Latitude 19 degree Part 30

"Well! well! When you have finished with your addendas and appendixes, we'd like to hear what you really have to tell us."

"Cap'n, sir, Mr. Jones, beggin' your pardon, to be short, sir----"

"_To be short!_" groaned the Skipper, with a weary look at me.

"In short, sir, that tree's full of the--most--mur--der--ous--lot--of--weapons--you--ever--see."

"Weapons!" roared the Skipper.

"Yessir. Chock-a-block, sir. The most mur-der-ous----"

"Wheugh!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the Skipper.

"Weapons!" said I. "It is a lucky find, Bo's'n. They may be very useful to us. At all events, you had better go and get them and hide them up here in the cave. We don't know who may find them next."

"Mr. Jones, you seem to have forgotten that I am the head of this expedition. Please allow me to give orders on board this s.h.i.+p."

"Yes, sir," said I.

"You seem to have forgotten who's paying you wages, Mr. Jones."

"No, sir," said I, "I haven't."

"Who the devil is it, then?" asked the Captain fiercely.

"No one," said I.

The Captain opened his eyes and looked at me in a surprised manner. He then looked on the ground and shook his head meditatively.

"That's so," said he in a tone of conviction. "It isn't the first time I've been reminded of it, either." And then he gave vent to a few choice expletives at my expense.

"Now, Captain," said I, "it's time to stop talking about who's the head of this expedition. We didn't elect to come here. I lost my job when the old Yankee went down. I am under your command, of course. G.o.d knows that I am out of a job, and that I shall not earn a stiver from the day before yesterday until I get back to G.o.d's country and get another billet. I am willing to do anything I can to help you and every one, and I know that, according to the rules of the sea, you have the ordering of me. Anything you ask me I'll do if it's a possible thing; and I don't mind a decent order either, but I don't want to be shouted at as if I were a common sailor. Of course, you're still the Captain, we all recognise that, but the rest of us deserve a little consideration, too.

We are all working for the common good, the Bo's'n as much as the rest of us. What touches one touches all. Of course, it is my duty and my pleasure to stand by you, but you have no more right to swear at me than I have to swear at you. And the next time you do it, Captain Schuyler, I shall pick up my hat, take my pistol, and walk."

The Captain listened to this long speech with astonishment. Several times during its delivery he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed "That's so!" under his breath.

Then he looked round at me piteously.

"I'm an old man, Mr. Jones," he said with dignity. "I was brought up in a profane school. I have sworn all my life, but I suppose it is time to ease up a little. You know it was nothing personal, Mr. Jones; not at all, sir. You know what a habit is. It was just meant for emphasis, Mr.

Jones. But if you object, I'll stop, of course. I don't know that I can stop altogether. If I should stop too short I might have a sort of delirium tremens in the way of swearing. Now you know we might get round that, since you and the Bo's'n object, by my taking it out in just a mild form, you know, on the Minion."

"He don't mind it," said I. "He'll think you're ill if you don't swear at him. He's had it all his life. He thinks it's the grammar you learned at school. I don't care for the Minion, Captain, but I do care for what you say before your niece. And then there's yourself! Captain, think of yourself! You are an old man, or getting to be."

"Not so old, Mr. Jones," argued the Skipper, as if there was time to talk the devil's language yet a while before the day of repentance should swoop down upon him.

"And now that's settled," said the Skipper, "why don't you d.a.m.ned miserable, worthless fellows go and get those weapons?"

We started for the hollow tree. We had become so accustomed to the dark pa.s.sage now that we ran along, one behind the other, with our hands against the wall. I must confess that I never pa.s.sed through it that I did not feel a creepy sensation and a shrinking fear that our unknown guide might again try to aid me. But it seemed now as if he appreciated the fact that we had become used to the darkness and inequalities of the tunnel, and, though I shuddered at the thought of his approach, I might have spared myself all anxiety. He did not come.

"Where's that d.a.m.n Minion?" asked the Skipper again.

"Can't find him, Captain. But my advice is that you pay no attention to him. He'll come back much too soon for the rest of us."

We three descended the hill together, and when we reached the level the Bo's'n led us to the tree. It was, as he had said, full of murderous-looking weapons--knives and Malay creases, which looked as if some pirate band had hidden them there; the machete of the Spaniard side by side with the sword of Damascus. They were all somewhat rusty, but in those days we did not have the appliances for sharpening that are in use nowadays, and we were not entirely lost without them. We drew these weapons of defence one after another from their hiding places. Had we as many men as weapons, we could protect ourselves against a small army.

"Now I can get some of those mangoes and mamey apples, sir," said the gentle Bo's'n, as he took from the pile a fine, sharp knife. He disappeared with these words, and only returned when he had climbed the trees and had cut more of these welcome additions to our table than he could carry. We had found various fruits which aided us much in disposing of our very plain fare, for in tropic lands one need never starve if he will only use his eyes, stretch out his hand, and take the gifts that the good G.o.d has strewn on beach, hill, and mountain.

We carried the weapons up to the cave, adding to them some pistols which we had discovered concealed beneath them and some well-wrapped boxes of ammunition.

"Some one has hidden these here and forgotten them," said the Skipper, "or else they couldn't get back."

"Perhaps, sir, those are what they were looking for, sir," ventured the Bo's'n, "when they came rus.h.i.+ng into the cave next our own, Mr. Jones, and said that they must find them, Cap'n."

"No," said I, "I am quite sure those were clothes of some kind, for I remember the Admiral of the Red said that he wished to be arrayed as befitted his position."

"At all events," said the Skipper, "they had not the slightest idee of our presence. It seems strange, when they have been here before, perhaps many times, that they didn't know of this side of the cave."

"Beggin' your pardon, sir, they have always been up on the other side, I s'pose, sir."

"Of course, of course! Da--thank you, Bo's'n, for your suggestion, thank you, thank you," with a deprecatory look at me.

Among the machetes and other weapons I discovered a small dagger of foreign workmans.h.i.+p. It must have been recently bought or taken from some one, for its sheath was in good condition--indeed, almost bright.

The blade was long and thin, and very sharp. I almost feared to give it to Cynthia, but later I did so, telling her that I hoped that the time would never come when she would be obliged to use it, but that if such time should come, I trusted her to take care of herself. She looked dubiously at me and said:

"How can you be so bloodthirsty, Mr. Jones? Do you suppose that I should be willing to kill several of those men just for a fancied grievance?"

"Oh, no!" said I. "When the grievance comes which I fear for you, it will not be a fancied one."

"But I thought all you men were going to take care of me, Mr. Jones?"

"We mean to," said I. "The good G.o.d letting us, but sometimes--Well, at all event, promise me that you will always carry this, and I shall be satisfied. Come, now, Cynthia, I have not asked much of you."

"That is true," said Cynthia. "Very well, then, I promise. It's a pretty toy. I think I'll give it to Aunt Mary 'Zekel for a curiosity when I get home."

My pages will be too full if I try to set down each time the Bo's'n brought fruit in from the forest, or each time that I went along the beach and gathered oysters from their homes upon the mangrove roots. Let it suffice that I say here that the forest and the sea yielded us food.

If not luxurious food, still enough to support life, and that, with the fresh water from the spring below the cliff, from which we were now not cut off, and the rum which we gathered up later from the great bowl in the flagons and cups that we appropriated to our use, we managed to have eatables and drinkables enough while we remained in the cave.

We were busy all that day in settling ourselves in our permanent abode.

We cut branches and stripped the leaves from them, looked through them with care to see that there was no dangerous insect hidden beneath their s.h.i.+ning green, and, piling the sticks and leaves against the inner wall, we made for ourselves beds, which, if not quite as comfortable as the bunks on board the old Yankee, still were better than we had hoped to find when we were cast away.

I had not seen Cynthia since I had discovered the secret of the locket.

The Captain went sometimes to her chamber, and always brought the word that she could not be awakened. I was more than anxious, but I had no rights that others would recognise, and I did not dare suggest what I knew the Skipper would not approve. I should have liked to carry the girl down the hill, and place her on the beach in the shade of the great trees and in sight of the sea, where the cool, fresh trade wind could blow across her face; but the Skipper looked at me with so much apparent indignation at my interference, when I hinted at a supposit.i.tious case of the kind, that I held my peace.

We all went to rest early. The Bo's'n had made a most refres.h.i.+ng brew of coffee, and, after we drank it, we laid ourselves down, hoping at last for a solid night of rest and sleep.

We were talking from one bed to the other as men--and they say women--will in those drowsy hours.

"I haven't seen the Minion to-day," said I.