CHAPTER XVIII.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 28, 21 January 1875, Page 7

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE ISSUE. When three days had passed, without a sail appearing in sight, it became apparent to all that there was a probability of their stay on the island being indefinitely prolonged, and as this was a prospect far from cheering their spirits became depressed, especially at nightfall, when, after a long day's anxious watching from the eminences near the shore, they had failed to see tbe smallest speck upon the ocean. When the sun sank in the western wave, and the brief twilight gave place to tropical darkness, they sought dejectedly the places of repose they had made for themselves under the overhanging rocks, there to nourish their desponding [ thoughts till sleep came upon them, [ bringing tantalising dreams of home I and safety, to be cruelly dispelled when the morning light brought them back to the sad reality of their lot. But with . the new day came new hope, and with alacrity the first who were astir mounted the heights which commanded a view of the sea, and eagerly cast their eyes over its sunlit surface, but only to be disappointed by the same unbroken expanse of wster. The time not spent by them in watching thus was . occupied in procuring , food — such food as the island supplied, consisting' of roots and berries, and the ' shellfish which they caught among the rocks. The quantity in which these were to be obtained enabled them to taper out their stock of biscuits — each pman receiving no more than two each j^day — a rate of consumption which \ would make the two bags last for a i month, long before* the end of which time they hoped to be rescued. Hitherto they had remained at that part of the island where they had first, landed ; but, inasmuch as it commanded a view of the sea only in one direction, it was suggested by the mate that they should be divided into four parties, each party to take up a position at such distance from the others that the different points of observation should embrace the whole sland, and thereforp,. should a ship come near in any possible direction, it would be seen and signalled to by one or the other, and so no chance of escape would be lost. This idea was carried into effect on the fifth day of their residence ..on the island, when they separated into four companies, each company receiving a fair share of the biscuits, and proceeding to the point which bad been assigned it, where its duty w»s to take up the best position it could find, keep a constant look-out, and, in the event of deserving and attracting the notice of a vessel, to lose no time in conveying the information to the parties stationed elsewhere. One of the four parties consisted of Jack, Charles, and Jeff, and the position assigned to them was on the south i side of the island, where was clustered ! a group of singularly wild and rugged rocks which intense volcanic action had \ tossed up into savage grandeur, throwI ing them into strange shapes and ; positions, and piling 1 them one above [ the other, till in some places it seemed I as if but little force would be required ! to topple over huge masses of them I Between these reared up piles were I deep clefts and dark gorges, in the f sides of which were found many rer cesses, so large that the three men I could easily take up their abode in one • of them, and be sheltered both from ; the hot sun by day and the cold air by | night. ! After a short search they found a \ recess admirably suited to their purpose. It was more than a recess' — it was a c.ivern, running nearly four yards under a huge mass of rock, with a narrow opening of four or five feet in height Before this opening was a plateau, of no great extent, with rugged rocks beneath, extending to the shore. From the elevated plateau, and even from within the cavern itself, a wide view of the sea could be obtained ; so that even from their place of shelter they could be on the watch though their proper look-out was the top of a rock farther up the cliff, from an elevation of which e magnificent stretch of ocean was discerned, shimmering in the bright rays of the sun, as far as the eye could reach, till 3ky and sea met in a faint vet noticeable line in the distant horizion. The spot was one of wild desolate sublimity. The immense masses of rock were thrown into the most fantcstic shapes, and lay in confused and even critical positions, poised one above the other at such angles that one might suppose a breath of wind would dislodge some of them, and send them down upon the plateau or hurl them to the shore beneath. Well satisfied with the dimensions and the position of their cave, the three men set themselves to make it as comfortable for their habitation as they could. They gathered armfuls of dry grass for couches, and spread these in tbe snuggest cornetv They also brought in three large square stones to serve as seats j and on a rocky shelf which ran along the back they deposited their share of the biscuits and the provisions which they were enable to colUe{, Then, having partaken of their

first meal in this rude habitation, they ascenaed to their higher point of observation, and remained there for the rest of the day. In accordance with instructions which they had received in common with the other three parties, they collected a pile of wood to burn during the night to draw the attention of any ship passing in the darkness, and when the sun set this pile was set on fire till it flamed up so as to bo distinctly seen many miles away. This done, they returned to their cave and disposed themselves for sleep. As may be supposed, Jack and Charles were not over well pleased to have Jeff as their companion. They would a thousand times rather have had another man as the third of their party; but ifc would have been the worst of policy to manifest their dislike. They were therefore compelled to disguise their feelings and treat him with such civility as their close and exclusive association demanded. Above all, it behoved them to refrain from showing by word or look that they knew of the foul deed by which the Friends had been destroyed, though it may easily be imagined that the task is not an easy one — to maintain affable companionship with one who was known to them as the very worst of characters. Their own choice, had they been free to adopt it, would have been to shun all intercourse with a fellow so abandoned, but circumstances made this impracticable, and they resolved to bear with the infliction. It never occured to them that it was by any design on the part of the captain and the mate that Jeff had been attached to their watch, but Jeff himself well knew that this had been the case, and that he had been made their companion for a dark and diabolical purpose — that purpose being iheir destruction. But Jeff, wicked and unscrupulous as he was, had not lost altogether his human nature. The crust of sin and selfishness which had hardened over him had one thin penetrable place, and Charles had unconsciously found it when he had saved his life at the risk of his own, by returning on board and rescuing him from the fate to which the mate had consigned him. This was a piece of service which had evoked a kind of bull-dog gratitude in his nature. Not only did he owe the youth his life, but he owed it in circumstances which had made it probable that the latter would lose his own in the effort to save him, and to requite such a noble deed by murdering' him and Jack was a measure of baseness and perfidy which was repugnant even to his brutified spirit. To do him no more than justice, however, perhaps he was helped to an opposite resolution by a feeling of revenge enkindled against the mate for the foul deed of which the latter had been. guilty. Forgiveness of such an act was not likely to be one of JefFs virtues ; accordingly be cherished a dogged and sullen resentment, which would be satisfied only with working injury against its objects, these objects being the mate and the captain, who had both equally meant his destruction. Such injury he had, as we know, the ample means of inflicting, and it was his secret but settled pu r pose to do it. We say his secret purpose, for he found it necessary to deceive the two conspirators by pretending to act as their tool, and to be engaged in the accomplishment of the terrible commission they had given him. Ifc was the mate's proposal that he should be the companion of Jack and Charles ; he it was also who had fixed on the spot where they were to be stationed, as being the wildest and remotest part of the island And, at the same time, he took care that himself and the captain should occupy the station next them, that they might be separated from the rest of the men, and the murder more securely done How easy a thing it would be to come behind them unawares when they stood on the brow of the cliff and push them over its verge, when they would irievi tably be dashed in pieces on the rocks below, and the story of the accidenal fall easily concocted. That was what Jeff had ostensibly engaged to do, but his real intention was very different, and he gave proof of the sincerity of the latter by his conduct on the following day. Throughout the morning they had been engaged on the duties of their watch, and seated tog-ether on the elevated point, which was their place of outlook, gazing silently on the solitary sea, when Jeff startled — nay, stunned — Jack and Charles by quietly observing, "In course, mates, you mean to peach on the captain and Mr Bannatyne when we get back to Scotland ? " They turned towards him in speechless consternation, then exchanged helpless looks with each other, and atlepgth Jack was able to stammer out— "Peach! What for?" " For scuttling the vessel," replied Jeff, with blunt .promptness. " Ob, don't pretend ignorance. I know you; know all about it. T twigged the hole in the bulkhead, and knew you had been watching us all along." j'Good God, Jeff," ejaculated Charles, " what do you mean by these strange words?" . * . " Don't be alarmed, mates ; I don't mean you no ill, but.'jusi; the opposite. Charles saved: my life, and I ain't agoing to prove a traitor to you both, let them bribe me as heavy as they like." " Bribed;" echoed "Charles. w Then the captain and the . mate sfcfcpect us oi" knowing it V '

" Well, yes they- do, and I wish I ' hadn't told them. But I didn't think they'd have propbsed anything- so bad, and it was to frighten them both that I did it, and let them see that they would not have gained any thing by sending me to the bottom with' the "Friends." Never mind, I don't mean to do the bloody work they want and expect, as you may see by my telling- yoa of it." " They have proposed to you to murder us, then," said Charles, with unnatural calmness. " Yes ; and I took in hand to do it." "0, Lor !'' gasped Jack, utterly aghast. " Hilloa, mate," cried Jeff, " don't turn so white in the frills, and look like a dying fish. I never murdered nobody in my life, and don'.i mean to begin now, least of all on either of you two. Only I thought it best to make Bannatyne and the captain believe that I'm sailing- on that tack. Fact, is mates, I mean to _be revenged on 'em both for the trick of leaving me under hatches. They used me as long as they needed my help, and then would have kicked me out of the way like a pair of worn-out boots: Curse them ! They'll find it was the worst thing ever they did when the hatch was drawn down upon me. We'll wenr and wear, us three, till we get safe off this island, and when we get to Scotland we'll bring the Jaw on 'em for casting away the ship. 1 ' " Ah, you are resolved on that,, are you ?" asked Charles, eagerly. ''That's my tact, mate?, and nothing will turn me. You can witness to the scuttling, but I can spin the whole yarn to the Judges about the cargo and every thing else." " The cargo was unshipped, was it ?" asked Jack, who now recovering from the fluster into which he had been put. "To be sure it was," answered Jeff. "The mate and me and M'Dougal's head man were working* the whole nig"ht afore we sailed to transfer it to the stores in Turner's Court. Oh, he's a precious scoundrel that M'Dougal, and so is Menzies, his partner. The Friends ain't the first ship Duncan has scuttled for them — no nor the seond nor the third neither. But they've got to the end of it now, or my name ain't Jeff Dixon." It took a good deal more frankness of expression on Jeffs part to remove their suspicions of his good faith, and con-« vince them he meant to be as friendly as he professed ; but during the days which followed he showed himself so zealous in all the duties which they shared in common that by degrees they came to believe that he intended to. be faithful and to outwit the two conspirators whose tool he had undertaken to he. Occasionally the mate crossed over from the next station for the appearent purpose of ..seeing, how it fared with them ; but, as Jeff secretly reported, really to confer with him on the prospect he had in carrying out the bloody enterprise. Jeff professed to be watching" his opportunity, but declared that as yet the chance had notarissn for the accomplishment of the deed. Meanwhile they fervently hoped that everyday would bring them deliverance — that a ship's sail would greet their own eyes, or that the signal would be made from some other station that a vessel had been described But day after day they were disappointed, till weeks passed, and the fear came that they were doomed to die in that desert place. All this time no one visited them but the mate, and each successive occasion Jeff had more and more difficulty in explaning his inability to effect the distruction of his two companions. His visitor received his excuses with dark looks and in moody silence. JHe said nothing, but Jeft thought that he read in his countenance the fact that he distrusted him. One night, as they lay all three asleep in their rocky csve, thpy were aroused by a tremendous crash and the falling of a heavy body, which shook the ground beneath them In an instant after, tha fresh air which blew into the cave was stopped,' and the place became filled with dust. They sprang simultaneously to their feet, and rushed to the entrance, but here a barrier arrested their progress. The entrance was completely blocked up by a huge rock which had fallen from above. "My God, we are entombed," groaned Charles, in accents of horror. "That toppling- rock that • I distiusted, has fallen and shut us in." " But they'll come and get it away," exclaimed Jack. "Mr Bannatyne wasn't here yesterday; he'll be sure ro. come to-morrow, and when lie finds out what has happened, he'll bring the rest of the men and release us." " Ha !" shouted Jeff, with a fierce oath. '" It is he that has "done it He has been planning' it; chat's why he kept so quiet. Oh, what" an idiot I iiave been not to suspect something." " Can tbis be possible ?" said Charles in a voice that faltered, though he strove pa speak firmly. '* Possible !" roared Jeff, " It's certain, I saw him more nor once eying the rock above, and. you know, Charley, you said yourself that it. wouldn't take much to knock it over." " True, true. One man-with a lever could displace it.'* "And Bannatyse has 1 done it," yelled Jeff, ?' Hft has suspected ; that I had slipped from his iaoocings, and tbat we three were sailing ..in. con&ort, and he has taken this plan to destroy •us alii" J • ' "Ha, ha* fia !"' shoutal^^oalro^

without, in a loud mocking- laugh of triumph. . " y.ou are right there, Jeff; quite right." And they recognised the voice as that of the mate - - ■ "I did suspect , you," he went on, <( and my 'suspicion, I find has^ been correct. -But I have trapped you all like vermin, and like vermin you shall die in } r our hole." " No, you black-hearted devil, we shan't," roared Jeff.. " The others will miss us, and search us out " "Ha, ha, ha !" rose the horrid laugh again. " Ha, ha, .ha! nud don't you think I have taken rae n ns to prevent that** I'm not a fool, Jeff, though you thought to deceive and gull me. I have given out that you have been missing for some time, and that you must have fallen into the sea; so they'll think no more abouc you. Ani listen, for this is the best of it — there's a ship in the offing, and she has answered our signals. She has lain to, and we'll all be v>n board of her by daylight — all but you three, who will starve to death in that trap you're so nicely caught in — a fit punishment for spies and traitors." A howl of rage was extracted from Jeff by this maddening information, and, like a frantic wild beast, he hurled his body against the entrance, seeking thereby to .thrust aside the piece of rock which had been so treacherously placed ' against it ; but he might- as well have tried to everturn the cliff in which the ca^e was hollowed. The mass of rock which Bannatyne had dislodged was many tons in weight, and was not to be moved by any strength which they had the means of putting forth. Jeff, therefore, only tore his hands and bruised his shoulder by , bis desperate efforts. It convinced him, however, that these were futile, and with renewed yells of rage and despair he uttered curses and imprecations, which curdled the blood of his two companions. These were answered from without by another laugh of fiendish mokery, which receded into the distance, a.nd by this they knew that the mate was leaving' the spot. At intervals the loud taunting ha ! ha ! reached their ears, each time becoming fainter, till it proceeded from the far distance, and finally ceased to be heard. Then they knew that they were left to their terrible fate, and a horror of g'reat darkness — deeper far than the gloom which surrounded them — filled their souls with bitterness and ag-ony. The full misery of their position rushed upon them — the slow lingering* torture of the death they had to endure, shut up in that rocky grave, never to behold again the light of tlio sun or have their eyes gladdened by the sight of sea or sky. Oh, it was dreadful to anticipate, and the strong manly hearts both of Jack and Charles gave way before it. Each threw himself on his couch of dry grass and groaned in very agor>y, their torture being* augmented by the thought that while they lay there helpless and hopeless their shipmates were being rescued from the island and taken away to freedom and home. At length they became exhausted through the violence of their feelings, sank into listless apathy. They did not sleep, but lay in stillness and utter abandonment for what seemed a long period, till all at once Charles roused himself and companions by a loud exclamation. A gleam of light from the direction of the entrance had caught his eve, and on creeping* towards it he found it to be a crevice nearly half .a foot in breadth, through which he obtained a glimpse of the beach below, and the blue sea, with the bluer sky above. Flis exclamation had brought the others to his side, and they began eagerly to exam in the aperture, in the hope of beihg able to enlarge it. It was formed by an angle of the rock, which bad prevented it from fal-ling-close against the sntrance, leaving a small space between the edge of each. Fortunately, at that place the entrance was silted up with earth and gravel, and they saw that if the latter could be scooped out they might bore a hole of sufficient dimensions to enable them to pass through. Oh, with what eagerness they began i this labor, one at a time, for there was not room for two to work together. Jeff had his strong- clasp knife in his pocket. and with this he dug* into the clay, scooping* it out and casting it behind him. His progress was not rapid, but was tangible. It would take hours of j hard work to effect the object; but when men are working for dear life their patience and fortitude do not soon give out. By relieving each other they continued, incessantly at their task, cheered by the hope which increased as they proceeded, that they would be able to effect their deliverance. At the end of several hours Jack who was working in his turn, gave a loud huzzah. for the mass of earth fell away before his hand, and a flood, of light burst in upon him. The way was clear and with another shout of joy he crept forth into liberty. Charles and 'Jeff quickly followed, and next moment they stood together on the plateau, in the bright sunshine,' imbibing* with great'gasps. the fresh air, which had never " seemed so sweet to them as how. "..'.:, ' ' • But only fora few moments did they remain there. / Simultaneously, and as. if acting under one impulse,, they .ran a-t their utmost speed to their place of jdok-oUt Charles wa3 "the youngest

! and. fleetest. of the three,, and he. gained the eminence while the others were yet a hundred yards from . it. But. they had their eyes eagerly bent on him, and by the sudden start he gave when h6 had gazed forth on the sea, and the despairing 1 gesture with which he tossed his arms in the air, they saw that he had made a deplorable discovery. " What' is it, Charley, what is it ?/' cried Jack, as he and Jeff bounded together to hi? aide. . Charles had no need to utter a word to tell them what it was. He had but to point with his hand towards the south-east, and there, far beyond the reach of any signals they could make, was the vessel which had carried away their comrades. Oh, the intense bitterness of that moment's realisation. They felt as if fortune, as if providence itself, had leagued with their murderers against them. Strong, brave - hearted men though they were, the blinding tears came into their eyes as they gazed into that far-off and receding sail, which was perchance the last glimpse of anything of human kind they should obtain. Dashing the tears away, they stood watching it with quivering lips till its last gleam faded from view, then, when it could be seen no more, they gave vent, to. an exceeding loud and bitter cry, and wrung their hands in the extremity of anguish. As for Jeff he in his madness cursed and blasphemed, and charged heaven with injustice siud malignant wrong. Jack and Charles, though nearly overwhelmed by despair, shuddered and recoiled from his impious words, yet thoir faith too began to fail, and they could not resist the thought *.hat God had forsaken them, and taken the side of the evildoers. But how speedily and emphatically was their unbelief to be reproved, for in less than half an liour a wild shout of joy burst from Jack's lips. "A. sail, a sail!" he exclaimed, pointing in a direction different from that in which they had been gazing. Jetf, who had thrown himself sullenly on the ground, sprang up at the words, and turned his bloodshot eyes to the point which Jack indicated. " It's a lie f " he fiercely yelled. •* There is no sail." " Don't you see it, Charley T' Charles looked long and wistfully, but he also failed to catch sight of any object, and turning to Jack he sadly shook his head. " Alas !" h? murmured, u I fear you are mistaken " " No. I ain't," was the quiet but confident rejoinder. " Wait a bit and you'll both see it:" In breathless suspense, and with eyes strained to the utmost,, they gassed at the far faint: line of the horizon, with the yearning hope that Jack might be right and his statement true. " Look in the nor'-east quarter, two points to the east." Hardly \fas the direction given, when Jeff's trained eye fell upon the spec which Jack's sharper vision had detected. j " Damn my eyes if you ain't rio-ht," he shouted. <l Can you make out her course ?" Jack kept steadily gazing for fully a minute ere he answered this all-impor-tant question. Then, clasping his hands and raising his eyes with a look j of unspeakable thankfulness, he mur- | mured — "Thank God, she's standing toward , us. Quick, mates, quick, and let us kindle a fire for a signal." Jeff darted away like a shot, and was soon tearing up the dry brushwood, -for all depended on drawing the attention of those on board the passing vessel. Soon they .had collected .a pile of branches, and laying* it on the ashes of their former fires, it was ignited, and a column of dense smoke. rose straight into the air. As fast as the flames consumed the brushwood fresh armfuls were brought, and the intense activity they had to display in doing so served to render less unbearable the interval which elapsed ere they could be assured that their signal was noticed. Now hope, now fear predominated in their bosoms ; but at last, oh, joy ! a gun was fired from the vessel's bow, and it could now be seen that she was standing direct for the island. "We are saved — we are saved !" they cried in a tumult of joy and ecstacy, and embraced each other in the fulness of their transport. Why prolong the exciting description. Before sundown they were on board the ark of their, deliverance, which proved to be the Flamingo, from Jamaica to Greenock, laden with West Indian produce. And thus to their unspeakable joy they found~ themselves saved from destruction, and homeward-bound. (To be continued )