CHAPTER XXIII.
THE OCEAN DEPTHS.
The next morning dawned and Brandon hurried to the rock and lookedaround. During the night a slight wind had sprung up, and was stillgently breathing. Far over the wide sea there was not a sail to be seen.The brig had passed away. They were finally left to themselves.
Now at last the time of trial had come. They were eager to make theattempt, and soon the yacht was unmoored, and moved slowly out to sea inthe direction of Needle Island. A light breeze still blew fitfully, butpromised at any moment to stop; yet while it lasted they passed onwardunder its gentle impulse, and so gradually reached Needle Island, andwent on into the sea beyond.
Before they had come to the spot which they wished to attain the breezehad died out, and they were compelled to take to the oars. Althoughearly in the morning the sun was burning hot, the work was laborious,and the progress was slow. Yet not a murmur was heard, nor did a singlethought of fatigue enter the minds of any of them. One idea only waspresent--one so overwhelming that all lesser thoughts and all ordinaryfeelings were completely obliterated. After two hours of steady laborthey at last reached a place which seemed to them to be exactly oneleague due north of Needle Islet. Looking back they saw that the rockson the island seemed from this distance closer together, and thinnerand sharper, so that they actually bore a greater resemblance to needlesfrom this point than to any thing else.
Here they sounded. The water was fifteen fathoms deep--not so great adepth as they had feared. Then they put down the anchor, for althoughthere was no wind, yet the yacht might be caught in some current, anddrift gradually away from the right position.
The small boat had all this time been floating astern with the pumpingapparatus in it, so that the adventurous diver might readily beaccompanied in his search and his wanderings at the bottom of the sea.
But there was the prospect that this search would be long and arduous,and Brandon was not willing to exhaust himself too soon. He had alreadyresolved that the first exploration should be made by Asgeelo. The Hinduhad followed Brandon in all his wanderings with that silent submissionand perfect devotion which is more common among Hindus than any otherpeople. He had the air of one who was satisfied with obeying his master,and did not ask the end of any commands which might be given. He wasaware that they were about to explore the ocean depths, but showed nocuriosity about the object of their search. It was Brandon's purpose tosend him down first at different points, so that he might see if therewas any thing there which looked like what they sought.
Asgeelo--or Cato, as Brandon commonly called him--had made those simplepreparations which are common among his class--the apparatus which thepearl-divers have used ever since pearl-diving first commenced. Twelveor fifteen stones were in the boat, a flask of oil, and a sponge whichwas fastened around his neck. These were all that he required. Eachstone weighed about thirty pounds. One of these he tied around one foot;he saturated the sponge with oil, so as to use it to inhale air beneaththe water; and then, standing on the edge of the boat and flinging hisarms straight up over his head, he leaped into the water and went downfeet foremost.
Over the smooth water the ripples flowed from the spot where Asgeelo haddisappeared, extending in successive concentric circles, and radiatingin long undulations far and wide. Louis and Frank waited in deepsuspense. Asgeelo remained long beneath the water, but to them the timeseemed frightful in its duration. Profound anxiety began to mingle withthe suspense, for fear lest the faithful servant in his devotionhad over-rated his powers--lest the disuse of his early practice hadweakened his skill--lest the weight bound to his foot had dragged himdown and kept him there forever.
At last, when the suspense had become intolerable and the two hadalready begun to exchange glances almost of despair, a plash was heard,and Asgeelo emerged far to the right. He struck out strongly toward theboat, which was at once rowed toward him. In a few minutes he was takenin. He did not appear to be much exhausted.
He had seen nothing.
"A dark, sinewy arm emerged from beneath, armed with along, keen knife."]
They then rowed about a hundred yards further, and Asgeelo prepared todescend once more. He squeezed the oil out of the sponge and renewed itagain. But this time he took a knife in his hand.
"What is that for?" asked Frank and Louis.
"Sharks!" answered Cato, in a terrible tone.
At this Louis and Frank exchanged glances. Could they let this devotedservant thus tempt so terrible a death?
"Did you see any sharks?" asked Louis.
"No, Sahib."
"Why do you fear them, then?"
"I don't fear them, Sahib."
"Why do you take this knife?"
"One may come, Sahib."
After some hesitation Asgeelo was allowed to go. As before he plungedinto the water, and remained underneath quite as long; but now theyhad become familiarized with his powers and the suspense was not sodreadful. At the expiration of the usual time he reappeared, and onbeing taken into the boat he again announced that he had seen nothing.
They now rowed a hundred yards farther on in the same direction, towardthe east, and Asgeelo made another descent. He came back with the sameresult.
It began to grow discouraging, but Asgeelo was not yet fatigued, andthey therefore determined to let him work as long as he was able. Hewent down seven times more. They still kept the boat on toward the easttill the line of "needles" on the sand island had become thrownfarther apart and stood at long distances. Asgeelo came up each timeunsuccessful.
He at last went down for the eleventh time. They were talking as usual,not expecting that he would reappear for some minutes, when suddenly ashout was heard, and Asgeelo's head emerged from the water not more thantwenty yards from the boat. He was swimming with one hand, and in theother he held an uplifted knife, which he occasionally brandished in theair and splashed in the water.
Immediately the cause of this became manifest. Just behind him a sharpblack fin appeared cutting the surface of the water.
It was a shark! But the monster, a coward like all his tribe, deterredby the plashing of the water made by Asgeelo, circled round him andhesitated to seize his prey. The moment was frightful. Yet Asgeeloappeared not in the least alarmed. He swam slowly, occasionally turninghis head and watching the monster, seeming by his easy dexterity to bealmost as much in his native element as his pursuer, keeping his eyesfixed on him and holding his knife in a firm clasp. The knife was along, keen blade, which Asgeelo had carried with him for years.
Louis and Frank could do nothing. A pistol ball could not reach thismonster, who kept himself under the water, where a ball would be spentbefore striking him, if indeed any aim could direct a bullet toward thatswift darting figure. They had nothing to do but to look on in an agonyof horror.
Asgeelo, compelled to watch, to guard, to splash the water, and toturn frequently, made but a slow passage over those twenty yards whichseparated him from the boat. At last it seemed as if he chose to staythere. It seemed to those who watched him with such awful horror thathe might have escaped had he chosen, but that he had some idea ofvoluntarily encountering the monster. This became evident at last, asthe shark passed before him when they saw Asgeelo's face turned towardit; a face full of fierce hate and vengeance; a face such as one turnstoward some mortal enemy.
He made a quick, fierce stroke with his long knife. The shark gave aleap upward. The water was tinged with blood. The next moment Asgeelowent down.
"What now?" was the thought of the brothers. Had he been dragged down?Impossible! And yet it seemed equally impossible that he could have gonedown of his own accord.
In a moment their suspense was ended. A white flash appeared near thesurface. The next instant a dark, sinewy arm emerged from beneath, armedwith a long, keen knife, which seemed to tear down with one tremendousstroke that white, shining surface.
It was Asgeelo's head that emerged in a sea of blood and foam. Triumphwas in his dark face, as with one hand he waved
his knife exultantly.
A few moments afterward the form of a gigantic shark floated upward tothe surface, dyeing the sea with the blood which had issued from thestroke dealt by Asgeelo. Not yet, however, was the vindictive fury ofthe Hindu satiated. He swam up to it. He dashed his knife over and overthe white belly till it became a hideous mass of gaping entrails. Thenhe came into the boat.
He sat down, a hideous figure. Blood covered his tawny face, and thefury of his rage had not left the features.
The strength which this man had shown was tremendous, yet his quicknessand agility even in the water had been commensurate with his strength.Brandon had once seen proofs of his courage in the dead bodies ofthe Malay pirates which lay around him in the cabin of that ill-fatedChinese ship: but all that he had done then was not to be compared tothis.
They could not help asking him why he had not at once made his escape tothe boar, instead of staying to fight the monster.
Asgeelo's look was as gloomy as death as he replied,
"They tore in pieces my son, Sahib--my only son--when he first wentdown, and I have to avenge him. I killed a hundred on the Malabar coastbefore I left it forever. That shark did not attack me; I attacked him."
"If you saw one now would you attack him?"
"Yes, Sahib."
Brandon expressed some apprehension, and wished him not to risk hislife.
But Asgeelo explained that a shark could be successfully encountered bya skillful swimmer. The shark is long, and has to move about in a circlewhich is comparatively large; he is also a coward, and a good swimmercan strike him if he only chooses. He again repeated triumphantly thathe had killed more than a hundred to avenge his son.
In his last venture Asgeelo had been no more successful than before.Needle Island was now to the southwest, and Brandon thought that theironly chance was to try farther over toward the west, where they had notyet explored.
They rowed at once back to the point from which they had set out, andthen went on about a hundred and fifty yards to the west. From thisplace, as they looked toward the islet, the three rocks seemed so closetogether that they appeared blended, and the three sharp, needlelikepoints appeared to issue from one common base. This circumstance hadan encouraging effect, for it seemed to the brothers as though theirancestor might have looked upon those rocks from this point of viewrather than from any other which had as yet come upon the field of theirobservation.
This time Brandon himself resolved to go down; partly because he thoughtthat Asgeelo had worked long enough, and ought not to be exhausted onthat first day, and partly on account of an intolerable impatience, andan eagerness to see for himself rather than intrust it to others.
There was the horror of the shark, which might have deterred any otherman. It was a danger which he had never taken into account. But theresolve of his soul was stronger than any fear, and he determined toface even this danger. If he lost his life, he was indifferent. Letit go! Life was not so precious to him as to some others. Fearless bynature, he was ordinarily ready to run risks; but now the thing thatdrew him onward was so vast in its importance that he was willing toencounter peril of any kind.
Frank was aware of the full extent of this new danger, but he saidnothing, nor did he attempt in any way to dissuade his brother. Hehimself, had he been able, would have gone down in his place; but as hewas not able, he did not suppose that his brother would hesitate.
The apparatus was in the boat. The pumping-machine was in the stern;and this, with the various signal-ropes, was managed by Frank. Asgeelorowed. These arrangements had long since been made, and they hadpracticed in this way on the Hudson River.
Silently Brandon put on his diving armor. The ropes and tubes were allcarefully arranged. The usual weight was attached to his belt, and hewas slowly lowered down to the bottom of the sea.
The bottom of the ocean was composed of a smooth, even surface of finesand and gravel, along which Brandon moved without difficulty. Thecumbrous armor of the diver, which on land is so heavy, beneath thewater loses its excessive weight, and by steadying the wearer assistshim to walk. The water was marvelously transparent, as is usually thecase in the southern seas, and through the glass plate in his helmetBrandon could look forward to a greater distance than was possible inthe Hudson.
Overhead he could see the bottom of the boat, as it floated and moved onin the direction which he wished: signals, which were communicated bya rope which he held in his hand, told them whether to go forward orbackward, to the right or to the left, or to stop altogether. Practicehad enabled him to command, and them to obey, with ease.
Down in the depths to which he had descended the water was always still,and the storms that affected the surface never penetrated there. Brandonlearned this from the delicate shells and the still more delicate formsof marine plants which lay at his feet, so fragile in their structure,and so delicately poised in their position, that they must have formedthemselves in deep, dead stillness and absolute motionlessness ofwaters. The very movement which was caused by his passage displaced themin all directions, and cast them down every where in ruins. Here, insuch depths as these, if the sounding lead is cast it brings up thesefragile shells, and shows to the observer what profound calm must existhere, far away beneath the ordinary vision of man.
Practice had enabled Brandon to move with much ease. His breathingwas without difficulty. The first troubles arising from breathing thisconfined air had long since been surmounted. One tube ran down from theboat, through which the fresh air was pushed, and another tube ran upa little distance, through which the air passed and left it in myriadbubbles that ascended to the surface.
He walked on, and soon came to a place where things changed theirappearance. Hard sand was here, and on every side there arosecuriously-shaped coral structures, which resembled more than any thingelse a leafless forest. These coral tree-like forms twisted theirbranches in strange involutions, and in some places formed a perfectbarrier of interlaced arms, so that he was forced to make a detour inorder to avoid them. The chief fear here was that his tube might getentangled among some of the loftier straggling branches, and impede orretard his progress. To avoid this caused much delay.
Now, among the coral rocks, the vegetation of the lower sea began toappear of more vivid colors and of far greater variety than any which hehad ever seen. Here were long plants which clung to the coral like ivy,seeming to be a species of marine parasite, and as it grew it throvemore luxuriantly. Here were some which threw out long arms, terminatingin vast, broad, palm-like leaves, the arms intertwined among the coralbranches and the leaves hanging downward. Here were long streamers offine, silk-like strings, that were suspended from many a projectingbranch, and hillocks of spongy substance that looked like moss.Here, too, were plants which threw forth long, ribbon-like leaves ofvariegated color.
It was a forest under the sea, and it grew denser at every step.
At last his progress in this direction was terminated by a rock whichcame from a southerly direction, like a spur from the islands. It aroseto a height of about thirty feet overhead, and descended gradually as itran north. Brandon turned aside, and walked by its base along its entireextent.
At its termination there arose a long vista, where the ground ascendedand an opening appeared through this marine "forest." On each side theinvoluted corals flung their twisted arms in more curious and intricatefolds. The vegetation was denser, more luxuriant, and more varied.Beneath him was a growth of tender substance, hairy in texture, and ofa delicate green color, which looked more like lawn grass of the upperworld than any thing else in nature.
Brandon walked on, and even in the intense desire of his soul to findwhat he sought he felt himself overcome by the sublime influence ofthis submarine world. He seemed to have intruded into some other sphere,planting his rash footsteps where no foot of man had trodden before, andusing the resources of science to violate the hallowed secrecy of awfulnature in her most hidden retreats. Here, above all things, his soul wasoppressed by the u
niversal silence around. Through that thick helmet,indeed, no sound under a clap of thunder could be heard, and the ringingof his ears would of itself have prevented consciousness of any othernoise, yet none the less was he aware of the awful stillness; it wassilence that could be felt. In the sublimity of that lonely pathwayhe felt what Hercules is imagined to have felt when passing to theunderworld after Cerberus,
Stupent ubi undae segne torpescit fretum,
and half expected to hear some voice from the dweller in this place:
"Quo pergis audax? Siste proserentem gradum."
There came to him only such dwellers as belonged to the place. Hesaw them as he moved along. He saw them darting out from the hiddenpenetralia around, moving swiftly across and sometimes darting in shoalsbefore him. They began to appear in such vast numbers that Brandonthought of the monster which lay a mangled heap upon the surface above,and fancied that perhaps his kindred were waiting to avenge his death.As this fear came full and well defined before him he drew from his beltthe knife which Asgeelo had given him, and Frank had urged him to take,feeling himself less helpless if he held this in his hand.
The fishes moved about him, coming on in new and more startled crowds,some dashing past, others darting upward, and others moving swiftlyahead. One large one was there with a train of followers, which movedup and floated for a moment directly in front of him, its large, staringeyes seeming to view him in wonder, and solemnly working its gills. Butas Brandon came close it gave a sudden turn and darted off with all itsattendants.
At last, amidst all these wonders, he saw far ahead something whichdrove all other thoughts away, whether of fear, or of danger, or ofhorror, and filled all his soul with an overmastering passion of desireand hope.
It was a dark object, too remote as yet to be distinctly visible, yet asit rose there his fancy seemed to trace the outline of a ship, or whatmight once have been a ship. The presentation of his hope before himthus in what seemed like a reality was too much. He stood still, and hisheart beat with fierce throbs.
The hope was so precious that for a time he hesitated to advance, forfear lest the hope might be dispelled forever. And then to fail at thisplace, after so long a search, when he seemed to have reached the end,would be an intolerable grief.
There, too, was that strange pathway which seemed made on purpose. Howcame it there? He thought that perhaps the object lying before him mighthave caused some current which set in there and prevented the growth ofplants in that place. These and many other thoughts came to him as hestood, unwilling to move.
But at last he conquered his feelings, and advanced. Hope grew strongwithin him. He thought of the time on Coffin Island when, in likemanner, he had hesitated before a like object.
Might not this, like that, turn out to be a ship? And now, by a strangerevulsion, all his feelings urged him on; hope was strong, suspenseunendurable. Whatever that object was, he must know.
It might indeed be a rock. He had passed one shortly before, whichhad gradually declined into the bottom of the sea; this might be acontinuation of the same, which after an interval had arisen again fromthe bottom. It was long and high at one end, and rounded forward at theother. Such a shape was perfectly natural for a rock. He tried to crushdown hope, so as to be prepared for disappointment. He tried to convincehimself that it must be a rock, and could by no possibility be anything else. Yet his efforts were totally fruitless. Still the convictionremained that it was a ship, and if so, it could be no other than theone he sought.
As he went on all the marine vegetation ceased. The coral rockscontinued no further. Now all around the bottom of the sea was flat, andcovered with fine gravel, like that which he had touched when he firstcame down. The fishes had departed. The sense of solemnity left him;only one thing was perceptible, and that was the object toward which hewalked. And now he felt within him such an uncontrollable impulse thateven if he had wished he could neither have paused nor gone back. Togo forward was only possible. It seemed to him as though some externalinfluence had penetrated his body, and forced him to move. Again,as once before, he recalled the last words of his father, so wellremembered: --"If in that other world to which I am going thedisembodied spirit can assist man, then be sure, oh my son, I willassist you, and in the crisis of your fate I will be near, if it is onlyto communicate to your spirit what you ought to do--"
It was Ralph Brandon who had said this. Here in this object whichlay before him, if it were indeed the ship, he imagined the spirit ofanother Ralph Brandon present, awaiting him.
Suddenly a dark shadow passed over his head, which forced himinvoluntarily to look up. In spite of his excitement a shudder passedthrough him. Far overhead, at the surface of the sea the boat wasfloating. But half-way up were three dark objects moving slowly andlazily along. They were sharks.
To him, in his loneliness and weakness, nothing ever seemed so menacingas these three demons of the deep as he stared up at them. Had they seenhim? that was now his thought. He clutched his knife in a firmer hold,feeling all the while how utterly helpless he was, and shrinking awayinto himself from the terror above. The monsters moved leisurelyabout, at one time grazing the tube, and sending down a vibration whichthrilled like an electric shock through him. For a moment he thoughtthat they were malignantly tormenting him, and had done this on purposein order to send down to him a message of his fate.
He waited.
The time seemed endless. Yet at last the end came. The sharks couldnot have seen him, for they gradually moved away until they were out ofsight.
Brandon did not dare to advance for some time. Yet now, since the spellof this presence was removed, his horror left him, and his former hopeanimated all his soul.
There lay that object before him. Could he advance again after thatwarning? Dared he? This new realm into which he had ventured hadindeed those who were ready and able to inflict a sudden and frightfulvengeance upon the rash intruder. He had passed safely among the horrorsof the coral forest; but here, on this plateau, could he hope to be sosafe? Might not the slightest movement on his part create a disturbanceof water sufficient to awaken the attention of those departed enemiesand bring them back?
This was his fear. But hope, and a resolute will, and a determinationto risk all on this last hazard, alike impelled him on. Danger now layevery where, above as well as below. An advance was not more perilousthan an ascent to the boat. Taking comfort from this last thought hemoved onward with a steady, determined step.
Hope grew stronger as he drew nearer. The dark mass gradually formeditself into a more distinct outline. The uncertain lines defined intomore certain shape, and the resemblance to a ship became greater andgreater. He could no longer resist the conviction that this must be aship.
Still he tried feebly to prepare for disappointment, and made faintfancies as to the reason why a rock should be formed here in this shape.All the time he scouted those fancies and felt assured that it was not arock.
Nearer and nearer. Doubt no longer remained. He stood close beside it.It was indeed a ship! Its sides rose high over head. Its lofty sternstood up like a tower, after the fashion of a ship of the days of QueenElizabeth. The masts had fallen and lay, encumbered with the rigging,over the side.
Brandon walked all around it, his heart beating fast, seeing at everystep some new proof that this must be no other, by any conceivablepossibility, than the one which he sought. On reaching the bows he sawthe outline of a bird carved for the figure-head, and knew that thismust be the _Phoenix_.
He walked around. The bottom was sandy and the ship had settled downto some depth. Her sides were covered with fine dark shells, like anincrustation, to a depth of an inch, mingled with a short growth of agreen, slimy sea-weed.
At last he could delay no longer. One of the masts lay over the side,and this afforded an easy way by which he could clamber upward upon thedeck.
In a few moments Brandon stood upon the deck of the _Phoenix_.
The ship which had thus lain here through centuries
, saturated withwater that had penetrated to its inmost fibre, still held togethersturdily. Beneath the sea the water itself had acted as a preservative,and retarded or prevented decay. Brandon looked around as he stoodthere, and the light that came from above, where the surface of the seawas now much nearer than before, showed him all the extent of the ship.
The beams which supported the deck had lost their stiffness and sunkdownward; the masts, as before stated, had toppled over for the samereason, yielding to their own weight, which, as the vessel was slightlyon one side, had gradually borne them down; the bowsprit also hadfallen. The hatchways had yielded, and, giving way, had sunk down withinthe hold. The doors which led into the cabin in the lofty poop werelying prostrate on the deck. The large sky-light which once had stoodthere had also followed the same fate.
"THE MASTS HAD FALLEN AND LAY, ENCUMBERED WITH THERIGGING, OVER THE SIDE."]
Before going down Brandon had arranged a signal to send to Frank in casehe found the ship. In his excitement he had not yet given it. Beforeventuring further he thought of this. But he decided not to make thesignal. The idea came, and was rejected amidst a world of varying hopesand fears. He thought that if he was successful he himself would be thebest messenger of success; and, if not, he would be the best messengerof evil.
He advanced toward the cabin. Turning away from the door he clamberedupon the poop, and, looking down, tried to see what depth there mightbe beneath. He saw something which looked as though it had once been atable. Slowly and cautiously he let himself down through the opening,and his feet touched bottom. He moved downward, and let his feet slidetill they touched the floor.
He was within the cabin.
The light here was almost equal to that with-out, for the sky-light wasvery wide. The floor was sunken in like the deck of the ship. He lookedaround to see where he might first search for the treasure. Suddenly hiseye caught sight of something which drove away every other thought.
At one end was a seat, and there, propped up against the wall, wasa skeleton in a sitting posture. Around it was a belt with a swordattached. The figure had partly twisted itself round, but its bead andshoulders were so propped up against the wall that it could not fall.
Brandon advanced, filled with a thousand emotions. One hand was lyingdown in front. He lifted it. There was a gold ring on the bony finger.He took it off. In the dim light he saw, cut in bold relief on thisseal-ring, the crest of his family--a Phoenix.
It was his ancestor himself who was before him.
Here he had calmly taken his seat when the ship was settling slowly downinto the embrace of the waters. Here he had taken his seat, calmly andsternly, awaiting his death--perhaps with a feeling of grim triumph thathe could thus elude his foes. This was the man, and this the hand, whichhad written the message that had drawn the descendant here.
Such were the thoughts that passed through Brandon's mind. He put thering on his own finger and turned away. His ancestor had summoned himhither, and here he was. Where was the treasure that was promised?
Brandon's impatience now rose to a fever. Only one thought filled hismind. All around the cabin were little rooms, into each of which helooked. The doors had all fallen away. Yet he saw nothing in any ofthem.
He stood for a moment in deep doubt. Where could he look? Could heventure down into the dark hold and explore? How could he hope to findany thing there, amidst the ruins of that interior where guns and chainslay, perhaps all mingled together where they had fallen? It would needa longer time to find it than he had at first supposed. Yet would hefalter? No! Rather than give up he would pass years here, till he haddismembered the whole ship and strewn every particle of her piecemealover the bottom of the sea. Yet he had hoped to solve the whole mysteryat the first visit; and now, since he saw no sign of any thing liketreasure, he was for a while at a loss what to do.
His ancestor had summoned him, and he had come. Where was the treasure?Where? Why could not that figure arise and show him?
Such were his thoughts. Yet these thoughts, the result of excitementthat was now a frenzy, soon gave rise to others that were calmer.
He reflected that perhaps some other feeling than what he had at firstimagined might have inspired that grim old Englishman when he took hisseat there and chose to drown on that seat rather than move away. Someother feeling, and what feeling? Some feeling which must have been thestrongest in his heart. What was that? The one which had inspired themessage, the desire to secure still more that treasure for which he hadtoiled and fought. His last act was to send the message, why should henot have still borne that thought in his mind and carried it till hedied?
The skeleton was at one end, supported by the wall. Two posts projectedon each side. A heavy oaken chair stood there, which had once perhapsbeen fastened to the floor. Brandon thought that he would first examinethat wall. Perhaps there might be some opening there.
He took the skeleton in his arms reverently, and proceeded to lift itfrom the chair: He could not. He looked more narrowly, and saw a chainwhich had been fastened around it and bound it to the chair.
What was the meaning of this? Had the crew mutinied, bound the captain,and run? Had the Spaniards seized the ship after all? Had they recoveredthe spoil, and punished in this way the plunderer of three galleons, bybinding him here to the chair, scuttling the ship, and sending him downto the bottom of the sea?
The idea of the possibility of this made Brandon sick with anxiety.He pulled the chair away, put it on one side, and began to examine thewooden wall by running his hand along it. There was nothing whateverperceptible. The wall was on the side farthest from the stern, andalmost amidships. He pounded it, and, by the feeling, knew that it washollow behind. He walked to the door which was on one side, and passedin behind this very wall. There was nothing there. It had once perhapsbeen used as part of the cabin. He came back disconsolately, and stoodon the very place where the chair had been.
"Let me be calm," he said to himself. "This enterprise is hopeless. Yes,the Spaniards captured the ship, recovered the treasure, and drowned myancestor. Let me not be deceived. Let me cast away hope, and search herewithout any idle expectation."
Suddenly as he thought he felt the floor gradually giving way beneathhim. He started, but before he could move or even think in whatdirection to go the floor sank in, and he at once sank with it downward.
Had it not been that the tube was of ample extent, and had beencarefully managed so as to guard against any abrupt descent among rocksat the bottom of the sea, this sudden fall might have ended Brandon'scareer forever. As it was he only sank quickly, but without accident,until his breast was on a level with the cabin floor.
In a moment the truth flashed upon him. He had been standing on atrap-door which opened from the cabin floor into the hold of the ship.Over this trap-door old Ralph Brandon had seated and bound himself. Wasit to guard the treasure? Was it that he might await his descendant, andthus silently indicate to him the place where he must look?
And now the fever of Brandon's conflicting hope and fear grew moreintense than it had ever yet been through all this day of days. Hestooped down to feel what it was that lay under his feet. His handsgrasped something, the very touch of which sent a thrill sharp andsudden through every fibre of his being.
_They were metallic bars!_
He rose up again overcome. He hardly dared to take one up so as to seewhat it might be. For the actual sight would realize hope or destroy itforever.
Once more he stooped down. In a sort of fury he grasped a bar in eachhand and raised it up to the light.
Down under the sea the action of water had not destroyed the colorof those bars which he held up in the dim light that came through thewaters. The dull yellow of those rough ingots seemed to gleam withdazzling brightness before his bewildered eyes, and filled his wholesoul with a torrent of rapture and of triumph.
His emotions overcame him. The bars of gold fell down from his tremblinghands. He sank back and leaned against the wall.
Bu
t what was it that lay under his feet? What were all these bars? Werethey all gold? Was this indeed all here--the plunder of the Spanishtreasure-ships--the wealth which might purchase a kingdom--the treasureequal to an empire's revenue--the gold and jewels in countless store?
A few moments of respite were needed in order to overcome the tremendousconflict of feeling which raged within his breast. Then once more hestooped down. His outstretched hand felt over all this space which thuswas piled up with treasure.
It was about four feet square. The ingots lay in the centre. Around thesides were boxes. One of these he took out. It was made of thick oakenplank, and was about ten inches long and eight wide. The rusty nailsgave but little resistance, and the iron bands which once bound thempeeled off at a touch. He opened the box.
Inside was a casket.
He tore open the casket.
_It was filled with jewels!_
His work was ended. No more search, no more fear. He bound the caskettightly to the end of the signal-line, added to it a bar of gold, andclambered to the deck.
He cast off the weight that was at his waist, which he also fastened tothe line, and let it go.
Freed from the weight he rose buoyantly to the top of the water.
The boat pulled rapidly toward him and took him in. As he removed hishelmet he saw Frank's eyes fixed on his in mute inquiry. His face wasashen, his lips bloodless.
Louis smiled.
"Heavens!" cried Frank, "can it be?"
"Pull up the signal-line and see for yourself," was the answer.
And, as Frank pulled, Louis uttered a cry which made him look up.
Louis pointed to the sun. "Good God! what a time I must have been down!"
"Time!" said Frank. "Don't say time--it was eternity!"
Cord and Creese Page 23
