Part 20 (1/2)

”But,” I expostulated, ”what's the _use_ of it? Even if the men were dangerous, that would just make them think you _did_ have something to guard.”

”I know that. Orders,” replied Percy Darrow.

We built the stockade in a day. When it was finished we marched to the beach, and never, save in the three instances of which I shall later tell you, did I see the valley again. The next day we washed our clothes, and moved ash.o.r.e with all our belongings.

”I'm not going to have this crew aboard,” stated Captain Selover positively, ”I'm going to clean her.” He himself stayed, however.

We rowed in, constructed a hasty fireplace of stones, spread our blankets, and built an unnecessary fire near the beach.

”Clean her!” grumbled Thrackles, ”my eye!”

”I'd rather round the Cape,” growled Pulz hopelessly.

”Come, now, it can't be as bad as all that,” I tried to cheer them.

”It can't be more than a week or ten days' job, even if we careen her.”

”You don't know what you're talking about,” said Thrackles. ”It's worse than the yellow jack. It's six weeks at least. Mind when we last 'cleaned her'?” he inquired of Handy Solomon.

”You can kiss the Book on it,” replied he. ”Down by the line in that little swab of a sand island. My eye, but _don't_ I remember!

I sweated my liver white.”

They smoked in silence.

”That's a main queer contrivance of the Perfessor's--that stockade-like,” ventured Solomon, after a little.

”He doesn't want any intrusion,” I said. ”These scientific experiments are very delicate.”

”Quite like,” he commented non-committally.

We slept on the ground that night, and next morning, under Captain Selover's directions, we commenced the task of lightening the s.h.i.+p.

He detailed the n.i.g.g.e.r and Perdosa for special duty.

”I'll just see to your sh.o.r.e quarters,” he squeaked. ”You empty her.”

All day long we rowed back and forth from the s.h.i.+p to the cove, landing the contents of the hold. These, by good fortune, we did not have to carry over the neck of land, for just above the gravel beach was a wide ledge on which we could pile the stores. We ate aboard, and so had no opportunity of seeing what Captain Selover and his men were about, until evening. Then we discovered that they had collected and lowered to the beach a quant.i.ty of stateroom doors from the wreck, and had trundled the galley stove to the edge where it awaited our a.s.sistance. We hitched a cable to it, and let it down gently. The n.i.g.g.e.r was immensely pleased. After some experiment he got it to draw, and so cooked us our supper on it. After supper, Captain Selover rowed himself back to the s.h.i.+p.

”Eagen,” he had said, drawing me aside, ”I'm going to leave you with them. It's better that one of us--I think as owner I ought to be aboard----”

”Of course, sir,” said I, ”it's the only proper place for you.”

”I'm glad you think so,” he rejoined, apparently relieved. ”And anyway,” he cried, with a burst of feeling, ”I hate the gritty feeling of it under my feet! Solid oak's the only walking for a man.”

He left me hastily, as though a trifle ashamed. I thought he seemed depressed, even a little furtive, and yet on a.n.a.lysis I could discover nothing definite on which to base such a conclusion.

It was rather a feeling of difference from the man I had known. In my fatigue it seemed hardly worth thinking about.

The men had rolled themselves in their blankets, tired with the long day.

Next morning Captain Selover was ash.o.r.e early. He had quite recovered his spirits, and offered me a dram of French brandy, which I refused.

We worked hard again; again the master returned at night to his vessel, this time without a word to any of us; again the men, drugged by toil, turned in early and slept like the dead.