For a moment the two stood eyeing each other, with looks of dismay.
"Can't we burrow our way out?" queried the young man.
"I'm afraid not. Them rascals knowed what they were doin' when they fastened us up. In my opinion, we are to be left in this hollow tree to be swallered up with the island when it goes!"
Harry glanced up. The opening in the top of the trunk was about fifteen feet above them. There was no way for them to reach it!
The young man bowed his face on his hand.
"I would have been willing—would have cheerfully died," said he, "in helping poor Mary; but to perish far away from that girl without having lifted a hand in her defense is very mortifying!"
"Ay, ay," said Turk, "and this is a lesson to me never to give advice in the futur'—if there be any futur' left for me on this arth! I'm as sorry as you can be, that I got you to give up follerin' the lass at once!"
For several moments the two men stood, glancing up through the opening in the trunk, which being directly beneath the volcano, afforded them a good view of it.
The huge crater was spouting showers of flame and sparks, which seemed to increase in quantity every moment.
Meanwhile the roaring noise of the subterranean fires was becoming louder. The ground shook with the thunder in its bosom, until the very tree in which the two men were ensconced began to tremble.
"The 'castrophy' must soon take place!" exclaimed Turk; "wish you'd l'arn me to say a few prayers before we are swallered up! That is," continued the old tar, "I did l'arn my catechism, once upon a time, but it's so long ago that the idee has been blowed out of my head by the squalls and gales I've weathered, do you see!"
Harry answered not. His mind was full of bitter reflections, in the midst of which his Mary, suffering in the hands of the savages, occupied a prominent part.
"Perhaps we may burrow out of this!" he exclaimed, at length, "at all events, let us try!"
So saying, he stooped, and went to work with hands and nails.
He made some progress, but he had not dug a foot, when his hands came into contact with a hard substance, which resisted all his efforts to move it.
It was a heavy stone, almost a rock in size, which had been shoved against the opening.
"No hope!" he said, despairingly.
As he spoke, a wild yell was heard without, followed by the noise of approaching steps.
The steps drew nearer; there was a halt made alongside the tree, then followed a noise of dry branches being dragged along and piled round the trunk.
"Ay! ay!" exclaimed Turk, aghast, "them heathens ain't even goin' to give us a chance to die in them underground flames, but is agoing to pile faggots and burn us at once."
Harry shuddered.
Then the thought occurred to him that perhaps Mary had perished in a similar manner.
In a few minutes the crackling of flames, betokened that the old tar had guessed aright.
The fire was wreathing and twining around the trunkof the tree, the inside of which was every moment growing hotter.
"Ay, ay," moaned Turk, despondingly, "we are all a-goin' to be baked alive, as if we were two clams instead of humanized bein's!"
Hotter became the seamen's narrow quarters every moment. Tongues of flames were now seen creeping through crevices in the trunk.
The sap oozed with a hiss like a serpent's, while the smoke entering the hollow, almost suffocated the occupants.
Heated, almost blinded, their flesh scorched, the sufferings of the twain were becoming fearful.
In the lurid glare each could see the eyeballs of the other rolling wildly in his head, and hear his panting breath drawn with difficulty.
"This is intolerable!" gasped Harry; "would that the rascals would spear us, and thus at once put an end to our torment."
There seemed, however, no probability of their doing this.
Meanwhile there were none of the manifestations of exultation and triumph peculiar to the North American savages.
Nothing was to be heard above the din of the roaring and crackling flames, save a low, guttural croaking of quiet satisfaction, such as might have been uttered over chunks of roast beef cooking on a spit.
"Ay, ay," muttered Turk, who for some time had been dancing up and down with pain, "I feel as if the gravy was already a-oozing out of my body."
As he spoke, he chanced to glance upward, when he was startled by the apparition of a face, half concealed by a great green leaf, (protruding downward from under an old cap) thrust through the opening in the top of the trunk, while the rest of the body was screened by the thick branches around it.
"Hist! Stand by! I'll save you both if I can!" saidthe stranger in a shrill, penetrating whisper, "on one condition!"
For several moments the two men were so surprised that they could only stand motionless, looking up at the intruding face, without uttering a word.
Harry was the first to speak.
"Who are you! How came you there?"
"It don't matter. I am only half human, at any rate. On one condition I said I'd save you."
"Name it, name it, my man!" cried Turk, "and you'll see how quick we'll comply. But I'd think the savages would see you up there?"
"No; the branches and leaves are too thick. The leaf over my face hides it from them while my body is in shadow."
"Name that ere condition of yours then, quick!" exclaimed Turk.
"Well, it is that you save my money!"
"Your money?"
"Yes I cannot get to it now. I beg you will save me my precious money."
"Where is it!" inquired Turk, "if you'll jist tell me that p'raps I can——"
"It's in a little cleft in the right side of the trunk in a bag. You may feel it by putting your hand there. Oh! my money—my precious money! that must not be sacrificed!"
Turk felt along the trunk until finally his hand struck a deep cleft notched in the wood, when he felt the bag and drew it forth.
It emitted a clinking sound.
"Ay, ay, that's it!" whispered the stranger; "now unfasten the cord from it, and throw the end up to me, when I will draw you safely out of the hollow!"
Turk instantly proceeded to do as directed. Unwinding the cord which, though small in thickness, was astough as a clothes-line, he was glad to perceive that it was long enough to reach to the top of the trunk.
Meanwhile, in spite of his sufferings, he could not forbear peeping into the bag, which, he at once perceived was full of shining pieces of gold.
"What avail is all this?" said Harry; "it is likely the savages have already heard our conversation. Besides, they will certainly see us, when we are drawn up out of the top of the trunk."
"It ain't likely they've heard us," said Turk, "as there's sich an infernal din with the roarin' of the fire here and the volcano above; but as to their seein' us, I dare say that may happen."
"Throw me the cord—quick!" cried the stranger, "and let me haul you up here with my precious gold!"
Turk threw the end of the cord.
"You may go first," said Harry to the old tar.
"Not a bit of it, lad!" answered Turk; "I ain't one of that sort, do ye see! There's no hurry for me. Your life is more valuable than that of sich an old lubber as your humble servant, Tom Turk."
Harry, however was firm.
He fastened the end of the line quickly under the armpits of the sailor, and ordered the stranger to haul away.
Assisted by his own efforts and by the pulls from the man above, Turk soon was drawn through the opening.
Then a savage yell proclaimed that he was seen, and the trick to effect of his release discovered by the natives.
"Quick, my lad!" shouted Turk, throwing down the line to his friend, as several spears whizzed round his head.
"Give me my gold!" almost shrieked the stranger, as he snatched the bag from the old seaman's pocket, andthrust it into his own, "and stand by to follow me, if you'd escape the natives."
"Jist hold on a minnit!" said Turk, clutching the man by the arm; "I don't know who you be; whether you be humanized or t'otherwise, but one thing is sartin, it's playin' us a very scaly trick fur you a-tryin' to get off, when you know that the life of a feller creatur' is still to be saved."
"Quick then, quick!" screamed the stranger, "don't you perceive that the natives are going to fling more spears?"
"They can't hurt ye, if you ain't human," said Turk—then he added, eyeing the stranger curiously, "if you have what's tarmed a caudal canpendage, that is a tail, do you see, as all non-human bein's has, I wish you'd show it, so that I may know whose acquaintance I have the honor of makin."
"Whiz! whiz! buz-z-z!" came more spears, passing within a few inches of the speaker's head.
While talking, Turk had not neglected his friend, who by this time had passed the line round his breast and given the word to haul.
The two pairs of arms soon had him up, when turning, the stranger was seen running along a branch extending from the burning tree to another.
"There goes either the devil or a spook!" said Turk; "it's the queerest creatur' I ever saw, thinkin' of its gold under sarcumstances like the present."
"Follow me, follow me, if you would escape," the man was now heard screaming out at the top of his voice.
The seamen obeyed, gliding after the figure, which seemed to dart along with the speed of a squirrel.
Having gained the other tree, the strange guide descended half way, then, by a drooping branch, swung himself quickly to the ground.
Harry and his friend followed, the twain being pursued by the savages.
Every nook and corner seemed familiar to the leader.
On he went, dashing away with a speed which rapidly widened the distance between him and his followers.
By powerful efforts, however, the two men continued to keep in sight.
Finally Harry paused. The steps of the savages were heard crashing along but a short distance behind him.
"Come on!" cried Turk, seizing the other's arm.
"No," answered the latter, "the man is evidently carrying us further and further from Mary. For my part, I shall endeavor to ascertain the fate of the girl, if I die for it."
All efforts of his friend to persuade him to keep on proved unavailing.
"Well, one thing is sartin," said the old tar, "where you go, there, sir, Tom Turk, who never yet deserted a chum, goes too!"
"Thank you," answered Glenville, squeezing the arm of his friend.
Stepping to one side, and crouching in the shrubbery, Turk persuaded Harry to do the same.
At this time, these two men were concealed from the savages by a high rock, round the angle of which they had passed.
The natives, when they made the turn, believing that the two had kept on, continued the pursuit in a straight line, seeing the form of the strange guide, faintly visible in the far distance.
When the savages had passed, making straight for the burning peak, Harry and his companion rose.
"Which way now?" inquired Turk.
"Towards the beach. There we may find Mary, either dead or alive, as there, it would seem, the greater number of the savages are gathered."
Accordingly, they moved toward the beach, cautiously keeping in the shadow of the shrubbery, when they finally found themselves within about fifteen feet of a spot occupied by a dozen warriors, all of whom stood upright,their glances bent upon the steep sides of the volcanic cliff.
"What is that?" inquired Harry, suddenly, trembling in every limb.
"There are savages speeding up the cliff, and if I mistake not, I just saw the gleam of a light dress, as if the rascals were bearing a female between them."
"Ay, ay," said Turk. "I saw it too, and it was sartinly a most melancholy sight."
"That woman that we saw could of course be none other than Mary Manton," said Harry. "Come, we will at least die fighting for the girl."
Before his friend could say a word, he was speeding along toward the cliff, still keeping in the shadow of the shrubbery, so that the natives could not see him.
Now he and his companion eventually arrived at the base of the cliff.
The natives in pursuit of the guide had, of course got there before them, and were now seen speeding up the steep ascent in hot pursuit of the strange man.
"Come," said Harry; "come!"
As he spoke, he sped straight up the cliff.
"Well," muttered Turk, as he panted for breath, "this is hot work for sich old timbers as I be. The lad won't give me a chance to breathe. I may as well make up my mind to go to etarnity, the road to which is where we are now goin'; so I'll jist make one chaw of this plug," pulling from his pocket a great piece of tobacco, the whole of which he at once thrust into his right cheek.
On he went, until suddenly he uttered a loud cry, as Harry disappeared from his sight.
Believing that the young man had fallen into some one of the deep chasms with which the cliff abounded, he hurried on, and was somewhat relieved to perceive that the object of his fears had merely fallen into a small rocky pit, with the exception of a few slight bruises, hurting himself but little.
Springing into the pit, the old tar assisted his prostrate friend to his feet.
At the same moment, clapping his hand to his brow, and uttering a wild cry, the young man pointed far above him.
Gazing in the indicated direction, Turk uttered a sort of despairing grunt, and sat down on a flat, protruding shelf of rock, as if completely overcome at the spectacle which now met his gaze.
This spectacle, which has already been described, was none other than that of the young girl and Captain Brand, far above the two adventurers, distinctly revealed in the lurid gleam of the fire-spouting crater, being swung back and forth for a fling into the red-flaming jaw of the horrible chasm!
The fearful situation in which she now found herself was enough to appal a stouter hear than that of Mary Manton.
Poor girl! after all the hardships she had undergone, to find herself about to meet such a frightful doom, was, indeed, a trying ordeal for her delicate nerves.
Shriek after shriek passing her lips, mingled with the hoarsest cries of Captain Brand, and the triumphant screams of the savages, who, their forms and faces lighted by the volcanic fire, might well have been compared to the demons of the infernal regions!
Twenty times at least, as if to torture them by the fearful suspense, the natives swung their victims before they made the final one to throw them into the yawning chasm!
Meanwhile, Turk and his friend had started afresh, and were fast scaling the sides of the cliff.
The mountain was now fairly reeling with the inner convulsions. The lava had swollen on one side to a broad stream, rushing, hissing and streaming down the side of the steep cliff.
In fact the two men as they mounted, were constantly obliged to dodge to one side, to escape contact with some of the diverging rivulets.
On they went, now tottering on the verge of some deep gorge, and now scaling a narrow passage between enormousrocks, which reeled as if about to fall upon and crush them.
Meanwhile the air was full of strange noises.
Hissing, roaring and booming, the report of bursting deluges of fire came out from the bosom of the mountain.
The fire spread fast—the sky itself seemed aflame with the warning of impending destruction.
"This is sartinly the most excitin' moment in my life," said Turk, who now gasped at every step. "I'm afraid that even when we git up to the summit where that poor gal is, there won't be any strength left in my bones to help the poor creature!"
"Come on!" answered Harry, in ringing tones. "On! on!"
And on they went, scaling the burning mountain with almost incredible speed.
At one time the view of the forms upon the summit was hidden by an intruding rock.
"Do you see her, now?" Harry anxiously inquired.
"No!" answered Turk, as he vainly endeavored to catch a glimpse of the fire-lighted forms.
"Alas! It was a bad day for poor Mary, when she set out in search of her lost father," exclaimed Harry; "poor girl! brave girl!"
"Ay, and a wild-goose chase, it has proved so far, and will prove a wild-gooser before its over."
Continuing on, the two men finally came to a point, where two paths, diverging between high rocks, met their gaze.
They were undecided which of these to take.
"My God! the girl will meet her fate, before we can get to her!" exclaimed Harry, as he dashed into the path on the right. "Come on, Turk! This path ascends and must be the right one, as the other seems to incline!"
Turk shook his head.
"P'raps you're right, and p'raps not!" he said. "If it hadn't been for them lava-streams, we might have keptstraight ahead, and been at the end of our cruise in more senses than one, before the present moment."
The two kept on, but the further they went, the more puzzled they became, as the path they pursued soon led them among a perfect labyrinth of rocks, some of them overarched so that, with the exception of a lurid gleam of light, here and there, they were left in total darkness.
The labyrinth became more difficult.
Tangled bushes, vines, shrubs, and the roots of decayed trees impeded their way every moment.
Meanwhile the agony of the young man, searching hither and thither for some way out of his difficulty, was terrible. The sweat came out upon his brow, his veins seemed on fire with feverish excitement.
He knew all the time he was thus searching that Mary's doom must soon be sealed, if already she had not been hurled into the whirlpool of fire!
Turk also vainly exerted himself; but the more the two endeavored to find a way out of the labyrinth, the more hopelessly they became entangled.
At length they found themselves at the mouth of a cavern. The floor of this cave seemed to extend downward, while far ahead of them, they beheld the fiery gleam of the volcano.
"This is our way," shouted Turk. "Come, lad, come!"
He dove into the cavern, followed by his friend, both believing that when they should arrive at the terminus of this sloping tunnel, they would find a way to the top of the cliff!
Encouraged by this hope, Harry sped on with a swiftness, which soon carried him far beyond his friend.
In a few minutes he had gained the further end of the cavern, when Turk heard his wild despairing cry ringing out like that of a wounded wolf.
In a moment he was by the young man, who pointed upward.
When Turk also perceived that they had made theirway to this point, only to be aggravated by another sight of the tatooed forms of the savages and their intended victims, so far above them that they could not hope to reach the spot.
In fact they now found themselves in one of those deep gorges, whose sides were too steep to be ascended, but which commanded a view of the raging fire.
Yes, there was the girl and Brand, still being swung hither and thither that their torments might yet be prolonged.
The sight almost drove Harry mad. He clenched his fists, and compressed his lips, as if, by the exertion of a strong will alone, he hoped to prevent the accomplishment of the fearful deed.
As to Turk, he danced about in his excitement performing a sort of fantastic hornpipe, while all the time the tears streamed down his wrinkled cheeks.
"Ay, ay," he moaned, "it is too bad. If I could lay down my life a thousand times for that poor gal, God knows I would willingly do it."
The scream of the imperiled one now rang down the cliff penetrating the hearts of the two men like a knife.
"Good God!" cried Harry; "oh, Turk! Turk! let us see if we cannot yet get to her, before the demons do their foul work."
The increased thunder of the volcano seemed to mock his voice. The air and sky reddened by the lurid gleam, seemed filled with a crimson mist rolling in clouds round the swaying forms, and shrouding them from sight.
As Harry spoke, Turk pressed his forehead against the rocky side of the gorge, while he pointed upward at the girl, whose hair, catching the red gleam, seemed another shower of fire.
"No use, Harry. See, they are giving the last swing! I know by the voice of that native who has jist howled out the order."
In fact so shrill and piercing and savage was the islander's cry that its import could not well be mistaken.
Like the croaking shriek of a ravenous sea-bird, it came grating down the sides of the rock.
"My God! there she goes!" screamed Harry; "Mary! Mary!"
With that cry from Harry Glenville was mingled the despairing scream of the young girl.
The two savages holding her, had swung her forward with great impetus to fling her into the red gulf, when a wild form suddenly came bounding forward from the summit of an overhanging rock, snatched the girl from their arms and made off with her with deer-like speed.
To explain this, it must be remembered that the gaze of all the savages present, had been concentrated upon the two intended victims, so that they had known nothing of the approach of the intruder, who, it need scarcely be told, was the singular island guide.
This person, probably from his greater familiarity with the mountain paths, had distanced his pursuers who, like Harry Glenville and Turk, soon became puzzled as to their course, and thus lost track of the fugitive.
Coming upon the fearful scene near the fire chasm, the strong man had found it easy to leap from his position, snatch the girl from the already relaxed grasp of her tormentors, and make considerable headway before the natives could recover sufficiently from their surprise to start in pursuit.
So astonished were all that the two who held Captain Brand, allowed the latter to disengage himself from their grasp and make off at a speed accelerated to almost incredible swiftness by his fears.
The course taken by Brand led him at right angles with that followed by the stranger, so that the pursuers were obliged to separate.
This separation gave the fugitives an advantage, especially the strange guide, who seemed familiar with every nook and corner of the mountain.
On he went, seeming to carry his burden with a strength probably caused by some powerful excitement, although his gray hair, streaming back from under the broad leaf, partially concealing his face, proclaimed his advanced years.
Finally, however, he began to stagger beneath his burden, which, it was evident, was too much for him.
Seemingly bent, however, upon gaining some particular point, he kept on until he came to a small, dark hollow, between a number of jagged rocks, where he crawled therein.
"Hist!" he muttered, as the young girl opened her mouth, apparently on the point of speaking. "Not a word! I have my money! money! money!" he added, in the same penetrating whisper, as he thrust his hand in his pocket and felt the jingling bag.
The man had been mistaken about Mary's wishing to speak.
The poor girl's eyes were closed, her cheek as white as marble. She had fainted at the moment when the natives were at the point of flinging her to her destruction.
Seemingly unaware of this circumstance, her preserver, crouching down without again looking at her, listened intently, probably for the steps of his pursuers.
These steps, drawing nearer, finally went past.
The fugitive had served the natives a trick. Unseen by them, owing to an intruding point of rock, when hecrawled into the small cave, they had passed him, believing he had gone on, far ahead.
He waited full a quarter of an hour, then, emerging, continued on.
At a place where two narrow paths diverged, he came upon Brand, crouching in the angle of a rock.
Here the light was indistinct.
"Who are you who have saved this girl?" inquired the captain, coming forward.
"Don't question me," answered the other, "but help me with this girl."
Brand started as suddenly. Then, recovering his self-possession, although trembling in every limb, he complied with the request.
"My money—my money—ha! ha! Ihave thatsafe!" muttered the stranger, as they proceeded.
"Yourwhat?" gasped Brand, fairly turning as white as the senseless girl.
"My money," was the answer—"all safe!"
On they went, following a path which led them by the tunnel through which Harry and Turk had previously passed, from which they were emerging at this very moment.
Brand started back.
"You safe?" he exclaimed, staring at Harry, as if at a ghost.
"Ay," answered the young man.
Then he sprang to the side of the unconscious girl, peering down upon her still face.
"Not dead! not dead!" he cried, wildly.
Even as he spoke, the girl opened her eyes.
In the faint light they gleamed like stars, as they fell upon her lover's face.
"Harry!" she exclaimed.
In an instant she was on her feet, supported by her friends until she had fully regained her balance.
Then explanations followed.
"And who, my friend, are you who have thus benefittedus?" inquired Harry, now turning to grasp the hand of the stranger.
The latter, however, was nowhere to be seen.
"That chap I should sartinly take for the devil, do you see, if it 'twan't that I couldn't neither see his caudal cumpendage, nor account for his savin' the gal, which no devil, I take it, would have done."
Meanwhile, words may not express the joy of the lovers at their reunion. Mary had firmly believed that Harry was dashed to pieces when Brand let go of the rope.
Alluding to this, Turk now said:
"How came you to do sich a trick, captain?"
The latter turned aside his head, trembling like an aspen as he recalled to mind the apparition he had seen among the trees.
"Accidents will happen," he said, in a husky voice.
"Well," continued Turk, "now that we have so far got clear of them infarnal blackskins, I trust and hope that we may contrive to get away from the island without seein' 'em, or, at any rate, before we are swallowed up in fire!"
At that moment, far ahead of them, they beheld the stranger, his face still screened by the broad leaf, beckoning to them.
So he had not deserted them, after all.
"We'd better follow him," said Turk, "as he seems to know every part of this island. To my thinkin', he'll get us out of this scrape, if it's possible to get out!"
The advice was followed.
The strange guide led the party along the narrow path with great celerity, until they finally arrived at the foot of the cliff.
By this time the whole island presented an appearance at once, wild and fearful.
The showers of fire from the mountain were increased ten-fold; the island rocked like a cradle. Every part of it seemed lighted with a ghastly radiance. A red mist hovered over it rolling along, volume upon volume.
Near the beach the water was seen breaking into thousands of bubbles, while further beyond it was dashed to a foam.
Meanwhile the noises of shock following shock were become terrific.
A whole pack of artillery seemed to burst and boom, volley upon volley, beneath the quaking soil!
Suddenly there was a shock as of many thunderbolts, from the direction of the mountain, which was now seen split, apparently from top to bottom, into a great chasm, from which in great quantities burst forth streams of lava and long forked tongues of lurid flame.
The island was now as light as day. Far and near objects could be plainly distinguished, while overhead showers of flying sparks almost obscured the sky!
In the red glare, the forms of savages were now seen making all haste to descend the tottering cliff!
Appalled by the impending fate of the island, all the natives who had been left below, were seen at a distance beckoning to their companions to make haste.
The white people now were nearer the canoe than the savages themselves.
"Come!" screamed the guide, as he made towards the light vessel. "Come!"
He beckoned, as he spoke, to the young girl and the seamen, all of whom made haste to follow him.
The savages below, now, for the first time, caught sight of the white party, and made for them with great swiftness, yelling and brandishing their spears.
"There's sartinly no time to lose," exclaimed Turk, as he assisted his friend to help Mary along; "if them blackskins get at us now, they'll make sure work of it by pinning us to the ground."
The party hurried on.
They reached the canoe, while the islanders were yet forty yards distant, when, springing in, all the men seized paddles and went to work.
Spear after spear was hurled at them before they had gone more than a few fathoms from the beach.
One of these missiles severed a lock from Mary's head, another grazed the shoulder of her lover.
"Quick!" shrieked Turk, "if we don't get away from here in a minute, we'll all be swallered in fire and water!"
This, in fact, seemed evident. The bubbles increased on the surface. The surges rolled wildly, swaying hither and thither—the booming thunder underground was become deafening.
Glancing towards the islanders, these unfortunates were seen running towards the raft, and then flocking up on it with all possible dispatch, while filling the air with dismal, howling cries.
"God help the poor wretches!" cried Mary.
"Paddle ahead, paddle for life!" screamed Turk, as the cliff, with a din as if the very earth were being rent in twain, tumbled to pieces, rock upon rock, apparently drowned in a sea of fire, amid which the forms of the doomed natives on the cliff were also seen to disappear. Sky air and sea looked as if aflame.
The whole universe seemed to rock and tremble.
The crimson waves rose high around the frail canoe; while the raft nearer to the beach, was at once engulphed with its living freight.
"God help us!" cried Mary.
"We are lost!" shouted Brand, shutting out the fearful aspect of sea and heaven, by putting a hand to his eyes.
"Hush!" said Harry, sternly, "I trust we may escape."
All round the island the waves were now seen trembling in great colliding, clashing walls of hissing boiling water.
From these walls streams of fire, like lightning flashes, shot continually upward.
The air was still full of flying sparks, and of lava stones which dropped in showers into the water.
For full half an hour the commotion continued, when,suddenly, the doomed island disappeared forever, while the agitated waves continued to bubble and boil long afterwards, over the spot where it had existed.
Gradually the fearful red lustre of sky and sea died away. A gloom, appalling from its strange suddenness, fell upon the sea.
The canoe with its occupants floated in darkness upon the agitated waters.
The men in the canoe continued paddling ahead. There was no sleep for any of the occupants during that night.
When daylight stole upon the sea they looked toward the spot, far astern, where the island had been but where there was nothing now to mark the spot except a mass of agitated waters, gradually subsiding.
Straight and tall, at the stern of the canoe, sat the stranger guide, he whose features had previously been hidden and the breadfruit leaf, now thrust aside.
Brand, who had been gazing toward the place he occupied, ever since the day began to break, now was visibly agitated. He trembled all over, while his face was perfectly ghastly.
As the light increased, and the stranger's features became yet more distinct, the captain uttered a wild cry, and while his eyes rolled wildly in his head, sat as if transfixed to his thwart still gazing upon the man before him.
A moment he remained thus, then fell senseless upon his face.
Mary, who had hitherto been gazing away toward the west, turned at the cry Brand uttered, and seemed for a moment, like one spellbound as her gaze fell upon the stranger's face.
Then her eyes lighted up her whole countenance a gleam with joy.
"My father!" she exclaimed, "father! father! Oh! thank God, I have found him at last!"
Stretching forth her arms, she moved towards the guide, who, however, still sat looking at her half wonderingly and half pityingly, without seeming to recognize her.
Mary, however, knew him well. She could not mistake those familiar features, and the fact of his not seeming to recognize her, seemed to inspire her with the deepest grief.
"Oh, papa! papa! Look! behold! Here is your daughter! I am Mary, papa! Don't you know me?"
An expression of partial intelligence came to the man's eyes, then passed like a gleam of sunlight obliterated by the shadow of a cloud.
"Ay, ay, now!" exclaimed Tom Turk as he gazed at the man, "this is too bad! I know ye well enough as the passenger once aboard theMaxwell, and who was supposed to be lost; the father of this lass. It's mighty strange you don't know your own child."
"Mr. Manton," exclaimed Harry, stepping forward, and grasping the hand of him he addressed, "this is a great, great pleasure! Thank God we have found you at last, alive and well! Do not, I beg of you, afflict your daughter longer by playing off this joke upon her!"
"Joke! joke!" said Mr. Manton, running a hand through his gray hair and looking up in a bewildered manner, "I don't understand you! Ha! ha! it's all safe, my money!" he added, "all safe! safe!"
Harry looked sorrowfully at the speaker.
Glances of intelligence were exchanged between him and Turk.
Even Mary could no longer doubt the fearful truth, which had gradually been forcing itself upon her mind.
Her father was insane!
She flung herself at his feet—she grasped both his hands, and kissed them again and again—then burst into tears, sobbing as if her heart would break, at the vacant stare, which was the only response to her manifestations.
Harry endeavored to soothe her.
"I am confident," said he, "that your father is not a confirmed lunatic. He may be restored to his reason, if care be taken. I have seen worse cases than this cured."
So excited were Harry and his friends over the discovery they had made, that, although the singular emotion of Brand had not escaped their attention, yet they had not noticed his being unconscious.
Now, however, Turk perceived it.
"A strange affair, this," said he; "had old Nick himself come to claim the captain, he couldn't have acted queerer than he has at the sight of Mr. Manton!"
In a few minutes, the captain recovered, staring wildly around him, until his eye was caught by the spectacle of the old man astern, when he started back with an affrighted cry.
"It is real flesh and blood, then," he exclaimed.
"Why, of course, Cap," answered Turk, "you don't suppose, I hope, that we'd take a ghost passenger!"
"Real flesh and blood," continued Brand, an expression of relief passing over his face, as he noticed the vacant stare of Mr. Manton, showing that the latter did not recognize him. "I am glad of it—ay, very glad. So he was not lost overboard, after all!"
"It seems not!" said Turk; "but I shouldn't have thought the discovery would have set you off into a faintin' fit?"
"Well, you see," said Brand, with a forced laugh, "the fact is I am a little superstitious—always was!"
This explanation hardly seemed to satisfy the old sailor, who shook his head without saying a word.
Meanwhile, the canoe, still urged along by Turk's paddle, was gliding through the blue waters, now just beginning to catch the tinge of the coming sunlight.
Suddenly the old sailor, who had long been gazing far away towards the west, sprung to his feet, screaming out! "Sail O!" with all his might.
"It's the same craft I saw t'other night from the cliff!" said he; "I didn't say anything about it, as I wasn't sureit was a sail in the imperfect light, and didn't want to awake false hopes."
Harry Glenville now seizing his paddle, assisted Turk.
Meanwhile Brand, with an old handkerchief, continued to raise a signal, which it was soon evident, was seen by the vessel.
Previously standing away towards the southward, she now was seen to come 'round, bowling along, close hauled towards the canoe.
This at last was reached, and the occupants picked up, to learn they were aboard the shipEmpire, of New York, homeward bound.
Every kind attention was bestowed upon the castaways, who, on their arrival home, a few months after, published a letter of thanks to the good skipper.
Mary took her father to a little cottage she occupied with an aunt.
A celebrated physician, accustomed to lunatic cases was called.
He pronounced Mr. Manton's case, a curable one, and, in the course of a year proved it so, by restoring the old man fully to his reason.
Words may not express the joy of Mary, who had awaited this happy moment to become the wife of Harry Glenville.
The old man was present at the wedding, in which he took the interest natural to the father of the bride.
On the very night of the ceremony, the old man, who had not previously touched upon that 'dark affair' aboard theMaxwell, was able to reveal events, so as to go into a full explanation.
He stated that, after being knocked overboard by Brand, he threw out his arms, clutching the plank which had fallen with him, and which, thanks to his being a good swimmer and to a favorable current, enabled him to drift down upon the volcanic island.
The hardship and excitement undergone, however, that night, so worked upon his brain, that he was affected with a fever which lasted a couple of days.
After that all was a blank to Mr. Manton. He could not remember what took place from that time to the present.
Although insane, however, the man's instinct, or some other cause, had prompted him to stow his money away in the hollow tree.
"Ay, ay," said Harry, "it was evidently to obtain your money that that wretch Brand threw you overboard!"
"Of course," answered Manton. "But the rascal was nicely foiled, for, as it happened, it was always my custom, when I stepped on deck to put my money in the canvas bag, and thrust it into my pocket!
"This carefulness of mine may be understood, when I inform you that I intended every cent of that money for my darling child, to whom I now present it with great joy at being able to place her above want during her lifetime!"
We have little to add.
After Manton's explanation, Brand was sought for, but could not be found, as he had cleared off to parts unknown.
He was never again heard of, if we except a rumor, that he had been lost at sea!
Tom Turk was favorably recommended to the ship owners by Harry Glenville, who was thus enabled to procure him a vessel.
The old fellow followed the sea until he was seventy years of age, when he settled down in an old cottage on the outskirts of New York, within a mile of the residence of Harry Glenville and his beautiful bride.
Mr. Manton still lives; in fact his native air has seemed to agree with him. He is nearly as straight as ever, while, in spite of his gray hairs, his cheek glows with the ruddy hue of health!
Often on still summer nights, with his grandchildren at his knee, he relates the story of the wicked Brand, who, for his many crimes, and especially for his dark attempt to take a human life, was long spoken of by sea men as the Demon Cruiser.
THE END.
THE ARTHUR WESTBROOK CO. Cleveland. U. S. A.
Transcriber's NotesThe Table of Contents has been added by the transcriber and it is placed in the public domain. Minor punctuation errors have been silently corrected.Page12: Changed "birth" to "berth."(Orig: He went back to his birth, not to sleep,)Page19: Changed "Sidney," to "Sydney."(Orig: visit some of them before going into Sidney.")Page21: Changed "steped" to "stepped."(Orig: Then he steped to the captain's side,)Page23: Retained "claining," but possibly meant "clinging."(Orig: Vainly Brand, claining to a rope near the mizzenmast,)Page23: Changed "sevaral" to "several."(Orig: a violence which threw sevaral men off the yard)Page25: Retained "dextrious", but probably meant "dexterous."(Orig: the old fellow by a dextrious movement,)Page30: Changed "swarm" to "swam."(Orig: He swarm to a spar near him, and, with the ropes)Page38: Changed "accomodation" to "accommodation."(Orig: one for the accomodation of the men,)Page40: Changed "apparrently" to "apparently."(Orig: were audible, apparrently approaching the hut!)Page42: Retained "from," but probably meant "for."(Orig: Harry now sprang from the raft.)Page47: Changed "ripling" to "rippling."(Orig: Away it went, ripling the water,)Page53: Changed "rock," to "rocks."(Orig: firmly wedged in between two rock,)Page55: Changed "strangly" to "strangely."(Orig: staring eyes, were fixed strangly upon the captain.)Page59: Changed "decending" to "descending."(Orig: apparently decending towards him with great rapidity.)Page59: Changed "aditional" to "additional."(Orig: with the fall of aditional lava occurred,)Page62: Changed "in" to "is."("This in dang'rous traveling," remarked Turk,)Page63: Removed duplicate "it."(Orig: the drowned passenger as it it was hastily withdrawn!)Page68: Changed "rembered" to "remembered."(Orig: bewildered, she soon rembered all.)Page68: Changed "headed" to "heeded."(Orig: The natives headed not her sufferings.)Page69: Changed "superstious" to "superstitious."(Orig: The superstious natives are prone to believe weird stories,)Page69: Changed "eat" to "ate."(Orig: Brand eat heartily, but poor Mary, almost maddened)Page70: Changed "evntually" to "eventually."(Orig: all possible dispatch, evntually pausing upon a lofty spire,)Page70: Changed "hight" to "height."(Orig: This spur, rising to a hight of about forty feet)Page73: Changed "peal" to "peel."(Orig: strips of which were already beginning to peal off.)Page73: "salle" for "sally," is best guess for unclear word, meaning to rush out, assault.(Orig: do anything in a hurry, which do you see, will salle all.")Page78: Changed "conditon" to "condition."(Orig: "Name that ere conditon of yours then, quick!")Page85: Retained "hear" typo, but possibly "heart" or "head."(Orig: was enough to appal a stouter hear than that of Mary)