water, icy cold, trickling upon me from some spring opened in the wall by the earthquake, presently brought me to myself. i lay for a moment listening. i could hear nothing at first, but in a little while a deep groan and then a faint whispered prayer came to me. i strove desperately to collect my senses and finally i realized where i was—the cave, the battle, the earthquake, the savages, pimball, and the woman!
“mistress lucy!” i cried.
“oh, thank god,” her voice came through the darkness hysterically, “i thought you were killed.”
“no,” i answered, slowly rising to my knee and stretching my members to see if i had control of them, which fortunately i soon discovered i had, “i was stunned by falling rock, but[309] otherwise i believe i am not much hurt. how is it with you?”
“i am well and unharmed.”
“now god be praised,” i exclaimed fervently.
“for christ’s sake, water!” interposed a trembling, hoarse, anguished voice.
“who speaks?” i asked.
“i, pimball, i’m pinned to the ground, my back is broke, i’m dyin’.”
“there should be a lantern here,” i said. “i placed it—let me think, where did i place it?”
“it was just to the left of the opening,” answered my little mistress.
i was turned around and giddy, but i managed to fix the direction of the entrance by pimball’s groans and by good fortune presently found the lantern. it would burn but a few hours, but we never needed a light as we did then, i decided. my flint and steel i carried ever in my pocket and to kindle a flickering flame was but the work of a moment. if i had not possessed it, i would have given years of my life for even that feeble light which threw a faint illumination about the place.
there, opposite me where i had stationed her,[310] by god’s providence protected by a niche in the cave from the rain of rocks which had beaten me down, stood my mistress, safe and unharmed. i stepped toward her and with a low cry of thankfulness she fell into my arms. i soothed her for a moment and then turned to the other occupant of the chamber. the entrance was completely blocked up, the wall had settled down. pimball’s legs were broken and his back as well. it was impossible to release him, what lay upon him weighed tons and tons.
“you murdering hound,” i cried, “you have brought this upon us,” but he would only plead piteously for water, disregarding my bitter reproaches.
i was for killing him outright with my cutlass, which i picked up, but she would not have it so. she got a half cocoanut shell, filled it with water, and brought it to him. she bathed his brow and gave him some to drink. it gave him temporary relief but his minutes were numbered. his life was going out by seconds.
“god!” he cried, as his eyes caught the gleam of the gold and silver bars, “the treasure!” he stretched out his hand toward it, and then[311] stopped. “i’m undone,” he choked out with a fearful scream. “mistress!”
“yes?”
“forgive—”
indeed she forgave him, i make no doubt, but her forgiveness came too late, for his head dropped—he had been looking sideways—and his face buried itself in the wet sand.
“is he dead?” she asked, awe-struck.
i nodded. no closer inspection was needed to establish the truth of that fact.
“he died with a prayer for forgiveness.”
“and few men have ever had greater need for that forgiveness,” said i, drawing her away.
“and we too shall die,” she said shuddering. “we are buried here in the bowels of the earth, in this treasure lined prison.”
“well, we won’t die without a struggle,” i returned with more confidence than i felt.
“what mean you?”
“the earthquake which closed the mouth of the cave may have opened the other end.”
“it is possible,” she answered, “but not very likely.”
“and besides, you remember the running[312] stream on the other side of the cave, which we did not follow?”
“yes.”
“it must run somewhere.”
“well?”
“where water runs men and women may find a way.”
“at least it will do us no harm to try.”
“come then,” said i, extending my hand to her and holding the lantern before me for pitfalls.
we went down the cave. to find the water was easy. sure enough, it led away through a narrow rift, in what direction we could not tell, although its tendency was downward and i knew that it must come out upon the beach somewhere. it had not seemed to me, as i had examined it before the earthquake, that the rift was more than large enough to carry the water, but it might have been opened wider by the shock, and so we followed it. although sometimes the walls closed over the watercourse, making low and narrow tunnels, we managed to force our way through them. i went in the advance, for i knew that what my body could pass would present[313] no difficulty for her. we wandered in and out among the coral until it seemed to me that we had gone miles, although in reality it might have been but a few hundred yards.
at last we came to a place too low and too narrow for me, although i might have perhaps thrust her through.
“you see,” she said, “this is the end.”
“no, not yet,” i answered, resolved never to give over the attempt while i could move hand or foot or draw a breath.
i still had the axe with me and the sword which i had thrust into my belt. the rock seemed soft and pliable. lying down upon my back and covering my eyes with one hand, i struck at it overhead with the axe, which i grasped near the head, thus gradually enlarging the passage. the water flowing beneath me was deathly cold, the candle in the lantern was burning lower and lower, but i hung on. never did i work so hard, so rapidly, so recklessly in my life as then. at last i loosened a huge piece of the rock which fell suddenly upon me. had i not seen it coming and dropped the axe and stayed its progress[314] with both upraised hands, it might have crushed me. as it was, it fell fairly upon my breast. i could not throw it aside, the way was too narrow. i held it off with my hands and forced my way through the opening, now barely enough to admit my passing, although what i should meet with or where i should bring up on the other side, i knew not. i had no idea how large the fallen rock was, for all its weight, but my mistress has told me that it was a monster stone, and that none but a giant could have carried it. i thrust hard and harder with my feet and presently my way was clear and i shoved myself through the opening. with one great final effort i rolled the rock aside and then lay on my back on the sand, breathless, exhausted.
she dragged herself through the passage i had thus made and over my body, and then knelt by my side, kissed me, murmuring words i did not dare to listen to lest i should go mad with joy. and indeed, i was so exhausted that i could scarcely credit that i had heard anything real. presently, however, i staggered to my feet again. she had forgot the precious lantern, but i went back after it.
[315]we were now in a more spacious cave; the stream fed by other brooks had become larger; the descent was much more rapid. the cliff wall was, i believe, narrower at the cave than anywhere else in the island. it was perhaps not more than half a mile wide. we stumbled rapidly down the long vaulted passage to the outer wall. as we approached it, i half feared that the rock might be solid and that the brook might plunge beneath it, but fortune did not do its worst for us yet. there was a rift in the wall around which the brook ran into a sort of tunnel or passageway, tall enough for me to stand upright and broad enough to enable us to walk side by side. a long distance away appeared to me a spot of dimness. recklessly we clasped hands and ran.
alas, when we reached the light, we found that the entrance was closed by a huge stone. it did not exactly fit the opening and light filtered around it. i stood panting, staring at it.
“are we to be ended now,” i cried, “after having come thus far? stand clear, madam,” i shouted, not giving her time to answer.
then with all my strength i swung the axe[316] and struck the rock fair and square and by good fortune upon some fissure, for it shivered and a crack started. once again, this time with even more tremendous force, i swung and struck. the axe sank into the stone, the helve shivered in my hand. it was a right good blow, if i do say it myself, for the rock was now fairly split in two, the pieces falling to the right and left. still, the two halves yet lay within the entrance, blocking it. we had not achieved a clear passage.
i was mad now, as mad as i had been in the outer cave fighting for her, or when i had cut the duke of arcester. the blood rushed to my face, a mist to my eyes. i stooped down and with my naked hands i seized one piece of that rock and with such strength as hercules or samson might have used, i drew it back, lifted it up and hurled it aside. the second piece followed in the same way. my mistress stood staring at me in awe mingled with terror. the way was opened and we stepped out upon the sand.
never before or since did sunshine seem so sweet. my muddy clothes were torn to rags,[317] blood was clotted in my hair and on my forehead, my face was black with sweat and dust, there were wounds upon my legs and arms. i was a gory and horrible spectacle. mistress lucy had suffered no wounds, but her clothes were rent and torn. her face, too, was grimy, but beneath the dust and earth stain it showed as white as the cap of a wave.
“thanks be to god,” she said at last, “and you, we have won through.”
i thought she would have fainted. i caught her by the arm, set her down upon the sand and sprinkled the water from the brook in her face until presently she revived.
“we are not safe yet,” i urged. “there were hundreds of savages upon the island; they may not all have been at the cave. we must go warily, we cannot rest now.”
“i am ready,” she answered with great spirit, getting to her feet and stretching out her hand. “if you will help me i can go anywhere.”
i still had my sword. i drew it out and led on, keeping well under the shelter of the cliffs. we walked up the sand toward the giant stairs. there we saw men, islanders, on the top of the[318] wall, but my first glance told me that we had nothing to fear from them, for the stairs were gone. they were but a scattered heap of stones. the false gods were down, too. i wondered what had come to those at the main altar in the center of the island. the earthquake had crumbled the work of the builders of bygone years, and as the stairs had fallen away they had left the cliff sheer and bare for a hundred feet or more. those above could not come at us, nor could we approach them, for which indeed we had no mind.
“it is an act of god,” said i, “that has broken down the stairs.”
“but there may be another way of descent,” she said after a moment. “oh, let us leave this dreadful island!”
i had no hope that the dinghy had been spared, but its place was not far away and we walked to it in silence. it was gone. a tidal wave had followed the earthquake. the canoes in which the islanders had come had been dashed to pieces and their few keepers killed. the survivors were prisoners on the island unless their friends came to their help, and even then, until they[319] could devise some way of getting down the cliff. and we, too, were prisoners. some of our gear, the compass, some provisions which i had stored in the crannies of the rock were still there, but they were useless to us. something else had happened. the earthquake had broken the barrier reef. before us was a practicable passage to the sea.
if we only had a boat! i turned to the canoes hopeful of finding one seaworthy, and as i did so my mistress lucy caught me by the arm.
“look,” she cried, pointing down the lagoon.
i turned and there, bottom upward, floated the dinghy. the sight of her was like a draught of wine. i turned and ran down the sand, followed by my lady. when opposite the boat i kicked off my shoes, i had on little else but shirt and trousers, jumped into the lagoon, swam to the dinghy and towed her ashore.
