CHANGE OF MASTERS
The next day we continued our explorations by land, and so for a weekafter that. I thought it best not to relinquish all authority, so Iorganised regular expeditions, and ordered their direction. The mendid not object. It was all good enough fun to them.
The net results were that we found a nesting place of sea birds--toolate in the season for eggs; a hot spring near enough camp to beuseful; and that was about all. The sheep were the only animals onthe island, although there were several sorts of birds. In general,the country was as I have described it--either volcanic or overlaidwith fertile earth. In any case it was ca駉n and hill. We soon grewtired of climbing and turned our attention to the sea.
With the surf boat we skirted the coast. It was impregnable exceptin three places: our own beach, that near the seal rookery, and onthe south side of the island. We landed at each one of these places.But returning close to the coast we happened upon a cave mouth moreor less guarded by an outlying rock.
The day was calm, so we ventured in. At first I thought it merely agorge in the rock, but even while peering for the end wall we slippedunder the archway and found ourselves in a vast room.
Our eyes were dazzled so we could make out little at first. Butthrough the still, clear water the light filtered freely from below,showing the bottom as through a sea glass. We saw the fish near theentrance, and coral and sea growths of marvellous vividness. Theywaved slowly as in a draught of air. The medium in which they floatedwas absolutely invisible, for, of course, there were no reflectionsfrom its surface. We seemed to be suspended in mid-air, and only whenthe dipping oars made rings could we realise that anything sustainedus.
Suddenly the place let loose in pandemonium. The most fiendish cries,groans, shrieks, broke out, confusing themselves so thoroughly withtheir own echoes that the volume of sound was continuous. Heavysplashes shook the water. The boat rocked. The invisible surface wasbroken into facets.
We shrank, terrified. From all about us glowed hundreds of eyes likecoals of fire--on a level with us, above us, almost over our heads.Two by two the coals were extinguished.
Below us the bottom was clouded with black figures, darting rapidlylike a school of minnows beneath a boat. They darkened the coral andthe sands and the glistening sea growths just as a cloud temporarilydarkens the landscape--only the occultations and brighteningssucceeded each other much more swiftly.
We stared stupefied, our thinking power blurred by the incessent whirlof motion and noise.
Suddenly Thrackles laughed aloud.
"Seals!" he shouted through his trumpeted hands.
Our eyes were expanding to the twilight. We could make out the archof the room, its shelves, and hollows, and niches. Lying on them wecould discern the seals, hundreds and hundreds of them, all staringat us, all barking and bellowing. As we approached, they scrambledfrom their elevations, and, diving to the bottom, scurried to the entranceof the cave.
We lay on our oars for ten minutes. Then silence fell. There persisteda tiny drip, drip, drip from some point in the darkness. Itmerely accentuated the hush. Suddenly from far in the interior of thehill there came a long, hollow boo-o-o-m! It reverberated,roaring. The surge that had lifted our boat some minutes before thusreached its journey's end.
The chamber was very lofty. As we rowed cautiously in, it lost nothingof its height, but something in width. It was marvellously coloured,like all the volcanic rocks of this island. In addition some chemicaldrip had thrown across its vividness long gauzy streamers of white.We rowed in as far as the faintest daylight lasted us. The occasionalreverberating boom of the surges seemed as distant as ever.
This was beyond the seal rookery on the beach. Below it we enteredan open cleft of some size to another squarer cave. It was now hightide; the water extended a scant ten fathoms to end on an interiorshale beach. The cave was a perfectly straight passage following theline of the cleft. How far in it reached we could not determine, forit, too, was full of seals, and after we had driven them back a hundredfeet or so their fiery eyes scared us out. We did not care to put themat bay. The next day I rowed out to the Laughing Lass and gota rifle. I found the captain asleep in his bunk, and did not disturbhim. Perdosa and I, with infinite pains, tracked and stalked thesheep, of which I killed one. We found the mutton excellent. Thehunting was difficult, and the quarry, as time went on, more and moresuspicious, but henceforward we did not lack for fresh meat.Furthermore we soon discovered that fine trolling was to be hadoutside the reef. We rigged a sail for the extra dory, and spent muchof our time at the sport. I do not know the names of the fish. Theywere very gamy indeed, and ran from five to an indeterminate numberof pounds in weight. Above fifty pounds our light tackle parted, sowe had no means of knowing how large they may have been.
Thus we spent very pleasantly the greater part of two weeks. At theend of that time I made up my mind that it would be just as well toget back to business. Accordingly I called Perdosa and directed himto sort and clear of rust the salvaged chain cable. He refused flatly.I took a step toward him. He drew his knife and backed away.
"Perdosa," said I firmly, "put up that knife."
"No," said he.
I pulled the saw-barrelled Colt's 45 and raised it slowly to a levelwith his breast.
"Perdosa," I repeated, "drop that knife."
The crisis had come, but my resolution was fully prepared for it. Ishould not have cared greatly if I had had to shoot the man--as Icertainly should have done had he disobeyed. There would then havebeen one less to deal with in the final accounting, which strangelyenough I now for a moment never doubted would come. I had not beforeaimed at a man's life, so you can see to what tensity the bafflingmystery had strung me.
Perdosa hesitated a fraction of an instant. I really think he mighthave chanced it, but Handy Solomon, who had been watching me closely,growled at him.
"Drop it, you fool!" he said.
Perdosa let fall the knife.
"Now, get at that cable," I commanded, still at white heat. I stoodover him until he was well at work, then turned back to set tasks forthe other men. Handy Solomon met me halfway.
"Begging your pardon, Mr. Eagen," said he, "I want a word with you."
"I have nothing to say to you," I snapped, still excited.
"It ain't reasonable not to hear a man's say," he advised in his mostconciliatory manner, "I'm talking for all of us."
He paused a moment, took my silence for consent, and went ahead.
"Begging your pardon, Mr. Eagen," said he, "we ain't going to do anymore useless work. There ain't no laziness about us, but we ain'tgoing to be busy at nothing. All the camp work and the haulin' andcuttin' and cleanin' and the rest of it, we'll do gladly. But we ain'tgoin' to pound any more cable, and you can kiss the Book on that."
"You mean to mutiny?" I asked.
He made a deprecatory gesture.
"Put us aboard ship, sir, and let us hear the Old Man give his orders,and you'll find no mutiny in us. But here ashore it's different. Didthe Old Man give orders to pound the cable?"
"I represent the captain," I stammered.
He caught the evasion. "I thought so. Well, if you got any kick onus, please, sir, go get the Old Man. If he says to our face, poundcable, why pound cable it is. Ain't that right, boys?"
They murmured something. Perdosa deliberately dropped his hammer andjoined the group. My hand strayed again toward the sawed-off Colt's45.
"I wouldn't do that," said Handy Solomon, almost kindly. "You couldn'tkill us all. And w'at good would it do? I asks you that. I can cutdown a chicken with my knife at twenty feet. You must surely see, sir,that I could have killed you too easy while you were covering Panchothere. This ain't got to be a war, Mr. Eagen, just because we don'twant to work without any sense to it."
There was more of the same sort. I had plenty of time to see mydilemma. Either I would have to abandon my attempt to keep the menbusy, or I would have to invoke the authority of Captain Selover. Todo the latter would be to destroy it. The master had become a stuffedfigure, a bogie with which to frighten, an empty bladder that a prickwould collapse. With what grace I could muster, I had to give in.
"You'll have to have it your own way, I suppose," I snapped.
Thrackles grinned, and Pulz started to say something, but HandySolomon, with a peremptory gesture, and a black scowl, stopped himshort.
"Now that's what I calls right proper and handsome!" he criedadmiringly. "We reely had no right to expect that, boys, as seamen,from our first officer! You can kiss the Book on it, that very fewcrews have such kind masters. Mr. Eagen has the right, and we signedto it all straight, to work us as he pleases; and w'at does he do?Why, he up and gives us a week shore leave, and then he gives us lightwatches, and all the time our pay goes on just the same. Now that'sw'at I calls right proper and handsome conduct, or the devil's apreacher, and I ventures with all respect to propose three cheers forMr. Eagen."
They gave them, grinning broadly. The villain stood looking at me,a sardonic gleam in the back of his eye. Then he gave a little hitchto his red head covering, and sauntered away humming between his teeth.I stood watching him, choked with rage and indecision. The hummingbroke into words.
"'Oh, quarter, oh, quarter!' the jolly pirates cried. Blow high, blow low! What care we? But the quarter that we gave them was to sink them in the sea, Down on the coast of the high Barbare-e-e."
"Here, you swab," he cried to Thrackles, "and you, Pancho! get somewood, lively! And Pulz, bring us a pail of water. Doctor, let's haveduff to celebrate on."
The men fell to work with alacrity.