Fire Cloud; Or, The Mysterious Cave. A Story of Indians and Pirates.

by Samuel Fletcher

  CHAPTER XI.

  About a week after the occurrence of the events recorded in the lastchapter, Captain Flint and his crew were again assembled in thecavern. It was past midnight, and they evidently had business ofimportance before them, for although the table was spread as upon theformer occasion, the liquors appeared as yet to be untasted, andinstead of being seated around the table, the whole party were sittingon skins in a remote corner of the cavern, and conversing in asuppressed tone of voice as if fearful of being heard.

  "Something must be done," said one of the men, "to quiet this darnsuspicion, or it's all up with us."

  "I am for leaving at once," said Old Ropes; "the only safety for usnow is in giving our friends the slip, and the sooner we are out ofthese waters the better it will be for us."

  "What, and leave the grand prize expecting to take care of itself?"asked the captain.

  "Darn the prize," said Old Ropes, "the East Indiaman ain't expectedthis two weeks yet, and if the suspicions agin us keep on increasin'as they have for the last ten days, the land pirates'll have us allstrung up afore the vessel arrives."

  This opinion was shared by the majority of the men. Even the Parsonwho took delight in opposing Old Ropes in almost every thing, agreedwith him here.

  "Whether or not," said he, "I am afraid to face death in a fairbusiness-like way, you all know, but as sure as I'm a genuine parson,I'd rather be tortured to death by a band of savage Indians, than tobe strung up to a post with my feet dangling in the air to please aset of gaping fools."

  "Things do look rather squally on shore, I admit," said the captain,"but I've hit upon a plan to remedy all that, and one that will makeus pass for honest men, if not saints, long enough to enable us tofinish the little job we have on hand."

  "What is that?" enquired a number of voices.

  "Why, merely to make a few captures while we are lying quietly in theharbour or a little way up the river. That'll turn the attention ofthe people from us in another direction, in the mean while, we canbide our time.

  "It can," said the captain. "We must man a whale boat or two andattack some one of the small trading vessels that are coming in everyday. She must be run on the rocks where she may be examinedafterwards, so that any one may see that she has falling in the handsof pirates. None of the crew must be allowed to escape, as that wouldexpose the trick.

  "All this must take place while I am known to be on shore, and theschooner lying in port."

  This plot, which was worthy the invention of a fiend, was approved byall but Jones Bradley who declared that he would have nothing to dowith it. For which disobedience of orders he would have probably beenput to death had he been at sea.

  The plan of operations having been decided upon, the whole partyseated themselves round the table for the purpose as they would say ofmaking a night of it.

  But somehow or other they seemed to be in no humor for enjoyment, asenjoyment is understood by such characters.

  A gloom seemed to have settled on the whole party.

  They could not even get their spirits up, by pouring spirits down.

  And although they drank freely, they drank for the most part insilence.

  "How is this?" shouted captain Flint, "at last have we all lost ourvoices? Can no one favor us with a song, or toast or a yarn?"

  Hardly had these words passed the lips of the captain, when thepiteous moan which had so startled the pirates, on the previousevening again saluted them, but in a more suppressed tone of voice.The last faint murmurs of this moan had not yet died away, when ashout, or rather a yell like an Indian war whoop, rang through thecavern in a voice that made the very walls tremble, its thousandechoes rolling away like distant thunder.

  The whole group sprang to their feet aghast.

  The two woman followed by Black Bill, terror stricken, joined thegroup.

  This at least might be said of Hellena and the negro. The latterclinging to the skirts of the white maiden for protection, as a mortalin the midst of demons might be supposed to seek the protection of anAngel.

  Captain Flint, now laying his hand violently on Lightfoot, said, "Whatdoes all this mean? do you expect to frighten me by your jugglingtricks, you infernal squaw?" At these words he gave her a push thatsent her staggering to the floor.

  In a moment he saw his mistake, and went to her assistance (but shehad risen before he reached her,) and endeavored to conciliate herwith kind words and presents.

  He took a gold chain from his pocket, and threw it about her neck, anddrew a gold ring from his own finger and placed it upon hers.

  These attentions she received in moody silence.

  All this was done by Flint, not from any feelings of remorse for theinjustice he had done the woman, but from a knowledge of how much hewas in her power and how dangerous her enmity might be to him.

  Finding that she was not disposed to listen to him, he turned from hermuttering to himself:

  "She'll come round all right by and by," and then addressing his mensaid:

  "Boys, we must look into this matter; there's something about thiscave we don't understand yet. There may be another one over it, orunder it. We must examine."

  He did not repeat the explanation he had given before, feeling nodoubt, that it would be of no use.

  A careful examination of the walls of the cave were made by the wholeparty, but to no purpose. Nothing was discovered that could throw anylight upon the mystery, and they were obliged to give it up.

  And thus they were compelled to let the matter rest for the present.

  When the morning came, the pirates all left with the exception of thecaptain, who remained, he said, for the purpose of making furtherinvestigations, but quite as much for the purpose of endeavoring tofind out whether or not, Lightfoot had anything to do with theproduction of the strange noises. But here again, he was fated todisappointment. The Indian could not, or would not, give anysatisfactory explanation.

  The noises she contended were made by the braves of her nation who hadgone to the spirit world, and who were angry because their sacredcavern had been profaned by the presence of the hated palefaces.

  Had he consulted Hellena, or Black Bill, his investigations wouldprobably have taken a different turn.

  The figure of the Indian having been seen by both Hellena and theblack, would have excited his curiosity if not his fears, and led himto look upon it as a more serious matter than he had heretoforesupposed.

  But he did not consult either of them, probably supposing them to be acouple of silly individuals whose opinions were not worth having.

  If any doubt had remained in the minds of the men in regard to thesupernatural character of the noises which had startled them in thecave, they existed no longer.

  Even the Parson although generally ridiculing the idea of all sorts ofghosts and hobgoblins, admitted that there was something in thisaffair that staggered him, and he joined with the others in thinkingthat the sooner they shifted their quarters, the better.

  "Don't you think that squaw had a hand in it?" asked one of the men:"didn't you notice how cool she took it all the while?"

  "That's a fact," said the Parson; "it's strange I didn't think of thatbefore. I shouldn't wonder if it wasn't after all, a plot contrived byher and some of her red-skinned brethren to frighten us out of thecave, and get hold of the plunder we've got stowed away there."

  Some of the men now fell in with this opinion, and were for putting itto the proof by torturing Lightfoot until she confessed her guilt.

  The majority of the men, however, adhered to the original opinion thatthe whole thing was supernatural, and that the more they meddled withit, the deeper they'd get themselves into trouble.

  "My opinion is," said Old Ropes, "that there's treasure buried there,and the whole thing's under a charm, cave, mountain, and all."

  "If there's treasure buried there," said the Parson, "I'm for having ashare of it."

  "The only way to get treasure that's under charm," said Old Ropes, "isto break th
e charm that binds it, by a stronger charm."

  "It would take some blasting to get at treasure buried in that solidrock," said Jones Bradley.

  "If we could only break the charm that holds the treasure, just aslike as not that solid rock would all turn into quicksand," repliedOld Ropes.

  "Did you ever see the thing tried?" asked the Parson.

  "No; but I've seen them as has," replied Old Ropes.

  "And more than that," continued Old Ropes, "my belief is that CaptainFlint is of the same opinion, though he didn't like to say so.

  "I shouldn't wonder now, if he hadn't some charm he was tryin', andthat was the reason why he stayed in the cave so much."

  "I rather guess the charm that keeps the captain so much in the caveis a putty face," dryly remarked one of the men.