The island of the stairs

by Cyrus Townsend Brady

I might have bargained for a share of the treasure did we find any, but I scorned to do it. I would fain give all and expect nothing. There was a certain salve to my pride in becoming a benefactor to the woman I—But I must not anticipate in my story, trouble came soon enough, as you shall see.

At any rate, not being in too great a hurry, although I was constantly urged to action by my lady, who could scarce possess her soul in patience before she began her treasure hunting once she was resolved upon it, I looked about a good deal in order to get just what I wanted. Finally from a merchant of Plymouth I purchased a stout little ship of three hundred and fifty tons burden called The Rose of Devon, which had been engaged in the West Indian and the American colonial trade. The name caught my fancy, too, for was not my Little Mistress the Rose of Devon herself? You that read may laugh at me for my posying thought if you will; I care not, for it is true.

It was my first design to have gone as master of her myself and my lady would fain have had it so, but after reflection I decided it were better to have a much older man than I to command so long as she went as passenger, so I engaged a worthy seaman, one Samuel Matthews, old enough to be my father, with whom I had often sailed, in fact the man under whom I made my first cruise. I did engage myself as mate, however, and I even tried to induce Master Ficklin and his sister to go with us, whereat that worthy couple held up their hands in horror, preferring the one his musty parchments and suits at law, and the other her well ordered house and spacious garden. I was not sorry for their decision. I wanted to be alone on that ship with Mistress Wilberforce, with what vague idea or aspiration I dared not admit even to myself.

It seemed proper, in venturing among islands filled according to common report with savage peoples, to make ready for fighting; therefore, after consulting with Captain Matthews, whom I fully acquainted with the entire project in all its details, I shipped a crew of thirty men and I provided in the equipment plenty of muskets, pistols, and cutlasses with the necessary powder and ball and, in addition, a small brass cannon which I mounted on the forecastle. Nor did our cargo lack means for friendly trading and barter among the natives should such be found practicable.

Naturally, the unusualness of these preparations attracted some little attention and although Captain Matthews and I kept the destination of the ship and the purpose of the cruise strictly private, we were overwhelmed with applications from adventurous men who desired to make the voyage, surmising that it was after treasure of some sort and that it would be vastly different from the monotony of an ordinary merchant trading cruise. Clearance papers were got out for the South Seas, which added the touch of romance that those waters always have, for an appeal.

Being so engaged with these larger matters, perforce I left the work of signing on a crew to Captain Matthews. He had as boatswain a veteran seaman named Pimball in whom he placed great confidence. He was a villainous looking man with a white scar running from his left eye across his cheek, caused by a cut he had received in some fight, and the line of white showing against the bronzed, weather-beaten cheek he sported, did not improve his appearance. But that he was a prime seaman was evident. Captain Matthews reposed much trust in him, somewhat to my surprise, for I was not prepossessed by his appearance, but the contrary. In answer to my objections he pointed out that many a man’s looks belied his character, and although Pimball was certainly ugly, he was undoubtedly able. He had cruised several voyages with Captain Matthews and had always shown himself both experienced and dependable, so I let it go and he and Pimball selected the rest of the crew. It had been better for us in the end if I had got rid of the man as I wished. Or would it? Well, it would certainly have been better for Master Pimball and his friends.

To anticipate, when we boarded the ship I liked the crew not much better than the boatswain. I will say this for them, however, that a smarter, quicker set of seamen never hauled on brace or lay out on yardarm. It was not their skill or strength or courage that I misliked, no man could fault that, but they were not the sort of men I would have sought for a ship of my own; and the presence of my lady and her maid, a worthy woman, a long time servant at the castle, who had elected to follow her fortunes, perhaps made me unduly timorous; yet I was not unusually or extremely apprehensive. I had a sublime confidence in my own ability to deal with any man or any group of men. I had no doubt that Captain Matthews and I would be able to master them and bend their wills to ours at the cost of a few hard words backed by a ready rope’s end or a well-used marlinspike or belaying pin.

I did not stint the outfitting of the ship, and when I finished, having left nothing out of her manifest that either mine own or Captain Matthew’s experience or imagination could suggest, including everything conceivable for the comfort of my lady, there remained of our joint funds enough to pay the wages of the officers and of the men out and back and no more. That is allowing a year for the round voyage. The lines of The Rose of Devon were unusually good; she had a reputation for being a speedy vessel, and that was more time than enough. It was my purpose to go on around the world with her rather than retrace our course about Cape Horn after we reached the island, if we ever reached it. So we staked everything we had on the future. If my lady had possessed the least knowledge of the value of ships, she would have seen how little way her two thousand pounds had gone, but she was as guileless as any other woman on that subject, and Master Ficklin was not much better. I lied to them both, although with a somewhat uneasy conscience. Yet it was for her sake. My family had followed hers for I know not how many centuries. They had spent themselves for hers. I was only keeping up the traditions in placing all that I had at her service.

But one thing which happened before we embarked occurs to me as worthy to be chronicled. When all was ready and everything aboard, I went back to Master Ficklin’s in Tavistock, which was an easy day’s journey from Plymouth Sound, where The Rose of Devon lay, to fetch my lady and her maid. Master Ficklin’s house was a somewhat large one for an attorney and was surrounded by a walled garden, perhaps two acres in extent, which ran from the back of the house to a little brook which bounded the village. There were a number of fine old trees in it and much shrubbery and it was a pleasant place in which Mistress Wilberforce and I had spent some, to me, very delightful hours in perfecting the plans for our great undertaking.

Master Ficklin was at his office, although it was yet early in the morning when I called, intending to fetch my lady to Plymouth by coach, a special coach which I had engaged for her particular use, by the way. His sister said that Mistress Wilberforce was in the garden and that she had company. She offered to show me to her presence, but I said I knew the way and could go myself. I did not like the word company over much. Her fine friends had more or less forgot her. One or two of the old families which had been associated with hers had offered her such hospitality and such comfort as they had, until she could decide otherwise; some of the women had called upon her, one or two men had sought her out, but she was a proud little woman, as you can divine, and would have none of them. She had dropped out of their lives and latterly no one had disturbed her, therefore I was perturbed at the tidings.