The Quest of the 'Golden Hope': A Seventeenth Century Story of Adventure
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CHAPTER XV
We Arrive at Treasure Island
"Land ahead!"
Such was the welcome cry that greeted my ears as I awoke on themorning of our thirty-eighth day afloat.
Hastily throwing on my clothes, I rushed on deck to view the land ofpromise. We were approaching the Lesser Antilles, and ahead thelofty, wooded slopes of an extensive island were slowly coming intosight, while north and south the peaks of other islands showed theirheads above the horizon, for the weather was particularly clear, thehour being just after sunrise.
Captain Jeremy was already up and about, and was holding the chartin his hand, for we were on the point of passing over shoal water,though no rocks reared their heads above the sea.
The leadsman was in the chains, his voice being heard withmonotonous regularity--"By the mark five"[1]; and the anchor wasalready uncatted and hung ready to let go at the first sign ofdanger.
Astern the _Neptune_ was wallowing slowly in our wake, under reducedcanvas.
Gradually the island loomed nearer and nearer, till we coulddistinguish a saddle-shaped hill, covered with dense vegetation,descending steeply on its northern face, while its southern portionseemed to end in a long, flat plain. At first sight there appearedno break in the encircling ridge of white sand 'gainst which thebreakers flung themselves in cascades of milk-white foam, the noiseof which was borne to our ears like the distant roll of drums.
"By the deep four," shouted the leadsman.
"Carry on," said Captain Jeremy calmly, though by his manner I knew'twould be hazardous to question him. "Another man in the chains!"
"A quarter less four." The water was shoaling rapidly.
Still our Captain gave no sign to alter the brig's course, althoughan ominous pale green patch ahead and several others of a dark brownhue on either side of us betokened the presence of dangeroussandbanks and rocks. His eyes were intently fixed on a rockypinnacle which was slowly coming into line with a distant island.
"Hard a larboard!"
Round swept the _Golden Hope_, heeling over to the beam wind as itcaught her retrimmed sails. We were now shaping a course parallel tothe eastern side of the island, while the _Neptune_, turning in ourwake, had also succeeded in negotiating the unseen channel.
"Keep her as she goes, quartermaster," ordered Captain Jeremy, whowas now devoting his attention to some secret bearings on the shore.
"By the mark thirteen," sang out the leadsman, while almost directlyafterwards his companion gave the cry, "And a half six."
"Starboard your helm."
Once more the _Golden Hope_ swung round till she lay on her formercourse and was pointing straight for the island. Right ahead I couldnow see a deep bay, or rather gulf, protected by a ridge of jaggedrocks running obliquely seaward from either horn of the land. Evenhere the rollers ran high, but they lacked the broken crest thatelsewhere marked an almost continuous submerged reef.
Away aloft sprang the men to reduce still further our spread ofcanvas. With a succession of heavy lurches the _Golden Hope_ crossedthe bar and entered the land-locked harbour.
"Let go," shouted Captain Jeremy, laying down his glass with a sighof relief and wiping his heated brow.
With a sullen splash the anchor plunged beneath the waves, the stouthempen cable flew through the hawse-pipe, and the _Golden Hope_brought up head to wind in the sheltered anchorage of TreasureIsland.
The _Neptune_, smartly handled, also dropped anchor half a cable'slength nearer inshore, and steps were immediately taken to moor bothvessels, a massive chain bridle and swivel being bent on to thecables to prevent undue chafing, and also to facilitate mattersshould we be compelled to slip in a hurry.
The waters of this little harbour were so clear that the bed of thesea could be distinctly seen at a depth of five fathoms. The _GoldenHope_ was lying immediately over a white sandy 'patch, though bothher anchors were embedded in blue mud, which formed an excellentholding-ground.
It being too late in the day to land, for mooring and "snuggingdown" had taken up a considerable time, all hands were allowed tostand easy. Many of the men took advantage of this permission tobathe, and a strange sight it was to see a constant stream of seamenrunning along our fore-yard and diving thence into the sea.
For my part, I could not bring myself to attempt a plunge from thatdizzy height, but contented myself with diving off the catheads; yetbefore many days had passed I conquered my fears and essayed theleap, for which I had reason to be thankful ere the cruise of the_Golden Hope_ was over.
A sharp look-out was kept in case the swimmers were attacked bysharks, but we were not molested by these monsters. On our voyage wehad frequently come across them, and they would follow the ship fordays; but on our crossing the bar they deserted us. Possibly theroar of the surf had frightened them, and we were not sorry to losetheir unwelcome attentions.
Next day the boats were ordered away to sound the bay and the barwithout. The weather was exceedingly hot, and even when shelteredbeneath canvas awnings the heat was oppressive. Yet ere nightfallthe soundings were taken, with sufficient exactness to assureourselves that no hidden danger lay within the entrance to ourharbour, while the wreck of the Spanish caravel was discovered lyingclose to the northernmost arm of the reef in eleven fathoms ofwater.
I could trace her rounded sides and lofty poop and fo'c'sle, eventhough the timbers were covered with weeds. She was lying almost onan even keel, though with a slight list to starboard, her bowspointing obliquely to the shore. Had she been a few hundred yards tothe south'ard she must assuredly have made the harbour in safety,and then there would have been no need for our presence off theisland.
"It was commonly supposed," said Captain Jeremy to me, "that thewhole of the crew of the caravel perished in the wreck, but I canprove that such was not the case. When she struck she remained abovewater some time--possibly for weeks--and the survivors removed thetreasure to a safe hiding-place in the hills. How they fared youshall see. With the next heavy gale the _Madre_ slipped off therocks and settled in deep water, where we now see her. This accountsfor the treasure not being found by anyone but myself. Now we'llreturn to the _Golden Hope_, for 'tis nearly sunset."
That night extra watches were set on both ships, for we knew notwhether the island was inhabited or otherwise, while at any timesome buccaneering craft might attempt to surprise us as we lay atanchor. But nothing untoward occurred to, disturb our slumbers,although the change from the constant heave of the ocean to themotionless calm within this sheltered harbour caused me to lie awakeon my back for several hours.
A thousand thoughts passed through my brain. Here we were offTreasure Island, but would our quest be successful? What was myuncle doing? Had he guessed the reason of my flight? or did he thinkthat I had come to some untimely ending? If the latter, what wouldhe do with my home in far-off Brockenhurst? And Constance--how wasshe faring? Then I recalled the incidents that led to my presence onboard the _Golden Hope_. I pictured again the struggle with the twodragoons on the Lyndhurst Road, the fatal night when my father wasfoully slain, the underground refuge, my midnight flight andsubsequent discomforts in the hold. Once more I saw the Algerinecrumple up under our broadside, and pictured the boarding of the_Neptune_. These and a chain of other incidents I recalled, tilljust before dawn I fell asleep.
Yet during the short interval while I slept occurred the first of aseries of incidents that led to the direst misfortunes which befelour enterprise.
[1] This refers to the sounding in fathoms as shown by the leadline.This line is "marked" at 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 13, 15, 17, and 20 fathomsby distinctive strips of calico, bunting, leather, &c. Theintervening depths are not "marked", and are called "deeps".