His own lantern cast its light only through one unshuttered side, and the Captain had no hesitation in following him, since the beam of light was thrown ahead, and could not cast his own figure into relief. He trod heavily, allowing his nailed brogues to scrape and clatter on the slippery rock beneath them; and as he went he rapidly considered what had most probably been planned for him. From Stornaway’s urgent desire to lead him away from the large chamber, it seemed certain that his murder was not to take place there, but either in the passage beyond it, or where this curved abruptly, and widened into the broader and loftier passage through which the stream ran. Then, quite coolly, he rejected this theory. Stornaway had just taken care to warn his friend that their prospective victim was not carrying a lantern; and Coate would certainly realize that he must depend for his aim on the light Stornaway would cast on to the Captain from his own lantern. But the man who held the lantern would naturally be the leader, and little though Coate might relish having Stornaway as an accomplice he would certainly take care to keep him alive while he was so necessary to the final success of his schemes. He would risk no shot in the confined space of the corridor, John decided, for the slightest deviation of his aim might mean the death of the wrong man. A moment’s reflection convinced him that the river-passage would be almost as hazardous a place to choose, for although it was very much broader, the stream, running along one side under the slimy rock-face, took up quite half its width, so that only an uncomfortably small space could lie between two men standing beside it. Had he himself been carrying a lantern, no doubt Stornaway, at a prearranged signal, could have cast himself on the ground; but since Stornaway must hold his lantern with its beam fixed steadily upon him this would be an impossible manoeuvre. No one, thought John, would be quicker to realize this, and to provide against such a contingency, than the efficient Mr. Coate. Moreover, he doubted very much whether that cool gentleman would, whatever the circumstances, place the slightest reliance on Stornaway’s ability to keep his head if he thought himself in the smallest danger of being shot.
I wouldn’t myself, thought John, as he entered the narrow passage in Stornaway’s wake. So why didn’t he darken his lantern, and come down the slope to the main chamber while we were still in it, and he had the light of Stornaway’s lantern to guide him?
Then he recalled the rubble and the stones which lay scattered at the foot of the natural stair: Coate must have been afraid of betraying his presence by stumbling over a boulder in the darkness, or kicking some loose stone down the slope, and Coate did not know that his victim carried no pistols.
Very wise! thought the Captain approvingly. If he risked a shot at that range, and missed me, I might, if I were armed, put a bullet into him before he could fire his second pistol. In his shoes, I wouldn’t fire the second pistol, except pointblank. In fact, I should do precisely what I fancy he has planned to do: enter the big chamber when I am safely out of earshot and eyeshot, take up a strategic position near the entrance to this passage, and wait for Stornaway to lead me back to the chamber. Not immediately in front of it, for Stornaway’s lantern must then reveal him to me, but to the side, out of sight of anyone approaching down the passage. Once clear of the passage, Stornaway will turn, as though to speak to me, I shall step—into the main chamber, with the light shining full in my face, and Coate will have the easiest shot of his life, and will put a bullet through my temple.
By the time the Captain had reached this cheerful conclusion he and Stornaway had emerged into the river passage. He halted, exclaiming in well-simulated surprise that he had not known a stream ran through the cavern. But while he marvelled at it, and even bent down to test the temperature of the water, his thoughts raced on.
No rubble in the passage: the rock is slippery, but firm; very little in the main chamber. If I don’t make haste, I shall have Stogumber here before I want him.
“For God’s sake, never mind the stream!” exclaimed Stornaway, in fretting impatience. “Look there!”
“Well?” said the Captain, following the beam of the torch to the heap of debris at the end of the passage.
“That is where Brean lies buried! You’ll find him soon enough!”
“Not I!” said the Captain, with a strong shudder. “If that’s where he is, you’ve dragged those stones off him once, and you may do it again! Give me the lantern! I’ll hold it for you.”