The Courage of Captain Plum

by James Oliver Curwood

  CHAPTER VII

  THE HOUR OF VENGEANCE

  For perhaps twenty seconds after the last echoes of the gun had rolledthrough the forest the girl lay passive in Nathaniel's arms, so closethat he could feel her heart beating against his own and her breathsweeping his face. Then there came a pressure against his breast, agentle resistance of Marion's half conscious form, and when she hadawakened from her partial swoon he was holding her in the crook of hisarm. It had all passed quickly, the girl had rested against him only solong as he might have held half a dozen breaths and yet there had beenall of a lifetime in it for Nathaniel Plum, a cycle of joy that he knewwould remain with him for ever. But there was something bitter-sweet inthe thought that she was conscious of what he had done, something ofhumiliation as well as gladness, and still not enough of the first tomake him regret that he had kissed her, that he had kissed her mouth andher eyes. He loved her, and he was glad that in those passing moments hehad betrayed himself. For the first time he noticed that her face wasscratched and that the sleeves of her thin waist were torn to shreds;and as she drew away from him, steadying herself with a hand on his arm,his lips were parched of words, and yet he leaned to her eagerly,everything that he would have said burning in the love of his eyes.Still irresolute in her faintness the girl smiled at him, and in thatsmile there was gentle accusation, the sweetness of forgiveness, andmeasureless gratitude, and it was yet light enough for him to see thatwith these there had come also a flush into her cheeks and a dazzlingglow into her eyes.

  "Neil has escaped!" she breathed. "And you--"

  "I was going back to you, Marion!" He spoke the words hardly above awhisper. The beautiful eyes so close to him drew his secret from himbefore he had thought. "I am going to take you from the island!"

  With his words there came again that sound of a great gun rolling fromthe direction of St. James. With a frightened cry the girl staggered toher feet, and as she stood swaying unsteadily, her arms half reached tohim, Nathaniel saw only mortal dread in the whiteness of her face.

  "Why didn't you go? Why didn't you go with Neil?" she moaned. Her breathwas coming in sobbing excitement. "Your ship is--at--St. James!"

  "Yes, my ship is at St. James, Marion!" His voice was tremulous withtriumph, with gladness, with a tenderness which he could not control. Heput an arm half round her waist to support her trembling form and to hisjoy she did not move away from him. His hand was buried in the richnessof her loose hair. He bent until his lips touched her silken tresses."Neil has told me everything--about you," he added softly. "My ship isbombarding St. James, and I am going to take you from the island!"

  Not until then did Marion free herself from his arm and then so gentlythat when she stood facing him he felt no reproof. No longer did shamesend a flush into his face. He had spoken his love, though not in words,and he knew that the girl understood him. It did not occur to him inthese moments that he had known this girl for only a few hours, thatuntil now a word had never passed between them. He was conscious onlythat he had loved her from the time he saw her through the king'swindow, that he had risked his life for her, and that she knew why hehad leaped into the arena at the whipping-post.

  The words she spoke now came like a dash of cold water in his face.

  "Your ship is not bombarding St. James, Captain Plum!" she exclaimed.Darkness hid the terror in her face but he could hear the tremble of itin her voice. "The _Typhoon_ has been captured by the Mormons and thoseguns are--guns of triumph--and not--" She caught her breath in aconvulsive sob. "I want you to go--I want you to go--with Neil!" shepleaded.

  "So Casey is taken!"

  He spoke slowly, as if he had not heard her last words. For a moment hestood silent, and as silently the girl stood and watched him. Sheguessed the despair that was raging in his heart but when he spoke toher she could detect none of it in his voice.

  "Casey is a fool," he said, unconsciously repeating Obadiah's words."Marion, will you come with me? Will you leave the island--and join yourbrother?"

  The hope that had risen in his heart was crushed as Marion drew fartheraway from him.

  "You must go alone," she replied. With a powerful effort she steadiedher voice. "Tell Neil that he has been condemned to death. Tell himthat--if he loves me--he will not return to the island."

  "And I?"

  From her distance she saw his arms stretched like shadows toward her.

  "And you--"

  Her voice was low, so low that he could hardly hear the words she spoke,but its sweetness thrilled him.

  "And you--if you love me--will do this thing for me. Go to Neil. Savehis life for me!"

  She had come to him through the gloom, and in the luster of the eyesthat were turned up to him Nathaniel saw again the power that swayed hissoul.

  "You will go?"

  "I will save your brother--if I can!"

  "You can--you can--" she breathed. In an ecstasy of gratitude she seizedone of his hands in both her own. "You can save him!"

  "For you--I will try."

  "For me--"

  She was so close that he could feel the throbbing of her bosom. Suddenlyhe lifted his free hand and brushed back the thick hair from her browand turned her face until what dim light there still remained of the dayglowed in the beauty of her eyes. "I will keep him from the island if Ican," he said, looking deep into them, "and as there is a God in HeavenI swear that you--"

  "What?" she urged, as he hesitated.

  "That you shall not marry Strang!" he finished.

  A cry welled up in the girl's throat. Was it of gladness? Was it ofhope? She sprang back a pace from Nathaniel and with clenched handswaited breathlessly, as if she expected him to say more.

  "No--no--you can not save me from Strang! Now--you must go!"

  She retreated slowly in the direction of the path. In an instantNathaniel was at her side.

  "I am going to see you safely back in St. James," he declared. "Then Iwill go to your brother."

  She barred his way defiantly.

  "You can not go!"

  "Why?"

  "Because--" He caught the frightened flutter of her voice again."Because--they will kill you!"

  The low laugh that he breathed in her hair was more of joy than fear.

  "I am glad you care--Marion." He spoke her name with falteringtenderness, and led her out into the path.

  "You must go," she still persisted.

  "With you--yes," he answered.

  She surrendered to the determination in his voice and they moved slowlyalong the path, listening for any sound that might come from ahead ofthem. Nathaniel had already formed his plan of action. From Marion'swords and the voice in which she had uttered them he knew that it wouldbe useless for him as it had been for Neil to urge her to flee from theisland. There remained but one thing for him to do, so he fell back uponthe scheme which he had proposed to Marion's brother. He realized nowthat he might be compelled to play the game single-handed unless hecould secure assistance from Obadiah. His ship and men were in the handsof the Mormons; Neil, in his search for the captured vessel, stood alarge chance, of missing him that night, and in that event Marion's fatewould depend on him alone. If he could locate a small boat on the beachback of Obadiah's; if he could in some way lure Marion to it--He gave aninvoluntary shudder at the thought of using force upon the girl at hisside, at the thought of her terror of those first few moments, herstruggles, her broken confidence. She believed in him now. She believedthat he loved her. She trusted him. The warm soft pressure of her handas it clung to his arm in the blackening gloom of the forest wasevidence of that trust. She looked into his face anxiously, inquiringlywhen they stopped to listen, like a child who was sure of a strongerspirit at her side. She held her breath when he held his, she listenedwhen he listened, her feet fell with velvet stillness when he steppedwith caution. Her confidence in him was like a beautiful dream toNathaniel and he trembled when he pictured the destruction of it. Aftera little he reached over and as if by accident touched the hand th
at waslying on his arm; he dared more after a moment, and drew the warm littlefingers into his great strong palm and held them there, his soulthrilled by their gentle submissiveness. And then in another breaththere came to still his joy a thought of the terrible power that chainedthis girl to the Mormon king. He longed to speak words of encouragementto her, to instil hope in her bosom, to ask her to confide in him thesecret of the shadow which hung over her, but the memory of what Neilhad said to him held his lips closed.

  They had walked in silence for many minutes when the girl stopped.

  "It is not very far now," she whispered. "You must go!"

  "Only a little farther," he begged.

  She surrendered again, hesitatingly, and they went on, more slowly thanbefore, until they came to where the path met the footway that led toObadiah's.

  "Now--now you _must_ go," whispered Marion again.

  In this last moment Nathaniel crushed her hand against his breast, hisbody throbbing with a wild tumult, and a half of what he had meant notto say fell passionately from his lips.

  "Forgive me for--that--back there--Marion," he whispered. "It wasbecause I love you--love you--" He freed her hand and stood back,choking the words that would have revealed his secret. He lied now forthe love of this girl. "Neil is out there waiting for me in a smallboat," he continued, pointing beyond Obadiah's to the lake. "I will seehim soon, and then I will return to Obadiah's to tell you if he has leftfor the mainland. Will you promise to meet me there--to-night?"

  "I will promise."

  "At midnight--"

  "Yes, at twelve o'clock."

  This time it was Marion who came to him. Her eyes shone like stars.

  "And if you make Neil go to the mainland," she said softly, "when I meetyou I will--will tell you--something."

  The last word came in a breathless sob. As she slipped into the paththat led to St. James she paused for a moment and called back, in a lowvoice, "Tell Neil that he must go for Winnsome's sake. Tell him that herfate is shortly to be as cruel as mine--tell him that Winnsome loveshim, and that she will escape and come to him on the mainland. Tell himto go--go!"

  She turned again, and Nathaniel stood like a statue, hardly breathing,until the sound of her feet had died away. Then he walked swiftly upthe foot-path that led to Obadiah's. He forgot his own danger in theexcitement that pulsated with every fiber of his being, forgot his oldcaution and the fears that gave birth to it--forgot everything in thosemoments but Marion and his own great happiness. Neil's absence meantnothing to him now. He had held Marion in his arms, he had told her ofhis love, and though she had accepted it with gentle unresponsiveness hewas thrilled by the memory of that last look in her eyes, which hadspoken faith, confidence, and perhaps even more. What was that_something_ she would tell him if he got Neil safely away? It was to bea reward for his own loyalty--he knew that, by the half fearing trembleof her voice, the sobbing catch of her breath, the strange glow in hereyes. With her brother away would she confide in him? Would she tell himthe secret of her slavedom to Strang? Nathaniel was conscious of nomadness in the wild hope that filled him; nothing seemed impossible tohim now. Marion would meet him at midnight. She would go with him to theboat, and then--ah, he had solved the problem! He would use no force. Hewould tell her that Neil was in his canoe half a mile out from the shoreand that he had promised to leave the island for good if she would goout to bid him good-by. And once there, a half a mile or a mile away, hewould tell her that he had lied to her; and he would give her his heartto trample upon to prove the love that had made him do this thing, andthen he would row her to the mainland.

  It was the sight of Obadiah's cabin that brought his caution back. Hecame upon it so suddenly that an exclamation of surprise fell unguardedfrom his lips. There was no light to betray life within. He tried thedoor and found it locked. He peered in at the windows, listened, andknocked, and at last concealed himself near the path, confident that thelittle old councilor was still at St. James. For an hour he waited. Fromthe rear of Obadiah's home a narrow footway led toward the lake andNathaniel followed it, now as warily as an animal in search of prey. Forhalf a mile it took him through the forest and ended at the white sandsof the beach. In neither direction could Nathaniel see a light, andkeeping close in the shadows of the trees he made his way slowly towardSt. James. He had gone but a short distance when he saw a house directlyahead of him, a single gleam of light from a small window telling himthat it was inhabited and that its tenants were at home. He circled downclose to the water looking for a boat. His heart leaped with suddenexultation when he saw a small skiff drawn upon the beach and his joywas doubled at finding the oars still in the locks. It took him but amoment to shove the light craft into the sea and a minute later he wasrowing swiftly away from the land.

  Nathaniel was certain that by this time Neil had abandoned his searchfor the captured _Typhoon_ and was probably paddling in the directionof St. James. With the hope of intercepting him he pulled an eighth of amile from the shore and rowed slowly toward the head of the island.There was no moon, but countless stars glowed in a clear sky and uponthe open lake Nathaniel could see for a considerable distance about him.For another hour he rowed back and forth and then beached his boatwithin a dozen rods of the path that came down from Obadiah's.

  It was ten o'clock. Two more hours! He had tried to suppress hisexcitement, his apprehensions, his eagerness, but now as he went backinto the darkness of the forest they burst out anew. What if Marionshould not keep the tryst? He thought of the spies whom Neil had saidguarded the girl's home--and of Obadiah. Could he trust the oldcouncilor? Should he confide his plot to him and ask his assistance? Asthe minutes passed and these thoughts recurred again and again in hisbrain he could not keep the nervousness from growing within him. He wassure now that he would have to fight his battle without Neil. He sawthe necessity of coolness, of judgment, and he began to demand thesethings of himself, struggling sternly against those symptoms of weaknesswhich had replaced his confidence of a short time before. Gradually hefought himself back into his old faith. He would save Marion--withoutNeil, without Obadiah. If Marion did not come to him by midnight itwould be because of the guards against whom Neil had warned him, and hewould go to her. In some way he would get her to the boat, even if hehad to fight his way through Arbor Croche's men.

  With this return of confidence Nathaniel's thoughts reverted to hispresent greatest need, which was food. Since early morning he had eatennothing and he began to feel the physical want in a craving that wasbecoming acutely uncomfortable. If Obadiah had not returned to his homehe made up his mind that he would find entrance to the cabin and helphimself. A sudden turn in the path which he was following, however,revealed one of the councilor's windows aglow with light, and as hepressed quietly around the end of the building the sound of a low voicecame to him through the open door. Cautiously he approached and peeredin. A large oil lamp, the light of which he had seen in the window, wasburning on a table in the big room but the voice came from the littlecloset into which Obadiah had taken him the preceding night. For severalminutes he crouched and listened. He heard the chuckling laugh of theold councilor--and then an incoherent raving that set his bloodtingling. There is a horror in the sound of madness, a horror thatcreeps to the very pit of one's soul, that sends shivering dread fromevery nerve center, that causes one who is alone with it to sweat with anameless fear. It was the voice of madness that came from that littleroom. Before it Nathaniel quailed as if a clammy hand had reached outfrom the darkness and gripped him by the throat. He drew back shiveringin every limb, and the voice followed him, shrieking now in a suddenburst of insane mirth and dying away a moment later in a hollow cacklinglaugh that seemed to curdle the blood in his veins. Mad! Obadiah Pricewas mad! Step by step Nathaniel fell back from the door. He felt himselftrembling from head to foot. His heart thumped within his breast likethe beating of a hammer. For an instant there was silence--a silence inwhich strange dread held him breathless while he watched the glow in thedoor and li
stened. And after that quiet there came suddenly a cry thatended in the exultant chattering of a name.

  At the sound of that name Nathaniel sprang forward again. It wasMarion's name and he strained his ears to catch the words that mightfollow it. As he listened, his head thrust half in at the door,Obadiah's voice became lower and lower, until at last it ceasedentirely. Not a step, not a deep breath, not the movement of a handdisturbed the stillness of the little room. By inches Nathaniel drewhimself inside the door. His heavy boot caught in a sliver on the stepbut the rending of wood brought no response. It was the quiet of deaththat pervaded the cabin, it was a strange, growing fear of death thatentered Nathaniel as he now hurried across the room and peered throughthe narrow aperture. The old councilor was half stretched upon thetable, his arms reaching out, his long, thin fingers gripping its edges,his face buried under his shoulders. It looked as if death had comesuddenly to him during some terrible convulsion, but after a momentNathaniel saw that he was breathing. He went over and placed a hand onthe old man's twisted back.

  "Hello, Obadiah! Hello--hello!" he called cheerfully.

  A shudder ran through the councilor's frame, as if the voice hadstartled him, his arms and body stiffened and slowly he lifted his head.Nathaniel tried to stifle the cry on his lips, tried to smile--tospeak, but the terrible face that stared up into his own held himsilent, motionless. He had heard the voice of madness, now he lookedupon madness in the eyes that glared at him. In them was no sign ofrecognition, no passing flash of sanity. The white face was lined withpurplish veins, the mouth was distorted and the lips bleeding.Involuntarily he stepped back to the end of the table.

  At his movement the councilor stretched out his arms with a sobbingmoan.

  "Nat--Nat--don't--go--"

  He fell again upon his face, clutching the table in a sudden convulsion.In the next room Nathaniel had noticed a pail of water and he broughtthis and wet the old man's head. For a long time Obadiah did not move,and when he did it was to reach out with a groping hand to findNathaniel. A change had come into his face when he lifted it again, themad fire had partly burned itself out of his eyes, the old chucklinglaugh came from between his lips.

  "A little weakness, Nat--a little weakness," he gasped faintly. "I haveit now and then. Excitement--great excitement--" He straightened himselffor a moment and stood, swaying free from the table, then collapsed intoa chair his head dropping upon his breast.

  Without arousing him from the stupor into which he had fallen, Nathanielagain concealed himself in the shadows outside the cabin where he couldbetter guard himself against the possible approach of Mormon visitors.But he did not remain long. He struck a match and saw that it was nearlyeleven and a sudden resolution turned him back to the cabin door. Hebelieved that Obadiah would not easily arouse himself from the strangestupor into which he had fallen. Meanwhile he would find food and thenconceal himself near the path to intercept Marion.

  As he mounted the step he heard for the second time since landing uponthe island the solemn tolling of the great bell at St. James, and as hepaused for an instant to listen, peal upon peal followed the first untilits brazen thunder rolled in one long booming echo through the forestsof the Mormon kingdom. There came a shrill cry at his back and hewhirled about to see the councilor standing in the center of the bigroom, his arms outstretched, his face lifted as it had been raised inprayer at the tolling of that same bell the night before--but this timeit was not prayer that fell from his lips.

  "Nat, ye have returned in the hour of vengeance! The hand of God isdescending upon the Mormon kingdom!"

  His words came in a gasping, but triumphant cry.

  "And to-morrow--to-morrow--" He stepped forward, his voice crooning awild joy, "To-morrow--I--shall--be--king!"

  As he spoke the cabin trembled, a tremor passed under them, and thetolling of the bell was lost in a sudden tumult that came like thebursting crash of low thunder.

  "What is it?" cried Nathaniel. He leaped into the room and caughtObadiah by the arm. "What is it?"

  "The hand of God!" whispered the old man again. "Nat--Nat--" It was hisold self that stood grimacing and twisting his hands before Nathanielnow. "Nat--a thousand armed men are off the coast! The Lamanites of themainland are descending upon the Mormon kingdom as the hosts of Israelupon Canaan! Strang is doomed--doomed--doomed--and to-morrow I shall beking!" His voice rose in a wailing shriek. He darted to the door and hiscackling laugh rang with the old madness as he pointed into the northwhere a lurid glow had mounted high into the sky.

  "The signal fire--the bell!" he gurgled chokingly. "They are calling theMormons to arms--but it is too late--too late! Ho, ho, it is too late,Nat--too late!" He staggered back, gripping his throat, and fell uponthe floor. "Too late--too late," he moaned, groveling weakly, as ifstruggling for breath. "Too late--Nat--Marion--"

  A shiver passed through his body and he lay quite still.