Poison Island

by Arthur Quiller-Couch

  CHAPTER XXXII.

  WE COME TO DR. BEAUREGARD'S HOUSE.

  Glass's arm fell limp by his side, as though Dr. Beauregard hadactually pulled the trigger and winged him. He turned half-about asthe pistol slid from his fingers. He gave no cry; only there leachedus a loose, throttling sound such as a steam whistle makes beforefetching its note. It came to us in the lull between two waves thatbroke and raised up the sands to ripple round his feet.

  "_Both_ hands up, Mr. Glass!"

  Dr. Beauregard advanced a step.

  But instead of lifting his arms, the man curved them before him, andheld them so, as if to protect his treasure, while he sank on hisknees beside the box. His face was yellow with terror.

  "You fool!" The Doctor, still holding him covered, advanced step bystep to the box, and bent over it, staring down at him. The rest ofus--that is to say, Miss Belcher, Captain Branscome, and I--under Iknow not what compulsion, followed and came to a halt a few pacesbehind him. Standing so, I felt, rather than saw, that Plinny andMr. Goodfellow, attracted by the report of the pistol, were peeringat us over the ridge of rocks on the right.

  "You fool!" Dr. Beauregard repeated, and suddenly dropped the butt ofhis musket upon the loose cover of the chest.

  "You fool!" said he, a third time, and tearing aside a splinteredboard, dipped his hand and held it up full of sparkling stones.Opening his fingers slowly, he let a few jewels rattle back upon theheap, and held out a moderate fistful towards the cowering Glass."Did you actually suppose, having proved me once, that I would suffersuch a common cut-throat as you to march off with my treasure?Look up at me, man! I charge you with having murdered Coffin, evenas you have just murdered that other poor blockhead who trusted you."He nodded sideways--but still keeping his eyes upon Glass--towardsthe body, which lay as it had fallen. "Answer me. Are you guilty?Yes or no?"

  The man's mouth worked, but his tongue crackled in his mouth like aparched leaf.

  "Yes, I know what you would say; that you had some excuse--thatCoffin in his time had stuck at nothing to be quit of you; that hesold you to the press-gang; that through Coffin you spent eight,ten--how many years?'--in the war-prisons; that he believed you dead,as he had taken pains to kill you. Well, we'll grant it. As betweentwo scoundrels I'll not trouble to weigh the rights against thewrongs. But look at this boy, here. You recognize him, hey? Icharge you with having murdered his father, Major Brooks, as youmurdered Coffin. You have run up a pretty long account, my friend,for so clumsy a performer; but I think you have reached the end ofit."

  Aaron Glass looked at me and blinked. Terror of the man confrontinghim had twisted his dumb mouth into a kind of grin horrible to see.It lifted his lip, like the snarl of a dog, over his yellow teeth.Dr. Beauregard laughed softly.

  "And all for what? For an imperfect chart--and for _these!_"He thrust his hand close up to Glass's face, and spread his fingerswide, letting the gems drip between them, and rain back into thetreasure-chest. "What's wrong with them? That's what you'd beasking--eh?--if your poor tongue could find the words. Well, onlythis, my friend--yes, look well at them--that I hid them myself, andevery one of them is false."

  "False!" I could see Glass's mouth at work, his lips forming to theecho of the word, as it struck across his terror like a whip. But heachieved no articulate sound.

  "I give you my word--" resumed Dr. Beauregard; but a thud interruptedhim. Glass had fallen forward in a faint, striking his foreheadagainst the edge of the chest, and lay face downward--with the bloodoozing from his temple and discolouring the sand. As the Doctorpaused and bent over him, another wave came rippling up the beach,throwing a long, thin curve of foam before it, and washed out thestain.

  "Is--is he dead?" I heard Plinny's voice quavering.

  "Not yet, ma'am," answered the Doctor, grimly; and, taking theinanimate body by the collar, he drew it above reach of the waves,and turned it over.

  "You are a doctor, sir?"

  "Yes, ma'am, and have some small skill." He put up a hand to hisbreast-pocket, half withdrew it, and hesitated. "You have baulked meof a pretty little scheme," he said quietly. And still while headdressed us he seemed to be considering. "Think of this fellow'sface when he got his treasure across to the mainland and attempted totrade it! To be sure, he gave us some fun for our pains--"

  "If you call it fun, sir," protested Plinny.

  "Well, yes, ma'am," he answered quietly, kneeling and lifting Glass'shead, and resting it across his thigh. "My humour may be of aprimitive sort, but I confess it tickled by shocking a murderer intoa fainting fit." He felt in his breast-pocket and drew forth a smallphial. "No, sir,"--he turned to Captain Branscome, who had steppedforward to offer his help--"let me alone, please. I prefer to treatmy patient in my own way. It will be best, on the whole, foreverybody."

  He forced Glass's mouth wide open, and with one hand poured abouthalf of the contents of the phial between the patient's teeth, dropby drop, very patiently, with the other smoothing the gullet betweenfinger and thumb.

  We all stood watching while he administered the dose, Miss Belcherclose beside me, with her hand on my shoulder. At the twentieth dropor so I felt her give a start, as though a thought had suddenlyoccurred to her, and I looked up into her face. Her eyes were fixedinquiringly on Dr. Beauregard, and he, happening also to look up, metthem with a smile.

  "You will see in a moment," he said, as if answering her thought,and, reaching forward, he laid two fingers on Glass's pulse."Yes, in a moment now."

  Sure enough, in a moment Glass's eyelids fluttered a little, and hecame back to life with an audible catch of the breath.

  "In two minutes' time, sir"--the Doctor turned to CaptainBranscome--"I shall be glad of your services, and of Mr.Goodfellow's, to carry the fellow down to the boat--that is to say,if, in deference to the ladies, you have really decided not to leavehim here to his fate. He will sleep after this; nay, if you willlisten, he is sleeping already. The other man is dead, I suppose?"

  "He must have died instantly," answered Captain Branscome, who hadstepped across to the body to assure himself.

  "I had no doubt of it, by the way he dropped. Well, there is no needto fetch a spade. Their thoughtfulness provided one. You will findit in the boat there."

  Half an hour later we embarked, leaving behind us on the beach ascuttled boat, a mound of sand, and a chest of false jewellery, overthe top of which the rising tide had already begun to lap.

  Aaron Glass lay along the bottom boards, asleep and breathingapoplectically. I pulled the stroke paddle, Mr. Goodfellow the bow,and the Captain steered. Dr. Beauregard addressed himself to theladies, of whom Miss Belcher sat with a corrugated brow, as thoughturning a thought over and over in her mind, and Plinny with scaredeyes, staring into vacancy.

  "I am sorry, indeed, ladies," said the Doctor, "that I could not havespared you this. The fool shot his mate--you saw it yourselves--without rhyme or reason. Against madness, and the impulses ofmadness, no man can calculate. I might plead, too, that in anundertaking like this you match yourselves against forces with whichit is not given to ladies to cope. I grant admiringly the couragethat brought you across thousands of miles to Mortallone, as I grant,and again admiringly, the steadiness of your behaviour thisafternoon. But one thing you did not know--that in the nature ofthings you were bound to meet with such men and see such things done.I have not lived beside treasure all these years without learningthat it attracts such men as carrion attracts the vultures. Hide itwhere you will, from the end of the earth _some_ bird of prey willspy it out, or at least some scent of it will lie and draw suchprowlers as this fellow." Dr. Beauregard touched the sleeping mancontemptuously with the toe of his boot. "I myself have been--shallwe say?--fortunate. I have emptied, or assisted to empty, two cachesof treasure in this island. A third remains, of which you have thesecret, and I believe it to be the richest of all. But before youattempt it, I have a mind to tell you something of the other two,that at least you may not atte
mpt it unwarned."

  "You may spare yourself the pains, sir," said Miss Belcher,decisively; "since our minds are made up. You might, I doubt not,succeed in frightening us; but since you will not deter us, I suggestthat the less we hear the better."

  The Doctor bowed. "Ah, madam," sighed he, "if only Fate had timedyour adventure two years ago; or if, departing with the treasure, youcould even now leave me to regrets--in peace!"

  "My good sir," said Miss Belcher, sharply, "I haven't a doubt youmean something or other; but what precisely it is, I cannotconceive."

  "You will go, madam, leaving my island twice empty. That is Fate,and I consent with Fate. But the devil of it is, ma'am--if I may usethe expression--your removing the treasure will not prevent otherscoming to look for it, and annoying an old age which has ceased toset store on wealth, or on anything that wealth can purchase."

  She looked at him oddly. "Well, now," she confessed, "you are amystery to me in half a dozen ways; but if on top of all you mean toturn pious--"

  He laughed, and when the laugh was done it seemed to prolong itselfinside him for fully half a minute.

  "You are right, ma'am. Let us be practical again; and, as the firstpractical question, let me ask you, or Captain Branscome, what youpropose to do with this man? Obviously, we cannot take him alongwith us after the treasure."

  "Well, I imagine we are returning to the schooner. He can be left onboard, in charge of Mr. Rogers."

  "But I was about to suggest that we take Mr. Rogers along with us.In some ways, he is the most active of the party, and we can hardlyspare him."

  "Of Goodfellow, then, or whomsoever Captain Branscome may appoint totake charge of the ship."

  The Doctor sat silent, as though busy with a thought that hadsuddenly occurred to him. After a minute, he lifted his head andthrew a quick glance upward at the sky.

  "The breeze is freshening again, Captain," he announced. "If youcare to hoist sail, the rowers can take a rest, at least until wereach Cape Fea."

  Captain Branscome gave permission to hoist sail, and soon we wererunning homeward with as much as we could carry. There was nodanger, however, for beyond the northern point of Try-again Inlet thewater lay smooth all along the shore. Dr. Beauregard here called onPlinny to admire the scenery, and, borrowing her sketchbook andpencil, dashed off a bold drawing of Cape Fea as, rounding a littleto the westward, we caught sight of it standing out boldly againstthe afternoon sun. As he drew it, he guided the talk gently back toordinary topics--to England and English scenery, to the charm ofEnglish domestic architecture, and particularly of our great countryseats, to gardens and gardening, of which he professed himself adevotee.

  "Ah," he sighed at length, drawing a long breath; "if you, myfriends, only knew how much of what is happiest in life you carry inyour own breasts! I used--forgive me--to laugh at such pleasures asI am enjoying at this moment, I see that nothing but gaiety and asimple heart can bring a man peace at the last--and now it is toolate to begin!"

  Plinny, not understanding in the least, opened wide eyes upon him.His tone seemed to ask for her pity.

  "Yes, yes. I have sought hard for pleasure and grudged no price forit; but the stuff I bought was all flash and sham--like this fool'sdiamonds--flash and sham, and the end of it weariness. Well, thereis money left. You shall take it and endow a hospital if you choose,and that no doubt will increase your happiness and make it thrive.But the root of the plant lies within you. Pardon me, ma'am"--helooked towards Miss Belcher--"the question sounds an impudent one, Iknow, but are you not, even for England, a well-to-do lady?"

  "I have a trifle more than my neighbours," owned Miss Belcher."But it's almost more plague than blessing; at least I call it so,sometimes, which is a different thing from being ready to give itup."

  "And you, ma'am?" He turned to Plinny.

  "I have enough for my needs, I thank God," she answered. "But I haveknown what it is to be poor."

  "Quite so," he nodded. "And yet you have come thousands of miles,you two, in search of treasure!"

  At the entrance of Gow's Gulf we downed sail and took to our paddlesagain. The tide helped us against the breeze and within half an hourwe came in sight of the schooner lying peacefully at anchor as we hadleft her.

  So, at least, and at first glance, it seemed; but as we drew near,Captain Branscome stood up suddenly, the tiller-lines in his hands.

  "Hallo! Where's the dinghy?"

  It was gone; and--what was worse--our repeated hails fetched noanswering hail from the ship. But just as we were beginning to feelseriously alarmed a voice shouted from the opposite shore, and Mr.Rogers came sculling out from the shadow of the woods, working thedinghy towards us with a single paddle overstern.

  "Sorry, Captain!" he hailed. "Two deserters in two days! Oh, we'rea cheerful team to drive! But I have my excuse ready. The factis--" Here, catching sight of Dr. Beauregard, Mr. Rogers stoppedshort.

  "I fancy," said the Doctor, amiably, turning to Captain Branscome,"your friend has not his excuse so ready as he supposed. Doubtlesshe'll impart it to you later on. Meanwhile, I would suggest that wetake him along with us."

  "But where are we going?" asked Captain Branscome.

  "To my house. Ah, it is news to you that I have one? You supposed,perhaps, that the Lord Proprietor of Mortallone roosted at night inthe trees? But where, in that case, would he stack his wine?My dear sir, I have a house, _and_ cellarage, to the both of whichyou shall be made welcome. Even if you decline my hospitality wehave the invalid here to dispose of, and surely you won't condemn aman of my years to carry him home pick-a-back!"

  "But the schooner--"

  "I give you my word of honour, sir, that your ship shall not bevisited nor tampered with in any way. Return when you will, youshall find her precisely as she lies now. In another two hours eventhis faint breeze will have died down, as you are seamen enough toknow. The anchorage is land-locked; the bottom is perfect holding;and as for unwelcome visitors, there can be none. I am the soleresident on this island!"

  I looked up at Dr. Beauregard sharply; and so, it seemed to me, didMr. Rogers, who had fallen alongside.

  "That is to say," continued the Doctor, quietly, without regardingeither of us, "the only male resident."

  "All the same I don't like it," persisted the Captain, and shook hishead, at the same time lifting his eyes towards Miss Belcher; "andit's clear against my rule."

  "Stuff and nonsense!" said Miss Belcher. "We ought to be gratefulto Dr. Beauregard for taking this creature Glass off our hands.I was thinking a moment ago that for a thousand pounds I'd rather hewas anywhere than on board our ship. The least we can do is to beara hand with him; and if we don't like the house we can come away."

  "And before nightfall, if you insist," added Dr. Beauregard,genially. "But the afternoon is young, and between now and nightfallyou may all have made your fortunes. Who knows?"

  Captain Branscome yielded, after a look at Plinny, who backed up MissBelcher, declaring herself ardent for new adventures. I began to seethat the Captain was wax in the hands of these two, and it puzzledme, who had some experience of him both in school and on shipboard.

  Instead, then, of heading for the ship, we rowed past her and up thecreek--Mr. Rogers following in his dinghy--and disembarked at thelanding-place under the green knoll. While Dr. Beauregard and Mr.Goodfellow lifted out Aaron Glass, and while the Captain explained toMr. Rogers where and how we came by such a passenger, I stared aboutme, wondering where the Doctor's house might be and where theapproach to it. For I remembered the narrow gorge leading up to thewaterfalls and the thick, precipitous woods on either hand; and how,such a party as ours, including two ladies and a sick man, could hopeto penetrate those woods or climb those waterfalls was a puzzle.

  In ten minutes Mr. Goodfellow had patched up a fairly serviceablelitter with the boat's sail and a couple of paddles. Dr. Beauregardbestowed the patient in it carefully enough, and when all was ready,led the way. The two carri
ers, Mr. Rogers and Mr. Goodfellow, camenext with the litter between them, and at a nod from the former Ifell in beside him. The Captain and the two ladies brought up therear.

  "Harry," whispered Mr. Rogers, as we wound our way round the knoll,"is this really the man who--"

  "This is Aaron Glass," I said.

  He stared down--for he carried the hinder end of the litter--upon thevillainous, unconscious face.

  "He looks a pretty bad one," said Mr. Rogers, after a pause.

  "You should have seen him on the beach," said I.

  "I've seen something myself," said he. "Closer, boy--there was awoman came down to the shore just now, waving to the ship and crying.At first I took her for a child. She was dressed all in white--whitemuslin and ribbons, you know--the sort of rig you see at a children'sparty; but when I rowed over close to her--"

  "I know her," I said. "I met her in the woods yesterday."

  "That explains; though I call it an infernal shame you didn't tell.I rowed across to find out what ailed her: she stood waving her armsso, and crying--like a child in distress. When I came near shecalled on to me to stop. 'Not you,' she said, 'the little boy!Where is the little boy?' I told her that we had a boy on board, butthat just now you were off on a cruise; and with that she turnedright about, and ran up through the woods and out of sight; but forsome way I could hear her crying and calling out just as before:'The little boy!' it was; 'Where is the little boy?'--meaning you, Isuppose."

  We were now come to the foot of the first waterfall, an obvious_cul de sac_ for a party which included two ladies and a sick man ona litter. I stood gazing up at the wet, slippery rocks by which Ihad made my ascent yesterday, and searching in vain for a morepracticable path. Dr. Beauregard halted and turned upon me with asmile.

  "A moment," said he, "and you will grant that my privacy is ratherneatly protected. But first"--he pointed to the water pouring pastus from the pool beneath the fall--"you may remark that the streamhere has more than twice the volume of the stream you see coming downthe rocks."

  I looked. The difference was plain enough, and I had been a fool infailing to observe it.

  "The reason being," he went on, "that a second and larger streamflows into the pool under the very stones on which you are standing.I myself laid that channel for it, almost ten years ago, and Naturehas very kindly helped to disguise it. Now, if you will follow me--"

  He drew aside a mat of creepers overhanging a bush to the left of thepath, and, stooping, disappeared into a dim, green tunnel, soartfully contrived that even without its curtain of creepers itsuggested no more than a chance gap in the undergrowth. The tunnelzigzagged twice at a sharp angle, and then, quite suddenly, thedimness changed to warm sunlight, and we emerged at his heels upon aprospect that well excused my gasp of astonishment.

  We stood at the lower end of a smooth, green glade, through which abroad stream--a river, almost--came swirling, its murmur drowned inthe thunder of the waterfall behind us, which the bushes nowconcealed. The glade was, in fact, a valley-bottom, thinned ofundergrowth and set with tall trees; and the stream such a stream astumbles through many an English deer-park. The whole scene mighthave been transplanted from England but for a wall of naked cliff,sharply serrated, which enclosed the valley on the left. And underit, like a smooth military terrace at the foot of a fortress, theglade curved upward and out of sight.

  The scene, I have said, was almost typically English--but to the eyeonly.

  "Faugh!" exclaimed Miss Belcher, looking about her and sniffingsuspiciously. "A pretty place enough, but full of malaria, or I'm aDutchwoman! And what a horrible silence!"

  "Malaria?" said Mr. Rogers, quietly. "There's better scent thanmalaria in this valley, and we're hot on it. Here's the river, and--What does the chart say, boy? Five trees, a mile and a half from thecreek-head? We must have come a mile already. Keep your eyesskinned, and give me a nudge if you see such a clump."

  But there was no need to keep my eyes skinned. At the next bend ofthe glade he and I caught sight of it simultaneously--a clump ofnoble pines that would have challenged notice even had we not beensearching for them. My heart stood still as I counted them.Yes; there were five!

  "I haven't often wanted to put a knife into a man's back," gruntedMr. Rogers, with a gloomy glance ahead at Dr. Beauregard.

  For an instant I made sure the Doctor had overheard him. He haltedsuddenly, and turned to us with a proprietary wave of the handtowards the trees.

  "A fine group, sirs, is it not? I have often regretted thatthe cliff yonder just cuts off the view of it from my windows.Indeed, I had almost altered the site of the house to include it.But health before everything--hey, ladies? There is always a certainamount of fever in these valleys, and you will own, presently, thatthe site I prepared has its compensations."

  He resumed his way past the trees, and--a quarter of a mile beyondthem--past an angle of the cliff where the ridge bent sharply backfrom the river and revealed a narrow gorge, its entrance choked withpines, running up towards the mountain. Here he paused again, andwith another wave of the hand.

  High on the right of the gorge, on a plateau above the darkpine-tops, a white-painted house looked down on us--a long, low housewith a generous spread of shadow under its verandah and a dazzle oflight where the upper windows took the sun.