"I"ll attend to this end of it," he said. "Peggy, you had better go in to your father. I"ll be in there in a minute. He"s a pretty sick man,"
he added.
His snarl had changed to a smile, and he seemed to have swiftly controlled himself. The girl looked at both of them and slowly went into the captain"s room. Carlsen wheeled on Rainey, his face once more a mask of hate.
"I"ll put you where you belong, you d.a.m.ned interloper," he said. "What in h.e.l.l do you mean by asking her that question?"
"That is my business."
"I"ll make it mine. And I"ll settle yours very shortly, once and for all. I suppose you"re soft on the girl yourself," he sneered. "Think yourself a hero! Do you think she"d look at you, a beggarly news-monger?
Why, she--"
"You can leave her out of it," said Rainey, quietly. "As for you, I think you"re a dirty blackguard."
Carlsen"s hand shot back to his hip pocket as Rainey"s fist flashed through the opening and caught him high on the jaw, sending him staggering back, crashing against the part.i.tion and down into the cushioned seat that ran around the place.
But his gun was out. As he raised it Rainey grappled with him. Carlsen pulled trigger, and the bullet smashed through the skylight above them, while Rainey forced up his arm, twisting it fiercely with both hands until the gun fell on the seat.
Simultaneously the girl and Lund appeared.
"Gun-play?" rumbled the giant. "That"ll be you, Carlsen! You"re too fond of shooting off that gat of yores."
Rainey had stepped back at the girl"s exclamation. Carlsen recovered his gun and put it away, while Peggy Simms advanced with blazing eyes.
"You coward!" she said. "If I had thought--oh!"
She made a gesture of utter loathing, at which Carlsen sneered.
"I"ll show you whether I"m a coward or not, my lady," he said, "before I get through with all of you. And I"ll tell you one thing: The captain"s life is in my hands. And he and I are the only navigators aboard this vessel, except a fool of a blind man," he added, as he strode to the door of Simms" cabin, turned to look at them, laughed deliberately in their faces, and shut the door on them.
CHAPTER VII
RAINEY MAKES DECISION
"Well?" asked Lund, "what are you goin" to do about it, Rainey? Stick with me, or line up with the rest of "em, work yore pa.s.sage, an" thank "em for nothing when they divvy the stuff an" leave you out? You"ve got to decide one way or the other d.a.m.n" quick, for the show-down"s on the program for ter-morrer."
"You haven"t said outright what you are going to do yourself," replied Rainey. "As for me, I seem to be between the devil and the deep sea.
Carlsen has got some plan to outwit the men. It"s inconceivable that he"ll be willing to give them equal shares. And he has no use for me."
"You ought to have grabbed that gun of his before he did," said Lund.
"He"ll put you out of the way if he can, but, now his temper"s b"iled over a bit, he"ll not shoot you. Not afore the gold"s in the hold. One thing, he knows the hunters wouldn"t stand for it. They"ve got dust in their eyes right now--gold-dust, chucked there by Carlsen, but if he"d butchered you he"d likely lose his grip on "em. I think he would. I don"t believe yo"re in enny danger, Rainey, if you want to buckle in an"
line up with the crowd.
"As for me," he went on, his voice deepening, "I"m goin" to tell "em to go plumb to h.e.l.l. I"ll tell Carlsen a few things first. Equal shares! A fine bunch of socialists they are! Settin" aside that Carlsen"s bullin"
"em, as you say. Equal? They ain"t my equal, none of "em, man to man.
All men are born free an" equal, says the Const.i.tution an" by-laws of this country of ours. Granted. But they don"t stay that way long.
They"re all lined up to toe the mark on the start, but watch "em straggle afore they"ve run a tenth of the distance.
"I found this gold, an" they didn"t. I don"t have to divvy with "em, an" I won"t. A lot of I. W. W."s, that"s what they are, an" I"ll tell "em so. More"n that, if enny of "em thinks he"s my equal all he"s got to do is say so, an" I"ll give him a chance to prove it. Feel those arms, matey, size me up. Man to man, I c"ud break enny of "em in half. Put me in a room with enny three of "em, an" the door locked, an" one "ud come out. That "ud be me."
This was not bragging, not bl.u.s.tering, but calm a.s.surance, and Rainey felt that Lund merely stated what he believed to be facts. And Rainey believed they were facts. There was a confident strength of spirit aside from his physical condition that emanated from Lund as steam comes from a kettle. It was the sort of strength that lies in a steady gale, a wind that one can lean against, an elastic power with big reserves of force.
But the conditions were all against Lund, though he proceeded to put them aside.
"Man to man," he repeated, "I c"ud beat "em into Hamburg steak. An" I"ve got brains enough to fool Carlsen. I"ve outguessed him so far."
"He"s got the gun," warned Rainey.
"Never mind his gun. I ain"t afraid of his gun." He nodded with such supreme confidence that Rainey felt himself suddenly relegating the doctor"s possession of the gun to the background. "If his gun"s the only thing trubblin" you, forget it. You an" me got to know where we stand.
It"s up to you. I won"t blame you for shiftin" over. An" I can git along without you, if need be. But we"ve got along together fine; I"ve took a notion to you. I"d like to see you get a whack of that gold, an" all the devils in h.e.l.l an" out of it ain"t goin" to stop me from gittin" it!"
He talked in a low voice, but it rumbled like the distant roar of a bull. Rainey looked at the indomitable jaw that the beard could not hide, at the great barrel of his chest, the boughlike arms, the swelling thighs and calves, and responded to the suggestion that Lund could rise in Berserker rage and sweep aside all opposition.
It was absurd, of course; his next thought adjusted the balance that had been weighed down by the compelling quality of the man"s vigor but, for the moment, remembering his earlier simile, Lund appeared a blind Samson who, by some miracle, could at the last moment destroy his enemies by pulling down their house--or their ship--about them.
"Carlsen says that the skipper"s life is in his hands," he said, still evading Lund"s direct question. "What do you make of that?"
"I don"t know what to make of it," answered Lund. "If it is, G.o.d help the skipper! I reckon he"s in a bad way. Ennyhow, he"s out of it for the time bein", Rainey. I don"t think he"ll be present at the meetin" if he"s that ill. Carlsen speaks for him. Count Simms out of it for the present."
"There"s the girl," said Rainey. "I don"t believe she wants to marry Carlsen."
"If she does," said Lund, "she ain"t the kind we need worry about.
Carlsen "ud marry her if he thought it was necessary to git her share by bein" legal. He may try an" squeeze her to a wedding through the skipper. Threaten to let her dad die if she don"t marry him, likely"ll git the skipper to tie the knot. It "ud be legal. But if you"re interested about the gal, Rainey, an" I take it you are, I"m tellin" you that Carlsen"ll marry her if it suits his book. If it don"t, he won"t.
An", if he wins out, he"ll take her without botherin" about prayer-books an" ceremonies. I know his breed. All men are more or less selfish an"
shy on morals, in streaks more or less wide, but that Carlsen"s just plain skunk."
"The men wouldn"t permit that," said Rainey tersely. "If Carlsen started anything like that I"d kill him with my own hands, gun or no gun. And any white man would help me do it."
"You would, mebbe," said Lund, nodding sagely. "You"d have a try at it.
But you don"t know men, matey, not like I do. This ship"s got a skipper now. A sick one, I grant you. But so far he"s boss. An" he"s the gal"s father. All"s usual an" reg"lar. But you turn this schooner into a free-an"-easy, equal shares-to-all, go-as-you-please outfit, let "em git their claws on the gold, an" be on the way home to spend it--for Carlsen"ll let "em go that far afore he pulls his play, whatever it is--an" discipline will go by the board.
"Grog"ll be served when they feel like it, they"ll start gamblin", some of "em"ll lose all they got. There"ll be sore-heads, an" they"ll remember there"s a gal in the after-cabin, which won"t be the after-cabin enny more, for they"ll all have the run of it, bein" equal; then all h.e.l.l"s goin" to break loose, far"s that gal"s concerned.
"A bunch of men who"ve bin at sea for weeks, half drunk, crazy over havin" more gold than they ever dreamed of, or havin" gambled it away.
Jest a bunch of beasts, matey, whenever they think of that gal. They"ll be too much for Carlsen to handle--an""--he tapped at Rainey"s knee--"Carlsen don"t think enough of enny woman to let her interfere with his best interests."
Rainey"s jaw was set and his fists clenched, his blood running hot and fast. His imagination was instinct to conjure up full-colored scenes from Lund"s suggestions.
"You mean--" he began.
"Under his hide, when there ain"t nothin" to hinder him, a man"s plain animal," said Lund. "What do these water-front bullies know about a good gal--or care? They only know one sort. Ever think what happened to a woman in privateer days when they got one aboard, alone, on the high seas? Why, if they pushed Carlsen, he"d turn her over to "em without winkin"."
"You hinted I was different," said Rainey. "How about you, Lund, how would you act?"
"If Carlsen wins out, I"d be chewin" mussels on a rock, or feedin"
crabs," said Lund simply. "I"m no saint, but, so long as I can keep wigglin", there ain"t enny hunter or seaman goin" to harm a decent gal.