Burgess stopped for a moment, and pointed his finger at the Boy, who lay flat on his back, sound asleep, with his lower jaw open.
"If you"re feeling like that, I"ll reel up."
"Go ahead," said the skipper: "if you"ve done nothing else you"ve quieted that young limb for the present, and we owe you a vote of thanks for that."
"Go on, Burgess," said Sladen: "you"ve burnt your ships now, and can"t go back."
The man laughed--a pleasant, low laugh, that was good to hear.
"Very well--I"ll go on. I totted up my savings, and found I could fairly risk the venture. We made arrangements to go to Henzada first, and the pa.s.sage was done in a big rice boat: there was no flotilla company in those days. We simply crawled to our destination, and I was pretty sick of the journey. It nearly drove Stevens mad, however; he fretted and fumed until I almost thought he"d be ill again. Whenever we could stop, we did; and I collected as many orchids as I could.
Heavens! the rubbish I picked up in those days! Stevens did nothing but swear at the _serang_ and pore over the notes in his pocket-book.
He got into a way of repeating the notes in his book aloud. "Third turnin" to the right, first to the left, three big jack trees, and then the pa.s.sage." He was learning his notes by heart, he said, in case anything happened.
"When we reached Henzada, a difficulty arose which we should have foreseen. Stevens was recognised, and his late visit only too well remembered. The result was trouble; but the Myook--there was only a Myook there in those days--was open to argument, backed up with palm oil, and Stevens was let off with a fine. Of course I paid, and was correspondingly sorry for myself; but we"d gone too far now to recede.
We bought a boat--or rather I did--hired a couple of men to help, and started. Stevens had selected some good picks at Rangoon, and these formed a not unimportant item of our outfit. In three days we reached a big creek.
""It was hyar that I cut from those Injuns on the war-path," said Stevens, "and we cayn"t be mor"n a mile from the gully--we should be there by nightfall."
"It was noonday, almost as hot as it is now, and I was snoozing comfortably, when I heard Stevens shout:
""Hyar we are, pard--wake up!"
"The boat swung lightly round, and shot under the overhanging branches of a large jack tree as he spoke, and I had to stoop very low to save my head. Stevens was trembling with excitement.
""In thar," he called out--"tell them to steer in thar, an" then right ahead." He pointed to a small opening, about three feet wide, up which a long straight cut of water extended. We got the boat in with some little trouble, and then slipped along easily. The cut was as straight as a ca.n.a.l, overhung on each side with a heavy undergrowth. As we went deeper into the forest this undergrowth became less, and finally almost ceased. Every yard of our advance took us amongst trees which grew more gigantic as we went on. Some of the trees were splendid, going up fifty or sixty feet before throwing out a single branch; and the bamboos--I never saw such bamboos. As we continued our course it became darker and darker, until we entered the blackest bit of forest I ever saw. We could hear the drip of the dew from leaf to leaf. The few rays of sunlight that straggled in fell in level bars on the green of the leaves, shadowing the dim outlines of the long colonnades of tree trunks, and occasionally lighting up the splendour of some rare orchid in full bloom. A hundred times I wanted to stop and collect specimens, but Stevens would not hear of it.
""No, no, old pard! let"s get on. We"ll come back hyar in our steam yacht, an" you can then root away for etarnity. We"re on the right trail, an" in ten hours--my G.o.d! I cayn"t think ez how your mind can turn to roots now."
"I was a little surprised myself; but the love of these flowers was in me, and not all the gold in Asia could stop that. In this way we travelled for about four hours; and then towards evening a broad band of daylight spread suddenly before us, and, almost before I was aware of it, we were out of the long, snake-like cutting, and, turning a magnificent clump of bamboos, came upon a wide stretch of water.
""There they air!" said Stevens.
"There they were--six huge statues--standing in a row on the edge of the inland lake, each colossal image larger than the other, all with their faces set towards the west. It was almost sunset, and the sky was aflame with colour, which was reflected back by the water, over which the Gautamas looked in serene peace. There was not a sound except the soft murmuring of the breeze amongst the tree tops. As I live, it was the place we had seen in the mirror, and for a moment that tragedy of the past came before me in all its clearness--and I was in dreamland.
""Wal, pard! Struck ile at last."
"The sound of Stevens" voice came to me as from a far distance. In the sunlit haze before me I saw the Don paddling his boat away, his long black moustaches lifted with the snarling laugh he had laughed, when he hid his treasure so that no man could tell.
"The boat grounded softly, and Stevens shook me by the shoulder.
""Wake up, old hoss!--wake up!"
"I pulled myself together and looked at my companion. His face was full of a strange excitement, and as for myself, I felt as if I could hardly speak. As a matter of fact, we wasted no time in words; but took off our coats and set to work. Our small crew lent a willing hand. It was under the left foot of the biggest Buddha we dug, and in about half an hour made a hole big enough for a man to stand in over his waist.
""Guess he must have burrowed down far," said Stevens, "or we"ve missed the spot." Even as he spoke his pick struck with a sharp clang against something.
""Iron against iron," yelled Stevens, as he swung his pick round like a madman. He worked so furiously that it was impossible to get near him; but finally he stopped, and said very calmly:
""Thar"s the pile, pard."
"We shook hands, and then, with the aid of the men, lifted out the box. It was exceedingly heavy. When we got it out there was some difficulty in opening it, but a revolver cartridge and the pick solved the matter. As the lid went up, we saw before our eyes a pile of gold, jewellery and precious stones. Hake Stevens ran his fingers through them lovingly, and then lay down on the ground, laughing and crying.
Then he got up again, and plunged his arms up to the elbows into the winking ma.s.s--and his eyes were as the eyes of a madman. I put my hand into the box and pulled out a fistful of gems. Stevens grasped me by the wrist, and then loosed his hold at once.
""Oh G.o.d! oh G.o.d!"
""Why, what is the matter, Stevens? Look at these beauties!" and I held out my hand to him. He looked back at me in a strange sort of way, and said, in a husky voice:
""Keep that lot, pard. Don"t let them be mixed with the others. See! I will take what I can hold, too, and we will divide the rest." He put his hand amongst the jewels and drew it back with a shudder. "They"re hot as h.e.l.l," he said.
"I thought the best thing to do was not to notice his strange manner.
""Keep them to cool," I said, flinging what I had with me into the box, and shutting the lid, "and come and have some dinner. I"m famished."
""Do you think these fellows are all right?" Stevens said, apparently trying to pull himself together, as he indicated the crew with a glance.
""We ought to be a match for twice the number; but we"ll keep a look out."
"We went to dinner in the boat, carrying our box with us. Our crew lit a fire near one of the idols, and cooked their food, whilst we ate our very simple meal. The sun had gone down, and the moon was fighting with a heavy ma.s.s of clouds that had sprung up apparently from nowhere, and were gathering in mountainous piles overhead. The low rumbling of distant thunder came to our ears.
""Looks like rain. Jehoshaphat!--it is rain."
"A distant moaning sound that gradually increased in volume was audible, the tree tops bent and swayed, the placid surface of the lagoon was beaten into a white foam, and the storm came. We heard a yell from the boatmen on the bank. The next moment we were torn from our moorings, and went swinging down the creek in pitchy darkness.
Overhead and around all h.e.l.l was loose. The paddles were swept away, and we spun round in a roaring wind, in a din of the elements, and a darkness like unto what was before G.o.d said, "Let there be light." I shouted to Stevens, but could not hear my own voice. Suddenly there came a deafening crash, and a chain of fire hung round the heavens. I saw Stevens crouching in the boat, with his face resting on the box, and his arms clasped around it. "By the Lord!" he was gibbering and mowing to himself--even above the storm I heard his shrill cry--"the idols, the idols! they"re laffin" at us." I turned my head as he spoke: the blackness was again lit up, and I saw by it the calm, smiling faces of the Buddhas. All their eyes were fixed on us, and in that strange and terrible light the stony smiles on their faces broadened in devilish mockery. The rain came down in sheets; and the continual and ceaseless flashes of lightning flared on the angry yellow water around us, and made the rain seem as if there were millions of strands of fine silver and gold wires hanging from the blackness above. It was all I could do to keep myself in the canoe. At each flash I looked at Stevens, and saw him in the same posture, crouching low, like a cat. Then he began to sing, in a shrill voice, that worked its way, as a bradawl through wood, past all the noise of the elements. And now the whole heavens were bright with a pale light that was given back by the hissing water around. The raindrops sparkled like gems, and hit almost with the force of hailstones.
Stevens rose with a scream, and stood in the boat.
""Sit down, for G.o.d"s sake!" I called out.
""I"m holding them with my life--the diamonds, the jewels!" he yelled with a horrid laugh, and shook his fist at something. I followed his movements; and there, riding in the storm, was a small canoe, paddled by a man in the dress of old days. He was smiling at Stevens as, with long easy sweeps of his paddle, he came closer and closer.
""Shoot him!" yelled Stevens, as he pulled out his revolver and fired once, twice, and then flung it with all his might at the vision. In the effort he overbalanced the boat, and all I can remember is that I was swimming for dear life, and being borne down with frightful rapidity through that awful light. I saw something, which might have been Hake Stevens, struggling for a moment on the water; but, Stevens or not, it sank again almost immediately, and some one laughed too as this happened.
"And I think," said Burgess, "that"s about all. I never saw Hake Stevens again, and I don"t want ever to see Brito"s jewels any more."
"How did you get out?"
"By absolute luck. I don"t very well remember now; and By Jove! here comes the breeze."
Even as he spoke, a cool puff of wind fanned us into life.
THE DEVIL"S Ma.n.u.sCRIPT
CHAPTER I.