"A SAIL! A SAIL!"
Twice daily on each of the succeeding days Mr. McKay and his companions paid a hurried visit to the treasure-cave, and at the end of that time the bulk of the buccaneers" spoil was safely hidden in the spot chosen for its reception.
Then, with the return of the spring tides, the work of salving the yawl was resumed.
Slowly, yet without a hitch, the sunken craft was moved towards the cradle which awaited its burden, till the falling off of the tides found the yawl within ten yards of low-water mark.
"I have been thinking, pater," observed Andy one day, as they were preparing to revisit the cave.
"Thinking what, my boy?"
"Why, every journey we make to the cavern we perform practically empty-handed. Would it not be well to carry a supply of provisions with us and store them in the cave? You see, if those savages should return we might be glad of a retreat."
"Quite true, though I sincerely hope we shall not be put to such straits. However, we"ll take a few barrels of provisions and some rifles and ammunition as well."
"And water?"
"Ay, but that"s the rub. Water is heavy to carry about, and as far as I can see there"s no spring or brook within a mile of the entrance to the cave."
"I wonder if there"s water to be found above the cliffs in which lies the mouth of the tunnel. I noticed several small streams when I climbed the mountain, though, of course, I didn"t ascend on that side.
I think I"ll explore that slope as soon as possible."
"Why not to-day? Ellerton and you can do so while we are making our midday trip back to the house."
Accordingly, instead of ascending the tunnel with Mr. McKay and Terence, the two chums clambered up the face of the cliff. At the top they found that the land sloped steeply towards the peak, the ground being thickly covered with stunted bushes and occasional clumps of palms.
"Look here, Hoppy," remarked Andy, as they sat down to recover their breadth after their fatiguing climb. "It"s all very well living on an island when everything goes well, but we can"t say that it is now.
Perhaps it"s a useless fear, but I fear that there"s always the possibility of those savage brutes coming back here in overwhelming numbers and wiping us out. That does not tend to make things comfortable, although it may tend to liven things up."
"But they had such a terrible smashing last time," replied Ellerton.
"True! But didn"t we give them a good licking when they pursued us in their canoes? That didn"t prevent them repeating their unwelcome attentions."
"I hope you don"t mean to show the white feather, Andy?"
"Not I. If there"s a dust-up, I"ll do my best; but, at the same time, I shan"t be sorry to get the yawl repaired and say good-bye to the island. The treasure can wait till we charter a steamer to fetch it."
"Well, the savages haven"t returned, so we can still make the best of things," replied Ellerton cheerfully. "But we must be moving or we"ll find no water."
The two lads had not gone fifty yards ere they came across a small stream. Andy bent down, and raising some of the water in the palm of his hand applied it to his lips.
"Fresh as one could wish," he p.r.o.nounced.
"Good! Now we"ll follow its course and see if it approaches the mouth of the cave."
The rivulet, for it was nothing more, wended its way in an almost semicircular direction, till, at about two hundred yards from where the lads had struck it, it emptied itself into a rift in the rocks, the splash of its fall echoing dimly from apparently unfathomable depths.
"Look! We are not very far from that part of the cliff that overhangs the mouth of the cave," exclaimed Ellerton. "What is to prevent us from digging a shallow trench and conducting the water right to the entrance to the tunnel?"
"It"s fairly hard rock," objected Andy, "It will be no end of a task cutting a new watercourse."
"Then we can use some of the cast-iron pipes we brought ash.o.r.e,"
continued the young seaman, determined not to be overcome by early difficulties. "There are more than enough to cover this distance, and by damming the stream we can----"
"Yes, that"s all very well, but if we are compelled to beat a retreat to the cave the savages will find the pipes and so discover our hiding-place."
"I"m afraid that will make but little difference. The trail from the house up the mouth of the tunnel is so well defined that a blind man might follow it. Why, whatever is the matter with you, Andy? You seem to throw cold water on every suggestion that is made. You are not always like that. Are you ill?"
"I believe I am," replied Andy. "At least, I do not feel quite up to the mark."
"Then let"s get back," said Ellerton, and a.s.sisting his chum over the rough ground the pair returned to the mouth of the tunnel just as the others were emerging.
"Any luck?" asked Mr. McKay cheerfully; then realising that his son looked ill, he exclaimed: "What have you been doing, Andy?"
"I don"t know, father. I feel absolutely rotten."
They managed to get him back to the house, his teeth chattering with the cold; but before night he was in a high fever. His father administered liberal doses of quinine, of which there was a plentiful supply; but, in spite of this remedy, the lad"s illness increased, and before morning he was in a delirium, raving about the sunken yawl and the savages. More than once he attempted to leave his bed and seize a rifle, and it required the united efforts of Mr. McKay, Ellerton, and Terence to hold him down.
It was an anxious time. Mr. McKay had had experience of this kind of malady, and knew that should the patient leave his bed and take cold, he must die.
For forty-eight hours Mr. McKay, the two lads, and Quexo kept ceaseless watch, the mulatto being particularly attentive in his duties; but at length the feverish state was succeeded by a profuse sweat, and Mr.
McKay knew that for the present the dreaded disaster was averted.
During the lengthy period of convalescence, someone had to be within call of the patient, but the others resumed their outdoor occupation.
Most of the traces of the last visit of the savages had been removed; the cliff-path leading up from the sh.o.r.e had been fortified by the erection of a loop-holed palisade, so as to command the approach by rifle-fire; while the remainder of the treasure had been brought from the cave to the house, and the former was well provisioned in case of emergency.
Ellerton also found time to carry out his project of conducting fresh water into the cave. By the aid of Terence and Quexo he contrived to lay a line of pipes from the stream down the slope to the edge of the cliff overhanging the entrance, whence a tiny cascade fell over the rocks within a few feet of the tunnel.
Later on, at Mr. McKay"s suggestion, the line of iron pipes was continued down the face of the cliff, though concealed by the bushes, and carried a few yards into the tunnel. For most of that distance the pipes were covered by the thick dust, till sufficiently far from the entrance to enable the occupants to defend the end of the aqueduct if necessary.
The water, on escaping, ran down the incline, till absorbed by the pumice dust, although by degrees it cut for itself a channel close to the sides of the tunnel. Thus a plentiful supply of the precious liquid was a.s.sured, and at the same time no inconvenience was caused by the waste turning the floor of the pa.s.sage into a swamp.
The rainy season was shortly due, and unable, on account of Andy"s weakness, to complete the salvage of the yawl, since every available hand was necessary, the wrecked boat was again rafted farther out into the lagoon and allowed to sink to the bottom, so as to lie in safety during the on-sh.o.r.e gales.
One morning Ellerton set out as usual to attend to the sheep, which were in a thriving state, having so increased in numbers that new pasture grounds had to be provided for them.
It was then blowing strongly from the north-east and almost dead on sh.o.r.e. Happening to glance seaward, he was surprised to see a topsail schooner, under close-reefed canvas, running past the island.
For a moment or so he remained gazing with astonishment at the unwonted sight: then, recovering himself, he ran as hard as he could to the house.
"A sail! A sail!" he exclaimed breathlessly.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "A SAIL! A SAIL!" HE EXCLAIMED BREATHLESSLY]
Everyone, including Andy, ran out of the house, and, as Ellerton had announced, there was the schooner now abreast of the entrance of the lagoon, but still keeping on her course to the south-west.
"Bring out the signal-book and the flags," ordered Mr. McKay. "And you, Quexo, make a fire."