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Adrift on the Pacific: A Boys Story of the Sea and its Perils, a fiction by Edward Sylvester Ellis |
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Chapter 12. In The Haven At Last |
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_ CHAPTER XII. IN THE HAVEN AT LAST As Captain Bergen descended the rigging to the deck of the schooner he was greatly depressed, for the conviction was strong upon him that in entering this promised land--as he had sometimes termed the little circle of coral and earth which he had named Pearl Island--he would never leave it. The immense wealth which lay hidden along its coast, awaiting the coming of some one to gather it, would never be carried away by those who had already come more than half-way round the globe to garner it. As the captain stepped upon deck, Redvignez and Brazzier respectfully saluted him, and looked as if they were the most loyal of sailors. Captain Bergen forced himself to respond to their salute, and then he walked quietly over to where Abe stood at the wheel. "Well, what do you make of it?" asked the mate, in a low voice. "It's the island!" replied Bergen. "Are you sure of it?" "Yes; there can be no doubt. I made out the landmark that Grebbens told me would identify it beyond all question. That's the mast which they erected on the shore, close to the inlet. You can see it without the glass," added the captain, turning about and looking in that direction. Such was the case, and Storms observed it plainly. "What's the matter, captain?" asked the mate, bringing his gaze back to the face of his friend, and scrutinizing him keenly. "You look pale and agitated. Have your nerves given out after this strain?" "Abe," said the captain, in a carefully-guarded voice, and glancing over his shoulder, "I learned, a few minutes ago, that those two men forward intend to mutiny and run away with the pearls." "Is that all? Why, I knew that weeks ago!" "You did?" demanded the astounded captain. "Why, then, didn't you tell me?" "I thought it was better to wait till we reached the island, by which time their plans were likely to be more fully developed." "That sort of reasoning I don't understand," said the captain, anything but pleased with his mate. "But never mind about it now. Tell me what you have learned." "Not a great deal more than you have told. Those two men, I am satisfied, are old acquaintances, who have been partners in more than one crime, though we supposed them strangers at the time we shipped them; and I have no doubt they began planning our deaths from the day we sailed out of San Francisco harbor." "What about Pomp?" "They had a hard time, but they have won him over, and he is pledged to go with them." "And you have tried to gain the good will of Pomp?" "I have done my utmost, and have treated him with unusual leniency, making him many presents, some of which I gave him to understand came from you. But they've got him, for all that. There's our greatest safeguard." As the mate spoke, he pointed to Inez, who, at that moment, came bounding up the steps of the cabin and ran laughing forward. "Pomp thinks all the world of her, and she will be the peacemaker, perhaps." "But don't they like her as well?" "No; they wouldn't hesitate any more over killing her than they would in killing us." "The villains!" muttered the horrified captain. "I never conceived it possible that any human being could fail to love such beauty and innocence as hers." "There is no immediate danger," said the mate, somewhat surprised to observe how completely the discovery had taken possession of the mind of the captain. "Let's give our attention now to the business upon which we came, and there will be time enough to think of the other matter between now and nightfall." Captain Bergen was sorely perplexed, but the circumstances were such that he was able to follow the suggestion of his faithful mate. They were now close to the island, which was of that singular formation so frequently seen in the Pacific. Countless millions of tiny insects, toiling through many years, had gradually lifted the foundations of coral from the depths of the ocean, until the mass, in the form of a gigantic ring or horse-shoe, was above the surface. Upon this had gradually gathered sand, seeds and vegetable matter, in the usual way, until beneath the tropical sun and the balmy climate the "desert blossomed like the rose." This took a long while, but the process it went through was similar to that of hundreds of much larger islands which to-day rest like nosegays upon the bosom of the vast Pacific. Among these fruits were the banana, plantain, breadfruit, and a sort of mango, found in Farther India, and which, at first disliked, becomes in time a great favorite with every one. Most singular of all was the fact that at two widely-separated points burst forth a spring of clear, fresh water. One might well wonder where the supply for this came from, since the whole island had its foundation in salt water--but there are many strange distillations going on at all times in nature's laboratory beyond the power of man to fathom. These were probably stored away in some of the hidden vaults of the island, and bubbled forth, the fountain being renewed before the precious contents were exhausted. The entrance to the interior was through a deep passage, toward which Mr. Storms directed the vessel. As the _Coral_ glided into this "inland sea," Captain Bergen took the helm, being as familiar with the contour of the atoll as if he had spent a dozen years upon it. He knew where the best anchorage was to be found, and he headed over toward the eastern shore, where it was safe to run close enough in to spring from the deck to the land. He was a good seaman, and he brought his craft to with as much skill as a stage-driver brings his team to a halt before the door of an inn. The anchor was let go at the proper moment, and the _Coral_ slowly swung at her mooring in the very position her master desired, both bow and stern being so close to shore that there would be no occasion to use the small boat which is generally called into requisition on such occasions. The scenery and situation were peculiar and novel in the highest degree. These atolls are the natural harbors of the ocean, and if any vessel can run through the openings into the calm waters within, she may ride in safety from the severest tempest. The water within the lagoon was as calm as the surface of a mill-pond. On every hand rose the trees and vegetation so dense that the only portion where a glimpse of the ocean could be caught was at the entrance, which, it would seem, the builders of the island had left on purpose for the ingress and exit of endangered shipping. Despite the alarming discovery which Captain Bergen had made but a short time previous, he carried out the purpose formed weeks before, and which the mate urged him to fulfil. The schooner having been secured in position and everything put in ship-shape order, he addressed the three men who composed the crew: "My friends, when I engaged you to go upon this voyage, I did not tell you whither, and you may think it is late in the day to give you such information, now that we have reached our destination. Some time ago, before I sailed, I received information that a bed of oysters existed at a certain portion of this island unusually rich in pearls. It is to obtain them I have come, and now I wish to say, what I determined to say from the first, that if you work faithfully, and give me all the assistance you can, each of you three shall receive enough to make you rich for life. In an enterprise of this kind the business is a partnership, and you shall be liberally treated, provided you prove worthy." During the utterance of these words, both the captain and the mate carefully watched the faces of the three men to see the effect produced. Had the African been alone he would have been won over, and as it was he turned about in an inquiring way, and looked toward the two men as if seeking to see how they took it. Their countenances were so immobile that he gained no information from the looks there; but both the officers did. Abe Storms, especially, was a skilful physiognomist, and that which he saw convinced him that the speech, coming as it did, was a mistake. As is frequently the case, it was accepted as an evidence of timidity on the part of the officers, and the conspirators were given a confidence which otherwise would not have been theirs. "It was a blunder," whispered Storms, when the captain stepped beside him. "Those wretches mean mischief, and it is coming within twenty-four hours." _ |
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