CHAPTER VIII.

ON THE QUARTER-DECK AGAIN.

Up to this time Frank had been all in the dark, and utterly at a loss to find any explanation for the situation of affairs; but at the sight of these two worthies a sudden light broke in upon him.

“Everything is clear to me now,” thought he. “I know why Fowler had so many questions to ask concerning the contents of Uncle Dick’s strong box, and why he was so particular to inquire into my abilities as a navigator. He is the one we have to thank for this trouble. He is hale fellow well met with these convicts, has assisted them to escape, and expects to get a large share of the money in the safe. Our voyage around the world ends right here, and I am in a lovely scrape besides. These fellows expect me to take them to San Francisco. After I get there what shall I do with the schooner? What will become of Uncle Dick and the rest in the meantime?”

While Frank was turning these knotty questions over in his mind, Fowler and his companion came into the cabin, and closed the door behind them. “Well, Waters, you are off for America once more,” said the consul’s clerk, “and this time I think you are all right. I can’t see what drawbacks you are going to have. There was no war vessel in the harbor when we left.”

“But there was one at Melbourne,” replied Waters, “and it’ll not take long for the commissioners to set her on our track. We must depend on our captain to keep us clear of her. I’m sorry you are here, Archie.”

“So am I,” said the latter. “Your man must be a regular blockhead to take me for Walter Gaylord. He looks about as much like me as I look like you.”

“Oh, that’s the way you came here, is it?” said Frank to himself. “These fellows wanted to catch Walter because he carries the key of the safe, but made a blunder and captured you in his place. This makes twice that Walter has escaped trouble in that way.”

“Mistakes will happen,” said Waters. “I told Bob here to collar a fellow dressed in black, and wearing a Panama hat; and as you answered that description exactly, he took you in. No matter; we can get along without the key. Some of these days, when we feel in the humor, we’ll set Bob at work on the safe with a hammer and cold chisel. He knows how to do such things, and that’s why he’s here in Tasmania; eh, Bob?”

The man with the revolver grinned his appreciation of the compliment, and Archie said:

“How much do you expect to find when you get into the safe?”

“Oh, enough to make us all rich men in America.”

“And how much will you get, Fowler, for your share in this business?”

“Nothing at all,” said Waters, before the consul’s clerk had time to speak. “He isn’t here because he wants to be. We made him come.”

“What use will he be to you?”

“Oh, we can use him easy enough. Seeing that the paymaster ain’t here, he’ll have to act in his place, and get the bills of credit cashed; that is, if we find any.”

“That’s too attenuated; it’s altogether too thin,” declared Archie. “He is the ringleader in this business, and I know it. In regard to that strong box, you’re going to be disappointed when you see what’s in it. You’ll be as badly disappointed as the two fellows were whom I met in the Rocky Mountains a few months ago. They captured an emigrant family, and robbed their wagons, expecting to find a million dollars in them; but when they came to break open the box, which they supposed contained the treasure, they found in it nothing but a little brass model of a machine with which the emigrant intended to run his quartz mill. The million dollars were yet to be made. There’s money in the safe, no doubt; but not enough to pay you for the risk you are running, or to make you rich in America or anywhere else. The most of it is in bills of credit, and they will be of about as much use to you as so much paper. No one but Walter can get them cashed.”

It made Frank very uneasy to hear his cousin talk to the ruffian in this way, for he fully expected that Waters would become angry, and do him some injury; but the giant took it all in good part, and laughed heartily at the “little man’s” impudence. Fowler scowled and looked as black as a thundercloud, but Archie did not seem to notice it.

“I wonder if our captain has woke up yet?” said Waters, glancing toward the door of Frank’s stateroom.

“It looks that way in here; how does it look to you out there?” said Frank, repeating the words which the man with the revolver had used in reply to one of his questions. “What’s the use of keeping me in here? Hadn’t you better open the door, and let me out?”

“Yes, Bob’ll let you out,” said Waters.

The man at the table put his revolver into one pocket, drew a key from another, and unlocked the door. Frank stepped out into the cabin, and was greeted with—

“Well, captain, you didn’t think to see us again so soon, did you?”

“No, I didn’t. I was in hopes I had seen the last of you,” was the honest reply.

“Oh, I am not such a bad fellow as you may think,” said Waters, with a laugh. “I’m as peaceable as a lamb when I ain’t riled; and you and your mate here will fare well enough so long as you do as you are told, and don’t try any tricks on us. That’s something we won’t stand from nobody. We’re working for our liberty, and we’re bound to have it. We’ve got the schooner now, and we brought you aboard because you are a sailor, and we want you to take us to America.”

“I know what your plans are,” said Frank.

“Will you help us carry them out?”

“I don’t see how I can avoid it,” replied Frank.

“I don’t either,” said Waters. “We’re the gentlest fellows in the world when you stroke us easy; but when you go against us, we’re a bad lot to have about. We’ll make you captain of the vessel, and our little man here,” he added, pointing to Archie, “we’ll put in for mate. He mustn’t live off our grub for nothing, you know, and we can’t use him in any other way. Will he do?”

“Yes, he’ll do,” said Frank. “But now I want you to understand one thing before we go any further: I don’t claim to be a seaman, and if we are blown out of our course or crippled in any way, you mustn’t blame me for it.”

“Never mind that,” said Waters, quickly. “I know all about you. I know that you were master of a whaler, and that you commanded a Yankee gunboat during the war; so there must be something of the sailor about you. If you will do as well as you can, that’s all I ask, and me and you won’t have no words. Nobody shan’t bother you. You shall do just as you please. The rest of the men can sleep in the forecastle, and us five fellows that’s here now will mess in the cabin, and live like gentlemen.”

“How much of a crew have I?” asked Frank.

“There’s just an even dozen of us on board. There will be ten to do the work.”

“You will be surprised to learn one thing, Frank,” said Archie. “There are four of our own men aboard, and three of them came of their own free will, too. More than that, they helped Fowler and Waters carry out their plan of seizing the vessel.”

“Who are they?” exclaimed Frank.

Archie called over the names of the men, and Frank, astonished beyond measure to learn that any of the Stranger’s crew could be so disloyal, dropped into the nearest chair without speaking. “I suppose you offered them a share of the money you expect to find in the safe, didn’t you?” said he, at length, addressing himself to Fowler.

“All’s fair in war,” replied the consul’s clerk.

“The doctor, who is one of the four, is not in the plot,” continued Archie. “He was aboard when these men surprised and captured the vessel, and Waters wouldn’t let him go ashore.”

“Of course not,” said the convict. “We ain’t going to starve. There’s plenty of good grub on board, and we need a cook to serve it up in shape. Mind you now, captain, no fooling with these men. We won’t stand that.”

“You need not borrow any trouble on that score,” answered Frank, hastily. “I shall not speak to them if I can avoid it. I want nothing to do with such people.”

“We couldn’t help it,” said Waters. “We couldn’t undertake so long a voyage with a crew of landsmen, for we needed somebody to steer the vessel and go aloft. These men wanted money, and were ready to join with us, so we took them. If you’re satisfied with everything, captain, you might as well go on deck and take charge.”

“Of course I am not satisfied,” answered Frank, “but I don’t see that anything better can be done under the circumstances. What shall I do if my crew refuse to obey my orders?”

“Oh, they’ll obey your orders. Just show me the man that don’t start when he’s spoke to, and I’ll show you somebody who will hurt himself against these bones,” said Waters, doubling up his huge fist and flourishing it above his head. “I ain’t a sailor, but I’m a bully overseer, and I’ll keep the men straight, I bet you. Me and Bob, one of us, will be on deck all the time, to see that things go on smooth and easy, like they had oughter do. We are working for liberty, mind you, and we can’t have no foolishness from nobody. Everything depends on you, captain, and it may comfort you to know that we’ll have our eyes on you night and day. You can’t make a move that we won’t see.”

“I am glad you told me,” said Frank. “I always like to know what I have to expect. Let’s go on deck and set the watch, Archie.”

The captain and his mate ascended the ladder closely followed by Waters. As Frank stepped upon the deck he looked about him with some curiosity. He wanted to see the men who were so lost to all sense of honor, that they could be induced to betray their trust for money. He glanced toward the wheel, and saw that it was in the hands of one who, next to Freas and Barton, Uncle Dick had always regarded as his most faithful and trusty hand. This proved to Frank’s satisfaction the truth of the old adage, that you must summer and winter a man before you know him; in other words, you must see him in all manners of situations, and in all sorts of temptations, before you can say that you are really acquainted with him. It proved, too, that Uncle Dick knew what he was talking about when he said that a sailor was never satisfied. Give him a brownstone front to live in, and a hundred dollars a month to spend, and he will grumble because he doesn’t live in a palace and get two hundred. The man hung his head when Frank looked at him. He could not meet the young captain’s gaze.

Having satisfied his curiosity on this point, Frank looked about him to note the position of the schooner. He told himself that he must have slept very soundly indeed, for she had probably been under way an hour or more before he awoke. She was already a long distance from the shore, and the lighthouse at the entrance of the harbor was fast disappearing in the darkness. The only thing he could do that night was to make an offing, and the next day, as soon as he could take an observation, he would work out a course and fill away for the States. He would do the best he could, too. He would perform his duty as faithfully as though the schooner was his own property, and he and the rest of her company were bound on a pleasure excursion. This much he had made up his mind to, and he had done it simply because Archie was on board. Of course, if Waters and the rest should relax their vigilance after a few days, and give him an opportunity to assume control of the vessel, he would promptly seize upon it, provided he was satisfied that his efforts would result in complete success; but he would take no chance whatever. He had seen what the giant was when he became fairly aroused, and he would be very careful not to incur his displeasure. Waters knew that Archie was his cousin; he had been on board the Stranger long enough to learn a good deal of the history of the occupants of the cabin, and if he became angry at Frank, Archie would be sure to suffer. The young captain wished most heartily that his cousin was safe ashore with the rest of the Club. He would have felt much more at his ease.

“Muster the crew, Archie, and divide them into two watches,” said Frank. “Send the port watch below, and then go below yourself and try to get a wink of sleep. Our force is so small that we’ll have to stand watch and watch; and as there are only three men able to manage the wheel, you and I will have to take a hand at it now and then. Do you think you can do it?”

Archie was quite sure he could. He was in new business now, but the way he went about the execution of his cousin’s command showed that he had kept his eyes and ears open. He ordered the foremast hands around like any old mate, and they obeyed as promptly and silently as though they had all been trained sailors. The men belonging to the Stranger’s crew hung their heads, and would not look at him, and Archie, on his part, acted as though he did not recognize them.

“Couldn’t you make her go a little faster, captain?” asked Waters, who kept close at Frank’s side all the while. “We’re working for liberty, you know, and we don’t want to waste no time.”

“You’ll go faster presently,” answered Frank. “The breeze is freshening, and she’s got as much on now as she can stand. You must remember that we have only three men to work the topsails, and I don’t want to run any risks. If you will let me manage matters my own way I will get you along just as fast as I can.”

Waters seemed satisfied with this assurance, and never again offered advice. He kept Frank company during his watch, and although the latter at first would have been very glad to be rid of his presence, he finally became interested in his conversation, and after a little urging induced him to tell how it was that he had been able to escape from the island four different times, and who had first put it into his head to seize the Stranger. The sequel proved that Uncle Dick had not been mistaken when he hinted that gold would control the police. Waters and all his companions who were then on board the Stranger had been tried and transported for the same offence. One of them—the convict who was keeping guard over Archie when Frank awoke, and whom he had heard addressed as Bob—was a ticket-of-leave man, who had made considerable money by hauling goods from Melbourne to the Bendigo mines. Instead of taking care of himself he stood by his friends, and it was his gold that had so often released Waters from the chain-gang, and started him on his way to England and America. It was his gold, too, that had made a friend of the consul’s clerk. The latter knew all about the vessels that were preparing to sail, and when the convicts were ready to make an attempt at escape he would select a ship for them, and assist them in getting on board. Three times Waters and his friends had gone aboard as gentlemen, paid their passage, and messed in the cabin; but twice they had been overtaken and carried back by a war vessel, and once the captain of their ship found out, by some means, who they were; secured them all by stratagem and carried them back where they came from. Their last attempt was made on the Sea Gull. Assisted by Fowler, they shipped on board of her before the mast, and would in all probability have succeeded in reaching their destination, had it not been for the gale which wrecked their vessel, and threw Waters and his three friends into the company of the Stranger’s crew.

It was Waters himself who first conceived the idea of seizing the schooner. He found opportunity to talk to Fowler about it, and the latter was the one who made all the arrangements. Visiting the schooner every day while she was in the dry-docks, he selected three of the sailors whom he thought he could induce to lend their assistance, and the result proved that he had not been mistaken in his men. Every one of them had seen the inside of the strong box, for Walter always called the crew into the cabin when he paid them any money, and they declared that it was full to the brim with English gold pieces.

Up to this time Fowler and Bob, the ticket-of-leave man, had no intention of joining the convicts in their attempt to leave the island. The consul’s clerk held an honorable position which he was in no hurry to throw up, while Bob was coining money at his vocation, and was satisfied to remain where he was, for the present at least. His pardon was only a conditional one, and if detected in an attempt at escape, he would be deprived of his liberty and sent back to the penal settlement again. He did not want to go there; but when he learned through Fowler that there was an opportunity for him to make a fortune without work, he determined to assist the others in seizing the Stranger and take all the chances.

By questioning Frank, the consul’s clerk found out just what Uncle Dick intended to do as soon as the repairs on his vessel were completed, and this information was in due time conveyed to Waters. Preparations were made accordingly; and on the night of the second day after the Stranger entered the river and came to anchor near Mr. Wilbur’s house, Waters and his companions quietly unlocked their irons and betook themselves to the bush. Fowler was already on the ground. He stuck to Frank until he drove him on board the schooner and into his bunk, and then he set to work to clear the way for the convicts, so that they would have little or no trouble in boarding the vessel. He mingled freely with the sailors who were ashore, and by giving them a glowing description of a wonderful horse-race that was to come off that afternoon at a station a few miles distant, he induced them to apply to Mr. Baldwin for liberty until twelve o’clock that night, which was granted. Fowler exerted himself to supply the blue jackets with all the horses they needed, and having seen them fairly started on their wild-goose chase, he turned his attention to the first mate, whom he tried to induce to remain ashore all night. But in this he failed. The officer knew that his place was on board his vessel, and on board his vessel he went as soon as it began to grow dark.

About nine o’clock that evening Waters and his companions arrived, and concealed themselves among the bushes on the bank opposite the spot where the schooner lay at anchor. Fowler visited them shortly afterward to tell them how their plans were working. After listening to his report the ticket-of-leave man stole off into the woods to carry out a particular part of the programme that had been assigned to him, while the other four entered the water and swam silently off to the vessel, which they boarded without opposition. The two mates, and the few foremast hands who remained on board, were quickly mustered on deck and held passive by loaded revolvers, which two of the convicts kept pointed at their heads, while Waters and another proceeded to tie them hand and foot. This being done, they were each gagged to prevent them from raising an alarm, and then one of the boats was lowered, and the helpless men were taken ashore and laid in the bushes. All this work was performed so silently that Frank was not awakened. The convicts saw him asleep in his bunk, and to make sure of finding him there when they wanted him, they quietly locked the door, and fastened him in.

Having concealed their prisoners among the bushes, the convicts returned on board the schooner, and, assisted by the three sailors, proceeded to get her under way. They slipped the anchor, turned her around with the help of the cutter, and when she was fairly under the influence of the current, one of the convicts returned to the shore in the boat to await the appearance of Fowler and the ticket-of-leave man, who had been intrusted with the work of seizing Walter Gaylord. Fortunately for Walter, there was a slight hitch in the proceedings right here, and the wrong man was taken.