Lance nodded.
"Good. The next thing I was about to explain is, that his friends are our enemies; you and your people especially. Is that plain?"
"Perfectly," answered Lance, still outwardly calm and unconcerned as ever, though inwardly much perturbed. "And I presume you intend us to accept these remarks of yours in the light of a threat of some kind?"
Ralli looked hard at his interrogator before replying. He could not in the least understand this man who received with such perfect _sang- froid_ the intelligence that he and his friends were to be regarded and treated as the enemies of a company of ruthless outlaws such as he must know Ralli and his a.s.sociates to be.
"Yes," he said at last, slowly and almost doubtingly, "you may take what I say as a threat. I mean to pay to you and your friends all the great debt of vengeance which that other friend of yours, Johnson, has allowed to acc.u.mulate against him. I will be doubly avenged; I will be avenged upon him, and upon you as well."
Lance laughed gaily as he lightly knocked off with his little finger the ash from his cigar-end. This was a serious, a direful business; but he had no intention to let the Greek see that his words had any alarming or disturbing effect upon him, so he said with a smile--
"Excuse me for laughing at you, but, under the circ.u.mstances I really could not help it. Your ignorance of the true state of affairs strikes me as so positively ludicrous. You forget, my good sir, that I am behind the scenes--in your secret, you know," he added, seeing a look of bewilderment at the other expression. "Why, man, you and all your people are absolutely at our mercy. You look surprised, but I a.s.sure you such is the fact. I really do not know whether I ought to explain myself to you; I scarcely think you deserve it after your recent threats--no; I will keep my own counsel; you shall remain in your ignorance."
And he turned to walk away.
"Stop," gasped Ralli, "what is it you mean? I _must_ know."
Lance paused for a full minute as though irresolute; at last he said--
"Well, perhaps it would be better for all parties that there should be after all a clear understanding. You and your people outnumber our party many times, and it is indisputable that you have it in your power in consequence to make us very uncomfortable; but, for all that, you are absolutely at our mercy; and therefore it will be greatly to your advantage to treat us well. You will perhaps understand this better if I inform you that your plot against Johnson has been betrayed" (he did not think it necessary to explain that, as far as he knew, the only betrayal of it had been in the incautious words uttered by the Greek himself at the opening of their present conversation); "and that if he does not return _neither will the brig_; and then how will you be situated! You could possibly contrive to exist for a year upon the provisions left on the island; you might even, aided by the productions of the island itself, find sustenance for many years. But would the spending of the rest of your lives on this island be in accordance with your plans and wishes? And do you not think it possible that Johnson, in revenge for your plot against him, may find means to direct some cruiser to your hiding-place? Your imagination, I take it, is vivid enough to picture the consequences of any such step on his part."
"We shall have the battery and the schooner," muttered Ralli.
"Yes," said Lance, "_if we build them for you_; not otherwise. There is not a man on this island, outside our own party, who could complete the schooner, much less build the battery. Now, do you begin to understand that I was only speaking the truth when I spoke of your being at our mercy."
Ralli was silent. He stood with knitted brows intently cogitating for some minutes; then suddenly looking up into Lance"s face with a smile he said--
"Ah, bah! what obtuse people you English are; how impossible for you to understand a little joke! Well, I will joke no more since you cannot understand it. We will be good friends all round; the best of friends; you shall have no cause to complain of bad treatment; and you will work _hard_ to finish the schooner and the battery _early_, please. I like not what you said just now about Johnson and the frigate. But that too was all a joke I know."
"You are mistaken," said Lance. "I confess I was dense enough not to understand that you were joking, so I spoke in earnest. But I think we clearly understand each other now; so I hope we shall hear no more about threats, revenge, and nonsense of that kind."
And flinging his cigar-end into the water, Lance turned on his heel and walked away.
Knowing, or at least shrewdly guessing that Ralli was watching him, he sauntered away in his usual careless and easy fashion toward the hut, which they had laughingly dubbed "Staunton Cottage," and entered it.
The ladies were busying themselves about various domestic tasks, and little May was amusing herself with an uncouth wooden doll which Bob had constructed for her. Lance was a prime favourite with May, so the moment that he entered the doll was flung into a corner, and the child came bounding up to him joyously exclaiming--
"Oh, you funny Mr Evelin, how is it that you have not gone with my papa? Did you stay at home on purpose to play with me?"
"Well, not exactly, little one," answered Lance, catching her in his arms and tossing her high in the air, to her infinite delight. "Not exactly; although a man might be worse employed than in amusing you, you mischievous little fairy. No; I am going to papa presently--and would you like to come with me, May, in a nice little boat?"
"I don"t know," answered the child doubtfully. "How far is it? I don"t think I like boats."
"No, you poor little mite, I expect not; it would be wonderful if you did after what you have suffered in them," remarked Lance, holding the child now in his arms, while she played with his long beard. "But we shall not have very far to go, pet; only over to that big rock,"
pointing out of the window, "and I will take great care of you."
"And shall I see my papa?" inquired May.
"Oh, yes," was the reply; "you will be with him all day. And Robert is over there too, you know; and I daresay he will play with you if you ask him prettily."
"Then I"ll go," she decided promptly; and forthwith went away to her mother with the request that her hat and jacket might be put on, ""cause I"s going with Mr Evelin to see papa," as she explained.
"I daresay you are somewhat surprised to see me here," remarked Lance, as he replaced his tiny playfellow on the floor. "The fact is that I have been watching the departure of the brig; and the idea has occurred to me that now she is gone, and so many of the remaining men are away at the shipyard all day, you ladies may with, I believe, perfect safety indulge in the unwonted luxury of a daylight walk. You all stand greatly in need of fresh air and exercise; and I really think there is now no cause to fear any molestation, otherwise I should not of course suggest such a thing. It will never do, you know, for you to remain cooped up here day after day--you will get low-spirited and out of health; and I am inclined to believe it will be rather a good idea than otherwise to accustom these fellows to the sight of you moving freely and fearlessly about."
The ladies were quite unanimous in their cordial welcome to this suggestion, Blanche only venturing to add in a whisper, and with a pleading look--
"Can you not come with us, Lance? We should feel _quite_ safe then."
"I really could not, darling," he answered gently. "It would not be fair to the others, you know. Beside which, I am urgently wanted at the yard to-day, and we must not let pleasure, however tempting, interfere with the progress of the schooner. I should like it immensely, of course, and if I thought there was the least particle of danger in your expedition I _would_ go; but I believe there is none. At the same time, you will of course keep your eyes open, dear, and be on the watch for any suspicious circ.u.mstance; and if you really _must_ have an escort, there is Dale; shall I ask him?"
"Oh, Dale!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Blanche with such a contemptuous toss of her pretty little head that Lance said no more; it was sufficiently evident that the ladies would be badly in want of an escort indeed before they would accept Dale.
The three ladies were soon ready; and as they took their way up the valley Lance stood at the door with May on his shoulder, watching them; and when at last they pa.s.sed out of sight he made his way down to the landing-place, seated the child carefully in the stern of a small dingy which he found moored there, cast off the painter, stepped in himself, and, shipping the short paddles, drove the tiny boat with long easy leisurely strokes down toward the rock, chatting gaily with his tiny companion the while, and causing her childish laughter to peal musically and incessantly across the placid surface of the land-locked water.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
THE LADIES MAKE A DISCOVERY; AND BOB DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF.
It was a most delightful day for a walk, the ladies averred enthusiastically; and their enthusiasm was quite justified. The azure of the sky overhead was relieved by a bank of soft dappled fleecy clouds, which served in some measure as a screen against the ardent rays of the sun; and a gentle breeze from the westward imparted a feeling of freshness to the air, whilst it wafted to the pedestrians the subtly mingled perfumes of the thousand varied plants and flowers which flourished in the deep rich soil of the island. As the ladies walked quietly on up the gently sloping valley toward the hills their enjoyment increased with every step. Hitherto they had only ventured abroad at night; and lovely as the landscape had appeared in the clear mellow radiance of the moon--the soft silvery light boldly contrasted with broad ma.s.ses of rich grey-brown shadow--they agreed that it was incomparably more beautiful when viewed by the full light of day and in all the glory of brilliant sunshine. A thousand gorgeous colours on leaf and blossom, on gaily-plumaged bird and bright-winged insect, charmed their eyes and enriched the foreground of the picture; while the dense ma.s.ses of foliage, with their subtle gradations of colour, light, and shade, as they gradually receded into the background, and finally melted into the rich purply grey of the extreme distance, balanced and harmonised the whole, completing one of the most beautiful prospects perhaps upon which the human eye had ever gazed.
Their spirits rose as they walked steadily onward and upward, breathing with intense enjoyment the strong pure perfume-laden air, exhilarating in its effect as a draught of rich wine; and temporarily forgetting, in the pleasure of the moment, not only their past sufferings but their present and future perils, they chatted merrily and arranged a hundred plans, many of which, could they but have known it, were destined never to attain fruition.
Hitherto they had been following a faintly defined track in the luxuriant gra.s.s, a track which had always up to the present determined the direction of their longer walks; but arriving at last at a point where this trail turned abruptly off, and pa.s.sed down a gentle declivity apparently toward the sea on the eastern side of the island, they determined to abandon it, and, tempted by the shade, to plunge boldly into a broad expanse of park-like timber which spread before them. The welcome shade was soon reached; and, somewhat fatigued with their ramble, they seated themselves at the foot of a gigantic cork-tree, and in the rich green twilight shadow of its luxuriant foliage discussed the luncheon with which they had had the forethought to provide themselves.
The luxuriant gra.s.s which had hitherto carpeted the earth here gave place to graceful ferns in rich variety, interspersed with delicate mosses of velvety texture, and here and there, in the more open s.p.a.ces, small patches of a heath-like plant with tiny waxen blossoms of a tint varying from the purest white to a dainty purple. The silence of the forest was broken only by the gentle murmur of the wind in the tree-tops and the soft rustle of the foliage overhead, save when now and then a twittering bird flashed like a living gem from bough to bough; but there was a low, deep sound vibrating on the air, which told of the never- ceasing beat of the surf on the island"s rock-girt sh.o.r.e.
Rested and refreshed, the ladies at length rose to their feet once more and continued their way through the wood. The ground soon began to rise steeply; and after nearly an hour"s steady climbing they emerged once more into the full and dazzling sunlight to find themselves standing on the edge of a steep rocky ravine, through which, some fifty feet below, there flowed a tiny stream of crystal purity.
The rocks were of a character quite new to them, and, ignorant of geology as they were, they would doubtless have pa.s.sed them by without a second glance, had they not been attracted by a peculiar glitter here and there upon their surface, which proceeded, as they discovered upon a closer inspection, from the presence of minute particles of a dull yellow substance embedded in the stone. But what chiefly riveted their attention was a small basin-like pool with a smooth level sandy bottom, as they could clearly see from their elevated stand-point. The water appeared to be about two feet deep, and the basin itself was roughly of a circular form, about ten yards in diameter. That it was obviously intended by nature to be used as a bath was the thought which flashed simultaneously through the minds of the three fair gazers; and as each one glanced half-timidly around, only to feel rea.s.sured by the utter absence of any indication of probable unwelcome intrusion, the thought speedily found vent in words.
"Just look at that pool," exclaimed Mrs Staunton; "what a delightful bath it would make!"
"Oh, Mrs Staunton!" said Blanche, "do you know that is exactly the thought which occurred to me. I feel tired, and I should so enjoy a plunge into the beautiful clear, cool water. Do you think we might venture?"
"I do not see why we should not," was the reply. "What do you think, Violet?"
"I think it would be nothing short of a luxury," answered Violet. "I too feel tired, and I am sure it would refresh us. I am not afraid, if you are not."
"Then let us risk it," said Mrs Staunton with a sudden show of intrepidity, which was, however, only half genuine; and, each borrowing courage from the companionship of the others, they hurriedly scrambled down the rocky slope, and in a few minutes more were flashing the bright water over each other like naiads at play, their clear laughter echoing strangely among the mighty rocks of the ravine.
The water proved to be much deeper than they had supposed, being quite four feet deep in the centre of the pool, which rendered their bath all the more enjoyable. The sand was, on the whole, beautifully fine, white, and firm beneath their feet, but occasionally they experienced the sensation of treading upon small, hard, roughly-rounded objects among the finer particles; and finally Blanche encountered a lump so large and hard that, curious to see what it could be, she, with a motion of her foot, swept away the sand until the object was exposed to view.
It seemed to be a rough, irregularly-shaped pebble somewhat larger than a hen"s egg, of a dull yellow colour; and, reaching down her arm, she plunged beneath the water and brought the odd-looking object up in her hand.
"What a curious stone; and how heavy it is!" she remarked, holding it up to view.
Her companions came to inspect it, and Mrs Staunton took it in her hand to make a close examination.