The House Under the Sea: A Romance

by Max Pemberton

said I, "thenight will find me on board again. I trust to bring you good news,Mister Jacob--the best news."

  "Which would be that we were to 'bout ship and home again," says he;and that I did not contradict.

  Now, we were to the westward of the island when we put off, and neithermy glass nor the others showed any good landing there. As the launchdrew in towards the cliffs I began to get the lie of the place moreclearly; and especially of what I call the mainland, which waswonderfully fresh and green in the sunlight and seemed to have some ofthe tropic luxuriance of more southern islands. About four miles long,I judged it to be, from the high black rock to which it rose at thesouthward point, to the low dog's-nosed reef which defended it to thenorth. Trees I could see, palms and that kind, and ripe green grasseson a stretch of real down-like land; but the cliffs themselves weresteep and unpromising, and the closer we drew the less I liked the lookof it.

  "Dolly, my lad," I said at last, "you were the wise one, after all.Yon's no shore for an honest man; he being made like a man and not likean eagle. Let's try the starboard tack and see what luck will send us."

  We headed the launch almost due south, and began to round the headland.The men were elated, they didn't know at what; Dolly Venn had a boy'sdelight in the difficulty.

  "An ugly shore, sir," he said, pleased at my compliment. "A very uglyshore. It would be a bad night which found a ship in these parts and nobetter light than the fool's beacon we saw yesterday."

  "As true as the parson's word," said I, "but, ugly or beautiful, I'llbe up on those heights before twelve o'clock if I have to swim ashore.And speaking of that," said I, "there are men up yonder, or I'm aDutchman!" Well, he clapped his glass to his eye and searched the greengrass land as I had done; but the light was overstrong and the cliffquickly shut the view from us, so that we found ourselves presently inthe loom of vast black rocks, with the tide running like a whirlpool,and a great sword-fish reef a mile from the shore, perhaps, to catchany fool that didn't want sea room. I took the tiller myself from thispoint, and standing well out I brought the launch round gingerlyenough, but the water was deep and good once we were on the lee side;and no sooner did we head north again than I espied the cove and knewwhere Ruth Bellenden had gone ashore.

  "It's there, lad," said I, "yonder, where the sand sparkles. There'llbe a way up the cliff and good anchorage. No one but an Irishman wouldbuy an island without a harbour; you tell Mr. Bligh that when we goaboard again."

  "Mr. Bligh says he's only Irish on the mother's side, sir; that's whatmakes him bighearted towards the women. He'll be dying to come ashoreif there are any petticoats hereabouts."

  "They haven't much use for that same garment on the Pacific Islands,"said I. "Peter can marry cheap here, if it's the milliners' bills he'sminding--but I doubt, lad, from the look of it, whether we'll find ajewel in this port. It's a wild-looking place, to be sure it is."

  Indeed, and it was. Viewed from the eastward sea, I call Ken's Islandthe most fearsome place I have come across in all my fifteen yearsafloat. Vast cliffs, black and green and crystal, rose up sheer fromthe water in precipices for all the world like mighty steps. By hereand there, as the ground sloped away to the northward, there wereforests of teak (at least, I judged them to be that), pretty woods withevery kind of palm, green valleys and grassy pastures. The sands of thecove were white as snow, and shone like so many precious stones poundedup to make a sea beach. On the north side only was there barrenness--for that seemed but a tongue of low land and black rock thrust straightout into the sea. But elsewhere it was a spectacle to impress a man;and I began, perhaps, to admit that Edmond Czerny had more than acrank's whim in his mind when he took little Ruth Bellenden to such ashore for her honeymoon. He had a fancy for wild places, said I, andthis was the very spot for him. But Miss Ruth, who had always been onefor the towns and cities and the bright things of life--what did shethink of it? I should learn that, if she were ashore yonder. Now, weput straight in to the cove where the silver sand was, and no soonerwas I ashore than I espied a rickety wooden ladder rising almoststraight up to the cliff's head, which hereabouts was no more thansixty feet high. Neither man nor beast was on the beach, nor did I makeout any sign of human habitation whatever. It was just a little sandybay, lone and desolate; but directly I slipped out of the launch Idiscovered footprints leading to the ladder's foot, and I knew that menhad gone up before me, that very morning it must be, seeing that thetide had ebbed and the sand was still wet. At another time I might haveasked myself why nobody came out to meet us, and why there was nolookout for the island to hail a strange ship in the offing; but I wastoo eager to go ashore, and, for that matter, had my feet on the sandalmost before the launch grounded.

  "Do you, Dolly, come up with me," said I; "the others will stand by toanchor until we come down again. If it's not in an hour, lads, go backand get your dinners; but look for me at sunset anyway, for I've nomind to sleep ashore, and that you may be sure of."

  They took the orders and pushed the launch off. Dolly and I ran up thecrazy ladder and found ourselves at the cliff's head, but no better offin the matter of seeing than we had been before. True, the launchlooked far down, like a toy ship in a big basin of blue water; we coulddistinguish the sword-fish reef, as the lad called it, and other reefsto the east and north, but the place we stood on was shut in by a blackwood of teak and blue ebony, and, save for the rustling of the greatleaves, we couldn't hear a sound. As for the path through theplantation, that was covered with long, rank grass, and some pit orother--I don't know what it was--gave a pungent, heavy odour whichdidn't suit a seaman's lungs. I was set against the place from thefirst--didn't like it, and told the lad as much.

  "Dolly," said I, "the sooner we have a ship's planking under our feetagain the better for our constitutions. If there's a house in thislocality, the ladder is the road to it, unless one of Peter Bligh'scountrymen built it. Put your best foot foremost, my lad. We'll dineearly if we don't lunch late."

  With this I struck the path through the wood and went straight on, notlistening to the lad's chatter nor making any myself. The shade waswelcome enough; there were pretty places for those that had eyes to seethem--waterfalls splashing down from the moss-grown rocks above; littlepools, dark and wonderfully blue; here and there a bit of green, whichmight have been the lawn of a country house. But of dwelling or ofpeople I saw nothing, and to what the boy fancied that he saw I paid noheed.

  "You're dreaming it, young gentleman," said I, "for look now, whoshould be afraid of two unarmed seamen, and why should any honest manbe ashamed to show his face? If there are men peeping behind the trees,well, let them peep, and good luck go with them. It doesn't trouble me,and I don't suppose it will take your appetite away. You aren't afraidof them, surely?"

  It was an unkind thing to have said, and the lad rightly turned uponme.

  "Why, sir," cried he, "I would never be afraid while I was with you."

  "Proudly put, my boy, and a compliment I won't forget. What sort of mendid you say that they were?"

  "One was old, with a goat's beard. He wore ragged breeches and aseaman's blouse. I saw him directly we entered the wood. The otherswere up in the hills above the waterfall. They carried rifles."

  "Come, come, Dolly," exclaimed I. "Put them in Prussian blue at once,and fly the German ensign. Rifles in a place like this--and two unarmedstrangers against them! Why should the rogues hide their beautifulfaces? If they would know all about us, what's to prevent them? Do welook like highwaymen or honest fellows? Be sure, my lad, that the younglady I am going to see wouldn't have any blacklegs about her house.Ruth Bellenden's too clever for that. She'd send them about theirbusiness quick enough, as she's sent many a one when I was the skipperof her yacht. Did they tell you that, Dolly--that your skipper used tosail the smartest schooner-yacht that ever flew the ensign----"

  The boy looked up at me and admitted frankly that he knew something.

  "They said the young lady owned the Manhattan, sir. I never asked muchabout it. The men were f
ond of her, I believe."

  "Adored her, lad. She was the daughter of Rupert Bellenden, who made amint of money by building the Western American Railroad, and afterwardsin the steel way. He was drowned at sea when the Elbe went down. Hisson got the business, but the daughter took the house and fortune--atleast, the best part of it. She was always a rare one for the sea, andowned a biggish boat in her father's time. When he died she bought theManhattan, more's the pity, for it carried her to Mediterranean ports,and there she took up with the fiddler. He was a