tongueinto the sparkling waters of the bay.
Once on shore, Leith put Soma and the carriers in the lead, Holman andthe two girls next, with himself and the Professor bringing up the rear,and in that order they moved across the little strip of white sand thatglittered like diamond dust. The heavy green foliage came out to meetthem, dropped over them like a veil, and left us staring at the riotouscreeper masses with the brilliant flower eyes that appeared to bewatching _The Waif_.
Newmarch gave a peculiar chuckle as he turned toward me when the partyhad disappeared.
"Now, Mr. Verslun," he cried, "we have plenty work to keep us busy forthe week or so we will be here. Get about it the moment the boatsreturn, and keep the men on the jump."
I nodded, and he went below without another word, leaving me stillstaring at the spot where the explorers had dived into the leafy wall.The strange loneliness of the place seemed to clutch me hard at thatmoment, and I mentally abused myself for not making a stronger protestagainst the whole affair. But I knew as I damned my own inactivity thatprotest would have been useless as far as the Professor was concerned,and the filial affection of the two girls would not allow the oldancient to wander off alone.
I had planned to allow the party a few hours' start before I made anyattempt to follow, feeling certain that I would be able to find thetrack, and, moreover, I wished to catch up to the expedition at a pointwhere Leith would have no chance of verifying the story I would tell toaccount for my presence. The big brute would probably think I was lyingwhen I told him that Newmarch had sent me after him, but the Professor'sdesire to push on would probably prevent him from making an effort tocheck my story by sending a runner back to the boat. And luck was withme at that moment. As I racked my brain in the construction of asuitable excuse to account for my appearance, my eyes fell upon theProfessor's camera that had been overlooked in the hurry of departure,and I sprang upon it joyfully and hid it till the time had elapsed.Knowing the importance which the old scientist attached to thephotographs which he intended to take, I knew that he, at least, wouldreason that the captain had acted wisely in sending me in pursuit withthe instrument, and I trusted that his gratitude would move him to getLeith's permission to allow me to remain with the expedition.
The party had been gone some six hours when I slipped over the side intothe dory. Newmarch was below, and only one of the crew was on deck. Iseized the oars and struck out for the shore, but I had hardly coveredtwenty paces when the captain rushed to the rail, took one glance at me,and then dashed toward the companion-stairs.
I sensed the motive in that mad dash for the cabin, and I pulled madly.Thoughts of Edith Herndon thronged my brain, and I drove the dory towardthe promontory with every ounce of strength I possessed. To return tothe yacht while she was in the eerie jungle-growth under Leith'sprotection would be worse than death, and I didn't pause for an instantwhen the captain's squeaky voice hailed me.
"Come back at once!" he shouted. "Are you coming?"
I bent my back to the oars and pulled with every muscle strained. Theperspiration half blinded me, but one glance upward convinced me that Ihad sensed the captain's motive when I saw him rush from the side. Hewas standing on the poop, taking deliberate aim at me with a Winchesterrifle that he had taken from the rack in his own cabin.
It seemed an age before he fired. The bullet missed the side of the boatby about three inches, and I shrieked my defiance. The devil had mynerves on edge, but the green tongue of land was close, and I pulled asnever man pulled before.
A bullet lodged in the stern of the boat, another splintered the end ofan oar, and then the rifleman's nerves must have got the better of him.The succeeding shots fell wide, and I whooped like a madman as I drovethe boat on to the green tongue of land. Springing out hastily I made adash across the white strip of sand, and dived into the moist creepergrowth.
I lay there panting, watching the yacht to see what Newmarch would do.It was impossible for him to leave the yacht to follow me, but I guessedthat he would make an attempt to communicate with Leith. And I guessedrightly.
I had not been five minutes in the bushes when a boat put off for theshore. It contained three of the crew, two Tannese and the Fijian that Ihad found mourning the death of Toni, his "all same brother who hadworked with him at Suva." They pulled for the spot where I had left thedory, and here the Fijian sprang out, while the others proceeded to towthe dory back to _The Waif_. I surmised that Toni's "all same brother"had been sent to carry a message to Leith, and I lay in the busheswaiting as he raced toward me.
Cautiously he clawed his way through the undergrowth, and when he wascertain that the creepers had completely veiled him from the eyes ofwatchers on the yacht he picked up a small flat stone from the ground,drew a yachting knife from his belt and crouching on his heels startedto sharpen the blade. As he rubbed industriously he sang a weird tune inhis native tongue, rounding off each verse with five words in Englishthat explained his industry. The words were: "Now I'll kill you, Soma,"and the chant was a poem of consolation to the spirit of the dead Toni,assuring it that the hour of vengeance was at hand, and that Soma wouldgo to the great unknown the moment he got within reach of the yachtingknife.
I poked my head from my hiding place, and the Fijian turned quickly.
"I think the captain told Soma to kill your brother," I said softly. "Ifthe captain didn't tell him, Leith did, Kaipi."
Kaipi stopped sharpening the blade and fixed his big eyes upon me. "Inot to speak to you," he said. "Kapitani tell me not to. I go catch upLeith, give him one piece of paper the Kapitani gave me."
"But Soma?" I asked.
"I kill Soma when chance comes," muttered Kaipi.
"Well, we're of the same mind, Kaipi," I said pleasantly. "Soma is nofriend of mine and I'll help you as much as I can if you turn over thenote which the captain gave you and do just what I tell you. Otherwise,Kaipi, I have a revolver, and a knife is no match for a revolver."
The Fijian considered the matter for a few moments, his dreamy eyeswatching me the while. At that moment duty was forgotten in the thirstfor vengeance upon Soma, and the debate with his conscience was of shortduration. He pulled a note from the folds of his pareo and tossed it tome with a short laugh.
"Me not care about that," he grinned. "Me catch Soma, that's all."
The note was exceedingly brief. It read:
"The mate is following you,--NEWMARCH."
Kaipi had returned to the job of sharpening his knife in which I hadinterrupted him, and at intervals he assured the dead Toni thatvengeance was only a matter of a few hours. As far as I was concernedthe captain could not have chosen a better messenger.
"Kaipi," I said, tearing the note into small pieces, "you have beensent to help me find Leith and the Professor. See, I have theProfessor's picture maker. He forgot it this morning, and the captainsent you and me to take it to him. Do you understand?"
The Fijian grinned, tried the edge of his knife blade with the ball ofhis thumb, then sprang to his feet.
"And don't be in too great a hurry to fix Soma," I cautioned. "Toni'sspirit can wait a few days till you get a suitable opportunity. Now,we'll strike the trail."
Kaipi grinned again, put his sharpened knife into his belt and plungedinto the dense undergrowth. The snaky, moist lianas made progress nextto impossible. They clung around our legs like live things, and I damnedthe Professor's idiotic craving for notoriety as we waded through theclammy creepers in search of the trail made by the party. The pricklyrope-like vines seemed to be in league with the devil who was leadingthe aged scientist and his daughters into dangers that made my braindizzy as I attempted to dissect the possibilities which imagination putforward.
At last we found the traces of Soma's handiwork with an axe, and guidedby these signs we hurried forward. The ground rose gradually toward thecentre of the island, where columns of basalt loomed like the towers offeudal castles against the pure Venetian blue of the tropical sky. Butthe sky was visible only for moments that were far removed
from eachother. The crawling vines that overran the trees made an impenetrablebarrier against the sunlight, and most of the time we were stumblingalong in a mysterious twilight that increased my nervous agony. Massesof rock of volcanic origin were thickly strewn around, and anything likefast travelling was impossible.
The sun dropped slowly toward the west, and we had great difficulty inholding to the path. The axe marks and the branches broken by thecarriers were really the only signs that we had to go by, but the eyesof the Fijian were exceedingly sharp in detecting the slightest evidenceleft by the party. We passed the spot where they had lunched, andincreased our speed in an endeavour to overtake them before nightfall.The silence and unexplainable mystery of the place made me anxious tocatch up with them before the darkness
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