at any cost to have the truth and the truth -only told on board his brig. - -The brig slowly rose, and fell, and rose, on the long seas. The men -stood singly and in little groups, waiting, breathless with -apprehension, for whatever was to happen. A cable's length away, the -cruising man-of-war, her ports triced up, her guns run out and -trained, rolled on the long seas in time with the brig. We had -thought, when we escaped from the enfolding attack of the African -war, that all danger was over. Now, it seemed, we must face a new -danger, which menaced not only our lives, but our honor. - -The boat now lay bumping under the gangway. - -"Come, pass us a line!" the lieutenant cried. - -Suddenly Gleazen woke from his indecision. Stepping boldly to the -rail, he called down in his big, gruff, assertive voice:-- - -"You men had better not come on board. Mind you, I've given you fair -warning." - -"What's that you're saying?" - -"You better not come on board. We've got four cases of smallpox -already, and two more that I think are coming down." - -The men in the boat instantly shoved off, and a dozen feet away sat -talking in low voices. Obviously they were undecided what to do. - -To most of us Gleazen's cool, authoritative statement, that the most -dread plague of the African coast, the terror alike of traders, -cruisers, and slavers, had appeared among us--a downright lie--was -so amazing that we scarcely knew what to make of it. I must confess -that, little as I liked the means that he took, I was well pleased -at the prospect of his gaining his end. But Gideon North, as he had -been prompt to shatter at the start Gleazen's first attempt at -fraud, promptly and unexpectedly thrust his oar into this one. - -"That, gentlemen, is not so," he called down to the boat. "We have -as clean a bill of health as any ship in the service." - -"Come, come, now," cried the young officer. "What's all this?" - -"I'm telling you the truth, and I'm master of this brig." - -With his hands at his mouth Gleazen, half-pretending to whisper, -called, "We're humoring him. He won't admit he has it. But what I've -told you is God's honest truth." - -Captain North started as if about to speak, then seemed to think -better of it. Folding his arms, he let the matter stand. - -I think he, as much as any of the rest of us, was relieved when the -boat, after hesitating a long time, during which we suffered keenest -anxiety, made about and returned to the ship. Still we dared not -breathe easily, lest the commanding officer, refusing to accept his -subordinate's report, order a search at all costs. But five minutes -later it appeared that, whatever their suspicions may have been, -they had no intention of running needless risks, for they came about -and made off up the coast. - -Small wonder that they acted thus! The bravest of captains must have -stopped three times to think before ordering his men to dare that -terrible disease, the worst scourge of those seas, the terror alike -of slavers and cruisers, on the bare word of such as Willie -MacDougald that he would find contraband. - -I have often wondered whether Willie MacDougald was on board the -ship, and whether he was responsible for the chase. In the light of -all that I heard, I rather think he was, although none of us who -searched the decks of the other vessel caught so much as a glimpse -of him. But if so, it must have disappointed him deeply that his -revenge failed to reach Cornelius Gleazen and Pedro's monkey; and -seeing the monkey, which had eluded its owner and strayed aft, -perched in the rigging and malevolently eyeing Gleazen himself, I -laughed aloud. - -Then I saw that it was no time for laughing, for Gleazen and Gideon -North were standing grimly face to face, and Arnold and Matterson -and the trader were gathering close around them. - -Out of the rumble of angry voices, one came to me more distinctly -than any of the others:-- - -"Mr. Gleazen, it is time that we settled this question once and for -all. If you will come below with me, we can reach, I am sure, a -decision that will be best for all of us in the Adventure." - -It was Captain North who spoke. As he moved toward the companionway, -I saw that Arnold Lamont was beckoning to me. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI - -A PASSAGE AT ARMS - - -Across the cabin table was spread the big, inaccurate chart of the -west coast of Africa, on which Captain North had penciled the -rat-infested island and the river. - -Seeing it now for the first time since he had returned to the brig, -Gleazen planted one finger on the picture of the spot where we had -found the wrecked ship with the bones of the drowned slaves still -chained to her timbers. "Pfaw!" he growled. "If only _she_ was -afloat! There was a ship for you! Given her at sea again, handsome -and handy, two good men would never 'a' lost their lives. Given that -she was not beyond repair, and we might yet kedge her off and plank -her and caulk her and rig her anew." - -"She's done," said Matterson languidly. "Forget her." He laid his -head on the table and closed his eyes. - -"Molly!" There was a new note of concern in Gleazen's voice. He -leaned over and shook the man. - -"Let me be," said Matterson. - -"Gentlemen," Gideon North interposed, "we are dodging the issue." - -"Well?" Gleazen angrily raised his head. "There is no issue. We'll -sail for the Rio Pongo, lay off and on till the first dark night, -then take the cargo that a friend of ours will have ready. Thence, -Captain North, we'll sail for Cuba. _I'll_ give the orders now, and -_you'll_ carry them out." - -"How long," I cried hotly, "have you been giving orders on board -this vessel?" - -He turned and glared at me. "If you want facts, Joe, I'll give them -to you: I've been giving orders aboard this vessel from the day we -sailed from Boston until now--aye, and seeing that they were obeyed, -too, you young cub. But if you want fancies, such as are suitable -for the young, I've owned the brig only since Seth Upham went mad -and got himself killed." - -"You own the brig?" - -"Yes, I own the brig." - -"You lie!" - -That he merely laughed, enraged me more than if he had hit me. - -"You lie!" I repeated. - -"Next," said he, "you'll be telling me that Seth Upham owned her." - -"That I will, indeed, and it is a small part of what I'll be telling -you." - -"Well, he didn't." - -The man's effrontery left me without words to retort. - -"He didn't," Gleazen said again. "Him and I went into this deal -share alike. Half to him and half to me and my partners. Ain't he -dead? Well, then I keep my half and Molly, here, who is all the -partner I've got left now, gets the other half. Ain't that plain? Of -course it is. It would be plain enough if we'd got clear with the -fortune that was ours by rights. And because we lost the fortune, -it's all the plainer that we ought to get something for our -trouble." - -"But, Mr. Gleazen," Arnold interposed, "supposing there were a grain -of truth in what you say,--which there isn't,--the rest of us, Joe -and Abe and I, still have a sixth part in it all." - -"That," cried Matterson, bursting into the controversy before -Gleazen could find words to meet this new argument, "that is stuff. -The sixth part was to come out of Seth Upham's lay; and Seth Upham -is dead, so he gets no lay. Therefore you get not a bit more than -the wages you signed on for; and if you signed on for no wages, you -get nothing." - -"I can promise you, Matterson," Gideon North said with a smile, -"that nothing of that kind goes down under my command." - -"Then you're likely not to keep your command." - -The trader, glancing shrewdly from one to another, had edged over -beside Gleazen, but now Arnold spoke, as ever, calmly and -precisely:-- - -"Let all that go. About that we do not as yet care. It is a matter -to be argued when the time comes. But--what will you take on board -for a cargo at Rio Pongo?" - -As if Arnold's question implied permission for him also to have his -say, the trader spread both hands in a gesture of despair at such -ignorance as it manifested. - -"'What weel you get?' Ah, me--" - -"Yes, what will you get?" Arnold reiterated, quietly smiling at the -irony of his question. - -"We'll get a cargo all right when we get there," Gleazen asserted. -"We'll let it go at that. Captain North, bring the brig about on a -course, say, of approximately west by north." He bent over the -chart. "That will be about right. As for the wind--" - -"Captain North," said I, "you will do nothing of the kind. Unless we -can get an honest cargo, you will head straight back to Boston and -sell the Adventure for what she'll bring." - -"'What weel you get?'" the still amazed trader cried again. "You -weel get--" - -"As for you, Joe,--" Gleazen momentarily drowned out the man's -voice,--"you'll get into trouble if you're not careful." - -"For you, Mr. Gleazen, I don't care the snap of my finger. I'll have -my property handled in the way I choose." - -For a moment Gleazen glared at me in angry silence, and in that -moment, the trader found opportunity to finish his sentence, which -he did with an air of such pleasure in the tidings he gave, and all -the time so completely unconscious of the subtler undercurrents of -our quarrel, that to an unprejudiced observer it would have been -ludicrous in the extreme. - -"You weel get--_niggers_! Such prime, stout, strong niggers! It ees -a pleasure always to buy niggers at Rio Pongo. Such barracoons! Such -niggers!" - -Although for a long time we had very well known the hidden real -object of Gleazen's return to Topham and of the mad quest on which -he had led us, this was the first time that anyone had frankly put -it into so many words. The anger and defiance with which our two -parties eyed each other seemed moment by moment to grow more -intense. - -"Well, there's no need to look so glum about it," said Gleazen at -last. "Half the deacons in New England live on the proceeds of rum -and notions, and they know well enough what trade their goods are -sold in. You may talk all you will of the gospel; they take their -dollars, when their ships come home. Your Englishman may talk of his -cruisers on the coast and his laws that Parliament made for him; but -when the bills come back on London for his Birmingham muskets and -Liverpool lead and Manchester cotton, he don't cry bad money and -turn 'em down. Why, then, should we? Where there's niggers, there'll -be slaves. It's in the blood of them." - -"Be that as it may," I retorted, "not a slave shall board this -vessel." - -"It appears," Gleazen slowly returned, "that this brig, which is a -small craft at best, is not big enough for both of us." - -"Not if you think you can give yourself the airs of an owner." - -"Hear that, you! 'Airs of an owner!' Well, I am owner, I think--yes, -I will give you a greater honor than you deserve." Suddenly he -leaned over and roared at me, "Get down on your knees and apologize, -or, so help me, I'll strike you dead on the spot." - -Quicker than a flash I reached out and slapped him on the face--and -as I did so I remembered the time when O'Hara had slapped Seth -Upham. - -With his hand half drawn back as if to seize a chair for a cudgel, -he stopped, smiled, spun round and reached for the pair of swords on -the bulkhead. Extending the two hilts, he smiled and said, "I shall -take pleasure in running you through, my friend." - -"Not so fast!" It was Arnold who spoke. "I, sir, will take first a -turn at the swords with you." - -"_In_ your turn, Mr. Lamont," Gleazen retorted with an exaggerated -bow. "Meanwhile, if you please, you may act as second to Mr. Woods." - -"Come, enough of this nonsense," cried honest Gideon North, "or I'll -clap you both into irons. Dueling aboard my vessel, indeed!" He -looked appraisingly from one of us to the other. - -"I will fight him," I coolly replied. - -"You will, will you?" - -"I will." - -Soberly Gideon North looked me in the eye. Already Gleazen, -Matterson, Arnold, and the others were moving toward the -companionway. This happened, you must remember, in '27; dueling was -not regarded then as it is now. - -"I am afraid, my boy, it will not be a fair fight." - -"It will be fair enough," I replied. - -Rising, Captain North brought out his medicine chest. - -I followed the others on deck, as if the little world in which I was -moving were a world of unreality. All that I knew of swordsmanship, -I had learned from Cornelius Gleazen himself; and though I felt that -at the end of our lessons I had learned enough to give him a hard -fight, it was quite another matter to cross swords that carried no -buttons, and to believe that one of us was to die. - -There was only starlight on deck, and Captain North stepped briskly -forward to Arnold and Matterson, who were standing together by a -clear space that they had paced off. - -"Gentlemen," said he, "if they were to wait until morning--" - -"There would be more light, to be sure," Arnold returned, "but the -disadvantage is common to both." - -Gleazen grumbled something far down in his throat, and I cried out -that I would fight him then as well as any time. - -"If a couple of lanterns were slung from the rigging," Matterson -suggested. He moved slowly and now and then touched the hot skin -around his wound; but although it still troubled him, he appeared to -be gaining strength. - -The words were scarcely out of his mouth when two men came running -aft in response to Captain North's sharp order. Lanterns were -lighted and slung, and Cornelius Gleazen and I, with sword in hand, -faced each other across a length of clean white deck. - -It was a long way from friendly combat on the village green at -Topham to the bout I now waited to begin, and both for Cornelius -Gleazen and for myself the intervening months had piled up a -formidable score to be settled. Waiting in silence for our seconds, -Arnold and Matterson, to clear away some coiled ropes, we watched -each other with a bitter hate that had been growing on his part, I -am convinced, since the days when first he had seen me working in my -uncle's store, and on mine, certainly, ever since I had become aware -of the growing conviction that the friendship he had so loudly -professed for me was absolutely insincere. - -He had cheated, robbed, browbeaten, and, to all practical ends, -killed, my uncle. He stood there now, scheming by every means in his -power to kill and rob me in my turn. And if he succeeded!--I thought -of the girl to whom Gideon North had given up his stateroom. How -much did she know of all that was going forward? There had been only -one door between her and the quarrel in the cabin. And what fate -would be left for her, if I should fall--if Gleazen should override -Gideon North and Arnold Lamont? Truly, I thought, I must fight my -best. - -"And, sir," I heard Arnold saying, "if you are able to bear arms -after your bout with Mr. Woods, it is to be my turn and you shall so -favor me." - -"That I will," Gleazen replied with a wry smile. - -I know truly, although I do not understand the reason for it, that -after an unusually dramatic experience it is likely to be some -trifling, irrelevant little thing that one remembers most vividly. -And singularly enough it is a tiny patch on Arnold's coat that I now -most clearly recall of all that happened then. I noticed it for the -first time when Arnold was speaking; I do not remember that I ever -noticed it again. Yet to this day I can see it as clearly as if I -had only to turn my head to find it once more before my eyes, -slightly darker than the body of the coat and sewed on with small -neat stitches. - -Now Arnold was beside me. "Steady your blade, my boy," he said. -"Fence lightly and cautiously." - -The two swords circled, flashing in the lantern-light, and we came -on guard in a duel such as few men have fought. The rolling deck at -best gave us unsteady footing. As the lantern swung, the shadows -changed in a way that was most confusing. Now we were all but in -darkness; now the light was fairly in our eyes. - -This, I thought, can never be the old Neil Gleazen with whom I used -to fence. He was craftier, warier, more cautious now than I had ever -seen him, and I took a lesson from him and restrained the -impetuousness of the attack I should have launched had foils been -our weapons. Now he lunged out like a flash, and all but came in -past my guard. I instantly replied by a riposte, but failed to catch -him napping. Again he lunged and yet again, and for the third time I -succeeded in parrying, but all to no purpose so far as opening the -way for a counter-attack was concerned. - -Now I saw the spectators only as black shadows standing just out of -the range of my vision. With every sense I was alert to parry and -lunge. Now it seemed very dark except for the light of the lanterns, -although before we began to fence, the starlight had seemed -uncommonly bright and clear. The whole world appeared to grow dark -around me as I fought, until only Cornelius Gleazen was to be seen, -as if in the heart of a light cloud. Now I all but eluded his guard. -Now I drew blood from his arm--I was convinced of it. I pressed him -closer and closer and got new confidence from seeing that he was -breathing harder than I. - -For a moment,--it is a thing that happens when one has concentrated -his whole attention on a certain object for so long a time that at -last it inevitably wavers,--for a moment I was aware of those -around me as well as of the man in front of me. I even heard their -hard breathing, their whispered encouragement. I saw that Matterson -was standing on my right, midway between me and Gleazen. I saw a -sudden opening, and thrusting out my arm, drove my blade for it with -all the speed and strength of my body. That thrust, too, drew blood; -there was no doubt of it, for Gleazen gave a quick gasp and let his -guard fall. Victory was mine; I had beaten him. My heart leaped, and -lifting my sword-hand to turn off his blade, I attempted a reprise. -I knew by the frantic jerk of Gleazen's guard that he was aware that -I had beaten him. I was absolutely sure of myself. But when I -attempted to spring back and launch the doubled attack something -held my foot. - -I gave a quick jerk,--_literally my foot was held_,--I lost my -balance and all but went over. Then I felt a burning in the back of -my shoulder and sat down on deck with the feeling that the lanterns -were now expanding into strange wide circles of light, now -concentrating into tiny coals of fire. - -First I knew that Gideon North was bending over me with his medicine -chest; then I took a big swallow of brandy and had hard work to keep -from choking over it; then I felt cool hands, so firm and small that -I knew they could belong to only one person in the Adventure; then I -saw Arnold Lamont, sword in hand, facing Cornelius Gleazen. - -Now why, I wondered, had I been unable to withdraw my foot. -Matterson had been all but in my way. He must have thrust out his -own foot! - -"Arnold," I cried incoherently, "beware of Matterson! He tripped -me!" - -Arnold looked down at me and smiled and nodded. - -"Sir," I heard him saying, as if miles away, "you have beaten a man -years younger than yourself by a foul and treacherous trick. I shall -kill you." - -"Kill me?" Gleazen arrogantly roared. "It would take a swordsman to -do it." - -To that Arnold replied in a foreign tongue, which even then I knew -must be Spanish. I was no competent witness of what was taking -place; but cloudy though my mind was, I did not fail to see that -Arnold's taunt struck home, for both Gleazen and Matterson angrily -swore. - -"In Spanish, eh?" Gleazen sneered. "So this is the leaky spigot! No -more tales, my fine fellow, shall trickle out through your round -mouth, once I have measured your vitals with cold steel." - -Into my spinning brain there now came a sudden memory of my bout -with Arnold long, long ago, when I had gone at him just as -arrogantly as ever Neil Gleazen was doing now. I tried to cry out -again and could not. I laughed, which was all my strength permitted, -and wearily leaned back, and through eyes that would almost close in -spite of me, saw Arnold advance under the swinging lantern so -swiftly that his sword was like a beam of light flashed by a mirror. - -His blade sped through Gleazen's guard: Gleazen dropped his sword, -staggered, and fell with a crash. - -I heard Arnold say, "Sir, I am more clumsy than I knew. The rolling -deck has saved your miserable life, since I cannot kill a wounded -man. But if my hand were in practice, no ship that ever rolled would -have turned that thrust." - -Then a great uproar ensued, and I knew nothing more until I opened -my eyes in the cabin, where a hot argument was evidently in -progress, since oaths were bandied back and forth and there were -hard words on all sides. - -"As representatives of Josiah Woods, who owns this brig," I heard -Arnold say, "Gideon North and I will not permit you, sir, or any -other man, to ship such a cargo." - -The reply I did not understand, but I again heard Arnold's voice, -hot with anger. - -"We will _not_ sail again to that den of pirates and slavers and the -iniquitous of all the nations of the world, Havana. If you do not -wish to go to Boston,--" he hesitated,--"we will use you better than -you deserve. For a profitable voyage, we might compromise, say, on -South America." - -Of what followed I have no memory, for I was weaker than I realized, -from loss of blood. The cabin went white before my eyes. The voices -all dwindled away to remote threads of sound. I seemed to feel -myself sway with the motion of the ship, and opened my eyes again -and saw that I was being carried. Then I once more felt cool hands -on my forehead, and leaning back, seemed to sink into endless space. -I forgot Topham and all that had happened there; I forgot Africa and -every event of our ill-fated venture; I even forgot the brig and the -duel, and I almost forgot my own identity. But as I existed in a -sort of dream-land or fairyland somewhere between waking and -sleeping, I did not forget the girl who had come with me out of -Africa; and even when I could not remember my own name, I would find -myself struggling in a curiously detached way to connect the name -Faith, which persisted in my memory, with a personality that -likewise persisted, yet that seemed a thing apart from all the world -and not even to be given a name. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII - -WESTWARD BOUND - - -At the time I did not know whether it was two days or ten that I lay -in that borderland of consciousness. But as I emerged from it into a -clearer, more real world, I saw now the girl, now Arnold, now Gideon -North, passing before me and sometimes pausing by my berth. One day -I found myself eating broth that someone was feeding to me. The -next, I saw that the girl was my nurse. The next, I asked questions, -but so weakly that I could no more than murmur a faint protest when -she smiled and turned away without answering. - -So it went until a time when my voice was stronger and I would not -be put off again. Seizing her sleeve and feebly holding it, I cried -as stoutly as I was able, "Tell me--tell me where we are and all -that has happened." - -What she saw through the open port, I could only guess; if it was -possible to judge by her face, she saw more than mere sea and sky, -with perhaps a wandering sea bird; but she turned and quietly said, -"We are at sea, now, and all is going well, and when you are -stronger, I'll tell you more." - -"Tell me now!" I demanded. - -I would have said more, but I felt that my voice was failing and I -did not wish her to perceive it. - -She hesitated, then impulsively turned. - -"Just this: you are getting well fast, and he is getting well -slowly. We have gone from the coast and the Gulf of Guinea, and are -off for South America." - -Then she went away and left me, and I was troubled by the sadness -of her face, although she had had enough, heaven knew! to make her -sad. - -"So," I thought, "we have really abandoned the trade at last! And so -Arnold brought down Gleazen! And what of the trader and Pedro? And -what are our prospects of profit from a voyage to South America? And -what of Seth Upham and--" - -Then it all came back to me, a thousand memories bursting all at -once upon my bewildered brain, and I lived again those days from the -hour when I first saw Neil Gleazen on the porch of the inn, through -the mad night when we left Topham behind us, through the terrible -seasickness of my first voyage, through the sinister adventure in -Havana, through all the uncanny warnings of those African witch -doctors, up to the very hour when Seth Upham threw wide his arms and -went, singing, down to die by the spring. I remembered our wild -flight, the battle in the forest, the race down the river, the fall -of the mission, and again our flight,--the girl was with us -now!--the affair of the cruiser, the quarrel, the duel, and the -voices that I heard as I lay on deck. Then I came to a black hiatus. -Memory carried me no further and I wearily closed my eyes, having no -strength to keep them open longer. - -Next I knew that good Gideon North was standing over me, his hand on -my pulse; there was a sharp throbbing pain in my shoulder where -Gleazen's sword had struck home; I was vaguely aware that the girl -was sobbing. - -Now why, I thought, should anything trouble her? It was not as if -she, like me, had come up against a wall that she could not pass. I -seemed actually to throw myself at that black rigid barrier which -cut me off from every event that followed and--my delirious -metaphors were sadly mixed--left me balanced precariously on a -tenuous column of memories that came to an end high up in a dark -open place, like the truck of a ship in a black, stormy night. - -I heard Gideon North speaking of fever and my wound; then the -picture changed and the girl alone was sitting beside me. She was -singing in a low voice, and the song soothed me. I did not try to -follow the words; I simply let the tune lead me whither it would. -Then I went to sleep again, and when I woke my memory had succeeded -in passing the barrier that before had balked every effort. - -Now I remembered things that had happened while I lay in my berth in -my stateroom. I put together things that had happened before and -after my duel. It was as if I reached out from my frail mast of -memories and found accustomed ropes and knew that I could go -elsewhere at will. I felt a sudden new confidence in my power to -think and speak, and when the girl once more appeared, I cried out -eagerly, even strongly, "Now I know what, who, and where I am." - -At my words she stepped quickly forward and laid her hand on my -forehead. The fever had gone. With a little cry she turned, and I -heard her say to someone in the cabin, "His face is as cool as my -own!" - -In came Gideon North, then, and in the door appeared Arnold. - -"Bless me, boy!" Captain North cried, "you're on the mend at last." - -"I think I am," I returned. "What happened to me?" - -"Happened to you? A touch of African fever, my lad, on top of a -dastardly stab." - -"Where's Neil Gleazen?" I cried. - -"Oh, he's getting along better than he deserves. Our friend Lamont, -here, spitted him delicately; but he escaped the fever and has had -an easier time of it by far than you, my lad." - -He once more counted my pulse. "Fine," he said in his heartiest -voice, "fine enough. Now turn over and rest." - -"But I've been resting for days and days," I protested. "I want to -talk now and hear all the news." - -"Not now, Joe. Well go away and leave you now. But I'll have cook -wring the neck of another chicken and give your nurse, here, the -meat. She has a better hand at broth, Joe, my boy, than ever a -man-cook had, and I'll warrant, two hours from now, broth'll taste -good to you." - -So I went to sleep and woke to a saner, happier world. - -In another week I was able to be up on deck and to lie in the open -air on cushions and blankets, where the warm sunshine and the fair -wind and the gentle motion of the sea combined to soothe and restore -me. It was good to talk with Arnold and Captain North, and with Abe -Guptil, who, at my request, was ordered aft to spend an hour with me -one afternoon; but why, I wondered, did I see so little now of Faith -Parmenter? - -She would nod at me with a smile and a word, and then go away, -perhaps to lean on the rail and watch for an hour at a time the -rolling blue sea, or to pace the deck as if oblivious to all about -her. - -On that night at the mission weeks before, when neither of us even -knew the other's name, she had spoken to me with a directness that -had even more firmly stamped on my memory her face as I had first -seen it among the mangroves. On that terrible day when her father -had gone out from the mission house to die, when dangers worse than -death had threatened us from every side, she had cast her fortunes -with Arnold's and with mine; in all the weeks of my pain and fever, -she had tended me with a gentleness and thoughtfulness that had -filled me with gratitude and something more. But now she would give -me only a nod and a smile, with perhaps an occasional word! - -Why, Arnold and even old Gideon North got more of her time and -attention than did I. I would lie and watch her leaning on the rail, -the wind playing with stray tendrils of her hair, which the sun -turned to spun gold, and would suffer a loneliness even deeper than -that which I felt when my own uncle, Seth Upham, died by the spring -on the side of the hill. Could there be someone else of whom she was -always thinking? Or something more intangible and deeper rooted? -More and more I had feared it; now I believed it. - -To see Cornelius Gleazen, his right arm still swathed in many -bandages and his face as white almost as marble, eyeing me glumly -from his place across the deck, was the only other shadow on my -convalescence. With not a word for me,--or for my friends, for that -matter,--he would stroll about the deck in sullen anger, for which -no one could greatly blame him. He had no desire now to return to -our home town of Topham; his bolt there was shot. We had refused him -passage to the port of lawless men where no doubt he could have -plotted to win back the brig and all that he had staked. Little -grateful for the compromise by which he gained the privilege of -landing on another continent, he kept company with his thoughts--ill -company they were!--and with Matterson. But more than all else, it -troubled me to see him watching Faith Parmenter. - -As I would lie there, I would see him staring at her, unconscious -that anyone was observing him. He would keep it up for hours at a -time, until I did not see how she--or the others--could fail to -notice it; yet apparently no one did notice it. The man, I now -learned, and it surprised me, had a cat-like trick of dropping his -eyes or looking quickly away. - -As I grew stronger, I would now and then stand beside her, and we -would talk of one thing and another; but without fail there was the -wall of reserve behind which I could not go. She was always -courteous; she always welcomed me; yet she made her reserve so plain -that I had no doubt that it was kindness alone which led her to put -up with me. Only once in all that westward voyage did I feel that -she accepted me as more than the most casual of acquaintances, and I -could see, as I thought it over afterwards, that even then it was -because I had taken her by surprise. - -It came one night just when the sun was setting and the moon was -rising. The shadows on deck were long and of a deep umber. The -mellow light of early evening had washed the decks and all the lower -rigging in a soft brown, while the topsails were still tinted with -lavender and purple. We were running before a southeast wind -and--though I incur the ridicule of old sailors by saying it--there -was something singularly personal and friendly about the seas as -they broke against our larboard quarter and swept by us one by one. -I know that I have never forgotten that hour at the end of a fair -day, with a fair wind blowing, with strange colors and pleasant -shadows playing over an old brig, and with Faith Parmenter beside me -leaning on the taffrail. - -We had been talking of trivial things, with intervals of deep -silence, as people will, especially in early evening, when the -beauty of the great world almost takes away the power of speech. But -at the end of a longer silence than any that had gone before it, as -I watched her slim fingers moving noiselessly on the rail, I -suddenly said, "Why do you never tell me about your own life? In all -this time you have not let me know one thing about yourself." - -As she looked up at me, there was a startled expression in her -eyes. - -"Do you," she said, "wish to know more about me?" - -"Yes." - -She looked away again as if in doubt; then, with a little gesture, -which seemed for the time being to open a gate in that wall of -reserve which had so completely shut her away from me, she smiled -and spoke in a low, rather hurried voice. - -"My story is quickly told. I was born in a little town in Dorset, -and there I lived with my father and my mother and nurse, until I -was sixteen years old. My mother died then. The years that followed -were--lonely ones. It was no surprise to me--to anyone--when my -father decided to give up his parish and sail for Africa. We all -knew, of course, how bad things were on the West Coast. People said -our English ships still kept up the wicked trade. But they were -ships from Brazil and the West Indies, manned, I believe, by -Spaniards and Portuguese, that gave us the most trouble. There were -Englishmen and Americans now and then, but they were growing fewer. -We thought we were done with them; then you came. Even after you had -come, I told my father that you were not in the trade; but my father -already had seen _him_,"--she moved her hand ever so slightly in the -direction of Gleazen, who likewise was leaning on the rail at a -little distance,--"and he would believe no good of you. If only he -could have lived! But you came. And here am I, with only you and an -old black servant." - -She looked up at me with a sudden gesture of confidence that made my -heart leap. - -"I am glad you came," she said. - -Her hand lay on the rail beside mine, but so much smaller than mine -that I almost laughed. She turned quickly with an answering smile, -and impulsively I tried to cover her small hand with my larger one. - -Deftly she moved her hand away. "Are you so silly?" she gravely -asked. - -At that moment I was quite too shy and awkward for my own peace of -mind. She seemed suddenly to have stepped away from me as on -seven-league boots. I certainly felt that she was angry with me, and -I ventured no more familiarities; yet actually she merely moved her -hand away and stayed where she was. There was that about her which -made me feel like a child who is ashamed of being caught in some -ridiculous game; and I think now that in some ways I was truly very -much of a child. - -For a long time we watched in silence the rolling seas, which had -grown as black as jet save for the points of light that they -reflected from the stars, and save for the broad bright path that -led straight up to the full moon. But when the moon had risen higher -and had cast its cold hard light on the deck of the brig, Cornelius -Gleazen edged closer to us along the rail. - -"Good-night," she murmured in a very low voice, and gave a little -shudder, which, I divined, she intended that I should see. Then, -with a quick, half-concealed smile, she left me. - -All in all, I was happier that night than I had ever been before, I -believe, for I thought that we had razed the wall of her reserve. -But lo! in the morning it was there again, higher and more -unyielding than ever; and more firmly than ever I was convinced that -she had not told me _all_ her story; that there was someone else of -whom she was thinking, or that some other thing, of which I knew -nothing, preyed upon her. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII - -THE DOOR OF DISASTER - - -On the morning when we sighted land, I saw the big Fantee canoeman -standing in the waist and looking with eager eyes at the distant -shore. I suppose it was because I was still so weak that it did not -thrill me as my first glimpse of Africa had thrilled me. We had -known for some time that we were off the La Plata River by the -changed color of the water; but the shores that we now saw were mere -sandy beaches and low hills, which stretched, Captain North said, -from Cape St. Mary up the river itself; and I, having somehow got -the notion that I should see grand cliffs and mountains, was sadly -disappointed in them. - -At about nine o'clock in the morning of that first day we passed an -island on which there were more seals than I had ever seen in any -one place; and at about eleven we came to a small town, whence with -light, fair winds we continued on our way up the river toward -Montevideo. - -For our venture into unfamiliar waters we could not have desired -better weather than thus far prevailed; but about sunset the wind -rose and a dense fog blew in; whereupon Captain North decided to -haul off shore a few miles and anchor for the night, which we did -about fifteen miles below the city. The wind, meanwhile, was rising -to a gale. At eight o'clock, as it was still rapidly increasing, we -paid out a considerable length of cable, and the Adventure rode with -much less straining than before; but Captain North, I could see, was -by no means well pleased with our situation, and as we went below to -supper I overheard him say to Matterson, who continued to hold the -berth of chief mate, "Tend the cable with care, Mr. Matterson, and -keep a good lookout." - -Whatever Matterson's reply, I lost it; but to this day I remember -his giant figure as he stood there on the quarter-deck, his jacket -buttoned tight up to his throat, his arms folded, with the wind -racing past his gray stubble of a beard. His strength was still -impaired by his wound, although at last it had healed clean; but -there was no sign of weakness in his bearing. In the dim light and -the rising gale he loomed up big, bold, and defiant. - -Small wonder that I remember him as he looked then! It was almost -the last time I ever saw him. - -We were five at the table that night,--Captain North, Gleazen, -Arnold, Faith, and I,--and Abe Guptil served us as steward. - -With Mr. Severance in his own quarters asleep during his watch -below, and with the trader whom we had rescued sent unceremoniously -forward to keep company with the cook, we should have had a pleasant -time of it but for the presence of Gleazen, whose sullen scowl -dampened every word we spoke. Why the fellow ate with us instead of -waiting for Matterson, I am sure I do not know, unless it was sheer -perversity. Not one of us had a word to say to him, yet there he -sat, with his arm in a sling and the folds of bandages showing -through his waistcoat as broad ridges, now glaring at Arnold, now -eyeing Faith Parmenter; and his few words could have brought little -comfort even to him. - -"How she pitches!" Arnold exclaimed, as wine from his glass fell in -a red blot on the cloth. - -"This wind," said Gleazen gloomily, "puts me in mind of that little -yell Seth Upham gave when they got him." His voice sank almost to a -whisper. - -Now, as the brig plunged, Abe Guptil stumbled while crossing the -cabin and fell to his knees, yet made out by a desperate effort both -to hold his tray upright and to keep the dishes from sliding off -against the bulkhead. - -"Bravo!" cried Gideon North. - -"Yes, sir," Abe replied, brightly, "that was a clever one and I'm -proud of it." - -It had been impossible to teach him the manners of his new work, but -we cared little about that. - -"Hark!" said Faith. "What was the noise?" - -"Nothing, so far as I know," Captain North replied. "How she pitches -and jumps! Give me a ship under sail, steadied by the wind abeam." - -"I've heard Bud O'Hara use them very words," said Gleazen. - -Again silence followed the man's ill-chosen remark. - -"When we have put our passengers ashore," Arnold began with a -significant glance at Gleazen, "shall we--" - -"Captain North!" - -Matterson's light voice calling down the companionway brought the -old mariner to his feet. - -Gleazen, who had seemed to be on the point of making some -ill-tempered retort, slumped back in his chair as Captain North -rose. - -"What will you have, Mr. Matterson?" - -"I wish you'd come on deck, sir," came Matterson's reply. "I'm in -doubt whether or no we're drifting." - -"Drifting?" - -The old man went up with haste, and I followed close at his heels. - -"I don't like the feel of the lead," he remarked, when, after -gaining the deck, he laid hands on the lead-line. "But what with the -current of the river and our pitching, I can't be sure. Are those -breakers to leeward?" - -"I think, sir," Matterson replied, "that they are only the white -tops of the waves." - -Matterson showed more genuine deference now than I had ever seen in -him before, which in itself went far to convince me that affairs -were going badly. - -"They may be," the old man replied, "but I'm inclined to doubt it." -And with that he went aft over the stern into the boat. - -Evidently the nearer view convinced him that they were indeed -breakers, for he returned with surprising agility. - -"Call 'em up, Joe," he hoarsely cried, "every living soul. We're in -a bad way. You, Mr. Matterson, get ready another anchor and send men -to clear the cable tier below. Quick now." - -I heard those in the cabin start to their feet when I called, and a -moment later Gleazen burst out and up the ladder. Behind him came -Faith, whom he had passed in his rush to the deck; then, a moment -later, Arnold, who had stopped to shake Mr. Severance out of a sound -sleep. - -The white crests were nearer now, and approaching at a startling -speed. The roar alone told us they were breakers. A wave curled -along the rail and a torrent of foam cascaded over the bulwark, -washed the length of the deck, and eddied for a moment above the -scuppers. - -The breakers were upon us and all about us. Their deafening roar -drowned out every sound in the brig. Then we struck. The man at the -wheel was thrown to his knees, but held his place. One or two men -succeeded in clinging to the rigging. The rest of us went tumbling -up against the rail. - -I really did not understand the expression on Gleazen's face. I -simply could not yet comprehend the terrible danger in which we were -placed. To me, being no sailor, anything would have seemed possible -at sea; but now, when we were so near port,--indeed, actually in -sight of land,--it seemed utterly incredible that we could be in -deadly peril. But it was a terrible lesson that put an end to my -folly. A second blow followed the first shock of our striking, then -a third still heavier, then a sea broke clean across our bows, -carrying one poor wretch overboard and driving two more back to the -quarter-deck. With a fearful, despairing yell the luckless fellow -went past us and down, and as he did so I saw clinging to his -shoulders a frightened animal and knew that we had seen the last of -Pedro and his monkey. - -The next sea broke over the whole weather side of the good -Adventure, and only by clinging fast to the rigging did any one of -us manage to retain his hold on the pounding wreck, which, desperate -though her plight was, represented our one chance for life. - -Now in a voice that rose above the roar of the tempest Gideon North -thundered, "Cut away the masts! Cut away the masts!" - -A lull followed, and for a moment we dared hope that, once the brig -was freed of all weight aloft, she would right herself and go over -the bar in such a way that we could let go our anchor on the farther -side and so bring her up again into the wind. But the lull brought -us only despair when the carpenter answered him by shrieking at the -top of his voice, "The axe has gone overboard." - -So swiftly and so mightily had the succession of seas burst over us -that of all hands only ten or a dozen were left on board. I could -see them in a line clinging precariously to the weather-rail. At -first, in dazed horror, I thought Faith Parmenter was not there; -then, seeing someone drag her back through the wash of the sea, I -myself strove to reach her side. Another sea broke, and again she -almost went overboard; then I saw that it was Abe Guptil who was -holding her with the strength of two men. Then the great black -figure of the Fantee canoeman worked along the rail ahead of me and -took a place beside her, opposite to Abe, and helped to hold her in -the brig. - -It was plain to every one of us what the outcome would have been had -not a cross-current now thrown the pounding hull at a new angle, so -that for a breathing-space those of us who were left alive had -opportunity to take other measures for safety. But the very wave -that did that also sent the masts by the board and, instead of -lightening us, cluttered the decks with a hopeless snarl of ropes -and canvas. - -I was farther forward than the others, and so weak from my long -illness that for a moment I could only strive to recover my strength -and my breath. I saw them haul the filled boat up to the stern and, -by sheer strength and audacity, raise her clear of the breakers, -empty out half or two thirds of the water and let her go back again -into the sea, where she rode sluggishly. - -Into that rocking boat, first of all, sprang Matterson. Close after -him scrambled the craven trader, and after him Neil Gleazen. - -"Cast off!" I heard Matterson yell. "She'll founder with another -soul aboard her." - -And off they cast, those three men, abandoning every one of the rest -of us to whatever end fate might hold in store. - -That they should leave behind them those of us who had been from the -first their enemies was not surprising; but that they should abandon -thus, on a wreck that we all could see was doomed to break up in a -few hours, if not literally in a few minutes, a girl who had done -them no harm whatsoever, whose only fault lay in coming from quite -another world than theirs, was contemptible beyond belief, if for no -other reason than that she was but a young girl and they strong men. - -I would not have believed it of even them. I could scarcely believe -my eyes when I saw them go. But as if to deal them a punishment more -fitting than any that we could devise, while the brig was pounding -in the breakers, a wave, sweeping clean over her, wrenched the -trysail boom about and parted the sheet and flung the boom in a wide -half-circle squarely on top of the boat, which it crushed to -kindlings. Whether or not it hit any of the three cowardly knaves a -direct blow, it left them struggling like so many rats in seas that -speedily carried them out of our sight into the darkness. - -No doubt we should have seen more of their fate had our own plight -been less desperate; but the boom, as it swung down on the boat, -raked across the taffrail, and those of us who had been clinging -there in a long line, losing our hold on what up to that point had -represented to us our only chance for safety, threw our arms round -the boom and clung fast to that and with it were swept away from the -wrecked brig, straight through the breakers that foamed between us -and the shore. Holding the boom itself with one arm, I struggled to -give Faith what help I could with the other; but we must both have -been washed off the leaping spar, had not the big black Fantee -canoeman, who all this time had been working closer and closer to -his beloved mistress, plunged under the boom and, coming up on the -farther side, seized both her and me with a grip like a gorilla's. -Meanwhile Abe Guptil, as strong as a bear, in a flash had seen how -effective the Fantee's manoeuvre was, and had tried to duplicate it -for himself, Arnold, and Gideon North, who had been washed to the -farther end of the spar and nearly carried away from it. But he -only partly succeeded, for to him the water was not nearly so -natural an element as to the mungo, and he began his attempt later -and completed it more slowly. - -Coming up on the far side of the boom, gasping and choking from a -wave that struck him squarely in the face, he clasped hands with -Arnold and tried to do so with Gideon North; but as his outstretched -arm groped for him, the sea tore the old sailor away and we five -were left alone on the long spar, two of us on one side and three on -the other, with arms and bodies locked around it. - -Brave Gideon North! There was little time then to feel his loss; but -it was to grow upon us more and more and more in the weeks and -months to come. Stout-hearted, downright, thoughtful, kind--it is -very seldom that one gets or loses such a friend. - -The spar rolled and turned as it swept toward the shore. Now we were -pounded and battered and almost drowned by the breakers; now we got -a chance to breathe and regain our strength as we came into deeper, -quieter water; now we were swept again through breakers that tossed -us, half drowned, into surging shallows. And so, holding fast to one -another, we were cast up on the shore in the darkness, where we -crawled away from the long waves that licked over the wet sand, and -sat down and watched and waited and watched. - -Twice we heard someone calling aloud, and once I was sure that I saw -someone struggling toward us out of the surge. But though we -staggered down to the sea and shouted time and again, we got no -answer. Slowly the conviction forced itself upon us that we five and -some half a dozen sailors who had reached land before us were all -who were left alive of the passengers and crew of the brig -Adventure; that after all there was no hope whatever for Gideon -North, that bravest of master mariners. - -To such an end had come Cornelius Gleazen's golden dreams! Through -suffering and disaster, they had led him to the ultimate wreck of -every hope; his own catastrophe had shattered the future of more -than one innocent man, and had caused directly the death of many -innocent men. - -It was a wild dawn that broke upon us on that foreign shore. The -wind raged and the sea thundered, and black, low clouds raced over -our heads. To watch by daylight the terrible cauldron through which -we had come by dark was in itself a fearful thing; and beyond it, -barely visible through the surf, lay the broken hull of the -Adventure. So far as we could discover, there was no living creature -in all that waste of waters. - -My dream of being a prosperous ship-owner lay wrecked beside the -shattered timbers of the Adventure; and knowing that, after all my -youthful dreams of affluence, I now was a poor man with my way in -the world to make, I felt that still another dream, a dearer, more -ambitious dream, likewise was shattered. - -If when I owned the brig and had good prospects Faith Parmenter had -withdrawn behind a wall of reserve, if there had been someone else -whom she held in greater favor,--of whom she thought more -often,--what hope that I could win her now? Starting to walk away -from the others, I saw that she was ahead of me, staring with dark, -tearless eyes at the stormy sea. I stopped beside her. - -"I suppose the time of our parting is near at hand," I began. "If I -can in any way be of service to you--" - -"You are going to leave me _now_? _Here?_" - -There was something in her breathless, anxious voice that brought my -heart up into my throat. - -"Not leave you, but--" - -"But the time of parting has come?" she said, with a rising -inflection. "It has found us in a wild and desolate place,"--she -smiled,--"more desolate and less wild than the place from which we -sailed. You came to me strangely, sir; you go as strangely as you -came." - -"If I can be of any service to you," I blindly repeated, "I--" - -Still smiling, she cut me short off. "I thank you, but I think I -shall be able, after all, to make shift. If someone--Mr. Lamont, -perhaps--will take me to some town where there is--an English -church--" - -She still was smiling, but her smile wavered. - -Could she, I wondered with a sort of fierce eagerness, have told me -_all_ her story? Was there, then, really nothing hidden? - -"If you--" I began, "if I--" - -Then she covered her face with her hands and sobbed, and for the -first time I dared guess the truth. - -At what I then said,--the words that opened the gate to the life we -two have lived together,--she smiled so brightly through her tears, -that for the moment I forgot the dark shore, the stormy seas, and -the terrible, tragic night through which we had passed. - -There was a wealth of affection in Arnold's kind, thoughtful face -when we joined the others, and Abe Guptil and the big Fantee, Paul, -smiled at us--it was good to see their smiles after the sufferings -and sorrow that we all had passed through. - -"If only Gideon North and Seth Upham were here now!" Abe cried. - -"Poor Seth!" said Arnold. "What a price he has paid for one -passionate blow." - -"What do you know?" I demanded. - -Arnold gravely turned, "I _know_ little," he said. "But I have -guessed much." - -"What have you guessed?" - -"They say in Topham that Neil Gleazen left town in the night and Eli -Norton was found dead in the morning." - -While he paused, we waited in silence. - -"That, my friends, is why Gleazen for twenty years did not come -back. But I once heard Gleazen say, when the mood was on him to -torment Seth Upham, let people think what they would, that at least -he--Gleazen--_knew_ who killed Eli Norton." - -"And you think that Seth Upham--" - -He interrupted me with a Latin phrase--"De mortuis nil nisi bonum." - -My poor uncle! - -"You four," said Arnold thoughtfully, "will need money before you -once more reach Topham." - -"But of course you are coming too," I cried. - -"No, I fear that I should not be content to live always in Topham." - -Taken aback by his words, I stared at him with an amazement that was -utterly incredulous. - -"You are not coming back with us?" - -"No." Arnold smiled kindly and perhaps a little sadly. - -Unbuckling a belt that he had worn since I first knew him, he drew -it off and opened it, and I saw to my further amazement that it was -full of gold coins. "This," said he, "will go far to pay your -expenses." - -"I cannot take gold from you," I cried. - -"Do not be foolish, Joe. We are old friends, you and I, and this by -rights is as much yours as mine." - -He thrust the belt into my hands. "It is all for you, but there is -enough for our good friend Abe, in case he parts from you before -reaching Topham." - -"But you--" - -"I have more. I am not, Joe, only that which I have pretended to be -in your uncle's store in Topham, where you and I have had happy days -together." - -At my bewildered face, he smiled again. - -"My real name, Joe, is old and not obscure. I am one of the least -illustrious sons of my house; but I myself have served on the staff -of the great Bonaparte. - -"And that--" I could scarcely believe that honest Arnold Lamont was -saying these astounding things. - -"That is why it has been necessary--at least advisable--for me to -conceal for so many years my identity. A man, Joe, does not tell all -he knows." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV - -AN OLD, OLD STORY - - -It was spring when we came back to Topham. The sun was warm upon the -pleasant fields and gardens, and the blossoms on the fruit trees -were thick and fragrant. The loveliest days of all the year were -enfolding the pleasant countryside of New England in the glory and -peace of their bright skies and soft colors; and as the hired coach -that brought us down from Boston, with black Paul, at once proud and -uncomfortable in a new suit of white man's clothes, seated stiffly -high beside the driver, rolled along the familiar roads, I pointed -out to my bride the fair scenes among which my boyhood had been -spent. - -From Montevideo, which we reached on the evening following the -wreck,--there an old English clergyman married us,--we had sailed to -New York as passengers in a merchant ship; but first we had taken -leave of those two good friends, Arnold Lamont, whom we were never -to see again, and Abe Guptil, who had bravely insisted on setting -out to build anew his fortunes by shipping as second mate of an -American bark then in port. From New York a second ship had given us -passage to Boston, whence we came over the same road to Topham that -I had traveled so long before with Arnold and Sim and Abe and Neil -Gleazen and my uncle. - -We ought, I suppose, to have been a properly anxious young couple, -for of the great sum in gold that Arnold had so generously advanced -us only a small part remained, and what I should do in Topham, now -that Uncle Seth's store was in other hands, I had not the slightest -notion. The tower of golden dreams that poor Seth Upham had built -in idle moments had fallen into dust; Neil Gleazen's unscrupulous -quest had brought only ashes and bitterness; it was from the shadow -of a great tragedy that we came into that golden morning in spring. -But great as had been those things that Faith and I had lost, we had -gained something so deep and so great that even then, when in -discovering it we were so happy that the world seemed too good to be -real, we had not more than begun to appreciate the wonder and -magnitude of it. - -Thus I came back to Topham after such a year and a half as few men -have known, even though they have lived a full century--back to -Topham, with all my golden prospects shattered by Gleazen's mad -adventure, but with a treasure such that, if all the gold in the -world had been mine, I would eagerly have given every coin to win -it. - -With my bride beside me, her hand upon my arm, I rode into sleepy -little Topham, past my uncle's house where I had lived for many -happy years, past the store where Arnold and poor Sim Muzzy and I -had worked together, past the smithy where even now that old -prophet, the blacksmith, was peering out to see who went by in the -strange coach, and after all was failing to recognize me at the -distance, so changed was I by all that had befallen me, up to the -door of the very tavern where I had first seen Cornelius Gleazen. - -There I handed my dear wife down from her seat in the coach, dressed -in a simple gown and bonnet that became her charmingly, and turned -and saw, waiting to greet me, the very landlord whom last I had seen -reeling back from Gleazen's drunken thrust. - -At first, when he looked at me, he showed that he was puzzled; then -he recognized me and his face changed. - -My fears lest the good man bear me a grudge for my share, small -though it was, in that villainous night's work, vanished there and -then. "You!" he cried, with both hands outstretched; "why, Joe! why, -Joe! We thought you were long since lost at sea or killed by -buccaneers--such a story as Sim Muzzy told us!" - -"Sim Muzzy?" I cried. "Not Sim!" - -"Yes, Sim!" - -Then I heard far down the road someone calling, and turned and -saw--it was so good that I rubbed my eyes like a child waking from a -dream!--actually saw Sim Muzzy come puffing and sweating along, with -a cloud of dust trailing for a hundred yards behind him. - -"Joe, Joe," he cried, "welcome home! Welcome home, Joe Woods!" - -And as I am an honest man, he fell to blubbering on the spot. - -"Things are not what they used to be," he managed at last to say. -"The new man in the store don't like the town and the townspeople -don't like him, and I've been living in hopes Seth Upham would come -home and take it off his hands. But who is this has come back with -you, Joe, and what's come of Seth Upham?" - -At that I presented him to my wife, who received him with a sweet -dignity that won his deepest regard on the spot; and then I told him -the whole sad story of our adventures, or as much of it, at least, -as I could cram into the few minutes that we stood by the road. - -"And so," I concluded, "I have come back to Topham with not a penny -to my name, save such few as are left from Arnold's bounty." - -Sim heard me out in silence, for evidently his own trials had done -much to cure him of his garrulity, and with a very sad face indeed -he stood looking back over the village where we had lived and -worked so long together. - -"Poor Seth Upham!" he said at last. "Well, there's nothing we can do -for him now. And as for Neil Gleazen, he's better dead than back in -Topham, for here he'd hang as sure as preaching. Jed Matthews, they -say, never moved a muscle after Neil hit him on the head. But as for -you, Joe, you're no penniless wanderer." - -"What do you mean by that?" I asked. - -"There was all of fifteen thousand dollars on board the brig." - -"What makes you think that?" - -"Didn't I help Seth store it in his trunk? 'You're simple, Sim, and -honest,' he says to me. 'I'll not have another soul besides you know -this, but you're as honest as you are simple,' Them's the words he -said, and I was that proud of 'em that I've treasured 'em ever -since." - -I thought of the papers and bags we had stored in the wagon that -night when we fled from Topham. - -"He hid it well," I replied. "But even if he had not hidden it so -well, I fear that it would nevertheless be at the bottom of the La -Plata River, just as it now is, with the brig, and all the goods -that were on board her, and many men that sailed in her, good and -bad alike." - -"But that is not all." - -"Not all? What do you mean?" - -"Seth Upham left money in the bank, and I've seen his will with my -own eyes. 'Twas found in the safe after we left town, and turned -over to Judge Fuller." - -"But surely, what with buying the brig and taking all his papers, -which I looked over myself in the cabin of the Adventure and which -were lost, every one, when she broke up, he had nothing left. Why, -the brig must have cost a pretty penny." - -"That may well be, Joe, but there's money in the bank, for all that. -Seth Upham had more money tucked away than most people would have -believed." - -I thought this over with growing wonder. "I do believe, my love," I -said, "that we shall be able to make a fair start in the world after -all, and, which is more, repay certain debts at once." - -Faith smiled as she looked up at me; then she turned and looked at -the quaint old town, which was spread before us in the sun. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV - -EHEU FUGACES! - - -Sim Muzzy's tale, when he bethought himself to tell it to us, was a -lively one in its own way, although it did not, of course, compare -with our African adventures. The press-gang that set upon us in -Havana had rushed him away to a Spanish ship, where he was kicked -about and cruelly abused, until, at peril of his life, he dropped -overboard in the dark and swam to an American schooner, whose -captain, hearing his story, took him on board and hid him in the -chain-locker until they were well on their way to Boston. Thence Sim -had set out on foot for Topham, where he had hired himself once -again to tend the store and had led a dog's life ever since. - -That Sim was right about Uncle Seth's bank accounts and his will, -which left all to me, I learned before sunset that very day. The -sums were not large in themselves, and taken all together they were -small enough compared with the golden dreams my poor uncle had lived -in; but they assured Faith and me of comfort at least; and when that -evening I called upon the new storekeeper and found him so eager to -escape from a town where his short measures and petty deceits had -made him unpopular and discontented, that he was not in the mood to -haggle over the bargain, I bought back the store on the spot. - -"There'll be happier days ahead, Sim," said I when I came out. - -"O Joe, I'm sure of that," he replied, his face bright with smiles; -for he had overheard considerable of our discussion. - -Within the week the papers were signed, and before a fortnight was -up Faith and I went out, arm-in-arm, on the old hill road and saw -the men break ground for the new house that we were to build. - -Whether any of the others, unknown to Faith and me, had made their -way ashore on the night of the wreck, we never learned; but it was -virtually impossible that they should have done so without revealing -themselves to those of us who had ranged all that bleak coast the -next morning. For honest Gideon North we mourned as for one of the -dearest of friends, and of the rest we thought sometimes in the -years that followed. But none of them, except our own Abe, ever came -to Topham, nor did I ever go back to the sea. - -Three letters at long intervals brought us news of Arnold Lamont; -and to the address that he gave in the first we sent with our reply -a draft for the sum that he had so generously lent us when on that -wild South American shore we four had set out to begin life anew. -They were good letters, and there was no note of complaint in them; -yet as I read them and thought of the Arnold Lamont whom I had known -so long and, all things considered, so intimately, I could not but -feel that in the cities of South America and, later, of Europe he -failed, whatever compensations there may have been, to find anything -like the peace and quiet happiness that he once had found in our New -England town of Topham. - -The week before the walls of our new house were raised, Faith and I -drove together along a road that I had tramped on an autumn -afternoon, to the farm where Abe Guptil had lived in the days that -now seemed so long ago. We carried with us certain papers, which -changed hands in the kitchen where Abe and his little family had -slept the night when I was their guest; and so it happened that, -when Abe returned from his voyage and came to see me at the store -full of honest joy at my good fortune, I sent him off to his own old -home with the assurance that the terms by which he was to buy it -were such that he need never fear again to lose it. - -As the town of Topham has grown around us, Faith and I have grown -into the town and with it; and although the black Fantee, Paul, who -remained the most faithful of servants, was a nine days' wonder in -the village, there now are few people left, I imagine, who know all -the wild, well-nigh unbelievable, yet absolutely true, story of the -year when we first met. A royal fortune may have been lost with Seth -Upham and Neil Gleazen in Gleazen's mad quest, but I can say in all -sincerity that from his quest I gained a fortune far beyond my -deserts. - -THE END - -[Illustration: THE COURSE OF THE BRIG ADVENTURE] - - McGrath-Sherrill Press, Boston - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Great Quest, by Charles Boardman Hawes - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT QUEST *** - -***** This file should be named 40265-8.txt or 40265-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/2/6/40265/ - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Akers, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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