There was something uncanny about this mysterious disappearance of our comrades. Had they been able to return or to communicate with us there was no doubt they would have done so; therefore their absence was fraught with unknown but no less certain terror. Big Bill Acker was a man of much resource, and absolutely to be depended upon; and Ned Britton, who had been fully warned and would be on his guard against all dangers, was shrewd and active and not liable to be caught napping.
What, then, had they encountered? Wild beasts, savages, or some awful natural phenomenon which had cruelly destroyed them? Our imaginations ran riot, but it was all imagination, after all, and we were no nearer the truth.
An anxious night passed, and at daybreak Uncle Naboth called a council of war, at which all on board were present. We faced a hard proposition, you may be sure, for not one of us had any information to guide him, and all were alike in the dark.
To desert our absent friends and sail away from the island was impossible, even had we desired to do so; for our numbers were too small to permit us to work the disabled “Flipper” in safety, and the ship’s carpenter, on whom we greatly depended, had gone with the mate. All repairs must be postponed until the mystery of the men’s disappearance was solved; and we firmly resolved that those of us remaining must not separate, but stick together to the last, and stick to the ship, as well.
Good resolutions, indeed; but we failed to consider the demands of an aroused curiosity. After two days had dragged their hours away without a sign of our absent comrades human nature could bear the suspense no longer.
Uncle Naboth called another council, and said:
“Boys, we’re actin’ like a pack o’ cowards. Let’s follow after our friends, an’ find ’em, dead or alive. We oughtn’t to shrink from a danger we sent ’em into; and if we can’t rescue ’em, let’s run the chance of dyin’ with ’em.”
This sentiment met with general approval. All felt that the time for action had arrived, and if there was a reluctant man among us he made no sign.
Early next morning we partook of a hasty breakfast and then tumbled into the long boat to begin our quest. Every one on the ship was to accompany the expedition, for no one cared to be left behind. Uncle Naboth at first proposed to leave me on board, in the care of Bry; but I pleaded hard to go with the rest, and it was evident that I would be in as much danger aboard as in the company of the exploring party. So it was decided to take me along, and we practically deserted the ship, taking with us a fair supply of provisions and plenty of ammunition. The men were fully armed, and my uncle even intrusted me with a revolver, for I had learned to shoot fairly well.
It was a beautiful morning, cool and fresh and sunny, as we rowed away from the ship and headed for the inlet. That unknown and perhaps terrible dangers lay ahead of us we had good reason to expect; but every man was alert and vigilant and eager to unravel the mystery of this strange island.
Chapter VII
Presently we shot into the opening and passed swiftly up the smooth waters of the inlet. The hills were gradually sloping, at first, and we could look into the tangled mass of forest that lay on either hand. But soon the sides of the channel became rocky and precipitous, rising higher and higher until we found ourselves in a deep gorge that wound between gigantic overhanging cliffs. The waters of the inlet were still smooth, but it narrowed perceptibly, all the time curving sharply to the right and then to the left in a series of zig–zags; so that every few minutes we seemed to be approaching a solid rocky wall, which suddenly disclosed a continuation of the channel to right angles with it, allowing us to continue on our course.
It was indeed necessary to watch out, in such a place as this, for we were passing through the heart of the mountain, and could not tell from one moment to another what lay before us.
There was barely room on each side for the sweep of the oars, so that we had to pull straight and carefully; but after a time the deep gloom in which we were engulfed began to lighten, and we were aware that the slope of the mountain was decreasing, and we were approaching its further side.
On and on we rowed, twisting abruptly this way and that, until suddenly, as we turned a sharp corner and shot into open, shallow water, the adventure culminated in a mighty surprise.
We were surrounded by a band of men—big, brawny fellows who stood waist deep in the water and threw coils of rope about us before we were quite aware of their presence. At the same time they caught the boat and arrested its progress, jerking the oars from the hands of our rowers and making us fast prisoners.
Only Bryonia was quicker than the men who sought to entrap him. Before the noose could settle over his shoulders he leaped into the air and dove headlong beneath the water. But the brave attempt to escape was all in vain, for as he rose to the surface a dozen hands caught him and drew him to the shore, where, despite his struggles, he was bound as securely as the rest of us.
So unexpected was the attack and so cleverly were we mastered that scarcely a word was uttered by our little party as we stared in astonishment into the rough and bearded faces of our captors. Only Captain Gay muttered a string of naughty words under his breath; the rest were silent, and Uncle Naboth, bound round and round with rope so that he could not move, sat in his seat and looked across at me with one of his quaintest winks, as if he would cheer me up in this unexpected crisis.
Nor had a word been spoken by the men who entrapped us. Wading slowly through the water, they drew our boat to a sandy shore and beached it, while we looked curiously around upon the scene that was now clearly unfolded to our view.
The cliffs had ended abruptly, and the center of the island, flat and broad, lay stretched before us. The waters of the inlet from here became shallow, and a wide beach of strangely bright sands extended for two hundred feet on either side of it. Then came the jungle, thick and seemingly impenetrable, beyond which all was unknown. Straight and without a ripple the water lay before as a full quarter of a mile, disappearing thence into the forest.
On the thick sands of the east shore, where we now were, a number of rude huts had been erected, shaped something like Indian tepees and made of intertwined branches covered with leaves from the forest. These stood in a row near to the edge of the jungle, so as to take advantage of its shade.
But more strange than all this was the appearance of the men who had bound us. They were evidently our own countrymen, and from their dress and manners seemed to be miners. But nearly all were in rags and tatters, as if they had been long away from civilization, and their faces were fierce and brutal, bearing the expression of wild beasts in search of prey.
One of them, however, who stood upon the beach regarding us silently and with folded arms, was a personage so remarkable that he instantly riveted our attention. His height was enormous—at least six feet and three inches—and his chest was broad and deep as that of ancient Hercules. He was bearded like a gorilla with fiery red hair, which extended even to his great chest, disclosed through the open grey flannel shirt. There was no hat upon his head, and he wore no coat; but high boots were upon his feet and around his waist a leathern belt stuck full of knives and revolvers.
No stage pirate, no bandit of Southern Europe, was ever half so formidable in appearance as this terrible personage. He stood motionless as a pillar of stone, but his little red eyes, quick and shrewd, roved from one to another of our faces, as if he were making a mental estimate of each one of us—like the ogre who selected his fattest prisoner to grace his pot–pie.