by Max Brand
CHAPTER 32
"It's come!" cried Harrigan to McTee. "Kate!"
But even as he whirled, two sailors leaped on him from behind and borehim to the deck. At the same time a gun flashed in the hand of Henshaw,and he fired twice into the onrushing host. Two men crumpled up on deckand the others gave back a little--they were glad to turn to the easierprey of Van Roos and Borgson, who were instantly overpowered, whileHenshaw, with brandished revolver, made his way toward the main cabin.
The second and smaller rush of the mutineers had been toward Harriganand McTee, where the two men stood together. Harrigan, taken frombehind, went down at once and then grappled with his assailants beforethey could use their knives. McTee stood over the struggling three andsmote right and left among the mutineers. A knife caught his shirt atthe shoulder and ripped it to the waist; a club whizzed past his head,but his great fists smashed home on face and head and sent menstaggering and sprawling back. The confusion gave him an instant offreedom in a small circle, and he leaned and caught one of Harrigan'sassailants by the heels. It was a little man, a withered fellowscarcely five feet tall and literally dried up by the tropic heat. Hewas wrenched from his hold, heaved into the air, and then whirled aboutthe head of McTee like a mighty bludgeon. As the sailors rushed again,that living club smashed against them and flung them back. Even to theherculean strength of McTee it was a prodigious feat, but the dangergave him for the moment the power of a madman. Twice he swung theshrieking little sailor, and twice that body smashed back the attack,while Harrigan leaped to his feet in time to knock down a man whosprang at McTee from behind with a brandished knife.
All this had occurred in the space of half a dozen seconds; the firstrush of the mutineers was spent; before they could lunge forward again,McTee flung the half-lifeless body of his human weapon into the midstof the crowd and, turning with Harrigan at his shoulder, they sprang upthe ladder to the main cabin door.
Hovey was screaming commands over the din; the crowd rushed after thefugitives.
Harrigan shouted at McTee: "Get Kate! Take her aft to the wirelesshouse! I'll hold 'em here a minute and then join you!"
McTee nodded and tore down the deck toward Kate's cabin, while Harriganpulled the knife of Kamasura from his trousers and thrust it in theface of the first man up the ladder. The blade slashed him from nose tocheekbone, and he toppled back with a yell, bearing with him in thefall the two men immediately below. Harrigan glanced across to theother ladder on the farther side of the deck, and saw Kate and McTeerunning aft. He turned and raced after them.
The wireless house was their one hope. There the sea would be at theirbacks, and the only approach for the mutineers in their rush would beup the ladders reaching from the deck below; the main cabin, on theother hand, had half a dozen places from which it could be assailed.This had been instantly seen by the other officers, and when Harriganreached the ladder to the deck at the other end of the cabin, he sawSalvain standing in front of the wireless house, Kate and McTee in theact of climbing the steps from the waist, and White Henshaw, with hishair blowing, following hard in their tracks.
Harrigan reached the waist at a leap, and in another moment joined thesurvivors in the shelter of the wireless house--Kate, McTee, Henshaw,Salvain, and Sloan, a party of six. They were safe for the moment, forthe mutineers would certainly never venture an attack against thewheelhouse, where they could be beaten from the ladders by thedefendants, but they were safe without food, without water.
Then, as they stared hopelessly across the waist, they saw three menled across the rear promenade of the main cabin. Their hands were tiedbehind them, and they were kicked forward by the mutineers, first JacobVan Roos--they could note his pallor even at that distance--then EricBorgson, scowling and defiant, and dragged along by the men of theforecastle; and last came Douglas Campbell, surrounded by the firemen.Finally, Jerry Hovey shouted across the waist:
"Black McTee! Oh, Black McTee!"
The Scotchman raised his hand as a token that he heard.
"You're done for, McTee, you and all the rest. You're bound to starve,and when you're weak, we'll come and carry you forward, and you'll dieby inches as the other three are going to die; but if you want tolive--you and the girl and all of you, give us White Henshaw to treatas he ought to be treated. Give us him, an' the rest of you'll besaved. If you won't trust us, we'll bring you food and water enough tokeep you alive till we reach shore. Give us Henshaw and--"
He broke off, for he heard the harsh, ringing laughter of WhiteHenshaw. The captain held up his revolver.
"No use, Hovey," he called. "I fired five shots, but I saved one formyself. Ha, ha, ha!" And his mirthless cackle broke out once more.
"Look!" cried Kate, and pointed at the captain.
Down the left side of Henshaw, bright against the white of his coat,was a rapidly growing stain of red. They could see the small slit inthe cloth where a knife thrust had entered his side, but the oldbuccaneer would give no sign of his injury. He waved his gun towardKate as she advanced an impulsive step toward him.
"Keep back!" he commanded. "Woman and man, I trust none of you. Give medistance or I'll use this bullet on the first of you and give what'sleft of me to the sea."
"By the Lord, he's wounded!" cried Harrigan. "Steady, old heart of oak,you've nothing to fear from us. Hovey! Oh-h, Hovey, we'll see youdamned before we give up the captain!"
The bos'n, choking with his fury, shook his clenched fist at them anddisappeared into the cabin.
"Now lie down," said McTee to the captain, "and we'll fix you up. Areyou badly hurt?"
"Enough to finish me," said Henshaw calmly, "but keep off! I'll havenone of you! None of your tricks!"
His old body was trembling with the pain of his wound, but the handwhich held the gun leveled on McTee was as steady as a rock. Katepushed McTee aside and turned a glance of scorn on the others.
"You'd let him die among you--for fear of an old man and his wretchedrevolver?"
She faced Henshaw.
"Go into the wireless house, Captain Henshaw, and I will go in alonewith you. If you don't trust me, you can keep your revolver at mybreast while I dress your wound--but see!--you will bleed to death in ashort time!"
He laughed again, saying: "Girl, there's nothing between heaven andhell that can make me die by anything but fire--fire at sea--bluefire."
She whitened at sight of his frenzied, yellow face, and then she sawHarrigan slipping around to take the captain from the rear. He saw theshadow of the Irishman just too late, and whirled with a curse at thesame time that Harrigan's iron hand seized the gun. For an instant hestruggled, but those mighty arms gathered him as easily as a womanlifts a stubborn child, and he was carried into the wireless house andplaced on Sloan's bunk. As soon as he discovered that he was helplessin their hands, he ceased struggling and lay without a motion whilethey tore away his coat and shirt and Kate started to dress the deep,ugly wound.
She had scarcely finished when a shout, or rather a scream, from fiftythroats brought them running out of the wireless house. Again and againthat cry was repeated from the main cabin, and they could not tellwhether it was despair or agony that inspired it.
Neither of these emotions caused it. All that time Hovey had beenkneeling in front of the captain's safe working at the combination, forhe had seen Henshaw open it several times and thought that he couldimitate the captain's motions. But he failed. Around him packed thesailors in both cabins, a serried mass of intent faces and burningeyes. But at last Hovey stood up and announced his failure--he couldnot work the combination. Then came that yell which those in thewireless house heard, a cry of mingled rage and disappointment. Gold inuntold quantities was here just within their reach--and yet just beyondit. A few inches of steel kept the gold safe.
Men beat it with their bare hands in a senseless fury, till GarryCochrane slipped through the dense mass of sailors.
"I know something about locks. What do I get, lads, if I open thisone?"
"Five sha
res!"
"Ten shares!"
"Ten shares!" nodded Cochrane. "Good! Now keep still. I need quiet."
They were mute; not a breath was drawn; they scarcely dared move theireyes lest he should be disturbed. Cochrane touched the lock lightly andthen rubbed his fingertips vigorously back and forth on the carpet--anything to stimulate those fine nerves which are as valuable to somecriminals as eyes are to normal people.
With ear pressed close to the combination, he turned it slowly, bydelicate degrees, waiting for the telltale click. They saw him set histeeth and grow eager as a hound on a scent of blood; they saw thefingers move rapidly and nervously, and then came a click which wasaudible through the entire room, and the door of the safe swung open.Still no one stirred, no one breathed. He took out a small canvas bag,he untied the top, he spilled the contents out, and then they sawbright gold, gold which inspires, and gold which destroys, gold thetempter and the murderer.
A wild scramble followed. They swept the gold up in handfuls and tossedit into the air, laughing like madmen as the light gleamed on theyellow surfaces. And at length when they were wearied of touching itand caressing it, Hovey apportioned the spoils: to Cochrane, by commonassent, the ten shares, a fortune; to Sam Hall, Kyle, and Flint, twoshares each, for they had been leaders in the fight; to himself tenshares, also by universal voice, and to each of the others, forty inall, his portion.
There was no fighting or complaint over the division of the spoils.What difference did a few hundred pieces here or there matter? Gold infloods, gold in oceans, was before them, and each man gathered his ownshare close.
But where there is gold there is death. One of the firemen said in theear of Hovey: "The second assistant--Fritz Klopp--he is dying."
It was upon Klopp that they depended for the running of the Heron.Hovey merely laughed: "Carry him in here. He'll come to life when hesees this!"
They had left Klopp lying on the deck. He had been one of the first toleap at White Henshaw, and a bullet from the captain's revolver hadtorn its way through his lungs; his eyes were glazing fast when two ofthe firemen carried him into the outer cabin of White Henshaw andplaced him in an armchair beside the desk.
"How are you, Klopp?" asked Hovey.
"I am dying," answered the engineer, and a faint pink froth bubbled tohis lips as he spoke.
Hovey merely laughed; he spilled Klopp's share of the gold across thesurface of the table, a gleaming pile.
"How are you, Klopp?" he repeated.
"I will live," croaked the dying man, and instantly his clutches wereamong the hundreds of coins, and his red mouth grinned with a ghastlyjoy. He had forgotten death.
"You will live!" rumbled Sam Hall. "A man would be a fool to die whenthere's so much money in sight. Where's your hurt?"
"I have no hurt," whispered Klopp hoarsely, "but I'm on fire inside.Water! Something to drink!"
"Something to drink, but not water," responded Hovey. "Hey, Kamasura!Drink! Whisky!"
Instantly Kamasura, who had evidently anticipated the order, camestaggering into the room with a literal armful of bottles. Hoveyhimself brought a glass and placed it in the hand of Klopp and filledit to the brim.
"Drink!" shouted Hovey, and sprang upon a chair so that all might seehim. "Drink to Fritz Klopp! White Henshaw potted him, but he laughs atdeath, and he'll bring the old _Heron_ to shore. Here's to FritzKlopp!"
Many a glass was raised high. They drank with a shout of applause toFritz Klopp, who sat without stirring his glass, one hand upon it, andthe other buried among the heaps of gold, his head resting against theback of the chair, and his red mouth still ajar in that horrible grin.
"What ye laughin' at?" yelled Sam Hall in his ear. "Are ye drunk at thesight of the money, man?"
There was no answer. Hall caught him by the shoulder to rouse him, butKlopp's head merely sagged far to one side, though his glazed eyesstill seemed to be fixed upward upon the same spot on the ceiling atwhich he had been staring before.
"What is it?" cried one or two. "What does he see?"
"Death, you fools!" answered Hovey. "And how the devil will we bringthe _Heron_ to land without an engineer?"