under the circumstances, therefore, and without a thought that my action might be considered a possible violation of confidence, i looked at the parchment i held in my hand. it was evidently the half of a larger sheet which had been torn in two. the right half was in my possession. a glance showed me that it was a part of a rudely-drawn map, apparently of an island, although, lacking the other half, of that i could not be quite certain. being a seafaring man, i was familiar with maps and charts of all sorts but i must admit that i had never seen a map that looked exactly like that one. it was lettered in characters which were very old and quaint, and some figures in the upper right-hand corner appeared to indicate a longitude. the outlines of the map and the letters and figures were all very dim and faded and a longer and[49] closer inspection than i could give it then would be needed to show just what they were.
my lady’s letter was a short one, for she looked up from it presently, her eyes filled with tears, the first i had seen there, and for that reason i was glad she could enjoy this relief. i suppose the fact that she was so alone and had no one else induced her to confide in me. at any rate, she extended the paper to me.
“read it,” she said. “’tis my father’s last word to me.”
i took it from her and this is what i read:—
my dear lucy:
as an ancient king of france once said, everything is lost but honor, and that trembles in the balance. i have speculated, gambled, tempted fortune; first because i loved it and at last hoping to win for you. but everything has gone wrong. you are penniless, even your mother’s fortune, of which she foolishly made me trustee, has followed my own. master ficklin may save something from the wreck. i hope so. i can do no more and perhaps, nay certainly, the best thing i can do for you is to leave you. may god help you since i cannot.
your shamed and unhappy father,
geoffrey wilberforce.
post scriptum: the last thing that i possess is this[50] scrap of parchment. it has been handed down from father to son for five generations. the tradition of it is lost, but there has always been attached to it a singular value. perhaps some day the missing part may turn up. there used to be a little image with it, but that has disappeared, too. at any rate, of all that i once had, this alone is left. should you marry and have children pass it to them, a foolish request, but i am moved to make it as my father made it to me.
g. w.
i read it slowly. it was not a brave man’s letter. i liked sir geoffrey less then than ever before. some of the ancient awe and reverence i felt for the family went out of my heart then. well, the man was dead, and there was no use dwelling on that any longer. i handed the letter back to mistress lucy without comment. as she took it i extended the parchment in the other hand.
“here,” said i, “is the enclosure to which your father refers. it seems to be a chart or map but in its torn condition it is of but little use.”
she took it listlessly, but as her glance fell upon it her face brightened.
“why!” she exclaimed, brushing aside her[51] tears, “i, myself, have the other half and also the image.”
i stared at her stupidly, not in the least taking in her meaning and she evidently resented my dullness.
“i have the other half of the parchment, the missing portion of the map, and the little idol, i tell you,” she urged.
“you don’t mean to say—” i began in amazement.
“yes,” she interrupted, “they came to me from my mother. when she died five years ago she gave them to me with much the same account as my father writes. i have never shown them to anyone, never mentioned the circumstances, even.”
“why not?” i asked.
“i scarcely know. the torn map was valueless. i attached no special importance to the hideous little image. but now, now—”
“it is a miracle,” i said, “that the two pieces should have come together in your hands.”
“i don’t yet understand what it all means,” she said, “but—”
“meanwhile,” said i, “may i respectfully[52] suggest that you get the other piece and the idol or image and let me look at them? i know something about such matters.”
“you!” she flashed out in one of those sudden changes of mood, sometimes so delightful and sometimes the reverse.
“i am a seafaring man, as you know, mistress,” said i humbly, “and i have seen many strange gods in different parts of the world. also i am accustomed to study maps and charts. perhaps this may contain information vital to your fortunes which i can decipher more easily than another.”
she nodded and went rapidly out of the room. in a few moments she came back with another piece of parchment and a little stone figure, which i glanced at and laid aside for the moment, fixing my attention on the parchments. i placed them side by side and the torn and jagged edges fitted into each other perfectly. i had laid them on a table and bent over them in great excitement, excitement on my part caused by her proximity rather than by the faded, yellow sheepskin.
“it is an island!” she exclaimed.
[53]“yes,” said i.
“where is it?” she asked.
i pointed with my huge index finger to the figures in the upper left-hand corner and the upper right-hand corner marked respectively latitude and longitude.
“that will tell us exactly.”
“and you can find it?”
“if it be there, where the figures say it is, i can, as easily as i can find the park gate yonder.”
she looked at me with a certain amount of awe. evidently the nice possibilities of the art of navigation had not been brought to her attention. i went up several degrees in her respect it seemed because i knew something she did not. well, she was to find out that i knew many things that she did not—but i must not boast.
“why, that is wonderful!” she exclaimed.
“not at all. it is done by seamen every day.”
“have you ever been there?”
“no,” said i, “i have crossed the south seas several times but i have never chanced upon that[54] island or in fact sailed anywhere near that latitude or longitude.”
“but you know where it is?”
“exactly, and if i had my great chart of the south seas here, i could put my finger upon it and show it to you.”
“what,” she asked, pointing with her own dainty finger in her turn, “is that ring around the island?”
“that will be a coral reef, i take it. they usually are broken at some point so that ships can sail within, but here is a complete circle enclosing the island. there seems to be no entrance anywhere. ’tis unusual and most strange.”
“perhaps the man that drew the map made a mistake.”
“i think not. the map has been made by a seafaring man, that is plain.”
“i see, and the island itself is a circle,” she said, bending to inspect it more closely.
“yes,” said i, “and it is like no island that i have ever seen, for here be two great rings like a gigantic wall and a hill or something of the sort in the middle.” i bent lower over it in[55] my turn. my eyes are unusually keen and i saw words written on the outside of the island proper and between it and the coral reef. “see,” said i, “the words ‘ye stairs’!”
“stairs!” exclaimed the girl in amazement, “did you ever see stairs on such an island?”
“no, i have not. but these may only be some natural means of ascent.”
“it is most strange and meaningless,” she said.
“not so, my lady,” i said, “these torn halves of the map have not been preserved through generations and handed down from father to son, or daughter, so carefully unless there be some meaning attached to them. what do you know about it? forgive the presumption of my inquiry, but in this matter perhaps i can be of more service to you than i could be in anything else.”
“you have been a faithful, devoted servitor, master hampdon,” she said, “and i have no hesitation in telling you all i know. my mother and father were distantly related, that is they were descendants in the fifth generation from two brothers.”
“exactly,” said i, “your father’s note says this[56] piece of parchment has been in possession of his family for five generations and evidently the other was in the possession of your mother’s people for the same time.”
“why, that must be so,” said the girl amazed, “indeed, i think you are very acute to have reasoned it out.”
“i have but anticipated your own reflections, i am sure,” said i. “who was the father of these two brothers?”
she thought a moment.
“sir philip wilberforce was his name. he was—”
“a sailor!” i exclaimed on a venture.
“you have guessed rightly; he voyaged in distant seas in queen elizabeth’s time. it is reported that he was one of the first who went around the world after sir francis drake showed all englishmen the way.”
“exactly,” i cried, “we are on the right track now. what further?”
“it is in my mind,” she said, “that geoffrey and oliver, his sons, quarreled over his property after his death, and—”
“there you have it. they divided his fortune[57] and tore the parchment apart, it being thought valuable for some reason, and each kept half,” i returned confidently.
“that is the tradition as regards the fortune, and it may account for the parchment,” she admitted in admiration of my conclusion, though indeed it was an easy one to draw.
“what next, madam?”
“the families drifted apart and gradually died out until sir geoffrey and my mother were alone left of their respective lines, and without knowing the relationship at the time they met and married, and i—” she faltered and put her hand over her face—“am the only one left of the family, of either branch.”
“now here,” said i devoutly, for i fully believed what i said, “are the workings of divine providence. the parchment came from old sir philip, it was torn apart by his sons, and the pieces came not together until in you the ancient lines were united.”
“yes, but what does it mean?” she asked turning to the table again.
as she did so the sleeves of her dress caught the parchment and separated the two pieces.[58] one of them fell to the floor face downward. i picked it up.
“why, there is writing on it!” i exclaimed.
“so there is. i had forgotten that. it was unintelligible to me and, in fact, i put it in my jewel case and forgot about it.”
“and the image?”
“it was so hideous and so repellent i thrust it into a drawer of my cabinet and forgot it too.”
“let’s put the two pieces together and take them to the light and see if we cannot decipher it,” said i. “mistress wilberforce,” i continued, “i have a sailor’s premonition that we are on the track of something that may greatly better your fortunes.”
there was no table near the window but i spread the two pieces of parchment on my two broad hands, from which you can get an idea of how large they were. the writing was dim and faded with age. it seemed to have been done with some sharp pointed instrument which cut into the sheepskin, and where the ink which had been used had faded, the scratches still remained. this that follows is what i made out.[59] i have reproduced exactly the old spelling and capitalization, and for your further illumination i have copied as best i could the map, or chart, upon the other side, so you can easily comprehend the story of our adventures upon it as i am now endeavoring to relate them. of course my memory may be at fault in some particulars, but if so they are unimportant. as for the image, i can never forget its grinning, malign, evil hideousness, no, not to my dying day.
in ye yeare of oure lorde 1595, i, philip wilberforce, bt., of ye countie of devon, being ye captaine of ye good shippe scourge of malice, didde take ye grate spanish galleon nuestra senora de la concepcion after a bloudie encountre, wherein mine own shippe was sunke. ye lading of ye galleon was worthe muche monaie, milliones of pounds esterling, i take yt. withe manie jewelles and stones of price, pieces of eight and bullione, together with silkes and spicerie. being blowne to ye southe and weste manie days in a grate tempeste, ye galleon was caste awaye on ye islande of ye staires. wee landed ye tresor and hidde yt in ye walle. alle my menne being in ye ende dead ye natives came over ye seas from ye other islandes in their grate cannos and tooke me, being like a madde manne. godde mercifullie preserving my life, i escaped frome themm and at last am comme safe intoe mine own sweet lande of englande once[60] more. toe finde ye mouthe of ye tresor cave, take a bearing alonge ye southe of ye three goddes on ye altar of skulles on ye middel hille of ye islande. where ye line strykes ye bigge knicke in ye walle withe ye talle palmme tree bee three hoales. climbe ye stones. enter ye centre one. yt. is there. lette him that wille seek and finde. here bee two of ye littel goddes i picked uppe and fetched awaye. ye others are lyke onlie muche larger.i spelt out the letters slowly, deciphering the quaint, faint writing with difficulty. mistress lucy drew near to me, bending over the parchment closely, following my efforts, indeed anticipating them with her quicker eye. her[61] presence was a distraction to me, yet i was so glad to have her near me that i wished the parchment letter as long as this story i am writing bids fair to be. well, we finished it at last.
then i turned to the table in the center of the room where i had left the image. i stooped over it, picked it up and brought it to the light. it was a head, with the neck and the top of the shoulders showing, mounted on a pedestal roughly cut in imitation masonry. it was made of some hard pinkish stone like granite. there was no skill or nicety in its carving; it was rough and rude, inexpressibly so, and the marks of the chisel, or whatever the tool with which it had been carved, were quite apparent here and there; and yet years of exposure to wind and weather had smoothed it off in part. the evil face was long and the dog teeth fell over the protruding lip in a peculiarly brutal and ferocious way. there was sort of a crown on the head, the eyes were sightless, and the whole expression was revolting and beastly.
what kind of people made and what kind of people worshiped such a god i wondered. i was not surprised that my little mistress had[62] hid it away, nor that the one that came down through sir geoffrey’s line had been lost. if i had possessed it, i would have destroyed it long since. it fairly radiated evil, and the contrast between my lady’s face, all sweetness, purity, and light and this hideous image was the more marked. she has since confessed that she drew the same contrast between it and what she was pleased to call my brave and honest countenance! but of that more anon. we stared from the image to the parchment and then looked wonderingly at each other.
there was much in the letter, of course, that we could not possibly understand. we could only comprehend it fully if we were lucky enough to stand beneath “ye stone goddes,” of which i held a sample in my hand, on the island itself. still the general purport was sufficiently clear. sir philip wilberforce had evidently concealed a very considerable treasure there. if we could find it our fortunes would be made, or hers rather, for i swear i never thought of myself at all.
“think you,” my little mistress began at last, her pale face flushing for the first time, her[63] bosom heaving quickly, “that the treasure may still be there watched over by those awful gods?”
she glanced at the image i still held in my hand as she spoke.
“who can tell?” i answered. “i am probably as familiar with the south seas and their islands as any sailor; which is not saying a very great deal, for there are thousands of islands in those unknown seas which have never been visited by man, by white men, that is, or by any race which preserves records. i have never heard even a rumor of the island of the stairs, yet it would seem to be sufficiently different from all other islands to have been published abroad if it had been discovered. its latitude and longitude place it in unfrequented seas among others peopled by races of savage cannibals. i think it not at all unlikely that it may have remained unvisited by any who would appreciate the value of the treasure since sir philip’s day.”
“but would such treasure last so long?”
“stored in a cave, gold and silver and jewels would last forever. everything else would have rotted away probably.”
[64]“it says to the value of millions of pounds, you notice,” she repeated thoughtfully, pointing to the parchment again.
“aye,” i answered, “there is nothing unusual or unbelievable in that; the cargoes of those old spanish galleons ran up into the millions often, i have read.”
“how could we get there?” she asked.
“if you had a ship,” said i, “well commanded and found and manned you could reach the spot without difficulty.”
“how much would it cost?”
well, i quickly and roughly estimated in my mind the necessary outlay. such a vessel as she would require might be bought for perhaps twenty-five hundred or three thousand pounds; provisioning, outfitting, together with the pay of the officers and the crew, would require perhaps from fifteen hundred to two thousand five hundred pounds more, or a total of between five and six thousand pounds. and she had but two!
i was about to tell her the prohibitive truth when the solution of the problem suddenly came to me. in one way or another i had been a[65] fortunate voyager and i had saved up or earned by trading and one or two adventures in which i had taken part, something over four thousand pounds, which was safely lodged to my credit in a london bank. her fortune was two thousand pounds. alone she could do nothing, together we could accomplish it. i had no right to put the suggestion in her mind, but i did it.
“i should think,” i said slowly, “that two thousand pounds would be ample to cover everything.”
“ah,” she said triumphantly, “exactly the sum that master ficklin said was left of my mother’s fortune.”
“yes,” said i, and then i added in duty bound, “but you surely would not be so foolish, mistress wilberforce, as to risk your all in this wild goose chase?”
“if you were in my position, master hampdon, what would you do?” she asked pointedly.
“i am a man,” i answered, “accustomed to shift for myself. i might take a risk which i would not advise you to essay.”
“i must shift for myself, too,” she said, her eyes sparkling. the goddess fortune which[66] had ruined her father was evidently jogging her elbow. “indeed, i shall take the chance,” she persisted. “i am resolved upon it.”
“but you could easily live on two thousand pounds for a long while,” i urged, against my wish, for i was keen to go treasure hunting with her for a shipmate.
“not such life as i crave. if i cannot have enough for my desires i would be no worse off had i nothing.”
“but it is a long chance,” i persisted, “upon which to risk your all.”
“master hampdon,” she said solemnly, “the fact of the separation of those two pieces of parchment for a century and a half, and the fact that they come together in me, one half received from each of the dead who in neither case knew of the existence of the other half, the fact that i am sir philip wilberforce’s last descendant through both the original heirs—see you not something providential in all this?”
“a strange coincidence,” i admitted.
“more than that,” she protested.
well, i was arguing against my wishes and from a sense of duty, so i at last gave way.[67] after all, the treasure might be there. if so, it was hers and it would be a shame not to get it. the pulse of adventure leaped in my veins.
“so be it,” i said.
“will you help me to make my arrangements, you are accustomed to the sea, and—”
“i will do more than that,” said i, “with your gracious permission i will go with you.”
“to the island?”
“to the end of the world,” i replied, whereat she stared at me a moment, then looked away.
she extended her hand to me and i tried to kiss it like a gentleman. i made, no doubt, a blundering effort, but at least it was that of an honest man.
“i must go and get ready to go to master ficklin’s in the town,” she said softly. “you know the house.”
i nodded.
“come to me there tomorrow and we will talk further about the project.”
“can i be of any other service?”
“not now,” she answered, “you have been of great service already. i shall not forget it.”
[68]and so i turned and walked out of the hall, leaving her standing there for the last time, at least so we thought, the last little descendant of a brave race. but you never can tell what the future will bring forth. i little dreamed that she and i were to stand there again some day under quite different circumstances. it is a good thing for me that i did not dream that dream then. it would have turned my head if i had.
