He pa.s.sed one arm round her waist, and tried to draw her towards him.
Again she attempted to rise, and again he forced her to retain her seat.
"Let me go, Mr. Merton, let me go! How dare you hold me like this? Let me go!"
"Not until you have promised, Esther. Quickly make up your mind; there is not a moment to lose. Come, I can see it written in your face that you will not disappoint me."
"I refuse!--I refuse!--I refuse! Let me go, sir, you have done me wrong enough already! Do you call yourself a man, that you can treat a wretched woman so? Take your arm from round my waist before I strike you. Oh, you cur! you dastard! you coward! Isn"t it enough for you that you should cut me off from a man whose shoes you are not worthy to unlace? Isn"t it enough that you should drive me from my happy home?
Isn"t it enough that you should make me an unworthy mother to my child?
Must you kill my soul as well as my heart? Let me go, I say, let me go!
or, as I live, I"ll strike you!"
"Hush, hush, Esther! for mercy"s sake, be calm. Do you want to rouse the whole station?"
"I don"t care what I do; I am desperate--I am mad with shame and loathing of you!"
"And you will go back to this lying traitor of a husband, I suppose, this great man, who won you by a lie, who has only deceived you as he has deceived others, a common fraud and trickster--you will go back to him, I suppose, and fawn on him, and tell him that you love him, when I have----"
With her right hand she struck him a blow upon the mouth.
"There, that is my answer to you; now go before I call for help and have you thrashed off the island!"
He sprang to his feet, his face black with rage. Ellison rose too, and approached the French window which led into the room. Merton"s voice quivered with pa.s.sion.
"You have struck me--good; you have fooled me--better! Now you shall understand me properly; I will have such vengeance for that blow, for that fooling, as never man had before. You little know my power, my lady; but I tell you this, that I will crush you to the earth, and that worm, your husband, with you, till you groan for mercy. In the meantime----"
He stopped and looked up to discover Ellison standing in the doorway.
"In the meantime," said Ellison, advancing into the room, "as there is a G.o.d above me, I intend to kill you."
Esther stood paralysed with fear, unable to move hand or foot, unable even to speak. Once she tried to find her voice, but the words she strove to utter died away unspoken in her throat. Merton glared from one to the other like a wild beast.
"It may interest you to know, Mr. Merton, that I have overheard all your conversation. Out in this part of the world, so far removed, as you were good enough to observe the other day, from the cramping influences of older civilisation, when we find centipedes in our houses we crush them under heel to prevent them doing mischief. You are more treacherous even than a centipede, and I intend to kill you without delay."
As he spoke, he took off his coat and threw it from him. Merton watched, and his eyes betrayed his fear. Esther took a step forward, and then stood still. Her eyes were open, but they did not seem to see. Ellison moved towards his foe.
"This would probably be the best place. My wife can see fair play."
Suddenly Esther found her voice and her power of movement. With a scream she threw herself upon her husband, and clung to him with all the strength of despair.
"Cuthbert--Cuthbert! for G.o.d"s sake, forbear! Let him go, I implore you!
He is not worthy to be touched by your little finger."
"Let me go, woman, let me go! How dare you stop me!"
"I dare anything now! I will not let you go until you have sworn not to raise your hand against that man." Then, facing round on the other, she cried: "As for you, fly while you are safe, and may the curse of an unhappy woman follow you to your grave!"
Merton did not need telling twice. With one bound he reached the veranda, and in another second he was outside the house, and flying towards the beach at the top of his speed. Ellison looked on like one in a dream; he did not seem to know what to do. Then slowly he felt Esther"s arms untwining; her head fell forward on his shoulder. She had fainted. Springing to the door, he called to Mrs. Fenwick, who came running out.
"Your mistress is not well. Attend to her."
Then placing her on the sofa, he too left the house, and ran swiftly towards the beach. As he approached the jetty he saw a man pushing a boat into the water. At first he thought it was the man he wanted, but on nearer approach he saw that it was Murkard, who pointed out to sea.
"There he goes, the cowardly cur, rowing for his life."
"What are you going to do?"
"Hasten after him. You may be sure I shall not let him out of my sight until I know where he has hidden that pearl. Listen to me. He has not been off the island for a week; he has not had time to take anything with him now. Either he has it about him, or it is still here; in that case when all is quiet he"ll come back for it. We must watch and wait; I"ll follow him, you guard the station."
"I cannot; I must go after him. You don"t know what a wrong that villain has done me. I must have vengeance!"
"No, no; you must not go after him with that look in your face. Stay here, I will do the rest. I feel convinced he will come back." As he spoke, he ran the boat into the water and leaped into it. "Give me your word you will not attempt to follow."
"I promise; but I will have vengeance here."
"So do, if you still wish it."
Murkard pulled out, and Ellison went back to the store. Alone there, he took down a Winchester repeater from a shelf, cleaned, and loaded it; then he went out again, securely locking the door behind him. From the store he followed the little path that led through the scrub to the headland. It was the same path he had followed on the morning of his arrival at the station, the morning that he had first seen Esther.
Following it along until it opened out on to the little knoll above the sands, he seated himself on a fallen tree and scanned the offing. By this time, his enemy must have landed on the other side. What would his next move be? At any rate, sleuth-hound Murkard was on his trail--that at least was one comfort. But why had he not gone himself? Why had he let Murkard go? To have followed him himself would have been altogether more satisfactory; he might have had his own vengeance then. But surely G.o.d would be good to him, and let him have it yet.
He looked up at the heavens studded with stars, and then down at the smooth water of the straits. Only the ripple of the wavelets on the sh.o.r.e and the occasional call of a night-bird in the scrub behind him disturbed the stillness; it was a perfect night. For what seemed an eternity he sat on, thinking and thinking; but though he tried to think coherently, he was too excited to work out his actual situation. There was only the one real craving in his brain, and that was for vengeance.
He wanted the actual grip of his antagonist, to make him suffer bodily pain in return for the mental agony he had inflicted. The desire for personal vengeance is a whole-souled one, and, like the love of opium, when once it takes possession all else has to go.
And so he sat on and on, watching the star-powdered water, and listening for any sound that might proclaim the return of his foe. But nothing came, only the swish of the waves on the strand, and now and again faint music of the ships" bells across the water.
Twelve o"clock struck, and just as the sound died away his eyes caught something moving in the water opposite where he sat. What it was he could not determine, but he would soon be able to, for it was every moment coming closer. At length it came near enough for him to see that it was a man swimming. Who could it be? Could it be Merton? To make sure, he crawled out on to the edge of the little cliff, and throwing himself down upon the ground, leaned over and watched.
Closer and closer the figure came until the swimmer touched bottom. Yes, it was Merton! After pausing a moment to regain his breath, he pulled himself together and waded ash.o.r.e. Just as he left the water, Ellison caught sight of another figure out at sea. This must be Murkard.
Fortunately the first man did not see him. He seated himself for a while, and then made off and disappeared round the headland towards the station, just as the second figure found a footing on the beach. Ellison took it all in in a second; as Murkard expected, he had come to recover the pearl, believing everybody to be asleep.
Eager to be doing, Ellison watched Murkard leave the water and follow the other round the promontory, and then he himself set off through the scrub to intercept him on the other side. It was a difficult matter to steer through the thick jungle in the dark; but eventually he managed it, reaching the huts just as Merton was approaching the store. What was he going to do? Could the pearl, after all, be concealed in there?
Reflecting that if he waited and left him undisturbed he would probably find out everything for himself, he paused for a few moments and watched. He saw the man look carefully round, to be sure that he was un.o.bserved, and then approach the door. A minute later he entered the building. At the same instant the other shadow crept up towards the door. Seeing this, Ellison picked up his heels and ran towards it too; but the night was dark, and in the middle of his career his foot came into collision with a discarded cable lying in the gra.s.s. He tripped and fell, one cartridge of the rifle he carried in his hand going off with a murderous report. For half a minute the breath was knocked out of his body, and he lay where he had fallen. Then picking himself up, he prepared to continue his advance.
But the report had given the alarm, and when he looked again, a strange scene was being enacted before him. From where he stood he could see the bright light streaming from the store door, and hear a sound of voices coming from within. Next moment two men, locked together in deadliest embrace, came staggering out into the open. There was no noise now, only the two locked bodies twisting and twining, this way and that, round and round over the open s.p.a.ce before the door. It needed little discernment to see that both men were fighting for their lives. Like wildcats they clung to each other, each exerting every muscle to bring the other down. But, as Ellison half-consciously reflected, what match could Murkard hope to be for such a man as Merton? One was a big, powerful _man_, the other only a parody of the name. With this thought in his mind, he dashed across to them; but he was too late. He saw an arm go up, and a knife descend; again it went up in the lamplight, and again it descended. Then Murkard"s hold gave way, and he fell to the ground; next moment his antagonist was speeding towards the beach.
Ellison took it all in at a glance, and then set off as fast as his legs could carry him by another path to intercept his flight. So far, the man had not seen him; he would take him by surprise, or perish in the attempt.
The path he followed was one that gave him a decided start, and he was able to reach the sh.o.r.e and take advantage of the shelter of a bush before the other turned the corner of the headland. He heard him coming closer and closer, breathing heavily after the struggle he had just undergone. Then Ellison stepped out of the shadow and confronted him, rifle in hand.
"It"s no good, Merton, you haven"t a chance. Put up your hands, or I fire!"
The other came to a dead halt, and without a second thought did as he was ordered. But overcome with astonishment though he was, his habitual nonchalance returned to him in an instant.
"You"re a little smarter than usual, Mr. Ellison. I didn"t bargain for this!"
"You"d better not talk. Keep your hands up, or I"ll drill you through and through. There are eight more cartridges under my finger, and I"ll shoot without a second thought. Right about face, and walk up the middle of the path. Don"t attempt any escape, or you"re a dead man."
Merton did as he was ordered, and in this fashion they returned to the store. As they approached it they could discern a small crowd collected round the door. The report of the rifle had brought the hands from their huts, and between them they had carried Murkard into the building.
"Straight on, Merton. Keep your hands up, and don"t turn to the right or left, or stop till I give you permission."