Down in the bowels of the same ship stood two men, Gasper and Rupert. They leant over the pens of some big brown cows and Rupert held his nose in the air pettishly.
‘Devilishly airless hole,’ he mumbled disdainfully.
Around them the livestock and cattle of the passengers were tethered. All were here, rending the air with their cries as the ship rolled under them. Gasper was silent. He could smell nothing, though the very air was foul. He slapped a big roan on its side, and laughed hoarsely as it quivered and flared its nostrils.
Bigarstaff retreated, and made for the passage. ‘I’m going below,’ he cried. ‘Young Soleway isn’t in the hold.’
Ah, miserable creatures of the hold! People who had not the room of their thin beasts! Men and women whose faces were glowing with anticipation of the land that awaited them! They huddled together in the narrow hold, and tried to quench their hunger by dreaming of the fruit and fish they honestly thought would be theirs. They did not look up as Rupert entered, but went on staring with unseeing eyes, while their children slept uneasily in their mothers’ laps.
Bigarstaff sat down and noted that nearly all were Irish. Now revolution had overtaken their country, and they were glad to leave. Up above in their secluded cabin Straffordson and his father were, and Bigarstaff envied them their space, but not their privacy. Alone, one is left to one’s thoughts, while when a group of people surround you and take your interest things are forgotten and submerged.
Richard Soleway found no truth in that statement. As when alone, so was he tormented when he was in a crowd, for they seemed to glare with accusing eyes into his past. He shook his head in frenzy and tried to stamp all memories out.
Richard became aware that someone was at his elbow, and found the midnight visitor that had come so long ago at his side. He started, but was not afraid.
‘Trying to forget Master Dicky, Richard?’ said Gasper in a low voice.
‘For God’s sake stop persecuting me,’ cried his victim. ‘Leave me.’
Gasper smiled and never moved. His bantering grin was in Richard’s vision and it danced before his eyes. His willpower snapped and his fist swept out. Then the two were rolling on the deck blow for blow, curse for curse, oath for oath. There was a cry from a deckhand and Captain Trevelian came hurrying. He was a cruel man, immensely tall and powerful. He swung Richard to his feet and gave him a brutal cut on the temple. Without a groan, Soleway hit the deck with a creaking of boards. Gasper was done the same to, and as he hit the deck he could hear the coarse yells of the crew, as oblivion swept over him.
When Gasper Liverwick awoke it was with a heavy pain in his head and an ache in his shoulders. He tried to move to relieve himself, but in vain. There were heavy manacles on his feet, and a length of rope round his arms. This rope looped through chains on his wrists and connected to his feet. He was on his back and his head bumped mercilessly on the timbers. By his side lay Richard also in irons, but he was unconscious and lying on his face. Liverwick could not but wince as the boy’s features cracked with even constancy on the floor. They were in comparative darkness, which was not surprising, there being no portholes. Gasper shrewdly guessed it was night-time, and turned quickly as Richard gave a groan. The boy was in agony, for he had cramp, owing to the fact that the rope from shoulders to feet was drawn taut, curving his back. Gasper moved his body with difficulty and inserted his feet below Richard’s stomach. He gave a heave, and Richard was also on his back. This seemed to ease him, but as yet he could not speak.
After a while he whispered, ‘What is your name?’
‘Gasper,’ replied Liverwick cheerfully. ‘How d’you feel, Mr Dicky?’
Richard when he spoke again sounded stronger. ‘My head throbs like an old clock, and my back hurts deucedly bad,’ he replied.
There was silence for a space. Then Liverwick said: ‘How long d’you suppose they’ll keep us ironed, me lad?’
‘A couple of days, no more,’ answered his fellow captive with confidence.
‘Well, you’re wrong,’ cried Gasper. ‘We’re here for the trip. ’Tain’t the first time I’ve been like this. Oh no, oh no. ’Tain’t the first time.’
He could feel the boy’s reaction and said in a gruff voice, ‘Cheer up, Laddie. I tell you I’ve been in this way before, and I’m here to tell the tale.’
There was no reply, for Richard did not trust himself to speak. Finally, he sank into a painful slumber.
Gasper brought his head up with a shout. He had been awakened by the floor meeting his head with a thud, and he found himself rolling across the floor. In doing so he collided with Richard.
‘Master Dick,’ cried Liverwick loudly. ‘Master Dick, what by all the saints is happening?’
He could hardly hear his own voice, for outside the wind was roaring and hissing, only equalled by the noise of the sea.
Richard came in contact with a bar of wood and clenched his hands. They were both in an intolerable position, for they were at the sea’s mercy. Up above they could hear dimly the noises of the animals, and the shouts that came from the hold above them. Then Gasper gave a panic-stricken shriek as there was the sound of a pistol above.
‘My God, Richard,’ he yelled. ‘They’re shooting the beasts. We’re sinking, we’re sinking.’
His voice was partly lost, but the significance was there, and Richard Soleway paled. There was a sudden crack, a break. Then the ship lurched as the mainstay mast came crashing down. There were shouts on deck as every man struggled for a seat in the boats.
‘Let us out,’ screeched Gasper, ‘you dirty cowards. Let us out, for God’s sake. Let us out.’
His voice faded away and he choked.
There was a swelling sob from Richard. ‘They can’t leave us like rats,’ he breathed. ‘They can’t. Help, help.’ But his voice was only a pathetic whisper.
‘Rupert, Rupert,’ cried Gasper tearingly. ‘Oh my God, let me out, let me out.’ His last words hung in the air and shivered away. ‘Oh God,’ he groaned. ‘Oh, oh aaa, ohm.’
Backwards and forwards they rolled, and they both tried frantically to release their bonds. There was a pain-laden scream from Richard as his back was nearly bent double by his struggles. His head came with a muffled thud on a metal case, and for the second time he was unconscious. When he stirred the boat was swaying gently.
‘Gasper,’ he said faintly.
Then came the reply: ‘You’re lucky, man. You slept through the storm. We are on some rocks, and if we don’t get out of this soon it’s be all up with us.’
Richard could hardly believe his ears. He began to struggle hard, but was bade be still by his ‘friend’.
‘Don’t hurt yourself,’ cried Liverwick. ‘I’m lying on my face by a nail, and with luck it will fray this rope.’
‘It will take hours,’ said Richard in despair once more. ‘The rope is thick and hard.’
‘So’s my faith,’ came the answer, and Richard was silent.
And so, four hours later, Gasper broke the rope that kept his hands to his feet. He put his arms above his head and slowly got to his feet, only to collapse.
‘Steady,’ warned Richard. This time Gasper wormed his way along the floor and gripped the boy’s bonds. It was a difficult job to untie the knots, for his hands were handcuffed together, but at last it was done, and they were both partly free.
‘We can’t walk,’ cried Richard, ‘for our feet are in chains, but we can hop.’
They felt in the dingy light for the door and put their shoulders to the wood. Many times they collapsed and lay prone, but they always tried again, and at last the lock burst and they stumbled over the threshold. The light streamed down to them and they were half blinded. Up the steps they painfully went, and saw the animals lying stiff and cold in their stalls.
At last they reached the deck, and Richard gave a great shout.
‘Land,’ he gasped. ‘We’re on a beach. We’re saved. Land.’
He fell on his knees and Gasper gazed a
wkwardly at him.
‘Oh dear God,’ cried Richard joyfully. ‘We thank Thee for deliverance. Amen.’
‘Amen,’ said Gasper gruffly and wiped his eyes.
CHAPTER 25
The beach was white and fine, and, as it stretched beneath some green and sparkling trees, turned a soft yellow. The sun shone on wild flowers and dense woods, while the water around, lapping on the shingle, was a clear and radiant green.
Gasper bit his lip at the scene.
Richard too was overcome, but finally he turned and said: ‘Gasper, my friend, we must find some tools that will free us from these encumbrances.’
They hopped along, and by mid-day – or so they guessed it to be – they were unshackled and free. They ran shouting to the side of the wrecked boat and raced madly up the shingle. Richard threw himself down and drank and drank the cool water that was in abundance.
When they had drunk their fill they looked about them and measured up their surroundings. Before was a great mass of trees, and to the right were two big islands.
‘Well, seeing as ’ow we’re here,’ said Gasper heartily, ‘we might as well eat. Let’s get back to the boat, for there’s plenty of good meat.’
‘Look,’ cried Richard. ‘First I will build a fire, while you bring a calf or pig.’
So Gasper made for the boat while Richard busied himself collecting wood.
Richard found his flint had gone, but on striking his ring against the heel of his shoe a flame was soon burning, and then a fire.
Gasper came back across the sand bearing on his shoulders a calf and holding under his arm a knife. Richard would have draped the calf over the fire, but Gasper stayed him, laughed his great rumbling laugh.
‘First we must skin him,’ he cried, and set about it.
When it had been cleaned, he laid it down and looked about him. On arriving on the island they had been amazed by the giant shells covering the ground. The smallest was the size of a tray. Gasper seized one in his arms and put two stones on either side of the fire. In these he placed the shell, the outside crust to the heat. In this way the calf was hung on a platter above the flames.
‘If you put the meat on top of the fire,’ shouted Gasper, ‘you’ll char it and put the fire out as well. Now those stones keep the shell from resting on the wood, and so the meat will be browned in no time.’
Richard did not know what to say. ‘To be sure, Gasper, you’re a treasure, and no mistake.’
The roasted beef was succulent and juicy, and both tucked in with a will. Then the fire was put out and they rolled into the shade of the trees to sleep. They slept till evening, and they found the air was chill.
‘We must get some shot and ball from the ship,’ advised Richard. ‘There may be inhabitants, or wild animals. It’s best to be prepared.’
Back to the boat they trudged and got some pistols.
‘There is enough wood to make a small boat,’ said Gasper.
They collected blankets and more food and found to their amazement that a cow was lustily bellowing. They hurriedly untethered her and watched her go lumberingly up the beach. Then they gathered knives, a cask of butter, salt and a barrel of ale – this Richard was loath to take, knowing what mischief it could do, but Gasper was equally loath to leave it behind – and a saw. A saw, as Gasper pointed out, was very important.
With these they staggered up the sand and set them down. A cool wind was blowing from the sea, and neither felt disposed to sleep. So they each armed themselves with a gun and set off. Judging by the height and colour of the sun, Gasper guessed the time to be about 9, and there hung over the island that refreshing keenness that belongs to night.
They plunged through the wood and gazed about them, at the beauteous flowers and vines. Little streams gushed by them, and brightly feathered birds flew chatteringly by. They were very wild and scared, and that made the two doubly sure the island was uninhabited. At the other side of the wood came the sea again and, branching to their right, they could see nestling in the translucent waters the other two islands. They came to the shore and, being tired, sat for a long while on a square piece of land that later became known as the Rum Cove. It grew dark but still they sat on, and a queer friendship sprang up between the two men.
Suddenly Richard gave a shout. ‘Look,’ he yelled, ‘the sea’s parting and there’s a strip of land from this isle to the next.’
Richard was all for journeying across that night, but Gasper was older and wiser and would not hear of it.
That night they slept by the east shore, and for once Richard forgot his misery and was happy.
CHAPTER 26
When he awoke, the sun was very high, and he heard the clear notes of a bird by his head. Looking up, he saw a bright blue head, and a green body. Sticking up from his head was a brilliant tuft of feathers. His little yellow eyes glittered, and his throat visibly swelled as the lonely notes rang out.
Richard propped himself on one elbow and gave a sigh of contentment. Gasper was nowhere in sight as he scrabbled hastily to his feet. Through the trees he soon came and he carried a large shell. As he hailed Richard, the boy saw it was full of milk, and guessed the cow had supplied it.
‘Dick,’ cried Gasper, ‘will you go and gather some fruit. There’s plenty if you look.’
Richard did look and came back laden with some green kind of apples and also some very small potatoes or taros. These were cooked as before, and when they tried the apples they proved very sweet and nourishing.
After this repast they hurried to the NE of the island to Rum Cove. But they could not find that strip of sand and Gasper Liverwick reasoned that the tides were irregular.
‘It will probably be uncovered tonight,’ he supplied.
‘When can we get out of here?’ asked Richard as they sat down. ‘We can’t stay here for the rest of our lives.’
‘I wonder what happened to the captain and the crew?’ said the other. ‘That crew, that captain – if this were England they’d be put in jail for what they did. We could build a boat, Dick, but we have no compass and do not know where we are. We can only hope a ship will pass by.’
‘What do you think our chances are?’ was Richard’s next question.
Gasper did not reply at once. Instead he gazed far out at sea, and his whiskers fluffed dreamily.
‘I don’t know,’ he said at length. ‘I don’t know.’
Then he got to his feet and stretched himself. ‘Stir yourself, Dick. We must see what shape the old ship’s in. We could make her seaworthy in a couple of months, if there be nothing really amiss.’
The boat lay on her side, in the fine sand, her deck strewn with wreckage, her bottom partly stove in. The two went below into the cabin of Radenstone and his son and searched around for some clue as to who had occupied it. In one of the drawers by the ruined bunk a pistol was brought to light, a bible such as mariners carry, and a dog-eared book. Richard opened this at once, while beneath him, Gasper Liverwick busied himself with the dead animals.
As he turned the pages a scrap of paper fluttered out, and quickly he bent to pick it up. It was a picture, and Richard felt a queer intake of breath go through his chest as he saw the figure of a man on a cross. Below, there were some words in French. He deciphered with difficulty: ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ He put it down swiftly and turned away. He swallowed, turned back and put the paper inside the Bible.
Then he sat down and opened the other book once more. The second page was blank except for a small square in the top right-hand corner and Richard frowned as he read: ‘Solomon Pertwee, Yankskee Villa, Lower Yangtsee, China.’ He turned over rapidly and found that the middle pages contained cuttings. The writing was not English, but plainly Chinese characters. Richard’s brow wrinkled as he saw written in the margin in faded writing: ‘Map on back of Crucifiction.’ He grew interested and fumbled eagerly for the picture he had pushed into the Bible. Turning it over he saw the map.
‘Gasper,’ he sh
outed, ‘Gasper, quick, quick!’
He brought his foot down on the wood and his very skin seemed to tremble with excitement.
Gasper burst through the door.
Before he could speak, Richard had thrust the map before his eyes. ‘Don’t you see?’ he cried. ‘It’s the island, this island! There’s the cove where the strip of land appeared, and there’s the other islands to the North East.’
His friend peered at it unbelievingly.
‘Where did you get it?’ he asked incredulously.
‘In this cabin,’ Richard cried. ‘Gasper, what could it mean?’
‘See if there’s a name in that Bible,’ Gasper advised. But before his friend could do this, he had picked it up.
‘Quick,’ he cried. ‘What does it say?’
‘Victor Radenstone 1826. Why,’ cried Richard, ‘I’ve met this man. He was in China through the Opium War. What is the connection though between him and Solomon Pertwee?’ He chaffed irritably. ‘If only I could understand Chinese.’
‘Isn’t there any English in that diary?’ cried Gasper in a great state.
‘There is not,’ was the answer. ‘But look, there are some arrows between the second and third island.’
‘There should be arrows from this island to the next,’ cried Gasper, ‘but not from the second to the third. Unless of course there’s another sea-causeway. We’ll soon know anyhow, for we’ll cross that strip tonight if it appears.’
They waited in a fever of impatience till sundown and then made their way to the East side of the island. But the sea stretched away to the other two islands in an unbroken carpet.
At Gasper’s suggestion they waited till the moon arose, and finally, when the first star had climbed to its appointed place, the stretch was parted and the firm ground once more was there. In silence the two men walked over, and placed their feet on the second island. This was the same as its brother, but very much smaller. As they neared the middle, the trees grew thicker and then ended suddenly. The moon shone on a piece of grass-waste and they did not halt but strode on. There was a sudden scream from Richard, and Gasper was in time to see him sinking into the ground.
Collected Stories Page 24