CHAPTER IX
NORTHWARD HO!
We could not understand this sudden departure, except on the possibleground that Yank, realizing that now the party must split forces, haddecided to seek new companions among those lucky enough to sail on thefirst steamer.
"Even then he needn't have been in such a hurry," complained Johnny atrifle bitterly. "And he needn't have thought we'd be in his way."
"Has he paid his share of the lodgings?" it occurred to me to ask.
We felt quite bitter against Yank, and we carefully avoided his usualhaunts, for we did not want to meet him. Then we began to think itstrange we had not run across him somewhere on the streets. Then webegan to look for him. We found that Yank had disappeared!
At that, a little alarmed, we set ourselves to a serious search andinquiry. A few remembered to have seen him, but were vague as to whenand where. The authorities moved sluggishly, and with little enthusiasm.Men were dying every day; and disappearing underground, leaving no traceof themselves behind. One more or less seemed unimportant.
In the meanwhile we spent much of our time by the shore, together with acomfortable majority of our fellow argonauts, awaiting the sighting of avessel. We had engaged, and paid daily, a boatman to be in readiness totake us off; and we settled our lodgings account a week ahead.
"There's going to be a scramble for that blessed ship," said Talbot;"and we'll just be prepared."
To that end we also kept our effects packed and ready for instantremoval.
The beach was not a bad place. It ran out the peninsula in a long gentlecurve; and the surges broke snow white on yellow sands. Across deep bluewater was an island; and back of us palm trees whipped in the tradewinds. We sat under them, and yarned and played cards and smoked. In badweather--and it rained pretty often--we huddled in smoky little huts;those of us who could get in. The rest tried to stick it out; orreturned with rather a relieved air to the town.
The expected ship came, of course, on one of these dull gray days; andthose who had thought themselves unlucky in being crowded out of thehuts were the first to sight her. They sneaked down very quietly andtried to launch two of the boats. Of course the native boatmen were allinside; trust them! As a high surf was running, and as none of the menwere in any sense good boatmen, they promptly broached to and filled.The noise brought us to the door.
Then there was a fine row. One of the two boats commandeered by theearly birds happened to be ours! All our forethought seemed to have beenin vain. The bedraggled and crestfallen men were just wading ashore whenwe descended upon them. Talbot was like a raving lunatic.
"You hounds!" he roared. "Don't you dare try to sneak off! You catchhold here and help empty these boats! You would, would you?" He caughtone escaping worthy by the collar and jerked him so rapidly backwardthat his heels fairly cracked together. Johnny flew to combat with achuckle of joy. I contented myself by knocking two of them togetheruntil they promised to be good. The four we had collared were very meek.We all waded into the wash where the boat lay sluggishly rolling. It isno easy matter to empty a boat in that condition. Water weighs a greatdeal; is fearfully inert, or at least feels so; and has a bad habit ofpromptly slopping in again. We tugged and heaved, and rolled and hauleduntil our joints cracked; but at last we got her free.
In the meantime forty other boats had been launched and were flying overthe waves halfway between the shore and the ship.
Talbot was swearing steadily and with accuracy; Johnny was working likea crazy man; I was heaving away at the stern and keeping an eye on ourinvoluntary helpers. The boatman, beside himself with franticexcitement, jabbered and ran about and screamed directions that no oneunderstood. About all we were accomplishing now was the keeping of thatboat's head straight against the heavy wash.
It seemed as though we tugged thus at cross purposes for an hour. Inreality it was probably not over two or three minutes. Then Talbotregained sufficient control to listen to the boatman. At once he calmeddown.
"Here, boys," said he, "ease her backward. You, Johnny, stand by at thebow and hold her head on. Frank and I will give her a shove at thestern. When the time comes, I'll yell and you pile right in, Johnny._Vamos_, Manuel!"
We took our places; the boatman at the oars, his eyes over his shoulderwatching keenly the in-racing seas.
The four dripping culprits looked at each other uncertainly, and one ofthem started to climb in the boat.
"Well, for _God's_ sake!" screeched Talbot, and made a headlongbull rush for the man.
The latter tumbled right out of the boat on his back in the shallowwater. His three companions fled incontinently up the beach, where hefollowed them as soon as he could scramble to his feet.
Manuel said something sharply, without looking around.
"Shove!" screeched Talbot. "Pile in, Johnny!"
We bent our backs. The boat resisted, yielded, gathered headway. Itseemed to be slipping away from me down a steep hill.
"Jump in!" yelled Talbot.
I gave a mighty heave and fell over the stern into the bottom of theboat. Waters seemed to be crashing by; but by the time I had gatheredmyself together and risen to my knees, we were outside the line ofbreakers, and dancing like a gull over the smooth broad surges.
Ships could anchor no nearer than about a mile and a half offshore. Bythe time we had reached the craft she was surrounded by little boatsbobbing and rubbing against her sides. She proved to be one of that verytubby, bluff-bowed type then so commonly in use as whalers andfreighters. The decks swarmed black with an excited crowd.
We rowed slowly around her. We were wet, and beginning to chill. No wayseemed to offer by which we could reach her decks save by difficultclambering, for the gang ladder was surrounded ten deep by empty boats.A profound discouragement succeeded the excitement under which we hadmade our effort.
"To hell with her!" snarled Johnny, "There's no sense going aboard her.There's enough on deck now to fill her three times over. Let's get backwhere it's warm."
"If I run across any of those fellows in town I'll break their necks!"said I.
"What makes me mad----" continued Johnny.
"Oh, for heaven's sake shut up!" cried Talbot.
If he had been a little less cold and miserable we probably would havequarrelled. As it was, we merely humped over, and motioned theastonished Manuel to return to the shore. Our boat's head turned, wedropped down under the bow of the ship. In order to avoid the sweep ofthe seas Manuel held us as closely as possible under the bowsprit. Weheard a hail above us. Looking up we saw Yank bending over the rail.
We stared at him, our mouths open, so astonished that for a moment wedid not even think to check the boat. Then we came back in a clumsycircle. Yank yelled at us; and we yelled back at him; but so great wasthe crash of waters and the whistling of wind that we could make outnothing. Then Yank motioning us to remain where we were, disappeared, toreturn after a short interval, with a speaking trumpet.
"Have you got your baggage with you?" he roared.
We shook our heads and waved our arms.
"Go get it!" he ordered.
We screamed something back at him.
"Go get it!" he repeated; and withdrew his head entirely.
We rowed back to town; it was no longer necessary to return to theexposed beach where we had waited to sight the ships. Johnny and Iindulged in much excited speculation, but Talbot refused to showcuriosity.
"He's there, and he's evidently engaged us passage; and he wants usaboard to claim it," said he, "and that's all we can know now; andthat's enough for me."
On our way we met a whole fleet of boats racing their belated way fromtown. We grinned sardonically over the plight of these worthies. Ahalf-hour sufficed us to change our clothes, collect our effects, andreturn to the water front. On the return journey we crossed the samefleet of boats inward bound. Their occupants looked generally verydepressed.
Yank met us at the top of the gangway, and assisted us in getting ourbaggage aboard. Johnny and
I peppered him with questions, to which hevouchsafed no answer. When we had paid off the boatman, he led the waydown a hatch into a very dark hole near the bows. A dim lantern swayedto and fro, through the murk we could make out a dozen bunks.
"They call this the fo'cas'le," said Yank placidly. "Crew sleeps here.This is our happy home. Everything else full up. We four," said he, witha little flash of triumph, "are just about the only galoots of the wholeb'iling at Panama that gets passage. She's loaded to the muzzle with menthat's come away around the Horn in her; and the only reason she stoppedin here at all is to get a new thing-um-a-jig of some sort that she hadlost or busted or something."
"Well, I don't like my happy home while she wobbles so," said Johnny."I'm going to be seasick, as usual. But for heaven's sake, Yank, tell uswhere you came from, and all about it. And make it brief, for I'm goingto be seasick pretty soon."
He lay down in one of the bunks and closed his eyes.
"You'd much better come up on deck into the fresh air," said Talbot.
"Fire ahead, Yank! Please!" begged Johnny.
"Well," said Yank, "when I drew that steamer ticket, it struck me thatsomebody might want it a lot more than I did, especially as you fellowsdrew blank. So I hunted up a man who was in a hurry, and sold it to himfor five hundred dollars. Then I hired one of these sail-rigged fishingboats and laid in grub for a week and went cruising out to sea five orsix miles."
Johnny opened one eye.
"Why?" he demanded feebly.
"I was figgerin' on meeting any old ship that came along a little beforethe crowd got at her," said Yank. "And judgin' by the gang's remarksthat just left, I should think I'd figgered just right."
"You bet you did," put in Talbot emphatically.
"It must have been mighty uncomfortable cruising out there in thatlittle boat so long," said I. "I wonder the men would stick."
"I paid them and they had to," said Yank grimly.
"Why didn't you let us in on it?" I asked.
"What for? It was only a one-man job. So then I struck this ship, andgot aboard her after a little trouble persuading her to stop. Therewasn't no way of making that captain believe we'd sleep anywheres wecould except cash; so I had to pay him a good deal."
"How much?" demanded Talbot.
"It came to two hundred apiece. I'm sorry."
"Glory be!" shouted Talbot, "we're ahead of the game. Yank, youlong-headed old pirate, let me shake you by the hand!"
"I wish you fellows would go away," begged Johnny.
We went on deck. The dusk was falling, and the wind with it; and towestward an untold wealth of gold was piling up. Our ship rolled at heranchor, awaiting the return of those of her people who had gone ashore.On the beach tiny spots of lights twinkled where some one had builtfires. A warmth was stealing out from the shore over the troubledwaters. Talbot leaned on the rail by my side. Suddenly he chuckledexplosively.
"I was just thinking," said he in explanation, "of us damfools roostingon that beach in the rain."
Thus at last we escaped from the Isthmus. At the end of twenty-fourhours we had left the island of Tobago astern, and were reaching to thenorth.
PART II
THE GOLDEN CITY
Gold Page 11