The Phantom Ship

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT.

  _We_ must now return to Philip and Krantz. When the latter retired fromthe presence of the Portuguese Commandant, he communicated to Philipwhat had taken place, and the fabulous tale which he had invented todeceive the Commandant. "I said that you alone knew where the treasurewas concealed," continued Krantz, "that you might be sent for, for inall probability he will keep me as a hostage: but never mind that, Imust take my chance. Do you contrive to escape somehow or other, andrejoin Amine."

  "Not so," rejoined Philip; "you must go with me, my friend: I feel that,should I part with you, happiness would no longer be in store for me."

  "Nonsense--that is but an idle feeling: besides, I will evade himsomehow or another."

  "I will not show the treasure unless you go with me."

  "Well, you may try it at all events."

  A low tap at the door was heard. Philip rose and opened it (for theyhad retired to rest), and Pedro came in. Looking carefully round him,and then shutting the door softly, he put his finger on his lips, toenjoin them to silence. He then in a whisper told them what he hadoverheard. "Contrive, if possible, that I go with you," continued he;"I must leave you now; he still paces his room." And Pedro slipped outof the door, and crawled stealthily away along the ramparts.

  "The treacherous little rascal! But we will circumvent him ifpossible," said Krantz, in a low tone. "Yes, Philip, you are right, wemust both go, for you will require my assistance. I must persuade himto go himself. I'll think of it--so, Philip, good night."

  The next morning Philip and Krantz were summoned to breakfast; theCommandant received them with smiles and urbanity. To Philip he waspeculiarly courteous. As soon as the repast was over, he thuscommunicated to him his intentions and wishes:--

  "Signor, I have been reflecting upon what your friend told me, and theappearance of the spectre yesterday, which created such confusion; itinduced me to behave with a rashness for which I must now offer my mostsincere apologies. The reflections which I have made, joined with thefeelings of devotion which must be in the heart of every true Catholic,have determined me, with your assistance, to obtain this treasurededicated to the holy church. It is my proposal that you should take aparty of soldiers under your orders, proceed to the island on which itis deposited, and having obtained it, return here. I will detain anyvessel which may in the mean time put into the roadstead, and you shallthen be the bearers of the treasure and of my letters to Goa. This willgive you an honourable introduction to the authorities, and enable youto pass away your time there in the most agreeable manner. You will,also, signor, be restored to your wife, whose charms had such an effectupon me; and for mention of whose name in the very unceremonious mannerwhich I did, I must excuse myself upon the ground of total ignorance ofwho she was, or of her being in any way connected with your honourableperson. If these measures suit you, signor, I shall be most happy togive orders to that effect."

  "As a good Catholic myself," replied Philip, "I shall be most happy topoint out the spot where the treasure is concealed, and restore it tothe church. Your apologies relative to my wife I accept with pleasure,being aware that your conduct proceeded from ignorance of her situationand rank; but I do not exactly see my way clear. You propose a party ofsoldiers. Will they obey me? Are they to be trusted? I shall haveonly myself and friend against them, and will they be obedient?"

  "No fear of that, signor, they are well disciplined; there is not evenoccasion for your friend to go with you. I wish to retain him with me,to keep me company during your absence."

  "Nay! that I must object to," replied Philip; "I will not trust myselfalone."

  "Perhaps I may be allowed to give an opinion on this subject?" observedKrantz. "I see no reason, if my friend goes accompanied within a partyof soldiers only, why I should not go with him; but I consider it wouldbe unadvisable that he proceed in the way the commandant proposes,either with or without me. You must recollect, commandant, that it isno trifling sum which is to be carried away; that it will be open toview, and will meet the eyes of your men; that these men have beendetained many years in this country, and are anxious to return home.When, therefore, they find themselves with only two strangers withthem--away from your authority, and in possession of a large sum ofmoney--will not the temptation be too strong? They will only have torun down the southern channel, gain the port of Bantam and they will besafe; having obtained both freedom and wealth. To send, therefore, myfriend and me, would be to send us to almost certain death; but if youwere to go, commandant, then the danger would no longer exist. Yourpresence and your authority would control them; and; whatever theirwishes or thoughts might be, they would quail before the flash of youreye."

  "Very true--very true," replied Philip--"all this did not occur to me."

  Nor had it occurred to the commandant, but when pointed out, the forceof these suggestions immediately struck him, and long before Krantz hadfinished speaking, he had resolved to go himself.

  "Well, signors," replied he; "I am always ready to accede to yourwishes; and since you consider my presence necessary and as I do notthink there is any chance of another attack from the Ternate people justnow, I will take upon myself the responsibility of leaving the fort fora few days under the charge of my lieutenant, while we do this serviceto holy Mother Church. I have already sent for one of the nativevessels, which are large and commodious, and will, with your permission,embark to-morrow."

  "Two vessels will be better," observed Krantz; "in the first place, incase of an accident; and next, because we can embark all the treasure inone with ourselves, and put a portion of the soldiers in the other; sothat we may be in greater force, in case of the sight of so much wealthstimulating them to insubordination."

  "True, signor," we will have two vessels; "your advice is good."

  Everything was thus satisfactorily arranged, with the exception of theirwish that Pedro should accompany them on their expedition. They weredebating how this should be brought on the tapis, when the soldier cameto them, and stated that the commandant had ordered him to be of theparty, and that he was to offer his services to the two strangers.

  On the ensuing day everything was prepared. Ten soldiers and a corporalhad been selected by the commandant; and it required but little time toput into the vessels the provisions and other articles which wererequired. At daylight they embarked--the Commandant and Philip in oneboat; Krantz, with the corporal and Pedro, in the other. The men, whohad been kept in ignorance of the object of the expedition, were nowmade acquainted with it by Pedro, and a long whispering took placebetween them, much to the satisfaction of Krantz, who was aware that themutiny would soon be excited, when it was understood that those whocomposed the expedition were to be sacrificed to the avarice of thecommandant. The weather being fine they sailed on during the night;passed the island of Ternate at ten leagues' distance; and beforemorning were among the cluster of isles, the southernmost of which wasthe one on which the treasure had been buried. On the second night thevessels were beached upon a small island; and then, for the first time,a communication took place between the soldiers who had been in the boatwith Pedro and Krantz, and those who had been embarked with thecommandant. Philip and Krantz had also an opportunity of communicatingapart for a short time.

  When they made sail the next morning, Pedro spoke openly; he told Krantzthat the soldiers in the boat had made up their minds, and that he hadno doubt that the others would do so before night; although they had notdecidedly agreed upon joining them in the morning when they hadre-embarked. That they would despatch the commandant, and then proceedto Batavia, and from thence obtain a passage home to Europe.

  "Cannot you accomplish your end without murder?"

  "Yes, we could; but not our revenge. You do not know the treatmentwhich we have received from his hands; and sweet as the money will be tous, his death will be even sweeter. Besides, has he not determined tomurder us all in some way or another? It is but justice. No, no; ifthere was
no other knife ready--mine is."

  "And so are all ours!" cried the other soldiers, putting their hands totheir weapons.

  One more day's sail brought them within twenty miles of the island; forPhilip knew his landmarks well. Again they handed, and all retired torest, the commandant dreaming of wealth and revenge; while it wasarranging that the digging up of the treasure which he coveted should bethe signal for his death.

  Once more did they embark, and the commandant heeded not the dark andlowering faces with which he was surrounded. He was all gaiety andpoliteness. Swiftly did they skim over the dark-blue sea, between thebeautiful islands with which it was studded; and before the sun wasthree hours high, Philip recognised the one sought after, and pointedout to the commandant the notched cocoa-nut tree, which served as aguide to the spot where the money had been concealed. They landed onthe sandy beach, and the shovels were ordered to be brought on shore bythe impatient little officer; who little thought that every moment oftime gained was but so much _time_ lost to him, and that while he wassmiling and meditating treachery, that others could do the same.

  The party arrived under the tree--the shovels soon removed the lightsand, and in a few minutes, the treasure was exposed to view. Bag afterbag was handed up, and the loose dollars collected into heaps. Two ofthe soldiers had been sent to the vessels for sacks to put the loosedollars in, and the men had desisted from their labour; they laid asidetheir spades, looks were exchanged, and all were ready.

  The commandant turned round to call to and hasten the movements of themen who had been sent for the sacks, when three or four knivessimultaneously pierced him through the back; he fell, and wasexpostulating, when they were again buried in his bosom, and he lay acorpse. Philip and Krantz remained silent spectators--the knives weredrawn out, wiped, and replaced in their sheaths.

  "He has met his reward," said Krantz.

  "Yes," exclaimed the Portuguese soldiers--"justice, nothing butjustice."

  "Signors, you shall have your share," observed Pedro; "shall they not,my men?"

  "Yes! yes!"

  "Not one dollar, my good friends," replied Philip; "take all the money,and may you be happy; all we ask, is your assistance to proceed on ourway to where we are about to go. And now, before you divide your money,oblige me by burying the body of that unfortunate man."

  The soldiers obeyed. Resuming their shovels, they soon scooped out ashallow grave: the commandant's body was thrown in, and covered up fromsight.