Part 9

Taking the two lamps I preceded Mr. Harborough into the passage, Marjorie bringing up the rear. From the first it was evident that the passage was not artificial, but a natural cavern. Indeed as we proceeded it proved to be a simple guano cave, the stalactites being grimy and the stalagmites buried beneath long years accumulations of guano. In its general character it did not differ materially from the cave which I had discovered on the east side of the mountain during my former sojourn. The ceiling of this one, however, was higher so that we were able to walk upright; and it had no windings. Proceeding a few rods we came to a second chamber, leading off at right angles; but the opening was so small that we would have had to crawl through it and we did not consider it worth while to enter it, at present, at least. The thought occurred to me that the passage connected this cavern with the one which I had previously discovered; for, as I thought the matter over, I believed that the two must run nearly parallel. Myriads of bats flitted about, almost flying against our faces, and several times nearly extinguishing our lamps. In a few minutes we came to a fair-sized chamber, nearly circular and perhaps a dozen feet in diameter; and as we entered it we were astonished to find that it was partially illumined by daylight. Stranger still, mounted on two huge wooden blocks were two brass cannon, pointing away from us.

"An ingenious fortification," remarked Mr. Harborough.

"A masked battery," said Marjorie.

We now examined the guns closely. They were covered with a greenish corrosion, and were, as I have said, brass. They were of exactly the same size, about four-inch, and on the breech of each was stamped the following, together with the arms of Spain: "Espana: 1512." We saw that we had reached the mouth of the cave, which was thickly filled with a mass of bushes and creepers. We resolved to clear away the obstruction at once, and I returned to the chamber for the axe. With it and our knives we soon cleared away the vegetable growths, and behold, we stood on the side of the mountain a few yards from the mouth of cave, overlooking the ocean to the eastward. The purpose of the guns was quite apparent. They commanded the approach to the mountain, and to an advancing enemy were utterly invisible, as a shelf of rock hid the entrance from below. This latter discovery did not promise to be of any special importance to us, it was most interesting. Our whole effort, now, was put forth toward transporting the gold to the cove on the west coast; and placing as many of the coins in each knapsack as we could each carry comfortably, we packed enough provisions to last at least two days, and set out. As we had done on the journey to the mountains, we followed the edge of the forest making a short detour, when about half way, to avoid a possible encounter with the wild pigs. Mr. Harborough and myself would have liked very much to risk an encounter with them, but the safety of Marjorie was our first consideration, and these animals were very fierce. So as we had grave doubts as to their desirability for food we decided to give them a wide berth. Nothing occurred to give excitement to the march and toward the end of the second day we reached the house in the cove, where we found everything entirely undisturbed. We immediately set to work to make several strong bags of sail-cloth, each being about two feet long and half as wide, in which to store the gold. This occupied us one full day, and after storing the gold we had brought, in a corner of the hut, burying it beneath the kitchen utensils, we took sufficient provisions to last us during the return march and set out. Numerous trips were made to and from the mountain which consumed several weeks. Meanwhile we had made an additional discovery, almost as important as the first. As we gradually removed the gold contained in the chest we saw that there was another chest beyond it. Like the first it fell to pieces on being moved. Beyond it was a solid wall of stone. But the second chest was not so heavy as the first, and it proved to be only about half filled with gold. The rest was occupied with rolls of manuscript, all of which fell to powder when exposed to the air, leaving not one scrap on which the faded writing was legible.

At last only what gold we could carry away on one more trip remained. During our march to and fro from the coast we had kept a sharp watch for the "wild man," as we called him, and Marjorie always kept very close to us while passing through that part of the forest.

But we saw no signs of him.

*CHAPTER XXI.*

_*Preparing for Departure; Death of the Monster*_*.*

On the morning of the day on which we were to set out with the last packs of gold, the sky was partly overcast, and far down in the eastern horizon the sky line was blended into a leaden haze, which gradually disappeared as the sun ascended toward the zenith. This I knew, was a premonition of the approaching rainy season, which I knew was always preceded for several weeks by a thin veil of clouds and the murky atmosphere of the horizon in the morning.

This decided us to make this our last journey, and to remain at the cove after our next arrival there; for there we were sheltered, to a great degree, from the rain and our house was much more comfortable than the abode beneath the rock on the mountain, which was dreary during the long rain, as I knew from experience. At the cove we had a substantial house, and, with the stores and utensils from the wreck we should be very comfortably situated. And, beside, we had gradually, as we marched back and forth, evolved a scheme to remove some of the deck planks of the vessel and such lumber as we found available, and to try, during the rainy season, to construct a substantial boat in which we might venture to leave the island. We planned to construct a great shed, closed in on three sides and left open at the end facing the beach. Beneath this we would lay the keel of our craft and test our skill as ship-builders.

So, with our guns, clothing, such other articles as we wished to take back with us, and of course, Puff, after closing the cliff-house we proceeded to the chamber beneath the ruin to pack the remaining gold. Our knapsacks were speedily filled, and we prepared to leave the chamber.

Marjorie preceded us to the stairs, but scarcely had she reached the first step when she darted back to us shrieking and trembling, her face ashy pale.

She crouched between us, unable to speak, her eyes staring wildly toward the stone steps. I sprang forward and looked up toward the opening. There I saw, standing between us and the sky, silent as a statue, with eyes glaring down at us--the wild man of the forest.

There was no mistaking it; but this time it looked less like an ape and more like a human being.

Without looking around I beckoned to Mr. Harborough. He stepped to my side, and catching sight of the horrible thing above us, he raised his rifle and fired. The report roared around the chamber and the stairway was filled with smoke. Simultaneously a heavy body rolled down the slippery stairs and lay outstretched at our feet. It was the wild man--lifeless; its limbs outstretched and its wide-open eyes staring up at us.

Never again do I wish to look upon such a horrible object. We shrank back in the doorway, feeling weak and faint; Marjorie clung to her father, her eyes gleaming with terror, a look of horror upon her face.

After we had recovered our courage and the first shock had partly passed away, we approached closely and examined the strange being. It was human in every detail, the hair, arms, legs, feet, eyes and face. It had once been a man, but what a marvelous transformation had taken place! The body was entirely covered with short brownish hair which grew several inches long on the breast. The hair of the head was dark brown in color, long, tangled and matted. The nose and mouth were regular, and the teeth were in fair condition. The eyes were either blue or gray, we could not tell exactly which. The finger-nails were long, which made the hands look like claws.

The skin was tanned by exposure to sun and rain until it was a dark bronze hue. We pondered long concerning the history of this strange being; for a human being it surely was; once like ourselves.

In death it was less repugnant than in life. Now that we had become accustomed to look at it, it impressed us only as a poor dead outcast, of whom we knew nothing.

There could be but one solution to the mystery. Either the wretched person had been marooned, or, like ourselves had been cast away on the island, and, driven mad by solitude, exposure and the contemplation of his position had probably for several years roamed the forest as a wild man--a wild beast in every sense, except his origin. We moved the body to a corner of the chamber, composed the limbs and went out into the sunlight.

The long lever remained under the stone which had covered the opening, and we worked it back into place--closing the treasure chamber, now a tomb. We covered the stone thickly with earth and turned toward the forest.

Without further incident we reached the house at the cove and proceeded to put everything in order in anticipation of the coming rainy season which, we promised ourselves should be a busy one with us, between boat building and general occupations; and we viewed the future not without pleasant anticipations. We were comfortable, with every want supplied, a happy family sharing a common lot.

Never was there a complaint made by any of us. We indulged in conversation about home, our individual lives, and discussed matters of present and future moment.

*CHAPTER XXII.*

_*Boat Building; a Startling Sound*_*.*

Out first work of magnitude was the construction of a great shed in which to build the boat, sheltered from the weather. This occupied us many days; for it was of considerable size, twenty-five feet long and about two thirds as wide. The method of construction was exactly the same as in the other structures and need not be described again. It was closed all around except the end next to the beach. This was left open to afford both air and light.

House-building was varied by several trips to the stranded vessel which remained on the reef precisely as we had left it. Our raft, too, was in a perfect state of repair.

Many of the deck planks we removed, as well as all the boarding of the deck-house and the sheathing in the cabin. We were careful to save every nail, and we found a further supply in the fore-castle. These, though common "cut" nails, could readily be transformed into "clinch" nails by heating, in which form they would be available for fastening the boat together.

The heavy deck planking we proposed to use for the keel and frame of the craft, as well as for oars and thole-pins. All the lumber and such small rope as we believed would be of use to us, also quantities of sail-cloth, were transported to the shore and piled inside the shed.

These duties were varied by occasional trips to the forest to hunt wild pigeons, fishing in the stream or jaunts to the pool for fruit. These were holidays to us, during which work was forgotten and we all entered into the spirit of the occasion.

Day by day the clouds of the morning lingered longer and longer and were less quickly dispelled by the sun's rays. They became more sombre as the days went by, and sunset was preceded by fitful gusts of wind, indicating that the rainy season was coming on apace. So we abandoned further work on the boat and began to lay in a supply of cocoanuts and yams.

While returning from the pool one day, as we passed the bamboo thicket an idea occurred to me which I lost no time in communicating to Mr. Harborough.

It was this; to fasten bamboos, of good size, around our boat, outside, immediately below the gunwales, reaching from stem to stern. This would render it more buoyant, for the bamboo, consisting as it does of hollow joints, would have the same effect as air bags, or water-tight compartments. Such a device would, I believed, make it impossible to capsize the boat, thus making it doubly seaworthy and rendering our escape from exile more certain.

"It is a capital idea," exclaimed Mr. Harborough. "And while we are about it," I continued, "we may as well select a bamboo for a mast."

My companions fully approved of my ideas and we at once set to work to cut the bamboos and carry them to the boat-house.

This work occupied us a good many days, for it was slow and laborious, even with the aid of the axe; for the outer part of the bamboo is extremely hard.

We now proceeded to strengthen the outer part of the wall of the house, and to renew the thatch of the roofs, all of which required several days of labor, cutting the grass and fastening it into place.

A large supply of wood was gathered and stored in the farther end of the boat-shed; in short we made every preparation for a comfortable rainy season, protected from the wind and the rain. Hurricanes could not be guarded against, so we only hoped that they would give us a wide berth.

The first showers had set in ere we resumed work on the boat. From one of the best planks we fashioned the keel, which was laid with some ceremony, Marjorie constituting the audience; after which we set about getting out the stern-post and the frame-pieces. While we were thus occupied Marjorie performed the house-hold duties, and, at odd times, busied herself heating the nails white-hot, and dropping them into water, which process transformed them into "clinch" nails.

She also made several bags from sail-cloth strongly sewed, for the reception of the gold. The bags were filled with the coins, securely sewed up and stored away in Marjorie's trunk, nearly filling it. We decided that this would be the safest way to dispose of it for the present.

Work on the boat went on apace, each day being much like its predecessor. The daily showers became more frequent and copious and we saw the sun less often.

At times we felt depressed and our isolation grew irksome.

One morning, having had breakfast, we started for the boat-house, when we were brought to a sudden stand-still.

A long-drawn sound like a trumpet blown at a distance echoed and reverberated through the trees. It continued several seconds, during which we remained in a listening attitude.

Neither of us spoke.

It was repeated again; what could it mean, what could it be?

Surely it could not come from any wild animal for we had seen none larger than a pig.

Had we been believers in the existence of demons, we must have at once decided that a demon lurked in the forest behind us.

*CHAPTER XXIII.*

_*Rescue at Hand; Leaving the Island*_*.*

Marjorie had heard the sound, also, and came toward us.

Suddenly she pointed out toward the sea, uttering the exclamation, "look."

We both turned and looked in the direction indicated.

A boat was rounding the point; a real boat.

There were men in it, four men. The boat shot around the point and began skirting the shore toward us.

We saw that they were black men, dressed in rough but civilized garments.

They were conversing among themselves, speaking in a tongue which we did not understand.

Were they friends or foes? Stepping quickly into the house we took our guns and waited behind the stockade, standing so we could watch the boat. It had the appearance of a canoe, made of wood. Evidently the black men had seen our house as the canoe was turned toward the shore.

She grounded in a few seconds, and the men sprang ashore. They cautiously approached the boat-shed peered into it, and then came slowly toward the house. Beckoning Marjorie to remain out of sight we grasped our guns and stepped boldly out, resolved to meet the emergency unhesitatingly, whatever it might be.

To our surprise the black men stopped with a shout of joy.

One a tall, fine looking negro, stepped toward us and extended his hand to us.

"Fo' de Lard, Marsa; Who is yo', how long yo' ben heah?"

I told him that I had been here many months, and that my two companions, pointing to Mr. Harborough and to Marjorie, who now came forward, had been here half as long.

Then he told us a strange story, one which gave us great joy.

He said that they were coming from their island to this one to hunt turtles, at the great breeding place which I had discovered on my first march to the mountain, and that, while nearing the east coast of our island a steamer came along, slowed down and then stopped.

Men on the steamer seemed to be looking at the island with glasses, and then the whistle of the steamer was blown. This was in the late evening before. Presently the steamer started and when it came up with the canoe the "cap'n" asked them if there were any people living on the island.

The black men answered in the negative, adding that none of the turtle hunters dared go far from shore, for a terrible savage monster half man and half demon, lurked in the forest. The "cap'n" told them he had seen a beacon on the top of the mountain, and that he believed some one was signalling for assistance. So he bargained with them to follow close along the shore, searching carefully in every cove, while the steamer followed slowly.

The steamer anchored during the night and the black men were taken on board.

At daylight that morning the black men continued along the shore in the canoe, the steamer following. As the canoe came in sight of the cove they saw the wreck and signalled back to the steamer, which had answered by a blast on her whistle.

It was the sound of the steamer's whistle which we heard just before the boat appeared. In a few minutes a large steamer came in sight from behind the point and anchored off the cove. A boat was immediately lowered and rowed swiftly ashore. A man in uniform sprang ashore and came hurriedly to us, extending both his hands which we eagerly grasped.

He was the second officer of the Royal Mail steamship _Dunmore Castle_, from England for West Indian and Colombian ports. When off the east side of the island somewhat out of her course by reason of a heavy squall into which she had run a few hours before sighting the island, the first officer had seen my beacon and called the Captain's attention to it. The rest had been related by the black men.

My story is nearly told. We were transported on board the steamer, with such of our belonging as we wished to take with us. The great weight of Marjorie's trunk called forth some remarks from the men who handled it, but we made some casual allusion to rare sea-shells and other curios and felt relieved when the trunk was on board.

The _Dunmore Castle_ proceeded to make her ports of call, during which we had to give a detailed account of our life and strange adventures on the island, to the wondering passengers.

We were landed at Kingston, Jamaica, from whence we proceeded by stage over-land to Port Antonio on the north-east coast, where we embarked on the steamship _Sama_, for Boston, with fruit.

I have nothing more of interest to relate, unless the reader may like to know that I see Marjorie every day still, and that her father visits us at least once each year, when we talk over and over again, the incidents that I have, in my humble way, tried to relate.

FINIS.