"We did not sight an island for some time, and now, every day, I brooded over the wrong Jose had done me in listening to the lies of others, and acceding to their demands, and I determined to have my revenge on him.
He had always trusted me, and did so still, and I had a key that fitted the lock of his cabin. One day we sighted a ship; and, as it fell calm, the boats were ordered out to pull to her and capture her. Nearly all hands went, including Leirya himself, but I remained behind to help look after the schooner. While they were away, I went into the captain"s cabin, and, finding his keys in the pocket of a jacket of his that hung there, I opened his private drawer and took out all the papers that were there, putting back blank ones of similar appearance to those that I had stolen, relocked the drawer, and replaced the key. I then hid the papers in my own chest, which I was certain Jose would allow me to take.
I will tell you why I stole those papers. It was because I thought I should find the key to his hidden treasure among them; and I was not mistaken. I found it, or what I believe to be it, but it was in cipher; and I have spent nearly all my time since I have been on the island in trying to translate it, but have not been able to do so. I know, however, whereabout the bay is in which the hiding-place is situated.
It is at the east end of the island of Cuba, in lat.i.tude 20 degrees north, longitude 75 degrees west.
"I have those papers still; and before I die I will give them to you, Master Trevose. They may be useful to you; and if you can translate the cipher, why, there are millions there for you, unless, indeed, Jose Leirya removes them before you can get there. Well, sirs, Jose did not discover the loss by the time that we fell in with this sand-bank, and, according to his promise to the crew, I was marooned here; but he gave me a musket, with powder and ball, and enough provision to keep me for a year. The men who went in the boat to put me ash.o.r.e were, however, my most deadly enemies; and before we reached the sh.o.r.e, and when they were far enough away from the vessel not to be seen, they dropped musket and all overboard, leaving me only a very little provision, saying that they did not wish me to die too soon. Then, after landing me, they returned, the ship disappeared, and I have seen no sail but yours since they left me here two months ago. That, gentlemen, is my story. To help you hunt down that b.l.o.o.d.y pirate, however, I will tell you that he intended sailing up through the bays of Honduras and Guatemala, and through the Yucatan channel into the Gulf of Mexico, to cruise there for merchantmen sailing to and from Vera Cruz and the other ports. And it is there that you will find him, sirs. Chase him; run him down; take him, at all costs, and hang him and his crew from his own yard-arm, and burn his ship; so shall you exterminate one of the most cruel, ferocious, bloodthirsty devils who ever sailed the sea, and avenge me, sirs. For I shall soon die; the hardship and exposure that I have suffered here have killed me! But now that I have told you my story, I can die comfortably, for I have only lived to impart my information to someone else, and so help them to hunt that man down. But see, the dawn is breaking!"
The other three had been so intensely interested in the outcast"s tale that the time had pa.s.sed unnoticed, and the first streaks of dawn were indeed in the sky. Moreover, the wind had dropped, the rain had ceased, and the sea was going down. The unfortunate ex-pirate seemed exhausted by the long recital of his experiences, and looked very weak. Presently he laid himself down on the sand under his shelter, and fell fast asleep through sheer fatigue. The others went outside and took a survey of the beach, and were lucky enough to be able to collect quite a respectable quant.i.ty of wreckage, together with several casks of provisions. And they could see several more being gradually washed in, so they were in no danger of starvation, at all events for the present. They at once began to roll up the casks to the shelter, promising themselves a good meal before beginning the work of collecting all on which they could lay their hands. They resolved to collect all that they could, for it was impossible to be sure as to when the three vessels of Cavendish"s fleet would return; they knew that there were too many vicissitudes in a sailor"s life to permit of their absolutely depending upon anything, and they therefore resolved to make every possible provision for a lengthy stay where they were, should such prove to be necessary. That Cavendish would never abandon them they knew, but it was easy to think of a dozen circ.u.mstances or accidents to defer his search for them indefinitely.
Roger and the two seamen rolled up a few of the casks to the door of the little shelter, and, all feeling very hungry, they determined to broach one of them, as they judged from their appearance that they were provision-casks. They first glanced at the marooned man, to see if he had yet awakened from the slumber into which he had so suddenly fallen, but he was lying in his former position, breathing very heavily, and he had evidently not moved since they left him. Roger remarked to the two seamen: "I fear that poor fellow will not live much longer; he says he is exhausted by exposure and privation, and, looking at him, I can easily believe it. I hope he will live long enough to be taken on board the ships, and so be able to tell his story in his own words to the captain; but unless the squadron appear very soon it will be too late, for I am afraid a few days will see the last of him!" Then, as there seemed no fear of rousing him, they went into the shelter to look for themselves and see how much provision he had left. They found it without difficulty. There was only about three pounds of ships"-biscuit left, and two or three strips of dried meat. This was absolutely all the food that was left, and had it not been for the wreck, and the casks of provisions being washed ash.o.r.e, their position would have been very serious indeed. Jake Irwin had been searching for some cooking utensil, or some article which could be used as such, and presently appeared with an iron three-legged pot, which was the only thing in the small establishment that would serve their purpose. Meanwhile Roger and Walter Bevan had secured the ex-pirate"s only axe, and were busily engaged in removing the head of one of the casks which they had rolled up opposite to the little shelter. The top presently came away, and they saw, disclosed before their longing and hungry eyes, not the provisions they so much needed, but a hard and rocky ma.s.s of caked gunpowder, made useless and solid by the action of the sea-water that had penetrated through the crevices of the cask.
"G.o.d help us!" exclaimed Roger. "If all these casks hold nothing but powder, we shall slowly starve to death. I hoped they would all be provision-casks; I never thought they would contain aught else!"
"Never despair, Master Trevose," replied Bevan, "they may not be all the same. Let us try another cask. We may have better luck this time."
Disheartened and anxious, they set to work, desperate with hunger, and beat in the head of the next cask with savage blows. And, oh joy! in this cask they at length found the much-needed food in the form of salt pork, with which the barrel was filled.
"Hurrah," shouted Roger, "we are saved after all!"
They took out two large pieces. Jake Irwin filled the pot with water from the spring, and, having soon made a fire, they set the meat on to boil. The savoury odour of the cooking meat soon met their nostrils and encouraged them to fresh efforts on the other casks. Strangely enough, though the first cask opened was filled with spoilt gunpowder, all the rest of the barrels had good wholesome provisions in them. The second barrel opened was found to contain ships"-biscuit, the third and fourth salt pork; the fifth had beef in it, and in one or two more casks they found further food, sufficient in all to last them for some months without going on short rations. It was not long ere the meat was sufficiently cooked to satisfy them, and they went in to call Evans and acquaint him with the fact that he could now have a good wholesome meal.
They aroused him with great difficulty, and he seemed to be weaker than ever. He revived somewhat under the stimulating influence of the hot food, and told them that if only he had had such food a little earlier it would have saved his life.
Their meal finished, they got up a few more casks which had meanwhile come ash.o.r.e, and gathered more wreckage, piling all their material recovered from the sea in a place of safety well above high-water mark.
Having at length collected everything in sight on the beach, the next thing they set themselves to do was to find a suitable spot and erect, with the wreckage that they had found, a hut large enough to contain the entire party with comfort. But first, as Roger very rightly observed, it was necessary and prudent to build a fire the smoke of which could be seen out at sea, and which might serve as a guide to Cavendish in his search for the sand-bank should he happen to be looking for it. Their plan was to feed the fire with damp wood and sea-weed during the day, to produce a thick smoke that could be seen at a long distance out at sea, and to put on dry wood at night to make a bright blaze which could also be seen a long way off. This was soon done, and a site was then selected for the projected hut. Among the palm-trees on the summit of the bank were three trees so placed as to form the points of a fairly s.p.a.cious triangle. Roger selected these, intending to nail or otherwise secure planks to their trunks, making a three-sided enclosure; leaving s.p.a.ce, of course, in one of the sides for a door. A roof they believed they could dispense with, as the trees were not very high, and the tufts of leaves at their summits were so thick, and grew so close together, that it seemed very doubtful whether even the furious rain of the tropics would be able to penetrate them. They found a number of nails in the planks and timbers which they had collected, and these served their purpose. Roger, Jake Irwin, and Walter Bevan worked right manfully at the job of erecting the new hut, and in a few hours it was finished. Evans, poor fellow, was far too weak to take a hand in any of the operations, and lay in his shelter almost unable to move. When the new hut was finished, the builders found the man too far gone to walk, so they brought some planks and put him on them, carrying him up in that way. He was laid gently down and made as comfortable as possible under the circ.u.mstances. A pannikin of water was left with him, and some cold provisions placed near him in case he should feel hungry. The others then went away to seek further wreckage and casks, but they found no more. Then they decided to make another shelter wherein to protect their provisions. It was thought advisable to construct this place near the new hut; so the old shelter--such as it was--was taken down and replaced close behind their new structure, and the casks, barrels, and other perishable matters were placed therein as being safer, as well as easier to get at at all times. They were now fairly settled down in their new domain; they had shelter, and plenty of food to last for some months, even on full rations. There was water in abundance to be had from the spring, and altogether their lot was far and away more satisfactory and endurable than that of the poor marooned pirate had been. Besides, there were now four of them, and they had the advantage and comfort of each other"s company, while Evans had been entirely alone with only his own miserable thoughts for companions until Roger and his two seamen made their welcome appearance on the sand-bank. It occurred to Roger that it would be a very good thing to have a flag and flag-staff, because their fuel would not last for ever, and with it would go their only means of signalling to pa.s.sing ships; so several narrow pieces of wood were nailed together, and the two seamen, both of whom were wearing red shirts, sacrificed those garments in the interests of the community. The lad then split them both down one side, to increase the area of his improvised ensign, and tied the arms together to increase the length. This "flag" was then nailed to the makeshift flag-staff, and Roger and Jake Irwin swarmed up a palm-tree--one of the three composing the posts for the support of the walls of their hut, while Walter Bevan pa.s.sed up the flag and staff to them from below.
Then Roger, with his sword, which he had carried up naked between his teeth, cut away part of the foliage, and the staff was pushed up through the hole thus made, the lower portion being secured to the top of the trunk of the palm-tree. Both men then scrambled down to the ground again and looked up at their handiwork. There it fluttered, far above the tufted crowns of the palm-grove, a large red flag at the top of its lengthy staff, some eighty feet above the ground, and visible, as they judged, at a distance of at least ten miles out at sea on a clear day.
This, as Roger remarked, gave them an extra chance of being recovered by the fleet, as the flag would be seen at almost as great a distance as the smoke from the fire, while the two together ensured their being sighted by any vessel that approached the island within ten miles.
Satisfied at last with their work, and seeing that there was nothing further for them to do at the moment, Roger determined to make a tour of their little domain; so, leaving Jake Irwin to attend to the sick man Evans, Roger and Walter Bevan set off. Starting from a point on the beach opposite the hut, they began their walk, going towards the eastern end of the sand-bank. They found that the sh.o.r.e was everywhere sand until they had gone some half a mile and nearly reached the end of the island, when they came upon a ledge of rocks over which they had to clamber, and which stretched out for quite a long distance into the sea.
The two ventured out some few hundred yards along the ridge to seaward, and found that it had deep water on each side of it, the rock seeming to run perpendicularly down to the sandy bottom. The place struck them as being an excellent situation for fishing from if only they possessed hooks and lines, for, peering down into the water--which was clear as crystal,--they saw all manner of many-hued and beautiful fish disporting themselves below. They gazed admiringly and somewhat longingly at them for a few minutes, determining to return later and attempt to catch some, and then resumed their explorations. They had not gone very far, and were walking side by side, when Roger stumbled over an inequality in the surface of the sand. He pa.s.sed on, taking no notice of the circ.u.mstance, thinking it to be only a stone or piece of rock covered up by the sand; but Bevan, who had noticed the occurrence, stepped back, and, dropping on his knees, began to clear away the sand with his fingers, presently revealing to Roger"s wondering eyes a number of eggs.
"Whatever are those?" exclaimed the lad, hardly able to believe his senses. "I suppose they are eggs; they look like eggs; but I have never before heard of eggs being buried in sand."
"These, Master Trevose," responded the man, smiling at Roger"s astonishment, "are turtles" eggs, and they are excellent eating, I can a.s.sure you. They will be a grand change of food for us, as will the fish when we can catch them. Moreover, having laid these eggs here, the turtle may very possibly come back to this spot to lay more. We will look out for her, and if she returns we must turn her over on her back and then go back and fetch Jake, who will help us to carry her to the hut. We need not worry about fresh meat now, Master Trevose. If we can catch turtle we shall have meat enough to last us for some time."
"I am rejoiced to hear you say so," returned Roger. "But why turn the turtle on her back, should she make her appearance?"
"Well, sir," replied the man, "the way of it is this. By turnin" a turtle over on its back you can always make certain that, if you"re obliged to go away and leave it, you"ll find it in the same place when you come back; because if a turtle"s laid on its back it can"t turn over again by itself, and so is perfectly helpless and unable to move."
There were fourteen eggs in the "nest" in the sand; so Roger took off his coat, and, tying the arms together, made a sort of bag of it, into which he carefully put a few of the eggs. Then, carrying his parcel very carefully, they resumed their journey. They found no more eggs at that time, and discovered nothing further of importance, and shortly afterwards arrived back at the hut, having completed their walk round the islet.
Irwin reported that the man Evans had called for water, and had seemed in great pain, but had revived a little after drinking, and was now again asleep.
The two explorers deposited their burden of eggs, and told Jake of their hopes regarding the turtle, arranging to go down again later and watch for the creature, knowing how important it was to their health to secure as varied a diet as possible. But before setting out again they put a few of the eggs into the hot ashes of the fire and baked them in their sh.e.l.ls. When they thought they would be sufficiently cooked, they took them out of the ashes, and roused Evans up with the news that another meal was ready for him.
CHAPTER ELEVEN.
DEATH OF WILLIAM EVANS, AND APPEARANCE OF A PIRATE VESSEL.
It was with the utmost difficulty that they at length succeeded in arousing the unfortunate man to a sense of his surroundings. Ever since their landing on the sand-bank the poor fellow had been sinking with startling rapidity. It seemed as though prior to their appearance he had kept himself alive by a sheer effort of will, for the sole purpose of relating his story and putting the avengers on the trail of his former captain; and, this done, the strain was relaxed, and nature was claiming her due. Evans at last sat up with great difficulty, pa.s.sing his hand over his forehead and gazing at his companions and around at the new hut as though he had never seen either them or it before.
The three on-lookers felt an infinite compa.s.sion for the unfortunate outcast; and although he had been, by his own showing, a party to the most dreadful atrocities, yet Roger and the seamen felt that it was not for them to judge him. They recognised that he had never been a willing partic.i.p.ator in the horrors he had described, and in their opinion he had fully expiated his offences by the suffering and agony of remorse which he had endured on the sand-bank. Roger tenderly supported the emaciated frame in his arms, and tried to coax some food down the sick man"s throat; but he weakly pushed away the hands of the would-be benefactor, and, the light of reason presently returning to his eye, he said he could eat nothing, but pleaded for a draught of water. This was at once given him, and, seeing that the man was too weak to swallow anything solid, Roger ceased to persuade him. In a few minutes the poor fellow was again sunk in a profound stupor. As no more could be done for him, the others turned their attention to their own meal, and, being ravenously hungry, did full justice to the food before them, averring that they had never in the whole course of their lives tasted anything half so enjoyable, thus conclusively proving the truth of the statement that "hunger is the very best sauce."
Having at length satisfied their appet.i.tes, it was considered quite time to go and wait for Mistress Turtle to make her appearance. So away they went, and, the distance not being great, they soon arrived at the spot, where, sure enough, they saw a fine large turtle. They had been none too cautious in their manner of approach, as they hardly antic.i.p.ated finding her there so soon, if at all; and, directly they appeared over the ledge of rock, away she went as fast as she could for the sea. But Roger, who was a very fast runner, soon got in front of her and headed her off; and a few seconds later the men came up, when their united efforts were sufficient to turn her over on her back, after which she was safe. Bevan then drew his knife and cut off the head, which was thrown away; and then, making fast a rope which they had brought with them to one of the fins, they dragged the carca.s.s off, and at length got it to the hut. They then started to cut it up, one of the fins being at once dropped into the pot and stood on the fire to make soup, that the sick man might have something more nourishing than water to drink. Then they put away as much as would keep fresh until they had used it, and the remainder they hung out in the sun to dry, after cutting the flesh into strips, thus ensuring for themselves a plentiful supply of meat for some time to come. They all now felt somewhat more comfortable in their minds, for they were certain that with the fish they hoped to catch, and an occasional turtle or two, with a further possibility of eggs now and then, and, above all, a plentiful supply of water, they would be able to hold out until the fleet came back to take them off their temporary prison.
Having removed every particle of flesh from the sh.e.l.l, Irwin signified his intention of taking the latter down to the water"s edge to clean it thoroughly, as it would then afford a very handy and useful receptacle for water, and it would be further very useful as a bath; for it was highly dangerous to attempt bathing in the sea, the likelihood being that the adventurous swimmer would be snapped up by some voracious shark before he had been a minute in the water. He therefore went off, dragging the sh.e.l.l after him, while Bevan returned to the turtle"s nest for the remainder of the eggs, and Roger busied himself with the simmering turtle soup, also taking a few strips of the meat and impaling them on pieces of wood in readiness for the next meal. Having performed this part of his duty he strolled away down to the beach to watch Jake clean the turtle"s sh.e.l.l. As he came in sight of the beach, what was his surprise to see Jake Irwin in the water up to his arm-pits, reaching out as though endeavouring to get hold of some object just beyond him.
The man did not see Roger, and continued his strange antics; but presently he got hold of what he was after, which had the appearance of a small keg that seemed to be about as much as he could conveniently carry. He then turned round and began to make his way ash.o.r.e again, carrying his prize with him. He glanced up, saw Roger, and shouted: "I have something here, Master Trevose, which will be very valuable to us if it is what I believe it to be." He soon waded out and flung down a small barrel on the sand at his feet.
"Why," said Roger, "what is that? It is a barrel of some sort, as, of course, I can see; but what do you suppose its contents to be?"
"Well," responded the sailor, "as I was getting water to clean the sh.e.l.l, I saw some object washed up and then taken out again by the undertow; so I determined to get hold of it if possible; and next time it rolled in I made a grab at it, but missed it; then I ran out after it, and, after making several attempts, managed to get a hold of it, and brought it ash.o.r.e; and here it is. And I think it valuable because it looks to me like one of the ship"s spirit-casks. It may be brandy, and if the brandy has not been spoiled by the salt water getting at it, it will be a great blessing to that sick man Evans, and may even save his life. And it may save ours too, if we get taken ill; for there is no knowing when the fleet will be here again."
"Very true," responded Roger. "I do not believe that the skipper will give up looking for us while his ships hold together; but, as you say, it may be a long time before we are rescued, so it is as well to secure everything we can lay our hands on. Meanwhile, let us take the barrel up to the huts and open it, and see if the contents are what we hope them to be, and whether they have been reached by the sea-water, and spoiled, or not."
Then, each taking an end of the barrel--which was one of those small casks called breakers, holding about twelve to fourteen gallons, and therefore very weighty,--they carried it up to the hut, where they found Bevan just returned with the remainder of the turtle"s eggs. Irwin at once set to work to remove the bung of the cask, while Roger went into the hut and fetched out the only small vessel belonging to the little community, a wooden mug capable of holding somewhere about a pint and a half.
A few moments more and Irwin said: "Ready, Master Trevose?"
"Yes," replied the lad.
"Then, here you are, sir."
Roger slipped the mug in front of the hole, and caught the liquid in it as it came gurgling out. He let the mug fill, and then the bung was returned to its place and driven home with the hammer. So far as colour and smell were concerned there could be little doubt that the liquor was brandy, as Irwin had surmised.
Roger was not greatly addicted to the use of spirits, being, indeed, exceedingly temperate; he therefore considered himself but a poor judge of its quality. Nevertheless he sipped at the contents of the mug, and, having tasted, said that, so far as he could tell, the stuff was good spirit enough, and at any rate he was certain that it had not been got at by the salt water. Bevan and Irwin then each took a taste--a pretty long taste it was too, for they returned the mug to Roger empty,--both p.r.o.nouncing it to be the finest brandy of France that had ever pa.s.sed their lips. They, being seamen, would have very much liked some more; but Roger pointed out that the spirit must be regarded as medicine only, and must be carefully conserved for use as such if ever any of themselves should be taken ill. The men fortunately had sense enough to see that Roger was right in what he said, and agreed to the liquor being kept for use in case of necessity.
It was now time to prepare the next meal, and this was done; a perfect feast of eggs, turtle steaks, bread, and turtle soup const.i.tuting the "spread". Evans was again aroused, and given a few spoonfuls of the soup, with a liberal allowance of brandy in it. He seemed too dazed to enquire where all this nourishing and wholesome food had come from, but managed to swallow his portion, and it revived him so much that he sat up without a.s.sistance. His faculties seemed to return to a certain extent, and presently he asked for more. This was given him, supplemented this time by a small quant.i.ty of brandy and hot water. The spirit seemed to do him more good than anything else. The light came back gradually to the fast-dimming eyes, and a spot of colour made its appearance in his ashen face. He swallowed with great difficulty; but, taking his time, he managed to eat a very fair quant.i.ty of food for a man sick nigh unto death, and the food, together with the stimulant, revived him so much that for a time Roger thought that with care, constant attention, and good food they might even now save the man"s life after all. But the effect was only transient, and it was not long before he had to lie down again; his eyes lost their fire, and he gradually dropped back into a stupor similar to that from which he had been aroused to take his meal.
Roger was greatly moved by the poor wretch"s condition, and was very quiet and reserved for the remainder of the day; the two sailors, however, had seen more of the world and its vicissitudes than the lad, and it did not affect them at all. When night fell, all retired to their improvised couches, it being considered unnecessary to keep a watch; for they replenished the fire so thoroughly before turning in that it would burn until morning. And if the ships should by any chance happen to sight the island during the night, they must inevitably see the fire, built as it was on the highest point of the bank, and, seeing it, would know that the castaways were alive on the island. They would then naturally heave-to until daylight.
Day dawned, and all hands turned out, the invalid, of course, excepted.
Breakfast was cooked, and they sat down to the meal with very hearty appet.i.tes, despite the fact that upon looking round them the horizon was found to be bare of ships. Evans was again roused from his now constant stupor, and managed to take a little soup and brandy; but he immediately afterwards sank back again exhausted, and relapsed at once into his usual state. The two seamen went away to fish from the reef running into the sea close to where the turtle was taken, and Roger remained in camp to look after Evans.
The men had not long been absent on the fishing excursion, and Roger was busy in the hut, when the sick man moved, turned on his side, and, opening his eyes, fixed them on Roger"s face. A sepulchral voice issued from the man"s lips, and Roger understood him to ask that he should come close to his side. He, of course, immediately acquiesced, and lay down on the ground beside the man, so that his lips might be level with Roger"s ear, and thus enable the poor fellow to speak without further weakening himself by raising his voice. The man asked for some brandy, and Roger at once gave it to him. This revived him a little, and he was now able to speak, though in a very low, weak, and husky voice, in which the near approach of death could now be heard. It was clear, indeed, that the invalid was sinking fast, and that he earnestly wished to communicate something to Roger before he died. First he asked the lad to see if the two sailors were anywhere near. The boy told him that they had gone fishing; but this did not satisfy him, he would have Roger look and make sure. To satisfy him, therefore, Roger went outside and took a look round, and, the men being nowhere in sight, he went in and reported the fact to Evans. Evans then signed to the lad to come closer and sit down, so that he could speak directly into his ear. Pulling himself together with an effort, he said:
"You have been very kind to me, young man, and I am going to recompense you by giving you the papers that I stole from Jose Leirya"s cabin, also the cipher, which, when translated, will put the owner of it into the possession of that scoundrel"s enormous treasure--always provided, of course, that Leirya has not already returned ere this and secured it himself. But I do not think he has; for, as I told you at the end of my yarn, when I left him, or rather when he left me here, he was going for a cruise in the Mexican Gulf. As I mentioned, the treasure is hidden somewhere on the sh.o.r.e of that inlet at the east end of Cuba, the lat.i.tude and longitude of which I gave you. But you will have to ascertain the precise locality of the treasure for yourself by translating the cipher; for I do not know it, nor does any other living man, except Jose Leirya himself. You will perhaps say that some one of those who helped him to bury it must know, and doubtless they did--once; but of those who left the vessel to bury the stuff with Jose not one ever returned to the vessel, or was heard of afterward. The crew of the ship so stood in awe of our captain that they dared not remonstrate or make any enquiry; but we were all convinced in our minds that he did away with those men by poison, and buried them in the brushwood near the beach. There were seven men to bury the treasure with him, and, big and strong as he was, and is, he could not have killed them all openly, or in fair fight. Jose may, or may not, know by this time that I have the key to the hiding-place of his treasure; but if he does he will not dare to remove it and attempt to bury it elsewhere; for all in the ship are aware of what took place when he first buried it, and none would go with him again to a.s.sist him, and he could not undertake the job alone.
Besides, he has always expressed the utmost confidence that no one could ever translate the cipher without the key, and that he carries in his own brain; so he will almost surely leave his wealth where it is. I do not want your seamen to know, for those men could not keep silence; the news would soon be known to all, and then, of course, it would no longer be a secret. The papers I have not examined; I merely looked at them to make certain that the cipher was there, and, finding that it was, I troubled no further. But you had better examine them, as there may be something of value among them. I told you in my yarn that we had a driver on the galley named Alvarez, who left her before Jose Leirya came aboard, or if I did not, I intended to. Well, I must tell you that there were originally two copies of the cipher, and Alvarez, whilst an officer in a Spanish ship of war, employed an agent of his to join the crew of the pirate vessel and steal the cipher, if possible, as Alvarez had heard all the circ.u.mstances relative to the treasure from one of his spies, of whom he employs a great number. This spy obeyed his orders, but was only able to secure one copy, leaving the other, which I now possess. We discovered the theft while lying in the very harbour where the treasure is hidden; but the spy got to hear that all was known, and sprang over the side, intending, of course, to swim ash.o.r.e. But as he went he was followed by a shower of bullets, and we saw him no more; so I feel very certain that he lies at the bottom of the bay, and that Alvarez did not get the cipher he wanted."
Thought Roger to himself: "I"m pretty certain he did, and, what is more, I know now that he had it in his cabin aboard the _Gloria del Mundo_, and this man little thinks that I have the very paper he is talking about in my pocket at this very moment; for it must be the same." He said nothing, however; and the dying man resumed:
"You have therefore no rival to fear except Jose himself; and if you should destroy his ship and himself--as I hope your captain will do when you have told him my story--you will be certain of vast wealth, provided that you can translate the cipher, which I believe you will certainly be able to do, for all that Jose says as to its impossibility without the key. Now I am exhausted with talking so much. Please give me a little more brandy." Roger did so, finding the man too weak to lift the mug to his lips, and almost too far gone to swallow. Having recovered somewhat, he continued in a weak voice, taking a packet from his pocket: "And now, here is the packet of papers, and the cipher is with them.
Keep them safely by you, and part with them under no circ.u.mstances or conditions whatever. If you do this your fortune is certain."
He ceased speaking, and his head fell heavily back on his hard couch.
Roger sprang for more brandy, and lifted the poor fellow"s head, but he appeared lifeless. Roger wetted his lips with the spirit, and presently they parted sufficiently to enable the lad to pour a little into his mouth. This was gradually swallowed, and Roger poured in a little more, which was also taken; and in a few seconds a heavy sigh escaped the lips of the sufferer, and his eyes opened. But there was a glaze over them that told its own tale. The white lips opened, and Roger, bending down, heard the last words that Evans ever spoke.
"G.o.d bless you, sir," he said, "and keep you safe! Keep your promise to me, sir. Good-bye! I die now, and am glad!" The eyes went duller still, the lips ceased to move, the body seemed to stiffen, and grew suddenly cold. Roger knew that the end had come, that the poor fellow"s troubles were at last over, and that he was at rest.