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Devon Boys: A Tale of the North Shore, a fiction by George Manville Fenn |
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Chapter 44. Bigley Makes A Discovery |
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_ CHAPTER FORTY FOUR. BIGLEY MAKES A DISCOVERY
Bigley worked regularly with me, living at the smuggler's cottage with Mother Bonnet for his housekeeper; and he used to hear regularly from his father, who expressed no intention of ever returning, merely saying that he was glad that his son was doing so well, and quite accepting the position. He used to send money, but now Bigley had ceased to use it, for he received a regular payment from my father, and this other money used to be sent to a bank. The mine was fairly productive, but I knew that my father had been compelled to borrow a good deal, and this preyed upon his mind so much that one day he said to me: "Sep, I think I shall be obliged to sell the Gap, with the mine and all it holds. I don't like this life of debt, and the prospect of years of toil before I can clear it off." "But it would be such a pity, father," I exclaimed. "It would, my boy, but I am not so sanguine as I was. That terrible night shook me a great deal, and if it were not for the thought of you I should give up at once." He repeated this to me two or three times, and it made a very unpleasant impression that troubled me a very great deal. Bob Chowne, who was shortly going up to London to study at one of the hospitals, came over one evening, and we all three, as in the old days, had tea at the smuggler's cottage, Mother Bonnet beaming upon us, and never looking so pleased as when we wanted more of one of her home-made loaves. Then after tea we decided, as the sea was so calm, to have a few hours' fishing, and taking the boat we rowed out as far as the Goat and Kids, the grapnel was thrown out, and we began to fish. It was a glorious evening, and we took rock-whiting, pout, and small conger at such a rate that I cried, "Hold, enough!" "No, no, keep on," said Bob Chowne. "Let's see how many we can catch." "It will be a good feast for the work-people," said Bigley, as I hesitated; and knowing how glad they all were of a bit of fish I turned to again, throwing in my baited hooks, and hauling in the fine fellows every minute or two. But at last the darkness forbade further work, so the lines were reeled-up, the fish counted over into the two baskets, and Bigley proceeded to haul up the grapnel. The intention was good, but the grapnel refused to be hauled up. The boat's bows were dragged right over it, and Bigley stood up and tugged till the boat was perceptibly pulled down, but not an inch would the grapnel budge. "It has got between a couple of rocks, I suppose," said Bigley. "Here, stand aside!" cried Bob Chowne, "let the doctor come." He caught hold of the stout line, stood in Bigley's place, and hauled till his wrists ached. "Here, come and pull, Sep," he cried; and I joined him and hauled, but in vain. Then we changed the position of the boat, and dragged and jerked in one direction and then in another. Every way we could think of did we try, but could not stir the anchor, and as we were giving up in despair Bob said: "I know; some big sea-monster has swallowed the hook and he won't move. Here, let's get ashore." "But we must not lose a new grapnel," cried Bigley. "Here, I know what we'll do." He hastily unfastened the rope from the ring-bolt in the bows, and secured it to the boat-hook by a hitch or two, and then cast it overboard. "There!" he said; "that will buoy it, and I'll come out to-morrow and get it up somehow." Then taking the oars he rowed us ashore, where a couple of the mine men were smoking their pipes and shining like glowworms as they waited to see what sport we had had. The news spread respecting our exceptionally good fortune; and as soon as the two men had helped to haul the boat right up beyond the reach of the tide, as the grapnel was gone, they ran up to the miners' village and came trooping back with the rest, armed with baskets, dishes, and in some cases only bare-handed, to receive their portions of our big haul. They gave us a cheer, and soon afterwards we parted, Bob Chowne to sleep at the smuggler's cottage, while I went back to the Bay. I woke at daylight next morning, and not feeling disposed to sleep, I dressed and started off for the Gap to rouse up Bigley and Bob and propose a bathe; but as I came in sight of the Gap mouth I found Bigley already astir and just going down to the boat. I shouted and ran down to him waving my towel, to which he answered by waving another, showing that he had risen with a similar idea to my own. "I thought I would have a bathe, and do some business too," he said; and then, in answer to my inquiring look, "Try and get up the grapnel," he added. "Oh!" I exclaimed; "but why didn't you rouse up Bob?" "Rouse up Bob!" he said gruffly. "Go and try and rouse up that block of stone!" "What! Have you tried?" I said. "Tried! I've shaken him, and punched him, and done everything I could but drenched him, and that would be a pity. He don't want to get up; so let him lie. Here, help me run the boat down." I laid hold of one side, we balanced her on an even keel, and as it was down a steep slope we soon ran her into the water, jumped aboard, and began paddling out down the narrow part that formed the bed of the river on the seaward side of the pebble ridge. The tide was very low, the sun up bright and high, and the water so clear that there was every rock below us so close that it seemed as if we could not go over some of them without touching. "We'll row out to the buoyed grapnel," said Bigley; "make fast, and while you have your bathe I shall dive down, follow the rope, and see if I can find out how the grapnel has got fast." "If you can," I said. "Well, I'm going to try," replied Bigley. "I don't suppose it's above three fathoms deep." "You can't dive down three fathoms?" I said. "Can't I?" replied Bigley laughing. "I'm going to show you. Look here!" He pointed to a big long stone in the bows of the boat weighing some twenty-pounds. To this a thin line was attached, and I saw his meaning at once. "Yes," I said, "that will do it, only don't forget to let go." "No fear," he replied; and we paddled on, with the beautiful view of the cliffs opening out as we rowed farther from the shore. We had nearly a quarter of a mile to go before we struck against the floating boat-hook close to the now exposed rocks, when Bigley threw in his oar, hoisted the rough buoy aboard, unhitched the rope, ran it through the ring-bolt, and hauled on till he had the boat's stem right over the grapnel, which still refused to come; so we made fast. Bigley then began to undress rapidly, while I proceeded to work more slowly, being curious to watch what he was doing. I had not long to wait, for after making fast one end of the thin line to the thwart of the boat he poised the stone on the gunwale, leaped in, and then putting his left arm round the grapnel rope he got well hold of the stone, and drew it over to descend with it rapidly to the bottom. I crept to the bows and looked over to see his white body far below in the clear water, and then he came up again to rub his eyes, pant, and hold on by the side of the boat. "Why, what's the matter?" I said; "seen a shark?" "No," he cried, "but I've seen something else. Here, haul up the stone." "Bother the stone!" I exclaimed, "I came to bathe." "Haul it up quickly," he said; and I obeyed, and afterwards lifted it on to the gunwale. He seemed very excited, but he would not speak about what he had seen, only beg me to do what he told me, which was to untie the line from the stone and then make a running noose and put it loosely round. I did all this, wondering at his mysterious way, but only expecting that it was to fasten round the grapnel so as to pull in a fresh direction. As soon as I had done he took hold of the loop that was round the stone, drew a long breath, and asked me to lift it over into the water. This I did, and he went down head-first, while I again watched him below among the waving weeds all indistinct in the troubled sea. He was down for a full minute as I crouched there with my head over the side. He seemed to be so long that I began to grow alarmed lest he had become entangled, and I was about to haul up the line attached to the stone. I looked down anxiously with my face closer to the surface, but only to make him out in a bleared indistinct manner, and then he shot up like a line of light and swam to the side and held on. "Thought I shouldn't be able to do it," he said; "but I've got the line round." "Well, what next?" I said. "But I say, is a grapnel worth all this trouble?" "A grapnel?" he said with a peculiar smile. "Yes." "Wait a minute till I am in the boat." He climbed in, and came to my side. "Now," he said; "haul up steadily. I think she'll come." I tightened the line, and for a moment or two there was a dead resistance. Then something heavy began to stir, and I hauled away steadily, hand over hand. "I've got it," I said as I gazed down. "It was right in amongst some strong weed. Here it comes." I pulled away till I had nearly got it to the top, and then Bigley came to my help, reached over, and the object I was dragging up bumped against the boat, slipped out of the noose, and went down rapidly just like a mass of stone. "What did you fasten the line to that for?" I said. "What did I do it for, Sep?" he panted. "Didn't you see what it was?" "No," I said bluntly. "What did it look like?" "Box covered with sea-weed," I replied. "Well, don't you see now?" "No," I replied. "Why, Sep, how dull you are this morning!" he cried. "Didn't you see that you had hold of one of your father's silver chests?" "_One of my father's what_?" I roared. "One of the silver chests. Sep, it was over these rocks, against that one, I suppose," he cried, pointing to a huge block just below the surface, and a favourite haunt of conger, "that the Frenchman's boat capsized." "What, the one with the silver?" I cried. "Yes, and I believe all the chests are at the bottom there." "And they were coming back to try for them when the frigate came in sight!" I shouted. "Yes, yes, yes." "Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!" I cried, leaping up in the boat, and waving my arms about like an idiot. "Why, Bigley, it will set father free of all his troubles. Here, I'm half mad. What shall we do? Hold hard a moment: I'm going down to see." I had only my breeches on, and tearing these off, I stepped on to the gunwale, leaped up, turned over, and dived down into the clear cold water, trying with all my might to reach the bottom, but only describing a curve, and coming up again about twenty feet from the boat. I swam back to have another try, but Bigley stopped me as I was about to dive off. "No, no," he said; "it's of no use. You can't get down there without a killick or some other weight." "But I'm not sure it is the silver," I cried in a despairing tone. "But I am," he said. "The boxes are lying all about. They look like stones if you stare down, because they are all amongst the weed; but when I got down to feel for the grapnel I was right upon them. It's in amongst them somehow. That was why I came up again and tried to fasten the line round one." "But are you quite sure, Big?" I said, trembling with eagerness. "Quite sure," he said. "There can't be any mistake about it. The Frenchman's boat ran on the rock and capsized, and all the chests must have gone to the bottom like a shot." "And my poor father suffering all that worry, when here lay all his silver at the bottom, close to the shore. Here, what shall we do, Bigley? We must stop and watch it, for fear anybody else should come and find it." "No fear of that," he said, drawing the rope once more through the ring-bolt, and then securing the boat-hook to the end, and throwing it overboard to act as a buoy. "Here, let's dress and go and tell him." "Yes, yes," I cried, trembling with eagerness, and hurrying on my clothes, as he did his, we rowed ashore, and after hauling the boat back to its safe place, climbed up the slope, and prepared to walk to the Bay. "Big," I said; "I'm afraid to leave it. Suppose while we are gone someone goes and takes it all away." "Ah! Suppose they do," he said. "But it isn't such an easy task. Nobody knows of it but us, Sep, and we can keep the secret." "You are right," I said. "Come along, and let's make haste and tell him." We strode along the cliff path that morning faster, I think, than we had ever gone before, and when we came in sight of our place I was going to rush in and tell my father, but something struck me that it would be only fair to let Bigley go, as he had made the discovery, so I told him to go first. He would not, though, and we went up to the cottage together, to find Kicksey kicking up a dust in the parlour with a broom. "Is father up yet?" I cried. "Yes, my dear, hours ago, and half-way to Barnstaple before now." "What!" I cried. "He's going to London, my dear, and here's a letter that Sam was to bring over to you if you didn't come back to breakfast." I tore open the letter and read it in a few moments. It was very brief, and merely told me that he had had a letter the past night making so stern a demand upon him for money that he had decided to go up to London at once and sell the mine. "Big," I said dolefully; "we've come too late. What shall we do?" I gave him the letter to read, and he wrinkled up his brow. "Go after him and catch him," he cried. "Yes; but how?" "I don't know," he panted; "let's try." "But the silver?" "Is locked up safely where we found it, lad," he cried. "It is a secret. Come on." "But how, Big? He is riding." "Then we must walk. A man can walk down a horse. Now, let's see if it can't be done by boys." _ |
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