by Roy J. Snell
CHAPTER XVII PANT'S PROBLEM INCREASES
When Pant awoke from many bad dreams, he found himself in a cool andcomfortable bed on shore. A doctor was bending over him.
"That's fine, old boy," the doctor was saying. "Now you'll do. You gotquite a welt on the head. But your jolly old bean is hard. Never crackedit a mite."
"But the treasure box!" Pant exclaimed, still unable to think clearly, oruse caution. "Where is it?"
"The treasure box? I see you are still a little off in the head. Here,take this; it will clear you up," said the doctor.
Pant took the contents of the glass held out to him at a single draughtand without a question. In the meantime his head cleared. He said no moreabout the box of pearls, but learned by judicious questioning that theattacking band had on the night before been driven off with little lossof men or goods. A few sacks of chicle had drifted away in the night,that was all.
"And if one of them has a green thread running through the sack!" hethought to himself, and was thrown into a near panic.
"And the schooners?" he asked suddenly. "Where are they?"
"Got a fair wind and sailed this morning for Belize. Must be there bynow."
"They'll load the chicle aboard the Torentia?"
"Naturally."
"And she sails--"
"In about twenty-four hours."
"Doctor!" exclaimed the boy sitting straight up in bed and gripping hisarm hard. "Fix me up someway. I've got to get over to Belize. At once!Right away, doctor. This very minute!"
"Well, young fellow," said the doctor, rescuing his arm and putting on awry face as he rubbed it vigorously, "you seem to have plenty ofstrength. I'll see what I can do."
A half hour later, a trifle unsteady on his feet, but otherwise quitehimself, Pant was making his way to the water front of Stann Creek, theport to which he was carried after the battle. He felt the heavy bandagesabout his head, blinked at the sunlight, looked this way then that, untilspying what appeared to be a small store just before him, he hurried in.
"I want a boat," he said to the black proprietor.
"What kind of a boat?"
"Any boat that will take me to Belize."
"No boat go to-day." The man settled back in his corner.
"You mean they won't go to-day?" The boy's brow wrinkled.
"No go."
"Not for any price?"
"Oh! Special trip, go. Maybe. You got twenty dollars?"
Pant hesitated. He had twenty dollars and a little change. To part withit all would seem to be courting disaster. But much was at stake. Hethrew all in the balance.
"Yes, I have twenty dollars. Where is the boat?"
"Me see." The man held out a hand. Pant showed him two golden eagles.
"My boat sailing boat. Good boat. Very fast boat. Ready to go, fifteenminutes." At sight of the gold the man went into action.
Action on land is one thing. On sea it is quite another. They were halfway up the bay when the wind fell. The sail fell with it, and the boatstood still in a placid sea.
For two precious hours the boy with a bruised and aching head lay beneatha pitiless tropical sun. Then the merciful after dinner breeze came upand at once they went booming along.
Nothing can be more delightful than a sail in a Carib boat on theCaribbean Sea. To lie on deck and sense the lifting glide of the prow, tofeel the cool breeze on your face, to see the water go rippling by, thatis joy indeed. Pant would have enjoyed it to the full had not his mindbeen vexed by many questions. Would he reach Belize in time or would thesteamer be gone? Was the chicle sack of the green thread still on thesailing boat of the night before, or had the marauders carried it away?If it were still on board, if it went to America and he did not go withit, what then? Would he recover the treasure?
"Not a chance," he told himself. "I must have been out of my head to hidethe box in such a place. But now I must see it through.
"Why must I?" he asked himself, and at once came the answer, "The oldDon." Unconsciously he had come to think of the treasure of pearls asbelonging as much to the aged Don as to himself. And to that man he owedmuch. He had, beyond doubt, once saved his grandfather's life.
They were nearing Belize. The white houses with their red roofs showed inthe distance. And, joy of joys! There to the left was the _Torentia_riding at anchor.
Still there was much to fear. She might at any moment weigh anchor andput out to sea.
"And after all," he said to himself, "what am I to do? By this time thechicle is stowed away. Dare I make a clean breast of my story? I wouldn'tdare trust them. What then? I must go with the ship to New York. But Ihave no money. Who is to pay my passage?" Surely here was a situation.
"I will find a way. I must!"
And in the end he did. Sailing time was only a half hour off when heclimbed the rope ladder to the deck of the _Torentia_.
"Hello, brother," said the purser, looking at his bandaged head. "Whatrevolution did you come from? Did they make you President or onlycommander of the navy?"
"Neither," said Pant with a grin that went far. "I want to go to NewYork."
"Got any money?"
"No."
"Can't go."
"That last shipment of chicle you took on board belonged to mygrandfather. I'll wire him for money in New York."
"There's lots of broke Americans down here. They've all got richrelatives."
"I'll prove it." Sitting down upon the hatch, Pant told things aboutColonel Longstreet that went far to prove that he at least was a booncompanion of the old man.
"Guess you're square," said the purser at last. "Anyway, I'll take achance. Steward will fix you up later."
By careful inquiry Pant learned that the chicle had been stored beneaththe forward hatch. The hatch was kept open. There were twenty thousandbunches of bananas on board. They must have air. By leaning far over thehatch he could see ends of the chicle bags. Was the one he wanted there?
"Can't be sure," he warned himself. "Too dark down there. Have to getcloser," he said. "Will, too, after a while. See if I don't."