The Island Queen - Robert Michael Ballantyne (e book reader pdf txt) 📗

exerted themselves to the utmost limit of their powers in the hopeless pursuit.

Suddenly Teddy Malone cried eagerly, "Look out--astarn!"

All turned their gaze as directed, and observed a dark line on the horizon.

"Thank God!" murmured the doctor, "a breeze!"

It was indeed true. Just at this critical moment of profound, despair, a gleam of hope was sent to sustain them! Is it not often thus in the dealings of God with man?

There was no relaxation of effort, however, on the part of the crew until the breeze bore down on them. Then the mate and Hugh Morrison, drawing in their oars, set up the mast and hoisted the sails. Instantly the good craft bent over, as if bowing submissively to her rightful lord, and the gurgling water rolled swiftly from her prow. Still the men plied the oars, but now with the strength of hope, until the breeze freshened so much as to render their further use unnecessary.

"Now, indeed, the tables are turned," said Dominick with a great sigh of relief, as he drew in his oar.

"Yes; if the wind holds," said the doctor, glancing back anxiously.

"It'll howld," said Malone firmly.

"Who made you so sure a judge of weather?" demanded Jenkins.

"Sure it isn't me as is judge. It's the widdy. She says to me this mornin', says she, `The'll be a stiff breeze afore night, Teddy,' an' I nivver found the widdy wrong in her forecasts o' the weather."

"The distance decreases rapidly! Hurrah! boys, we'll catch them yet," cried Dominick.

This was obviously the case. With her large sails filled by a stiff breeze almost directly astern, the boat went through the water like "a thing of life." The savages, perceiving this, redoubled their efforts, but in vain. The pursuers gained on them rapidly.

An exclamation of surprise burst from those in the boat as they observed two splashes, one on either side of the canoe, as if some one had fallen or leaped overboard. A great shout from the savages followed, and they suddenly ceased to paddle. The canoe was still too far off for the pursuers to make out what had occurred; but in another minute they observed that two round black objects emerged from the water some distance astern of the canoe. The savages also saw these, and uttered a frightful yell as they backed their craft towards them.

"They've jumped overboard!" exclaimed Dominick. "Now, boys--ready with your guns!"

No need for this order. All were ready in a second, but none dared to fire for fear of hitting the swimmers.

Just then a savage rose in the stern of the canoe and poised a short spear.

Instantly every gun in the boat was pointed.

"Not a shot!" shouted Dr Marsh, as he sprang forward with a double-barrelled rifle in his hand.

"Keep her away two points!" he cried, as he knelt to take aim. Every one was well aware of the doctor's power of shooting, and waited the result with bated breath. The savage seemed to bend backward for the cast of the spear. At that moment the crack of the doctor's rifle was heard, and the right arm of the savage fell.

Another savage caught up the spear, and urged his comrades, apparently, to back the canoe still further; but they had got a fright, and were evidently unwilling to do so. Before they could make up their minds, another shot from the doctor's rifle sent the second savage headlong into the bottom of the canoe.

"Give them a volley now, lads," he said, turning round and resuming his place at the helm; "but fire high."

The rattling volley which followed, and the whistle of the leaden hail over their heads, quickly settled the savage minds. One of their paddles, which chanced to be held aloft at the moment, was shot into splinters, and precipitated their decision. With a howl of rage and terror they dipped their paddles into the sea and flew ahead.

"Be ready there," cried the doctor, as he anxiously guided the boat.

Teddy Malone, Morris, Dominick, and Jabez leaned eagerly over the bows with outstretched arms and clawlike fingers. Another moment and Queen Pina with Otto were rescued from the deep, as well as from several sharks, which, doubtless, had been licking their lips at the prospect of the royal feast in store for them.

"Ain't you goin' to carry on, an' sink the varmints?" exclaimed Jabez in surprise, as the doctor put the helm hard down, and prepared to return home.

"No," replied the doctor sharply.

During the voyage out the crew of the wrecked ship had become intimately acquainted with the doctor's qualities, among others that there was a certain quiet tone in his "no" which was final. To put the belligerents of the party more at rest, however, Dominick backed his friend up by adding that he had no ill-will to the miserable savages; that they had been punished enough already; that they had got all they wanted from them; and that as their own party consisted chiefly of settlers, not warriors, there was no occasion for fighting.

"Speak for yourself, Dom," cried Otto, as he wrung the water out of his garments. "If I was in that canoe with a good carving-knife, I'd be warrior enough to give a settler to the baboon wi' the swelled nose who crammed me into a--"

The remainder of the speech was drowned in laughter, for Otto spoke with intense indignation, as he thought of the injuries and indignities he had so recently suffered.

"Why, what did they do to you, Otto?" asked his brother.

"Oh! I can't tell you," replied the other; "I'm too mad. Tell 'em, Pina."

Queen Pina, who had also been engaged for some minutes in wringing the water from her skirts, sat down, and, in the sweetest of voices, told how they had been surprised on the islet, how Otto had flattened a chief's nose with an oar, and how they had afterwards been carried off.

"Then," she added, "when they saw that you were unable to overtake them, the chief with the swelled nose began to beat poor Otto and pull his hair savagely. I do believe he would have killed him if a man, who seemed to be the leader of them all, had not ordered him to desist. When you put up the sail and began to overtake us, the chief with the swelled nose got out a rough kind of sack and tried to thrust Otto into it. While he was struggling with this chief--"

"Fighting," interrupted Otto; "fighting with the baboon."

"Well, fighting, if you prefer it--he asked me if I was brave?"

"No, I didn't; I said game."

"Well--if I was game to jump overboard at the same moment that he did? I quickly said yes. He twisted himself out of the man's--"

"Baboon's! baboon's!"

"Well--baboon's grasp, and went over the side like an eel, and--"

"And she," interrupted Otto, "she went plump on the other side like a sack of potatoes, and we met under the canoe and dived well astern before coming up for breath. You know what pains you took with our swimming and diving, Dom; it helped us then, I can tell you; and so here we are, all alive and hearty. But I saw the black fellow goin' to send a spear at Pina, and can't think why he didn't let fly. P'r'aps he did, and missed."

"No, he didn't; for Dr Marsh shot him in the arm," said Dominick, "and thus saved Pauline's life."

"Three cheers for the Queen!" cried little Buxley, who had done good service at the oar, and whose little bosom was filled with enthusiasm at the recital of this adventure.

The invitation was heartily responded to.

"An' wan more for the doctor!" shouted Malone.

In this rejoicing frame of mind they returned to Big Island, where Pauline was received with a warm embrace by the widow Lynch, who had been dancing about the settlement in a more or less deranged state ever since the boat left.

That same evening two meetings of considerable importance took place in the palace. The first was a cabinet council in the hall; the other a meeting of conspirators in the back-kitchen. Both were brief, for each was interrupted. We will take the cabinet council first.

The ministers present at it were the premier, Dominick and Dr Marsh, both of whom Joe had called to his aid.

"Now, my dear queen," said the premier, "we have met to consider the constitution; but before saying a word about it myself, I would like to hear what your majesty has to say about it."

"I'm not sure," said the queen gravely, "that I have the faintest notion as to how a constitution should begin or end. But I will give you a motto to set in the forefront of our constitution, which may also form the foundation on which it is to be built--the pattern to which its parts must conform. It is this: `Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.'"

"I will set that down with pleasure," said Dominick, who acted as clerk, but, before he could write a line, a knock at the door interrupted them. Then the door opened, and Otto's head appeared with eagerness in the eyes, and a beckoning hand in advance.

Dominick rose and went out.

"I've just overheard Morris and Jabez in the back-kitchen making an appointment. Shall I tell our squad to be ready?"

"Where is the appointed place?" asked Dominick.

"On the reef. They start this very night, for the wind suits, and I heard Hugh say that all was ready."

"Good! I didn't think the game was so nearly played out. Well for us that we are prepared. Yes, call up the squad. We'll give them checkmate to-night."

It must be explained here that ever since the night of the discovery of the plot organised by Morris to seize and carry off the wrecked ship, Otto and his brother had kept a close watch on the men, and were aware of all their plans and intended movements. They had also communicated their knowledge to a select few, whom Otto styled the squad, who had pledged themselves to be ready at a moment's notice to do their best to circumvent the conspirators. Among other things Otto had discovered that Malines had agreed to join them, professing himself quite willing to act as second in command under Morris.

It may also be explained that though we have hitherto spoken of the vessel which had been cast on the reef as a wreck, it was in reality very slightly injured about the hull, and much of the damage done to the spars and rigging had been quietly repaired by the conspirators.

When darkness shrouded land and sea, two expeditions started from the settlement that night--one following the other. The conspirators in the largest boat set off first. As it was no unusual thing for a night expedition to the reef in order to transport supplies from the wreck in the morning, the departure of the large boat attracted little notice.

When it had got well away a smaller boat set off, containing the "squad," which numbered