King o' the Beach: A Tropic Tale

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER NINETEEN.

  The doctor made no opposition and showed no sign of resentment, for hewas biding his time. The beachcomber asked questions and he answeredthem, about the lading of the vessel; but both Carey and Bostock noticedthat he carefully avoided all reference to the bullion that was onboard.

  Later on in the morning the invader announced his intention ofinspecting the stores, and made his prisoners march before him and showhim all they could; it was hot and stifling between-decks, and he wassoon tired and ordered all on deck, where he had a long look round, andat last caught sight of something on shore.

  "Hullo, here!" he cried, turning his fists into a binocular glasswithout lenses; "who's been meddling with my pearl-oyster grounds?"

  The doctor, being referred to in this question, turned to the man andlaughed bitterly.

  "Your pearl-oyster grounds!" he said, in a tone full of the contempt hefelt.

  The man thrust his unpleasant-looking face close to the doctor's.

  "Yes," he said, with an ugly smile; "mine. Didn't I tell you beforethat all the reefs and islands here, and all that's on them or comesashore on them's mine? Someone's been meddling over yonder andcollecting and stacking shells; someone's been sinking tubs and rottingthe oysters to get my pearls. It's been done by your orders, eh?"

  "Yes," said the doctor, quietly; "I suppose I am to blame for it."

  "Ho! Well, I suppose you did it for me, so I won't complain. Here,bring out the box."

  "What box?" said the doctor.

  "What box?" roared the man, fiercely; "why, the box o' pearls you've gotput away. Now don't you put me out, young fellow, because when I'm putout I'm ugly. Ask Black Jack what I can do when I'm ugly. He canunderstand and talk English enough to tell you."

  "I tell you this," began the doctor, but he was stopped by a growl thatmight have emanated from some savage beast.

  "You wait till I've done. Coo-ee!"

  "Coo-ee!" came in answer, and Black Jack rushed forward in a series ofbounds, nulla-nulla in one hand, boomerang in the other.

  "Here, Jack, what do I do when I'm ugly?"

  "Mumkull--killa fellar," said the black, grinning as if it were a finejoke. "Mumkull now?" he continued, with his eyes beginning to lookwild, as he turned them questioningly on one after the other.

  "Not yet. Get out."

  The black darted away again as quickly as he had come.

  "That chap's a child o' nature, young fellow," said the beachcomber,scowling; "so I say to you, don't you try to gammon me. Fetch out thatbox."

  "How can he," cried Carey, boldly, "when he hasn't got one?"

  "What?" roared the man, clapping his hand upon his revolver, and turningfiercely upon the boy. "What's that?"

  "You heard what I said," cried Carey, in no way daunted. "Why, wehaven't tried one of the tubs yet."

  "Good job for you," growled the man, fiercely, as he tried to look Careydown; but the boy did not for a moment wince. "You're a nice impruntyoung cock bantam, though. But you're shivering in your shoes all thesame--aren't you?"

  He made a snatch at the boy's shoulder, but quick as thought Careystruck at the coming hand, catching it heavily with his fist and eludingthe touch.

  "Don't do that," he cried, fiercely, "you know I've got a bad shoulder."

  "Why, you insolent young cock-sparrow, I've a good mind to--No, Iwon't--I'll let them do it by-and-by."

  He jerked his head sidewise in the direction of the blacks, who wereeagerly watching and seeing everything, the sight of the boy striking attheir white king sending a thrill of excitement through them; however,they did not advance, but stood watching and noting that the beachcomberwas laughing heartily.

  "I like pluck in a boy," he growled. "Hi, coo-ee."

  Black Jack darted to his side, with eyes flashing and nostrilsdistended.

  "Boat," said the man, abruptly.

  Black Jack shouted something incomprehensible, and three of the blackfellows bounded to the side and disappeared into the whale-boat withtheir leader.

  "Now then," said the beachcomber, "you stop aboard, cookey, and getsomething ready for dinner. Hi, Black Jack. Fish. Tell 'em."

  "Tell boys kedgee fis'?"

  The beachcomber nodded, and the black shouted again, with the resultthat six more of the blacks came running to the side and dropped overinto the canoe.

  "Hi, Jack, tell the others, if cookey here--"

  "Dis cookey?" asked the black, touching Carey on the head.

  "No, stupid. That one."

  "Iss. Dat cookey," and he nodded and grinned at Bostock.

  "Tell 'em if cookey tries to get away, mumkull."

  "Iss. Mumkull," and the black darted forward, to return with theremaining ten, all grinning, to seat themselves in a row, spear in hand,upon the starboard bulwarks, staring hard at Bostock, who tried toappear perfectly calm and composed; but his face twitched a little.

  "They'd better not try to mumkull me," he whispered to Carey. "Two canplay at that game. But what's he going to do?"

  "Now then," cried the beachcomber, "into the boat with you. I'm goingto have those casks tapped and see what the stuff's like. Hi! Jack,take some buckets in the boat."

  The black darted about and secured three buckets, which he tossed overthe side into the boat.

  "Now then, down with you," growled the beachcomber, and Carey and thedoctor had to go, leaving Bostock with his eyes far more wide open thanusual.

  "I wish the doctor would talk to me," said Carey to himself as he tookhis seat in the well-formed whale-boat, which he rightly supposed musthave come ashore somewhere on this ocean king's dominions. "He is sohorribly quiet."

  Then the boy looked at Black Jack and his three companions, who as soonas their ruler was in his place, gun in hand, thrust out their oars andbegan rowing with the skill and jerk of men-o'-war's men.

  A minute later he was watching the outrigger canoe being paddled alongquickly, its occupants trailing mother-o'-pearl baits behind, and soonafter he saw them hook and drag in a fish.

  Then Carey turned to gaze at the shore they were approaching with abitter feeling of resentment arising as he thought of all their labourin the hot sunshine, collecting and piling up the great pearl shells,and more bitterly still as he dwelt upon the tubs of liquid andliquefying oysters which would, he did not doubt, now have quite a thickdeposit of pearls at their bottoms.

  "Oh, it does seem so hard for that ruffian to get them!" he said tohimself, and he sat there with his teeth set, gazing straight beforehim, till he caught Black Jack's eyes twinkling laughingly at him asthat individual shone like a well-polished pair of boots, and glistenedin the sun, while he lustily pulled stroke.

  As soon as he caught Carey's eye he laughed loudly, and in the mostperfectly good-humoured way, as if they were the very best of friends,and when the beachcomber was looking another way he raised one hand togo through the pantomime of licking treacle off his fingers and rubbinghis front, to the delight of his toiling companions.

  It did Carey good, and he smiled back, and nodded.

  "I don't believe they'd hurt me," he said to himself. "They're justlike a lot of schoolboys, only so much uglier."

  The beachcomber made a movement, and the blacks' faces were in a flashlike so much carved ebony, and they rowed on, choosing as if from oldhabit the way into the canal-like passage among the rocks, and leapingout at the home-made wharf. Here they held the boat steady in a regularnaval style, while their chief and his companions stepped out, theformer using the black backs for support, for big and strong as he washis obese state made him far from active.

  "That's the way I taught 'em," he said, with a grim smile at Carey, whonodded back, said nothing, but thought very deeply, his fancies takingthe direction of wondering whether the wretched tyrant would ever go toofar with his followers, and they would kill and eat him.

  His thoughts took a fresh current directly, for the subject of themshouted the one word, "Buckets!" and after ma
king the boat fast the crewcame running with the buckets to where the beachcomber was now standingexamining the first tub, which happened to be the last filled, and hegrowled, moved to the next, and then on and on to the last.

  "Here you are, Jack; this first."

  The black fellow nodded, looked in the tub, and then as if quite at homeat the work, picked up the great bamboo lying ready for the purpose andset two of his followers to give all the other tubs a good stir-up, theresult being a most horrible odour of such extent that, but for thebreeze blowing and their getting on the windward side, it would havebeen unbearable.

  But it had not the slightest effect upon the beachcomber, who stoodlooking on while Black Jack and a companion heaved together and tried tooverturn the oldest tub, but without result.

  A yell to the other two brought them up, and with their aid the tub ofmalodorous thick water was gradually overturned, and the foul waterpoured off, to sink at once into the thirsty sand.

  "Hold hard," cried the beachcomber, when the bottom was nearly reached."Water."

  Three black fellows ran off with a bucket each and returned to Jack, whopoured one in and gave it a swirl round, handed the bucket to berefilled, allowed the contents of the tub to settle, and then began topour out the top very gently.

  Carey was so intensely interested that for the time being he forgot hispainful position.

  "I say," he cried, "these black chaps have done this sort of thingbefore."

  "Hundreds of times," growled their chief, and then he was silent, whileeven the doctor began to feel that his eagerness to see the contents ofthe tub was mastering his misery and disappointment that the pearlsshould fall into such hands.

  So they watched till half a dozen buckets had been severally poured inand emptied out, and then there was a hoarse chuckle from thebeachcomber.

  "I'll forgive yer," he growled. "You aren't done so badly for me.That's a nice take o' pearls, and there's some fine big uns among 'em.Up higher, Jack, and let the sun dry them a bit. Next one."

  The tub was tilted so that the last drops of water could run out whilethe next was being emptied.

  Carey's eyes met the doctor's, and the boy ground his teeth softly as hegazed in at the soft lustrous pearls drying rapidly from the heat of theair.

  There they lay along the side of the great cask, seed pearls, pearls offair size, and here and there great almond-shaped ones, while fewest ofall were the softly rounded perfectly shaped gems, running from the sizeof goodly peas to here and there that of small marbles, lustrous, soft,and of that delicate creamy tint that made them appear like solidifieddrops of molten moonlight, fallen to earth in the silence of sometropical night.

  The doctor shrugged his shoulders and turned away to watch the emptyingof the next tub, which ended with even better result than the first.

  "Bucket," said the beachcomber, when this second watering had come to anend, and Jack, who knew what was expected of him, took a bunch of grassto make a brush, crept into the first tub, and while one of his fellowsheld the bucket ready, the pearls, worth scores, perhaps hundred ofpounds, were swept into it.

  The next tub was served the same, and then after the other tubs had hada final stir the beachcomber cried abruptly:

  "On board. That's enough for to-day. I'm dying for a drink."

  "Oh," muttered Carey to himself, "I wish I could stop you drinking."