CHAPTER NINE.
SHOWS HOW THEY WERE TORMENTED BY AN OLD FAMILIAR FIEND; HOW THEY KILLEDHIM, AND WHAT BEFELL THE QUEEN AND OTTO WHILE IN THE PURSUIT OFLEGITIMATE PLEASURE.
When the widow Lynch told Pauline that "onaisy is the hid as wears acrown," she stated a great truth which was borne in upon the poor queenat the very commencement of her reign.
Up to that time Malines had quietly kept possession of the key of theship's liquor-room, knowing full well what extreme danger lay in lettingmen have unrestrained command of strong drink. But when the royal feastreferred to in the last chapter was pending, he could not well refuse toissue an allowance of grog. He did so, however, on the understandingthat only a small quantity was to be taken for the occasion, and that heshould himself open and lock the door for them. He made thisstipulation because he knew well enough the men who wanted to drinkwould break the door open if he refused to give up the key; and hisfears were justified, for some of the more mutinous among the men, underthe leadership of Jabez Jenkins and Morris, seized the key from the matewhen he produced it, carried all the spirit and wine casks to the shore,ferried them over the lagoon to Big Island, and set them upostentatiously and conspicuously in a row not far from the palace. Asthis was understood by the people to be in connection with thecoronation festivities, no particular notice was taken of it.
But the result soon began to be felt, for after the festivities wereover, and most of the settlers had retired to rest, a group of kindredsouls gathered round the spirit casks, and went in for what one of themtermed a "regular spree." At first they drank and chatted with moderatenoise, but as the fumes of the terrible fire-water mounted to theirbrains they began to shout and sing, then to quarrel and fight, and,finally, the wonted silence of the night was wildly disturbed by theoaths and fiendish yells and idiotic laughter of maniacs.
"This won't do," said Dominick, issuing from his room in the palace, andmeeting the doctor.
"I had just come to the same conclusion," said the latter, "and wasabout to consult you as to what we should do."
"Collect some of our best men and put a stop to it," returned Dominick;"but here comes the prime minister--roused, no doubt, as we have been.What say you, Joe; shall we attempt to quell them?"
"Well, master, that depends. There's a braw lot on 'em, an' if theybeant far gone, d'ee see, they might gie us a deal o' trouble. If they_be_ far gone I'd advise ye to let 'em alone; the drink'll quell 'emsoon enough. Arter that we'll know what to do."
Just as he spoke a woman was seen rushing frantically towards them. Itwas little Mrs Nobbs. Poor thing! All her wonted merriment had fledfrom her comely face, and been supplanted by a look of horror.
"O sirs!" she cried, clasping her hands, and gasping as she spoke,"come, come quick, my John has falled an' broke his pledge, an' he'sgoin' to murder some of 'em. I _know_ he'll do it; he's got hold o' thefore-hammer. Oh! come quick!"
They required no urging. Running down to the scene of the orgies, theyfound that the blacksmith, who had hitherto been considered--and reallywas--one of the quietest men of the party, was now among the drunkards.He stood in the midst of the rioters, his large frame swaying to andfro, while he held the ponderous fore-hammer threateningly in his hands,and insanity gleamed in his eyes as he glared fiercely at Jabez Jenkins.
On Jabez the liquor had a different effect, his temperament beingtotally different. He was a rather phlegmatic man, and, having drunkenough to have driven two men like the blacksmith raving mad, he onlystood before him with a dull heavy look of stupidity, mingled with anidiotic sneer of defiance.
"Fiend!" shouted Nobbs, gnashing his teeth, "you have got me to do it,and now I'll smash in your thick skull--I'll--"
He stopped abruptly for a moment. Joe Binney came up behind and gentlylaid a hand on his shoulder.
"Come, John, you ain't agoin' to do it. You knows you're not."
The quiet tone, the gentle yet fearless look, and, above all, thesensible, kindly expression on his friend's countenance, effectuallysubdued the blacksmith for a few seconds, but the fury soon returned,though the channel in which it flowed was changed, for Jabez wasforgotten, having slunk away.
"Ha!" he shouted, grasping Joe by the hand and arm, "I've had it again!You don't know how it shoots through my veins. I--I've tried to breakwith it, too--tried--tried! D'ee know what it is to try, Joe, to try--try--try till your blood curdles, an' your marrow boils, and your nervestingle--but I gained the victory once--I--ha! ha! yes, I took the pledgean' kep' it, an' I've bin all right--till to-night. My Mary knows that.She'll tell you it's true--for months, and months, and months, and--butI'll keep it _yet_!"
He shouted his last words in a tone of fierce defiance, let go hisfriend, caught up the sledge-hammer, and, whirling it round his head asif it had been a mere toy, turned to rush towards the sea.
But Joe's strong arm arrested him. Well did he understand the nature ofthe awful fiend, with which the blacksmith was fighting. The sceneenacting was, with modifications, somewhat familiar to him, for he haddwelt near a great city where many a comrade had fallen in the samefight, never more to rise in this life.
Joe's superior strength told for a moment, and he held the strugglingmadman fast, but before Dominick and the doctor could spring to his aid,Nobbs had burst from him. The brief check, however, seemed to havechanged his intentions. Possibly he was affected by some hazy notionthat it would be a quicker end to leap headlong from the neighbouringcliffs than to plunge into the sea. At all events, he ran like a deerup towards the woods. A bonfire, round which the revellers had mademerry, lay in his path. He went straight through it, scattering thefirebrands right and left. No one attempted, no one dared, to stop him,but God put a check in his way. The course he had taken brought himstraight up to the row of casks which stood on the other side of thefire, and again his wild mood was changed. With a yell of triumph hebrought the sledge-hammer down on one of the casks, drove in the head,and overturned it with the same blow, and the liquor gushing out flowedinto the fire, where it went up in a magnificent roar of flame.
The effect on those of the rioters who were not too drunk to understandanything, was to draw forth a series of wild cheers, but high abovethese rang the triumphant shout of the blacksmith as he gazed at thedestruction of his enemy.
By this time all the people in the settlement had turned out, and werelooking on in excitement, alarm, or horror, according to temperament.Among them, of course, was the widow Lynch, who was quick to note thatevents were taking a favourable turn. Springing boldly to the side ofthe smith, and, in her wild dishevelment of hair and attire, seeming anot unfit companion, she cried--
"Don't spare them, John! sure there's another inimy close at yer back."
Nobbs had sense enough left to observe something of the ludicrous in thewoman and her advice. He turned at once, uttered a wildly jovial laugh,and driving in the head of another cask, overturned it. As before, thespirit rushed down the hill and was set ablaze, but the poor madman didnot pause now to look at the result. His great enemy was in his power;his spirit was roused. Like one of the fabled heroes of old, he laidabout him with his ponderous weapon right and left until every cask wassmashed, and every drop of the accursed liquid was rushing down thehillside to the sea, or flaming out its fierce existence in the air.
The people looked on awe-stricken, and in silence, while the madmanfought. It was not with the senseless casks or the inanimate liquorthat poor John Nobbs waged war that night; it was with a real fiend who,in days gone by, had many a time tripped him up and laid him low, whohad nearly crushed the heart of his naturally cheerful little wife, whohad ruined his business, broken up his home, alienated his friends, and,finally, driven him into exile--a fiend from whom, for many months,under the influence of "the pledge," he had been free, and who, he hadfondly hoped, was quite dead.
This sudden revival of the old foe, and this unexpected surprise andfall, had roused this strong man's spirit to its utmost ferocity, and
inmighty wrath he plied his hammer like a second Thor. But the verystrength and nervous power of the man constituted his weakness, whenbrought under the subtle influence of the old tempter, and it isprobable that on his recovery, with nerves shaken, old cravingsawakened, and self-respect gone, he would have fallen again and again ifGod had not made use of the paroxysm of rage to destroy the opportunityand the cause of evil. Nobbs did not know at that time, though helearned it afterwards, that safety from the drink-sin--as from all othersin--lies not in strong-man resolutions, or Temperance pledges, thoughboth are useful aids, but in Jesus, the Saviour _from sin_.
Some of those who witnessed the wholesale destruction of the liquorwould fain have made an effort to prevent it; but, fortunately for thecommunity, most of them were too drunk to care, and the others tointerfere; while all were so taken by surprise that the deed was doneand the grand conflagration ended before they had realised the fullsignificance of the blacksmith's act.
When the last head had been driven in, and the last gallon of spiritsummarily dismissed by the fire, Nobbs threw up his arms, and, lookingupward, gave vent to a cheer which ended in a prolonged cry. For amoment he stood thus, then the hammer dropt from his grasp, and he fellback insensible.
Poor little Mrs Nobbs was by his side on her knees in a moment, partingthe dark hair from his broad brow, kissing his swart cheeks, and chafinghis strong hands.
"O John! darling John!" she cried, "come back--come back--don't die.You never was hard or cruel to _me_! Even the drink could not do that.Come back, John!"
Dr Marsh here gently restrained her. "Don't be alarmed," he said, ashe undid the smith's necktie; "he'll be all right presently. Standback, don't crowd round him; and you go fetch a cup of water, MrsNobbs."
The reassuring tones and the necessity for action did much to calm theexcited woman. Before she had returned with the water her husband hadpartially recovered. They carried him to his hut, and left him to sleepoff the effects, while his poor little wife watched by his side. Whenleft quite alone, she went down on her knees beside him, and prayed forhis deliverance with all her heart. Then she rose and sat down with acalm, contented look, muttering, "Yes; He _is_ the hearer and answererof prayer. He _will_ answer me."
She might have gone further and said, "He _has_ answered me," for wasnot the destruction of the liquor an answer to the petition before itwas put up? "Before they call I will answer."
"Pina," said Otto the following day, in a tone almost of reproach,during a private audience with the queen, "Pina, how came you to do suchan insane thing as choose Joe Binney for your premier? Why didn't youchoose Dom? You know well enough that he's fifty times cleverer thanJoe, and even in the matter of strength, though he's not so strong, I'mvery sure that with his pugilistic powers he could keep order quite aswell. Besides, all the people had made up their minds, as a matter ofcourse, that Dom was to be premier, and then--he's a gentleman."
"I'm thankful that you are not one of the Privy Council, Otto," returnedPauline, with a laugh. "You put several questions, and a string ofcommentary and suggestion in the same breath! Let me answer you indetail, beginning with your last remark. Joe is a gentleman in thehighest sense of that word. He is gentle as a lamb by nature, and a_man_ every inch of him. But, more than this, I have noticed that he isa peculiarly wise man, with a calm, pool head on all occasions, and nottoo ready to use his great physical power in the settlement of disputes.I have observed, too, that when asked for his advice, he usually thinkswell before he gives it, and when his advice is followed things almostalways go well. Still further, Joe has the thorough confidence of thepeople, and I am not so sure that Dom has. Besides, if I had appointedDom, some of the ungenerous among them might have said it was done frommere favouritism. Then as to the people making up their minds that Iwould appoint Dom," continued Pauline, "what have I to do with _that_?"
"Why, everything to do with it," returned Otto, with a surprised look."Were you not made queen for the purpose of carrying out their wishes?"
"Certainly not," answered Pauline; "I was made queen for the purpose ofruling. They told me they had confidence in my judgment, not in myreadiness to carry out their wishes. If my judgment, coupled with thatof my advisers, does not suit them, it is open to them to unmake me asthey made me, and appoint a king or a president, but my judgment Icannot alter."
Otto listened to these gravely stated opinions of the new queen withincreasing astonishment.
"Then, you awful despot," he said, "do you mean to tell me that you aregoing to have no regard for the will of the people?"
"No, I don't mean to tell you that, you presumptuous little subject. Iintend always to have the utmost regard for the will of my people, andto weigh it well, and consult with my advisers about it; and when ourunited judgment says that their will is good, I will act in accordancewith it; when we think it bad, I will reject it. I have been made queento rule, and I _mean_ to rule! That's fair, isn't it? If they don'tlike my ruling they can dethrone me. That's also fair, isn't it? Youwouldn't have me become a mere puppet--a jumping Jack or Jinnie--wouldyou, for the people to pull the string of?"
"Well, I never!" exclaimed Otto, gazing with distended eyes at the softfair face and at the pretty little innocent mouth that gave vent tothese vigorous sentiments. "And what may it be your majesty's pleasureto do next?"
"It is my pleasure that you, sir, shall go down to the beach and preparethe dinghy for immediate service. I have already directed the primeminister, in conjunction with Dom and our Court physician, to draw up aconstitution and code of laws; while they are thus employed you and Iwill go a-fishing."
"Very good; I suppose I'm bound to obey, but I thought your majestypreferred to go a-sketching."
"We will do both. Be off, sirrah!"
Otto was not long in launching and getting ready the little punt, ordinghy, belonging to the wreck, which, being too small for carryinggoods to the island, had been made over to Pauline as a royal barge forher special amusement, and already had she and her little brotherenjoyed several charming expeditions among the sheltered islets of thelagoon, when Otto devoted himself chiefly to rowing and fishing, whilehis sister sketched with pencil and water-colours. Being expert withboth, she took great pleasure therein.
"It _is_ so pleasant and so very engrossing," she murmured, busyingherself with a sketch of Otto as he rowed gently towards one of thesmaller islets. "I can't tell you how much I delight--turn your head alittle more to the left--so--and do keep your nose quiet if you can."
"Impossible," said Otto. "There's a little fly that has made up itsmind to go into my nose. I can neither drive it away nor catch it whileboth hands are engaged with the oars, so there's no resource left but toscrew my nose about. But what were you going to say you delighted in?"
"In--in drawing," replied the queen very slowly, while her pretty littlehead went up and down as she glanced alternately at her sitter and thesketch-book on her knee; "it--it takes one's mind--so--off--"
"The cares of state?" said Otto. "Yes, I can easily understand whata-re-re-ha! hk-sh!" he gave way to a convulsive sneeze; "there, it wentup at last, and that little fly's doom is sealed!"
"I should think it was," said Pauline laughingly. "To be blown from acannon's mouth must be nothing to that. Now, do keep still, just forone minute."
For considerably more than a minute she went on sketching busily, whileher brother pulled along very gently, as if unwilling to break thepleasant silence. Everything around was calculated to foster a dreamy,languid, peaceful state of mind. The weather was pleasantly cool--justcool enough to render the brilliant sunshine most enjoyable. Not azephyr disturbed the glassy surface of the sea outside or the lagoonwithin, or broke the perfect reflections of the islets among which theymoved. The silence would have been even oppressive had it not been forthe soft, plaintive cries of wildfowl and the occasional whistling ofwings as they hurried to and fro, and the solemn boom of the greatbreakers as they fell at slow regular interval
s on the reef. "Doesn'tit sound," said Pauline, looking up from her sketch with a flush ofdelight, "like the deep soft voice of the ocean speaking peace to allmankind?"
"What, the breakers?" asked Otto.
"Yes, dropping with a soft deep roar as they do in the midst of theuniversal silence."
"Well, it doesn't quite strike me in that light, Pina. My imaginationisn't so lively as yours. Seems to me more like the snoring of asleeping giant, whom it is best to let lie still like a sleeping dog,for he's apt to do considerable damage when roused."
The soft influences around soon reduced the pair to silence again.After a time it was broken by Pauline.
"What are you thinking of, Otto?"
"I was thinking, your majesty, that it seems unfair, after making Joeprime minister, Dom a privy councillor, the doctor Court physician andgeneral humbug, that you should give me no definite position in theroyal household."
"What would you say to being commander of the forces?" asked Paulinedreamily, as she put in a few finishing touches, "for then, you see, youmight adopt the title which you have unfairly bestowed on the doctor--General Humbug."
Otto shook his head. "Wouldn't do, my dear queen. Not being a correctdescription, your bestowing it would compromise your majesty'swell-known character for truthfulness. What d'you say to make me apage--page in waiting?"
"You'll have to turn over a new leaf if I do, for a page is supposed tobe quiet, respectful, polite, obedient, ready--"
"No use to go further, Pina. I'm not cut out for a page. Will you landon this islet?"
They were gliding softly past one of the most picturesque and verdantgems of the lagoon at the time.
"No, I've taken a fancy to make a sketch from that one nearer to theshore of Big Island. You see, there is not only a very picturesquegroup of trees on it just at that place, but the background happens tobe filled up by a distant view of the prettiest part of our settlement,where Joe Binney's garden lies, close to Mrs Lynch's garden, with itswonderfully shaped and curious hut, (no wonder, built by herself!) and acorner of the palace rising just behind the new schoolhouse."
"Mind your eye, queen, else you go souse overboard when we strike," saidOtto, not without reason, for next moment the dinghy's keel grated onthe sand of the islet, and Pauline, having risen in her eagerness to goto work, almost fulfilled the boy's prediction.
"But tell me, Pina, what do you mean to do with that schoolhouse when itis built?" asked Otto, as he walked beside his sister to the picturesquespot above referred to.
"To teach in it, of course."
"What--yourself?"
"Well, yes, to some extent. Of course I cannot do much in that way--"
"I understand--the affairs of state!" said Otto, "will not permit,etcetera."
"Put it so if you please," returned Pauline, laughing. "Here, sit down;help me to arrange my things, and I'll explain. You cannot fail to havebeen impressed with the fact that the children of the settlers aredreadfully ignorant."
"H'm! I suppose you are right; but I have been more deeply impressedwith the fact that they are dreadfully dirty, and desperatelyquarrelsome, and deplorably mischievous."
"Just so," resumed Pauline. "Now, I intend to get your friend Redding,who was once a schoolmaster, to take these children in hand when theschoolroom is finished, and teach them what he can, superintended by DrMarsh, who volunteered his services the moment I mentioned the school.In the evenings I will take the mothers in hand, and teach them theirduties to their children and the community--"
"Being yourself such an old and experienced mother," said Otto.
"Silence, sir! you ought to remember that we have a dear, darling motherat home, whose character is engraven on my memory, and whom I can holdup as a model."
"True, Pina! The dear old mother!" returned Otto, a burst ofhome-feeling interfering for a moment with his levity. "Just you painther portrait fair and true, and if they come anything within a hundredmiles o' the mark yours will be a kingd---queendom, I mean--of amazin'mothers. I sometimes fear," continued the boy, becoming grave, "it maybe a long time before we set eyes on mother again."
"I used to fear the same," said Pauline, "but I have become more hopefulon that point since Dr Marsh said he was determined to have a smallschooner built out of the wreck, and attempt with a few sailors to reachEngland in her, and report our condition here."
"Why, that would do you out of your kingdom, Pina!"
"It does not follow. And what if it did?"
"It would be a pity. Not pleasant you know, to be dethroned. But toreturn to mother. D'you think the old cat will have learned to speak bythis time?"
To this Pauline replied that she feared not; that, although the catmight have mastered the consonants, it could never have managed thevowels. "Dear mother," she added, in a more earnest tone, "I am quitesure that though the cat may not speak to her, she will not have ceasedto speak to the cat. Now, go away, Otto, you're beginning to make metalk nonsense."
"But what about the schoolhouse?" persisted the boy, while the girlbegan to sketch the view. "You have not finished that subject."
"True--well, besides teaching the mothers I have great hopes of inducingDom to set up a Sunday-school, in which those who feel inclined might betaught out of the Bible, and that might in time lead to our making achurch of it on Sundays, and having regular services, for there are someearnest Christians among the men, who I feel quite sure would be readyto help in the work. Then as to an army--"
"An army!" echoed Otto, "what do we want with an army? who have we tofight against?"
Little did Otto or Pauline think that at the very time they wereconversing thus pleasantly on that beautiful islet, the presence of afriendly army was urgently required, for there in the bushes closebehind them listening to every sentence, but understanding never a word,lay a group of tattooed and armed savages!
In the prosecution of evil designs, the nature of which was best knownto themselves, these savages had arrived at Refuge Islands the nightbefore. Instantly they became aware of the presence of the white men,and took measures to observe them closely without being themselvesobserved. Carrying their war-canoe over the reef in the dark, andlaunching it on the lagoon, they advanced as near to the settlement aspossible, landed a small party on an islet, and then retired with thecanoe. It was this party which lay in ambush so near to our little heroand heroine. They had been watching the settlers since daybreak, andwere not a little surprised, as well as gratified, by the unexpectedarrival of the little boat.
The savage who lay there grinning like a Cheshire cat, and peepingthrough the long grass not ten feet from where the brother and sistersat, was a huge man, tattooed all over, so that his face resembledcarved mahogany, his most prominent feature being a great flat nose,with a blue spot on the point of it.
Suddenly Otto caught sight of the glitter of this man's eyes and teeth.
Now, the power of self-restraint was a prominent feature in Otto'scharacter, at least in circumstances of danger, though in the matter offun and mischief he was rather weak. No sign did Otto give of hisdiscovery, although his heart seemed to jump into his mouth. He did noteven check or alter the tone of his conversation, but he changed thesubject with surprising abruptness. He had brought up one of thedinghy's oars on his shoulder as a sort of plaything or vaulting-pole.Suddenly, asking Pauline if she had ever seen him balance an oar on hischin, he proceeded to perform the feat, much to her amusement. In doingso he turned his back completely on the savage in ambush, whose cattishgrin increased as the boy staggered about.
But there was purpose in Otto's staggering. He gradually lessened thedistance between himself and the savage. When near enough for hispurpose, he grasped the oar with both hands, wheeled sharply round, andbrought the heavy handle of it down with such a whack on the bridge ofthe savage's blue-spotted nose that he suddenly ceased to grin, anddropped his proboscis in the dust!
At the same instant, to the horror and surprise of the brother and
sister, up sprang half a dozen hideous natives, who seized them, placedtheir black hands on their mouths, and bore them swiftly away. Thewar-canoe, putting off from its concealment, received the party alongwith the fallen leader, and made for the reef.
High on the cliffs of Big Island Dr John Marsh had been smilinglywatching the proceedings of the queen and her brother in the dinghy.When he witnessed the last act of the play, however, the smile vanished.With a bound that would have done credit to a kangaroo, and a roar thatwould have shamed a lion, he sprang over the cliffs, ran towards thebeach, and was followed--yelling--by all the men at hand--some armed,and some not. They leaped into the largest boat on the shore, put outthe ten oars, bent to them with a will, and skimmed over the lagoon infierce pursuit.
Soon the savages gained the reef, carried their canoe swiftly over, andlaunched on the open sea, cutting through the great rollers like arocket or a fish-torpedo.
Heavy timbers and stout planks could not be treated thus; nevertheless,the white men were so wild and strong, that when the boat finally gainedthe open sea it was not very far behind the canoe.
The Island Queen Page 9
