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Show SYNOPSIS. 19 ; nptiroy Van YVeyden, critic and dllot-7 dllot-7 rinds himself aboard the sealing vrior Ghost, Captain Wolf I. arson, -d to Japan waters. The captain t-s him CHbin boy "for the Kood of his Wolf hazes a seaman and makes e basis for a philosophic discussion VHimip. Hump's Intimacy with Wolf -?.us. A carnival of brutality breaks ; in the ship. "Wolf proves himself Hitter brute. Hump is made mate "tv hell-ship and proves that he has "to stand on his own less." Two .i desert the vessel in one of the small ,s. A young woman and four men, -.Ivors of a steamer wreck, are ros-,j ros-,j front a small boat. The deserters , sighted, but Wolf stands away nnd ves ihem to drown. Maude Hrewster. i Kseuod Klrl. begins to realize her cer fit the hands of Wolf. Van YVey-- YVey-- realizes that he loves Maude. Wolf's er. Peath Larsen, comes on the seal-; seal-; grounds In the steam sealer Mace-'-.. "lieirs" the sea. and Wolf captures eril of his boats. The Ghost runs o in a fog. Wolf furnishes liquor to ; 'prisoners. He attacks Maude. Van .-.cm attempts to kill him and fails. i is suddenly stricken helpless by the urn of a blinding head trouble, and h all hands drunk and asleep Van ?-jen and Maude escape In a small i together. They land on Endeavor CHAPTER XXV Continued. "Oh," was all she replied; but I id have sworn there was a note of appointment In her voice. But "my woman, my mate" kept iging In my head for the rest of :?(3ay and for many days. Yet never j it ring more loudly than that :M, as I watched her draw back :e blanket of moss from the coals, ;w up the fire, and cook the evening It must have been latent savory sav-ory stirring In me, for the old rords, so bound up with the roots of ;e race, to grip me and thrill me. Li grip and thrill they did, till 1 'J asleep, murmuring them to myself er and over again. It was a dark and evil-appearing :r.g. that hut, not fit for aught better :-n swine In a civilized land; but for i, who had known the misery of the :-n boat, It was a snug little habita-:c. habita-:c. Following the housewarming, ::kh was accomplished by means of iil-oil and a wick made from cotton liking, came the hunting for our wind's win-d's meat and the building of the hut. It was a simple affair, ::w, to go forth in the morning and T.urn by noon with a boatload of mis. And then, while I worked at :::Iding the hut, Maud tried out the :!1 from the blubber and kept a Blow -a under the frames of meat. I had :-wd of Jerking beef on the plains, si our seal meat, cut in thin strips d hung in the Bmoke, cured excel-:at!y. excel-:at!y. , The second hut was easier to erect, -ir I built it against the first, and only -tree walls were required. But it was ork, hard work, all of it. Maud and I worked from dawn till dark, to the -lit of our strength, so that when :.ght came we crawled stiffly to bed ni slept the animal-like sleep of ex-tiustlon. ex-tiustlon. And yet Maud declared that ie had never felt better or stronger la her life. I knew this was true of Eyself, but hers was such a lily strength that I feared she would break inn. Often and often, her last reserve re-serve force gone, I have seen her stretched flat on her back on the sand in the way she had of resting and re-Hperating. re-Hperating. And then she would be ? on her feet and toiling hard as eter. Where she obtained this strength was the marvel to me. "Think of the long rest this winter," as her reply to my remonstrances. "Why. we'll be clamorous for some-ting some-ting to do." We held a housewarming in my hut tfce night it was roofed It was a pleasant evening indeed, Ki we voted that as a social function n Endeavor island it had not yet been eclipsed. Our minds were at ease. Not only had we resigned ourselves our-selves to the bitter winter, but we ere prepared for it. The seals could depart on their mysterious Journey into the south at any time, now, for all we cared; and the storms held no 'error for us. Not only were we sure f being dry and warm and sheltered from the wind, but we had the softest nd most luxurious mattresses that wuld be made from moss. This had teen Maud's idea, and she had herself iealously gathered all the moss. This as to be my first night on the mat-treBs, mat-treBs, and I knew I should sleep the 'weeter because she had made it. As she rose to go she turned to He with the whimsical way she had, nd said: "Something is going to happen is haPpening, for that matter. I feel it. Something is coming here, to us. It is fining now. I don't know what, but " Is coming." "tiood or bad?" 1 nsked. She shook her head. "I don't know, hut it is there, somewhere." She pointed In tho direction of the sea and wind. "It's a lee shore," I laughed, "and I am sure I'd rather be here than arriving, ar-riving, a night like this." "You are not frightened?" I asked as I stepped to open the door for her. Her eyes looked bravely into mine. "And you feel well? perfectly well?" "Never better," was her answer. We talked a little longer before she went. "Good night, Maud," I said. "Good night, Humphrey," she said. This use of our given names had come quite as a matter of course, and was as unpremeditated as it was natural. nat-ural. In tb,at moment I could have put my arms around her and drawn her to me. I should certainly have done so out in that world to which we belonged. As it was, the situation stopped there in the only way it could; but I was left alone in my little hut, glowing warmly through and through with a pleasant satisfaction; and I knew that a tie, or a tacit something, existed between us which had not existed ex-isted before. CHAPTER XXVI. I awoke, oppressed by a mysterious sensation. There seemed something missing in my environment. But the mystery and oppressiveness vanished after the first few seconds of waking, when I identified the missing some- i mi It Was the Ghost. thing as the wind. When I had dressed and opened the door, I heard the waves still lapping on the beach, garrulously attesting the fury of the night. I had slept late, and I stepped outside with sudden energy, bent upon making up lost time as befitted a dweller on Endeavor island. And when outside, I stopped short. I believed my eyes w.thout question, and yet I was for the moment stunned by what they disclosed to me. There, on the beach, not fifty feet away, bow on, dismasted, was a black-hulled vessel. ves-sel. Masts and boomj, tangled with shrouds, sheets, and rent canvas, were rubbing gently alongside. I could have rubbed my eyes as I looked. There was the home-made galley we had built, the familiar brea.k of the poop, the low yacht-cabin scarcely rising above the rail. It was the Ghost. It came upon me suddenly, s strange, that nothing moved aboard. Wearied from the night of struggle and wreck, all hands were yet asleep. Maud and I might yet escape. I would call her and start. My hand was lifted lift-ed at her door to knock, when I recollected recol-lected the smallness of the island. We could never hide ourselves upon it. There was nothing for us but the wide raw ocean. I thought of our snug little huts, our supplies of meat and oil and moss and firewood, and I knew that we could never survive tho wintry sea and the great storms which were to come. And then, in a flash, the better solution solu-tion came to me. All hands were asleep. Why not creep aboard the Ghost well I knew the way to Wolf Larsen's bunk and kill him in his sleep? After that we'll, we would see. But with him dead there was time and space in which to prepare to do other things; and besides, whatever what-ever new situation arose, it could not possibly lii worse than (ho present 1)110. My knilo was at my hip. I relumed to lny hut for tho shoi 141111, made sure it was loaded, and wont down lo tho Ghost. With sonic difficulty, and at tho expense of a wotting to the waist, 1 climbed aboard. The forecastle scuttle scut-tle was open. I paused to listen for tho breathing of the men, but there was no breathing. I cautiously descended de-scended the ladder. The placo had tho empty nnd musty fool and smell usual to a dwelling no longer Inhabited. Inhab-ited. Everywhere was a thick litter of tho worthless forecastle dunnage of a long voyage. I noted that the boats were missing. The steerage told the same tale as the forecastle. The hunters had packed their belongings belong-ings with similar haste. The Ghost was deserted. The reaction from my fear, and the knowledge that the terrible deed I had come to do was no longer necessary, neces-sary, made me boyish and eager. I sprang up the break of the poop, and saw Wolf Larsen. What of my impetus im-petus and the stunning surprise, I clattered three or four steps along the deck before I could stop myself. He was standing in the companionway, only his head and shoulders visible, staring straight at me. His arms were resting on the half-open slide. He made no movement whatever simply stood there, staring at me. I began to tremble. The old stomach stom-ach sickness clutched me. I put one hand on the edge of the house to steady myself. My lips seemed suddenly sud-denly dry and I moistened them against the need of speech. Nor did I for an instant take my eyes off him. Neither of us spoko. There was something some-thing ominous in his silence, his immobility. im-mobility. All my old fear of him returned re-turned and by new fear was increased a hundred fold. And still we stood, the pair of us, Btaring at each other. I was aware of the demand for action, ac-tion, and, my old helplessness strong upon me, I was waiting for him to take the initiative. Then, as the moments mo-ments went by, it was at last impressed im-pressed upon me that I was there, not to have Wolf Larsen take the Initiative, Initia-tive, but to take it myself. I cocked both barrels and leveled the shotgun at him. Had he moved, attempted to drop down the companionway, compan-ionway, I know I would have shot him. But he stood motionless and staring as before. And as I faced him, with leveled gun shaking in my hands, I had time to note the worn and haggard appearance of his face. It was as if some strong anxiety had wasted it. The cheeks were sunken, and there was a wearied, puckered expression on the brow. And it seemed to me that his eyes were strange, not only the expression, but the physical seeming, as though the optic nerves and supporting muscles had suffered strain and slightly twisted twist-ed the eyeballs. All this I saw, and my brain now working rapidly, I thought a thousand thoughts; and yet I could not pull the triggers. I lowered the gun and stepped to the corner of the cabin, primarily to relieve the tension on my nerves and to make a new start, and incidentally to be closer. Again I raised the gun. He was almost at arm's length. There was no' hope for him. I was resolved. There was no possible chance of missing him, no matter how poor my marksmanship. And yet I wrestled with myself and could not pull the triggers. "Well?" he demanded impatiently. I strove vainly to force my fingers down on the triggers, and vainly I strove to say something. "Why don't you shoot?" he asked. I cleared my throat of a huskiness which prevented speech. "Hump," he said slowly, "you can't do it. You are not exactly afraid. You are impotent. Your conventional morality is stronger than you. You are the slave to the opinions which have credence among the people you have known and have read about Their code has been drummed into your head 'from the time you lisped, and in spite of your philosophy, and of what I have taught you, it won't let you kill an unarmed, unresisting man." "I know it," rsaid hoarsely. "And you know that I would kill an unarmed man as readily as I would smoke a cigar," he went on. "You know me for what I am my worth in the world by your standard. You have called me snake, tiger, shark, monster, and Caliban. And yet, you little rag puppet, you little echoing mechanism, you are unable to kill me as you would a snake or a shark, because be-cause I have hands, feet, and a body shaped somewhat like yours. Bah! I had hoped better things of you. Hump." He stepped out of the companion-way companion-way and came up to me. "Put down that gun. I want to ask you some questions. I haven't had a chance to look around yet. What place is this? How is the Ghost lying? How did you get here? Where's Maud? I beg your pardon, Miss Brewster or should I say, 'Mrs. Van Weyden'?" I had backed away from him, almost al-most weeping at my inability to shoot him, but not fool enough to put down the gun. I hoped, dcaperatoly. that he might commit some; liosiilo act, attempt at-tempt (0 strike 1110 or chuko niu; for in such way only I knew I could be stirred to shoot. "This is Kudoavor island," I said. "Never hoard of it," he broke in. "At leant, that's our name for it," I amended. "Our?" he queried. "Who's our?" "Miss Brewster and myself. And the Ghost is lying, as you can see for yourself, bow on to the beach." "There are seals here," he said. "They woke me up with their barking, or I'd he sleeping yet. I heard them when I drove in last night. Thoy were the first warning that I was on a lee shore. It's a rookery, the kind of a thing I've hunted for years. Thanks to my brother Death, I've lighted on a fortune. It's a mint. What's its bearings?" "Haven't the least idea," I said. "But you ought to know quite closely. What were your last observations?" He smiled inscrutably, but did not answer. "Well, where's all hands?" I asked. "How does it come that you are alone?" I was prepared for him again to set aside my question, and was surprised sur-prised at the readiness of his reply. "My brother got me inside forty-eight forty-eight hours, and through no fault of mine. Boarded me in the night with only the watch on deck. Hunters went back on me. He gave them a bigger lay. Heard him offering it. Did it right before me. Of course the crew gave me the go-by. That was to be expected. All hands went over the side, and there I was, marooned on my. own vessel. It was Death's turn, and it's all in the family anyway." "But how did you lose the masts?" I asked. "Walk over and examine those lanyards," lan-yards," he said, pointing to where the mizzen rigging should have been. "They have been cut with a knife!" I exclaimed. "Not quite," he laughed. "It was a neater Job. Look again." 1 looked. The lanyards had been almost al-most severed, with Just enough left to hold the shrouds till some severe strain should be put upon them. "Cooky did that," he laughed again. "1 know, though I didn't spot him at it. Kind of evened up the score a bit." "Good for Mugridge!" I cried. "Yes, that's what I thought when everything went over the side. Only I said It on the other side of my mouth." "But what were you doing while all this was going on?" I asked. "My best, you may do sure, which wasn't much under the circumstances." circum-stances." I turned to re-examine Thomas Mugridge's work. "I guess I'll sit down and take the sunshine," I heard Wolf Larsen saying. say-ing. There was a hint, just a slight hint, of physical feebleness in his voice, and it was so strange that I looked quickly at him. His hand was sweeping sweep-ing nervously across his face, as though he were brushing away cobwebs. cob-webs. I was puzzled. The whole thing was so unlike the Wolf Larsen I had known. "How are your headaches?" I asked. "They still trouble me," was his answer. an-swer. "I think I have one coming on now." He slipped down from his sitting posture till he lay on the deck. Then he rolled over on his side, his head resting on the biceps of the under arm, the forearm shielding his eyes from the sun. I stood regarding him wonderingly. "Now's your chance, Hump," he said. "I don't understand," I lied, for 1 thoroughly understood. "Oh, nothing," he added softly, as if he were drowsing; "only you've cot me where you want me." "No, I haven't," I retorted; "for I want you a few thousand miles away from here." He chuckled, and thereafter spoke no more. He did not stir as I passed by him and went down into the cabin. I lifted the trap in the floor, but for some moments gazed dubiously into the darkness of the lazaretto beneath. I hesitated to descend. What if his lying down were a ruse? Pretty, indeed, in-deed, to be caught there like a rat. I crept softly up the companionway and peeped at him. He was lying as I had left him. Again I went below; be-low; but before I dropped into the lazaretto I took the precaution of casting cast-ing down the door in advance. At least there would be no lid to the trap. But it was all needless. I regained the cabin with a store of Jams, sea-biscuits, sea-biscuits, canned meats, and such things all I could carry and replaced re-placed the trap door. (TO BE CONTINUED.) |