Leonard Lindsay ;

by Angus B. Reach

‘But though he spoke in this tone, I can tell you that Ned was but ill at ease himself. Well, this lasted three days, and all that time they were cruising about among the islands, looking for a place which would be snug to anchor in, and out of the way of Spanish ships. On the third day, when the ship was about a league from a small sandy isle or key, the men noticed that the sharks came closer to her than ever, as if they were getting more and more watchful of their prey. This made the pot boil over, and the boatswain and three-fourths of the crew went to the captain in a body, and said that Ned must leave the ship that hour, for that he was a doomed man, and that a doomed man made a doomed ship. There was land close to, they said. Mr. Purvis would get plenty of water and provisions, and he might soon get his passage off in another ship, but whether he did or not, he must go ashore now. Old Purvis tried to argue the thing, but the men would not hear his words, and in the middle of the hubbub, Ned comes forward, frankly, and says—

‘“Messmates, I have brought misfortune on the ship, and spoiled the voyage; I am willing to land.”

‘On hearing this, Captain Purvis wished to follow his nephew, but they would not let him because he was the only good navigator they would have, after Ned went away, in the ship. So, presently, the remaining boat was launched, and beef, and biscuit, and water, sufficient for two months at least, were put in her, with a musket, and ammunition, and a shovel, that Ned might have the means of digging for water. When the boat shoved off, the sharks followed, on which Ned, pointing to them, shouted to his uncle to be of good cheer, for they would meet again, and that the ship was now free of bad omens. The boat landed in a little cove, and Ned stepped on shore with his gun in his hand. The men placed his provisions and the shovel upon the beach, and shook hands with him; and as they rowed back to the ship, they gave him a cheer for his stout heart. Well, when they were gone, Ned began to look around him, and truly he was alone in a desolate place. Most of the island appeared to be sand, upon which, in some places, there were great banks of Bahama grass growing, and about a rood from him there was a little hill, with bushes in it, and one very old tree at the top. What rejoiced Ned, however, was to see plenty of turtles sleeping on the sand, and numerous birds. Well, he lived here nigh a fortnight, sleeping under a rock in a sort of cave, which was cool and pleasant, and looking out in vain for a ship. All this time the sharks kept cruising along the shore, and Ned used to amuse himself by flinging great stones on them from the top of rocks rising out of the sea. One day, however, having climbed the little hill, and sat down under the tree, he observed a curious thing. The tree, which must have been dead near a century, and which was all covered with moss, had several withered branches, to which cross pieces of wood had been rudely fastened, but in such a way that, unless you looked very closely, you would have thought that such was the natural growth of the tree. But at two hours, or thereby, after noon every day, these branches cast shadows as of six crosses, all in a circle on the sand. It was after Ned observed this that he climbed the tree, and found that the crosses were artificial. Then all at once it struck him that they were meant for marks, and then he thought that something might be buried there. Well, mates, off he goes for his shovel, and sets to work at once. It was hot work digging in that climate, but he very soon scraped the lid of a great chest made of ironwood, and bound with hasps and clasps of metal.

‘“By all the stars,” quoth Ned, “who knows but this is Foul-Weather Don’s treasure-chest.”

‘Mates, I believe it was. Ned soon wrenched the lid off, and there he saw great ingots and rough lumps of gold, and precious stones, just as they were dug up from the mines in Cuba and Hispaniola by the Indians for the Spaniards. There they had lain for a hundred years, and no man the wiser or the better.

‘“Aha,” says Ned, “I would fain have you in England, but what am I to do with you here?”

‘However, he made shift to carry the wealth, lump by lump, down to his cave near the sea; then he brought the box, and stowed the gold as before, covering all over with loose sand. The very next morning, mates, Ned, on awaking, saw a small bark—he did not know what she was—becalmed, not a mile from the shore, waiting for the sea-breeze. So he mounted a rock, fired his gun, waved a handkerchief, and shouted. Presently, a boat pulled off from the bark, and Ned went down to the cove to meet her. There were a couple of men in the boat, of what nation I know not, but the vessel to which they belonged was a turtler, from one of the large windward islands—Martinico, I believe. So Ned told them that he had been marooned for striking the quartermaster of the ship in which he sailed, and asked them if they would give him a passage to any port where he could ship for England. So the turtlers consulted together, and asked him if he had wherewithal to pay his passage. Upon which Ned, who cared nothing at all for money, took them into his cave, and showed them the treasure-chest. At the sight of it the turtlers stared, as well they might, and most readily agreed to take off Ned and his gold at once. The three set to work, and presently the boat was loaded almost to the water’s edge with riches. The turtlers went about like men in a dream, and they were only roused from a sort of stupid bewilderment when they had rowed the boat out of the cove and found her so heavy that they feared she should be swamped by the heave of the sea.

‘“Lord!” says one of them, “see there; if the boat were to fill and go down. Did you ever see more fearful monsters?”

‘And sure enough there were Ned’s old friends swimming on each side of the boat, as though they were appointed the guardians of the treasure. However, no accident happened, and as they neared the turtling ship, the sailors cried out that they were coming on board with treasure enough to buy a kingdom.

‘You may think for yourselves, mates, how the entire crew of the bark, which carried about half-a-dozen men, received their freight. Ned told the simple truth as to how he had got it, and the turtler, immediately that the sea-breeze came, stood away for Martinico, the two sharks following as usual. Gold, mates, is a thing that makes demons out of men. The big chest stood upon the deck, and the crew hung round it, and would hardly work the ship. Presently they began to handle and weigh the lumps, and dispute about their value. Ned saw that a storm was brewing, and fearing that he would be stabbed or flung overboard to the sharks astern, so as to be no bar to a distribution of the wealth, stood forward and said that they were as much entitled to the gold as he, for if he had found it, they had given him the means of turning it to use. Well, at this speech they professed great satisfaction, and swore that Ned was an honest man and a good comrade, and that as he said, so it would be done. But it was clear that they all distrusted each other. Ned saw them whispering and caballing, and once or twice he observed a man concealing a knife in his garment, so that the haft came handy to his grasp. All this time the sharks were following steadily in the wake, and Ned did not like the look of the weather, for great black clouds were gathering in the sky. Still the men were looking sourer and sourer at each other, and gradually drawing off into two parties, one on each side of the chest, the twain watching each other warily. Ned tried to remonstrate with them, and told them that they ought to take in sail, for the weather looked threatening. But they ordered him to mind his own business, and said, they had not taken him on board to be captain over them. So Ned sat on the weather-bulwark, looking very uneasily to windward. Mates, you have all seen a squall in these seas, and you know how it comes. The weather getting very thick, the men forming each group began to whisper, and then, all at once, as if they had made up their minds, they gave a loud shout, and made a rush at the box; as they did so, they drew knives and snicker-snees, and cut and chopped at each other, struggling and cursing over the chest. Ned saw the blood splash down on the gold, and he rushed forward to separate them, crying out, “Madmen that you are—look out for the squall first and fight afterwards.”