But with the morning there came a change. The storm, short and fierce, had blown itself out, and once more the tropical sun poured its scorching rays upon the gently heaving waters. Not only had the Neptune disappeared from view, but the gale had swept away the few remaining fragments of the pirate ship Black Arrow, so that another link with the adventurous past had been severed.
Seamen, from their constant exposure and peril, are ever ready to rise above their misfortunes, though these are not easily forgotten; and so it was with the crew of the Golden Hope. The dejected mien so observable on the preceding day gave place to a bustle of activity, for much had to be done ere we were ready to weigh anchor and set sail on our homeward voyage.
The brig had to be careened, so that as much as possible of the thick deposit of weeds and barnacles 'neath the waterline could be scraped off; while ashore great cauldrons of pitch bubbled over the fires, for much paying and caulking of seams had to be done ere the Golden Hope could be deemed sufficiently seaworthy for her long voyage.
While the work was in progress Captain Jeremy ordered a party of men to remove the false landmark, and to place in the former position of the clump of trees a tall pole, surmounted by a large triangle conspicuously painted black and white. Without this mark it would be well-nigh impossible to get our correct bearings, and the Golden Hope would doubtless share the fate of the ill-starred Neptune unless we took the narrow channel by which the Antelope had arrived. But this course would be impracticable with the winds prevailing at this time of the year, hence the importance of the newly erected pole.
At length the scraping and pitching of the brig's hull was completed, and the Golden Hope rode once more on an even keel. The work of transporting the treasure from the stockade was now carried out in earnest, and without mishap the whole of the precious stuff was safely stowed in the Golden Hope's strong room, under the poop deck.
This done, it was thought prudent to dismantle and evacuate the stockade.
The ordnance was removed and taken aboard the brig; the powder, of which we had a considerable reserve, was carefully stowed in her magazines. Silas Touchstone had proposed to destroy the stockade and the buildings within it by fire, but to this proposal Captain Jeremy refused to give his consent, observing that they might be useful to any castaways who might have the misfortune to land on the island.
The small craft that had been taken from the buccaneers after their rout by Silas Touchstone were beached as far as possible in the most secluded part of the harbour. Though the wind and the sun would ere long reduce them to mere wrecks, Captain Jeremy, in his humanity, thought they might also be of service to others.
Then, having watered the ship, filling all the available barricoes in addition to the tanks, for we knew not whether to make straight for home or to put into Port Royal, we prepared to spend our last night in the harbour of Treasure Island. Accordingly, having, as we thought, finally severed our connection with the shore, we hoisted in our boats, preparatory to making a start at dawn.
About an hour after sunset I was pacing the deck, when I heard a hail from shore: "Golden Hope, ahoy!"