CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
THE LADIES MAKE A DISCOVERY; AND BOB DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF.
It was a most delightful day for a walk, the ladies averredenthusiastically; and their enthusiasm was quite justified. The azureof the sky overhead was relieved by a bank of soft dappled fleecyclouds, which served in some measure as a screen against the ardent raysof the sun; and a gentle breeze from the westward imparted a feeling offreshness to the air, whilst it wafted to the pedestrians the subtlymingled perfumes of the thousand varied plants and flowers whichflourished in the deep rich soil of the island. As the ladies walkedquietly on up the gently sloping valley toward the hills their enjoymentincreased with every step. Hitherto they had only ventured abroad atnight; and lovely as the landscape had appeared in the clear mellowradiance of the moon--the soft silvery light boldly contrasted withbroad masses of rich grey-brown shadow--they agreed that it wasincomparably more beautiful when viewed by the full light of day and inall the glory of brilliant sunshine. A thousand gorgeous colours onleaf and blossom, on gaily-plumaged bird and bright-winged insect,charmed their eyes and enriched the foreground of the picture; while thedense masses of foliage, with their subtle gradations of colour, light,and shade, as they gradually receded into the background, and finallymelted into the rich purply grey of the extreme distance, balanced andharmonised the whole, completing one of the most beautiful prospectsperhaps upon which the human eye had ever gazed.
Their spirits rose as they walked steadily onward and upward, breathingwith intense enjoyment the strong pure perfume-laden air, exhilaratingin its effect as a draught of rich wine; and temporarily forgetting, inthe pleasure of the moment, not only their past sufferings but theirpresent and future perils, they chatted merrily and arranged a hundredplans, many of which, could they but have known it, were destined neverto attain fruition.
Hitherto they had been following a faintly defined track in theluxuriant grass, a track which had always up to the present determinedthe direction of their longer walks; but arriving at last at a pointwhere this trail turned abruptly off, and passed down a gentle declivityapparently toward the sea on the eastern side of the island, theydetermined to abandon it, and, tempted by the shade, to plunge boldlyinto a broad expanse of park-like timber which spread before them. Thewelcome shade was soon reached; and, somewhat fatigued with theirramble, they seated themselves at the foot of a gigantic cork-tree, andin the rich green twilight shadow of its luxuriant foliage discussed theluncheon with which they had had the forethought to provide themselves.
The luxuriant grass which had hitherto carpeted the earth here gaveplace to graceful ferns in rich variety, interspersed with delicatemosses of velvety texture, and here and there, in the more open spaces,small patches of a heath-like plant with tiny waxen blossoms of a tintvarying from the purest white to a dainty purple. The silence of theforest was broken only by the gentle murmur of the wind in the tree-topsand the soft rustle of the foliage overhead, save when now and then atwittering bird flashed like a living gem from bough to bough; but therewas a low, deep sound vibrating on the air, which told of the never-ceasing beat of the surf on the island's rock-girt shore.
Rested and refreshed, the ladies at length rose to their feet once moreand continued their way through the wood. The ground soon began to risesteeply; and after nearly an hour's steady climbing they emerged oncemore into the full and dazzling sunlight to find themselves standing onthe edge of a steep rocky ravine, through which, some fifty feet below,there flowed a tiny stream of crystal purity.
The rocks were of a character quite new to them, and, ignorant ofgeology as they were, they would doubtless have passed them by without asecond glance, had they not been attracted by a peculiar glitter hereand there upon their surface, which proceeded, as they discovered upon acloser inspection, from the presence of minute particles of a dullyellow substance embedded in the stone. But what chiefly riveted theirattention was a small basin-like pool with a smooth level sandy bottom,as they could clearly see from their elevated stand-point. The waterappeared to be about two feet deep, and the basin itself was roughly ofa circular form, about ten yards in diameter. That it was obviouslyintended by nature to be used as a bath was the thought which flashedsimultaneously through the minds of the three fair gazers; and as eachone glanced half-timidly around, only to feel reassured by the utterabsence of any indication of probable unwelcome intrusion, the thoughtspeedily found vent in words.
"Just look at that pool," exclaimed Mrs Staunton; "what a delightfulbath it would make!"
"Oh, Mrs Staunton!" said Blanche, "do you know that is exactly thethought which occurred to me. I feel tired, and I should so enjoy aplunge into the beautiful clear, cool water. Do you think we mightventure?"
"I do not see why we should not," was the reply. "What do you think,Violet?"
"I think it would be nothing short of a luxury," answered Violet. "Itoo feel tired, and I am sure it would refresh us. I am not afraid, ifyou are not."
"Then let us risk it," said Mrs Staunton with a sudden show ofintrepidity, which was, however, only half genuine; and, each borrowingcourage from the companionship of the others, they hurriedly scrambleddown the rocky slope, and in a few minutes more were flashing the brightwater over each other like naiads at play, their clear laughter echoingstrangely among the mighty rocks of the ravine.
The water proved to be much deeper than they had supposed, being quitefour feet deep in the centre of the pool, which rendered their bath allthe more enjoyable. The sand was, on the whole, beautifully fine,white, and firm beneath their feet, but occasionally they experiencedthe sensation of treading upon small, hard, roughly-rounded objectsamong the finer particles; and finally Blanche encountered a lump solarge and hard that, curious to see what it could be, she, with a motionof her foot, swept away the sand until the object was exposed to view.It seemed to be a rough, irregularly-shaped pebble somewhat larger thana hen's egg, of a dull yellow colour; and, reaching down her arm, sheplunged beneath the water and brought the odd-looking object up in herhand.
"What a curious stone; and how heavy it is!" she remarked, holding it upto view.
Her companions came to inspect it, and Mrs Staunton took it in her handto make a close examination.
"Stone!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Why, my dear girl, this is _gold_--agenuine nugget, unless I am greatly mistaken. Mr Thomson, a friend ofmy husband's in Sydney, showed us several gold nuggets, and they wereexactly like this, only they were none of them nearly so large."
"Do you really think it is gold?" asked Blanche. "My dear MrsStaunton, my dear Violet, only fancy what a delightful thing it will beif we have actually discovered a gold mine; why, we shall be able topresent our husbands with a magnificent fortune each."
A charming blush mantled the speaker's cheek as she said this,notwithstanding the fact that by this time the three women had nosecrets from each other.
"I wonder if there are any more," remarked Mrs Staunton; "surely thatcannot be the only one here. I fancy I stepped on something hard justnow."
The three women at once went groping along the sand with their feet, andnot in vain. First one, and then another encountered a hard objectwhich proved to be similar in substance to the one found by Blanche; andin a quarter of an hour they had between them collected upwards of adozen of them, though one only--found by Mrs Staunton--exceeded in sizethat of the first discovery.
Then, feeling somewhat chilled by their long immersion, they returned to_terra firma_, and were soon once more wending their way homeward. Inpassing through the wood they contrived to lose their way; but, as ithappened, this proved of but slight consequence, as though theyeventually came out at a point nearly a mile distant from the pathwaywhich they had followed in the morning, they were quite as near thesettlement as they would have been had they faithfully retraced theiroriginal footsteps; and by four o'clock in the afternoon they foundthemselves once more within the shelter of the walls of StauntonCottage, greatly fatigued, it is true, by thei
r long ramble, but with anelasticity of spirits and a sense of renewed life to which they had longbeen strangers.
Meanwhile the party at the shipyard had been thrown into a state ofunwonted excitement by an incident which at one moment threatened tohave a tragic termination.
A strong gang of men were at work upon the rock--all, indeed, who wereleft upon the island, excepting some dozen or fourteen, most of whomwere employed in providing for the daily wants of the others, such as inbaking bread, cleaning out the huts, airing bedding, and so on--and thescene at the mouth of the harbour was therefore a tolerably busy one.
Captain Staunton was in charge of the ship-building operations, with Kitas foreman-in-chief, while Rex and Brook were superintending operationsat the battery; the former, with a roll of rough-and-ready drawings inhis hand, "setting out" the work, while the latter overlooked theconstruction of a lime-kiln. Bob was making himself generally useful.
It was while all hands were at their busiest that Lance put in anappearance, leading little May by the hand. She of course at once madea dash at her father, flinging her tiny arms round his neck, kissing andhugging him vigorously, and showing in a hundred childish ways herdelight at being with him; and the unwonted sight of the pretty littlecreature created quite a temporary sensation. A large majority of themen there were steeped to the lips in crime, yet there were very fewamong them who had not still left in them--hidden far down in theinnermost recesses of their nature, and crushed almost out of existenceby a load of vice and evil-doing, it may be--some remnant of the betterfeelings of humanity; and their features brightened and softened visiblyas they witnessed the delight of this baby girl at finding herself withher father, and looked at her happy innocent face. Her visit was like aray of sunshine falling upon them from out the bosom of a murky andstorm-laden sky; and as she flitted fearlessly to and fro among them,they felt for the moment as though a part of their load of guilt hadbeen taken from them; that in some subtle way her proximity hadexercised a purifying and refining influence upon them, and that theywere no longer the utterly vile, God-forsaken wretches they had been.Fierce, crime-scarred faces lighted up with unwonted smiles as sheapproached them; and hands that had been again and again soaked in humanblood were outstretched to warn or remove her from the vicinity ofpossible danger. For the first few minutes Captain Staunton had beenanxious and apprehensive at her unexpected presence among the ruffianlyband; but his face cleared, and his knitted brow relaxed as he saw theeffect which the sight of her produced, and when Lance joined him hesaid--
"Let her alone; she is doing more in a few minutes to humanise these menthan you or I could achieve in a year."
The child was naturally interested in everything she saw, and withtireless feet she passed to and fro, pausing now and then to gravelywatch the operations of some stalwart fellow hewing out a timber withhis adze, driving home a bolt with his heavy maul, or digging into thestubborn rock with his pickaxe, and not infrequently asking questionswhich the puzzled seamen strove in vain to answer.
At length, having satisfied her curiosity by a thorough inspection ofall that was going forward, she wandered down to the spot where the hulkhad been broken up. This was a tiny sheltered bay or indentation in therocks; and a large raft had here been constructed out of the dismemberedtimbers and planking, which were kept afloat in order that the powerfulrays of the sun might not split and rend the wood. Two or threedetached planks formed a gangway between the raft and the rocks, andalong these planks May passed on to the raft, without attracting theattention of anyone, it happening that just at that moment most of thehands were summoned to tail on to the fall of a tackle which was beingused to raise one of the timbers into its place. Gradually she strayedfrom one end of the raft to the other; and presently her attention wasattracted by a curious triangular-shaped object which she saw projectingout of the water and moving slowly along. She wondered what it couldpossibly be, and, in order the better to see it, ran nimbly out upon theend of a long plank which projected considerably beyond the rest. Soeager was she to watch the movements of the strange object that sheovershot her mark and with a splash and a cry of alarm fell into thewater.
The triangular object immediately disappeared.
Luckily at this instant Bob glanced round, just in time to see thesplash caused by May's involuntary plunge and to note the simultaneousdisappearance of a dark object in the water close at hand. Divining ina moment what had happened, he set off with a bound down the slopingrocky way toward the raft, shouting as he went--
"A shark! _A shark_! And May has fallen overboard."
For a single instant there was a horror-stricken pause; then tools wereflung recklessly aside, the tackle-fall was let go and the timbersuffered to fall unheeded to the ground again, and the entire gang withone accord followed in Bob's wake, hastily snatching up ropes, boat-hooks, poles, oars, anything likely to be useful, as they ran.
Meanwhile Bob, running with the speed of a hunted deer, had passed--asit seemed to the spectators--with a single bound down the rocks andalong the entire length of the raft, from the extreme end of which heplunged without pause or hesitation into the sea. A bright momentaryflash as he vanished beneath the surface of the water, seemed toindicate that he carried a drawn knife or some such weapon in his hand.
Simultaneously with the disappearance of Bob, May's golden curlsreappeared above the surface; and the child's aimless struggles and herchoking bubbling cries lent wings to the rescuing feet of those who hadlistened again and again unmoved to the death-screams of their fellowmen. Another moment, and there was a tremendous commotion in the waterclose to the child; first a sort of seething whirl, then a dark objectflashed for a moment into view, there was a furious splashing, a dartinghither and thither of some creature indistinctly seen amid the snowyfoam; and then that foam took on a rosy hue which deepened into crimson;the commotion subsided, and Bob appeared once more on the surface,breathless and gasping. With a couple of strokes he reached May's side,and half a dozen more took him alongside the raft in time to deliver herinto Captain Staunton's outstretched arms.
"Unhurt, sir, I believe, thank God!" Bob gasped, as he delivered up hischarge; and then, when the little one had been raised out of the waterand clasped with inarticulate thanksgivings to her father's breast, headded--
"Give us a hand, some of you fellows, will you? And heave handsomely,for I believe my leg's broke."
"Lay hold, boy;" and a dozen eager hands were outstretched to Bob'sassistance--foremost among them being that of a great black-beardedfellow named Dickinson, who had formerly been boatswain's mate on boarda man-o'-war, but who had deserted in order to escape the consequencesof a sudden violent outburst of temper--"Lay hold."
Bob grasped the proffered hand and was brought gently alongside theraft.
"Now then," exclaimed Dickinson, assuming the direction of affairs,"kneel down on the edge of the raft, one of you--you, `Frenchy,' you'repretty handy with your flippers--kneel down and pass your arm under hislegs, as high up as you can. Say `_when_.' Are you ready? Then lift,gently now, and take care you don't strike him against the edge of theraft. So! That's well. Now, lift him inboard; that's your sort. Now,off jackets, some of us, and let's sling him; he'll ride easier thatway. Are we hurting you, my lad?"
"Not much, thank'ee," answered Bob cheerfully. "There," he added, asthey once more reached the rocks, "that'll do, mates; lay me down herein the shade, and tell Mr Evelin I'm hurt--presently, you know; afterhe's brought the little girl round."
In the meantime Lance, almost as much concerned as Captain Staunton, hadhurried after the latter, and offered his assistance, which wasthankfully accepted. But there was very little that needed doing. Soprompt had been Bob in his movements that the poor child had neveractually lost consciousness; and after a great deal of coughing up ofsalt water and a little crying, May was so far herself again as to beable to call up a rather wan smile, and, throwing her arms round herfather's neck, to say--
"Don't be frig
htened any more, papa dear; May's better now."
Great seemed to be the satisfaction of the crowd of men who hadclustered round the group as they heard this welcome assurance; and thenin twos and threes they slunk away back to their work, seemingly morethan half ashamed that they had been betrayed into the exhibition of sohuman a feeling as interest in a mere child's safety.
"If the little un's all right, mister, you'd better have a look at thechap that pulled her out. His leg's broke, I think," remarkedDickinson's gruff voice at this juncture.
"His leg broken? Good heavens! I never dreamed of this," exclaimedCaptain Staunton. "Poor fellow! poor Robert; let us go at once and seewhat can be done for him, Evelin."
"You'll find him there, under that rock," remarked the ex-boatswain'smate in a tone of indifference, indicating Bob's resting-place by acareless jerk of the thumb over his left shoulder as he walked away.
Captain Staunton and Lance rose to their feet, and, the former carryinghis restored darling in his arms, went toward the spot indicated. Theyhad gone but a few paces when they were overtaken by Dickinson, who,with a half-sulky, half-defiant look on his face said--
"I s'pose I can't be any use, can I? If I can, you know, you'd bettersay so, and I'll lend you a hand--and let _me_ see the man that'll laughat me. I ain't _quite_ a brute, though I daresay you think me one. Ilike pluck when I see it, and the way that boy jumped in on the sharkwas plucky enough for anything. If it hadn't been for him, skipper,that little gal of yourn 'd have been a goner and no mistake."
"You are right, Dickinson, she would indeed. Thank God she is spared tome, though. You _can_ no doubt be of the greatest use to us; and as tothinking you a brute--_I_ do nothing of the kind, nor does Mr Evelin, Iam sure. I believe you make yourself out to be a great deal worse thanyou really are. Well, Robert, what is this, my boy? Is it true thatyour leg is broken?"
"I am afraid it is, sir," answered Bob, who looked very pale, and wasevidently suffering great pain. "But I don't care about that, so longas May is all right."
"She _is_, Robert, thanks to God and to your courage. But we will allthank you by and by more adequately than we can do now. Let us look atyour leg, that is the first thing to be attended to."
"Will you allow me, Captain Staunton?" interposed Lance. "I have someknowledge of surgery, and I think my hand will be more steady than yoursafter your late excitement."
The skipper willingly gave place to Lance; and the latter, kneeling downby Bob's side, drew out a knife with which he slit up the left leg ofthe lad's trousers.
A painful sight at once revealed itself. The leg was broken half-waybetween the ankle and the knee, and the splintered shin-bone protrudedthrough the lacerated and bleeding flesh. Captain Staunton felt quitesick for a moment as he saw the terrible nature of the injury; and evenLance turned a trifle pale.
"A compound fracture, and a very bad one," pronounced Evelin. "Now,Dickinson, if you wish to be of use, find Kit, the carpenter, and bringhim to me."
The man vanished with alacrity, and in another minute or two returnedwith Kit.
Lance explained what he wanted--a few splints of a certain length andshape, and a supply of good stout spun-yarn.
"Do you think Ralli would give us a bandage or two and a little lintfrom one of his medicine-chests?" asked Lance of Dickinson.
"If he won't I'll pound him to a jelly," was the reckless answer; andwithout waiting for further instructions the man ran down to the water,jumped into the dingy, and, casting off the painter, began to ply hisoars with a strength and energy which sent the small boat darting acrossthe bay with a foaming wave at her bows and a long swirling wake behindher.
In less than half an hour he was back again with the medicine-chest andall its contents; which he had brought away bodily without going throughthe formality of asking permission.
The splints were by this time ready; and then began the long, tedious,and painful operation of setting and dressing the limb, in theperformance of which Dickinson rendered valuable and efficient service.The long agony proved almost too much for Bob; he went ghastly pale andthe cold perspiration broke out in great beads all over his forehead;seeing which the boatswain's mate beckoned with his hand to one of themen standing near, and whispered him to fetch his (Dickinson's)allowance of grog.
The man went away, and soon returned with not a single allowance but apannikin-full of rum, the result of a spontaneous contribution among themen as soon as they were informed that it was wanted for Bob. With theaid of an occasional sip from this pannikin the poor lad was able tobear up without fainting until Lance had done all that was possible forhim; and then Dickinson and three other men, lifting him upon a strip oftarpaulin lashed to a couple of oars, carried him down to one of theboats, and jumping in, with Lance and Captain Staunton--who could not bepersuaded to trust May out of his arms--pushed off and rowed him down tothe bottom of the bay.
About a couple of hundred yards from the rocks they passed the body of agreat dead shark floating belly upwards upon the surface of the water.The creature appeared to be nearly twenty feet long; and the blood wasstill slowly oozing from three or four stabs and a couple of long deepgashes near the throat. The mouth was open; and as the boat swept pastits occupants had an opportunity to count no less than five rows offormidable teeth still erect in its horrid jaws. Captain Stauntonpressed his child convulsively to his breast as he gazed at the hideoussight; and Dickinson, who pulled the stroke-oar, averred with an oathhis belief that there was not another man on the island with pluckenough to "tackle" such a monster.
"By the bye, Robert," said Captain Staunton, "you have not yet told ushow you came to break your leg. Did you strike it against the timberwhen you jumped overboard, or how was it?"
"No, sir," said Bob. "It was this way. Just as I reached the end ofthe plank I caught sight of the brute rushing straight at May. I couldsee him distinctly against the clean sandy bottom, and he was not abovesix feet off. So I took a header right for him, whipping out my sheath-knife as I jumped; and luckily he turned upon me sharp enough to givelittle May a chance, but not sharp enough to prevent my driving my knifeinto him up to the hilt. Then I got hold of him somewhere--I think itwas one of his fins--and dug and slashed at him until I was out ofbreath, when I was obliged to let go and come to the surface. The sharksheered off, seeming to have had enough of it, but in going he gave me ablow with his tail across the leg and I felt it snap like a pipe-stem."
"And, instead of making for the raft, you swam at once to May, thinkingof her safety rather than of the pain you were suffering," said theskipper. "Bob, you are a hero, if ever there was one. This is thesecond time you have saved my child from certain death; and I shallnever forget my obligations to you, though God alone knows whether Ishall ever have an opportunity to repay them."
"I say, mister, I wish you wouldn't have quite so much to say about_God_; it makes a chap feel uncomfortable," growled Dickinson.
"Does it?" said Captain Staunton. "How is that? I thought none of youpeople believed in the existence of such a Being."
"I can't answer for others," sullenly returned Dickinson, "but I know_I_ believe; I wish I didn't. I've tried my hardest to forget all aboutGod, and to persuade myself that there ain't no such Person, but I can'tmanage it. The remembrance of my poor old mother's teaching sticks tome in spite of all I can do. I've tried," he continued with growingpassion, "to drive it all out of my head by sheer deviltry andwickedness; I've done worse things than e'er another man on this hereisland, hain't I, mates?"--to his fellow-oarsmen.
"Ay ay, Bill, you have."
"You're a reg'lar devil sometimes."
"A real out-and-outer, and no mistake," were the confirmatory replies.
"Yes," Dickinson continued, "and yet I _can't_ forget it; I _can't_persuade myself; and the more I try the worse I feel about it, and Idon't care who hears me say so."
"Well, you _seem_ to be in earnest in what you say, Dickinson; but Ireally cannot believe you _a
re_. No man who really believed in theexistence of a God of Justice would continue to live a life of sin anddefiance," said the skipper.
"Wouldn't he?" fiercely retorted the boatswain's mate. "Supposin' he'ddone what I've done and lived the life I've lived, what would he do?Answer me that."
"Come up to our hut next Sunday morning at eleven o'clock, and I _will_answer you."
"What! do you mean to say that you'll let me in, and them women-folksthere too?"
"Certainly we will," said Captain Staunton heartily. "We are allmortal, like yourself; and the ladies will not refuse, I am sure, tomeet a man who feels as you do."
"Then I'll come," exclaimed the man with a frightful oath, intended toadd emphasis to his declaration, and then, as the boat's keel grated onthe beach, he and his mates sprang into the shallow water, and, liftingBob in his impromptu stretcher carefully upon their shoulders, theyproceeded with heedful steps to bear him toward the hut.
"Now, there," remarked Captain Staunton in a low voice as they hurriedon ahead to get Bob's bunk ready for him, "there is an example of ahuman soul steeped in sin, yet revolting from it; struggling desperatelyto escape; and in its despair only dyeing itself with a deeper stain.It is a noble nature in revolt against a state of hideous ignobleslavery; and I pray God that I may find words wherewith to suitablyanswer his momentous question."
"Amen," said Lance fervently, raising his hat reverently from his headas the word passed his lips.
In another ten minutes they had poor Bob safely in the house andcomfortably bestowed in his berth. The medicine-chest had been broughtback in the boat and was soon conveyed to the hut; and while Lancebusied himself in mixing a cooling draught for his patient, Dale, to theintense astonishment of everybody, voluntarily undertook to prepare somestrengthening broth for him. The man's supreme selfishness gave way,for the moment, to admiration of Bob's gallant deed--so immeasurablybeyond anything of which he felt himself capable--and, genuinely ashamedof himself, for perhaps the first time in his life, he suddenly resolvedto do what little in him lay to be useful.
When Lance came down-stairs for a moment after administering the salinedraught, he found Dickinson and his three companions still hanging aboutoutside the door in an irresolute manner, as though undecided whether togo or stay. He accordingly went out to them and, with an earnestnessquite foreign to his usual manner, thanked them warmly yet courteouslyfor their valuable assistance (Lance _never_ forgot that he was agentleman, and was therefore uniformly courteous to everybody), and thendismissed them, adding at the last moment a word or two of reminder toDickinson as to his promise for the following Sunday, which heemphasised with a hearty shake of the hand.
The boatswain's mate walked away down to the boat silently and in aseemingly dazed condition, holding up his right hand before him, turningit over, and looking at it as though he had never seen it before. Henever opened his lips until the boat was in mid-channel, when, restingon his oar for a moment, he said--
"Well, shipmates, you've heard me say to-day words that I wouldn't havebelieved this morning I could find courage to say to any human being.Now, I'm not ashamed of 'em--I won't go back from a single word--but youknow as well as I do what a rumpus there'd be if it got to be known thatthere'd been said what's been said this arternoon. I don't care aboutmyself, not a single curse; you and as many more fools as choose canlaugh at me until you're all tired; but mind--I won't have a word saidabout _them_; if this gets abroad they'll be made uncomfortable, and _Iwon't have it_--D'ye hear, mates, I WON'T HAVE IT. The first man thatsays a word about it--well"--with a powerful effort to curb hispassion--"the best thing he can do is to take to the water and swimright out to sea; for the sharks 'll be more marciful to him than Iwill."
"All right, matey, all right," good-humouredly answered one of the men,"you needn't threaten us--no occasion for that; we're not going to spliton yer, old man; perhaps, if the truth was knowed, there's othersbesides yourself as don't feel pertickler comfortable about this herepiratin' business--I won't mention no names--and anyhow you may trust_me_ not to say a word about what we've heard to-day upon it; andthere's my hand upon it."
"And mine."
"And mine."
The proffered hands were silently grasped with fervour; and then theoars were resumed and the boat sped on her way to the shipyard.
The Pirate Island: A Story of the South Pacific Page 14
