Kitabı oku: «The Second String», sayfa 6

CHAPTER ELEVENTH
TURNING TURTLE AND AFTER

They had barely time to scramble into the boats and pull out into the bay before the savages dashed down to the edge of the beach waving their spears frantically. Some, more venturesome than others, plunged into the water and swam swiftly after the boats. There must have been at least a hundred, and a fierce looking lot they were. The men pulled hard and the boats were soon out of range of the spears, but it was a narrow escape.

"Let them have a dose of shot," said Moss.

Phil Danks levelled his gun at one of the swimmers and was about to fire, when Jack said, "Don't hit him, aim over his head, the noise will frighten them and it is time enough to kill when we are in danger."

"As you like," replied Phil, laughing, "but an odd nigger or two makes but little difference, and it would teach them not to interfere with white men in future."

He fired the gun, and the sound had a marvellous effect upon the blacks. Some of them dropped down on their knees on the beach, others turned and fled into the bush; as for the swimmer Phil had intended hitting, he dived and did not come up until he reached shallow water, when he scrambled out and ran after the others.

"It's strange they have never heard a gun fire before, this harbour is evidently unknown; we have discovered something during our trip, at any rate; I think we'll call it Redland Bay," said Phil.

Jack laughed, he thought it would be something to boast of on his return to England if a newly discovered harbour was named after him.

The blacks were evidently thoroughly frightened for they saw no more of them.

"It seems curious, they have no boats," said Hake Moss, "they can never have been out to sea. I expect always go round the place on land."

"They have canoes hidden somewhere, depend upon it," replied Phil. "There's plenty of fish here and they are generally clever fishermen."

The boats reached the farther side of the bay, and they spent a lively hour or two turning turtle. The huge ungainly creatures seemed to be too lazy to move, and their weight was enormous. Phil Danks said it was quite unusual to see them on the beach in the day time as they generally crawled out of the water at night. It was evidently a favourite breeding place, for the females were there in abundance, and thousands of eggs were to be found.

"The male turtle has more sense," said Phil, "I have never seen one out of the water."

To Jack Redland and his friend, the turning of turtle was a novel experience. Some of them were so heavy that it took their united efforts to throw them on their backs, and once in that position they were helpless. The silvery sand was soon covered with turned turtle, about fifty of them being at the mercy of their captors.

"What are we to do with the beggars?" asked Jack. "We cannot take the lot on board, it would swamp the boats."

"We will take as many as we require, and turn the remainder over again, if they are left on their backs, they will never get on their feet again, and will rot in the sun. Hundreds of them are destroyed in this way by natives and divers who seem to do it out of pure devilment."

"What a shame," said Harry Marton. "I say, Jack, some of our city aldermen would smack their lips over this sight."

"Yes, turtle is cheap enough here, whatever it may be in London," he replied laughing.

"See this fellow," said Danks, kicking one with his boot. "It's what they call a hawk bill, they are not fit to eat, but tortoise-shell is obtained from them and that makes them valuable. The others are green turtle. They are all right."

"How much do you think this one weighs?" asked Jack, pointing to a larger one than most of the others.

"It will not be far off three hundred pounds weight," answered Phil.

Jack gasped in astonishment, he had no idea they were so heavy.

"The bulk of them average at least a couple of hundred pounds I should say," remarked Hake Moss.

It was no easy matter to get them into the boats, but they succeeded after some difficulty, and the dinghies were almost level with the water.

"We had better put all the turtle in one dinghy and tow her back," said Jack.

"A good idea, we will," replied Phil, and they set to work again until the boat was filled, they then turned the other turtles over, and were about to row back to the schooners, when a screeching attracted their attention and they saw large flocks of birds hovering about the tops of the rocks.

"Melton birds and gulls," said Phil, "we may as well have some fresh eggs now we are about it; I reckon there'll be enough to satisfy a whole fleet over there," and he pointed to a long stretch of sand in which hundreds of them were settling.

It was a curious sight to see these thousands of birds on the sands, and they did not appear to be at all frightened of the visitors to their haunt. They got out of the dinghies again and walked towards them. On their approach a few of the birds rose and whirled around, uttering hoarse cries. But the greater number remained still on their nests, or walked slowly about amongst the stones.

Jack was amused at them, and as he walked, he had frequently to push them out of the way with his foot.

There were thousands of eggs, and they filled two large sacks with them, choosing those which were apparently freshly laid. It was not difficult to tell them as they were perfectly clean, and had a peculiar sticky feel, quite unlike the eggs that had been sat upon.

"Are the birds fit to eat?" asked Jack.

"Melton birds are not bad, the others are no good, a man must be fairly on the verge of starvation to tackle them," replied Moss.

"There does not appear to be much fear of starving here," laughed Jack.

"Perhaps not, but the diet would soon become monotonous," replied Harry.

It was time to return to the schooners, as they had been absent all day, and it was not advisable to leave them for a longtime. It was tedious work running out of the bay, and rather dangerous, as the tide was much lower and here and there sharp pieces of coral stood out of the water. Had one of the boats struck on such a projection it would have speedily ripped open the bottom, or the side.

Phil Danks, however, was a careful steerer and navigated them into the open sea, the dinghy in tow having one or two narrow escapes.

When the blacks saw the boat load of turtle, they gave vent to their joy and danced about the deck.

"You'll see how they gorge themselves to-night," said Phil, "it is enough to make a man cry off turtle for ever to watch them."

"Then I propose we leave them to it," said Jack. "I do not want to spoil my appetite."

The cargo was hauled on board, and the schooners were soon under weigh, Harry Marton remaining on the "Heron" for the night.

There was very little breeze, and the movement was scarcely perceptible. It was a glorious night, the sun shining on the water and illuminating the coast line. The air was pure and cool, and as Jack Redland sat alone at the stern of the schooner, his thoughts commenced to wander to a far different scene thousands of miles away.

He wondered what Sir Lester and Winifred were doing, and what she would have thought of such an experience as he had just gone through. What a contrast it all was to the beautiful Sussex landscape over which he had so often looked from The Downs. Here he was on a pearling schooner, nearing the northernmost point of Australia, and yet his mind was very far away, and his memory lingered over the sights and sounds of Brighton, and the hum of the racecourse. Certainly he was dozing, yet he was half awake; he knew he was smoking, and that the wreaths from his pipe were curling away in the wake of the schooner, and yet he fancied he scented the smell of new mown hay, and in a dim sort of light saw banks covered with primroses and hedgerows budding green, the trees opening out their leaves, the birds nesting, others teaching their young to fly. It mattered not that primroses and new mown hay did not harmonise, it was what he felt and saw, jumbled together in a delightful tangle from which he made no effort to extricate himself.

Now he was on Lewes racecourse and felt the wind whistle past his face, and buzz in his ears, as he made a desperate effort to land Topsy Turvy first past the post. He heard the shouts of the crowd, the roar of the excited backers, and then the next moment he knew he had won, and Sir Lester was congratulating him, and better than all, Winifred was there, all smiles. He heard Job Seagrave's sonorous voice, and smiled in his half awake land of dreams.

He was sitting down on a primrose bank and a gypsy stood looking at him. He held out his hand and she read his fate, he was to claim his own at last. He saw a fair young girl with arms outstretched pleading for him to stay and not venture forth upon his mad quest. He felt her warm form as he pressed her to him, snatched a kiss, and hurried away.

His pipe dropped, and the noise startled him from his reverie. He sat up and looked around wonderingly, hardly realising his whereabouts. A moment ago he was in Sussex, now he was in reality coasting in North-West Australia, and the little schooner was making good headway.

It had been a pleasant enchantment while it lasted; we should be very lonely, very dissatisfied with the ordinary duties of life if we had no dreams.

He looked round and smiled as he saw Harry Marton and Phil Danks fast asleep in their comfortable chairs. Let them sleep on, he was contented with his little romance, he would go through it all over again now he was wide awake.

What if this pearling venture turned out a failure? It was merely a start, the first step on the voyage to wealth and Winifred. If it was not a success he would lose nothing, except time, and that was precious; he could not ask her to wait too long, he had not asked her at all, at least not in words. He must hustle, as an American friend told him, if he meant to get ahead of his fellow men. He smiled as he thought it would be a difficult job to make Phil Danks hustle, the skipper of the "Heron" was a man who made time his slave, not his master, and he looked contented on it.

Pearls; he would at any rate secure some for Winifred even if he had none for himself. He remembered she was fond of pearls, and had a very old chain of them left her by her grandmother. If he had his will the depths of the sea should give up pearls of great price for her gratification, and he would send her them as a token he had not forgotten her. That was a good idea, the first fine pearls he had as his share of the venture should be sent direct to her. Would it look like bribery, a gift to induce her to wait for him, and not regard offers from others with favour? He thought not, she would understand her old playmate wished to prove he was loyal, and would be glad he remembered she loved pearls.

But the pearls were as yet at the bottom of the sea, and he was on the schooner, and they were dawdling along at a very slow pace, quite in keeping with their aldermanic repast on Redland Bay turtle. If he did nothing else the name of that bay would abide for ever as a memory of his trip to the land of chances and dashed hopes.

There was the Great Tom mine, he wondered how that had turned out. Sir Lester's five hundred was sunk in it, he hoped it would bring him luck. Supposing the shares went up to two pounds, that would be a thousand, and he had heard that a great financier once said any man ought to be able to make a fortune with a capital of a thousand pounds. Then he suddenly recollected that same financier, who had made millions, came to a terrible end, the only way out of his trouble being death by his own hand. It was not an alluring prospect after all, this amassing of wealth, there must be something a good deal better in the world. He concluded a modest income with an abundance of domestic happiness would be more to his taste.

The Great Tom mine share might go up to three pounds, even four or five.

He commenced to reckon up what he would do with his money when he had sold out for five times the amount he had invested. He'd ask Barry Tuxford's advice, it was he who made the money for him, and it was only natural he should give him a wrinkle what to do with it. Then he remembered he and Harry Marton were to go halves; it was his own suggestion and he would stick to it, but if he made a fortune and Harry failed it would be rather rough on the lucky one. He laughed to himself as he pictured Harry Marton's dismay when he handed him over half his wealth, which he did not yet possess. Harry would refuse to take it, and there must be a compromise, but he was determined if he was successful his friend should also be a gainer.

The "Heron" sailed on in sight of the "Wild Cat," and Jack Redland, young and active, was full of hope and eager anticipation. The search for fortune is more enchanting, more enthralling, than the actual realisation, which, however successful it may prove is always insufficient to stave off the craving for more.

CHAPTER TWELFTH
JACOB'S YARN

"I shall be glad when we have done messing about here and set to work. We look like making a long trip; at this rate, we shall not be back at Fremantle under a twelve month," grumbled Phil.

"I'm tired of doing nothing," replied Jack, "and this is a slow way of making a fortune. We ought to be somewhere near the place by now."

"We may have slipped past it," replied Phil.

"And have to return," said Jack in dismay. "That will be shocking bad luck."

Another three days passed, and they seemed as far off their journey's end as ever, until next morning one of the men shouted out that there was a signal on a promontory jutting out into the sea.

They rushed to the fore part of the schooner, and looked eagerly at the spot. The man was right; there was a long pole with something waving at the top, evidently a signal to passing vessels.

"It may be a very old one," said Phil.

"Perhaps it is Jacob Rank's signal," replied Jack.

"Let us hope so; anyway, we will make for it. I wonder if they have seen it on board the 'Wild Cat?'"

The other schooner was some distance behind, and as Jack looked through his glasses he saw no sign of excitement on board.

"I do not think they have," he said, "but in any case they will follow in our track."

The "Heron" headed for the rock on which the signal was fixed, and as they drew near it they saw it was a projection of one side of the heads of a bay.

Their spirits rose, and Phil said —

"It's Jacob's Bay, I'll wager. It answers the description exactly. Look there; the rock jutting out bare and jagged, the other side of the channel wooded and sloping gradually down. The entrance narrow, the scene from the ocean exactly as he described it. Here we are at last, boys. Give a rousing cheer; let off a few guns, and if Rank is alive that will bring him out of his shell."

They cheered lustily, and Jack discharged the gun several times.

Harry Marton on the "Wild Cat" asked Moss the meaning of the commotion, and he replied "They must have found the place at last, and glad I am of it. We have had a long journey for nothing so far."

The "Heron" sailed steadily towards the entrance and as she passed the promontory they saw the flag at the top of the staff was made of an old shirt, or some such garment.

"It cannot have been there very long," said Phil, eyeing it through the glasses. "It has only recently been put up, so the probabilities are the man is alive."

The bay they entered was much larger than the former one, almost the size of Shark's Bay, and Phil expressed the opinion that it was a good place for pearl fishing.

Rounding the corner they saw a man who was on the look out, and he waved his arms furiously and danced about in great glee.

The schooner steered closer to the shore, and at last there came a loud shout from the solitary human being.

"By all that's wonderful, it's Jacob Rank," said Phil, and he waved back to him. "Let go the anchor, we'll row ashore," he said, excitedly.

A dinghy was soon in the water, and they scrambled in. In a very short time they were on the sand, and Phil was wringing Jacob's hand until there seemed to be a good chance of their arms coming off.

The excitement was too much for Rank, who sat down on the beach and almost wept for joy. When he became calmer he said —

"What in heaven's name brought you here, Phil?"

"The 'Heron,' and we were sent by Barry Tuxford. We have another schooner, the 'Wild Cat,' see, she is just entering the heads."

"And who is this young man?"

"Mr. Redland. He is in the venture with Harry Marton, who is on that schooner, and we are all in it with Barry."

"Then he did not believe I was dead?"

"No. The beggars said you were drowned, when they reached Fremantle, and that there was no pearl shell to be found, but Barry didn't cotton to that yarn, so he organised another expedition to find you and your boy, and here we are."

"And a precious long while you have been, it seems years since those scoundrels put me ashore here, but I'll get even with them one of these days."

The "Wild Cat" cast anchor close to the "Heron," and Harry and Hake Moss came ashore and heartily greeted Rank.

"I'll tell you what it is, before we get on to business, or anything else, I should like to go on board and have a decent meal. I have not starved here, but living on turtle, birds, and eggs, is a bit too much for me. I'd give anything for a decent bit of bread and something to wash it down," said Rank.

"Of course," quickly replied Jack. "Here we are standing talking and never thinking about you. Come along, we will row back at once."

Jacob eagerly got into the boat, and when he put his foot on board the "Heron" he gave a sigh of relief.

"To a man who has been stranded for weeks you have no idea how it feels to find yourself on a decent craft again. I have no ambition to be a second Crusoe."

Jacob enjoyed himself thoroughly, and they gave him of the best their stores could provide.

In the evening they were all anxious to hear how he came to be left in the bay, and what prospect there was of finding shells.

They sat round Jacob, who was nothing loath to satisfy their curiosity.

"It's a long story, but I'll cut it as short as possible," he said. "To begin at the beginning, when Barry Tuxford fitted me out for this job I rather fancy he had doubts as to whether I was 'kidding' him."

"You are mistaken," said Jack. "I can assure you he had, and still has, every confidence in you. I will tell you later on what he instructed us to do if we found you alive."

"I am glad to hear it," said Jacob. "It was a risky job for him to tackle, but he has plenty of pluck, and I told him the truth when I said I knew of a bay for pearl fishing that was equal to Shark's Bay in its best days. Of course he had only my bare word for it, but he's not like other men, and he generally reckons things up pretty correct.

"I got together what I thought was a decent crew, but a bigger set of scoundrels never set foot in a schooner. They were loafers, every man jack of them, and had come out with the intention of having a pleasure trip. When we reached here I saw there was trouble brewing, but I didn't think they would go as far as to leave me in the lurch. I could do nothing against the lot of them, and they put me ashore and left me to my fate, curse them. They said if the bay was full of pearl shell I might have the lot, it would be a fine fortune for me. The divers would have stuck to me, but they frightened the poor devils into submission, and the Lord knows what they did with them, put them ashore somewhere, I expect.

"I was mad with rage when I saw the schooner sail away, but I made up my mind to live through it if possible. I had an idea Barry Tuxford would not let the matter rest. If the schooner did not return he would send out to search for her, if she returned without me, and the crew concocted some cock and bull story, I doubted if he would believe them. It seems I was correct.

"For the first week or two I felt desperate. The loneliness oppressed me, I thought I should go mad. I walked for miles, shouting at the top my voice until I was exhausted. I meant making someone hear, even if it turned out to be savages. I believe in those days I would willingly have walked into the midst of a cannibal camp and taken my chance. Not a soul did I see, black or white, nor have I seen anyone until you came here."

"We saw the signal," said Phil. "I wonder no passing schooner observed it before."

"There are very few boats come in close enough for that," said Jacob. "This is a lonely, almost unknown part of the coast, and it is dangerous in rough weather. That signal pole was blown down a dozen times, I think, and I only fixed it up again a couple of days ago. It is lucky for me you saw it, lucky for all of you, too, as I will tell you.

"I found out this place once when I had been cruising around King's Sound, Roebuck Bay, and such like places. We happened on it quite accidentally. I was keeping a sharp look out and noticed the promontory at the far side of the channel. I had never sailed so near the coast before in these parts, and it struck me there might be a large bay beyond. The crew thought I had taken leave of my senses when I steered for the rock, but they had faith in me and had sailed with me several times. They were surprised to find such a bay as this, but they little knew my object in entering it. In the old days, at Cossack, I had heard an old pearler speak of a wonderful bay where there was heaps of shell that had never been touched. He described the place to me and I asked him why he had not tried it himself. He said he was too old, that he had sufficient to live on, and did not mean to worry about anything. He told me if ever I was near the northern part of Australia to try and find it, and gave me to understand it was north-west of Western Australia. When I saw the big rock at the entrance to the bay I recollected what he had said.

"I am an expert diver myself and have remained down below almost as long as the best of the Malays. At night I cautiously went down in the bay and felt about. There were hundreds of shells, big and little, and I felt certain I had struck a fortune if properly handled. I had to be very careful, as I did not wish the crew to know what I was after. I gave them a rest, and they all went ashore to have some sport, and find turtle. When I was alone, I lost no time in going down again, and groped about the bottom until I found some shells. With these I came up to the surface, almost exhausted, but I managed to get on board. I got a large butcher's knife and opened the first shell, and eagerly examined it for pearls. There was nothing in, but the pearl shell was excellent. In the next I had better luck, for I found two good sized pearls of rich colour, they were loose in the shell, and rolled out when I opened it, which does not often happen.

"I waited until I recovered my strength, and went down again. I brought up two more, in one of them was a big blister, and in it I found a pearl I afterwards sold in Fremantle for over fifty pounds. I knew I had struck it rich, and that if I had the capital there was a heap of money to be made. Since I have been stranded here I have tried various parts of the bay, and I give it you, as my candid opinion, that there is no pearl fishery on the coast to be compared to it. The whole bay is, I think, covered with shells, and I have very little doubt many pearls of great value will be found there. I know where the best spots are, for I have been swimming about and diving all over the place. I can assure you, Barry Tuxford and all of you will be well satisfied with the result."

Jack Redland's heart beat high with hope as he listened to Jacob Rank's story, and even Phil Danks and Hake Moss, who were accustomed to hearing far fetched yarns, knew that Jacob did not speak without the book, or talk at random.

Jack was the first to speak, and thanked Jacob for his interesting story. He then told him that Barry Tuxford had empowered them to give him his fair share in whatever they might find, and that he was to tell him he need have no fear on that head.

"You must work in with us," said Jack, "and I am perfectly certain you will be satisfied."

"Barry Tuxford's word is always reliable," said Jacob. "He has faith in me, and I have faith in him. How many divers have you?"

"Twenty," replied Jack.

"We ought to have more. The best plan will be, however, to do the best we can with them, and not send one of the schooners to look for more. If we do that we shall lose time, and sufficient has been wasted already."

"I quite agree with you," said Jack, "we must get to work at once."

"Where do you hail from?" asked Jacob.

"England, have you been there?"

"No, but my father was a fisherman at Brighton, before he came out to Western Australia, many years ago."

"Brighton!" exclaimed Jack. "That is strange. I was living at Brighton when I made up my mind to try my fortunes out here. I know Sussex well, and my best friends live in that county."

"It's marvellous," said Jacob. "Here we are in an unknown spot on the coast of Australia, and we both hail from the same place. Give me your hand, sir, we'll shake on it, and on the success of this trip."

"With all my heart," said Jack, and amidst general hilarity they clasped hands.