2
THE HEAVY CHEST
Virginia and Sing were compelled to narrate the adventure of theafternoon a dozen times. The Chinaman was at a loss to understand whathad deterred the pirates at the very threshold of victory. Von Hornthought that they had seen the reinforcements embarking from the shore,but Sing explained that that was impossible since the Ithaca had beendirectly between them and the point at which the returning crew hadentered the boats.
Virginia was positive that her fusillade had frightened them into ahasty retreat, but again Sing discouraged any such idea when he pointedto the fact that another instant would have carried the prahu close tothe Ithaca's side and out of the machine gun's radius of action.
The old Chinaman was positive that the pirates had some ulterior motivefor simulating defeat, and his long years of experience upon pirateinfested waters gave weight to his opinion. The weak spot in hisargument was his inability to suggest a reasonable motive. And so itwas that for a long time they were left to futile conjecture as to theaction that had saved them from a bloody encounter with thesebloodthirsty sea wolves.
For a week the men were busy constructing the new camp, but never againwas Virginia left without a sufficient guard for her protection. VonHorn was always needed at the work, for to him had fallen the entiredirection of matters of importance that were at all of a practicalnature. Professor Maxon wished to watch the building of the houses andthe stockade, that he might offer such suggestions as he thoughtnecessary, and again the girl noticed her father's comparativeindifference to her welfare.
She had been shocked at his apathy at the time of the pirate attack,and chagrined that it should have been necessary for von Horn to haveinsisted upon a proper guard being left with her thereafter.
The nearer the approach of the time when he might enter again uponthose experiments which had now been neglected for the better part of ayear the more self absorbed and moody became the professor. At timeshe was scarcely civil to those about him, and never now did he have apleasant word or a caress for the daughter who had been his whole lifebut a few short months before.
It often seemed to Virginia when she caught her father's eyes upon herthat there was a gleam of dislike in them, as though he would have beenglad to have been rid of her that she might not in any way embarrass orinterfere with his work.
The camp was at last completed, and on a Saturday afternoon all theheavier articles from the ship had been transported to it. On thefollowing Monday the balance of the goods was to be sent on shore andthe party were to transfer their residence to their new quarters.
Late Sunday afternoon a small native boat was seen rounding the pointat the harbor's southern extremity, and after a few minutes it drewalongside the Ithaca. There were but three men in it--two Dyaks and aMalay. The latter was a tall, well built man of middle age, of asullen and degraded countenance. His garmenture was that of theordinary Malay boatman, but there was that in his mien and his attitudetoward his companions which belied his lowly habiliments.
In answer to von Horn's hail the man asked if he might come aboard andtrade; but once on the deck it developed that he had broughtnothing wherewith to trade. He seemed not the slightest disconcertedby this discovery, stating that he would bring such articles as theywished when he had learned what their requirements were.
The ubiquitous Sing was on hand during the interview, but from hisexpressionless face none might guess what was passing through thetortuous channels of his Oriental mind. The Malay had been aboardnearly half an hour talking with von Horn when the mate, Bududreen,came on deck, and it was Sing alone who noted the quickly concealedflash of recognition which passed between the two Malays.
The Chinaman also saw the gleam that shot into the visitor's eye asVirginia emerged from the cabin, but by no word or voluntary outwardsign did the man indicate that he had even noticed her. Shortlyafterward he left, promising to return with provisions the followingday. But it was to be months before they again saw him.
That evening as Sing was serving Virginia's supper he asked her if shehad recognized their visitor of the afternoon.
"Why no, Sing," she replied, "I never saw him before."
"Sh!" admonished the celestial. "No talkee so strong, wallee have earall same labbit."
"What do you mean, Sing?" asked the girl in a low voice. "Howperfectly weird and mysterious you are. Why you make the cold chillsrun up my spine," she ended, laughing. But Sing did not return hersmile as was his custom.
"You no lememba tallee Lajah stand up wavee lite clothee in plilateboat, ah?" he urged.
"Oh, Sing," she cried, "I do indeed! But unless you had reminded me Ishould never have thought to connect him with our visitor oftoday--they do look very much alike, don't they?"
"Lookeelike! Ugh, they all samee one man. Sing know. You lookee out,Linee," which was the closest that Sing had ever been able to come topronouncing Virginia.
"Why should I look out? He doesn't want me," said the girl, laughingly.
"Don't you bee too damee sure 'bout lat, Linee," was Sing's inelegantbut convincing reply, as he turned toward his galley.
The following morning the party, with the exception of three Malays whowere left to guard the Ithaca, set out for the new camp. The journeywas up the bed of the small stream which emptied into the harbor, sothat although fifteen men had passed back and forth through the junglefrom the beach to the camp every day for two weeks, there was no signthat human foot had ever crossed the narrow strip of sand that laybetween the dense foliage and the harbor.
The gravel bottom of the rivulet made fairly good walking, and asVirginia was borne in a litter between two powerful lascars it was noteven necessary that she wet her feet in the ascent of the stream to thecamp. The distance was short, the center of the camp being but a milefrom the harbor, and less than half a mile from the opposite shore ofthe island which was but two miles at its greatest breadth, and two anda quarter at its greatest length.
At the camp Virginia found that a neat clearing had been made upon alittle tableland, a palisade built about it, and divided into threeparts; the most northerly of which contained a small house for herselfand her father, another for von Horn, and a common cooking and eatinghouse over which Sing was to preside.
The enclosure at the far end of the palisade was for the Malay andlascar crew and there also were quarters for Bududreen and the Malaysecond mate. The center enclosure contained Professor Maxon'sworkshop. This compartment of the enclosure Virginia was not invitedto inspect, but as members of the crew carried in the two great chestswhich the professor had left upon the Ithaca until the last moment,Virginia caught a glimpse of the two buildings that had been erectedwithin this central space--a small, square house which was quiteevidently her father's laboratory, and a long, low thatched sheddivided into several compartments, each containing a rude bunk. Shewondered for whom they could be intended. Quarters for all the partyhad already been arranged for elsewhere, nor, thought she, would herfather wish to house any in such close proximity to his workshop, wherehe would desire absolute quiet and freedom from interruption. Thediscovery perplexed her not a little, but so changed were her relationswith her father that she would not question him upon this or any othersubject.
As the two chests were being carried into the central campong, Sing,who was standing near Virginia, called her attention to the fact thatBududreen was one of those who staggered beneath the weight of theheavier burden.
"Bludleen, him mate. Why workee alsame lascar boy? Eh?" But Virginiacould give no reason.
"I am afraid you don't like Bududreen, Sing," she said. "Has he everharmed you in any way?"
"Him? No, him no hurt Sing. Sing poor," with which more or lessenigmatical rejoinder the Chinaman returned to his work. But hemuttered much to himself the balance of the day, for Sing knew that achest that strained four men in the carrying could contain but onething, and he knew that Bududreen was as wise in such matters as he.
For a coup
le of months the life of the little hidden camp went onpeacefully and without exciting incident. The Malay and lascar crewdivided their time between watch duty on board the Ithaca, policing thecamp, and cultivating a little patch of clearing just south of theirown campong.
There was a small bay on the island's east coast, only a quarter of amile from camp, in which oysters were found, and one of the Ithaca'sboats was brought around to this side of the island for fishing.Bududreen often accompanied these expeditions, and on several occasionsthe lynx-eyed Sing had seen him returning to camp long after the othershad retired for the night.
Professor Maxon scarcely ever left the central enclosure. For days andnights at a time Virginia never saw him, his meals being passed in tohim by Sing through a small trap door that had been cut in thepartition wall of the "court of mystery" as von Horn had christened thesection of the camp devoted to the professor's experimentations.
Von Horn himself was often with his employer, as he enjoyed the latter'scomplete confidence, and owing to his early medical training was wellfitted to act as a competent assistant; but he was often barred fromthe workshop, and at such times was much with Virginia.
The two took long walks through the untouched jungle, exploring theirlittle island, and never failing to find some new and wonderful proofof Nature's creative power among its flora and fauna.
"What a marvellous thing is creation," exclaimed Virginia as she andvon Horn paused one day to admire a tropical bird of unusuallybrilliant plumage. "How insignificant is man's greatest achievementbeside the least of Nature's works."
"And yet," replied von Horn, "man shall find Nature's secret some day.What a glorious accomplishment for him who first succeeds. Can youimagine a more glorious consummation of a man's life work--yourfather's, for example?"
The girl looked at von Horn closely.
"Dr. von Horn," she said, "pride has restrained me from asking what wasevidently intended that I should not know. For years my father hasbeen interested in an endeavor to solve the mystery of life--that hewould ever attempt to utilize the secret should he have been sofortunate as to discover it had never occurred to me. I mean that heshould try to usurp the functions of the Creator I could never havebelieved, but my knowledge of him, coupled with what you have said, andthe extreme lengths to which he has gone to maintain absolute secrecyfor his present experiments can only lead to one inference; and that,that his present work, if successful, would have results that would notbe countenanced by civilized society or government. Am I right?"
Von Horn had attempted to sound the girl that he might, if possible,discover her attitude toward the work in which her father and he wereengaged. He had succeeded beyond his hopes, for he had not intendedthat she should guess so much of the truth as she had. Should herinterest in the work have proved favorable it had been his intention toacquaint her fully with the marvellous success which already hadattended their experiments, and to explain their hopes and plans forthe future, for he had seen how her father's attitude had hurt her andhoped to profit himself by reposing in her the trust and confidencethat her father denied her.
And so it was that her direct question left him floundering in a sea ofembarrassment, for to tell her the truth now would gain him no favor inher eyes, while it certainly would lay him open to the suspicion anddistrust of her father should he learn of it.
"I cannot answer your question, Miss Maxon," he said, finally, "foryour father's strictest injunction has been that I divulge to no onethe slightest happening within the court of mystery. Remember that Iam in your father's employ, and that no matter what my personalconvictions may be regarding the work he has been doing I may only actwith loyalty to his lightest command while I remain upon his payroll.That you are here," he added, "is my excuse for continuing myconnection with certain things of which my conscience does not approve."
The girl glanced at him quickly. She did not fully understand themotive for his final avowal, and a sudden intuition kept her fromquestioning him. She had learned to look upon von Horn as a verypleasant companion and a good friend--she was not quite certain thatshe would care for any change in their relations, but his remark hadsowed the seed of a new thought in her mind as he had intended that itshould.
When von Horn returned to the court of mystery, he narrated toProfessor Maxon the gist of his conversation with Virginia, wishing toforestall anything which the girl might say to her father that wouldgive him an impression that von Horn had been talking more than heshould. Professor Maxon listened to the narration in silence. Whenvon Horn had finished, he cautioned him against divulging to Virginiaanything that took place within the inner campong.
"She is only a child," he said, "and would not understand theimportance of the work we are doing. All that she would be able to seeis the immediate moral effect of these experiments upon the subjectsthemselves--she would not look into the future and appreciate theimmense advantage to mankind that must accrue from a successfultermination of our research. The future of the world will be assuredwhen once we have demonstrated the possibility of the chemicalproduction of a perfect race."
"Number One, for example," suggested von Horn.
Professor Maxon glanced at him sharply.
"Levity, Doctor, is entirely out of place in the contemplation of themagnificent work I have already accomplished," said the professortartly. "I admit that Number One leaves much to be desired--much to bedesired; but Number Two shows a marked advance along certain lines, andI am sure that tomorrow will divulge in experiment Number Three suchstrides as will forever silence any propensity toward scoffing whichyou may now entertain."
"Forgive me, Professor," von Horn hastened to urge. "I did not intendto deride the wonderful discoveries which you have made, but it is onlynatural that we should both realize that Number One is not beautiful.To one another we may say what we would not think of suggesting tooutsiders."
Professor Maxon was mollified by this apology, and turned to resume hiswatch beside a large, coffin-shaped vat. For a while von Horn wassilent. There was that upon his mind which he had wished to discusswith his employer since months ago, but the moment had never arrivedwhich seemed at all propitious, nor did it appear likely ever toarrive. So the doctor decided to broach the subject now, as beingpsychologically as favorable a time as any.
"Your daughter is far from happy, Professor," he said, "nor do I feelthat, surrounded as we are by semi-savage men, she is entirely safe."
Professor Maxon looked up from his vigil by the vat, eyeing von Hornclosely.
"Well?" he asked.
"It seemed to me that had I a closer relationship I might better assistin adding to her happiness and safety--in short, Professor, I shouldlike your permission to ask Virginia to marry me."
There had been no indication in von Horn's attitude toward the girlthat he loved her. That she was beautiful and intelligent could not bedenied, and so it was small wonder that she might appeal strongly toany man, but von Horn was quite evidently not of the marrying type.For years he had roved the world in search of adventure and excitement.Just why he had left America and his high place in the navy he neverhad divulged; nor why it was that for seven years he had not set hisfoot upon ground which lay beneath the authority of Uncle Sam.
Sing Lee who stood just without the trap door through which he wasabout to pass Professor Maxon's evening meal to him could not be blamedfor overhearing the conversation, though it may have been culpable inhim in making no effort to divulge his presence, and possibly equallyunpraiseworthy, as well as lacking in romance, to attribute thedoctor's avowal to his knowledge of the heavy chest.
As Professor Maxon eyed the man before replying to his abrupt request,von Horn noted a strange and sudden light in the older man's eyes--asomething which he never before had seen there and which caused anuncomfortable sensation to creep over him--a manner of bristling thatwas akin either to fear or horror, von Horn could not tell which.
Then the professor arose from his seat and came very clo
se to theyounger man, until his face was only a few inches from von Horn's.
"Doctor," he whispered in a strange, tense voice, "you are mad. You donot know what you ask. Virginia is not for such as you. Tell me thatshe does not know of your feelings toward her. Tell me that she doesnot reciprocate your love. Tell me the truth, man." Professor Maxonseized von Horn roughly by both shoulders, his glittering eyes glaringterribly into the other's.
"I have never spoken to her of love, Professor," replied von Hornquietly, "nor do I know what her sentiments toward me may be. Nor do Iunderstand, sir, what objections you may have to me--I am of a very oldand noble family." His tone was haughty but respectful.
Professor Maxon released his hold upon his assistant, breathing a sighof relief.
"I am glad," he said, "that it has gone no further, for it must not be.I have other, nobler aspirations for my daughter. She must wed aperfect man--none such now exists. It remains for me to bring forththe ideal mate for her--nor is the time far distant. A few more weeksand we shall see such a being as I have long dreamed." Again the queerlight flickered for a moment in the once kindly and jovial eyes of thescientist.
Von Horn was horrified. He was a man of little sentiment. He could incold blood have married this girl for the wealth he knew that she wouldinherit; but the thought that she was to be united with such aTHING--"Lord! It is horrible," and his mind pictured the fearfulatrocity which was known as Number One.
Without a word he turned and left the campong. A moment later Sing'sknock aroused Professor Maxon from the reverie into which he hadfallen, and he stepped to the trap door to receive his evening meal.
The Monster Men Page 2