Deveril signalled back, giving particulars of what had happened to his party and De Brissac’s. He said that, with the aid of ropes from above they would be able to make their way down later, but, for the time being, most of them were too done-up to hazard the descent, so they proposed to take advantage of the succour offered by the castaway who had so unexpectedly appeared on the cliff-top.
Before he had completed his signals the red-headed bo’sun hailed them again. With him, this time, there were several other bearded men who called greetings to the marooned party. A good stout rope was lowered and Deveril insisted on being hauled up first to test its strength. One by one the others were drawn up after him, and, when they arrived, they found him in close conversation with a stocky little man whom he introduced as Mr. Thomas, the only surviving officer of the Sally Ann.
Thomas related that his ship, a 2,400-ton tramp steamer with a cargo of canned goods, agricultural implements and silk stockings, when outward bound from New York to Buenos Aires two years before had sustained a breakdown in her engines. She had been caught in a hurricane while disabled and driven down into the weed sea. Ever since, she had been lying derelict in a small bay to the south of Satan’s Island. Her crew had suffered many casualties during the hurricane and afterwards, while for three weeks they drifted fast in the weed. On reaching the island their captain had landed with the bulk of the survivors to explore and they had camped on the beach. The party had been attacked that night by giant crabs, and only the bo’sun, with one other, had escaped. They had succeeded in getting back to the ship the following morning, where Thomas and five more men had been left. From that time onward they had never been ashore except in the day time and only then to gather seaweeds and other things to help out their store of supplies.
‘Didn’t you ever attempt to get down the cliff to the Negro village?’ Basil inquired.
‘Yes, indeed,’ replied Mr. Thomas indignantly. ‘In the first week we explored all the high tableland hereabout, and, seeing the natives in the valley there, we brought good stout hawsers from the ship and lowered one of our chaps. The murderous devils just pulled him off the rope as he touched ground and butchered him before our eyes. Think of it, man!’
De Brissac nodded. ‘They are worse than genuine savages. Having had just a touch of civilisation makes them vicious. But have they never attempted to get up the cliff at you?’
‘Indeed no. It’s no easy climb whatever and none of them has tried it since we’ve been here. But the ladies look all-in and every one of you could do with a good square meal. Let us get back to the Sally Ann.’
His invitation was a welcome one and they set off across the mile-wide plateau which sloped down a little at its south-eastern edge. The tableland ended in sheer cliff, falling straight to the sea, except at one spot where two or three hundred yards of beach showed below and a break in the cliffs formed a miniature bay. In the middle of it the Sally Ann rode at anchor.
As the newcomers gazed down they exclaimed in surprise; for the bay and the sea beyond it presented a most curious spectacle. On either hand the weed stretched as far as they could see but the bay itself, and a channel several hundred yards wide running out to southward, was completely free of it. Instead the still water shone, iridescent in the sunlight, reflecting every shade of brilliant colour as though a portion of rainbow had been pinned down to make a roadway through it.
Thomas laughed at their exclamations. ‘That’s oil,’ he said. ‘There’s a gusher here and three times since we’ve been stuck in the bay it has overflowed. Look at the black streaks of it down that cliff yonder. The oil kills everything that lives in the sea, or else they get away from it. Indeed even the weed shrinks back to give it passage. Ever since we got here the bay’s been clear and each time the oil gushes like this there’s a channel of open water as far as we can see, but the weed closes up again in a day or two after the oil stops flowing.’
‘Good Heavens!’ exclaimed Basil. ‘Why the devil do you stay here then? Surely you can make your way out to sea if you want to and sail away home?’
Thomas shook his head. ‘Didn’t I tell you, man, it was a breakdown in our engines led to us getting carried into this devilish place, and from one mishap after another we lost every engineer in the ship. None of my chaps understands anything about engines and they’re double-dutch to me.’
‘You could have made sails out of your awnings,’ Basil suggested.
‘We tried it,’ Thomas told him. ‘But there’s little wind in these parts and to sail a ship you’ve got to have room to manœuvre. There’s never a free channel of more than two hundred yards in width; we got stuck in the weed half a mile out and had to kedge the ship back again.’
Juhani laughed. ‘I’m an engineer. Just get me aboard and let me look at that engine. I’ll put it right if it’s mendable.’
A chorus of excited joy went up from the red-headed bo’sun and the rest of the Sally Ann’s small company. Basil’s eyes met Unity’s and they clasped hands with a sudden thrill. If Juhani could repair the Sally Ann’s engines it meant—escape—home—England. De Brissac shot a swift glance at Yonita. Could he persuade her to sail with him to France? But Synolda went deathly white. If they sailed she must lose Juhani or face extradition from the first port they touched and trial in South Africa.
The whole party made its way down a rough track in the cliff-side, piled into a lifeboat which was beached on the shore, pulled out through the oily water and was soon on board the tramp.
Their first thought was food, and Thomas provided them with a fine stew of corned beef and vegetables from the stock of tinned goods in the cargo on which, eked out by sun-dried fish and boiled seaweed, he had kept himself and his men alive for the past two years.
After this belated breakfast Juhani went to the Sally Ann’s engine-room. He returned from his inspection positively trembling with excitement, declaring enthusiastically that with the help of a dozen strong men and a block and tackle he felt confident he could make the necessary repairs.
‘How long d’you reckon it’ll take you?’ Thomas asked.
‘Six-hours, maybe eight. Not more, since you’ve had the sense to keep your engines well greased. I’ll be through by sundown.’
The survivors of the Sally Ann numbered seven but all the newcomers volunteered to help, so Juhani did not lack assistance. Thomas’s men were overjoyed at the thought that they might see their homes again after having long given up any such hope.
Deveril pressed them not to hurry and to accept his hospitality for a few weeks, at least, but Thomas shook his head gravely.
‘We’d all like to see your island, sir, but indeed it can’t be done. It is a week since the oil started gushing and it gave out two days ago. The channel will be closed within twenty-four hours now and the oil may not gush again for another nine months or a year. If we’re going to make a bid for our homelands we must not delay sailing later than tonight.’
‘Holy smoke! I’d best get busy on those engines then,’ Juhani cut in. ‘Come on, boys!’ and with a party of eager volunteers crowding after him, he hurried below.
As Juhani had more help than he needed Deveril, De Brissac, Thomas, Basil and the three girls decided to land again, cross the high plateau and see how Uncle Cornelius was faring. De Brissac had the good sense not to rush his fences. Instead of asking Yonita right away to accompany him on the voyage, he exerted every atom of his wonderful power to charm and fascinate her. Never had he cut a more gallant figure or displayed a more brilliant wit than on their climb and walk. Synolda alone among the party remained unsmiling at his sallies; she scarcely heard them, her brain half-numbed by the misery in her heart.
A few minutes after they arrived at the further cliff edge, Uncle Cornelius caught sight of them against the skyline and signalled up to report that all was well.
He had discovered the fissures in the cliff farther west from which, by a rude apparatus, the Negroes filled their balloons with natural gas, and he proposed tha
t half a dozen of Deveril’s men should form a permanent guard there, being relieved at regular intervals. They could act as a local police force to the remaining natives who should be left in possession of their own lands but never again allowed arms or balloons, and so rendered harmless. Their chief and principal witch doctors were dead.
Deveril signalled back telling him of the presence of the Sally Ann. He added that an attempt would be made that night by her crew to sail for the outer world and asked if any of his own people wished to accompany them.
There was a short consultation among the whites down in the valley and the reply came up, ‘Good fortune to those who adventure forth, but we are all resolved to remain.’
The men with Deveril held the same view, which he duly reported to Uncle Cornelius; informing him that they would remain to see the Sally Ann on her way and descend the cliff by ropes the following morning.
The party on the cliff-top made its way back to the ship in time for a high tea at which the islanders much enjoyed the strange foods that came out of Thomas’s cargo of canned goods. He added to their joy by presenting Deveril with several cases of agricultural implements for their use, and Yonita with twenty gross of silk stockings for herself and the women.
After the meal De Brissac skilfully drew Yonita aside from the rest and took her up to the after-deck.
‘Listen!’ he said urgently, his voice strained with anxiety now that the time had come to make his bid for her. ‘I hate to rush things so—but we are sailing tonight. Yonita, you must come with me.’
Slowly she shook her head. ‘Methinks you are joking. How could I possibly abandon Deveril?’
‘Peste!’ he exclaimed. ‘You do not love him?’
‘You wrong me there,’ she said gravely.
‘You cannot,’ he urged. ‘How can you say such a thing seeing what we were to each other two nights ago?’
She raised her eyebrows. ‘That was not love—only youth. Love is something very different.’
He made an angry gesture with his shoulders. ‘You are so young, Yonita. You do not understand. Come with me to France. All the world lies before us. I am not rich but my family do not lack money. We shall have everything that anyone could wish for. My machine-gun is lost, down there on the rocks, but I have the plans of it with me and when my Government see it they will honour me and give me rapid promotion. There are a million things I want to show you. La Belle France is so beautiful. Paris! It is the loveliest city in the world. The buildings, the cafés, the shops——’
‘Shops?’ she broke in curiously. ‘What are shops? Ah, yes! I recall reading of one in a book. They are places where people toil all day selling things, are they not? No, I do not think I should like that.’
‘But you would not work in them,’ he urged. ‘You would only go to them to buy pretty things. Lovely dresses, hats, lingerie. You should see the races at Auteuil, the Opera, the theatres, the beautiful plages with all the smart people—Biarritz and Deauville.’
‘It must all be prodigious diverting; yet life in the outer world sounds monstrous complicated if report be true, whereas here simple pleasures readily content us.’ She smiled a wicked little smile and began to fiddle with a button on his grimy blue tunic.
Tis but a poor compliment to me that you do not wish to remain. Did you not enjoy your one night as my guest?’
‘How can you ask?’ he stammered. ‘But there is my gun … you would not understand … but it means so much to my country since every week these days we never know when there will be another war in Europe.’
‘Ah! War,’ she sighed, ‘how horrible! ’Tis passing strange that two white races should be so desperate eager to massacre each other. What can excuse such atrocious barbarity? Soulless heathen as those Negroes are, I could scarce help feeling for them when I beheld so great a number all broken and dying in the valley. Thanks largely to your coming the only war we can be called upon to wage is over. Why do you not stay and make your life with us?’
In miserable indecision he clenched his hands until the fingernails cut into his palms. The temptation was almost irresistible. Yonita, small, supple, golden-skinned, with her wicked merry eyes—adorable beyond words. ‘Would you … would you …?’ he stammered.
‘La! Yes,’ she smiled. ‘Why not? I think you are still the most pleasing gallant I have ever had. We should be very happy together for mayhap even so much as a year.’
‘Only a year?’ he frowned. ‘I cannot—ce n’est pas possible, yet if I did stay surely you would marry me?’
‘Nay.’ She shook her head again, slowly but firmly. ‘I am promised to Deveril and ’tis Deveril that I love. My adult life will not begin until I am old enough to be married to him. ’Tis wondrous gratifying to pleasure oneself with a new beau, yet such youthful follies are no more than part of our education here and all of us are passing glad to reach maturity in due season so that we may share the joys of children and a home with our own man.’
Sadly he took her in his arms and kissed her. Instinct told him now that it was quite useless to plead with her further. Her upbringing and outlook were so utterly different from those of a modern girl in the great world outside the weed continent, he would never be able to persuade her to go with him, and his own duty lay in returning to France. Once the Sally Ann had sailed it was extremely unlikely that any other chance to leave the island would occur during his lifetime.
They lingered there a little, while the shadows of twilight fell, but the flavour had gone from their kisses and with mingled feelings of regret and a strange, unexpected relief they strolled back to join the others, who had congregated in the ship’s dining-saloon.
A meal was served at eight o’clock, and as they were sitting down to table Juhani came up with his companions from the engine room to announce that their work was completed.
Thomas had saved the coal in his bunkers in the vague hope that some unforeseen chance might arise for them to put to sea again, and all cooking and heating since the ship had arrived had been done on oil fuel collected from the island. While Juhani had been at work some of the men with him had been getting the fires going and filling up the boilers. He said that by the time the moon rose they should have enough steam to get under way.
One Scotsman among the crew had proved a particularly able helper, and he had shown such a grasp of the engine that Juhani decided he would make an excellent second engineer. The other five men with Thomas and the party from the Gafelborg would be quite sufficient as an emergency crew to run the little tramp up to a South American port where a full complement could be secured.
The party in the saloon was a merry one. Only Yonita and De Brissac were a little silent at the thought of their parting, and Synolda, who appeared deplorably unenthusiastic about the prospect of getting home again.
Juhani was discussing some arrangements with Thomas, but as soon as they had done he came over and sat down beside her, beaming happily. ‘Well, it looks as though we’ll have to get hitched up in Finland and find the money for some furnishings, after all, honey. I’ll have to land another job and get to sea again to keep the home fires burning, but there’ll be the period between ships and it’s worth a lot to get back to one’s own folk.’
‘Juhani!’ she whispered in a strangled voice. ‘Come outside, I’ve got to speak to you.’
‘Have a heart,’ he smiled. ‘I’m needing a sitdown what with last night and eight hours solid below only just——’
‘Please,’ she interrupted. ‘I’ve been wanting to talk to you every moment of that time.’
He stood up and made way for her with an indulgent shrug. Outside on the deserted deck it was now quite dark; the sky was bright with stars but the moon had not yet risen.
‘Juhani,’ she said breathlessly the moment they were alone. ‘I’m not coming with you—I’m staying here.’
‘Not coming!’ he swung upon her. ‘Snakes alive! what’s bitten you?’
‘I’m going to stay here,’ she repeated.
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‘But—honey!’ He threw his arm round her shoulders. ‘You can’t expect me to go giving you up like this—and—and although the island’s all right in its way—well——’
‘The island is all right,’ she broke in swiftly. ‘I haven’t seen it but I’ve heard enough to realise everyone’s happy on it. You can’t say that about Europe or anywhere else in the world we know.’
‘Well, maybe you can’t,’ he said slowly, ‘but it’s unnatural somehow not to want to get back home.’
‘I’ve got no home,’ Synolda declared bitterly, ‘and I can’t go back. I wouldn’t be able to marry you even if I did.’
He frowned suddenly. ‘God, is that blackguard husband of yours—still alive?’
‘Juhani,’ she said very quietly, ‘I had no chance to tell you everything last night. It was over seven years since I’d seen my own people when I induced Ortello to take me on a holiday trip to South Africa—a few months ago. We took my little boy with us, and seeing Ortello among my own people made me hate him more than ever. My old desire to cut and run surged up again. My sister had married a rich farmer but they haven’t got any children and she simply doted on my boy. I talked it over with her and she and her husband were quite willing to give us both a home.’
‘You deserted him, but he’s still alive, eh? Juhani interrupted.
‘Wait,’ she pleaded, ‘wait. We were all staying at Muizenburg together. One day, I came into our bedroom at the hotel. Ortello was there, walking up and down in a most violent rage because some business arrangement he had made had gone wrong. My boy ran in front of his feet to rescue a toy aeroplane. Ortello kicked him away as a brute might kick a dog. All I had suffered through him boiled up in me then and I simply saw red. There was a Spanish dagger that I used for fancy dress on the side-table I snatched it up and—and——’
‘Yes? …’ said Juhani hoarsely, staring down into her eyes.
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