CHAPTER IX. ODA YORIMOTO
ONLY four men of the Halfmoon's crew were lost in the wreck of thevessel. All had been crowded in the bow when the ship broke in two,and being far-flung by the forward part of the brigantine as it lungedtoward the cove on the wave following the one which had dropped thecraft upon the reef, with the exception of the four who had perishedbeneath the wreckage they had been able to swim safely to the beach.
Larry Divine, who had sat weeping upon the deck of the doomed shipduring the time that hope had been at its lowest, had recovered hispoise. Skipper Simms, subdued for the moment, soon commenced to regainhis bluster. He took Theriere to task for the loss of the Halfmoon.
"An' ever we make a civilized port," he shouted, "I'll prefer chargesag'in' you, you swab you; a-losin' of the finest bark as ever weathereda storm. Ef it hadn't o' been fer you a-mutinyin' agin' me I'd a-broughther through in safety an' never lost a bloomin' soul."
"Stow it!" admonished Theriere at last; "your foolish bluster can'thide the bald fact that you deserted your post in time of danger. We'reashore now, remember, and there is no more ship for you to command, sowere I you I'd be mighty careful how I talked to my betters."
"What's that!" screamed the skipper. "My betters! You frog-eatin'greaser you, I'll teach you. Here, some of you, clap this swab intoirons. I'll learn him that I'm still captain of this here bunch."
Theriere laughed in the man's face; but Ward and a couple of handswho had been shown favoritism by the skipper and first mate closedmenacingly toward the second officer.
The Frenchman took in the situation at a glance. They were ashore now,where they didn't think that they needed him further and the process ofelimination had commenced. Well, it might as well come to a showdown nowas later.
"Just a moment," said Theriere, raising his hand. "You're not going totake me alive, and I have no idea that you want to anyhow, and if youstart anything in the killing line some of you are going to Davy Jones'locker along with me. The best thing for all concerned is to divide upthis party now once and for all."
As he finished speaking he turned toward Billy Byrne.
"Are you and the others with me, or against me?" he asked.
"I'm ag'in' Simms," replied the mucker non-committally.
Bony Sawyer, Red Sanders, Blanco, Wison, and two others drew in behindBilly Byrne.
"We all's wid Billy," announced Blanco.
Divine and Barbara Harding stood a little apart. Both were alarmed atthe sudden, hostile turn events had taken. Simms, Ward, and Therierewere the only members of the party armed. Each wore a revolver strappedabout his hips. All were still dripping from their recent plunge in theocean.
Five men stood behind Skipper Simms and Ward, but there were tworevolvers upon that side of the argument. Suddenly Ward turned towardDivine.
"Are you armed, Mr. Divine?" he asked.
Divine nodded affirmatively.
"Then you'd better come over with us--it looks like we might need you tohelp put down this mutiny," said Ward.
Divine hesitated. He did not know which side was more likely to bevictorious, and he wanted to be sure to be on the winning side. Suddenlyan inspiration came to him.
"This is purely a matter to be settled by the ship's officers," hesaid. "I am only a prisoner, call me a passenger if you like--I have nointerest whatever in the matter, and shall not take sides."
"Yes you will," said Mr. Ward, in a low, but menacing tone. "You're intoo deep to try to ditch us now. If you don't stand by us we'll treatyou as one of the mutineers when we're through with them, and you cancome pretty near a-guessin' what they'll get."
Divine was about to reply, and the nature of his answer was suggestedby the fact that he had already taken a few steps in the direction ofSimms' faction, when he was stopped by the low voice of the girl behindhim.
"Larry," she said, "I know all--your entire connection with this plot.If you have a spark of honor or manhood left you will do what little youcan to retrieve the terrible wrong you have done me, and my father. Youcan never marry me. I give you my word of honor that I shall take my ownlife if that is the only way to thwart your plans in that direction, andso as the fortune can never be yours it seems to me that the next bestthing would be to try and save me from the terrible predicament inwhich your cupidity has placed me. You can make the start now, Larry,by walking over and placing yourself at Mr. Theriere's disposal. He haspromised to help and protect me."
A deep flush mounted to the man's neck and face. He did not turn aboutto face the girl he had so grievously wronged--for the life of him hecould not have met her eyes. Slowly he turned, and with gaze bent uponthe ground walked quickly toward Theriere.
Ward was quick to recognize the turn events had taken, and to see thatit gave Theriere the balance of power, with two guns and nine men in hisparty against their two guns and seven men. It also was evident to himthat to the other party the girl would naturally gravitate since Divine,an old acquaintance, had cast his lot with it; nor had the growingintimacy between Miss Harding and Theriere been lost upon him.
Ward knew that Simms was an arrant coward, nor was he himself overlykeen for an upstanding, man-to-man encounter such as must quickly followany attempt upon his part to uphold the authority of Simms, or theirclaim upon the custody of the girl.
Intrigue and trickery were more to Mr. Ward's liking, and so he wasquick to alter his plan of campaign the instant that it became evidentthat Divine had elected to join forces with the opposing faction.
"I reckon," he said, directing his remarks toward no one in particular,"that we've all been rather hasty in this matter, being het up as wewere with the strain of what we been through an' so it seems to me,takin' into consideration that Mr. Theriere really done his best to savethe ship, an' that as a matter of fact we was all mighty lucky to comeout of it alive, that we'd better let bygones be bygones, for the timebein' at least, an' all of us pitch in to save what we can from thewreckage, hunt water, rig up a camp, an' get things sort o' shipshapehere instid o' squabblin' amongst ourselves."
"Suit yourself," said Theriere, "it's all the same to us," and his useof the objective pronoun seemed definitely to establish the existence ofhis faction as a separate and distinct party.
Simms, from years of experience with his astute mate, was wont toacquiesce in anything that Ward proposed, though he had not the brainsalways to appreciate the purposes that prompted Ward's suggestions. Now,therefore, he nodded his approval of Squint Eye's proposal, feeling thatwhatever was in Ward's mind would be more likely to work out to SkipperSimms' interests than some unadvised act of Skipper Simms himself.
"Supposin'," continued Ward, "that we let two o' your men an' two o'ourn under Mr. Divine, shin up them cliffs back o' the cove an' searchfer water an' a site fer camp--the rest o' us'll have our hands fullwith the salvage."
"Good," agreed Theriere. "Miller, you and Swenson will accompany Mr.Divine."
Ward detailed two of his men, and the party of five began the difficultascent of the cliffs, while far above them a little brown man withbeady, black eyes set in narrow fleshy slits watched them from behind aclump of bushes. Strange, medieval armor and two wicked-looking swordsgave him a most warlike appearance. His temples were shaved, and a broadstrip on the top of his head to just beyond the crown. His remaininghair was drawn into an unbraided queue, tied tightly at the back, andthe queue then brought forward to the top of the forehead. His helmetlay in the grass at his feet. At the nearer approach of the party to thecliff top the watcher turned and melted into the forest at his back.He was Oda Yorimoto, descendant of a powerful daimio of the AshikagaDynasty of shoguns who had fled Japan with his faithful samurai nearlythree hundred and fifty years before upon the overthrow of the AshikagaDynasty.
Upon this unfrequented and distant Japanese isle the exiles had retainedall of their medieval military savagery, to which had been added theaboriginal ferocity of the head-hunting natives they had found there andwith whom they had intermarried. The little col
ony, far from making anyadvances in arts or letters had, on the contrary, relapsed into primevalignorance as deep as that of the natives with whom they had casttheir lot--only in their arms and armor, their military trainingand discipline did they show any of the influence of their civilizedprogenitors. They were cruel, crafty, resourceful wild men trapped inthe habiliments of a dead past, and armed with the keen weapons of theirforbears. They had not even the crude religion of the Malaysians theyhad absorbed unless a highly exaggerated propensity for head-huntingmight be dignified by the name of religion. To the tender mercies ofsuch as these were the castaways of the Halfmoon likely to be consigned,for what might sixteen men with but four revolvers among them accomplishagainst near a thousand savage samurai?
Theriere, Ward, Simms, and the remaining sailors at the beach busiedthemselves with the task of retrieving such of the wreckage and thesalvage of the Halfmoon as the waves had deposited in the shallows ofthe beach. There were casks of fresh water, kegs of biscuit, clothing,tinned meats, and a similar heterogeneous mass of flotsam. This arduouslabor consumed the best part of the afternoon, and it was not until ithad been completed that Divine and his party returned to the beach.
They reported that they had discovered a spring of fresh water somethree miles east of the cove and about half a mile inland, but it wasdecided that no attempt be made to transport the salvage of the party tothe new camp site until the following morning.
Theriere and Divine erected a rude shelter for Barbara Harding closeunder the foot of the cliff, as far from the water as possible, whileabove them Oda Yorimoto watched their proceedings with beady, glitteringeyes. This time a half-dozen of his fierce samurai crouched at his side.Besides their two swords these latter bore the primitive spears of theirmothers' savage tribe.
Oda Yorimoto watched the white men upon the beach. Also, he watched thewhite girl--even more, possibly, than he watched the men. He saw theshelter that was being built, and when it was complete he saw the girlenter it, and he knew that it was for her alone. Oda Yorimoto sucked inhis lips and his eyes narrowed even more than nature had intended thatthey should.
A fire burned before the rude domicile that Barbara Harding was tooccupy, and another, larger fire roared a hundred yards to the westwhere the men were congregated about Blanco, who was attempting toevolve a meal from the miscellany of his larder that had been cast upby the sea. There seemed now but little to indicate that the party wasdivided into two bitter factions, but when the meal was over Therierecalled his men to a point midway between Barbara's shelter and the maincamp fire. Here he directed them to dispose themselves for the night asbest they could, building a fire of their own if they chose, for withthe coming of darkness the chill of the tropical night would render afire more than acceptable.
All were thoroughly tired and exhausted, so that darkness had scarcefallen ere the entire camp seemed wrapped in slumber. And still OdaYorimoto sat with his samurai upon the cliff's summit, beady eyes fixedupon his intended prey.
For an hour he sat thus in silence, until, assured that all were asleepbefore him, he arose and with a few whispered instructions commencedthe descent of the cliff toward the cove below. Scarce had he started,however, with his men stringing in single file behind him, than he cameto a sudden halt, for below him in the camp that lay between the girl'sshelter and the westerly camp a figure had arisen stealthily from amonghis fellows.
It was Theriere. Cautiously he moved to a sleeper nearby whom he shookgently until he had awakened him.
"Hush, Byrne," cautioned the Frenchman. "It is I, Theriere. Help meawaken the others--see that there is no noise."
"Wot's doin'?" queried the mucker.
"We are going to break camp, and occupy the new location before thatbunch of pirates can beat us to it," whispered Theriere in reply; "and,"he added, "we're going to take the salvage and the girl with us."
The mucker grinned.
"Gee!" he said. "Won't dey be a sore bunch in de mornin'?"
The work of awakening the balance of the party required but a fewminutes and when the plan was explained to them, all seemed delightedwith the prospect of discomfiting Skipper Simms and Squint Eye. It wasdecided that only the eatables be carried away on the first trip, andthat if a second trip was possible before dawn the clothing, canvas, andcordage that had been taken from the water might then be purloined.
Miller and Swenson were detailed to bring up the rear with Miss Harding,assisting her up the steep side of the cliff. Divine was to act as guideto the new camp, lending a hand wherever necessary in the scaling of theheights with the loot.
Cautiously the party, with the exception of Divine, Miller, and Swenson,crept toward the little pile of supplies that were heaped fifty or sixtyfeet from the sleeping members of Simms' faction. The three left behindwalked in silence to Barbara Harding's shelter. Here Divine scratched atthe piece of sail cloth which served as a door until he had succeededin awakening the sleeper within. And from above Oda Yorimoto watched theactivity in the little cove with intent and unwavering eyes.
The girl, roused from a fitful slumber, came to the doorway of herprimitive abode, alarmed by this nocturnal summons.
"It is I, Larry," whispered the man. "Are you dressed?"
"Yes," replied the girl, stepping out into the moonlight. "What do youwant? What has happened?"
"We are going to take you away from Simms--Theriere and I," replied theman, "and establish a safe camp of our own where they cannot molest you.Theriere and the others have gone for the supplies now and as soon asthey return we shall commence the ascent of the cliffs. If you have anyfurther preparations to make, Barbara, please make haste,as we must get away from here as quickly as possible. Should any ofSimms' people awaken there is sure to be a fight."
The girl turned back into the shelter to gather together a handful ofwraps that had been saved from the wreck.
Down by the salvage Theriere, Byrne, Bony Sawyer, Red Sanders, Blanco,and Wison were selecting the goods that they wished to carry with them.It was found that two trips would be necessary to carry off the bulk ofthe rations, so Theriere sent the mucker to summon Miller and Swenson.
"We'll carry all that eight of us can to the top of the cliffs," he said"hide it there and then come back for the balance. We may be able to getit later if we are unable to make two trips to the camp tonight."
While they were waiting for Byrne to return with the two recruits oneof the sleepers in Simms' camp stirred. Instantly the five maraudersdropped stealthily to the ground behind the boxes and casks. OnlyTheriere kept his eyes above the level of the top of their shelter thathe might watch the movements of the enemy.
The figure sat up and looked about. It was Ward. Slowly he arose andapproached the pile of salvage. Theriere drew his revolver, holdingit in readiness for an emergency. Should the first mate look in thedirection of Barbara Harding's shelter he must certainly see the fourfigures waiting there in the moonlight. Theriere turned his own head inthe direction of the shelter that he might see how plainly the men therewere visible. To his delight he saw that no one was in sight. Eitherthey had seen Ward, or for the sake of greater safety from detection hadmoved to the opposite side of the shelter.
Ward was quite close to the boxes upon the other side of which crouchedthe night raiders. Theriere's finger found the trigger of his revolver.He was convinced that the mate had been disturbed by the movement incamp and was investigating. The Frenchman knew that the search wouldnot end upon the opposite side of the salvage--in a moment Ward wouldbe upon them. He was sorry--not for Ward, but because he had planned tocarry the work out quietly and he hated to have to muss things up with akilling, especially on Barbara's account.
Ward stopped at one of the water casks. He tipped it up, filling a tincup with water, took a long drink, set the cup back on top of the cask,and, turning, retraced his steps to his blanket. Theriere could havehugged himself. The man had suspected nothing. He merely had beenthirsty and come over for a drink--in another moment he would be fastasleep o
nce more. Sure enough, before Byrne returned with Miller andSwenson, Theriere could bear the snores of the first mate.
On the first trip to the cliff top eight men carried heavy burdens,Divine alone remaining to guard Barbara Harding. The second trip wasmade with equal dispatch and safety. No sound or movement came from thecamp of the enemy, other than that of sleeping men. On the second tripDivine and Theriere each carried a burden up the cliffs, Miller andSwenson following with Barbara Harding, and as they came Oda Yorimotoand his samurai slunk back into the shadows that their prey might passunobserving.
Theriere had the bulk of the loot hidden in a rocky crevice just beyondthe cliff's summit. Brush torn from the mass of luxuriant tropicalvegetation that covered the ground was strewn over the cache. All hadbeen accomplished in safety and without detection. The camp beneath themstill lay wrapped in silence.
The march toward the new camp, under the guidance of Divine, wasimmediately undertaken. On the return trip after the search for waterDivine had discovered a well-marked trail along the edge of the cliffsto a point opposite the spring, and another leading from the main traildirectly to the water. In his ignorance he had thought these the runwaysof animals, whereas they were the age-old highways of the head-hunters.
Now they presented a comparatively quick and easy approach to thedestination of the mutineers, but so narrow a one as soon to convinceTheriere that it was not feasible for him to move back and forthalong the flank of his column. He had tried it once, but it so greatlyinconvenienced and retarded the heavily laden men that he abandoned theeffort, remaining near the center of the cavalcade until the new campwas reached.
Here he found a fair-sized space about a clear and plentiful spring ofcold water. Only a few low bushes dotted the grassy clearing which wasalmost completely surrounded by dense and impenetrable jungle. The menhad deposited their burdens, and still Theriere stood waiting for thebalance of his party--Miller and Swenson with Barbara Harding.
But they did not come, and when, in alarm, the entire party started backin search of them they retraced their steps to the very brink of thedeclivity leading to the cove before they could believe the testimonyof their own perceptions--Barbara Harding and the two sailors haddisappeared.
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