CHAPTER XI.THE MAD MAROON.
Inall the space of our voyage from the Island of Hispaniola, round about the great hump of America southwards, and through the Straits of Magellan into the South Sea, there fell out nothing worthy of remark—nothing, I mean, sufficiently noteworthy or fit to be set down in this history.
Accordingly, passing over all this while, I come to the day, when, having beat up round the Cape, at nine leagues’ distance we laid the Isle of Juan Fernandez.
This island is very high, and at a distance appears like a rough rocky pyramid cut off at the top with a canopy of clouds. But when we were got closer to the south side, we perceived the shore was woody. We had a constant breeze; and, about sundown, stood in past a lesser island (being nothing but scraggy and barren rock), into a bay, and came to an anchor at the distance of a furlong from shore.
Thus we had lain not long, when we perceived a man made signals to us from the shore, hallooing and waving a sort of a ragged banner on a staff. He appeared to be a wild figure of a man, but the light was failing, and whetherEuropean or Indian we could not tell. And, as to what he said, a very great concourse of seals on the shore did keep up so great a barking noise that we could make nothing of it.
I asked the Captain whether he would send off a boat, but he told me “No, not until the morning,” and immediately commanded, that on no pretext, should any man leave the ship. Notwithstanding, being restless and full of curiosity to know who and what that strange man on the island might be, I resolved to get to the shore if possibly I could, and began to cast about for a way.
Had the cock-boat been afloat, it had been easy if I waited until night came; for the sea was smooth, and the men did not use to keep a good watch. But only the jolly-boat lay in the water, and that I could not manage. She lay under our quarter.
But, when I saw how she tugged at her lashing towards the shore, I took a thought; for I perceived, that, if the tide held until night, I might safely trust to drive ashore in her, and, peradventure, get off unseen. Concluding, therefore, to make the attempt if the tide held, I disposed myself to wait the time.
At last it became quite dark; whereupon I stole softly into the great cabin (which, by good luck, I found empty), stepped to a port-hole and looked without.
The shine of a bright star just overhead showed me that the jolly-boat held in the same posture, and that the tide still flowed. I openedthe port, and, scrambling up, made a leap for the jolly-boat. I lighted on my toes in the stern-sheets, making but little noise; and, having recovered my balance, I had soon cut through the lashing with my knife. Unseen by any man on the ship, I drove quickly towards the shore.
At length the boat grounded on the sandy bottom; and, catching up a rope that was fastened in the bows, I boldly adventured to leap ashore. But hereupon I came nigh to be scared out of my wits; for, falling foul of an obstacle that lay there below, I rolled over, clutching with my fingers a shaggy hide, and a huge creature rose up beside me, being quite six times bigger than a seal, and did roar like a lion. And, indeed, a lion I took him to be; for his head, as I saw it, was exactly like a lion’s. However, he shambled away, and left me; and now I know ’twas a creature called a sea-lion.
This rencounter shook my spirit; so that, having got to my feet, I stood quaking with fear of the darkness, or rather of unknown terrors the darkness might hold concealed. And, being also very cold and wet from my immersion in the breaking waves, I began hugely to repent of my coming hither, and devoutly wished it had been possible to return—nay, I was ready to halloo to the ship; but shame withheld me.
Now, whilst I thus stood, a voice spoke to me almost at my feet.
“Ha! little pilgrim,” came the voice. “Ha! little pilgrim!” ’Twas harsh and grating like a rusty lock.
Immediately after, a man rose up from an empty water-hole that lay near in my path.
He was a small man, and very wild looking, having a shock of towselled red hair and beard that nigh covered his face, and clothed in rags and patches. He stood clutching the staff and tattered banner which we had observed from the ship, and peered in my face with his glittering eyes.
“Ha! little pilgrim,” cried he again. “What is your sin, shipmate? What ha’ been your offence against the Righteous?”
I perceived he was stark mad. “I have slain a man in a duel,” said I, humouring him.
“Ha! ’twas a sore offence,” cried he, and began to wave his banner above my head, “’Twas a black sin, Jesus ha’ mercy! ’Twas a most grievous transgression. Now, look’e hereon, shipmate! Behold, it shall be as an ensign on an hill!”
Hereupon he turned from me, and made with great bounds towards a high boulder which stood at a few yards’ distance. He set the staff in a cleft of the rock, crying: “Behold the ensign of the Lord! Look’e on the banner, shipmate, and say after me, ‘Father I have sinned afore Heaven and afore Thee, and am no more worthy to be called Thy son.’”
A gust of wind took the banner, stretching it out, and I beheld upon it the Royal device of Spain. I began to repeat the words; but he took me up short.
“Gramercy!” cried he, “Look on the ensign, can’t you? Look on the ensign! Now, over agen!”
I perceived by the look in his rolling eyes that he was on the verge of a frenzy-fit, and I hasted to humour him to the letter.
When I had said and acted to his satisfaction, he took the banner in his hand again, and began to wave it over my head, and absolved me (as he called it) in a hotch-potch jargon of Scriptural and nautical phrase. Madness makes ever a rueful picture, but the shape this man’s took was extremely scandalising to me; and it may easily be believed, that now I repented more than ever of having come on shore, and would have given a great deal to have been safe back on the ship again. But there was worse to come.
For, when this business of absolving me was over, the madman took another notion; and, having muttered to himself once and twice, he, on a sudden bawled out:
“It is written, ‘He that sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.’”
Hereupon he lowered fiercely round at me, clapt his hand behind him, and plucked from his belt a long macheat. At the sudden sight of the bare blade glittering in the dark night, I started back, and then stepped quickly to one side as the madman made a lunge on me.
Thus I eluded his intent, and immediately after took to my heels, running blindly in the darkness. I heard him close behind me, the furious haste he made, his quick pants, mingled with curses. I struck my feet against stones; I bruised my body against the jagged sides of boulders; every moment I expected to feel thatmurdering great knife come crashing in my bones.
Suddenly I tumbled into a water-hole, hurting my ankle (though I scarce did feel it); but got out, set my back to a great boulder that stood near, drew my rapier, and made shift to parry a lunge in the nick of time.
And, as the madman blundered in on me with the impulse of the blow, I caught his wrist in a desperate gripe, and twisted his arm round, until he dropped his knife, roaring with pain. Thereupon I set my point to his breast, and had him at my will.
“Up with your arms,” said I smartly, “or I’ll run you through!”
He was not so mad but he understood, and held up his arms immediately; but his eyes kept harking down to his knife, until, with a kick of my unhurt foot, I removed it out of reach.
“Now,” said I, speaking very slowly, “you see, don’t you, that you are quite helpless. If you do not exactly as I bid you, I shall run you through the heart. I bid you instantly to drop upon the ground and lay quite flat.”
And I advanced my point until it pressed upon his breast-bone.
“Ay, ay!” said he, and immediately cast himself flat.
So far, so well; but what was next to do I knew not: I had no cord or rope to have bound him; nor withal could I securely have attempted it, for he was stronger than I. Moreover, myhurt ankle now began to pain me much. There appeared nothing for it but to bide on guard until day, when I trusted to be succoured from the ship. Accordingly, with a rueful mind and a tired body, I disposed myself to the miserable vigil.
For a pretty long while the man lay quiet and perfectly still, whilst I took up my posture, as easy as I could, on a ledge of the rock, having my drawn sword in my hand. I marvelled that he spoke not; and kept the better look-out, lest he should contemplate a surprise. At length I could endure the silence no longer, and brake it.
“My man,” said I, “how came you here on this island?”
I spoke at adventure, not expecting any reasonable reply. I was, therefore, startled and perfectly astonished when he said:
“I was marooned, Cap’n. ’Twas pirates marooned me.”
“Oh,” said I, “and how long ago was that?”
“’Tis many a year—ay, many a year!” said he. “It mought be ten, it mought be twelve. Many a weary year. I lived like a beast, all alone, alone!”
“What was your ship,” said I, “that was taken by these pirates?”
“What was my ship?” said he. “Why, I was aboard of ’em. The Doctor sent us——”
“The Doctor!” exclaimed I, breaking in on him. “What Doctor? Not the master of the Haunted Island?”
“Ay,” said he, sitting up, and staring on me—his face had turned deadly pale, and his voice quavered—“but you a’n’t come from him, lad? No, no, not from him! You a’n’t. Say you a’n’t!”
“Be easy as to that,” said I. “No, I am not come from the Doctor.”
“Then how know you of him?” said he. “How? How? Never lie to me, on your soul! The Lord do the like to you if you deal falsely. Behold, I am come in the name of the Lord! In the Lord’s name!...”
But I forbear to set down the things he uttered in the frenzy-fit that thus, on a sudden, seized on him. Nor did he return again to reason; but, all night long, lay silent or raving; whilst I kept watch and ward.
Towards dawn he slept: but I dared not take any rest myself, nor leave watching of him for a moment. Indeed, the pain of my hurt served to keep me awake. In that hour, while it was yet dark, came the noise of a commotion on board the ship, being occasioned (as I learnt after) by the discovery that the jolly-boat, and I, also, were gone; and, so soon as it became light, I gladly beheld the longboat manned and making for the shore. My brother sat in the stern-sheets.
They landed below the jolly-boat, which lay high and dry, for the tide had ebbed; whereupon I hallooed to them.
“Is that you, Frank?” cried the Captain; and, when I stepped from behind the boulderand he spied me, he immediately threw himself into a great rage, or so it appeared, rushing to me, and threatening me with his fists and crying:
“What do you mean by this, you whelp, you? Do you dare to flout my orders? If you were not a boy, I would hang you up at the yard!”
I had taken this very ill, and (being in a fume from my painful and tedious vigil), had resisted and outbraved him to his face; but, from a sign which he contrived to make me, I perceived what he would be at, that this fury was all a pretence and he did it for the sake of the men. Accordingly, taking the hint, I put on a very humble, repentant bearing towards him.
Now, whilst he rated me as above (the seamen standing by), the mad maroon awoke from sleep, and, sitting up, began to stare fixedly on him. This put my brother out, so that he stumbled in his speech, and broke off to ask me what the man was. So I gave him an account of all that had fallen out. When I had ended, he ordered the man to be bound; which immediately was performed, he offering but little obstruction. Hereupon we went all to the longboat, the madman, who now began to mutter and rave after his manner, being haled along by two seamen, and I borne by two others, for I could not walk. Nay, though they carried me gently, I suffered much pain.
On coming to the launch, they took out water-jars which they had brought ashore, and put into her myself and the crazy man, who ceased not to call down curses on us in his madreligious jargon. On this account, the seamen had much fun out of the poor antic, jeering and mocking him; but, however, this was displeasing to the Captain, and suddenly he turns on one of them, crying:
“Be done with this, you yokel fool! You’re like some silly schoolboy teasing a village idiot! Be done with it! Be done with it!”
I liked this well; but the chidden seaman liked it not at all. He glared at the Captain; who glared back at him. Thereupon, sinking his head, the man looked round upon his fellows, but got no sort of encouragement from them; for they held silent, looking this way and that. So he thought it convenient to hold his peace.
I was rowed with the crazy man to the ship. He was laid bound in the forecastle. Surgeon Burke took charge of me; and, having looked at my hurt ankle, he told me I must lay up for at least a fortnight.