As I stepped out of the light boat into the loaded one, and directed my crew to follow, one of the men—an Irishman, named O’Connor—touched his forehead in the approved shell-back style, and observed—
“Av ye plaise, sor, Misther Forbes was sayin’ would ye be so kind as to sthep along to the houle afore ye makes your next thrip to the ship? He’s afther wantin’ to shpake to ye.”
“Oh, very good,” said I; and, stepping ashore, I directed Joe to go across to the other side of the basin to fetch the ladies and children, who had crossed earlier in the afternoon, and now stood waiting to be conveyed back to the ship, and then went groping my way along the dark, uneven path toward the hole. The man O’Connor and somebody else—who it was I could not distinguish in the gloom—were stumbling along in front of me, and making very poor headway, I thought, for I quickly overtook them. They were in my way, working along as they were, two abreast, for the path was very narrow; so I said to them—“Here, let me pass, you two; I am in a hurry!” They stepped aside without a word, one to one side of the pathway and one to the other; and as I passed between them one of them cried, “Now!” and, before I could even so much as think, they both flung themselves upon me and bore me to the ground, one of them springing upon me from behind, with his arms round my neck and his knee into the small of my back, while the other dashed himself upon his knees on my chest, and gripped me by the throat by one hand, as he pressed the cold muzzle of a revolver to my temple with the other.
“A single worrud or a movement, and I’ll pull the thrigger on ye, as sure as death!” ejaculated O’Connor, between his set teeth, as he tightened his grip upon my throat. “Now, Bill, feel ov his pockets and take his barkers away, av he has anny, while I hould him. Now, listen to what I’m tellin’ ye. The others—that’s Misther Forbes and the gintleman—is already tuk, so ye needn’t be expectin’ any help from thim; and as we’ve got such a hape of goold and silver out ov this houle, we’re goin’ to be contint wid it, and intind to take the thriflin’ liberty of borryin’ the ship to carry it away wid us; you can have the rest yourselves, and much good may it do ye. Ah, that’s right, Bill,” as the latter extracted a brace of loaded revolvers from my jacket pocket; “just feel, while ye’re about it, av he has a knife, and take that from him, too. Now, are ye sure that’s all?” as the other man—who now proved to be Rogers—took my knife away also. “Very well. Now, captin dear, ye may get upon your feet; but—understand me—av ye attimpts to lay hands upon either ov us, the other’ll shoot ye through the head widout waitin’ to say, ‘By your lave.’ Arrah, now, it’s kilt he is, I do belave!” as the fellow rose from my prostrate body and saw that I made no movement—for all this time he had kept so tight a hold upon my throat that he fairly strangled me, and, though I still, in a dreamy way, heard him speaking, my strength had entirely left me, and I was scarcely conscious of my surroundings.
“I’ll fire a shot to let the others know that it’s all right, and then we’ll have to carry him as far as the boats,” remarked Rogers. “Perhaps a dip in the water may bring him round.”
Such extreme measures, however, proved unnecessary; for, my throat once released, my senses began to come back to me, and by the time that we had reached the shore of the islet I was once more able to stand.
Arrived here, I was compelled to enter the empty gig, and was carried across to the opposite shore of the creek, where the ladies still remained; my order to bring them across having been countermanded in a whisper by one of the men, the moment that I had turned my back. On reaching the other side I was ordered out of the boat, a loaded revolver being exhibited as a hint to me to hasten my movements; but, as I stumbled forward over the thwarts, Joe offered me the support of his arm, murmuring in my ear, as I stepped out on the sand—
“Cheer up, cap’n! This here’s a most unexpected move, and no mistake; but the ship ain’t gone yet; and, from what I heard passin’ among the others, just now, afore you come up, I ain’t by no means sure as they’ll leave to-night. Some of ’em is that greedy that they wants to stop and have a shy at the other treasure; and if they does, there’s no knowin’ what may happen betwixt now and then. And if they makes up their minds to go, I don’t go with ’em. I’ll slip overboard, and swim ashore, if there’s no other way of joinin’ you.”
I had only time to murmur a word of thanks for this expression of sympathy, when he left me and returned to the boat, which immediately shoved off for the islet.
The ladies—who, with the nursemaids and children, still stood waiting to be conveyed to the ship—saw, by the actions of the men, that there was something amiss, and now approached me, inquiring anxiously what was the matter. Of course, I had no alternative but to explain to them that the men had risen in mutiny, and had seized the ship; and, although I made as light of it as I could, it was a sorry tale at best that I had to tell them. I was still in the midst of my story when the phosphorescent flash of oars became visible in the black shadow of the islet, and presently the outline of the boat, telling dark upon the starlit surface of the still water, was seen approaching. As she drew near, the voice of Rogers came pealing across the water—