The Voodoo Gold Trail

by Walter Walden

  Ray and I were escorted down the companionway into the cabin of the_Orion_, and were thrust into a room on the port side. A pair of blackscut away the cords from our arms; and when they went out we heard a boltpushed home in the door.

  "We travel in style," observed Ray, surveying the pair of bunks, oneabove the other. "Let's see," he continued, "does your ticket call foran upper or a lower?"

  A small, round, glazed porthole gave light, and a porcelain wash-bowlwith faucets was fixed in the wall.

  "And even a bathtub," said Ray, fingering the piece. "It's almost likebeing back on the _Pearl_ again."

  We were waited on by the blacks, who brought our food. The day passeduneventfully; though we spent much time at the porthole (which wefinally succeeded to open, or we must have stifled) we saw not so muchas a sail, nor a glimpse of the land. This last would be explainedeither on the score that the island lay on the other--thestarboard--side, or that the _Orion_ had sailed out of view of the land.She might even be on a course to the west, going back home again, now.It was not till the stars were out that this point was settled. It wasby those twinklers we learned we were on an eastern course.

  The next morning we got a view of the land. It was just after the_Orion_ had gone about on the starboard tack. The mountains loomed upbut four or five miles away. And while the vessel slowly came up intothe wind, I eagerly scanned the horizon for a sail that should seem tobe the _Pearl_. But there was no ship of any kind in view. My heartsank. Could it be that after all they had not ferreted out our secretmessage?

  The day following, sometime before noon, we heard sounds of excitementon the vessel. And we heard Duran's voice; "cussing in French," Ray saidhe was doing.

  We got to the porthole.

  "They must have got sight of the _Pearl_," I said. Our hopes were high.Even on the starboard tack, we saw nothing but the sea, now fallenalmost calm.

  A half hour passed; we were again at the porthole.

  "There she is!" cried Ray and I together. The _Pearl_ was in view.

  Soon the wind was on us, as we could hear; and it grew dark. There wasmuch scurrying on the deck overhead. Spray began to come in through ourporthole, and we must close it. We could see birds rushing by. Ourcourse was changed; no longer could we see the _Pearl_. The roar of thestorm increased every moment.

  "It must be a hurricane," said Ray.

  At last we saw land close by our porthole. Directly, we were in lee ofit, and we heard the anchor go overboard.

  "Well, we're in some kind of a harbor," I told Ray.

  "But where's the _Pearl_?" returned he.

  "I hope she'll make the same harbor," I said.

  The storm blew over, and broad daylight came once more. We watchedcontinually at the window of our prison; but while we saw land allabout, beaches and palms, and hills beyond, no vessel showed to us. Ifthe _Pearl_ were near she must be off our starboard. But we were notleft long in doubt.

  The bolt clicked, and our door opened. Duran appeared, and four blacks,who set to work to bind our arms again to our sides. We were led up ondeck.

  There lay the _Pearl_, some hundreds of yards away. My heart jumped atsight of her.

  Accompanied by Duran, we were hurried over the side into a boat, whichset off immediately toward a beach to the south-east. We could see ourfriends but imperfectly on the deck of the _Pearl_, where their figuresmoved about in some hurry.

  We were nearing the shore when we saw a boat put off from the _Pearl_.Then a second boat moved out from the _Orion_, filled with blacks,bearing guns. A few minutes, and we were startled by the boom of anexplosion, and smoke rose from the _Pearl_.

  My heart sank. But then I saw the blacks in the water, and their boatseemed knocked to bits. The smoke dispersed, and I saw the _Pearl_ asright as ever.

  "They've got a cannon," murmured Ray in my ear. "That is Norris."

  The blacks swam toward the _Orion_. Duran gazed, rage in his look; andhe swore roundly. He directed the men to a hurried landing. We werehustled out, pushed in among the cocoa palms, thence back into thebrush. We came to a stop, and the four blacks, leaving their two gunswith Duran, went back. It was doubtless to pull the boat up intoconcealment; for they soon appeared again, and the march was taken up.

  What direction we went I had no means of knowing, but the groundgradually rose, and we came to where the undergrowth was less dense.This proved an agreeable change--if anything in our situation could becalled agreeable, for in the briars and brush, Ray's and my arms fast,as they were, we could not protect our faces from the growth, thatwhacked and scratched us, as we were pushed hurriedly forward.

  At last, after some casting about, Duran had the blacks get down ontheir hands and knees and literally drag the two of us into a most densethicket, Duran going before, cutting a way. Many yards we went thus,scraping the ground; and we were finally dropped at the foot of a greattree which appeared to stand alone in the midst of the thicket. Here wasa small space free of thicket growth; knives removed encroaching piecesof growth. Bags of food, that had been hanging by the necks of theblacks, were transferred to the low-hanging limbs of the trees, andpreparations were made for some stay.

  Duran crawled out of the place again, doubtless to reconnoiter.

  Ray called after him as he started off on hands and knees--"Hey' there!You!" Duran stopped and looked back. "Don't be late back for supper,"continued Ray.

  Duran cursed him and went, upon which Ray turned with a serious face onone of the blacks, he that spoke English, and said, "Your boss' SundaySchool education has been neglected. What do you say we start a missionright here?"

  The black grinned. It was not his first experience of Ray's drollery.

  We had indeed cause for cheer--knowing that our friends were so near tous. I was now sure that they had fathomed our hidden message. We feltconfident, too, that Duran would not attempt again to get us away onboard the _Orion_; and that one way or another we would win back to the_Pearl_. Ray and I contrived to talk on these things, by veiling ourspeech beyond the comprehension of that one black listener.

  "And where do you think they got their dog?" said Ray, meaning, ofcourse, the barker--cannon.

  "Back in that town, of course," I returned. "I've no doubt if we'd havegone sight-seeing, we'd found many old dogs of that species on thetumble-down ramparts."

  "Just like Norris," said Ray. "And I suppose the 'skunk's' new game of'pussy wants a corner' is like the old one."

  "Yes," I said. "When they're off hunting for this new corner, he's gotRay and Wayne in, the 'skunk' means to make after that hole of hiswithout company."

  And so on we continued.

  The black man listened to our talk, eyes large with noncomprehension.He, of course, could not know that "skunk" was Norris' pet name forDuran.

  That our friends would immediately be searching the island for us, wehad not the least doubt. That they had seen us in the boat makingshoreward, and had put off in a boat, to intercept the blacks and rescueus, was a thing plain enough. We understood well that thatcannon-shot--that had found its mark with such telling effect--was sentto destroy the boat full of blacks that had left the _Orion_ toreinforce the blacks in our boat.

  That our friends would have great difficulty to find us amongst all thisjungle growth was certain. But now what would Duran contrive, toaccomplish his purpose? He was intelligent enough to know that howeversecurely he might truss and gag us, there was no assurance that we mightnot succeed to worm out of our bonds and get to the _Pearl_, before the_Orion_ should be far enough away to insure against our catching up withhim again. Would he leave some of his blacks to guard us? None wouldagree to this; for it would mean nothing less than finally to fall intothe hands of our party. Who among them would have the stomach forthat--particularly in view of that gold that lay at the other end of therainbow?

  There was no fire made for supper, which was eaten cold. Ray and I hadour arms freed by the blacks, who put the cords on our legs. It was agreat relief to have the use of our hands ag
ain, for we had becomeinfested by "chiggers"--wee red insects that burrowed into our skins,causing severe itching and pain. Therefore it was little sleep we gotwhen night came. The blacks were not free of the pests, and so we hadfour waking guards; and two guns between them to discourage ideas we hadof escape.

  The moon was well down behind the trees when Duran came crawling back.He had a strange white man with him. I got no proper look at the man inthe dark, but his voice and manner put no encouragement in my heart.That he was some sort of scoundrel was not hard to perceive.

  "Here they are," spoke Duran, in a low tone.

  "Well," returned the man, "shake yourself, and let's get out o' this."

  In two minutes we were being dragged out of the thicket again. Silently,and with some hurry, the party stumbled through the woods. When I got aview of the stars, I perceived that we were making in an easterlydirection. In less than an hour a halt was made. We were still in theforest, but I could hear the surf not far off, and so knew we were closeto water.

  There was a tent under the trees, and four other white men came forward.The blacks squatted on the ground, Ray and I between them. Duran was incolloquy with one of the whites.

  "There's no use wastin' yer breath on that, I'm tellin' ye," said theman. "We don't sail away from here. We got business here that'spressin'. Five thousan' ain't temptin' us, with others on the island."

  "Yes, but I give five t'ousand more if you keep them one week," saidDuran. "And--"

  "Now looky here," interrupted the other. "It's no use. Besides we got aspurty a little place to hide them in, the devil himself couldn't findthem. We don't sail away with them, that's sure as shootin'. It's just athousand apiece down, we hold them a week, and if you succeed, it's athousand apiece more, when you come back in a month, that's all there isto it. Now mush along after the spondulicks afore it's daylight an' toolate, or maybe their friends has got some gold, and--"

  "No--No!" said Duran. "They can never have what I have. When I come backI breeng ten thousand--you see!"

  Duran and the four blacks were soon gone, and Ray and I had new keepers.One of the five white men remained by us, while the other four moved offout of ear-shot for some sort of discussion. Ray sought to talk with ourguard, but he would have none of it.

  "Shut your palaver!" he ordered. And he made a threatening gesture.

  Within two hours Duran appeared. Then came the counting of money, inbills and gold, in the light of the lantern. Each white man took his ownshare, and smacked his lips over it.

  "You keep them one week," said Duran, then. "I come back in one month,and I give you ten thousand, maybe more if I succeed well."

  And he was off again in the dark forest.