THE LUCK OF THE 
 "GOLD MOIDORE 
 
 93 
 
 DONALD MACLEAN
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 THE LUCK OF 
 THE "GOLD MOIDORE"
 
 THE LUCK OF THE 
 
 "GOLD MOIDORE" 
 
 Being the contents of the original Manuscript written 
 by Master Andrew Barton, sometime Merchant and 
 Shipowner, of Plymouth Town, England, which was 
 found in the old log hut on Curdie's River. In which 
 MS. Master Barton tells oj the wild voyages of the 
 " Gold Moidore " and the " White Ship " to the 
 Great South Land in search of treasure in the years 
 1627-1629, and of the astounding experiences by sea 
 and land of the men who sailed in them 
 
 BY 
 
 DONALD MACLEAN 
 
 AUTHOR OP 
 
 'THE MAN FROM CURDIE'S RIVER' 
 
 'JOHN SCARLETT' 
 
 ETC. 
 
 LONDON : H. R. ALLENSON, LIMITED 
 7 RACQUET COURT, 114 FLEET STREET, E.G.
 
 To My Father 
 JAMES EWAN MACLEAN 
 
 ONE OF THAT GREAT COMPANY OF 
 ADVENTURERS, WHO IN '5 1 LEFT THE CON- 
 VENTIONS OF THE OLD WORLD, AND FARING 
 FORTH IN THEIR LITTLE WOODEN SHIPS, 
 BRAVED THE STRESS AND STORMS OF THIRTEEN 
 THOUSAND MILES OF SEA, AND FOUNDED AN 
 EMPIRE FOR THEIR CHILDREN IN THE GREAT 
 NEW LAND OF THE SOUTH 
 
 Printed in Great Britain 
 by Turnbull <5r* Spears, Edinburgh
 
 f% 
 
 AUTHOR'S NOTE 
 
 This book was published serially in England in 1915 
 under the title "The Mahogany Ship." Owing to 
 the War, and the Author's absence, no effort was 
 made then to issue it in book form. But, upon the 
 Author's return at the close of the War, the MS. was 
 placed in the hands of his agents, Messrs Christy & 
 Moore, of the Outer Temple, and an agreement was 
 presently signed with Messrs H. R. Allenson, Ltd. 
 for its publication, under its original name, "The 
 Mahogany Ship." The book was in the press, and 
 the last sheets in process of correction, when, by a 
 coincidence so singular as to be almost unbelievable, 
 another book, bearing the same name and based 
 upon the same legend, made its appearance upon 
 the market. Under the circumstances but one 
 course was open, the old title must be surrendered 
 and a new one found. Hence " The Luck of the 
 ' Gold Moidorc' " 
 
 13 -3
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 chap. page 
 
 Prologue. How Jim Malcolm went Mooning into 
 
 the Forest, and what he found there . 9 
 
 1. How the Nut-faced Sailor came to Plymouth 
 
 Town ........ 16 
 
 2. The Nut-faced Sailor tells of the Great 
 
 Southland, and the Wreck of the "Gold 
 
 MOIDORE "...-... 23 
 
 3. Of the Rare Beauty and Peculiar Dreadfulness 
 
 of the Great South Land .... 30 
 
 4. Of the Journey to the Mountains of Desire, the 
 
 Incredible Find of Treasure, and the 
 Building of the " Donna Isobel " . . 35 
 
 5. How the "Donna Isobel" sailed for Spain, and 
 
 of what befell by the way ... 42 
 
 6. Tells of the Wild Voyage of the " White Ship " 
 
 to the Great South Land .... 48 
 
 7. How the " White Ship " stuck fast in the Swan 
 
 Lagoon ....... 59 
 
 8. How Andrew Barton first saw the Starry 
 
 Cross in the Sky ..... 67 
 
 9. Of the Discovery of Cary's River . . . 75 
 
 10. Serpents in Eden ...... 85 
 
 11. The First Night in the Forest ... 93 
 
 12. Of the Return to the Swan Lagoon and the 
 
 Shots heard in the Night .... 102 
 
 13. Mutiny ........ 108 
 
 14. How Mr Hopton and Cary scored the First 
 
 Point in the Game . . . . .115
 
 8 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 CHAP. PAGB 
 
 15. The Land of Promise 124 
 
 16. How the Boat's Crew fought the Wild Black Men 
 
 and went on to the mountains of desire 1 30 
 
 i 7. how they found cary's treasure and the second 
 
 Battle with the Black Men . . .137 
 
 18. How the Sight of the Treasure drove Men 
 
 Mad 146 
 
 19. How Andrew Barton fell into the Hands of the 
 
 Wild Black Men ...... 15 1 
 
 20. Of his Journeys with them and how at length 
 
 He Escaped ...... 159 
 
 21. How Andrew Barton wandered in the Haunted 
 
 Forest ....... 167 
 
 22. How Andrew Barton returned to the River and 
 
 WHAT HE FOUND THERE . . . . I78 
 
 23. How England turned Thief, and the Dreadful 
 
 Results that followed . . . .187 
 
 24. Of the Debauchery of the Pirates and the 
 
 Coming of the New Captain . . .197 
 
 25. How Cary's River closed its Mouth and opened 
 
 it, and how George and England fought for 
 Leadership ....... 205 
 
 26. How Red Tom left Andrew Barton behind, and 
 
 how the "Drake" put out to Sea . . 214 
 
 27. How Andrew Barton took Courage, and made 
 
 a Gruesome Find on the Beach . . . 220 
 
 28. The Cot in the Forest ..... 225 
 
 29. The Return of the Nut-faced Sailor . . 227 
 
 30. The Booming of the Guns .... 234 
 Epilogue. The two Old Ships in the Sands . 236
 
 THE LUCK OF 
 THE "GOLD MOIDORE" 
 
 PROLOGUE 
 
 HOW JIM MALCOLM WENT MOONING INTO THE 
 FOREST, AND WHAT HE FOUND THERE 
 
 When Jim Malcolm swung himself on to the back 
 of the old bush pony, kissed his hand to the girl at 
 the gate, and rode off into the forest, his sole in- 
 tention was to look for a certain strawberry heifer, 
 branded "J. E. M." on the near shoulder, and, if 
 possible, bring her back to the farm. And but for 
 the girl at the gate, in all probability, he would have 
 done just what he set out to do, and there the matter 
 would have had its end ; and this wild tale of the 
 sea had found another editor than he who now 
 sets his hand to the work. 
 
 But it was not to be. The vision of that laughing 
 mouth, all coral and pearl, together with the mischiev- 
 ous brown eyes, peeping shyly out from the depths 
 of the pink sun-bonnet, was too entrancing to be 
 dispelled, and Jim rode off with the laughing face 
 ever before him, and the delirium of a first kiss 
 in his blood. And looking upon the things which 
 are not seen (in the scriptural phrase) with the 
 fond clairvoyance of the lover, he had no eyes for
 
 10 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 anything else, and a hundred heifers might have 
 crossed his track unmarked, if not unseen. 
 
 And without doubt he would have gone along 
 in the same state of mind for another mile or two, 
 had not prosaic circumstance (ever dogging the 
 feet of the lover) decreed it otherwise. 
 
 There is in the Heytesbury, as in most Victorian 
 forests, a variety of the Mimosa family, known 
 colloquially as " Prickly Moses." Instead of leaves, 
 Prickly Moses is furnished with a kind of needle, 
 not unlike a miniature pine needle ; these are soft 
 and inoffensive to the last degree while green, but 
 if dry, woe to the rider who may have to push his 
 way amongst them ; for dryness makes them 
 sharp and hard as steel, and they not only pierce 
 through clothes and flesh, but being easily detached, 
 remain where they stick. The price of exemption 
 paid by all who traverse these forest ways, is eternal 
 vigilance, and Jim Malcolm, dreamer of dreams and 
 seer of visions, neglecting to pay this price, had 
 perforce to pay another, and presently found 
 himself being dragged through a clump of Prickly 
 Moses, from which the tiny darts fell in thousands, 
 each one finding its mark. It was as though all 
 the Lilliputians stood upon the tree-tops, and hurled 
 their spears at him. 
 
 From this fusillade he presently emerged stuck 
 all over like a huge pin-cushion, so reining in his 
 horse, he slowly and carefully dismounted, and pro- 
 ceeded to extract them. It was a long and tedious 
 process, but in the end it was accomplished, and
 
 PROLOGUE 11 
 
 being now very wide awake indeed, he gingerly 
 mounted again and looked about him. 
 
 That he had come far out of his way was evident 
 — how far he did not know, nor did he particularly 
 care. The forest was not of such enormous extent 
 but that he knew he could find his way out again. 
 The worst he had to fear was a night under the 
 stars, and for him that prospect had no terrors. 
 
 A more careful examination of his surroundings 
 revealed the fact that he was on the remains of what 
 had at one time or other been a forest track. It 
 was very much overgrown and obliterated ; never- 
 theless, to the born bushman, the marks were un- 
 mistakable. The pony had evidently struck it 
 further back, and as the way here offered less 
 resistance than elsewhere, turned into it. It would 
 have been a simple matter, then, for Malcolm to 
 have turned right-about-face and gone back, but 
 this old-time pathway roused and interested him, 
 and he determined to follow it, if possible, and see 
 where it led. Tommy, the horse, was nothing loth 
 — indeed, he seemed eager to go on, and Malcolm 
 gave him his head. 
 
 Presently they began to descend a hill, and as this 
 continued for some time Malcolm judged they 
 were approaching a stream of some kind, and the 
 event proved him right, for, when at length they 
 broke through the cover, he found himself on the 
 edge of a clearing by the side of a little river, and 
 an exclamation of astonishment broke from his lips 
 as he reined in his horse and looked about him.
 
 12 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 A slab hut, evidently constructed from the timbers 
 of a ship, stood in the midst of the clearing, while 
 close beside it were a few tumble-down panels of 
 fencing, made from the same material. Close to 
 the hut, and apart from the forest (like a group 
 of strangers ill at ease), half a dozen huge old 
 fruit trees stood huddled awkwardly together. 
 Probably at some remote time they were enclosed 
 by the fence. 
 
 On this side of the river three enormous willow 
 trees stooped caressingly to the stream, till it laved 
 their long beautiful tresses ; while on the farther 
 bank, the fragrant musk and plume-like ti-tree 
 held the water-line — a wall of mossy green. Back 
 of these again on rising ground, the towering gums 
 lifted their heads high over all, while in the bush 
 beneath, the big, shy fern trees modestly hid them- 
 selves, and the wild white clematis slung quaint 
 hammocks from one clump of greenwood to another, 
 and dowered all with its bridal wreath of flowers. 
 
 Malcolm was a native of the Heytesbury, and 
 until that moment honestly believed that whatever 
 secrets it held he already knew — and behold ! 
 Here he was, not three hours' ride from home, 
 face to face with a mystery such as he was sure no 
 man living had ever looked upon before. 
 
 After staring about for a minute or so, he swung 
 himself from his horse, and led him to the fence to 
 tie him up, but the panels shook as he laid his hand 
 upon them, and a slight push sent them down. He 
 looked carefully at the timber.
 
 PROLOGUE 13 
 
 " Might be oak," he muttered, " but it's so 
 rotten with the weather it's hard to say. In any 
 case, it has been up an unconscionable time." 
 
 Tying Tommy then to one of the venerable fruit 
 trees, at whose vast girth and height he looked in 
 wonder, he made his way to the hut. It was small, 
 measuring about twelve feet by ten, and faced the 
 river. At one time it had been furnished with a 
 door, but that had long ago fallen in and rotted 
 away, scarce a vestige of it remaining, though the 
 chain that fastened it still hung to the stout doorpost, 
 secured by an enormous rust-encrusted padlock. 
 
 In the dimness inside, Malcolm could make out 
 little but heaps of rubbish and dirt, where long 
 generations of birds, roosting on the black oaken 
 beams, had left their droppings. Nevertheless, 
 there was about the heaps that which suggested 
 furniture of some sort, and, resolved to investigate 
 them, he went outside looking for a stick strong 
 enough to enable him to dig them out ; nor had he 
 far to seek. Armed with this stick he returned, 
 and after much dusty probing and digging, several 
 articles were uncovered. First, he unearthed a 
 rude, square table, next a couple of stout stools, 
 then something that might have been a bedstead — 
 and finally, a huge oaken chest. 
 
 This last, suggesting a possible clue to the mystery 
 of the hut, quickened the searcher's pulse, and he 
 examined it eagerly. Hinges of some sort no doubt 
 it once had, also a lock — probably with complica- 
 tions — for the locksmiths of the day to which it
 
 14 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 belonged devoted much of their time to the invention 
 of secret springs and intricate locks. However, 
 both hinges and fastenings had long ago gone their 
 way, so poor a thing is iron compared with oak, 
 when it comes to the battle with time. But the 
 oak itself was so rotted that a single blow of the 
 stick smashed it to fragments, and its contents 
 lay revealed. And first amongst these he noticed 
 another and smaller chest, also of oak, and round 
 about it a number of curiously wrought old tools 
 and ships' instruments — the whole smothered in 
 the dust of what probably had once been a seaman's 
 wardrobe. This smaller chest was well preserved 
 however, and Malcolm eagerly seizing it set it on 
 the corner of the larger one. It was securely 
 fastened — though more by damp and rust than 
 by the original fastenings. However, by the aid 
 of some of the rust-bitten old tools, he at length 
 succeeded in breaking it open. 
 
 Time, for lack of air, had dealt kindly with its 
 contents. Here was an old-fashioned Bible with 
 heavy brass clasps, an antique telescope, a watch 
 of quite extraordinary size and shape, a little heap 
 of coins of strange device — and last, a bundle of 
 parchments wrapped in a kind of oilskin. 
 
 This Malcolm presently carried out into the sun- 
 light, and finding a comfortable spot at the foot of 
 one of the willows by the brink of the little river, 
 settled down to puzzle out the unfamiliar characters 
 of the crabbed, but exact and even writing. As 
 the text became more familiar, and he read on, his
 
 PROLOGUE 15 
 
 interest, already great, kindled to a white heat, 
 and it was with difficulty that he overcame his 
 curiosity sufficiently to roll the manuscript up 
 and re-enter the hut ; but this at length he did, 
 and taking thence the watch, the Bible, the coins, 
 and the telescope, bestowed them, as best he could, 
 about his person, and then mounting his horse, 
 set out for home. 
 
 But of how he found his way home again, and of 
 what Maisie Watson said of his discovery, and of 
 how they two sat throughout the night at Glen 
 Ullin, puzzling through the manuscript, I shall not 
 weary you by telling in detail. What they said 
 is immaterial to my purpose, and as to what they 
 read — well, he who will may read it in the following 
 chapters, where, with the exception of those parts 
 that were unfortunately missing, and some obsolete 
 words and phrases, and the more modern English 
 into which it has been found necessary to render 
 the whole, you have it, just as it came from old 
 Andrew Barton's hand.
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 HOW THE NUT-FACED SAILOR CAME TO 
 PLYMOUTH TOWN 
 
 It is the 20th day of October in the Year of Grace 
 1629, and I, Andrew Barton, aforetime merchant 
 of Plymouth Town, and now a lonely dweller, but 
 for the wild black men, from whom God preserve 
 me, in the great South Land, am settled here to 
 fulfil a purpose I have slowly formed, which is, 
 to write down and set in order the chief of the 
 strange events which have fallen upon me, from the 
 day when the nut-faced sailor came to Plymouth 
 until this present time when I sit solitary in this 
 far land. 
 
 It is a strange story too, strange at least for such 
 as I to tell ; I, who have been a home-dweller, and 
 a man of peace from my youth ; for it is a tale of 
 far adventure, of greed, and gold, of shipwreck 
 and battle and murder ; and, withal, of desperate 
 endeavour, and (in at least one case) of great valour ; 
 for of him who was the main cause of all this, I 
 will say that neither the raging of the sea, nor the 
 rage of man — nor hunger, nor thirst, nor peril, 
 nor sword — ever daunted him for the space of an 
 hour, or turned him from his purpose. 
 
 16
 
 THE NUT-FACED SAILOR 17 
 
 Doubtless there be some who will say that such 
 a tale were best left unwrit, and the sooner forgotten 
 the better. And I too have had a doubt about the 
 matter. Nevertheless, I now set my hand to it, 
 because I have come to believe that the experiences 
 of men, on however bad a venture, when faithfully 
 told to the end, are profitable for reproof, for cor- 
 rection, and for instruction in righteousness. And, 
 perchance, in a great day yet to be, some English 
 ship, faring more prosperously than those of which 
 I have to tell, will not only reach this far land of 
 the South, but return in safety home, bearing tidings 
 of its wealth and loveliness ; and then, lured by its 
 attractions, my countrymen may cross the waste 
 of waters and people it. And if that day come, it 
 may be that someone wandering by this sweet 
 stream, shall stumble upon my little cot, and upon 
 this history (for I shall see to its safe preservation), 
 and, reading it, learn by our experiences to avoid 
 the pitfalls into which we fell. For more I cannot 
 hope, but for less I shall not. For why should we 
 have written this history in the sweat of our fore- 
 heads, and with heavy sacrifice, and with tears and 
 blood and death, if it profit not those who come after. 
 Moreover, I shall write the truth about myself, 
 as well as of the others — though to do so be to set 
 me in a mean light before the eyes of all the world. 
 
 But now to begin at the beginning it was (as I 
 have good reason to remember) the 14th day of 
 August, in the year 1627, at five o'clock in the after- 
 noon, that I, Andrew Barton, then Merchant and 
 
 J;
 
 18 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 Ship Owner of Plymouth Town, was seated in my 
 counting-house in the High Street of that city. 
 I had but just completed the yearly reckoning, 
 which it was my custom to make, and was rilled 
 with gratitude to God (or had so persuaded myself), 
 to see that the year just gone was by far the most 
 successful I had known. And what added to my 
 elation, one of my several ships, the " White Ship " 
 as it chanced, having, in the Providence of God, 
 escaped the fleets of Spain, and above all the dreadful 
 corsairs of Algiers (who infest our narrow seas, 
 and singe the beard of our silly king) had that 
 very day come into port from the Indies, with a 
 rich cargo of goods, then in much scarcity and great 
 demand ; which happy event seemed to me, not 
 only a mark of Divine favour, but a prophecy of 
 another profitable year. 
 
 I had always desired to be a man of substance ; 
 not, I told myself, that I valued money for its own 
 sake, but because great wealth gave one great 
 opportunities for doing good. It is true that by 
 this time, I was more than ordinarily rich, and 
 hitherto had not gone out of my way to do the 
 good I might, but as often as my conscience smote 
 me on this account I managed to appease it by 
 resolving that, so soon as I had made a little more, 
 I should devote my life and means to works of 
 charity. 
 
 But on this particular day, as I have said, I had 
 completed my reckoning to my satisfaction, and, 
 as I put my books away, was saying to myself —
 
 THE NUT-FACED SAILOR 19 
 
 ' Another year or two such as this and I shall be 
 able to fulfil my heart's desire," when the door was 
 opened by my head clerk, John Horton, who said 
 a sailor from foreign parts, with a face resembling 
 a cocoa-nut, desired speech with me. 
 
 I was expecting a man to come ashore from the 
 " White Ship," bringing papers from her Master, 
 and thinking this was he, I signed to Horton to admit 
 him, and turned to put my books in the desk. 
 This done, I turned about again, and saw before 
 me an active looking man of gigantic stature, clad 
 in the red cap and coat of a sailor 
 
 But that he was no ordinary sailor was at once 
 apparent. To begin with, apart from his great 
 stature, he was of singular and unusual appearance, 
 and to me, as to Horton, his face was strangely 
 suggestive of a great shaggy cocoa-nut. Such a 
 mat and tangle of hair and beard I had not hitherto 
 seen on any man. It thatched his head and covered 
 his face, and out of the midst of it his small, round, 
 piercingly bright eyes flashed restlessly, missing 
 not the slightest detail in what lay about or went 
 forward. 
 
 It was the way of such sailors as had occasion to 
 see me in my counting-house to stand in my presence 
 abashed like a sheep, and to fumble with their caps 
 and shuffle their feet, meanwhile looking at the 
 ceiling or on the floor, anywhere but at me. But 
 this man was of another type ; he stood at ease, 
 and looked me so steadily in the face, that I had 
 perforce to cast my eyes down.
 
 20 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 "You come from the 'White Ship'?" said I, 
 presently. 
 
 " No," he replied in a great organ-like voice. " I 
 do not." 
 
 I waited a little then for him to continue, but when 
 he made no appearance of doing so, I presently 
 inquired whence he had come, and what was his 
 business with me. 
 
 " Whence do I come ? " he repeated slowly after 
 me. " Now that is a proper question, and shall 
 have a right answer. I come from the ends of the 
 world, Master Barton," and having so said, he 
 paused a little, as though reflecting ; then added 
 with grim laughter, " but I had to pass through 
 hell to get here." 
 
 At this I rose up with a gesture of impatience to 
 show him out, assured he was either drunk or mad, 
 or both, but, understanding my intent, he rose 
 with me, and stood between me and the door. 
 
 " No," he said, speaking quietly, " I'm neither 
 drunk nor mad ; neither have I come here to waste 
 your time, or my own — I come on a matter of 
 business. It is said, Master Barton, that of all men 
 in Plymouth Town, you are most greedy of gain — 
 that you starve your crews, pay them less than 
 others, stick to every mark as a Puritan to his Bible, 
 and gather as you go like a snowball ; and if so, 
 you are the man for me. 
 
 Again I rose, this time in hot anger. 
 
 " If you came hither to insult me," I began, 
 when the sailor again interrupted in his great voice,
 
 THE NUT-FACED SAILOR 21 
 
 " Nay, Master Barton," he cried, " no thought 
 was farther from my mind. May my mother forgive 
 me for being a fool," he added. " For three long 
 months I have searched England for such a man as 
 thou, and shall I quarrel with him when I find him 
 to my heart ? Not I. The better you love money, 
 Master Barton, the better I love you — and I've come 
 to put you in the way of making so much of it, 
 that even you will be satisfied." 
 
 I had opened my mouth to combat the detested 
 insinuation contained in that " even you," when 
 the man, who had been fumbling for some time 
 with his clothes, stepped forward and laid upon 
 my desk five small objects of a dull, dingy colour 
 and of varying shapes and sizes, though none was 
 larger than my closed fist. 
 
 ' Take them in your hand and look at them," 
 he said. 
 
 I took up one of the objects and examined it. 
 It was heavy beyond anything of its size I had ever 
 handled. 
 
 ' A new kind of metal," I ventured, and thought 
 I saw his drift, for such a day for cranks with 
 Philosophers' Stones and what not, never was, 
 and men were ever coming to me to get my interest 
 in some fresh venture. He laughed in my face. 
 
 ' New ! " he cried. " It was found in the Garden 
 of Eden." 
 
 You do not mean to say this is gold ? ' I said 
 with some eagerness. 
 
 ' Aye, but I do," he replied. " And better gold
 
 22 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 was not in Eden. It is pure as the Virgin — though 
 tarnished somewhat through being so long wrapped 
 up in rags. But look," he added, and taking up a 
 piece that had a flat surface, he spat on it and 
 polished it on his sleeve. When he had finished 
 I did look, and behold ! it was bright and shining, 
 and I knew then he spake truth : it was gold. And 
 at once I was filled with a fearful interest, for in all 
 the world there is nothing will stir up the imagina- 
 tions of man's heart like the sight of gold. My mind 
 was in a tumult ; but in business I had learned 
 patience and discretion, and mastering myself I 
 asked without a great show of interest — 
 " But, why have you brought these to me ? " 
 The sailor looked at me a moment craftily and in 
 silence, then with a smile and a wag of his head, he 
 motioned me to a chair, and seating himself on my 
 high stool, spoke as nearly as I can now recollect 
 in the following words.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 HOW THE " GOLD MOIDORE " WAS WRECKED 
 ON THE GREAT SOUTH LAND 
 
 " Master Andrew Barton," he said, " thou hast 
 a name in Plymouth to be greedy of gain above all 
 thy fellows. It is said that for all thy religion 
 thou wouldst rob a sick woman of her soup an' 
 thou hadst a right to it, and couldst do it lawfully — 
 for all allow thou'rt honest where the law has laid 
 it down. It is said also thou'rt as close and secret 
 as the oyster over its pearl, and canst keep thy counsel 
 like the lips of the grave. 
 
 " Nay, waste not time protesting," he cried, 
 waving me down as I rose again in wrath, " for an' 
 thou'rt not so black as thou'rt painted, thou hast 
 a fair claim to thy reputation. This I have been 
 at pains to know since I came to Plymouth Town 
 a fortnight gone to-day, and it is this alone that 
 brings me here. Three months have I made diligent 
 search for some man such as thou, for only such can 
 be of use to me or I to him. 
 
 " Thou'lt have heard many times, Master 
 Barton," he went on, " of the Great South Land 
 that is said to he beyond the islands in the Southern 
 Sea, for talk of it hath gone out through the whole 
 
 23
 
 24 THE " GOLD MOIDORE 
 
 5" 
 
 earth. Jack in the foc'sle tells wild tales of it, 
 and in the cabin his betters speculate about it always. 
 On the Spanish Main every Don who commands a 
 galley dreams of one day finding it, and eclipsing the 
 fame of Columbus ! At Lisbon ships are fitted out 
 to seek it ; and each Dutchman still turns his eyes to 
 the South, and sees new Holland in every ocean isle. 
 
 " How the belief first got abroad is more than I 
 can tell, but this I know, that from the day I went to 
 sea, full twenty years ago, the Great South Land 
 hath been familiar talk. At first I listened eagerly, 
 but soon turned a deaf ear, for so far as I could ever 
 tell, those who went to seek it seldom returned, and 
 those who did return, Dutch and Spanish princi- 
 pally, had not seen it ; and by and by I grew to 
 believe that the Great South Land existed only in 
 the imagination of those who spake of it. It is 
 the fashion with men to say they believe what, 
 after all, they only hope, and because each mariner 
 hoped to find another America — all believed in the 
 existence of it ; and because I saw this, I soon 
 learned to laugh and mock whenever men spoke of 
 the Great South Land." 
 
 Having said so much, the strange sailor ceased 
 speaking and lapsed into a reverie — his lips apart, 
 his eyes wide open and staring, though seeing 
 nothing. But suddenly he came back to conscious- 
 ness of his surroundings, the faraway look gave 
 place to one of intense interest, and leaning down 
 from his stool he peered into my face and spoke 
 again, but now rapidly, and almost fiercely.
 
 THE WRECK OF THE SHIP 25 
 
 " All that has changed," he said. " The scoffer 
 has become converted, as you Puritans would say. 
 Thousands of seamen believe in the Great South 
 Land, but there is one man who knows. I am that 
 man ! " 
 
 He paused again and glared into my face, and I 
 somehow felt stirred as I had never been before. 
 
 " But how do you know ? " I asked presently, 
 moved to speech in spite of myself. 
 
 " How do I know ? ' he repeated. " By the 
 best of all proofs. I have seen it with my eyes. 
 I have slaked my thirst at its streams. I have slept 
 on its bosom. I have gathered these from its lap." 
 
 An almost irresistible desire came upon me then 
 to break in upon his speech and ask him the where- 
 abouts of this Golden Land, and how a ship might 
 reach it, for the tales he spoke of I had often heard, 
 and I too had dreamed a dream concerning it ; 
 but I feared to let him see I was at all concerned, 
 and merely nodding my head, held my peace, and 
 the nut-faced sailor, after looking at me again with 
 something of surprise in his glance, laughed derisively 
 and went on with his tale. 
 
 ' I am a man of Devon, Master Barton, Lucius 
 Cary by name, and was mate on a ship of Lyme, the 
 ' Great Queen.' We had been a prosperous voyage 
 to the East, and not to make secrets, owed our 
 prosperity as much to being ' on the account ' 1 as 
 to the success of our trade." 
 
 1 At that time most seamen appear to have been pirates at 
 heart. Ordinarily a ship may have been engaged in peaceful
 
 26 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 At that he laughed aloud with great good humour, 
 but for my part I frowned with displeasure, for, 
 although to be " on the account " was little thought 
 of, and, indeed, applauded and condoned in the 
 highest quarters, for myself I detested it, regarding 
 it as nothing more nor less than common piracy. 
 The strange sailor read my thoughts and laughed 
 again. 
 
 " Aye," he resumed, " thou'rt said to be an 
 honourable man, Master Barton, and canst not bear 
 them that do evil, but honesty, like religion, is 
 largely a matter of geography ; honesty on land is 
 one thing, there is another law at sea — the prey to 
 the strong. Still it seems that ill-gotten goods are 
 ill to carry, for when almost in sight of our own white 
 cliffs, we were taken by an Algerian rover. We did 
 not submit without a fight, and for myself, I did 
 my do, and many a Turk felt the weight of my arm, 
 till a shot in the ribs stretched me out on the deck, 
 and there they left me for dead. Then they took us 
 in tow, and steered away for the Straits. But our 
 good luck had not altogether forsaken us, for in 
 sight of the Bay of Cadiz, the Algerian was attacked 
 by two great Spanish men-of-war, and herself 
 taken and carried into the harbour. 
 
 trade. But should her skipper come across a weaker ship at 
 sea, as like as not he would attack her, and take her by force. 
 Her goods and treasures would then be taken aboard his own 
 ship, and a complete account made of them and their value. 
 Captain and crew would then divide the spoil according to this 
 accountjand the rank they held. Hence the phrase " on the 
 account."
 
 THE WRECK OF THE SHIP 27 
 
 " There I was like to have died or been hanged, 
 or what not, but my hap was to find favour with 
 the captain of one of the Spanish ships, one Don 
 Juan Fernandez, more on account of my bulk, I 
 think, than for any other reason, and he offered me 
 my life and liberty provided I went a voyage with 
 him to the South Seas. 
 
 " I was nothing loth, for a voyage less or more 
 made little difference when my life hung in the 
 balance — and readily agreed. 
 
 " The King of Spain had gotten a map — heaven 
 only knows whence — of a heart-shaped land, as big 
 as Europe, and said to be rich as Peru. And the 
 man whose interest I had awakened, he was sending 
 forth to find it, hoping thereby to recompense 
 himself for the losses he was suffering through the 
 Dutch and English in the Indies and America. 
 So he sent us away in great secrecy, but in great state 
 too, and with blessings of bell, book, and candle, 
 seventy-five men in all, and Don Juan Fernandez 
 for our captain. So it came to pass, Master Barton, 
 that I, Lucius Cary, of Bideford in Devon, sailed 
 among the Dons in a mahogany-built ship, the 
 ' Gold Moidore,' they called her, for the Great South 
 Land. 
 
 " Not to be further tedious to you," he continued, 
 " we rounded the Cape of Good Hope in the track 
 of De Gama, the Portugee, and fared away East, 
 across the Indian Sea, and after many weary days 
 sighted land ; and south and east we sailed along 
 that land for weeks, only touching here and there.
 
 28 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 But for the most part it seemed a barren waste, and 
 hardly worth the taking. Still, we went for ever east, 
 for our orders were to write a circle round it, if such 
 could be done, and report not only upon its wealth but 
 npon its general nature : its people, mountains, rivers 
 that ran into the sea, likely harbours, and all else 
 of interest. So we went along week in, week out, 
 and seemed like to go on for ever, but at length 
 that happened which put a sudden end to all our 
 going, and brought us near face to face with de- 
 struction. For it fell out one night that, while 
 we sailed close to the land, a mighty tempest swept 
 suddenly up from the south, and although we did 
 our best to beat out to sea it was of no avail, and 
 in the fourth watch of the night we were flung ashore. 
 Our hap, fortunately, was to light upon a sandy 
 beach, and there the forepart of the ship stuck 
 fast. And the wind falling almost as suddenly 
 as it had arisen, and the sea abating, we clung to 
 the ship, hoping she would last out the pounding 
 of the billows till the day, which she did. 
 
 " When morning dawned the sea had gone down, 
 but for a swell, and the tide was on the ebb. A 
 gentle breeze blew from the land, bringing with it 
 the perfume of flowers, though from where we lay 
 we could see little, save the long wash of the waves, 
 and a bold headland or two standing out to the shock 
 of the sea. Landwards our view was cut off by a 
 range of great sandhills that lay along the shore. 
 
 " After we had carefully examined the ship, we 
 were assured we were safe to stay aboard — almost
 
 THE WRECK OF THE SHIP 29 
 
 in any weather — and our first care was to break 
 our fast. Then we had much ado to come by the 
 boat for it was lashed on the starboard side, while 
 the ship listed to larboard ; but with great care 
 and the help of nearly all hands, we got her safely 
 to the water. 
 
 ' But the hour grows late, Master Barton," the 
 sailor remarked, breaking off and rising up from 
 the stool, " and by your leave I will come on the 
 morrow and finish my story, if it interest you 
 sufficiently." 
 
 I had not noticed the flight of time, so deeply 
 engrossed had I been in tins tale of the sea, and so 
 eager to know how he had come by the gold. 
 Nevertheless, I was not sorry to be reminded, 
 for I had many things to do, so I appointed him 
 a time the following evening at my own house, 
 and briefly nodding his farewell, he passed out of 
 the place.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 OF THE RARE BEAUTY AND PECULIAR 
 DREADFULNESS OF THE GREAT SOUTH LAND 
 
 Punctual to the hour the following day the nut- 
 faced sailor stood at my door, and taking him to 
 my private closet, I was soon engrossed in his story. 
 But it were tedious to tell it all in his own words, 
 besides, much I shall have to curtail and some to 
 omit. 
 
 It would appear then, that having in successive 
 trips landed all hands without mishap, they kept 
 together for safety, and climbed the huge sandhills 
 that skirted the shore, and from the top of these, 
 made out something of the country. 
 
 Directly before them at about eight furlongs 
 distance, they discovered a little stream which bore 
 away to the left, and after nearly losing itself in 
 a morass, finally, so far as they could determine, 
 made its way into the sea. From the foot of the 
 sandhills to the stream the sward lay like the Field 
 of the Cloth of Gold, covered from one end to the 
 other with a carpet of yellow flowers. The banks 
 of the stream were fringed with many graceful 
 trees, while on the farther side, dense woods rose 
 high; and throughout all the forest in whatever 
 
 30
 
 THE GREAT SOUTH LAND 31 
 
 direction they looked, were flowering trees, and 
 shrubs of great beauty and divers colours ; varying 
 from pale yellow to deep red, though orange and 
 yellow prevailed. Birds of rich plumage flashed 
 in and out the sea of foliage, bees hummed from 
 flower to flower, and there came to the mariners, 
 borne upon the soft north wind, a fragrant and 
 refreshing smell. 
 
 " Methinks I can smell it now, Master Barton," 
 the strange sailor said, closing his eyes and drawing 
 his breath luxuriously through his nostrils. " Aye," 
 he added, " if ever mortal men set eyes on Paradise 
 it was the crew of the ' Gold Moidore ' that day." 
 
 And with that sweet land before their eyes, it 
 is not to be wondered that there came upon them 
 the desire to explore it and possess it ; nor were 
 they long in deciding that this they would do. 
 Yet was there method in their going, too, for their 
 captain divided them into companies, and fifteen 
 he sent west to explore as far as where the river 
 ran into the sea, while another fifteen he directed 
 to descend towards the stream. For himself and 
 Cary, and the remainder, he elected they should stay 
 where they were and keep touch with the ship. 
 
 So the two companies after much advice as to 
 the need for caution, set out and took their ways in 
 the different directions. But so elated were they 
 all at finding good earth beneath their feet after so 
 many weary months at sea, that in all probability 
 the caution would have gone for little, had not a 
 circumstance which befell the party that went west
 
 32 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 brought them all back to a sense of their position 
 and danger. 
 
 Cary was following the course of those who were 
 descending to the river, as being more easily seen, 
 when he was startled by wild cries and shouts away 
 to the left, and soon one after another of the seamen 
 broke cover, running at top-speed towards him with 
 every expression of terror. Almost simultaneously 
 there burst from the thicket a little below them, a 
 drove of great brute beasts, the like of which no 
 man had ever gazed upon before. In colour they 
 were grey, and in shape like a pyramid, with huge 
 hindquarters and legs and tails, and a body that 
 sloped steeply up some six or seven feet to small 
 forepaws and head. Fearsome things they were, 
 indeed, creatures more of a nightmare than of flesh 
 and blood, so that the mere sight of them filled the 
 bravest soul with terror. And not only were they 
 of dread appearance, but the manner of their going 
 made them seem more frightful still, for instead of 
 running on all fours like other of God's creatures 
 in my part of the wide world, they lifted themselves 
 on high on their great legs and travelled by a 
 succession of gigantic hops, leaping up in the air, 
 and devouring the ground with incredible speed, 
 and a sight more horrid no man of them all had seen, 
 or wished to see. 
 
 So the whole of the party came in hot haste, 
 stumbling and falling and shouting with terror, 
 and making what speed they could — assured they 
 were pursued by a legion of devils. The other
 
 THE GREAT SOUTH LAND 33 
 
 company, too, hearing the cries, came hurrying back, 
 but had scarce begun to do so than they espied this 
 mob of monsters bounding down the hill towards 
 them, and great fear fell upon all. In their 
 terror the power to move forsook them, and they 
 stood close together, and awaited death. However, 
 it seemed the great beasts providentially saw them 
 not, and sheered off to the left and plunged into the 
 thicket, and from where Cary stood he could see 
 their heads ever leaping up into the sunlight, as 
 they went pounding on their way, until the forest 
 swallowed them up, and he saw them no more. 
 
 When all hands were returned, full of excitement 
 and dread, those who went west related what befell 
 them. Being mindful of the captain's words they 
 said they had gone along with quietness and great 
 caution, and thinking they were too much exposed 
 to the eyes of possible enemies on top of the sandhills 
 descended to lower ground. All went well for a 
 time, but suddenly they broke through the under- 
 growth into a little clearing, and in the midst of 
 it beheld the strange wild beasts. Some of them 
 were lying down with their great legs outstretched 
 and reclining on their elbows, after the manner of 
 men ; others were squatting about on their haunches 
 preening themselves like gigantic rats, while others 
 again were feeding on the grass. 
 
 One of the seamen declared that he saw one that 
 had the head of another protruding from its stomach ; 
 but this no man could believe, though they found 
 eventually that it well may have been true. How-
 
 34 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 ever, at sight of these monsters the startled seamen 
 set up a cry of astonishment, whereupon every beast 
 leapt to his feet, and the men turned and fled. 
 
 The river party related that, when they heard 
 the cries, they turned to hurry back, thinking 
 some harm had come to the others, but when they 
 saw the fearsome creatures pouring down the hill 
 towards them, they gave themselves up for lost. 
 But they stood together and, in the opinion of some, 
 the beasts were equally alarmed at sight of them, 
 and sheered off at once at a quickened pace ; others 
 of the party, though, were of a contrary mind, and 
 Cary knew not whether to conclude the creatures 
 timid or fierce. 
 
 " However, not to weary you, Master Barton," 
 the sailor said, " although we went in fear of these 
 monsters for many days, we found out at length 
 that they were harmless, grass-eating animals, 
 timid in the extreme, though able to fight, and 
 deadly enough if placed in a corner. But that day 
 we knew nothing of this, and in spite of the blue 
 sky, the white fleecy clouds, the songs of birds, 
 the hum of bees in the flowers, and the hot sunshine, 
 we were none of us inclined to separate any more, 
 but kept together and conversed in low tones, 
 and considered what was best to be done."
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 OF THE JOURNEY TO THE MOUNTAINS OF DESIRE, 
 THE INCREDIBLE FIND OF TREASURE, AND THE 
 BUILDING OF THE " DONNA ISOBEL " 
 
 In the end of it, however, they overcame their fears, 
 and decided that Don Juan himself, with twenty- 
 five men, should keep watch and touch with the ship 
 on the big sandhill, which Isadore, the mate, who like 
 all Spaniards had a gift for giving of names, had 
 already called " Mount Moidore." Twenty more 
 under Isadore would remain aboard the ship, while 
 Cary, with thirty others, armed with pikes, muskets, 
 and cutlasses, would endeavour to reach the high 
 land to the east, whence it would be possible to see 
 the surrounding country and determine its nature. 
 
 And so they set out, and in due time and after 
 much delay, because of marshes and running 
 streams that had to be crossed or avoided, reached 
 the high land. And an outlandish place, in strange 
 keeping with the rest, it proved to be, for, having 
 pushed their way to the top through thick under- 
 growth and beneath mighty trees that gave forth 
 a pungent smell, they found themselves looking 
 down into the depths of a vast circular basin or cup, 1 
 
 1 Quite evidently the extinct volcano at Koroit, known as 
 Tower Hill. 
 
 35
 
 36 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 about threescore furlongs in circumference. The 
 bottom of it was full of water, except in the centre, 
 where a round hill arose like a castle from a moat. 
 But the whole aspect of the place was that of some 
 mighty circus, such as was in ancient Rome, but 
 so much vaster, that it might have been the place 
 where the fabled gods and deities of old ran their 
 courses and played their games. 
 
 This place they named the " Devil's Pot," and 
 were glad to get away from it, for it seemed to them 
 like the abode of evil spirits. Yet did they not 
 neglect the work they set out to do, but from the 
 top of one of the great trees that grew upon the 
 rim of the Pot, they observed and mapped out 
 the surrounding country, and so returned. And of 
 the report they brought back the chief was this, 
 that the land was good and large and plentifully 
 watered, and full of flowers and fragrant smells, 
 nor had they seen man or beast on their journey, 
 but the wildfowl was as the sand that is on the 
 seashore, innumerable. That, east and west, the 
 country stretched away as far as the ?yes could see, 
 while inland there was no bound to the rolling 
 sea of vegetation save on the skyline, where were 
 visible the tops of mountains. 
 
 So all returned to the ship, and in the cabin that 
 night the master, with Isadore and Cary, together 
 with the boatswain and carpenter, took counsel 
 as to what they should do. After long discussion 
 they agreed that, as it was not possible that the 
 ' Gold Moidore " would ever float again, they needs
 
 THE MOUNTAINS OF DESIRE 37 
 
 must build a sloop or frigate with which to return 
 to Spain, and to that end should next day make an 
 effort to discover if the creek away to the west, 
 that seemed to run to the sea, were such a place as 
 they might build and launch a vessel ; and should 
 it prove favourable, Don Juan, with Cervannes the 
 carpenter, and forty-eight men, should set about 
 the work at once, while Isadore, with Cary and the 
 remaining twenty-three men should march inland 
 as far as the mountains they had seen to the north, 
 that they might have more perfect knowledge of the 
 land upon their return, and report fully to the 
 king. 
 
 The next day accordingly, rising up a great while 
 before day, a strong force under the captain and the 
 carpenter went west to explore the creek, and 
 returned some hours later with great joy, saying 
 the place was like to a fairy dell for loveliness, and 
 the creek going into the sea, such an one as might 
 have been made for the building and launching of 
 boats. So the work of building a sloop was deter- 
 mined upon, and the transportation by sea and by 
 land of the necessary timber was begun at once. 
 
 The same day, too, the exploring party, armed 
 with pistols and muskets and cutlasses, and with 
 provisions for many days, set out north for the 
 Mountains of Desire, for so they had already begun 
 to call them. 
 
 Much and circumstantially the nut-faced sailor 
 talked of that journey, of the second ascent of the 
 Devil's Pot, of the crossing of streams, of the serpents
 
 38 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 and strange beasts, and, most of all, of the wild 
 black men they presently met with. These they 
 found to be scattered about in tribes and clans 
 throughout the land, and first came upon them in 
 a little glade by the side of a stream. At sight 
 of the white men the natives fled for their lives 
 and disappeared in the thicket ; and the mariners 
 were well content to let them go, for they saw them 
 to be an active and warlike people, armed with spears 
 and clubs, and judged it best not to have anything 
 to do with them. Only they shot off their guns 
 to frighten them, and probably succeeded, for to 
 their journey's end, although they were conscious 
 all along of being followed and watched, yet no attack 
 was made upon them. 
 
 So they journeyed by day and camped by night, 
 setting a watch against surprises. And all the way 
 was as the Garden of Eden, and lay through sweet 
 fields of living green, flowering bushes and plants 
 of divers beautiful colours, and wonderful trees 
 such as none had seen before. Clear, sweet streams 
 of water, too, and birds of all kinds, including 
 (which I did believe) swans of a perfect blackness. 
 
 So they went on with great prosperity, the thunder- 
 ing and lightning of their guns terrifying the in- 
 habitants away, and at the same time giving them 
 meat in great abundance ; and on the fifth day they 
 drew near to the mountains. These they found to 
 be of considerable height, and they hoped, by scaling 
 them, or one of them, to be able to view the landscape 
 for a considerable distance and see what lay beyond.
 
 THE MOUNTAINS OF DESIRE 39 
 
 So they set forward on their ways, but ere they 
 reached the foot of the mountain, that happened 
 which drove all thoughts save one from their minds. 
 It was about midday, and they had set themselves 
 down close by a little stream to rest and eat under 
 the shade of a tree, of a kind they called the " Sailing 
 Tree," because the sound of the wind through it 
 was like the wind in the sails and cordage of a ship 
 in a gale. The meal being ended, one of the mariners 
 began to drive his knife into the earth beside him 
 in order to cleanse it, when it encountered some- 
 thing hard, yet it was not so hard as to be repellent 
 like a stone, so he must needs dig it out to see what 
 it could be, and presently uncovered a misshapen 
 lump of something that, when he essayed to lift 
 it, proved to be of prodigious weight. 
 
 " What hast thou there, Jaime ? " Isadore asked, 
 seeing his endeavouring to unearth it. 
 
 " Gold, I think," the man responded with a laugh, 
 for nothing was further from his thoughts, but his 
 words brought all to his side, and one of the seamen 
 that had been apprentice to a goldsmith in his youth 
 with a knife scraped the surface, and behold — it 
 was gold. 
 
 At first none could do anything but stare and speak 
 their surprise, but soon they recovered themselves, 
 and straightway every man in a fever of haste began 
 to dig, hoping to discover more of the like ; and 
 indeed, one other, but smaller, they did discover, 
 but that was all. 
 
 But this work of digging was hot work, and after
 
 40 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 a time one descended to the creek to quench his 
 thirst, and presently startled the others where they 
 stood talking with a loud cry, and when some 
 had run to learn the cause, they found him gather- 
 ing gold in little lumps from a kind of pocket in the 
 rocks at the water's edge. Immediately they set 
 up a shout, and all save the two that had gotten 
 the gold under the tree, grasped their arms, and 
 came running, thinking some peril was afoot, but 
 when they learned the truth, they threw down 
 their weapons, and all discipline, together with all 
 thought of their position and danger and the work 
 in hand, were for the time forgotten, and all went 
 gold mad, and hunted high and low. 
 
 Nor did they seek in vain, for gold they found 
 to be almost as common as stones in the bed of the 
 creek, and by nightfall they had gathered together 
 more than it was by any means possible for them to 
 carry away. 
 
 That night they camped where they were, and took 
 counsel what they would do, for now all things were 
 changed, and at last, after much discussion, they 
 determined that some should remain with Isadore 
 and guard their treasures, while the others under Gary 
 went forward to ascend the mountains, and see what 
 lay beyond. 
 
 In the morning, then, the spies went on their way, 
 and ascended to the highest point they could find, 
 and there Cary climbed to the top of a great 
 tree, and from thence, looking to the north, east, 
 and west, beheld a land of far distances, and tumbled
 
 THE MOUNTAINS OF DESIRE 41 
 
 mountains, and rolling downs, well-wooded and 
 watered (in one place a great lake), and of an in- 
 comparable richness. And having seen this he 
 descended, and so they returned to the others. 
 But both going and on their return they found 
 that gold might be had for the picking up in every 
 creek they crossed, which was a thing to wonder 
 at. 
 
 So they came back to their companions and told 
 what they had seen. Then together all returned 
 in safety to the ship with all the gold they could 
 carry. But, and herein was a thing sad and terrible, 
 where formerly there had been peace and goodwill 
 amongst them, now every man eyed his neighbour 
 as Saul eyed David, and was suspicious of his 
 designs.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 HOW THE " DONNA ISOBEL " SAILED FOR SPAIN, 
 AND OF WHAT BEFELL BY THE WAY 
 
 On their return to the ship their companions could 
 scarce believe their report for joy, but when they 
 saw the gold that they brought, they could not but 
 confess it to be true. Yet no sooner was it clear 
 to all than dissension arose on every hand, and those 
 who remained to build the sloop would have left 
 his work at once, and gone off to find a bagful of 
 gold, every man for himself. And then, this being 
 denied them, they fell to envying those that had 
 the gold, and demanded a share, which the others 
 refusing, a rebellion and bloodshed seemed like to 
 have broken out amongst them. This, however, 
 the captain contrived to quell, and reasoned with 
 the men, and agreed that another expedition should 
 set out and bring in another load, and yet another 
 and another, and so on, till the ship was built ; and 
 that they should ballast the ship with gold, and that 
 all should share alike, and that there might be the 
 more confidence, they bound each and all to fidelity, 
 with writing and signing of names in blood, and 
 the swearing of dreadful oaths. So the plague of 
 rebellion stayed, and a further journey was made 
 
 42
 
 THE " DONNA ISOBEL " 43 
 
 to the Mountains of Desire and the streams of 
 gold. 
 
 But this time Don Juan went himself, and took 
 a fresh lot of men, only that he took Cary for a 
 guide, while the remainder under Isadore went on 
 with the building of the ship. This second ex- 
 pedition returned in safety, bringing great store 
 of gold, and reporting further discoveries of it. 
 So another company set out, and yet another, ere 
 the ship was ready to sail. 
 
 But this last expedition was not so fortunate, 
 for, disregarding caution, the mariners made friends 
 with the wild black men, who proved to be wicked 
 thieves, and one night stole their provisions and 
 axes, and in the morning, upon the men making 
 signs that they must return them, the natives feigned 
 ignorance, and when the seamen would have used 
 force, there was launched at them a cloud of spears, 
 and five were killed outright and several wounded, 
 so that they died later, and but for their muskets, 
 which they shot off and killed some of the blacks, 
 none of the party had ever returned alive. 
 
 And now, as enough gold had been got to make 
 all rich for life, and another expedition would 
 have been fraught with great danger, it was resolved 
 to go no more for this time, but that all should stand 
 by the ship and hasten her completion, which they 
 did, and called her the " Donna Isobel," and in due 
 time she was ready to sail. 
 
 And in all the world (excepting only, perhaps, the 
 " Golden Hind ") no ship ever went to sea so richly
 
 44 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 laden as that which now put out from the Fairy 
 Creek, and sailed away for Spain. 
 
 But if the " Donna Isobel " was the richest ship, 
 surely also she was the most unfortunate. For, 
 from the first day out the winds were contrary 
 and the rains descended ; and ever and anon great 
 gales blew, while the crested seas disputed every 
 league they made, so that there was no rest day 
 or night ; and after this had continued many 
 days and no sign of abatement, the shipmen grew 
 weary, and heady, and mutinous, and scarce could 
 be coaxed or driven to do the necessary work. 
 Also a grievous sickness, a kind of fever, laid hold 
 of the ship, and many perished. Yet it was a fever 
 of another kind which wrought most ill, for, not- 
 withstanding all they suffered, the mariners yet found 
 time and means to gamble ; and having roughly 
 reckoned what was the value of each man's share of 
 the gold, counted themselves worth so much, and 
 gave notes of hand for their losses, and so dreadful 
 was the frenzy of gambling that ere a thousand 
 miles had been made on the homeward way, some 
 had lost their all. And with their gold, they lost 
 also all regard for discipline ; and soon recklessness, 
 and lawlessness, and every evil passion prevailed ; 
 and upon any provocation knives and pikes were 
 going on the instant, and scarce a day but some 
 were killed, and cast away. 
 
 Then the winds continuing from the west, and the 
 tempests continually arising, so slow was their pro- 
 gress that their provisions became scarce, and the
 
 THE " DONNA ISOBEL " 45 
 
 water in the beakers stank, and their plight was 
 sore indeed. Yet did they not for that reason cast 
 their differences overboard, as reason demanded they 
 should, but they nursed them, and in the end, 
 when the ship had turned the last wild cape in 
 the south-west, and was running north into finer 
 weather, certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, 
 gathered themselves together and murdered the 
 captain, and what men were faithful to him, and 
 took possession of the ship. 
 
 In my heart I felt that the nut-faced sailor was 
 at the head and front of this affair, for I judged 
 him to be equal to anything, but such he assured 
 me (and I now believe) was not the case, but that 
 he lay below sick of a dysentry, and too ill to take 
 any part. So now, what with lighting and sickness 
 and murder, there were but fifteen men in all that 
 were left alive, and of these the only one who knew 
 the principles of navigation was Cary, and they 
 needs must turn to him to sail the ship, and this 
 he did. 
 
 Their plan was to run north and west through 
 the Indian Sea, to the new Dutch settlement in 
 the Spice Islands, and there revictual their ship, 
 and there they hoped also they might collect a 
 sufficient crew, and then double the Cape of Good 
 Hope, and so up to Lisbon ; for no man of them 
 all wished now to enter a port of Spain. And their 
 plan was to keep their secret, and divide their 
 wealth, and live happily for evermore. 
 
 But Divine Justice, though it may slumber, i
 
 46 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 never dead, and it came now hot-foot upon them. 
 The wrath of God awaked, and His judgment fell. 
 For presently out of a blue sky and summer sea 
 there arose such a hell of wind and water round 
 about them as none had ever seen before, and such 
 as no ship, however stoutly built, could live in. 
 Without God and without hope they were rushed 
 along by the mighty wind, through roaring seas and 
 waterspouts, and hurled at length upon a reef that 
 girt an island, and so to their destruction. 
 
 Only Cary was saved, and that by the skin of his 
 teeth (as is said by the Patriarch Job), for he was 
 carried off the ship by a great wave that bore him 
 high over the reef, and flung him, stunned and 
 bleeding, on the beach. So he now was the only 
 one of that ship alive that put to sea with more 
 than three score and ten ; and of all the prodigious 
 wealth that these men had gathered at such heavy 
 cost, saving only the half-dozen lumps like pebbles, 
 that Cary chanced to carry in his clothing, nothing 
 now remained, it being sunk in the sea, hard by 
 that island, with the men whose souls were damned 
 to get possession of it. 
 
 And Cary was like to have died too, only by the 
 mercy of God, it chanced that a Dutch discovery 
 ship, running south to spy out the Great South 
 Land, found him, and took him aboard, and then, 
 after going down the western coast for several days, 
 and finding little else save sand (for such it was 
 near to the coast-line), declared it a God-forsaken 
 wilderness, a place unprofitable to man, and so
 
 THE " DONNA ISOBEL " 47 
 
 fared away back to Batavia. And Cary, having a 
 plan of his own, said nothing to them of the 
 wondrous wealth and beauty of the country 
 inland, and farther east, nor showed them the gold 
 he had got, but kept his own counsel, and bided 
 his time. 
 
 At Batavia he found a Dutch ship that had com- 
 pleted her lading and was about to sail home, so 
 he hired himself to her master, and in due time 
 came to Holland. From Amsterdam he worked his 
 way to Dover, and so home. And following out 
 the plans he had made, sought to find one who had 
 the means and the inclination to equip a ship, to 
 voyage to the Great South Land, and bring thence 
 a shipload of gold. And for my sins he found me 
 out, and spread the matter thus before me.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 TELLS OF THE WILD VOYAGE OF THE " WHITE 
 SHIP " TO THE GREAT SOUTH LAND 
 
 I come now to the time when I must needs confess 
 the incredible truth (not that it came to me then, 
 but only since, in the long lonely watches by sea 
 and by land), that for all my profession of godliness, 
 the guiding principle of my life was not religion 
 at all, but an inordinate love of money ; so that 
 instead of being the man of God I thought myself, 
 I was at heart no better than an idolater. For it 
 has become plain to me here in my loneliness, that 
 idolatry is a principle with a wider scope than men 
 are apt to think, and is not confined to him who 
 bows down to a graven image. Indeed, a man may 
 do that and be no true idolater, for the essence of 
 idolatry is, that to whom or what a man gives 
 his affection and devotes his life, that is his divinity 
 and his God. And while the heathen may bow 
 down to wood and stone, the sin of Europe is of a 
 deeper die. We worship Mammon. 
 
 Thus it came about that when the nut-faced 
 sailor had opened up to me the wonders and splen- 
 dours and wealth of the Great South Land, and 
 showed me how I might achieve unlimited wealth, 
 
 48
 
 THE " WHITE SHIP " 49 
 
 I listened not to the appeals of my dear wife and 
 children, who with one voice begged me not to 
 leave them (would to God I had hearkened and 
 were with them now), nor yet to my conscience, 
 which cried out upon me, and told me I had wealth 
 enough and to spare : but I silenced all, and told 
 my dear ones I was determined to go, but that 
 when I returned from this voyage, I would have 
 done with all business for ever, and devote my life 
 to them, and to good works. 
 
 And so the " White Ship," which lay in the harbour, 
 was made ready. Her master and crew were dis- 
 missed because they feared to go, and Cary was 
 made captain, and a crew got that were not afraid 
 of a far adventure, for so much we had to let them 
 know it was. And so we set out. 
 
 The ship had been, by Cary's direction, fitted up 
 almost as a ship of war, having twenty-two great 
 guns — including four culver dines. 1 We had aboard 
 forty barrels of powder, and fifteen small rundlets 
 of fine powder for our small arms, sixty muskets, 
 sixty good pair of pistols, twenty tons of cannon 
 ball, and twenty barrels of musket bullets, together 
 with swords or cutlasses for all. 
 
 Our crew numbered sixty men, and a more 
 villainous lot never shipped to sea, and more like 
 pirates we were than honest seafarers. But indeed, 
 try as we would, we could not keep our business 
 wholly secret, for men were loth to venture unless 
 they knew a little of their destination, and the little 
 
 1 A favourite sea gun of large bore and long range. 
 D
 
 50 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 we told was so magnified, that all honest men 
 believed us to be going out " on the account," and 
 because I seemed a ringleader in it, all those of 
 the Godly sort drew aside from me and regarded 
 me with horror. And for the rest, they wagged the 
 head, and shot out the lip, and laughed my religion 
 to scorn. And only such men as had no morals, and 
 had no regard for religion, or who had been pirates 
 before — in short the very off-scouring of the sea — 
 would consent for love or money, and promises of 
 great reward to sail with us. And so it fell out 
 that for villainy and profanity, our ship was like 
 to a floating hell. 
 
 I soon came to see that human life would be 
 very cheap amongst them, for, like the unjust judge, 
 these men feared not God nor regarded man. And 
 yet there was one they did regard (though not just 
 at first), and that one Lucius Cary. Cary was the 
 master of the ship because he was the captain, and 
 because he alone, excepting the lieutenant, under- 
 stood navigation; but before many days he was 
 ruler for the same reason that a single wolf will 
 rule and direct a pack. It was by reason of his 
 force and courage, and gigantic strength. In such 
 a ship as ours it could not be otherwise than that 
 a trial of strength must soon come between the 
 captain and the crew, and the success of everything 
 depended upon the captain's victory. This Cary 
 confided to me almost before we lost sight of land. 
 " And," said he, stretching his mighty limbs and 
 looking to his pistols, and loosening his great sword
 
 THE " WHITE SHIP " 51 
 
 in its sheath, " the sooner the battle comes the 
 better," and added — " It will be no fault of mine, 
 Master Barton, if it be not on and over within the 
 next forty-eight hours." 
 
 From this I gathered that it was his intention to 
 force a quarrel upon some of them at the first pre- 
 text, and so act when it came, as to create in all a 
 wholesome fear of his anger. Nor was I mistaken, 
 and it was my fortune, good or bad, to be on deck 
 when the storm came. Indeed, I was, in some 
 sense, the cause of it. 
 
 Like most of the serious-minded, I strove to dress 
 myself modestly, as became men professing godliness, 
 and my sober Puritan garb and clipped hair soon 
 provoked these pirates to derision. Wherever I 
 went their eyes followed me, and in my wake were 
 heard filthy remarks and low derisive laughter, yet 
 never so openly as that I could challenge him who 
 made them, nor Cary distinguish one culprit from 
 the other. 
 
 But on the second day the wind had freshened 
 to a gale, and the " White Ship " flying southward 
 was soon leaping and flinging in a manner so un- 
 usual, as to bring upon me the sea-sickness. In 
 great misery of mind and body I stood clinging to 
 the ship's side, and at sight of me those thieves 
 could restrain themselves no longer, but shouted 
 out their ribaldry openly, and therein Cary saw his 
 opportunity. 
 
 " How now, you dogs ! " he roared in his great 
 voice, appearing suddenly among them, " what
 
 52 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 devil's trick is this ? " And when none made answer 
 he went on, " Listen to me, you mis-shapen wretches, 
 and give good heed. Master Barton is the owner of 
 this ship, and every man on it shall pay the same 
 respect to him as to me, her master. You mark my 
 words ! And as for you," he cried to one that was 
 named George Dockery, that had been foremost 
 amongst them, " get you down on your knees at 
 once and crave his pardon ! " 
 
 He stood before them convulsed with anger, or 
 seeming so, waiting for his will to be done, but the 
 seaman's only response was to stare at him in silent 
 amazement, while his comrades laughed uproariously. 
 Cary stood with his arm outstretched commanding 
 obedience, but it was in vain, for after a little, 
 George looked round at his fellows, laughed con- 
 temptuously and turned away. 
 
 " Hold ! You scum of the sea ! ' Cary roared 
 again, his voice breaking from him like a clap of 
 thunder, " didst hear what I said ? " 
 
 " Aye," the other replied mockingly. " He hath 
 poor ears that cannot hear when the bull bellows 
 in his face ! " And at that a great shout of laughter 
 went up from the others. But their laughter soon 
 changed into another key, for Cary at this affront 
 became terrible to see — his face worked like that 
 of a madman, his spittle ran down upon his beard, 
 and speech for a time seemed to stick and choke 
 in his throat, but when at length it broke forth it 
 was like a torrent. 
 
 " Hell and furies ! " he roared, " and this to me !
 
 THE " WHITE SHIP " 53 
 
 And on my own main deck ! A bull ! But thou'rt 
 right, rny lad, for the bull hath horns, and God do so 
 to me and more also, if thou dost not prove it." 
 And with that he was amongst them. I loosed my 
 poor sword that I might die at his side, for I thought 
 with one against so many this must surely be the 
 end ; but little I knew the master. The lion cares 
 not how many the wolves, and when like wolves they 
 hurled themselves upon him, he shook them off and 
 dashed them down, and not deigning to draw his 
 sword or fire a pistol, fought them with his terrible 
 hands, smashing them back, flinging them hither and 
 thither, and presently seizing him that was the 
 cause of the trouble, and lifting him above his head, 
 he hurled him against his fellows like a ball amidst 
 a row of pins, mowing them down in all directions. 
 
 Then terror took hold of them, and those that lay 
 not about the deck bleeding and groaning, drew off 
 from him, and regarded him as though he were a 
 devil, and none would fight him any more. So 
 when he had beaten them sufficiently, Cary called for 
 Mr Hopton, whose watch it was below, and bade 
 him bring all hands on deck. Then when they were 
 come he made them a speech, and said there seemed 
 a doubt in some minds as to who was the master of 
 the ship, but that for himself he had no doubt that 
 he was the master, and if any or all cared to dispute 
 it, let them step up and say so. After a time, 
 when none spake, he said it seemed as though they 
 were agreed upon that point, and then he put it 
 to them thus : —
 
 54 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 " Am I the Master of this ship ? " 
 
 With one accord they cried — " Aye, aye, sir ! ' 
 
 " Are all agreed to that ? " 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir ! " 
 
 " Are my instructions to be obeyed ? ' 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir ! " 
 
 " You may lay to that, my lads," he answered 
 grimly. " They are, whether you like them or not, 
 and I tell you now, it were better for a man a 
 thousand times over that he had never set foot on 
 this ship, than that he should disobey me. We are 
 on a desperate venture, and all depends upon me — 
 me, do you understand ? If you obey me and do 
 my will, I will land you safe on English shores with 
 more gold in your pockets than you ever saw in 
 your lives before, but if you disobey and thwart 
 me, and imperil this voyage, I will drown you in 
 the deeps, or leave your bones to bleach in the 
 wilderness just as surely as we now sail south. So 
 help me God ! Now every man to his post, and 
 no more of this sea rover seamanship for ever ! ' 
 
 And to their posts they went, and glad to get 
 away, and from that hour Cary's word was their 
 law, and they ran to do his bidding. So in that 
 respect things were better, and henceforth I was 
 left to myself. Not that the lewd speech of them 
 ceased, for, as Cary said, to have required that 
 at their hands would have been to require them not 
 to speak at all, for it was natural to them. But 
 there were no more open insults, and for this I was 
 thankful.
 
 THE " WHITE SHIP " 55 
 
 So for days and weeks we sailed along, and all 
 went well, until one night a north-west gale, like 
 some wild hound of the skies, came up behind and 
 chased us south. And the gale continuing, south 
 and south we flew, further down I think than men 
 or ship had ever sailed before — and lived. Down — 
 down we went, into unknown seas, and heaven only 
 knows what else besides ; and the farther we went 
 the wilder blew the wind, and the worse the sea 
 became, until we feared we should be driven over 
 the edge of the world. At last, however, the wind 
 veered to the west, or we were catched in a new 
 current, and had perforce to swing with it, and 
 again we fled before its fury, like a hare before the 
 hounds. 
 
 We landsmen talk of the sea running mountains 
 high, and seamen laugh when we do, for rarely 
 does a wave rise five fathoms. But here were 
 mountains in very truth, with yawning chasms and 
 sheer heights. Before us fathomless gulfs opened 
 up in the shifting seas, and behind us great tower- 
 ing waves such as no man of all our crew ever saw 
 before, followed raging. The wind blew for ever 
 from the west, and morning, noon, and night boomed 
 and roared, till each mariner fain would have kept 
 his fingers in his ears to gain relief. And every 
 moment the ocean caverns yawned like the pit of 
 hell, and the waves rose up like beetling crags, and 
 fell crashing all about us, as a great cliff, whose 
 foundations are undermined, falls into the sea. 
 We of these islands are wont to boast that the
 
 56 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 gale which brings a Don to his knees, will but stir a 
 Briton's blood, and make him sing in exaltation of 
 spirit, and this pirate crew of ours had boasted 
 more than all. But in those seas all such boasting 
 died away. Men we had in plenty who had faced 
 death a thousand times over with scorn and 
 laughter ; men, who never knew what fear was, and 
 others who may have known, but had forgotten with 
 the prayers their mothers taught them. But those 
 who had not known fear were taught it by those 
 bursting seas, and in those days it came back like 
 a tempest into the souls of them that had forgotten. 
 
 Aye, and with the fear of death the prayers came 
 back too, and from oaths and blasphemy, men turned 
 to praying : and looking back I know not now 
 which seemed more dreadful — their blasphemy or 
 their prayers. 
 
 Only Lucius Cary was unmoved. Indeed, far 
 from fearing, he seemed to revel and exult in that 
 stormy hell, and as the spirits of the others failed, 
 his mounted up on wings. And the crashings of 
 the racing cataracts, that seemed to shake the 
 heavens down, and blinded and stunned, and almost 
 drowned us, seemed only to arouse and uplift him, 
 and to call forth his prodigious strength ; and 
 not only so, but seemed to awake in him a fierce 
 delight, and such a zest in the conflict that his face 
 shown, his eyes flashed like stars in a time of frost, 
 and his great voice would be heard evermore above 
 the bawling of the seas, shouting his orders, or 
 singing some catch or song ; and thus he went on,
 
 THE " WHITE SHIP " 57 
 
 mocking, as it were, in the face of death, until the 
 men came to fear him as though he were a devil, 
 and in league with the spirits of the deep. 
 
 As for me, my spirit within me was overwhelmed 
 and my heart desolate with fear. Conscience, too, 
 awoke now and thundered louder than the seas. 
 Deep called unto deep at the noise of the water- 
 spouts, the great deeps of the waters to the deeps 
 of sin in my heart : all the waves and billows went 
 over me, until, little by little, the rottenness of 
 my life became manifest, and in the end, from 
 regarding myself (as I had done) as Lot in Sodom, 
 his righteous soul vexed from day to day with the 
 filthy conversation of the wicked, I began to see 
 myself as Jonah, flying in the face of God, and 
 imperilling every shipman's life by my iniquity. 
 
 But use, it would seem, is second nature, and when 
 we had fled before the wind and waves for many days, 
 and no harm done, we began in a measure to grow 
 used to them, and saw that, so long as we had 
 sufficient way on the ship, we might yet escape. 
 Also Cary presently shaped our course a point or 
 two north, hoping that by so doing we might gradu- 
 ally draw out of the zone of the great wind, and 
 beat up into the Indian Sea. For neither sun nor 
 moon nor stars had in many days appeared, and we 
 knew not now where on the wide waste of waters 
 we were. 
 
 And so we went on, and at length one day the skies 
 cleared a little, and our captain made a reckoning, 
 and when he had so done, could scarce credit the
 
 58 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 result, for it showed us to be already far under the 
 Great South Land, and within a few days' sail of 
 out appointed place. And when we had time to 
 think of these things we saw that the great westerly 
 wind had proved a friend to us instead of a foe, 
 and had brought us with incredible speed on our 
 way.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 HOW THE " WHITE SHIP " STUCK FAST IN THE 
 SWAN LAGOON 
 
 On the second day (having shortened sail during the 
 night) we drew near to land, and coming within easy 
 distance could plainly see the high cliffs covered 
 with forest peculiar to this country, and the spouting 
 reefs that lay between us and the shore, whereupon 
 we swung round to the east, and ran along the coast. 
 
 " How long till we see the wreck of the ' Gold 
 Moidore ' ? " I asked of Cary, who was viewing the 
 land through his perspective glass. 
 
 " About midday, if the wind holds," he replied, 
 " and I be not out of my reckoning." 
 
 " Then we shall be anchored in the Fairy Creek 
 ere night ? " I cried, with something of ecstasy, 
 for the thought of having my feet once more on God's 
 good earth, after so many weeks on the weary sea, 
 was as the prospect of heaven to my soul. 
 
 " As to that," Cary answered, " I have a mind to 
 try for an anchorage farther east. The Mountains 
 of Desire are a long way east of north from the 
 Fairy Creek, and if the coast-line runs directly east, 
 as I believe it does, it may be we could find an 
 anchorage due south of the Mountains of Desire, 
 
 59 

 
 60 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 and save ourselves many weary miles of travelling 
 when we come to go back and forth for the gold. 
 Anyway, it is worth a trial," he added, " and 1 
 shall sail east another fifty miles or so and see what 
 it be like, then if nothing opens up, or the land dips 
 away southward, we can beat back to the Fairy 
 Creek." 
 
 My heart fell a little at that, for I was sick to death 
 of the ship, and feared it might mean another day 
 aboard. Nevertheless, I could not but see the sense 
 of his contention, and settled down to wait with 
 the little patience I could command. However, 
 the time was not so tedious after all, for along towards 
 midday a great excitement fell upon us when the 
 look-out man hailed the deck and cried " A ship ! 
 A ship ! " adding that it lay upon the beach a league 
 or so ahead. 
 
 " Tis the ' Gold Moidore,' " Cary cried, well pleased, 
 and looking triumphantly round, for though he had 
 long since told them the outline of his former 
 voyage, yet there had not wanted those who declared 
 that the thing was a myth of his brain, and that there 
 was no Great South Land and never was a " Gold 
 Moidore," and the whole voyage was but a delusion 
 and a snare. Not that these things were said in 
 Cary's hearing, for since the day of the battle be- 
 twixt them, none had the hardihood to provoke him 
 in any way, but this was common sailor talk, and 
 Cary knew it, and so when his hour came it was easy 
 to be seen that he was well pleased. After a time 
 he beckoned me near, and bade me look through
 
 THE SWAN LAGOON 61 
 
 his perspective glass, which I did, but for a long 
 time could see nothing because of the rolling of the 
 ship. However, after a while, I caught a fleeting, 
 wavering glimpse of her as she rushed up the heavens, 
 as it seemed, across the face of the glass. Masts 
 and tackle were gone, and nothing but the hull 
 remained, but I knew her for a ship lying at the 
 water's edge. And although I had been singularly 
 without doubt from the beginning, yet I hailed with 
 a great gladness of heart this confirmation of the 
 nut-faced sailor's story. So all eyes were upon her 
 from the time she came in sight until we had passed 
 her by, and she was lost to view astern. 
 
 Then the look-out man was ordered to keep watch 
 carefully on the coast for any sign of a river or bay 
 where we might find anchorage, and about five of 
 the clock in the afternoon, when we were running 
 by steep cliffs, flanked with a number of green-topped 
 rocks standing straight up and down in the water 
 in a little bay off the shore (Cary named them the 
 ' Twelve Apostles "), the man aloft cried that 
 there lay ahead what seemed to him either a broad 
 river running into the sea, or a land-locked bay or 
 lagoon, where good anchorage might be had for the 
 ship. At that Cary ran nimbly up the shrouds 
 beside the man, and remained clinging there a 
 great length of time, looking eagerly at the place 
 indicated. Presently he called Mr Hopton to 
 him, and the two remained together earnestly 
 discussing the possibilities of this haven. Nor 
 did they descend until we lay directly opposite,
 
 62 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 and then we could see even from the deck, what it 
 was that perplexed them. The haven seemed such 
 a one as a man might have designed and made for 
 our purpose, being land-locked and well sheltered, 
 and large enough to have held the navies of Spain. 
 But the entrance was exceeding strait, being but 
 a furlong wide at the most, and turning and twisting 
 by jagged reefs whence the breakers boomed, and 
 the spray flew in clouds. Inside the reefs was a 
 little heaving bay fringed with white sand, while 
 from that bay to the haven itself a narrow channel 
 ran. On the right of this bay were a succession of 
 great sand hills, covered with low trees and shrubs, 
 while on the left the cliffs rose like a wall, and were 
 crowned with the trees peculiar to the Great South 
 Land. 
 
 So the ship was brought up into the wind and then 
 we stood on and off for a time while the master and 
 lieutenant viewed the entrance and discussed the 
 chances ; and it seemed to me that while Gary was 
 eager to venture, his judgment withheld consent. 
 However, after much counsel together they agreed 
 that it would be possible to con the ship through 
 the reefs into the outer bay, where, if need be, 
 they could anchor, though not for long ; for to be 
 caught by the wind between the reefs and that 
 roaring beach were certain destruction. But it 
 appeared as though there would be small need to 
 anchor there, for once past the reefs the way into 
 the haven lay straight and open, and we might boldly 
 enter.
 
 THE SWAN LAGOON 63 
 
 So at last Cary decided to go, and immediately 
 all was animation. Mr Hopton took charge of the 
 helm. The boatswain stood in the fore chains 
 with the lead. A watch of picked men stood by 
 the anchor, the remainder were sent every man 
 to his post, ready to strike sail on the instant, 
 should it be necessary, while Cary ascended to the 
 shrouds that he might con the ship himself ; and 
 so, with a south-west wind behind us we took 
 our fortune in our hands, and stood in through 
 the reefs. 
 
 And now with the end of our voyage but a few 
 fathoms off came the most anxious time of all. 
 For in the twinkling of an eye the waters all aroimd 
 began to race and swirl as if they had suddenly 
 caught sight of us, and were troubled at our appear- 
 ance, and eager to run out of our way. The ship 
 trembled and shivered, and sprang this way and 
 that, as though in mortal dread. On our left was 
 a long causeway of rock with sea-carved arches 
 through which the great waves roared, and ever and 
 anon raged across the top, and so near did we come 
 to it that at one point I could have touched it with 
 my staff as we hurried by. All were tense with 
 excitement, though the only voices heard were 
 the leadsman's, crying " nine fathom, eight fathom," 
 and so on, and Gary's that pealed down upon us 
 as he shouted his orders, and Mr Hopton's steady 
 ' Aye, aye sir," in reply. But mingled with the 
 hissing, splitting sound of the waves, were the 
 cries of a multitude of sea-birds, that circled
 
 64 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 round and round as questioning who and what we 
 were. 
 
 But at last we were through, and indeed, though 
 it seemed ages long, it was but a minute or so from 
 the time we entered the reefs, until we broke from 
 them into the little outer bay and held on across 
 it in deep water. The tide was racing in now 
 at the full, and we, carried on its bosom, came 
 easily over the clear water, entered the channel, 
 and so into the inlet beyond. And as we cleared 
 the channel and ran along by a bank covered with 
 trees and shrubs and flowers, and so near that one 
 could have tossed a biscuit on it, mine eyes were 
 filled with tears of thankfulness, and from all hands 
 there went up such a shout of joy as startled a flock 
 of crimson-breasted birds that rose like a burst of 
 flame from the trees, and with harsh cries flew 
 swiftly away. 
 
 Already the hands were shortening sail. The air 
 was full of our congratulations, and every face was 
 beaming with triumph and elation, when on a 
 sudden the headsman shouted frantically " Shoal," 
 and like the echo of his voice the master roared 
 from aloft to let the anchor go. But supposing 
 the danger to be over-past, no man was ready on 
 that instant to obey, and the next it was too late. 
 Down went the anchor, but even as it did, the bow 
 of the vessel rose high on a soft bank of mud, and ere 
 the anchor gripped she had ploughed her way to the 
 heart of it. Indeed, it was the mud at last and not 
 the anchor that brought her up.
 
 THE SWAN LAGOON 65 
 
 We knew not then, nor would we for days believe, 
 that this was the end of the great " White Ship." 
 Yet so it was, for after braving the wildest storms 
 and seas ; after cheating death and escaping him 
 ten thousand times over ; and after newly coming 
 through the very jaws of destruction and the Gates 
 of Hell (as we afterwards called the passage in the 
 reefs), it came to pass that on a quiet afternoon, 
 beneath a blue sky, without crack of spar or other 
 sign of disaster, and within a fathom or two of the 
 anchorage she had come full fourteen thousand 
 miles to seek, the great " White Ship " glided gently 
 to her doom on the mud, in the still waters of the 
 Swan Lagoon. 
 
 In the days that have passed over me since then, 
 I have thought much of the strangely simple nature 
 of that great calamity, and in it methought was a 
 parable of life. For the great catastrophes come not 
 always with shivering timbers and falling spar, 
 and with fierce agonies of death, but often times 
 gently and agreeably, and withal so quietly that 
 one is unaware of danger till the mischief is wrought 
 and the ship of his life cast away. 
 
 Thus it was that I myself became a castaway 
 in both respects. A castaway in soul by making 
 and loving of money, a life so subtly agreeable that 
 I never realised its danger till the mischief was done, 
 and the consequences reaped in the deadness of my 
 soul. And now by the same subtle means a castaway 
 in the flesh in this far Southern Land, whence I 
 cannot hope to escape. 
 
 E
 
 66 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 Alas ! How full of peril is the little voyage of 
 our life ! The gleaming teeth of the gross and jagged 
 reefs of sin all may see, and perchance avoid, but 
 who knoweth where under the dark waters lie the 
 treacherous banks of mud ?
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 HOW ANDREW BARTON FIRST SAW THE 
 STARRY CROSS IN THE SKY 
 
 The tide was on the turn when the " White Ship " 
 went aground, and as any attempt to have floated 
 her off must then have been in vain, Cary resolved 
 to wait for the next full tide, twelve hours hence, and 
 as it was now six of the clock in the evening, we must 
 lie where we were until the following morning ; 
 but in the meantime the ship was made snug, and 
 Cary dropped over the side in a boat to discover the 
 nature of the bank on which we had run, and also 
 the character of the harbour for anchorage farther 
 out. 
 
 And then it was that we learned of the snare into 
 which we had run ; for this lagoon or bay or haven, 
 or what one may call it, was none of these things 
 in the proper sense of the word. It was formed by 
 a river, which, a couple of miles back, overflowed 
 the low-lying ground adjoining it, thereby forming 
 a shallow lake. The river wound and twisted 
 through the heart of this lake like a serpent, and for 
 the most part was of great depth, but it was never 
 more than five fathoms wide, and nowhere else 
 outside that channel was there more than three or 
 
 67
 
 68 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 four feet of water at the best. And at that place 
 yonder where our poor master had hoped to anchor 
 his tall ship, there were but two feet on a bottom of 
 sand. 
 
 Much of this Cary learned in the hour before 
 night, and the whole by degrees. Still, he had at 
 first great hopes of getting the " White Ship " back 
 into the Channel and safely out to sea ; and he 
 thought to lose no time about it, for none knew better 
 how perilous a work it was like to be. So all were 
 kept on the move, and we scarce had leisure so much 
 as to eat. But, indeed, had it happened otherwise 
 unto us, it had been pretty much the same, for 
 such an excitement was upon all by reason of our 
 reaching our desired haven, that none at first 
 thought of eating, and all thought of sleep was far 
 from us. And even when we had got an anchor 
 out far astern, and a cable safely bent to it, and all 
 ready to take instant advantage of the tide in the 
 morning, not one man cared to go below, but stood 
 about the decks drinking in the sweet scents of the 
 woodlands, marvelling at the brilliancy of the stars 
 and the white moon, and listening to the weird cries 
 of night-birds and waterfowl (that seemed to teem 
 in the dark about us) and the wild thunder of the 
 great waves on the steep beach close at hand. 
 
 After a time Cary came to me where I paced up 
 and down, and flung himself upon a seat that the 
 carpenter had placed there for my convenience, 
 and with his great limbs outstretched, remained for 
 a time without movement of any kind.
 
 THE STARRY CROSS 69 
 
 " Well, Master Gary," I cried at length, pausing 
 before him, " we have completed the first long stage 
 of our work, we have gotten the great South Land." 
 
 " Aye," he responded, but without enthusiasm, 
 " thou'rt right, Master Barton, we have gotten it, 
 and gotten it more truly than I even designed to do, 
 for if I be not mistaken the land hath gotten us." 
 
 " But we shall ride off on the tide ? " I said with 
 something of anxiety, for there was that in Cary's 
 voice that seemed to call a doubt upon it. 
 
 " All will depend upon the tide," he replied. ' If 
 
 it be good and high we may hope to do it, if not " 
 
 He did not finish his sentence, but I was not left 
 in doubt as to his meaning. 
 
 " But surely," I urged, " there will be no diffi- 
 culty — the ship is sound and the water calm." 
 
 ' Aye," he replied again, ' the ship is sound 
 enough, and the water smooth, but she lies four 
 feet deep in mud, and I doubt if the tide ever enters 
 this bay that will lift her off." 
 
 ' And suppose we fail to get her off — what shall 
 we do then ? ' I cried, horror and despair taking 
 hold of me. 
 
 " Do as we did aforetime," Cary answered briefly, 
 and in assured tones. 
 
 " Build a ship out of pieces of the ' White Ship ' ? " 
 I asked, " and sail home in that ? " 
 
 " As you say ! " 
 
 "And the gold? " 
 
 ' That we shall get as we got it before, and easier 
 too," he added, " unless this forest prove a barrier.
 
 70 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 At all events we are miles nearer to the Mountains 
 of Desire here, than we were at the Fairy Creek, 
 and if I mistake not this inlet of ours is fed by a 
 river, and it may be that we shall find it a pathway 
 to take us up to the Mountains of Desire themselves, 
 if it prove not indeed to be one of the very streams 
 of gold." 
 
 All this sounded well enough and reassured^my 
 mind a little on that score, for I gathered strength 
 from his strength, but there were other considera- 
 tions, and far more vital, so I began again. 
 
 " Granted, master captain," I said, " that all 
 this can be done, but how if when we put to sea 
 we meet the same contrary winds that met the 
 ' Donna Isobel,' and the men inflamed by their 
 sudden-got wealth begin again to gamble and rebel 
 and mutiny, how ? " Cary laughed. 
 
 " As for beating round the coast of this land, 
 Master Barton, in the teeth of those westerly 
 winds," he said, " no thought is farther from my 
 mind. When next you place your feet on English 
 soil — thou'lt have compassed the whole world — 
 for once out of here we sail east across the Pacific 
 and down round Cape Horn with the westerly winds 
 at our back, and so up the Atlantic and home ; 
 for if my experience counts for aught it were easier 
 to sail thrice round the world on an easterly course 
 than a poor half way on a west. And as to these 
 little lambs of mine rebelling and mutinying, have 
 thou no fear on that score ; there had been no 
 rebelling on the ' Donna Isobel ' had I been her
 
 THE STARRY CROSS 71 
 
 captain, and there shall be none here ; and as for 
 gaming and dicing — once the treasure is aboard 
 the ship the word will go forth that there is to be 
 none ; and God pity him who is the first to begin 
 it." 
 
 And again he laughed aloud. 
 
 I left him then and resumed my pacing up and 
 down while he sat in his place staring up at the sky. 
 After a time he called me to his side again. 
 
 " Hast marked the difference in the stars in these 
 southern skies, Master Barton ? " he asked. 
 
 " No," I replied, " save that they burn to- 
 night with such a brilliancy as I never saw in 
 England." 
 
 But indeed it was small wonder that any difference 
 had escaped me, for since the time when we crossed 
 the line almost until the last night, wild weather 
 had, for the most part, blotted out the stars, or at 
 least offered little invitation to star-gazing. So 
 the nightly face of the heavens had changed and I 
 all unconscious of it. But now that the nut-faced 
 sailor called my attention I was aware of a great 
 change. 
 
 " Look away now to the south," he said, " and 
 mark that cluster of stars shining over the tip of 
 yonder spar." 
 
 I looked as I was bid, and thought I saw the con- 
 stellation indicated. 
 
 " Dost mark anything peculiar about it ? " Cary 
 questioned. 
 
 I confessed I did not, and then he bade me look
 
 72 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 again, and suddenly I saw the thing he spoke of, 
 and my heart within me gave a great leap ; for 
 there, blazing out on the front of heaven, I saw a 
 constellation like unto the Cross of Christ. And 
 at once it seemed to me as though we were in the 
 Presence of God, and such a spirit of worship 
 seemed to fall upon me there and then, that, removing 
 my hat, I bowed my head and worshipped. 
 
 After a time the awe departed from me somewhat, 
 and, turning to Cary, who still stretched his mighty 
 form on the seat, I enquired whether those stars 
 were always there, and by what name they were 
 called. 
 
 " Always," he replied, " as surely as the Dog 
 Star gleams in the north, and as to the name — they 
 are called the ' Southern Cross.' " 
 
 So I stood there and gazed upon this great sight, 
 nor heeded the madrigal the seamen sang forward 
 on the forecastle, nor the sound of the night around, 
 but pondered much what manner of land this might 
 yet be, whose people have but to raise their heads 
 at night to see the Cross of God's dear Son written 
 on the heavens in points of fire. From musing thus 
 I was again recalled by Cary. 
 
 ' Knowest thou what the Dons call this land, 
 Master Barton ? " he asked. 
 
 I replied that except those who perished on his 
 last voyage, I knew not that any Spaniard ever 
 saw this land. 
 
 " And right, too," Cary answered me. " Yet 
 they thought at one time they had, for when De
 
 THE STARRY CROSS 73 
 
 Quiros at Philip the Third's behest, left Peru and 
 sailed west, he came to a certain island, and believing 
 — or affecting to believe — it to be the great South 
 Land — he named it ' La Austrialia del Espiritu 
 Santo' — which means, Master Barton — 'Austrialia 
 of the Holy Ghost.' He called it ' Austrialia ' 
 because Philip the Third, his master, was the son of 
 one Austrian princess and the husband of another, 
 and he wished to compliment the Queen, and the 
 old Queen Mother, and he called it the land of the 
 Holy Ghost, because the Spaniards, though more 
 cruel than the devil to native peoples, are yet as 
 pious as the rankest of Puritans and must paste 
 on each place they discover some high-sounding 
 religious name. So that is the name that is now 
 going abroad, and is like to stick to it, though you 
 may trust an English tongue to shorten it by half. 
 For myself I call it merely Austrialia." 
 
 Then I gazed again on the great blur that lay 
 low on the night, and was all one could see of the land 
 about us, and thought that, after all, the men of 
 Spain did well to write the name of their God on 
 each new part of His wonderful world they were 
 the first to reach — and then lifting mine eyes again 
 to the Starry Cross gleaming in the night, I wondered 
 that instead of the Land of the Holy Ghost they had 
 not called it the land of the Holy Cross. Cary's 
 voice again broke in upon me, but now softly and 
 with reverence. 
 
 ' Hast marked the number of the stars that go to 
 form that Cross, Master Barton ? " he asked me.
 
 74 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 " I had not hitherto, but they are soon numbered," 
 I replied, " there go but five to the making of it ! " 
 
 " And how many wounds gave they to God's 
 Christ when they crucified Him ? " he enquired 
 further, and when I answered " One in either hand 
 and one in either foot, and one that a spear pierced 
 in His side — five in all," the master went on : — 
 
 " Thou'lt see my drift, Master Barton — five 
 bleeding wounds He got upon the Cross, and there 
 in the stars thou seest not only the Cross on which 
 He died, but the number of wounds that He bore." 
 
 And having said this and filled me with a wondrous 
 awe, he lapsed into silence, and sat in his place in 
 the shadows immovable as a figure in stone. For 
 my part, I paced up and down, up and down, but 
 stopping ever and anon to gaze upon the Cross : 
 and presently as I did, a sense of security and peace 
 fell upon my spirit, for I saw that although I had 
 run into the uttermost parts of the earth, and made 
 my bed in Hell, yet here God was too, and the all- 
 availing Cross nearer than ever, not only for my 
 redemption, but that of all who sailed with me ; 
 so from this thought I had great peace. But along 
 towards morning, as I watched, the Cross descended 
 the sky towards the west, and heeled over as it did, 
 and just ere dawn seemed to plunge headlong into 
 the sea.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 OF THE DISCOVERY OF CARY's RIVER 
 
 The tide, which had been anxiously watched all 
 night, fell to its lowest at midnight, and ran to the 
 flood soon after the light broke over the world at 
 six in the morning. But long before that every man 
 was at his post, and when the time came, all our 
 strength was put forth upon the capstan to work 
 out back to the anchors. But it was without avail, 
 and had each man had the strength of an ox, it had 
 been the same. For so fast had the " White Ship ' 
 stuck that we seemed as like to have moved the world 
 from its huge foundations as to shift her, and after 
 straining every man to the utmost and nothing done, 
 all hands were sent away to break their fast, and then 
 we began to lighten the ship. To do this, Cary 
 had them build a bridge of boats to the west bank 
 of the lagoon. These they overlaid with planks, 
 and then the work of unlading began ; and such an 
 activity was upon all as would not have been 
 believed, some hauling up goods and stores from the 
 body of the ship, others conveying them to the ship's 
 side, and the remainder running with them like 
 monkeys along the planks to the shore. And I 
 also lent a hand, and was of use by standing over 
 
 76
 
 76 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 the hatch-way, and watching those below that made 
 the goods fast to the ropes, and signalling to those 
 at the capstan when to haul away ; and Cary stripped 
 himself to the skin and set an example, and did ten 
 men's work ; and so did every man labour, all 
 knowing what great things depended on getting the 
 ship off, that by the return of the tide an incredible 
 amount of progress had been made. And the pity 
 was that all should have been in vain, for with the 
 tide at the flood, and half her lading ashore, and all 
 the strength of all the ship's company straining at 
 the cables, she moved no more than at first, and in 
 the end the master must needs admit that the 
 " White Ship " had made her last haven and would 
 voyage no more. 
 
 And now was manifest for the first time since the 
 fight at the beginning of the voyage, signs of any 
 questioning of Cary's authority. Up till now, all 
 had looked upon him as half a god, or altogether a 
 devil, and had nothing ill befallen- us they would 
 have continued so to regard him, but now with the 
 first reverse their feelings changed, and it was plain 
 to be seen that most had gone from one extreme to 
 the other, and now looked upon him as less than half 
 a man ; and what the end might be I did not know, 
 but I guessed and feared. 
 
 As for Cary, he affected not to notice their changed 
 looks, but had the boatswain pipe all hands to supper, 
 and the cook give an extra allowance to all, and 
 especially of tobacco and ale, and said when all had 
 eaten and well drunk he would tell them what
 
 CARY'S RIVER 77 
 
 now were best to be done. But in the cabin, when 
 we sat over our meal I found that he had marked 
 the mutinous looks of the men, and indeed, expected 
 nothing less from them and had on purpose made 
 all ready with the cook for supper, and had forborne 
 to speak until after. " For," said he, " to discuss 
 the matter when all were weary and hungry and sore, 
 and full of despair and disappointment, were to 
 court mutiny, for good advice is a bitter medicine 
 to take on an empty stomach ; but after they have 
 had their fill of meat and ale they will be prepared 
 to listen to reason." 
 
 And so in a measure it fell out — for when supper 
 was ended and all had eaten and drunk their fill 
 and pipes all going, they seemed more content to 
 hear what he said. 
 
 Then Cary stood forth in the midst, and told them 
 what the position was; how the " White Ship," 
 being stuck fast and now no chance of her being 
 got off, it would be necessary to build a sloop to 
 get away, which would not be at all impossible, 
 and that while she was abuilding he with a party of 
 them would go inland to the place where the gold 
 was and fetch it thence, and by the time the ship 
 was built, they would have gotten gold enough and 
 to spare, and then they would sail away home to 
 England. And then he told them again of the last 
 expedition, and how the ' Donna Isobel " was 
 ballasted with gold. And making light of their 
 sicknesses and the contrary winds on that voyage, 
 and much of the mad folly of the men, which alone,
 
 78 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 he said, led them to destruction. And the moral 
 of all this was plain to be seen. And it was, that 
 if ever they were to secure the treasure and come again 
 to England, it would be by their unfeigned obedience 
 to their captain. Then as to their immediate 
 plans : — To-night he said, a watch would be set on 
 the stores that were ashore, for fear of the wild black 
 men, who doubtless were close at hand, and on the 
 morrow Mr Hopton would see to getting them all 
 back aboard while he, the master, would take a boat 
 and look out a place where they might build their 
 frigate, and this done and the work of shipbuilding 
 begun, he would set out immediately with a part 
 of the crew for the place where the gold was, while 
 the remainder under Mr Hopton and the carpenter 
 went on with the building of the sloop and kept 
 guard over the stores. 
 
 To all this the men listened quietly, though not 
 so deferentially as aforetime, but critically, and more 
 like partners considering a matter, than sailormen 
 learning their captain's will. And it was plain that 
 Cary's mistake and the loss of the ship had cost him 
 that awe with which formerly they regarded him. 
 Also their having come to land had set a boundary 
 to his authority. 
 
 The following morning we were up betimes and 
 with a dozen men all armed with cutlasses and 
 pistols, and with loaded muskets for each one near 
 at hand, and provisions for several days, we set 
 out to explore the lagoon, and find out whether, 
 as Cary suspected, it was fed by a river. It was a
 
 CARY'S RIVER 79 
 
 morning without clouds in early October, the spring 
 of the year in this strange land, where all is upside 
 down. The sky was so softly blue that I marvelled 
 at it, and the sun, arising in his strength, shone 
 with such a lustre as no one only knowing England 
 could ever believe possible. 
 
 On the loud shore hard by the mouth of the river, 
 the great waves thundered in majesty — their white 
 feathery crests like the plumes of an army of Cavaliers 
 shaking high in the air. Inside the bay, save in 
 the river channel, the water lay still and with a 
 wonderful clearness on the white sand three feet 
 below. Every ripple caught the sunlight and flashed 
 it back with added beauty, while myriads of fishes, 
 little and big, darted hither and thither in flashing 
 shoals in the crystal waves. The north wind blew 
 softly, and was full of a balmy fragrance from the 
 woods, that in every place came thickly down to 
 the water's edge. Every tree and shrub seemed to 
 be in bloom — even those giants of the forest that 
 towered so high in the air that the tall spars of our 
 ship were dwarfed to the size of a man's staff beside 
 them — even these were in bloom as when the crew 
 of the " Gold Moidore " first came ashore, and such 
 a riot of colour, such a ravishing splendour of red 
 and yellow over all the woods as made me think of 
 what my ships' captains had told me of the festivals 
 in the far Indies. 
 
 The birds sang in the branches on the hillside too, 
 and some, particularly those that were a beautiful 
 black and white, warbled with a liquid and melodious
 
 80 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 note, such as can never be described, only heard. 
 And many of the birds were of such brilliance of 
 colour, as to rival the very shrubs and flowers. 
 
 And as we rowed along, I fell athinking of these 
 things and wondering why God had made them all so 
 gay, and suddenly it came to me that if God painted 
 all these things in all these colours, it needs must 
 be because He loves beauty and bright colours. 
 And it was a new and startling thought, for I had 
 always felt that God was best pleased with sobriety 
 and gloom, and I was not alone in that, for all those 
 of the Godly sort were of the same mind — hence our 
 sombre dress and trained austerity of countenance. 
 But now it was borne in upon me that the God 
 who has painted the rainbow and the sunrisings 
 and sunsettings, and all the gay colours of the 
 flowers and the birds, did so, and continues to do 
 so, because He loves them. And when I had thought 
 on these things, my sombre garb seemed out of place 
 in God's bright world, and the careless mariners in 
 their red coats and caps, and with their scarves 
 of many colours about their necks and waists, far 
 more in keeping with the Mind of the Creator. 
 So as we swept under a tree that overhung the water, 
 and was a mass of golden bloom and delicious per- 
 fume I plucked a bough of it, and stuck some in my 
 hat band, and some in my coat, and felt the better for 
 it. Also I strove to look more cheerful and hummed 
 a stave of a madrigal that the mariners were fond of 
 singing. 
 
 Nor did I lose by it, for, though the men were
 
 CARY'S RIVER 81 
 
 astonished and laughed aloud and made light of it 
 and I heard one that said the old cock was not so 
 much of a mummy as he looked, but something 
 of a man after all, and was now decking himself 
 out to take the eye of one of the black women whom 
 we expected presently to see — whereat the others 
 laughed afresh — still they seemed from that time 
 to regard me with a kindlier feeling and more like 
 a man than formerly. 
 
 So we went on our way, and at every turn disturbed 
 the waterfowl that covered the lagoon almost from 
 end to end, and sent them up in whirling clouds, 
 but only to descend again at a distance, the rushing 
 of their wings sounding like thunder as they swept 
 down in wide circles to the water. 
 
 And now with mine own eyes I saw for the first 
 time those black swans of which Gary spoke, and 
 so believed, for there they were in thousands ; only 
 we came not near to them, for as we approached 
 they seemed to melt back from us, and though 
 they rose not from the water, yet they contrived 
 always to be at the same distance away, so that we 
 could not observe them closely. There, too, we saw 
 presently a great white bird that seemed more a 
 freak of nature than God's designing. An outlandish 
 bird, with body no bigger than an English goose, 
 but with a beak more than a foot long, and attached 
 thereto a great bag wherein he stored what fishes 
 he took. So after we had looked upon him a while, 
 one of the sailors said that he was like the " White 
 Ship," in that he had a hold fore and aft, and
 
 82 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 another added that his beak would hold more than 
 his belly, which was a fact. So we held on through 
 all these wonders, and hugged the western bank, 
 yet not too close, lest a lurking enemy assail us with 
 spear or arrow, but all the while we looked out for 
 that river which Cary felt assured ran into the lagoon, 
 and at length towards midday, when we had 
 covered about half the distance round, Cary, who 
 had never ceased to closely watch for any opening 
 in the wall of forest and vegetation that marked the 
 water-line, suddenly gave a cry of satisfaction. 
 ' It is as I thought," he said, " here is our river, 
 and mayhap a road to the Mountains of Desire- 
 give way my lads, and let us see what like it looks ! " 
 So in a little while we were at the mouth of it, and 
 there rested and looked our fill. 
 
 It was not a great stream (being less than a furlong 
 wide) though it proved of great depth. But that 
 which kept us all agaze was the straightness of it— 
 for as far as our eyes could see from the boat, it 
 seemed exactly the same width, and, moreover, 
 turned not to the right hand nor to the left, but was 
 a straight line. The woods came down on either 
 side and held the banks like a wall that had been 
 overgrown with bright flowers and creepers, while 
 high in the air the giant trees stretched forth their 
 branches from either side as though to clasp hands 
 in mid-stream ; and the whole aspect of the place 
 was that of some magnificent and well-kept approach 
 to some lordly mansion. 
 
 All seemed so to regard it, and Cary, standing 
 
 '
 
 CARY'S RIVER 83 
 
 erect in the boat, seemed greatly moved, and 
 stretching forth his mighty arm pointed up the 
 stream and cried : 
 
 " There, my lads, lies the way of our adventure, 
 and if all goes well, the way also to every man's 
 fortune." And as he spoke, the sun that had been 
 tempered a little to us by a great white cloud like 
 a mountain of milk foam, burst suddenly forth again, 
 and blazed upon the river until it looked like a path 
 of gold leading on to the ludden treasures of the 
 world. And all saw it, and were moved and excited, 
 and longed to follow it, and I not less than the others. 
 So as our mission was to discover this stream, 
 and see where it led, we turned our boat and entered 
 in. But we were careful to keep in mid-stream, 
 because of possible enemies. 
 
 It was but a little from the river mouth that we 
 espied upon our left a tiny glade wherein the grass 
 grew soft and green and specked with flowers, and 
 roofed in by the tender foliage of the river trees, 
 and as it was now high noon and the sun hot, and 
 the men had rowed long without rest or refreshment, 
 and there being no sign of enemies, Cary ran the prow 
 of the boat to the bank and leapt ashore. But he 
 would take no risks, and suffered no man to follow, 
 until himself with musket at full cock and ready, 
 had carefully searched the glade and its surroundings, 
 and made sure that none of the wild black men 
 were anywhere about. We, on our part, waited 
 anxiously too, some ready with the oars to push off 
 quickly in case of need, and the remainder with
 
 84 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 muskets in hand. For a full half hour we waited 
 there, and then suddenly and silently Cary stepped 
 from the thicket on the side opposite to that he 
 entered in, and said that all was well. He had made 
 a compass, so it seemed, all round the glade, and 
 had failed to find a sign of an enemy. Still he would 
 take no chances, for the natives of this land, he told 
 us, were such expert woodmen that they could move 
 through the thicket as silently as ghosts and leave 
 no more trace of their going than a shadow, and might 
 be upon us at any time. Therefore, we had two set 
 to watch at the farther end of the glade and all were 
 commanded to have their arms at hand.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 SERPENTS IN EDEN 
 
 So we came ashore with great content, and stretched 
 ourselves in the shade and ate and drank of the things 
 we had brought, and afterwards the mariners, as 
 their manner was, smoked their pipes and jested. 
 And yet there was about all a sparkle of excitement 
 begotten by the fact that they were (as they thought) 
 close by the captain's treasures, and their jesting 
 was halt and lame and forced, as though their minds 
 were not in it. But they were so eager not to appear 
 eager that they overdid it, and their anxiety became 
 manifest. Also each time I eyed them from under 
 my hat I catched one or other stealing a furtive 
 and baleful glance at the captain, who lay stretching 
 his huge length on the ground, resting, as he did all 
 things when the time came, with all his might. 
 
 And it came to me then and there with a sudden 
 shock that some devilry was afoot, and some scheme 
 amongst them that boded ill to the captain and 
 myself ; and all cut and dried too, and only biding 
 the time. What it was I could not tell, but it 
 filled me with forebodings. 
 
 After a time, however, feeling refreshed, all would 
 make a move to go off into the woods, and I too, 
 
 86
 
 86 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 for I longed to see something of their beauty near 
 at hand. And after Cary had cautioned every one 
 to go armed, and not to go far, and to return with 
 all speed when we heard a shot from a gun, we set 
 out. Yet did I not go with the others, they for 
 the most part going in twos and threes, while I 
 went alone. And as I went along, forcing my way 
 between the tree trunks and parting the flowering 
 branches with my hands, and getting from one degree 
 of beauty to another, there came back to me some- 
 thing of the eagerness of anticipation, and that 
 capacity for surprise that had seemed to die out of 
 my life with my childhood, and I passed from shrub 
 to shrub and flower to flower, stopping ever and 
 anon and looking up to listen to the note of a bird 
 with the pleased ecstasy of a child ; and as I did so 
 time seemed to turn backwards in its flight, and blot 
 out the years, and I was a boy again hunting " jack 
 sparrow " in the hedgerows of the dear homeland. 
 
 So I went on with great content, and forgetting 
 all about the captain's warnings and injunctions 
 might have strayed off beyond possibility of finding 
 my way back, when on a sudden that happened which 
 put my joy to flight and brought me down heavily to 
 thought of my surroundings and dangers. 
 
 I had entered a little dell softly carpeted with 
 grass, through which, on the farther side, a scarlet 
 creeper ran along the ground, and I was stepping 
 across to examine this more closely when there was 
 a scuttling by a log at my side, and looking round 
 I espied to my horror a serpent of great size coiled
 
 SERPENTS IN EDEN 87 
 
 up on the ground in the fork made by the two arms 
 of the log. Without intention I had not only 
 roused him, but cut off his retreat, though indeed 
 the brute showed no desire to turn back, but, on the 
 contrary, with head raised more than a foot above 
 the ground, his dry eyes snapping, and his forked 
 tongue flashing in and out of his cruel mouth, 
 launched himself like an arrow at me. 
 
 And well was it for me then that I had a staff 
 ready to my hand, for there was no time so much 
 as to think, and it was only by a kind of instinct 
 as he flung himself forward that I swung my staff 
 out in defence, and by the mercy of God, seemed 
 with that one blow to have broken his back. At all 
 events I contrived to cripple him so that he could do 
 nothing but writhe upon the ground and bite at 
 everything within his reach, including himself ; 
 while I, recovering now from the weakness which 
 first overcame me, was seized with a kind of frenzy 
 and fell upon him with my staff, and beat him until 
 he was a bloody pulp. Yet even then it did not 
 seem that I had killed him, for his tail still twitched 
 and moved from side to side. This, however, the 
 Master told me on my return was peculiar to them 
 all, and no matter if you brayed them into a mortar 
 or hacked them to pieces with a sword, the tail 
 will still twitch and move until the going down of 
 the sun. 
 
 But though I knew not if I had killed him, I was 
 certain at the moment that he was crippled and 
 could do no more harm, so I had time to take thought
 
 88 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 a little. And now strange it was to find that when 
 the danger was past a great weakness came upon 
 me and I found myself panting for breath and my 
 legs all ashake, and the sweat running from me in 
 great drops. After a while, however, I recovered 
 myself somewhat, and when I had so done, hurried 
 away out of that place with all speed and back to- 
 wards the boat. But where aforetime I had gone 
 carelessly, now I went cautiously and circumspectly, 
 looking where I trod. And I looked behind me too, 
 for as I went the memory of that serpent began to 
 haunt me like a ghost, and notwithstanding I had 
 left him broken to pieces, at times methought he 
 had recovered himself, and in my fancy I saw him 
 following hard after me, and at every rustle of the 
 bushes (though I knew it to be impossible) I looked 
 to see him glide from the cover and take his 
 revenge. 
 
 So now I had no ear for bird-songs, and no eye for 
 flowers ; the serpent had robbed all of its beauty 
 as that other serpent the Garden of Eden, and I 
 hurried out of it as Adam did, and felt that I had 
 rather a garden of herbs with safety, than a Garden 
 of Eden with a serpent. 
 
 And yet the serpent had his uses too, and did good 
 work for us that day, though he did not mean it, 
 for the caution he begat in me was the means of 
 saving our lives, or at least of showing us the sources 
 of a great and hidden peril. And it came about in 
 this wise. 
 
 I was picking my steps cautiously through a
 
 SERPENTS IN EDEN 89 
 
 dense part of the woods, and then, obsessed with 
 the fear that followed me, paused to listen, and had 
 stood but a moment, when there broke upon my 
 ear the sound, not of a serpent crawling on its belly, 
 but of human feet tramping, and of men talking. 
 
 They came nearer, and presently I made out the 
 voices of some of our crew, and could clearly hear 
 what it was they said. George Dockery was speak- 
 ing when they came within earshot, and his words 
 filled me with horror. 
 
 " An' I had my way I would split his skull to-night 
 as he lies asleep, and chance the finding of the gold," 
 he cried. While I stood transfixed, trying to grasp 
 the full meaning of these words, the others came to 
 a halt in a little clearing, and flung themselves 
 down upon the grass. 
 
 " And wouldst be a fool for thy pains," another 
 voice that I knew to be that of John England, 
 a man who exercised a strange authority over the 
 others, answered, " and, moreover, wouldst make 
 every honest man among us suffer for thy pleasure. 
 This land is great and large, and one might as well 
 search the Spanish Main for a drifting cockle boat 
 as search this country for the red gold. Without 
 this Cary, and curse him I say, we might spend 
 the rest of our lives seeking this treasure and spend 
 them in vain. No, there must be no splitting of 
 skulls, at least not his, for many a day yet. But 
 it was ever thy way, George," he went on, " to rush 
 in where an ass would have sense enough to stand 
 out and wait. There be men here and on the
 
 90 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 ' White Ship ' too, that would have been ruffling 
 it in London to-day with the best, with their pockets 
 full of gold pieces, but for that wonderful smartness 
 of thine. Hast forgotten that night off the Island 
 in the ' Roebuck ' ? " 
 
 " I'm not a talker," the other broke in, " I'm a 
 doer ; thou'rt the talker, Mr England, quite eloquent, 
 always settin' snares, and catching nothing ; why 
 the plots thou hast hatched " 
 
 " A pretty doer ! " the other broke in hotly, 
 " and yet thou'rt right," he added, " for thou wert 
 ever a ' doer ' of other men out of their hard-earned 
 reward, just in order that you might assert yourself, 
 and you might have your little fling, and you might 
 show what you could do ! " 
 
 George was proceeding to answer, when another 
 broke in to know what this " Roebuck ' business 
 was whereof they spoke. 
 
 " Why," England answered him, " there were a 
 score or so of as honest men as ever slit a weasand, 
 shipped aboard a ship of Devon, called the ' Roe- 
 buck ' ; with as rich a cargo as ever ship carried ; 
 and on our way home we made shift to take her, 
 and tossed overboard all that were disaffected, 
 save the master, and him we kept alive to sail the 
 ship. For among us all then, as now, there was no 
 man able to make a proper reckoning. And my 
 plan was to keep him alive and have him sail the 
 ship to a certain island I knew of, with the sweetest 
 haven in the world, where we might land her treasure 
 in safety, scuttle her afterwards, and make our way
 
 SERPENTS IN EDEN 91 
 
 home as shipwrecked mariners on the first ship 
 that called. And this we would have done, but for 
 George's wonderful trick of ' doing ' things. For 
 on the very night we made the island, and right 
 in sight of the anchorage, the captain, who was 
 conning the ship through the Channel, gives an order 
 to George who was at the wheel, and George, to show 
 that he's as good a man as the captain, refuses duty, 
 knocks him down with a pike, and tosses him to 
 the fishes ; and the morning found us on the reef 
 instead of in the harbour. Only twelve of that crew 
 ever got ashore, and not so much as a rix dollar 
 to divide amongst us, that had yesterday owned 
 the richest ship afloat. And all because George 
 was a ' doer ' and not a ' talker.' " 
 
 Here George broke in with terrible oaths, and 
 vowed that even in the case of the " Roebuck " 
 it was talk that was at the bottom of the trouble. 
 
 " For," said he, " wasn't the captain one of your 
 talkers ? And wasn't it all along of his talking 
 that the ship was cast away ? Talk, talk, haze — 
 haze — even after we took the ship, and he had to 
 take his orders from us. And that night he hazed 
 at me as though I was the ship's boy, instead of one 
 of his masters, until I couldn't stand it longer, and 
 so dropped the helm and went after him, and sent 
 him to the devil." 
 
 " Aye, George," the other broke in again quietly, 
 " and more than twenty honest sailormen after him, 
 that their souls might chase his soul to hell. But 
 talk or no talk, do or no do, there'll be none of that
 
 92 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 kind of doing this time, my lad ! Not yet awhile, 
 anyway. Now my plan is " 
 
 But what his plan was no man heard at that time, 
 for even as he spoke a shot from a gun at no great 
 distance rang out with startling suddenness. It 
 was Cary's signal for our return, and every scoundrel 
 leaping to his feet dashed off into the thicket, in the 
 direction of the boat. 
 
 As for me, I stood behind my tree for a little space 
 longer, and trembled in every limb, for not only 
 was I shaken to begin with by my encounter with 
 the serpent, and now suddenly aware that the bulk 
 of our crew were self-confessed pirates, that were 
 resolved to murder us at the first chance ; but the 
 " Roebuck " of which they spoke had been mine 
 own ship, and her loss the greatest blow to my 
 career and her fate a mystery until that day. So 
 I waited long enough to let the others get far on 
 their way, then I came from my concealment, 
 and with trembling steps made my way back to 
 the boat, where I found all aboard and Cary im- 
 patiently awaiting me.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE FIRST NIGHT IN THE FOREST 
 
 Very beautiful was the river that day, as the 
 mariners bent to the oars and the boat sped onward. 
 Ours was the first keel, belike, that ever cut its 
 surface, and ours the first Christian eyes to gaze 
 on its primaeval splendour. 
 
 After we had gone some miles, however, the 
 stream narrowed, the trees came nearer and nearer, 
 until at last in places they were meeting overhead, 
 and being decked with a forest creeper that bore 
 clustering white flowers, and backed up by the 
 bright colours of the blossoming trees on the banks, 
 it presently appeared as though we made a progress 
 through triumphal arches ; and anything more 
 softly, and yet (with the great trees towering up 
 behind, of that incredible height that the main mast 
 of our ship would not have reached a third of the 
 way to the top of them) more magnificently 
 beautiful, the mind cannot imagine. Birds of 
 bright plumage there were in plenty, and the 
 commonest those that had heads of blue, wings of 
 a kind of striped green, and bodies of a deep crimson. 
 Others we saw that were a kind of ivory white, 
 with delicate pink markings, and smaller birds, and 
 
 93
 
 94 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 that of all kinds and colours, were there in their 
 thousands, and the singing and crying of them filled 
 the air. 
 
 And apart from the birds there was another 
 wonder — a sound as of millions of crickets (though 
 we saw not one), and each striving his hardest 
 to drown the voice of his fellows. And all together 
 the forest was as full of movement and sound and 
 life as any of the great new manufacturing towns 
 of old England. Even the sons of Belial who rowed 
 the boat were moved by the beauty of our sur- 
 roundings, and compared it with other places they 
 had seen in all parts of the world, for in truth they 
 had been everywhere, and they said that not in 
 any place in all the earth had they seen the like, 
 nor was there a sweeter stream than this. 
 
 Cary lay in the forepart of the boat, his eyes 
 searching the river as we advanced, and for long 
 said nothing — but it was plain to me that, not- 
 withstanding the beauty all around, he was far 
 from pleased, and late in the afternoon, when the 
 river, now exceeding narrow, ran between high 
 hills crowned with forest — he suddenly started up 
 and directed the boat to the left bank, where a tiny 
 creek, flowing through a little wooded valley, entered 
 the main stream. 
 
 " Here we rest to-night," he said, " and in the 
 morning we shall see the head of the river. It is 
 shorter than I hoped, but it is in the right direction, 
 and will cut off twenty long rough miles of the way. 
 so we may be thankful. Then he sprang ashore,
 
 NIGHT IN THE FOREST 95 
 
 and exercising the same prudence as before, stole 
 into the forest, while we waited in the boat. 
 
 So long was he gone this time that all began to be 
 uneasy, but in the end he returned to us in safety, 
 saying that he had made a circuit of the valley but 
 had met with no enemy nor any sign of one. So all 
 came ashore, and glad to do so, for our limbs were 
 cramped with long sitting in the boat, and as the 
 sun had now set we prepared to spend the night. 
 
 This spot the master had chosen because of a 
 little clearing that was in it, and there we kindled 
 a lire, and one prepared a meal. 
 
 The wood lay thick about us, and huge white 
 trees (that rose up an hundred feet before a branch 
 grew out from the trunk, and of such prodigious 
 height and bigness round about, as no one could 
 believe except he had seen it), there were in great 
 plenty, and indeed they grew, as we presently dis- 
 covered, of vaster size in these rich river valleys 
 than elsewhere. 
 
 There also we saw another kind of tree, if indeed 
 it was a tree, for though the trunk of it was as thick 
 as a man's body, and it rose thirty feet into the air, 
 it seemed more of a fern than a tree. It was without 
 branches of any kind, but from the head of it there 
 sprouted out all round about it a kind of frond or 
 leaf, twelve feet long and more, and the ends of these 
 dipping gracefully towards the ground all round 
 the trunk, formed a kind of canopy very pleasant 
 to the eye. 
 
 Here then we rested and took our meal, and when
 
 96 THE " GOLD MOIDORE," 
 
 the night had fallen, drew near to the fire, the ship- 
 men all smoking and telling their stories of wild 
 doings by sea and land, and in this country and that, 
 and what made me sick was, that he that had the 
 foulest tale to tell of cheating, or robbing, or rape, 
 they accounted the best man of all. But now, 
 lest any suppose that because I have been at pains 
 to describe our progress up the river, and the beauty 
 of its trees and birds, I had forgotten all about 
 the devilish conspiracy I had discovered in the 
 morning, I hasten to set down that such was far 
 from being the case. Indeed, my mind was so full 
 of it, and I so burned to impart what I knew to Cary, 
 that I marvel how I had any eyes for beauty or was 
 able to receive any impression of the things we 
 passed on our way. But somehow I saw and re- 
 joiced in it all, although I lusted with impatience 
 for the time when I would be alone with the master, 
 that I might tell him of what I had heard and seen. 
 
 But in the end the stories lost their zest, the pipes 
 went out, and one and another wrapping himself 
 in his cloak laid down to rest. And then Cary, 
 who had torn down a great quantity of the soft 
 fern fronds and spread them on the ground a little 
 apart from the others, turned to me. 
 
 " Didst ever sleep out in the open, Master Barton, 
 in the old land ? " he asked. 
 
 " Nay," I replied, " never in my life." 
 
 " Well," he said, " there's a treat in store for 
 thee to-night. Thou'lt find that bed of ferns softer 
 than the ship's bunk and the scent of the woodlands
 
 NIGHT IN THE FOREST 97 
 
 in thy nostrils sweeter far than the smell of a tight 
 shut house. So get thee to thy couch and I will 
 join thee, when I have set the watch." 
 
 So wishing all " good-night," and committing 
 myself and dear ones to God, I laid me down on 
 the bed he had made, and covered myself up in my 
 cloak ; and good I found it — and soon afterwards 
 he came to me and stretched himself out in like 
 manner close by. The pirates, too, with the ex- 
 ception of the watch, who paced slowly up and down 
 in the shadows, were soon all at rest, and lay huddled 
 about the fire in any way that seemed best to them. 
 
 High above me the fronds of the great tree ferns 
 lifted and fell in the night air, and I lay for a time 
 watching the blazing stars swimming and swirling, 
 as it seemed, among them. Then when all was still 
 and quiet, turning slightly I touched Cary on the 
 arm. Immediately he rolled, as it were, in sleep, 
 over to me, and brought his head so close to mine 
 that we might speak to each other in safety. 
 
 ' Master Cary," I whispered, " I have somewhat 
 to say unto thee." 
 
 " Say on," he replied. 
 
 Then I told him of what I had overheard in the 
 glade down the river, and my fears that we might 
 be attacked and murdered where we lay ; I waited 
 then for him to speak ; but he lay so long silent that 
 I began to fear he had not heard me, or had fallen 
 asleep. At length, however, he pressed his head 
 close to mine again. 
 
 ' Have thou no fear to-night, Master Barton," 
 
 G
 
 98 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 he whispered, " nor for many nights to come. 
 Trouble we are sure to have. It would be contrary 
 to nature for such a nest of thieves as these to handle 
 great treasure without plotting to mutiny, and grasp 
 the whole. That I reckoned on from the beginning, 
 though I knew not nor suspected all was cut and 
 dried already. But I have marked Master England, 
 he went on, " and know full well when the time comes 
 he will be the one to reckon with. For he has more 
 head-piece than all the rest together. We can trust 
 him to deal with George, too, otherwise I would 
 kill George to-morrow." 
 
 " Kill him ? " I exclaimed in horror, but beneath 
 my breath. 
 
 " Aye," he said, " kill him, else none of us would 
 evermore see his native country. George would 
 dearly love to kill me, and will when the time comes, 
 an' I give him the chance. But if he did, that were 
 the end of all. For apart from me," Cary con- 
 tinued, " Mr Hopton is the only man in the ship 
 who knows navigation ; and with me out of the way 
 what would follow ? This — they would compel 
 Mr Hopton to sail the ship to some precious harbour 
 of theirs, and once there, would make him walk 
 the plank. But Mr Hopton knows them as I know 
 them, and if they killed me and ordered him to sail 
 the ship, he would simply run her to destruction 
 on the first reef he came to, and going down himself 
 drag the others with him, and that would be the end 
 of all. And there would be little profit in that for 
 any of us. No, Master Barton, if I thought George
 
 NIGHT IN THE FOREST 99 
 
 was likely to have his way, I would go out of my 
 way to-morrow to provoke him, and when he rushed 
 upon me, as he surely would, I would hit him at 
 once ; there would be no necessity to strike again." 
 
 " But there will be no need for that," he went on. 
 " England will keep George and all the rest of them 
 quiet, and for a good reason. Thou did'st not hear 
 his plan, Master Barton, but I will tell it thee, 
 and sure am I that I make no mistake England's 
 plan is to spare me, not only until I lead the way to 
 the treasure, but until I organise and direct the work 
 of getting it to the ship and, moreover, do the lion's 
 share of the carrying. Then, when he had got out 
 of me everything of value that is to be got, he would 
 have me knocked on the head, take possession of 
 the ship, and put to sea with the plunder. It is 
 a pretty plan, too, Master Barton, but there go two 
 words to it, and the last is with me, and God do to 
 me and more also if I make not good at the finish. 
 But for the present, we may trust Master England 
 to keep his cut-throats in their proper place, and 
 to-night thou mayest sleep as soundly as I shall." 
 
 Then he turned his back upon the flickering fire 
 and upon the men whose fingers were itching 'to take 
 his life, and with a great breath of deep content, 
 went off to sleep, as a child on the breast of its 
 mother. 
 
 But as for me, notwithstanding all he had said, 
 I was too disturbed to sleep, and lay tossing to the 
 break of day. And ever and anon, when some 
 uncertain sound broke the stillness of the night,
 
 100 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 I raised myself upon my arms and clutched at my 
 sword, for I was sure it was George or another 
 creeping through the shadows to take our lives. 
 
 But as often as I did, I saw that Cary too was wide 
 awake and ready, for he ever slept light as a ban- 
 dog. Yet there was no fear of death before his eyes. 
 And in the end I gathered strength a little from his 
 strength. " Time enough," I told myself, " to 
 spring up in wild alarm when he springs up — but 
 while he sleeps it is sleeping time, and safe to do so." 
 So I had some assurance, and peace from his peace. 
 
 But though fear passed from me with the passing 
 of the hours, still I slept not, but lay with my eyes 
 full of the night. And high above me the fronds 
 of the great tree ferns lifted and fell, and contracted 
 and expanded, as though they were the breathing 
 lungs of the earth ; and as I watched, it seemed as 
 though the stars were all broken loose in their 
 courses, and swirled and swam amongst those 
 tossing fronds, as their reflections will on troubled 
 water. And then by and by I looked beyond these 
 again, and there, far above the topmost boughs 
 of the high trees that traced their shapes upon the 
 heavens, everything was changed. Up there all 
 was calm and still, though not motionless, for the 
 silent armies of the white stars marched steadily 
 all night long over the wide plain of the sky. And 
 towards morning there came softly into view, in 
 one clear space, that Starry Cross, and lay athwart 
 the front of heaven. And as I lay alooking at the 
 Cross, there came to me, as it were, from on high,
 
 NIGHT IN THE FOREST 101 
 
 that word, "So He giveth His beloved sleep," and 
 I welcomed the Cross and the word both, with 
 rapture of heart ; and my soul was comforted, for 
 they told me of the tender mercies of God ; and 
 then as the Cross fared away west to shine on 
 other worlds, my fears went too, and a deep sleep 
 fell upon me until the morning.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 OF THE RETURN TO THE SWAN LAGOON AND 
 THE SHOTS HEARD IN THE NIGHT 
 
 When morning came and I, awakened by the tumult 
 of the birds, having risen up and bathed my face 
 in the little stream that ran to the river, and looked 
 about me, the world seemed new-born. It was 
 a morning of clear sunshine and the air invigorat- 
 ing like wine. The smoke of our fires rose blue 
 through the tree-tops, and the wood, and particu- 
 larly the leaves of the trees they burned, gave forth 
 a good pungent smell, very agreeable. The trees 
 seemed full of birds, some singing, some whistling, 
 and some there were (and these the most gorgeous 
 in colour) that shrieked as though in anger, but all, 
 as I well knew, for joy of the morning, and the good 
 free life that was theirs. 
 
 When we had broken our fast we took boat again 
 and rowed on up-stream, but the stream now 
 narrowed so rapidly that it was plain we would 
 soon exhaust its power to carry us, and about midday 
 we reached a place beyond which we could not go, 
 for neither was there water to bear us, nor width 
 enough to row with the oars. Here, then, amidst 
 
 mighty hills covered with forest we went ashore a 
 102
 
 RETURN TO THE LAGOON 103 
 
 little, to rest from the heat and to eat our midday 
 meal. 
 
 Later on we set out on our homeward way, and 
 because the river was now familiar to us, and we 
 rowed with the stream and had a wind at our backs, 
 we made great progress, and resolved upon reaching 
 the " White Ship " that night. And so we should 
 have done and that easily, but for an accident that 
 presently befell us. We had made so good progress, 
 not stopping to eat, that soon after sundown we 
 broke from the river and entered into the lagoon. 
 
 " Another hour, captain," England cried, as he 
 bent to his oar, " will see us safe aboard the ' White 
 Ship.' " 
 
 " Aye, aye," the Master responded in his deep 
 voice, " thou hast made good time, lads. Now 
 keep it up, and there will be double drink and meat 
 for all, and a long watch below." 
 
 ' Aye, aye, sir," the shipmen answered, and bent 
 their backs with fresh energy, and the boat went 
 on for a time with speed — and then, though they 
 continued their rowing, suddenly began to slack, 
 and. presently came to a stop. 
 
 " How now ? " Gary cried aloud, while each 
 looked in wonder at the other in the fading light, 
 then the captain rising to his feet took from a sailor 
 his oar, and thrusting it over the side discovered 
 there the trouble. We had run upon a mudbank. 
 This seemed a simple matter and easily remedied, 
 yet it proved in the end beyond our wit to overcome. 
 First Gary tried with the oar to push off, but the mud
 
 104 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 was so soft the oar pierced it, as a needle butter, 
 and no pressure could be got. Then two of the 
 seamen leapt over the side to push off, and well for 
 them that they loosed not their hands from the side 
 of the boat in doing so, for immediately they sank 
 to their arm-pits in the ooze, and but for their hold 
 on the boat, and their comrades' help in pulling 
 of them out, they had been smothered in three 
 minutes. 
 
 So there we were ; no great distance from the 
 " White Ship," and but a stone's throw from the 
 shore, and yet unable to move from the boat. The 
 water was too shallow to swim in, and the mud 
 too deep and soft to wade in, and no man could 
 get away, but there we must stay until the tide rose. 
 So our spirits within us were sore vexed, and the 
 mariners cursed and raged. For now a cold wind 
 blew from the south, and instead of their own 
 and double drink aboard the " White Ship," here 
 was a night of cold and cramp and empty bellies 
 in an open boat. So they cursed their fortune, 
 and it was plain the rougher of then, like Dockery 
 and Red Tom and another called Hammersmith, 
 laid the blame at the captain's door, and would have 
 thrown it in his teeth had they dared. 
 
 And there and then I had a proof of the shrewdness 
 of Cary's calculations concerning England, for he 
 it was who now set about to calm them, and reason 
 with them ; and this not availing to soothe George, 
 he presently, and of set purpose I thought, assailed 
 him bitterly, and called him all manner of vile
 
 RETURN TO THE LAGOON 105 
 
 names, and mocked him until George's wrath was 
 diverted from the captain and turned upon England. 
 And their quarrel waxed exceeding bitter, and their 
 language such as would make a Cavalier blush. 
 How long Cary would have allowed it to go on, or 
 what it might have led to, I know not, but suddenly 
 it was ended, as in the forest the previous day, 
 by the sharp crack of a musket shot that pealed 
 across the water from the " White Ship." This 
 was followed by several shots fired almost simul- 
 taneously, and then another and another at intervals, 
 and then no more. 
 
 At the first shot silence fell upon us, George 
 stopping dead in the midst of a string of oaths, 
 and all were startled, and knew not what to 
 think. 
 
 Then for a time all listened eagerly for something 
 further, but nothing came, and presently those of 
 our pirates who sat in the middle of the boat (of 
 whom were England and George) had their heads 
 together whispering, and it was clear that they 
 had their own ideas as to what had happened, and 
 why — and it may be that in a little time some 
 action would have been taken by them, when the 
 captain's great voice — but soft now — broke in upon 
 them. 
 
 " Belike," he said, " the wild black men have 
 found out the ship and have made an attack upon 
 her under cover of the darkness, as their manner 
 is, and the crew have beaten them off. A single 
 shot from a musket," he went on, " hath more
 
 106 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 power to put fear into them than a score of tall 
 fellows with cutlasses, and I doubt not they have 
 turned tail and fled." 
 
 Whether Cary believed what he said I know not ; 
 but it seemed to me he spake for the purpose of 
 diverting their thoughts, and if so the device suc- 
 ceeded. For it was a new thought, and a startling 
 thought, to the mutineers, for such in truth they 
 were, and bob went their heads together again, 
 and there was more whispering. But whatever 
 was said among them they soon showed they were 
 in a quandary, and for the present would take no 
 action, though what with hunger and cold and bad 
 temper, they were ripe for anything, even a trial 
 of strength with the master. 
 
 So now there was nothing to do but sit and listen 
 and guess what the day would bring forth, and one 
 said this and one that, as some of the shipmen 
 murdered by the blacks, or some of the blacks 
 shot by our men, but my fear was of Mr Hopton 
 and any well-disposed men being shot by mutineers, 
 or may be mutineers shot by them. But all had 
 enough to think of and speculate about. So each 
 sat huddled up in the boat, and thought his own 
 thoughts, and watched for the morning, or the tide, 
 whichever should chance to come first. 
 
 And above us the stars blazed in their brilliancy, 
 and wings rustled in the darkness, and round about 
 us the waterfowl and nightbirds called and whistled, 
 and the black swans cried upon each other with their 
 strange clanking note. In the water beside us, too,
 
 RETURN TO THE LAGOON 107 
 
 the fish leaped and splashed, while beneath us the 
 current kept up a continuous knocking on the sides 
 of the boat as it hurried by to greet the sea, where 
 it tumbled over the reefs, and roared and thundered 
 through the Gates of Hell.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 MUTINY 
 
 The tide came to us before the light, as it happened, 
 and lifted us, and glad we were to get away. But so 
 benumbed and stiff had all become now with the 
 cold wet wind, that for a time the men could scarce 
 make shift to row the boat. I marvelled, too, at 
 that time, to see Cary take the oar from the man 
 nearest him, and bend to it with all his might, for 
 he was ever one to insist upon each man doing his 
 allotted work. Howbeit, when we came within 
 hail of the ship, he gave it back to him that had used 
 it, and again took his place in the bow. 
 
 By that time all were moved intensely by excite- 
 ment. England's eyes, as indeed the eyes of all 
 the others, were for ever over his shoulder, as though 
 he would be the first to make out the position of 
 affairs, and every man's movements were quick 
 and nervous, and muttered oaths flew thick as the 
 spray from their oars. But as none knew with 
 certainty what had happened, or why the shots 
 were fired, so none knew what to do, and could only 
 row on, and hope for what best suited his desires. 
 
 For myself, I contrived, without being observed, 
 to get ready my two pistols beneath my cloak, 
 
 108
 
 MUTINY 109 
 
 and with my hands upon them waited what might 
 come. Gary, I doubted not, was ready — indeed, 
 when I had thought the matter over I was assured 
 he had taken his share of the rowing, not to relieve 
 the man whose oar it was, but to get his blood to 
 circulate, and to warm himself, and to be fully fit 
 for whatever came to pass. So all with great 
 anxiety, but for different reasons, came towards 
 the ship. But, as usual, it was the thing least 
 expected that met us, for, while we were yet some 
 way off, there came a hail from the deck to know 
 who and what we were. This brought forth Cary's 
 deep response at once, given as it seemed to me with 
 some relief. " Is that you, Mr Hopton ? "he called. 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir," the mate replied. 
 
 " Is all well ? " Cary asked again. 
 
 " All well, sir," was the reply, and then the ship 
 seemed to come at us suddenly out of the mist, 
 a rope was thrown, and Cary swung himself aboard. 
 
 " You next, Master Barton," he called to me, 
 after a little, and I rose stiffly, and, with the help 
 of the seamen in the boat, and of Cary and of Mr 
 Hopton in the ship, came aboard, but not (so cramped 
 and stiff was I with cold) until they had made a 
 clove hitch about me with the rope, and so dragged 
 me over the ship's side, where I stood clinging to 
 Mr Hopton's arm. But before any of the others had 
 time to follow, Cary called down to them. 
 
 " Men," he said, " Mr Hopton tells me there hath 
 been something akin to mutiny aboard to-night, 
 which he had to put down with a strong hand, and
 
 110 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 as a result Owen Butt has gone to feed the fishes, 
 and Jonathan Handover, and Davy Jones, and Patsy 
 Lakey lie wounded below ; the first two through 
 refusing duty and trying to take the ship and the 
 others through standing by Mr Hopton. Now 
 what say you to that ? " 
 
 There was silence a moment, for all were dumb 
 with surprise, not that an attack had been made, 
 but that Mr Hopton should have repulsed it. For he 
 was a quiet man and said little, and seemed so mild 
 beside the roaring captain, that all had misjudged 
 him — thinking him a man of straw, that could be 
 twisted about their fingers. 
 
 Therefore, for a moment none spake for surprise, 
 then a great oath broke from George ; and I doubt 
 not others would have backed him, but quick as 
 light England struck in — 
 
 " What say we, capt'n ? " he cried, " why, serve 
 the scoundrels right, and a pity Mr Hopton had not 
 put an ounce of lead into every mother's son of them, 
 and sent them all to the bottom. It makes honest 
 men sick to be aboard the same ship with such muck ! 
 What say you, lads ? " he cried to the others, and 
 they, taking their cue from him, shouted " Aye, 
 aye ! " and George shouted the loudest of them all. 
 
 ' Well said, my lads ! " Cary replied, " and now 
 come aboard." 
 
 But as each man came over the side, the master 
 laid a hand upon him. " It might be as well to 
 leave thy weapons here," he said confidentially, 
 and just as though they were his chief supporters ;
 
 MUTINY 111 
 
 " there have been rough times aboard, blood hath 
 been shed, and the fewer arms forward amongst 
 those mutineers to-night, the better." 
 
 It was a shift to possess himself of their arms, 
 of course, and each man knew it ; but it was said 
 so blandly and confidentially, and withal with such 
 unmistakable meaning, that they were compelled 
 to obey to keep up the pretence. Only George 
 showed anger and reluctance to obey. 
 
 Did the captain doubt his honesty ? he demanded 
 to know, and rank him as a mutineer also ? To 
 which Cary replied, but with a double meaning, 
 that he had no doubt whatever about George's 
 honesty, nevertheless he insisted upon having his 
 pistols and sword. And George, having given them 
 up, but with a bad grace, went away in a rage. 
 
 England, for his part, showed no reluctance, 
 but desired to know if it were wise to disarm all 
 the honest men, and send them amongst mutineers, 
 who, perchance, would do them a mischief ? To 
 whom the master replied that he had every con- 
 fidence that the loyal men would be more than a 
 match for the mutineers, no matter what they might 
 attempt ; and although England, as I did, per- 
 ceived that this answer was in reality a challenge, 
 and a defiance to him and Ins fellows, yet, to keep 
 up the appearance, he had to seem to think it a 
 compliment to his honesty and strength — which 
 thing he also did, and so went forward to join his 
 comrades. But as it were chewing of gravel. 
 
 Then Cary had Humphrey Clinker, the boatswain's
 
 112 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 mate, who had stood by to hold the arms as they 
 were taken from the boat's crew, bear them aft 
 to the cabin, whither we — excepting' Mr Hopton, 
 who remained on deck — followed him. 
 
 Our ship's cook was a black man named Joseph 
 Van, and when he brought us meat and drink, 
 seemed so truly glad to see us safe returned, that I 
 remarked upon it to Cary, and said that in him we 
 had one who was well disposed towards us. 
 
 " Aye," he replied, " and there are others, but just 
 how many were hard to yet say." Then, when 
 Joe Van had gone to carry the double portion to 
 the boat's crew that Cary had promised them, 
 and while we sat at meat, he told me in a whisper 
 what he had already learned from Mr Hopton. 
 
 " I guessed it was mutiny of some sort, and no 
 affair of the black men," he said, " so soon as I 
 heard the shots, but I knew well that if once those 
 children of the devil got the idea in their heads that 
 Handover and Davy Jones had jumped in and taken 
 the ship, there would have been tribute paid to hell 
 before the morning. So I threw out the thought 
 of an attack by the black men. And, indeed, it 
 might have been true," he added, " though I did 
 not think so." Then, seeing that I liked not the 
 telling of lies, he said, " Sins, like all things else, 
 Master Barton, are comparative, and I had rather 
 tell a man a lie than shed his blood any day." 
 
 To this I had no reply, and he went on. " Never 
 had I a more anxious time than when the tide lifted 
 us and we came towards the ship. I took an oar
 
 MUTINY 113 
 
 and rowed that I might be warm and limber, and 
 ready for battle, should it come, and held on to 
 it till near the end, so that the fellow whose it was 
 might be too cold and stiff to take a swift part, 
 and so had one the less to reckon with. But glad 
 was I, indeed, when it was Mr Hopton's voice, and 
 not Handover's, or Davy Jones', that hailed the boat. 
 Still, I said nothing about the shooting lest the truth 
 might out before you and I reached the deck, but so 
 soon as I got there, I began to get details from Mr 
 Hopton, and for once in a way, was glad that you 
 were a landsman and no sailor, and took a deal of 
 trouble to get aboard, for that gave us longer time 
 to talk and make our plans. 
 
 " As to what had brought about the trouble that 
 ended in two men wounded and one dead, Mr Hopton 
 told me that on the day we left things went fairly 
 well. The lading of the ship that had been taken 
 ashore was to be brought back aboard, and Mr 
 Hopton set the crew to work, but because of the 
 hardness of their labours the day before, he let them 
 take their ease, and but little was done. At night 
 he set a watch ashore for fear of surprise by the black 
 men, but going himself at eight bells in the second 
 watch to see that all was well, found the watchers 
 — of whom Handover was one — fast asleep, and 
 wakened them with a rope's end. So passion was 
 aroused, and the next day, the weather being hot 
 and oppressive, and the men irritable and out-of- 
 sorts, and Mr Hopton driving them somewhat, to 
 have the goods aboard against our return, the bulk 
 
 H
 
 114 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 of them, and chiefly Handover, grumbled and cursed, 
 and slacked their going each time Mr Hopton's 
 back was turned, and dropped the goods into the 
 water, and generally set him at naught. Much 
 Mr Hopton endured and overlooked, and affected 
 not to see, hoping to escape a conflict, at least until 
 we returned. But, supper being ended, and we not 
 returned, and Mr Hopton going to set a watch over 
 the stores that still lay ashore, and the men refusing 
 duty, he saw the limit had been reached."
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 HOW MR HOPTON AND CARY SCORED THE 
 FIRST POINT IN THE GAME 
 
 Now when Cary had told me so much of this business 
 of the mutiny, it chanced that Mr Hopton, having 
 set a watch that he could trust, and the day being 
 at hand, came into the cabin, and what follows he 
 told himself. 
 
 ' The mutineers were gathered together in the 
 fore part of the ship," he said, " when I, having 
 first seen to my pistols, and stationed Patsy Lakey, 
 the Irishman, and Humphrey Clinker, the boats- 
 wain's mate, and three other loyal men at the head 
 of the companion way with loaded muskets, went 
 forward to get my commands obeyed." 
 
 "It was bravely done," Cary cried, with great 
 approval. 
 
 " It was in the way of duty," the other replied, 
 modestly. " But," he added, " I stepped up to 
 them and said ' Jonathan Handover, Owen Butt, 
 Isaac Hole, and Davy Jones, stand by to take a watch 
 ashore 1 ' Whereat they laughed, and Handover 
 said he would see me burned in hell fire before he 
 would take any more of my orders. Whereupon I 
 told them that if they were not over the shoreside
 
 116 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 to their watch by the time I counted ten, some of 
 them would be over the other side to the bottom 
 of the lagoon before I had counted twenty. And 
 at that they rushed upon me. Handover I got 
 with my first shot, and sent him staggering back, 
 but the others were too quick for me, and down 
 I went with Davy Jones on the top of me. And 
 that I think might have been the end, but for a 
 friendly shot that came from behind the deck-house. 
 It was fired, I think, by Black Joe Van— though of 
 that I am not sure, for when I asked him he would 
 say neither yea nor nay. But that shot rolled 
 Davy Jones over, and a moment later Humphrey 
 Clinker and Patsy Lakey were at the head of the 
 gangway and fired together. Some of the mutineers 
 that had pistols returned their shots, and Patsy 
 fell. Then came another shot from the deck-house 
 that ended Owen Butt's career, and at that the 
 mutineers dived down below, I sending a shot 
 skimming along the deck to hurry them. 
 
 " Then I had time to look about me, and Butt 
 I found to be quite dead. Handover and Davy 
 Jones were hurt, but not so badly but that they 
 will be about the devil's business again in a few days. 
 Nor is Patsy Lakey's wound likely to prove trouble- 
 some for long. 
 
 " When I had loaded my pistols again, I went 
 to the forecastle head and called for some to come 
 and bear a hand to take their comrades to their 
 bunks, and when they were assured there was to be 
 no more shooting, some of them came, and amongst
 
 MR HOPTON AND CARY 117 
 
 them Isaac Hole. Him, with three more, I sent 
 ashore to take the first watch, and they went now with- 
 out demur. The others I made sew Owen Butt up 
 in a piece of old sail with a couple of heavy shot at 
 his feet, and sent him over the stern into the deep 
 water there. Then I had them swab down the deck, 
 and the rest of the night was as might be usual in 
 a well-ordered ship that had got ashore here. But 
 I kept a watch myself, and was glad enough to hear 
 the rattle of the rowlocks in your boat." 
 
 " Thou hast played a man's part, Mr Hopton," 
 Cary exclaimed, when the other had made an end 
 of speaking, " and Master Barton and I are grateful 
 to you, and thou shalt not lose by it." 
 
 " Thank you both, gentlemen," Mr Hopton re- 
 sponded quietly. " I only did my duty, as a man 
 is bound to do, but if I might make bold to 
 speak ? " 
 
 " Certainly," Cary assured him. 
 
 " Well," he said, " it seems to me, sir, that if 
 these buccaneers have a mind to take things into 
 their own hands, it is time we settled how to deal 
 with them." 
 
 " That is well said," Cary responded, rising and 
 going to the door to make sure none were listening 
 without. " I knew all along this would come," 
 he said, when he had seated himself again, " but I 
 own I did not expect it so soon, and, mcthinks 
 something must have happened to speed it up. 
 This Handover appears to be a bigger man among 
 them than I thought. Is there any rivalry, think
 
 118 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 you, Mr Hopton, between Handover and England ? 
 And did Handover force this on while we were away 
 that he might be in the position of captain of them 
 when England returned ? " 
 
 " As to that," Mr Hopton replied, " I know not. 
 Rivalry no doubt there is, and a certain contest for 
 leadership. But I incline to the thought that it 
 was more or less unpremeditated, otherwise they 
 had made better preparations. But, however that 
 may be, there can be no doubt now as to who will 
 lead them, for this failure will break the confidence 
 of the rest in Handover and Davy Jones for ever, 
 and England will make the most of it, you may be 
 sure." 
 
 " Right again, Mr Hopton," Cary responded, 
 ' and for my part I am not sorry. England is 
 ten times more dangerous than Handover, Dockery, 
 and Davy Jones put together, because he is ten times 
 more subtle, but his plans and mine march together 
 to a certain point, and so far we may trust him. 
 Handover and George would knife me any day to 
 gratify their hate, and trust to luck to find the 
 treasure, but England, though he probably hates 
 me more than either of the others, will bide his time, 
 and make sure of the treasure and the ship ; then 
 if he gets the chance he will strike, and strike hard. 
 But in the meantime there will be no throwing away 
 of the substance to grasp the shadow, and he will 
 not only keep himself in hand but the others too, 
 so we may go our ways in peace for the present time. 
 Still, it were well to know how we stand, and what
 
 MR HOPTON AND CARY 119 
 
 men we can depend upon. What think you, Mr 
 Hopton, will there be twelve to stand by us ? ' 
 
 " Twelve, and more, I should say," Mr Hopton 
 replied ; " but if I might make so bold as again to 
 speak my thoughts " 
 
 " Certainly, Mr Hopton, certainly," both Cary 
 and I assured him at once. Mr Hopton bowed in 
 his grave way. 
 
 " I thank you, gentlemen," he said, " and having 
 your permission, would suggest that after the crew 
 have been piped — and had their duty pointed out to 
 them afresh — which I presume you will attend to 
 sir " 
 
 " You may lay to that," Cary responded grimly, 
 " and not many minutes hence either." 
 
 " Quite so, sir," Mr Hopton resumed, bowing 
 again. " Well, when the crew have been taught 
 afresh their duty, and are about their work again — 
 it would, in my view, be well for us to ascertain, 
 as far as possible, who are on our side. I have made 
 a little excursion in that direction myself these 
 last days, and can speak for the carpenter, the 
 boatswain and the boatswain's mate, three of the 
 hands and I think for Joe Van the cook, and to-day, 
 if we pursue our inquiries and meet to-night after 
 some time in the cabin here, we shall know how we 
 stand, and be able to form our plans accordingly." 
 
 " That is the thing I should have proposed 
 myself," Cary said, when the mate had ceased 
 speaking, " and we shall act upon it. Report here 
 in the cabin at eight bells this evening, Mr Hopton,
 
 120 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 and we shall discuss this matter further. And now, 
 Mr Hopton, if your pistols are loaded and cutlass 
 ready, will you be good enough to step up and ask 
 Mr Blake (the boatswain) to pipe all hands on 
 deck ? " Mr Hopton departed, and as I rose to 
 my feet, Cary turned to me. 
 
 " Perchance," he said, " it were best for you to 
 stay here, Master Barton, belike there will be a 
 stormy time above board, and you may get some 
 harm." That, however, I would not consent to do. 
 
 " It would ill become me," I cried, " to skulk 
 below when trouble is abroad, and, God helping me, 
 if it come upon us I shall bear what part I may." 
 When I had said this Cary looked kindly upon me, 
 and laughed a great laugh. 
 
 " Thou hast the soul of an Englishman," he said, 
 " or a Scot, which is much the same thing," he added, 
 " and, had the fates so decreed it, wouldst have 
 made a gallant soldier of fortune." 
 
 To this I made no reply, for the thought that I 
 might, within the next hour, stand in the presence 
 of the Judge of all the earth, was to me a thing too 
 solemn for jest. So I turned about, and made a 
 prayer to God, and looked to my weapons. It 
 was but a minute later that we heard the piping of 
 the boatswain's whistle, followed by the tramping 
 of many feet as the seamen ran to quarters, and then, 
 Cary, big, confident, but frowning terribly, passed 
 up the companion way, and I, all ashake but deter- 
 mined to do my do, followed after him. 
 
 But there was no trouble that day after all, for
 
 MR HOPTON AND CARY 121 
 
 when the captain, with the crew all before him, had, 
 with a great anger, cursed and raged and upbraided 
 the mutineers, and challenged any and all to repeat 
 the offence here and now, England stepped forward 
 to make peace, and if inwardly his heart was a 
 drawn sword, yet his words were smoother than 
 butter. On the part of the mutineers, he admitted 
 all, and professed that when he and George with the 
 remainder of the boat's crew first heard of the matter, 
 as they lay by the side of the ship, they were so 
 filled with indignation that they were ready to have 
 made them all to walk the plank. But when they 
 had gone below and upbraided them for their 
 treachery and ingratitude, the others, while deeply 
 penitent, nevertheless had somewhat to say in their 
 defence. And their excuse was, that all were stiff 
 and sore from the previous day's work, the weather 
 was oppressive and trying, and Mr Hopton a little 
 given to hazing, and as a result their tempers had 
 overcome them for a moment, and the trouble had 
 arisen ; but, seeing one of them, and he the leader 
 of all (which was an adroit lie) , had lost his life, and 
 two more were sore wounded — and all the honours 
 of the fight with the mate — and the men being 
 all eager to return to duty, mercy might temper 
 justice on the captain's part, bygones be by- 
 gones, and things all comfortable and happy as 
 before. 
 
 To all this, knowing the heart of the man, we 
 listened with loathing and contempt, but, as it 
 best suited the master's plans to seem to believe him,
 
 122 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 he agreed to pass the matter over, though he did it 
 with apparent reluctance. But he was not the man 
 to throw away the chance they had given him to 
 assert his authority. The mutineers had made 
 a false move, and the captain took full advantage 
 of it, and once again declared with great oaths 
 that he, and he alone, had the secret of the treasure, 
 and he and he alone was able to bring them to it, 
 and bring it to the ship, and the ship to England. 
 
 " There be men aboard this ship," he cried, 
 looking all squarely in the face, " who are not 
 content to have wealth enough to keep them snug 
 ashore all their days, but would like to wallow in it ; 
 not content to share with comrades, but would grasp 
 all for themselves, and would like to take my share, 
 and my place, and be all and get all, and keep all 
 for themselves. But that no man among you, no, 
 nor any number of men, can do. Not Mr Hopton, 
 for he knows not where to look for the treasure. 
 Not England, for he knows less than Mr Hopton. 
 Not George Dockery, for if he knew all, he would 
 quarrel with everybody and get nothing done. Nor 
 yet Jonathan Handover or Davy Jones, for even if 
 they had the gold on the ship, neither of them has 
 head-piece enough to work a ship, or sail it back 
 to England. And once again I tell you, that 
 without me you can do nothing, nothing. But with 
 me, and working together, every man one with 
 another, we shall sail the ' Drake ' (for so we had 
 determined to call the frigate now to be built) back 
 to England, richer than a Plate ship, and every man
 
 MR HOPTON AND CARY 123 
 
 shall have his rightful share, and that share enough 
 to keep him all the rest of his days how he will. 
 No more weary watches at sea, no more sweating 
 and starving, no more battle and bloodshed, no more 
 knocking out of his life to keep it in. No more 
 fetching and carrying like a dog, but each to take his 
 ease in the way he desires, and cap to none. If 
 you fail me, you will perish everyone, but if you 
 follow me and obey me, I will give you all that and 
 more besides, so help me God." 
 
 And as I looked upon the men the whiles he spoke, 
 I observed a great change come over them, and they 
 hung upon his words and believed him, and were 
 so carried away by him, that when he had made an 
 end of speaking they set up a great cheer, and that 
 in spite of themselves. 
 
 So every man well pleased went off to his task, 
 but I to my cabin, for I was weary to death.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE LAND OF PROMISE 
 
 It is at this point that we come to the first of the 
 breaks in the narrative. The loss of the pages is 
 greatly to be regretted for many reasons, but 
 fortunately it is not difficult to bridge the gulf. 
 Apparently in the lost pages Mr Barton had set 
 down an account of the disposition of the crew 
 for the building of the " Drake " and the journey 
 to the Mountains of Desire (without a doubt Mts. 
 Buninyong and Warrenheip, near to Ballarat) 
 for the gold. One gathers from subsequent pages 
 that Mr Hopton, with the greater part of the men 
 was left to see the building of the " Drake," and that 
 Cary, accompanied by Mr Barton, led the others 
 in the search for the treasure. It would appear 
 also that Cary had taken with him the rougher 
 elements of the crew, including the redoubtable 
 George Dockery and the truculent Handover, 
 while leaving England at the " White Ship " ; 
 this for the reason no doubt that he felt he could 
 trust him, until the treasure was safely aboard. 
 From a slight allusion further on, it would appear 
 that they took a boat to the head of the river and 
 there sunk her, and then set out to break their way 
 
 124
 
 THE LAND OF PROMISE 125 
 
 through the forest. When the narrative begins 
 again, we find them on the ridge of a mountain, 
 which I take to be Mount Leura in Western Victoria, 
 at the foot of which the pretty village of Camperdown 
 now stands. 
 
 • *•••• 
 
 . . . found ourselves presently on a ridge, and on 
 the highest part of it a tree — which it seemed might 
 overlook all else, for the timber on this mountain 
 top was bushy and thick, but of no great height. 
 
 So Cary must needs climb it, and view the land, 
 and I had a mind to see that sight also, and the 
 tree being one that was easy to climb, I laid aside 
 my weapons and my cloak, and made a shift to get 
 up it. And the while I was aclimbing, it came to 
 me that it must be now full two score years since 
 last I had climbed a tree, and that before we came 
 over the border to England, and I was a boy in 
 Langsyde, near to the grey town of Glasgow, living 
 with my parents. 
 
 However, my limbs had not quite forgot their 
 cunning, and, with the help of one of the seamen, 
 and a hand from the master himself at the finish, 
 I presently stood beside him eighty feet up in the 
 air, with my feet on a branch of the tree and my arms 
 about the trunk, and then, having steadied myself 
 a little and become accustomed to the swaying of 
 the tree, I was able to look about me. And when I 
 had looked we seemed to be up a prodigious height, 
 and able to look over all the world. Our first glance 
 was towards the south, to see if we could make
 
 126 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 out anything of the way we had come, or, perchance, 
 catch a glimpse of the sea. But in that we were 
 disappointed, for nothing was to be seen but 
 waving tree tops, where a boundless expanse of 
 foliage stretched itself out beyond the ends of 
 sight. 
 
 And this mountain of ours was an odd thing too, 
 when from our lofty place we could look down upon 
 it, for just below us was a great hole that divided 
 it into two, as though in some frightful convulsion 
 the middle of the mountain had been blown out, 
 and that part which was left on the farther side 
 from us was of a queer conical shape, like the crown 
 of a Puritan's hat. 
 
 Then we turned to see what lay to the north, 
 and more particularly to the north-east, where our 
 journey lay, and when we did my heart beat the 
 faster. Before us was what seemed for the most 
 part a huge plain, out of which there rose a succession 
 of great isolated hills or mountains, and at the 
 foot of every mountain a lake. And all the plain 
 was well wooded and covered knee-deep with 
 grass, like that we had come through, and rolling 
 away east and north farther than our eyes could 
 see, and was of such richness and beauty as passed 
 belief. 
 
 To me, in that first moment of beholding, it 
 seemed like the Land of Promise, and a joy un- 
 speakable and full of glory filled my heart, Cary, 
 the while, seeming to find satisfaction in my evident 
 delight.
 
 THE LAND OF PROMISE 127 
 
 ' Said I not well when I told you it was like the 
 Garden of Eden ? " he asked presently, and I was 
 fain to confess that he had. And again, as I looked 
 upon it, I felt myself as Lot, that lifted up his eyes 
 and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well 
 watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed 
 Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the Garden of the 
 Lord like the Land of Egypt as thou comest unto 
 Zoar, and I knew then what was the strength of 
 the temptation that beset just Lot, for the lure of 
 land is as great as that of gold itself. 
 
 So, after I had gazed awhile, Cary would have 
 me look away beyond to the farthermost limit 
 of our view, and there I presently made out the 
 tops of a number of mountains that hung misty and 
 blue upon the horizon like far-off clouds. 
 
 ' The Mountains of Desire," he said, indicating 
 them. 
 
 ' Say you so ? ' I asked in wonder, looking 
 earnestly upon them. 
 
 ' Aye," he replied, ' and if all goes well, five 
 
 days hence will see us at " but then he broke 
 
 off, and gave vent to a low whistle of surprise. 
 ' By my soul ! " he exclaimed presently, " we are 
 not the only Adams in Eden. Look yonder ! " 
 
 Then I looked, but at first could see only a great 
 drove of the hopping beasts pouring over the plain 
 in the direction of a belt of timber, but when I had 
 followed the direction of Cary's pointed finger, 
 I (with a feeling akin to terror) made out a company 
 of dusky savages emerging from the woodland.
 
 128 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 They were evidently on the march, and leaving the 
 woods behind them, entered on the plain. And first 
 went those we knew for men. They were clad for 
 the most part in robes of skin, and carried long 
 spears and other weapons ; and these were followed 
 by a straggling line of younger men and boys, with 
 a multitude of yellow dogs ; and afterwards came 
 the women — all of them carrying burdens, and some 
 their infants in addition, and with them was a 
 number of little children. In all, they numbered 
 about two hundred, and moved slowly over the 
 plain in the direction of one of the lakes. 
 
 Breathlessly I watched them, and Cary not less 
 eagerly, but with more calculation, as wondering 
 which way they were travelling, and whether it 
 would be possible for us to avoid them as we went 
 on to the Mountains of Desire. So we stayed where 
 we were, for fear of being seen if we moved, and 
 watched them till they were far on the way, and then 
 made haste to come down. 
 
 At their first appearance Cary had signalled to 
 the men below to keep silence, and they could scarce 
 contain themselves till we reached ground, being 
 all impatience to know what the danger was, and 
 what it was we saw. So when we had come to earth, 
 they all crowded about us, and Cary told them of 
 the wild black men. 
 
 " And," said he, " it was certain we would meet 
 them in this country, for, as you see, it is a rich 
 country and well watered, and game abounds on 
 all sides, and where the carcass is there will the eagles
 
 THE LAND OF PROMISE 129 
 
 be gathered together, for these people live by their 
 hunting." 
 
 Then he went on to warn us of the dangers of the 
 way, and told of the horrible fate that befell the men 
 of the " Gold Moidore," when they relaxed their 
 caution, and for the sake of the women companied 
 with these savages. 
 
 "Our only safety," he said, "lay in our going our own 
 way, keeping eternal vigilance lest we be attacked, 
 and in the shooting off of our guns whenever they 
 got near." So all looking well to the priming of 
 their weapons, and ready for any sudden alarm, 
 we descended the mountain, and went on our way. 
 
 But the descending was more difficult by far than 
 the ascending, and as to the way, we needs must pass 
 at no great distance from the savages, and, fearing 
 to be seen, took what shelter we could find, and 
 sought to pass them by unobserved.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 HOW THE BOAT'S CREW FOUGHT THE WILD BLACK MEN 
 AND WENT ON TO THE MOUNTAINS OF DESIRE 
 
 But the eyes of these people are as the eyes of eagles, 
 and we had barely reached the level ground again 
 before there came to our ears a cry (often, alas ! 
 have I heard it since) . It was high-pitched and long 
 drawn out, and sounded like " Coo-ee " thrice 
 repeated. And at once there was heard the same 
 cry in response, in other directions, some near and 
 others far away. 
 
 None doubted they were warnings and signals 
 amongst the blacks, telling one another of our 
 presence, and, expecting an attack, we took what 
 shelter we could and prepared to defend our lives. 
 
 But no attack coming just then, and no sign of 
 one, Cary, being eager to get into the open country 
 where we might the better keep the barbarians 
 at a distance, crept away into the timber to learn, 
 if possible, where, and how many, the savages were ; 
 and what were the chances of our getting through 
 in safety. So we lay a long while on the ground in 
 the hot sunshine behind the bushes, and in the 
 beauty and peace of the morning with the birds 
 singing all about us, it was hard to believe that 
 
 130
 
 THE WILD BLACK MEN 131 
 
 underneath it all there lay those black murderous 
 heathens thirsting for our blood. 
 
 After a time Cary came wriggling back to us, 
 and ordered all to rise up and move forward, for it 
 seemed our appearance had greatly alarmed those 
 that had seen us, and that the whole camp of them 
 was in a state of excitement, and all apparently 
 consulting what was best to be done. 
 
 So we made speed to escape from the thicket, 
 and in a little while came out on an open plain and 
 made haste to cross it. And well for us was it 
 that we did, for in a little time some forty or fifty 
 savages, brandishing spears and clubs, brake from 
 the covert of the forest and with wild cries came 
 on in hot pursuit. It would have been hopeless 
 to have attempted to fly them, for they ran like 
 deer, but fortunately our safety lay not in flight, 
 but in our muskets, which would not only carry 
 farther than they could throw a spear, but, moreover, 
 the flash and report would terrify them more than 
 the death they wrought. 
 
 So Cary bade us stand and face them, and some to 
 be ready to fire when he gave the word, but the 
 remainder to reserve their shots in case the first 
 discharge proved ineffective and the savages rushed 
 upon us. 
 
 So we stood still and they came on ; but about 
 a musket shot off they, too, halted, and stood 
 regarding us. Then we were able to look at them 
 more closely, and saw that they had flung aside 
 their robes and were naked and unashamed, and
 
 132 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 were tall and active-looking, and some were bearded 
 withal. So there we stood face to face, and they 
 jabbering and shaking their spears threateningly, but 
 plainly feared to come too near, and we, for our part, 
 regarding them with great curiosity and not a little 
 fear. But, after a time, we grew used to the sight 
 of them and were weary of it, and then Cary bade 
 those he had named to fire off their pieces, which they 
 did, and at the discharge such consternation fell 
 upon the blacks as never was. Some leapt in the 
 air, some fell flat on their backs, and some spun 
 round like tops, and all cried out with fear. But 
 all alike recovered themselves instantly and ran 
 like hares to cover, whereat our men roared with 
 laughter. Yet so swiftly did they fly, and so 
 skilfully take cover, that in an instant the plain 
 was deserted and it was hard to believe that but now 
 more than forty dancing barbarians stood before us, 
 yet so it was. 
 
 We waited awhile then to see if they made any 
 further advance, but they making no sign, we turned 
 our backs upon them, and set our faces for the 
 Mountains of Desire, earnestly hoping we had seen 
 the last of them, but at the same time not slacking 
 to be vigilant. 
 
 However, we saw no more of them then, though 
 as we went on, and especially when we passed 
 through any woods, we felt conscious that we were 
 evermore being watched and our footsteps dogged. 
 Still, nothing came of it, and we went on in safety 
 all day, growing more confident with each mile,
 
 THE WILD BLACK MEN 133 
 
 and at evening camped by a little lake wherein 
 the shipmen took some fish. That night four men 
 were posted to keep watch, and relieved every three 
 hours, but, though the night was full of strange 
 sounds, no attacks were made, and in the morning 
 we went on our journey. 
 
 Our way now lay through a country covered with 
 stones, and such an infinite number of them of a dull 
 red colour as would not be believed. It might 
 have been the place where those armies of Israel 
 had come, every man with his stone in his hand, to 
 drop it on the fruitful land and spoil it, only that 
 the stones were, for the most part, such as no man 
 could carry. 
 
 In Cary's opinion they were vomited forth in 
 that catastrophe that had shattered the Broken 
 Mountain in days gone by, and maybe he was 
 right ; but when he had expressed that view, 
 Patsy Lakey observed that it would have been a 
 poor place for a seaman to stand in at the time 
 with his hat off ; and all laughed at the conceit. 
 
 Yet a terrible place it must have been, too, and 
 like to Sodom and Gomorrah, when the Lord rained 
 down fire and brimstone out of heaven upon them. 
 And that thought took hold of me as I clambered 
 from stone to stone, and picked my way amongst 
 them, and I fell to wondering if beneath our feet 
 was some city God had destroyed for its sins, and 
 that we were walking and leaping over the bones 
 and skulls of sinful men long dead. 
 
 Here, too, we saw serpents and lizards in great
 
 134 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 quantity, scuttling out of our way amongst the 
 rocks, and none of the serpents did the seamen ever 
 suffer to escape if they could accomplish their de- 
 struction. But for the lizards, though they were a 
 fearsome sight, being as long and stout as a man's 
 forearm, and running on four legs, and would open 
 their jaws upon us, and thrust out a blue poisonous- 
 looking tongue in our faces ; yet they were let go, 
 for the master said that as far as his knowledge went 
 they were harmless to man and the enemy of the 
 snake. So we went on with great circumspection, 
 and towards the close of the day came out from among 
 the stones into a country where the going was not 
 so difficult, whereof we were glad. 
 
 That night we encamped as before, and the next 
 day on again. And ever as we went we mar- 
 velled at the richness and beauty and abundance 
 of this land. Food there was in plenty, both 
 of fish, fowl, and flesh, for the hopping beasts were 
 good eating, as indeed was natural, seeing they 
 fed only as the cattle do, on the rich green grass. 
 
 Each day was much like that which preceded 
 it, and though we had narrow escapes from the 
 serpents, and twice had to lay low a long time, 
 the while a tribe of blacks passed by (and had run 
 into them but for Cary's vigilance), and once was 
 I nearly drowned in crossing a river, yet we went 
 on prosperously, ever keeping the mountains in 
 view, and on the sixth day from the Swan Lagoon, 
 in the evening we drew near them. And that night 
 as we lay side by side to sleep, Cary confided to
 
 THE WILD BLACK MEN 135 
 
 me that on the morrow we should surely see the 
 streams of gold, and handle the treasures we had 
 come to find. 
 
 " This country where we now are," he said, 
 "is all familiar to me, my feet have trod it many a 
 time, not a rock hereabouts that I do not recognise, 
 and half a league only towards yonder mountain 
 is a brook whose every second stone is of good red 
 gold. But when we come there," he added, " and 
 I bid some of the men enter a little cavern I wot of, 
 and draw out what they find, do thou draw apart 
 a little towards me, and look well to thy weapons, 
 for it may be the sight of the gold will drive some 
 of them mad, and they may think that, having 
 got the secret of the treasure, they can do very well 
 without us in the future and put a shot through 
 our heads." 
 
 Then was I in a great flurry of mind and excite- 
 ment, and not so much that at last I was to behold 
 the treasure which I had left England to seek, for, 
 truth to tell, I cared little now for my own sake 
 whether we found any gold or not. For one thing, 
 I had enough and to spare at home, though I did 
 not use to think so, and for another God had shown 
 me something of the vanit}' of it, and where real 
 treasure was. Nevertheless, I hoped we might 
 find things even as Cary had told us, for not only 
 was his heart set upon it, but the seamen's also, 
 and nothing, I well knew, lay between us and open 
 rebellion save their hope of finding it, and were 
 the hope destroyed, in that hour we should have to
 
 136 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 fight for our lives. But apart from these things, 
 as Cary had said, the sight of the gold might blind 
 them to all issues but immediate possession, and, 
 in their haste, they might turn and seek to kill us. 
 So, as I thought of these things, I began to be greatly 
 concerned ; and small wonder. 
 
 " Hast warned Humphrey Clinker and the other 
 loyal men ? " I whispered presently. 
 
 " Aye I " he answered, " and they will all be 
 ready to stand by when the time comes." 
 
 " And when wilt thou tell the others ? " 
 
 " Not until we be right on the spot, lest they lay 
 their heads together, and hatch some devilment 
 that would tend to the destruction of all. Along 
 about midday," he went on, " we shall halt for rest 
 and refreshment by a brook where treasure is in 
 abundance, and after we have eaten, and while 
 they are at ease and their arms laid aside, I will 
 give them their first sight of it."
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 HOW THEY FOUND CARY'S TREASURE AND THE 
 SECOND BATTLE WITH THE BLACK MEN 
 
 So after this there was little sleep for me, for the 
 thought of what the day was to bring forth held mine 
 eyes waking, till the morning star was fading before 
 the greater glory of the sun. 
 
 And that day all was excitement — we with what 
 we knew, and the others with what they suspected, 
 for it was now clear to all that to-day or to-morrow 
 at most we must tread the enchanted ground. 
 All knew from the beginning that these mountains 
 were our destination, and with every furlong excite- 
 ment and fretfulness increased. And as the excite- 
 ment grew, so their suspicions and fears increased. 
 Part of the way led through dense forest and under- 
 growth, and it chanced at one time that as I plodded 
 on behind Handover and George Dockery I caught 
 snatches of their talk. 
 
 ' One way or the other, we shall soon know," 
 the former was saying, when first I overheard 
 them. 
 
 ' What think you ? " George then asked, " has 
 he told us the truth or is it all a snare ? " 
 
 ' If it be a snare, God help him," Handover 
 
 137
 
 138 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 replied ; " but I think not. There is always something 
 of reason in what the skipper does — and there could 
 be no reason in the world why he should bring us 
 out into this God-forsaken land, except he knew 
 of a treasure ; and whether it exists or not, I am 
 satisfied he believes it does exist." 
 
 " Well," George responded, " may be thou'rt 
 right, and well for Master Lucius Cary if thou art, 
 for I would love nothing better than to tear his great 
 calf's heart out with my hands, and in the hour that 
 he stands up to tell us he cannot find the place where 
 the treasure lies, or that someone hath stolen 
 it, or some other fool's excuse, no power in heaven 
 or hell will keep me from him." 
 
 " Well," said the other lightly, " if that be thy 
 purpose, George, for thy sake, if not for my own, 
 I hope with all my heart there may be no mischance, 
 for, although thou art the very devil when thy blood 
 is up, yet I make no doubt that except thou put a 
 shot through the captain's head before thou goest 
 about to tear his heart out, thou'rt no better than 
 dead meat." 
 
 " Curse him ! " George responded savagely, " do 
 you think I fear him ? " 
 
 " Not I," the other replied, " but it will take more 
 than no fear to deal with the Master. Hast for- 
 gotten that day in the channel — when he picked 
 you up and used you as a club to beat the rest of 
 us? " 
 
 " Forgotten ! " the other cried, " not I, and never 
 will. There is no day nor hour that I do not call
 
 GARY'S TREASURE 139 
 
 it to mind. Every time I look upon him, my ringers 
 itch for his throat, and as God liveth " 
 
 But beyond this I did not hear, for at that point 
 the bushes began to thin out and I needs must 
 reveal myself, so I dropped behind a little, and 
 then, with much cracking of sticks under my feet, 
 and clearing of my throat, made up to them and so 
 on to the front. But my heart was full of fore- 
 boding, and I feared the worst, though I took courage 
 presently when I reflected how well the captain 
 understood what pended, and of the precautions 
 he had taken. 
 
 So we struggled on through the timber and thickets, 
 and about midday came to an open place above 
 a stony brook, that took a sharp turn at the foot 
 of a rocky hill, about a league from the base of the 
 mountain. There Cary called a halt, and Humphrey 
 Clinker, bringing two vessels of water from the 
 stream, we lay about the grass and broke our 
 fast. But as for me, I was so wrought up with 
 excitement, knowing that the hour was at hand, 
 I could eat nothing, though I made an appearance of 
 it for fear any should suspect. Looking round pre- 
 sently, I saw that the loyal men were gathered as by 
 accident about the captain, and under cover of a ques- 
 tion as to the height of the neighbouring mountain, 
 I joined them. It was easy to see, too, that the loyal 
 men were as anxiously wrought up as I myself, 
 and but that the whole company was excited and 
 expectant, their bearing must have been noticed. 
 
 As was usual with him, Cary seemed the least
 
 140 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 concerned of any man. Indeed, I think he revelled 
 in such straits as these, and rejoiced as a strong 
 man to run a race, and to-day seemed mighty merry. 
 
 At these midday halts it was always the custom 
 to smoke after meat, and, the meal ended, Cary 
 drew forth his pipe, whose example the others 
 copied. But instead of lying down and resting 
 and talking a little as their custom was, to-day all 
 were so worked upon that they sat up all alert and 
 impatient to get on, and see and know, and at length 
 George broke down beneath the stress of waiting 
 and put the question that was in all hearts. 
 
 " How far now, Master Cary ? " he asked with 
 trembling lips. 
 
 " Always impatient, George," Cary responded 
 banteringly, " always impatient ; that quick spirit 
 of thine will be the death of thee yet. But thou'lt 
 soon be satisfied, for even where we are methinks 
 I could show you something that would ease thy 
 mistrustful mind, for there be treasure enough at 
 thy elbow to make thee rich for life." At that every 
 man among them lifted himself up, pipe in hand, 
 and mouth agape, and waited breathlessly for the 
 next word ; nor was it long in coming. 
 
 " Just beyond thee, George," Cary went on coolly, 
 " and just behind these bushes on the cliff face is 
 
 a little cave, and in that cave " But George 
 
 waited for no more. He sprang to his feet and rushed 
 to that place, followed by the others, and I was glad 
 to see that very few catched up their weapons as 
 they went ; George dashed aside the bushes and
 
 CARY'S TREASURE 141 
 
 there before the eyes of all was the opening Cary 
 spoke of. With a cry George pressed in, the others 
 thronging him, for the entrance was not sufficient 
 to admit more than one at a time — and immediately 
 there came a babel of cries as "Is it there ? " 
 " What do you see ? " "Is there any gold there ? " 
 
 ' Have you got it, George ? " and much more of 
 the like. Then there was a pause, and immediately 
 afterwards George was seen coming out back fore- 
 most, and a silence fell upon all. Once outside he 
 straightened up and turned toward us, and I saw that 
 he carried a little sack in his hands, and his face was 
 purple with rage. Without a glance at those who 
 thronged him, he strode towards the captain. 
 
 " Is this thy treasure ? " he roared, holding out 
 the bag — " Is this what thou hast brought poor 
 seamen over all the world to get ? " 
 
 For a moment Cary seemed taken aback, then 
 
 ' What wouldst thou have ? ' he demanded. 
 
 ' Hast never seen virgin gold ? Or didst expect 
 to find minted pieces in the wilderness ? " 
 
 " Gold, yes," the other shouted. " Mayhap I've 
 seen more in my time than ever it entered thy 
 thick head to dream of. It's not the nature, but 
 the quantity of it that I quarrel with. Is it for this 
 handful — this — that we could have got by stopping 
 a bishop's coach on Hounslow Heath ? Is it for 
 this thou hast brought us here ? " 
 
 He paused then with the little bag held out in 
 his hands — awaiting an answer — but Cary was so 
 taken aback at the foolishness of him, to suppose
 
 142 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 that this little bag of gold (that was gathered by 
 the men of the " Gold Moidore," and, because they 
 had all they could carry, left in the cave against 
 their return) was all the treasure, that for the time 
 even he could find no words, and his silence seeming 
 a confession of guilt, goaded George to madness. 
 
 " Comrades," he screamed, turning to the others 
 — who like him were nigh to crying with rage and 
 despair — " here," holding up the little bag, " is 
 the wonderful treasure we have risked our lives to 
 get. Here it is, and there stands he who has be- 
 trayed us. There is the man who promised us 
 wealth, and ease, and comfort all our days, and has 
 lied to us, and cheated and robbed us. What 
 shall we do to him ? " 
 
 For answer, the others gnashed upon us with 
 their teeth, and snatched their weapons and came 
 on. And wonderful it was to me then to see how 
 well Gary had measured them, and understood 
 what they would do, and had so prepared that we 
 were all ready, and now as they came, raised our 
 pieces to fire. 
 
 But e'er a shot was fired or a blow struck, there 
 came into our midst that which caused us all to 
 forget our strife and fury ; aye, and the treasure 
 itself, and to band us together again as one. For 
 even as the mutineers rushed forward, there came 
 from the thicket a long fierce yelling of savage 
 voices, followed instantly by a flight of spears and 
 other weapons, which, in the good Providence of 
 God, fell among our assailants. Down went George
 
 CARY'S TREASURE 143 
 
 with a blow on the head from a strange flat curved 
 club that rebounded, as though attached to a string, 
 and went back to him that threw it. 
 
 Down also went three others pierced with spears, 
 and lay writhing on the ground in agony, and so 
 suddenly did this come upon us, that for a moment 
 all stood as though turned to salt, but the master 
 recovered himself at once, and roaring " To the rocks, 
 lads ! ' sprang himself behind one of the great 
 stones that lay along the front of the cliff, and 
 instantly every whole man followed him. Nor 
 were we a moment too soon. For there came in 
 that instant another flight of spears and other 
 weapons that rattled on the rocks about us, and 
 following that the bushes parted, and with loud 
 cries, a horde of naked savages came rushing out 
 upon us. And well was it that some of us had our 
 muskets and pistols to hand — nor did we need 
 (had there been time for it) a command to fire. 
 With one accord we shot off our guns into the midst 
 of the advancing enemy, and never, I think, in all 
 the world, did so small a discharge have so vast an 
 effect ! Some we killed and some we wounded, but 
 at first sight it looked as though all were killed, 
 for there was not a man of them but threw up his 
 arms, and dropped his weapons and fell down 
 flat. For the surprise and astonishment that came 
 upon them with the burst of flame and crash of 
 sound, when our pieces went off, struck them as 
 with palsy, and there they lay. But when Cary, 
 leaping upon the rocks and drawing Ms cutlass
 
 144 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 and shouting to us to follow, dashed down upon 
 them, all, but those that were dead, recovered 
 themselves, and, leaping up, ran swiftly as deer 
 to shelter, and although for us to follow was for 
 the tortoise to follow the hare, yet we chased them 
 into that strip of forest and out again on the farther 
 side, shouting and firing off our pistols at them, 
 and continued after them, until they fled over 
 the top of a clear hill, and we saw them no more for 
 that time. 
 
 So when they were gone and it was no use to 
 follow further, I marvelled greatly to find that I 
 had been one of the foremost in the pursuit of them, 
 and, indeed, was loth to give it up, only that my wind 
 gave out. And when I had considered this, I 
 marvelled the more, for I had been a man of peace 
 from my youth, and ever loathed contention and 
 righting ; and when any of our sort spake of settling 
 the dispute with the king on the field of battle, 
 I gave my voice against them. Yet here was I, 
 no longer in hot youth, but sober middle life, running 
 and shouting and yelling and hungering and thirsting 
 for battle and bloodshed, as eagerly as any crack- 
 brained cavalier in England. 
 
 And herein is a marvellous thing : but a little 
 ago I was a lover of money, and covetous beyond 
 many, and now, no sooner was I, by the goodness 
 of God, cured of that ill, and thanking God I was 
 not as other men, than behold me outrunning the 
 very pirates in my lust for blood. 
 
 Alas and alack ! The heart of a man is a deep
 
 CARY'S TREASURE 145 
 
 well, and none knoweth what mud and refuse 
 lie in its depth, till the bucket of life hath drawn 
 the last dregs from the bottom. 
 
 Not that all this came to me at once, for I was far 
 too excited and puffed up at what I had done, to 
 heed the still small voice within, that bade me go 
 softly. For Cary was loud in his praises, and vowed 
 I was a very devil, and was half afraid of me himself, 
 and all our men forgot what they did themselves, 
 thinking of what I did ; and as for the mutineers — 
 from being a reproach in their eyes, I came to have 
 vast respect.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 HOW THE SIGHT OF THE TREASURE DROVE 
 MEN MAD 
 
 So we returned victorious, but still our victory was 
 not without cost, for four of our men were dead, 
 and three, including George, were wounded sore, 
 but luckily not one of the loyal men had got any 
 hurt. Cary then set a watch, and afterwards we 
 turned to care for the wounded and dead. The 
 wounded we carried into shelter in a place where 
 we might easily defend them, and having washed 
 and bathed their hurts, bound them up, pouring 
 in oil and wine, without which simples Cary would 
 never by any means go upon a journey. 
 
 Then we took the dead men down to the brook, 
 where in one place the water had receded, leaving 
 a small reach of sand, and there we thought to bury 
 them. So some set to work with the mattocks 
 to dig a grave, and others of us stood sadly by, for, 
 notwithstanding all their devilry, it was pitiful to 
 see these men, who, a short hour ago, were full of 
 lusty life, now lying cold and stiff. So the seamen 
 digged and Cary stood by directing, and in a little 
 they began to cast out what seemed to us to be 
 stones. But stones they were not, for Cary presently 
 
 146
 
 THE SIGHT OF THE TREASURE 147 
 
 gathered some up, and rubbing them on his clothes 
 called to us to see. 
 
 " Here," he said, " is what we came to seek," 
 and when we had looked — behold ! it was 
 gold. 
 
 And at once a great excitement fell upon us, 
 and the men leapt from the grave, and crowded 
 about, and demanded to see, and some that had 
 a piece were for keeping it, and fearing to lose it and 
 get no more, would neither let the others see nor 
 handle it, whereat their comrades were furious, 
 and in an instant the dead were forgotten, and 
 strife and contention arose on all sides. And it 
 had gone on to knives and pistols too, but for 
 Cary. 
 
 ' Hold ! " he roared, " art going to tear and rend 
 each other for a plug of gold over the dead bodies 
 of thy comrades ? Never saw I such a parcel 
 of carrion crows. Back, I say, back 1" he roared 
 (as some still threatened others), " or there will be 
 more to dig graves for. Now, listen to me!" he 
 went on, when they gave way before him, " in this 
 brook, all up and down it, there is more gold than we 
 could carry away, if every man had the strength 
 of a horse. It is to be had for the picking up, and 
 when thy comrades are decently buried, and the camp 
 put to rights, thou'lt pick it up as fast as thou wilt, 
 but not before, so back to thy digging, and step 
 lively I " 
 
 So they gave way to him as they ever did, though 
 not willingly but for fear of what he might do,
 
 148 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 and the diggers got them back into the grave, while 
 the others stood around. But now, none gave a 
 thought to the dead, but to gold only, and dreadful 
 was it to see how the love of gold so soon destroyed 
 the tie of comradeship, and how all eyes watched to 
 see if any more lumps of it were cast up, and when 
 they were (as often happened) fell upon them like 
 dogs upon a bone. So at last, after much gold had 
 been got, the grave was digged, and the dead men 
 laid therein ; but not gently and respectfully 
 and loth to part with them, as good comrades should 
 be buried, but hurriedly and carelessly, as though 
 glad to be rid of them. And strange, toe, was it, 
 to see those dead men make their grave amongst 
 the gold ; for go! % in plenty there was with them. 
 And dreadful it seemed that while in life they had 
 been willing to barter their souls for gold, and even 
 then were not able to get it, yet now when they 
 were dead, and it was of no use to them, they had 
 it all about them. 
 
 But Cary was not yet done, and e'er the earth 
 was thrown in upon them said : 
 
 " Small reason had I to love those that lie there, 
 but I should count myself disgraced H I flung 
 them in a hole and left them to rot without a prayer. 
 Master Barton always carries his Bible with him, 
 and mayhap will read some word of Scripture, 
 and say a prayer over them." 
 
 This I felt was right, and was nothing loth, but 
 was in a quandary, too, for what could one read ? 
 " The wicked shall be turned into hell," seemed 

 
 THE SIGHT OF THE TREASURE 149 
 
 fittest, when I recalled what lives these dead men 
 had lived, but in the end I thought it better to 
 counsel the living than to condemn the dead — and 
 read from Matthew how we were to set our affec- 
 tions on things above, and lay up for ourselves 
 treasure in heaven. Then I prayed that we might 
 be warned by the fate of the others, and prepare 
 to meet God, and so ended. The word fell, I 
 fear, on deaf ears. Nevertheless it was well to 
 do it — though never in all the world, methinks, 
 was a service held in such a place, and in such 
 company. 
 
 When I had finished, the shipmen would have 
 scattered at once to hunt the brook for gold — but 
 that Cary would by no means permit. 
 
 " Nay," he said, " there is other work that must 
 first be done. The carcases of the heathens, for 
 one thing, must be removed, else we shall have a 
 plague among us." So a number of men bore the 
 dead blacks, of whom there were seven, away beyond 
 the hill, and others went with them armed for fear 
 of attack. And they laid them out in the open, 
 Cary expecting their friends would come for them 
 under cover of the night. And right he was, too, 
 for in the morning no trace of their bodies was to 
 be seen. 
 
 So all was made safe for the night, and after a 
 strong watch had been set against surprise, we laid 
 ourselves down to rest, and soon nothing was to be 
 heard save the crying of a lonely night-bird, the 
 babbling of the brook over the stones where the
 
 150 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 dead men lay with their gold, and the sighing 
 of the night winds in the trees — those " sailing " 
 trees of which Cary spoke long since in Ply- 
 mouth Town — that clustered thick on the hill by 
 our camp.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 HOW ANDREW BARTON FELL INTO THE HANDS 
 OF THE WILD BLACK MEN 
 
 In the morning we rose with the birds, and after 
 we had broken our fast, and Cary had seen that 
 all proper precautions were taken against surprise, 
 some of the men were told off to gather up gold 
 in the sacks they had brought, and others to keep 
 a look-out, which they did, and all went to work 
 with a will. As for me, I had lost all interest in 
 gold, and indeed had begun to fear it, for as I lay 
 athinking in the night, it seemed to me that a curse 
 was on it, and it was fated to be linked with evil 
 all the way through. For was it not the first 
 discovery of it that set the crew of the " Gold 
 Moidore " aquarrelling ? Was it not for gold 
 that the captain was murdered and the " Donna 
 Isobel " taken ? Was it not the sight of it that 
 lured me away from my home, and across the 
 trackless seas ? Was it not the finding of the bag 
 of gold yesterday that had set us all to fighting 
 when the black men came upon us ? And, was it 
 not the gold in the grave that, only yesterday, 
 changed the men from sorrowing comrades into 
 wild and covetous beasts ? And as I thought on 
 
 151
 
 152 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 these things, a kind of loathing of it took pos- 
 session of me, and I feared what might happen 
 next, so I remained in camp to dress the 
 wounds of those that were hurt, and bear them 
 company. 
 
 But Cary and the rest cared for none of these 
 things, but went their ways, all armed, and with 
 the little sacks we had brought, and soon we heard 
 their shouts of excitement as they came across one 
 piece after another. And later . . . 
 
 • ••••• 
 
 At this point we come to the second regrettable 
 break in Andrew Barton's story. From subsequent 
 allusions made by him, it would appear that he had 
 gone off by himself with the idea of scaling the 
 nearest mountain, but when returning had dis- 
 covered a large party of blacks between him and the 
 camp, and had gone into hiding until night, then 
 attempting to reach his comrades under cover of 
 the darkness, had lost his way. Cary, as we learn 
 later, sent a party out to seek him, but for reasons 
 of their own, the members of it desiring to be rid 
 of Mr Barton, returned with a story that they had 
 found his dead body, and being able to produce 
 some evidence in support, convinced the captain, 
 who (having by now obtained all the gold they 
 could carry) presently set out, though with a sad 
 heart, for the coast. 
 
 When next we find Mr Barton he is wandering 
 in the bush, though with a shrewd idea of his position, 
 and ascending Mount Buninyong (it can be no other)
 
 BARTON AND THE BLACK MEN 153 
 
 to make sure. But it is best to let him tell his own 
 story. 
 
 • ••••• 
 
 ... I came again, though with much ado, for 
 the way was steep and the sun hot, to the top of 
 the mountain. It was not easy to see even there, 
 because of the great growth of wood ; but after 
 I had rested awhile, I climbed a tree that had many 
 branches all the way up to the top, and from thence 
 I viewed the land. But after all, it was but small 
 advantage, for in every direction the country was so 
 covered with trees that one part looked much like 
 another. Still, away to the south-west methought 
 I made out in one place familiar ground, and resolved 
 to descend and make towards it at once, lest the 
 others cease caring for me and depart for the coast. 
 But before leaving the tree top, I looked about me 
 on all sides, and recalled Cary's saying that it was a 
 land of tumbled mountains, and in one place a great 
 lake, and such indeed it was. So when I had looked 
 upon it, I came down to the earth, and only waiting 
 a little to recover myself, set out in what I thought 
 to be the direction of the camp. 
 
 But for all my haste, I went at first cautiously, 
 remembering how I had met that great company 
 of blacks the night before, and, but for the mercy 
 of God, had been taken by them. But when at 
 last I drew near to the camp and knew it for the 
 right place and had seen no sign of the black men, 
 I ceased to be so circumspect, and, flinging caution 
 to the winds, came over the last gentle hill at a run
 
 154 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 — and too late discovered my mistake, for instead 
 of finding my shipmates as I had thought to do, 
 I ran into the very midst of a multitude of the wild 
 black men, and there stood aghast. 
 
 The first result of my appearing, however, was to 
 send them scattering in all directions with cries of 
 fear — for they were not less astonished than I 
 was myself — but they did not go far, and presently 
 turned and stood regarding me. As for me, the 
 sight of them where I had thought to see my comrades 
 so filled me with surprise and fear, that I stopped 
 and stood like a man frozen, and expected every 
 moment to die under their spears. However, no 
 spears were thrown, and after a time, obeying 
 the signal of one that was of a gigantic size, and 
 clothed in a robe of skins, who appeared to be a 
 king amongst them, they advanced cautiously upon 
 me from all sides, making what I thought to be 
 signs of peace. 
 
 So it came to me by the good hand of my God upon 
 me, that they were just as much afraid of me as I 
 of them, and I resolved to try if I might carry it 
 with a high hand. So I stood unbending, and made 
 no sign until, with great meekness and bowed heads, 
 they came near. Then I looked about, and marking 
 a crow that sat squalling on a dead tree near by, 
 raised my piece and fired. And to see the effect 
 of that shot upon them was a marvel. Those that 
 were near fell over with fright, and remained where 
 they fell, while those farther back leapt in the air 
 and, turning, ran for their lives. For myself, I
 
 BARTON AND THE BLACK MEN 155 
 
 stood where I was, and reloaded my musket and 
 primed it, and waited to see what they would do. 
 After a time, those nearest, and the king among 
 them, seeing I did them no harm, and looked not 
 displeased upon them, rose up by degrees and 
 gathered about me, though at a respectful distance, 
 and the others that had fled, presently seeing this, 
 approached also. But in doing so, one came across 
 the crow I had shot lying beneath the tree, and 
 with a cry of wonderment drew the others to him. 
 Then arose a great to-do amongst them, and one 
 cried to another, and a crowd gathered to look. 
 They picked the crow up and examined it, and 
 seeing the blood upon his head, were more astounded 
 than ever. But in the end they returned to me, 
 and stood about in attitudes of fear and humbleness 
 and reverence, and it was plain to me that they 
 had come to look upon me as a kind of god ; as 
 the men of Lystra upon Paul and Barnabas when 
 they healed the impotent man. 
 
 So when I had seen this I took courage, and turning 
 about, got me up to where the little cave was in 
 which we found the gold left by the men of the 
 " Gold Moidore," and into that I went and sat me 
 down. For now a reaction had come upon me, 
 and I scarce could stand. So there I sat looking 
 out upon them, and there at a little distance they 
 sat, and it was plain to see they thought they had 
 a great treasure, and yet were rather afraid of it, 
 and as for me, I knew not what the end would be, 
 but trusted in God that it might be well.
 
 156 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 After a time there was a stir amongst them, 
 and some rose and went away, and looking out I 
 saw a great company more, with women and children, 
 approach, and dogs too, and lean yellow starved 
 brutes these dogs were. And at once the great news 
 was communicated, and all must needs come up 
 to look incredulously upon me. And the crow was 
 produced and examined again, and all with great 
 talk and show of excitement. In the end, however, 
 while some stayed by me, and the king among them, 
 the more part set to work arranging the camp for 
 the night. Fires were kindled by some means, 
 and meat and fowl that had been brought by the 
 new comers set to roast, and branches of trees 
 broken off to make shelters from the night winds. 
 
 After a time the meat was cooked, and strange 
 it was to see how they fell upon it like animals 
 and gnawed and clawed it to make one sick ; yet 
 spite of all, my appetite was stirred at the smell 
 of it and craved satisfaction, and when at length 
 the chief approached me with a gift of meat, and 
 with a great show of humility held it out to me, 
 I made every sign of pleasure and fell upon it 
 without delay. Those savages had no cooking 
 utensils, and nothing to eat off — and yet for me 
 the king did improvise a kind of platter, for he 
 brought me his gift of meat upon a piece of bark 
 from a tree. And a strange dish this was. At the 
 time I took it for an eel that they had catched in 
 the brook, and had roasted in the ashes, but the next 
 day, when I passed by, I saw them roasting several
 
 BARTON AND THE BLACK MEN 157 
 
 more of the like, and behold ! They were not eels 
 at all but serpents, and my stomach revolted when 
 I learned what I had eaten. Yet, at the time, 
 not knowing but that it was fish, I ate heartily of 
 it and enjoyed it, and esteemed it very good ; and 
 had I not seen the savages cooking I should never 
 have suspected but that it was fish. So it would 
 seem that after all there is truth in what was written 
 by that actor fellow, Shakespeare, lately, that 
 " There is nothing either good or bad but thinking 
 made it so." 
 
 When the blacks had finished their meal, they 
 gathered round the entrance to the cave and sat 
 and watched me as though I had been a wonder, 
 and belike I was — to them. Yet were they half 
 afraid of me too, though it was plain to be seen 
 that my eating of their snakes had reassured them. 
 Yet their half -fear was very manifest, for if I but 
 made a move they rose to their feet, prepared to 
 fly. In the end, it seemed good to me to take 
 advantage of that somewhat, and presently coming 
 forth amongst them I seized upon a rug of skins 
 that one had dropped as he moved away, and this 
 I carried back into the cave, and signing to them to 
 be gone I stretched myself upon it and closed my 
 eyes as in sleep. Yet did I not quite close them, 
 and lay with my pistol at hand where I could com- 
 mand the entrance to the cave. 
 
 As the evening wore on, shadowy forms stole ever 
 and anon to peep in ; but no harm was attempted, 
 and at length a sense of security fell upon me, the
 
 158 THE " GOLD MOIDORE 
 
 ?5 
 
 presence of the savages ceased to trouble me, and 
 my thoughts went back to my dear ones awaiting 
 me at home in England, and praying God to keep 
 me safe. And in the end I fell asleep, to dream 
 that I was back again in the midst of them, and, 
 indeed, had never left them, and that this whole 
 business of the nut-faced sailor was but a dream 
 of the night.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 OF ANDREW BARTON'S JOURNEYS WITH THE WILD 
 BLACK MEN, AND HOW AT LENGTH HE ESCAPED 
 
 In the morning I awaked long before day, but the 
 camp was already astir, and figures flitting silently 
 as shadows from place to place. But as for me, 
 I lay awhile thinking what I would do, and resolved 
 that so far as I could, I would act as though I, 
 and not they, were master of the situation, and 
 would endeavour to push towards the coast, if haply 
 I might overtake my comrades, or if not, find my 
 way in time to the " White Ship." What I would 
 do if the blacks refused to let me go I knew not, 
 but I hoped when that time came, if it did come, 
 I might by God's help know what I ought to do. 
 
 So, having prayed for help, and read a chapter 
 for my comfort, and looked to the priming of my 
 weapons, I put a bold face on the matter, and walked 
 out into their midst. And my boldness was justified, 
 for they fell back before me as I advanced, and 
 regarded me with apprehension, and when I walked 
 down to the brook to quench my thirst and wash 
 the sleep from mine eyes, they followed at a respect- 
 ful distance, and looked on in wonder. Then I 
 returned and sat down as before in front of the cave, 
 
 16i)
 
 160 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 and signed to them that I desired to eat. This, 
 when they understood it, seemed to give them rare 
 pleasure, and one of them ran and presently returned 
 with a water-fowl that had been roasted whole 
 in the ashes, and the skin and feathers falling off 
 at my touch, I found it very good, and ate heartily, 
 and what I could not eat wrapped up in my kerchief 
 and bestowed about me. 
 
 And this done, I rose to my feet, and signed to 
 them that I intended moving on. This was the 
 moment I dreaded, for I knew not but what they 
 would try to detain me. However, I had no need 
 for fear, for at the signal from their king or chief 
 they all rose up, and gathering together all that 
 they had, seemed fully prepared to follow me 
 whithersoever I would. And all this docility was 
 a sore puzzle to me, until I presently remembered 
 what Cary had said about these people living in 
 clans and tribes, and moving about from place to 
 place. And it came to me that these amongst whom 
 I now was were not the same as those that had 
 attacked us, but were strangers and had never seen 
 a white man before — and this reflection filled me 
 with comfort. 
 
 So we set out, and I took a south-east course. 
 And strange and incredible it was to see me marching 
 like a king at the head of this troop of savages, 
 and stranger still to do it and think that such could 
 ever be the case. But true it was, and on we went. 
 But if the king and the more part of them with 
 the women and children followed me like dogs,
 
 HOW BARTON ESCAPED 161 
 
 yet they did not forget to be cautious, and spies 
 were thrown out before and on either side as we 
 went, so that we would not fall into a snare set by 
 the enemy. Also a number turned aside to hunt, 
 and soon we saw in the distance a mob of the 
 hopping beasts flying for their lives, and a pack 
 of the yellow curs and their masters at their heels. 
 
 And in this way we went on that day, the savages 
 making no demur ; only at midday we rested awhile 
 in the shade by a water-course. When evening 
 came we had made good progress, and I was well 
 satisfied for that day, for I had seen here and there 
 a place I recognised as having passed on the way 
 to the Mountains of Desire, and so knew I was going 
 in the right direction. 
 
 That night I took up my abode in the hollow of 
 a great tree, and the blacks, as before, camped 
 round about me — but to-night they seemed not 
 so easy in their minds, and elaborate precautions 
 seemed to be taken, as though they feared a possible 
 attack. But if such was the case, their fears 
 proved groundless, for no attack was made, and 
 in the morning we went on again. But now it 
 was plain that the minds of all were disturbed. 
 Greater vigilance was shown ; their weapons were 
 carried as though they expected to have at any 
 moment to use them, and the farther we went 
 the more did they seem to apprehend. Frequent 
 discussions and gesticulations took place between 
 them, and soon it was clear that they feared to go 
 farther, but were reluctant to lose me, and so 
 
 L
 
 162 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 continued, not thinking of using force to compel 
 me to stay. So on we went until the evening, 
 when, ''coming to a little glade in the forest close 
 by a tiny creek, we camped as on the night before. 
 But the camp was scarcely decided upon, when 
 several of the blacks who had been out as spies 
 dashed into the glade, crying aloud something in 
 their barbarous tongue. Instantly a tremendous 
 excitement fell on all, and such a running to and fro 
 as is only to be seen in an ant hill. But it was plain 
 to me that they expected an attack from an enemy, 
 for all grasped weapons of some description, and even 
 the women and little children ran to shelter, and 
 so skilled were they in wood craft, that in five 
 minutes or less the place seemed deserted. 
 
 But even then their care for me did not relax, 
 and their king, with other long-bearded warriors, 
 hastened to me, and spoke excitedly, and made 
 signs, by which I understood they meant me to 
 understand that there was great danger and I 
 must hide myself. 
 
 And scarcely had I signified my willingness to 
 do so, than there came such a shrieking and yelling 
 from the woods as was enough to curdle one's blood 
 with fear ; this was followed by a flight of spears, 
 and then, at the farther end of the glade, there 
 appeared a mob of savages armed with spears and 
 clubs, and other weapons, who charged upon us. 
 And at that my friends and captors immediately 
 threw themselves into postures of defence, and, 
 what touched me, ranged themselves between me
 
 HOW BARTON ESCAPED 163 
 
 and the danger, as though they would rather die 
 than suffer me to be harmed. 
 
 But this, when I understood it, I would by no 
 means permit, and, stepping to the front, levelled 
 my musket, and only waiting long enough to make 
 sure of my aim, fired into the midst of the advancing 
 savages. Down went one of their leaders shot 
 through the body, and as for the rest, the shot 
 had the same effect upon them as upon the other 
 blacks by the Mountains of Desire. All stopped, 
 some staggered, others fell, and all remained as 
 though spellbound, while my friends seemed scarcely 
 less terrified. But for myself, I lost no time in 
 reloading, and a second shot over their heads broke 
 the spell that bound them, and, with the exception 
 of the dead man, they turned to fly. And at that, 
 those with me recovered themselves, and with wild 
 shouts and yells and flinging of spears, gave chase, 
 and such a rout never was. 
 
 How far they chased them, or whether any others 
 were killed, I knew not, for I stayed where I was, 
 and reloaded my musket and awaited their return. 
 And as night was falling they did return, and a 
 great feast of meat was made, and mighty merry 
 they all were over the victory. But it was clear 
 that if formerly I had been some great one in their 
 eyes, now there was no limit to their belief in my 
 powers, for after having fought for them, and driven 
 off their enemies by the magic of my gun, I was not 
 only a god, but a very Zeus of gods. So I had great 
 honour amongst them, and the more to extend my
 
 164 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 power behaved myself as though it were only 
 my due. 
 
 But I had now resolved to leave them, for I had 
 recollected suddenly how that Cary had said that 
 not only did these savages live in tribes quite 
 distinct from one another, but that the bounds 
 of their habitations were defined, and they might 
 not go outside them for fear of trespassing on those 
 of their neighbours. 
 
 And I doubted not now but that this was at the 
 bottom of all their uneasiness of that day, and of 
 the battle just ended. In their eagerness to be 
 with me they had crossed the bounds of their own 
 hunting grounds into those of their neighbours, 
 thus inviting the attack which had come. And 
 the farther they went the worse would be their 
 position, and the more difficult to return, for they 
 would probably pass out of the territories of these 
 who had now attacked us, into others where they 
 would be subject to the same danger, and when it 
 came to their return home they would have to run 
 the gauntlet of so many tribes that they would be 
 annihilated, which was an end I hated to think of. 
 
 So after pondering these matters I determined to 
 take leave of them at the first chance, that they might 
 cease caring for me and go back to their own country, 
 while I would proceed alone and make what speed 
 I could, travelling at night if need be — back to the 
 river and the " White Ship." And in the providence 
 of God, no time could have been better for an escape 
 than this. For having passed through a country
 
 HOW BARTON ESCAPED 165 
 
 that day where by reason of the rich pastures 
 and abundant waters game was plentiful and fat, 
 they had taken a vast quantity of it of various 
 kinds, and now so great was their joy over their 
 victory, that as men with us will drink themselves 
 drunk, so these ate to the same purpose. And 
 eat and eat they did, for joy or gluttony, until 
 their stomachs were distended like those of overfed 
 calves, and they could scarce move about. And this 
 feasting went on until about the third watch of 
 the night, when they were so overcome and heavy 
 that they lay like logs about the fires. And then, 
 when the last of them had gone down, I stole away. 
 But before I went I was careful to take some of 
 the great heap of roast meat that they had earlier 
 in the night laid before me, and so crept softly 
 off into the woods. 
 
 At first I moved along as best I might, with 
 little regard to direction, only thinking of escape, 
 but when I was at a safe distance I sought for an 
 open space in the woods, and so soon as I found one 
 searched the sky with mine eyes for the Starry 
 Cross, and having found it, set my face to the east 
 of it, by which means I went south-east, which 
 was the direction I desired to go, and so held on 
 my way. 
 
 Yet I went with circumspection too, for well I 
 knew that enemies were all about me ; and besides, 
 at times the way was through thick brushwood, 
 and anon gigantic trees, brought down by storms, 
 lay across my path — and some of them of such
 
 166 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 incredible bigness that to go round them was to 
 fetch a great compass and walk far, while to climb 
 over was to scale a wall. Nevertheless, by patience 
 and persistence, and with mine eyes ever and anon 
 glancing upward, I was led by the Starry Cross, 
 as the wise men by the Star of Bethlehem, and came 
 on with great content, and about the time when 
 the night was paling to the dawn and the birds 
 stirring into song, I came to that country of stones. 
 Over this and towards the Broken Mountain 
 I had passed by noon, and, having seen no sign of 
 the wild black men all the morning, I was minded 
 to press on. However, the day was hot and my 
 strength unequal to my desire, so choosing out a 
 safe place in the midst of a cluster of bushy shrubs, 
 I lay me down, and though I had not intended it, 
 presently fell aleep.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 HOW ANDREW BARTON WANDERED IN THE 
 HAUNTED FOREST 
 
 It was night when I awoke, the night of the full moon, 
 and rare and wonderful it was to see her in her 
 beauty. Never had I seen a moon so large and 
 clear and fair. Already when I awoke she was above 
 the tree-tops, and filling the world with a soft white 
 light. 
 
 Where I lay was in deepest shade, but a little way 
 off where the foliage of the trees was thinner the 
 ground was mottled with the shadows of the leaves, 
 while in the open places where the light fell, all was 
 clear as day. So I lay looking at all this, and think- 
 ing how rich in beauty God must be that He could 
 afford to scatter all this abroad in a desert, where 
 only the eyes of savages and birds and beasts could 
 ever look upon it — until presently, in the midst 
 of these thoughts, I was aware of a strange and 
 menacing sound, that gradually grew louder and 
 increased in volume. I raised myself to listen, and 
 as I did a sudden terror laid hold upon me. 
 
 A dismal hollow booming sound it was, a little 
 like the roar of a wild beast and a little like the 
 lowing of an ox in pain, but most of all like the moan 
 
 167
 
 168 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 of a lost soul in hell. And so horrible and unearthly 
 was it to listen to, that my flesh prickled and my 
 limbs shook, and I struggled to my feet with my 
 musket in my hands and stood facing it with my 
 back against a tree. And then as I stood and 
 listened I discerned that by degrees it was drawing 
 towards me, and each time I heard it the awful 
 sound was nearer and more dreadful ; nearer and 
 nearer it came, until at length the forest seemed to 
 vibrate and the very earth to shake with the swelling 
 of it. Then fear beyond all reason took hold upon 
 me, and with a cry of horror I turned and fled from 
 before it. Men I could have faced, and wild beasts 
 I would have fought — but this seemed to me neither 
 man nor beast, but more like to be a fiend, and so 
 I fled away. And fear lent to me strength and en- 
 durance, and I ran in a frenzy that nothing might 
 stay. The briars put forth their horny hands, and 
 grasped at my clothes and my flesh; the branches 
 of the trees stooped down and clutched at me as I 
 passed beneath them, while stumps and trunks of 
 fallen trees rose up out of the dark and sprang in 
 my way. Indeed, all the forest seemed alive and 
 running to catch me, but I tore myself out of the 
 clutches of those that caught me, and leaped over 
 those that tried to trip my feet (though many a 
 time I stumbled and fell), and dodged and eluded 
 the others, and at length, more dead than alive, 
 burst out of the trees on to the bank of a lake, and 
 there fell down bleeding and exhausted. 
 
 At first the beating of my heart was so loud (like
 
 THE HAUNTED FOREST 169 
 
 the beating of drums) that I could hear nothing else, 
 but when it had stilled a little, and I was able to 
 hear again, I found to my joy that the awful sound 
 had ceased. Evidenly I had outrun it, or it had 
 gone off upon another scent. But for a time I lay 
 there panting on the ground in the ivory moonlight, 
 and when I rose to my feet my legs were all ashake. 
 My first thought then was to make my way to the 
 water's edge, and, lying flat on the bank, drink my 
 fill ; for my throat was parched, and my tongue 
 seemingly swollen till it filled my mouth. But the 
 water revived me, and I lay, yet did I not hurry 
 on then, but rested a little, looking along the bright 
 silvery pathway over the water, made by the peaceful 
 moon, and presently I had a happy fancy, that it 
 led from where I was, past all the terrors of the 
 world to a place of light and beauty and home ; 
 and it seemed somehow to say to me, that notwith- 
 standing all, the depths of the sea should be a way 
 to bring me safely back once more. So I thanked 
 God for the message of the moon, and took courage. 
 But in a little, feeling refreshed and comforted, 
 I rose up, and, after looking to the priming of my 
 musket and pistols, took my way along the lake 
 side. But as I went I stopped ever and anon, to 
 listen for that sound that had so affrighted me, 
 and at the third stop I heard it. Far away it was, 
 but none the less dreadful to hear, and I quickened 
 my pace and hastened on; and so terrified was I 
 of the danger behind me that I gave no thought to 
 what might he before, and e'er I was aware was
 
 170 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 face to face with a new and more appalling horror. 
 The ground that lay along the lake rose thereabouts 
 to a little hill, slightly covered with bushes, and 
 just a stone's throw beyond it (as I presently found) 
 the lake swept away to the left at a sharp angle. 
 Thinking only of that awful thing that followed me, 
 I hurried up the little hill, and then on the top, 
 stood transfixed with horror gazing at what was 
 before me. 
 
 Even to-day as I sit in the sunshine by my cot, 
 with the birds singing and the peace of God (as it 
 were) about me, I like not to recall what I then saw 
 — and I pray God that in mercy He may save me 
 from ever seeing the like again. Many a time indeed 
 I have thought it might be best that the memory 
 of it perish with me, and I would forbear to write 
 about it, but, perchance, it were better to tell. 
 
 In a word, then, beneath the great trees in that 
 hollow by the lakeside, I saw the open pit of hell. 
 The flames of it were licking the tree-tops, the moans 
 and cries of the damned filled the air with doleful 
 monotony, and scores of naked devils, their jaws 
 and skulls and ribs standing out white like a 
 skeleton's, and hideous and sickening beyond 
 description, danced round and round the flames, 
 while others squatted like toads by the pit, and 
 gloated on the damned, and laughed in awful 
 mockery. 
 
 Then, indeed, did I give myself up for lost, body 
 and soul, for how could one come to the brink of 
 hell and escape ? But in that moment there came
 
 THE HAUNTED FOREST 171 
 
 to my mind the Scripure which saith, " If God be 
 for us, who can be against us ? " and there came, 
 too, the faith to believe that God was for me ; and 
 with a loud cry for succour I turned and dashed into 
 the forest. And at my cry, not only did I receive 
 strength myself, but I was aware of a great con- 
 sternation in the ranks of hell, and a dashing to 
 and fro of the fiends, but what it was, and how it 
 ended, I waited not to see. On, on, for the second 
 time that night, I sped through the forest, dashing 
 my poor face against low-hanging branches, falling 
 over logs, rolling down banks, splashing through 
 water, and tearing myself free from thickets ; — on 
 and on until my legs would carry me no further, 
 and I sank down at length trembling by a tree, and 
 for a little cared not what got me so only I could 
 rest. 
 
 After a time, however, I came to a little, and 
 raised my head. Where I lay I was in thick shadow, 
 and the moon was at my back, but high above me 
 was a rift in the tree-tops, and looking through I 
 saw — like apples of gold in a picture of silver — the 
 radiant stars of the Southern Cross, and because it 
 was in the one place where I might see it, and ap- 
 peared when most I needed consolation, and told 
 not only Victory over Death and Hell, but of 
 the way I must take to rejoin my comrades, I had 
 great consolation, and took courage and rose up, 
 and went as best I could on my way, guiding my 
 steps by the Cross. 
 
 But my cup was not yet full, for I had gone but a
 
 172 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 little way, when, as I ascended rising ground amidst 
 great trees, methought I heard the crying of a child, 
 and when I had stopped to listen I was sure of it. 
 It was a low wailing as of a young child that had 
 lost its mother. And strange it was to see how 
 this affected me, for not even the Horror of the 
 woods, nor yet the devils leaping in the flames, 
 begot in me a greater fear ; and had I had the 
 strength I should have set off again to run — but I 
 was done, and could run no more, had even Satan 
 himself come upon me — and so, perforce, I stood, 
 but all a tremble. 
 
 And while I stood thus, the wailing broke out 
 again, and not even the wailings at the pit were 
 more horrid to hear, and in my agony I could have 
 cried aloud, and, indeed, had much ado to refrain. 
 But when I had reflected that it was probably a 
 babe that had been lost or cast away by one of the 
 black women, and was in sore need of succour, and 
 in any case could do me no harm, even if it wished, 
 I chid myself for foolish fear and resolved to seek 
 the child out and save its life. All this while the 
 crying went on at intervals as before, and so, 
 following the sound I went towards the place where 
 I thought it should have been. But when I came 
 there, no child was to be seen, and though I searched 
 the bushes as with candles it was not to be found, 
 at which I marvelled greatly. Howbeit, while I 
 stood wondering at this, the crying began afresh, 
 away to my right, and, making what speed I could, 
 I sought the young child there, thinking now it
 
 THE HAUNTED FOREST 173 
 
 was not as I had supposed, a babe from the breast, 
 but one able to walk. 
 
 But no better fortune attended me now, for 
 when I came where I judged the cry had come from, 
 there was still no child to be seen — which I thought 
 strange. But hardly had I stopped to consider 
 this than the wailing began afresh, and back in 
 the very place I had come from, and while yet I 
 was half way there again, I heard it behind my 
 back. And at that it came to me that mayhap it 
 was no child, but some fresh wile of the devil to 
 lure me to destruction, and greatly fearing, I re- 
 solved to hasten on. But even as I turned to flee, 
 the wailing broke out again, and so loud and 
 bitter, and so full of despair, that I could no longer 
 contain myself, but shouted aloud in fear. And 
 at that I heard a sound as of something moving in 
 the tree-tops, then a dead stick fell and struck me 
 in the face, and at the same instant came from 
 just above me such a loud, wild, despairing, blood- 
 curdling cry as was never heard in the world before, 
 and once again I fled for my life, for I knew now 
 that it was no little babe lost from its mother in 
 the forest, but some of those damned souls of men 
 that by some chance had escaped from the burning 
 pit of hell, that I had seen back there by the side 
 of the lake. So on I sped again and would have 
 put my fingers in my ears to stop the sound, but 
 that I needs must have a hand to carry my musket, 
 and another to shield my face from the brambles 
 that beset the way.
 
 174 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 But now I was so faint with the terrors and 
 bufferings of the night, that I could not go much 
 above a walk, had it been to save my soul, yet did 
 I press on, ever looking behind me as I went, and 
 soon was glad to hear that the crying grew fainter, 
 for by that I knew the things, whatever they were, 
 had lost track of me, and I might yet escape. And 
 in the end I did escape, and came at length to 
 rising ground where the trees sprang up a most 
 prodigious height. Great white trees they were, 
 like the huge ghosts of trees, flinging up their long 
 gaunt arms wildly to the sky. So when I had come 
 thus far, and the crying and wailing no longer to 
 be heard, I knew I must stay or die, for I had 
 neither strength nor will to go further. So choosing 
 a spot close by a little babbling brook, that was 
 overshadowed by those other strange fern-like 
 trees, I laid myself down, with the trunk of one for 
 a pillow, and a mass of the fallen fronds for my 
 bed. The night was now far spent, the moon, 
 pale as from her long night's vigil, rolled heavily 
 through the tree-tops to the west, and I sank down 
 in utter weariness upon my couch of fern. I cared 
 not now, I thought, what might come — for my 
 life was as tasteless to me as the white of an egg, 
 and anybody or anything might have it for what I 
 cared ; so there I lay. But how little we know 
 ourselves, for scarcely had I agreed with myself 
 upon these things, than I was conscious of a stir 
 and movement all about me, and raised myself to 
 look and listen. A wind had sprung up — not a
 
 THE HAUNTED FOREST 175 
 
 great one, but sufficient — and all about me the 
 foliage swayed and heaved as though the forest 
 had come to life, and begun to breathe, and far 
 above, where the current of wind was stronger, the 
 leaves on the high trees fluttered like the flag of 
 England on the top of a mast. 
 
 But none of these things moved me. It was 
 something far different, a sound of stealthy foot- 
 steps close by in the woods, followed by a crackling 
 up of sticks up the side of the range, as though some 
 great animal were descending and setting his feet 
 upon dry reeds and dead sticks, and as I listened 
 a cold sweat broke out upon me. Was I only (I 
 asked myself) escaped from savages and devils and 
 nameless horrors of the wild to be eaten by a lyon 
 or other ravenous beast ? And now the noise in- 
 creased, and from one there seemed to be many, 
 and that on all sides, for everywhere was the dreadful 
 crackling and crashing going on, and ever coming 
 nearer. To fly now was impossible, for had I the 
 strength (which I had not) the danger was on all 
 sides, and if I ran from one it would but be to the 
 other, and then, indeed, did I despair. But I 
 remembered presently how it was said that wild 
 beasts have a horror of fire, and at once, though 
 with trembling hands, set about with flint and steel 
 to get one. Nor, with the dry leaves and grass 
 and ferns that lay around, was this difficult, and 
 soon I had a great blaze, that chased the shadows 
 back amongst the trees, and made the darkness 
 light about me. Then I gathered together all the
 
 176 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 dead timber that lay near, and there was no lack 
 of it, and piling it up about me, fed the fire con- 
 tinually, and sat as close to it as I could for the 
 heat. The crackling and trampling still went on 
 in the forest, and methought I could see a thousand 
 baleful eyes watching my every move, but I no 
 longer feared. No wild beast, I knew, would ever 
 venture close to such a blaze as that. 
 
 And then being warmed by the fire, and rid of 
 my fears, I presently fell asleep, and when I awoke 
 the night had gone, and my fire had burned itself 
 out. At first I was so stiff and sore with the night's 
 exertions, that I could scarce raise myself from the 
 ground — but at length I got to the brook and there 
 drank of the water, and bathed my head, and so 
 felt better, and thought to go on my way. As I 
 came round the shoulder of the hill (which presently 
 I made out to be the Broken Mountain) I made 
 clearer country, and with this and the light of day, 
 the horror that had filled me in the darkness of 
 the night passed away, and I was disposed to think 
 much of it was a thing of my tired and disordered 
 mind ; and then that happened which brought it 
 back in all its horror, and sent me hotfoot on my 
 way. 
 
 The end of the forest was already in sight, and I 
 was pressing towards it when there broke upon 
 mine ears a burst of laughter, loud and long con- 
 tinued, and I stopped there by the tree where I 
 was, and listened and wondered. At first I thought 
 it must be some of my own men, and I was about
 
 THE HAUNTED FOREST 177 
 
 to cry aloud to them, but something in the sound 
 stopped me, for never had I heard such laughter 
 before. Then I thought, I must surely have come 
 again amongst the wild black men, and they had 
 seen me, and now had me in derision, but when I 
 had looked carefully all about, no sign of any human 
 being, black or white, was to be seen, though yet 
 the laughter went on and increased. 
 
 And at length I realised that this was no human 
 mirth, but had to do with the horrors of the night 
 before, and was the laughter of fiends, mocking at 
 my efforts to escape their power. But I was re- 
 solved to escape them yet, and ran with all my 
 speed towards the clear ground ; and reached it, 
 and so out of that ghostly, horrible forest for ever 
 and ever. 
 
 And as I came into the sunshine the burden 
 passed from my spirit, and although the hellish 
 laughter continued I felt that I was safe. So 
 presently, I stood and looked back ; but there was 
 no sign of a fiend, and, indeed, all I saw of life was 
 four grey birds, large-headed and solemn-looking, 
 that sat together on the dead branch of a high tree.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 HOW ANDREW BARTON RETURNED TO THE 
 RIVER AND WHAT HE FOUND THERE 
 
 And here we come to the third and final break in 
 the manuscript, and when next we find Mr Barton, 
 it is at the head of the river meeting with his piratical 
 crew. The loss of these pages is enough to make 
 an editor grind his teeth with rage, not only 
 because every line of this old narrative has a price- 
 less value for its own sake, and because of the 
 extraordinary circumstances under which it was 
 written, but for the reason that it would be of 
 the deepest interest to know how Master Barton 
 found his way from the Broken Mountain (which, 
 as I have said, I take to be Mount Leura) 
 back through the forest to the landing place on 
 Cary's River (probably some point on Curdies 
 River, about opposite to where the Curdies 
 River Railway Station now stands) — a task 
 which might have puzzled a born bushman. 
 But it would appear that he fell a second time 
 into the hands of the blacks, and again, by 
 some means, contrived to escape them, and in 
 the end, reached the very spot on the river 
 where the boat's crew had disembarked, and for- 
 
 178
 
 THE RETURN TO THE RIVER 179 
 
 tunately, as it proved, just in time to meet 
 with the mutineers. 
 
 • • • • • 
 
 And now I was sure, and hasting down the 
 valley came, as I knew I should, to the bank of 
 Cary's River, at the very point where we had hid 
 our boat when we left it to plunge into the forest. 
 Then a great rapture of thanksgiving filled my 
 heart, and I gave thanks to God that had led me 
 all the way through the wilderness, and had twice 
 delivered me out of the hands of the heathen, and 
 from all the principalities and powers and wicked 
 spirits that had warred against me. I had not yet 
 completed my journey, but still, the river was the 
 highway that led to the ship, and having safely 
 reached it, I felt that now I was on the road that 
 led home. And while I pondered these things, 
 suddenly there came to me a sound that at first 
 took my breath, and then brought a dimness to 
 mine eyes, and caused my strength to run out of 
 me, as water out of a broken bucket, so that I 
 almost fell upon the ground. It was the noise of 
 a company of men approaching the river down the 
 little valley along which I had come myself, and 
 that which had dried up my strength, was the fear 
 that they were the wild black men from whom I 
 had so recently escaped. But a moment after, I 
 heard one that cried out in English that he was 
 glad that they were at the end of their journey, 
 for much as he loved gold, he hated to carry it in 
 this fashion. So then I knew it was my shipmates
 
 180 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 returning from another journey to the Mountains 
 of Desire, and at that I could have shouted aloud 
 for joy. But yet I restrained myself, and did a 
 thing that afterwards I marvelled at— a child's 
 trick it was, and foolish in a sober man — yet for 
 joy I did it. I hid myself away in the bushes and 
 waited until they were all in the clearing, and 
 casting their burdens upon the ground, and then 
 I sprang out among them. 
 
 And of a truth they had a great surprise, for 
 not even the wild black men, when I appeared 
 among them by the streams of gold, were filled 
 with a deeper astonishment, and not only astonish- 
 ment but horror ; and some cried out in fear, some 
 gazed upon me awestruck, and some leapt for 
 cover. And the reason was that all believed me 
 to be dead and thought they saw a spirit. " Old 
 Psalms and Hymns ! " one cried, and " Master 
 Barton ! " another, and then all were silent and 
 motionless-looking. And by that time I was 
 troubled too, for I saw that Gary was not among 
 them, and that the leader of the party was none 
 other than George Dockery, and he it was who 
 first recovered himself. 
 
 " Blood and death ! Master Barton ! " he cried, 
 ' but you gave us all a turn — we thought you 
 were dead long ago, and this had been your 
 ghost ! " 
 
 ' No ghost am I," I answered him, " but flesh 
 and blood, as you shall see if there be any food 
 among you, for I am ready to die of hunger, and
 
 THE RETURN TO THE RIVER 181 
 
 loathing of roots and raw flesh. But where is 
 your captain, Dockery," I demanded. 
 
 George made no reply — but one of the others 
 (that was called Red Tom), broke in with rude 
 laughter, and indicating George said, " There stands 
 our captain before you ! " 
 
 I looked from one to another, with surprise, and 
 for the moment failed to grasp his meaning, then 
 it began to dawn upon me. 
 
 " Do you mean ? " I began. 
 
 " Aye," interrupted George, "it is as Red Tom 
 has said. Master Cary, for some reason of his 
 own, thought good to leave the party he took out 
 on the second expedition to the Mountains of 
 Desire, and go off alone into the forest, so then, 
 these poor seamen, all deserted, made me their 
 captain. That is," he added hastily, ' till we 
 get back to the ship, and I hand over to Mr 
 Hopton." 
 
 " Left the party and went off alone ? " I 
 repeated, after him. " That I will never 
 believe." 
 
 " Believe it or leave it as seemeth good to thee," 
 George answered stiffly, " but the fact remains ; 
 the great bell-wether has gone, and I am captain 
 in his place." 
 
 For a little this new and dreadful misfortune 
 overwhelmed me, but presently I bethought myself 
 and asked, " Did I understand you that there was 
 a second expedition ? " 
 
 " Aye," he replied, " the first came home well
 
 182 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 enough, except that owing to the muddling of 
 the captain six honest men lost their lives, and 
 all thought you had lost yours. Then we went 
 off again, for more gold. But the other day, as 
 we came through a wood, along of the captain's 
 folly, three others were killed ; and when soon 
 afterwards he deserted and went off, none knew 
 where, no one was sorry, and when the poor men 
 came and begged me to be their captain, what 
 could I do ? " 
 
 All this was said in tones, not of regret, but of 
 triumph and satisfaction, and my heart sickened 
 as I listened ; for I well knew it was lies from 
 beginning to end, and that Cary was murdered, and 
 I was left alone with them, and how long I would 
 be left I knew not, but I guessed and I feared. 
 And in that moment I wished I had died in the 
 wilderness, or had been content to stay with the 
 kindly blacks, instead of coming back to herd again 
 with these sons of Belial of my own country. So 
 what with one thing and the other, and all coming 
 atop of me at once, and with want of food and 
 sleep, a great weakness came upon me, and I fell 
 into a swoon. 
 
 When I came to myself I was lying in the shade 
 beneath a tree, my face was dripping with water 
 as though it had been bathed, as, indeed, it had 
 been. One of the men was bending over me with 
 a flagon of wine which he had been forcing between 
 my teeth, and George and the others sat about 
 smoking, but with their eyes on me.
 
 THE RETURN TO THE RIVER 183 
 
 So when I had recovered a little bread and meat 
 was set before me, and after I had eaten, and had 
 drunk of the wine, I was more my own man again. 
 Then George, who had been watching me through 
 the smoke that curled about him, said, " Thou'lt 
 have a rare tale to tell of thy doings in the forest, 
 Master Barton, I doubt not, and I would fain 
 hear it, but time presses, so it must e'en keep till 
 I return. And in the meantime, I have thought 
 of a way by which thou canst serve us and hasten 
 the whole matter of the gold getting. Instead of 
 returning to the ship as we have been doing, we 
 will load the gold we have brought on to the boat, 
 and thou canst take it down stream to the ' White 
 Ship.' The boat will drift with the current to the 
 Swan Lagoon, and there thou'lt need only to watch 
 for the tide and go with it, and it will carry the boat 
 to the ship without thy having to row a stroke. 
 Once there thou canst explain to Mr Hopton how 
 the captain deserted us, and how we are going 
 back to the mountains for more gold. We have 
 provision enough for nine days at a pinch, and 
 by that time we will be back here ; so do you 
 tell Mr Hopton we look to him to send the boat 
 back to meet us with an abundance of meat." 
 
 And with that, at Dockery's command, the 
 seamen set to work to raise the boat, and empty 
 the water out, and plug her afresh, and get the 
 gold aboard. So in a little time I was afloat again, 
 and glad of heart that I was, and, seating myself 
 in the stern of the boat with the rudder to my
 
 184 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 hand, I cast off, and waved farewells to the 
 pirates, and steered into midstream, and presently 
 drifted out of their sight, and glad to be rid of 
 them. 
 
 But as I went along after a time mine eyes rested 
 upon the gold, where it lay in the bottom of the 
 boat, near five hundred pounds weight of it. 
 For, having only one set of sacks for carrying the 
 gold in, and not being able to carry it without, by 
 George's direction they had spread a sail at the 
 bottom of the boat and emptied the gold on 
 to it, bidding me with fearful oaths be careful 
 of it, and lose none of it, and deliver it with all 
 safety. 
 
 So there I was with the thing I had loved most 
 in the world — and had compassed the world to 
 get. And now I had got it, and in such quantity 
 as I never conceived possible, a boat-load of it. 
 So I looked upon it as I drifted along, and it seemed 
 to look up at me, until I felt I hated it. And I 
 remembered the Word which said : " What shall 
 it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose 
 his own soul ? ' And my true happiness, as I 
 now knew, was in my home and my dear wife 
 and children, and in the fellowship of kindred 
 minds and the service of God. But I had been 
 too blind to see that, and had willingly given it 
 up in order to get this treasure ; and now that 
 I had gotten it, what was I profited ? What 
 indeed ? How gladly would I have given the 
 whole load for one short hour by my own fireside !
 
 THE RETURN TO THE RIVER 185 
 
 Ah, me ! There be riches other than gold, and 
 greater wealth than hid treasure, and it is easy 
 to buy wealth at too great a price. And even 
 with all my paying, and with all my getting, I 
 had failed to get, or rather I had heaped up riches 
 for others to spend. For well I knew, that with 
 all my getting and guarding and carrying, none 
 of this gold would ever be mine. I had laboured, 
 and would labour, and others (and they the black- 
 hearted wretches who had murdered the captain), 
 would enter into my labours. 
 
 So I looked on that dull, red gold before me, 
 and in my despair I cursed it, and kicked it with 
 my foot, and wished I had never heard of it, and 
 then, rising up in my wrath, I seized a great lump 
 and hurled it into the river ; and would have 
 thrown all in, had I dared. But I dared not, and 
 so sat down again. 
 
 But by and by as I drifted down the long, 
 leafy avenue of the river, with its mossy banks 
 and bright foliage and tall trees, and the ripple 
 of the water caressing the boat, the beauty of the 
 place worked its will upon me, and mine anger 
 passed away, and in plate of it came a feeling of 
 tenderness and contrition. Then was I ashamed 
 of my childish rage, and resolved to take a fresh 
 hold on myself ; and did. But, indeed, my 
 childishness was the outcome of my sufferings 
 and hardships I think, more than anything else, 
 and not so much to my blame. And so I drifted 
 on down stream, and, after a time, I came to enjoy
 
 186 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 it, for the deep foliage of the trees tempered the 
 heat of the sun, and it was sweet to think I could 
 move on my way and make progress, without the 
 fearful hardships and exertions I had suffered in 
 my journeys through the forest.
 
 CHATPER XXIII 
 
 HOW ENGLAND TURNED THIEF, AND THE DREADFUL 
 RESULTS THAT FOLLOWED 
 
 When night came on I tied my boat up to the 
 shore, and, gathering together a great quantity 
 of fern fronds and bracken, made a bed of them 
 in the boat, and slept the first good sleep in many 
 days. In the morning I went on again, but it 
 was the evening of the third day when I dropped 
 down below the " Drake ' which they had made 
 great progress in building, and hailed the " White 
 
 Ship." 
 
 But none answered me, which methought was 
 strange, no sign of life was to be seen anywhere, 
 and, wondering if all were asleep or away, or what, 
 I guided my boat round beneath the stern of the 
 ship and to the land. And when I had made 
 fast, I went aboard on the planks that still bridged 
 the gap between the ship and the bank. 
 
 The deck was all disordered and neglected- 
 looking, mud and dirt had been tramped aboard 
 by many feet, and my heart ached for my beautiful 
 " White Ship " that Cary had kept so spotlessly 
 clean. But there were other marks, and these 
 more ominous, and a chill went through me as I 
 
 187
 
 188 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 looked upon them, until I reflected that mayhap 
 the stains were made by the carcasses of the hopping 
 beasts that the seamen had slaughtered, and 
 brought aboard. But where were Mr Hopton and 
 the crew ? So quiet and silent was all, that a fear 
 and horrid expectance of further trouble, and 
 what I might find, began to creep over me. But 
 I determined to know all, and so made my way 
 across the deck and called out : " Below there ? " 
 and to my great joy there came an answering 
 shout, and the next instant Black Joe Van, the 
 ship's cook, had run up the stairs and grasped 
 my hands in his. 
 
 " Mas'r Barton," he cried in his old manner, 
 " A'm jes' gladderin' A'kin tell to see yo'. A 
 tho't yo 5 were gone daid sure, and so did Mas'r 
 Cary ; and it jes' seem to take all the honey out of 
 life fo' him, an' he go about an' doan' seem to care 
 much if he get de gold now or not." 
 
 All this Joe poured out upon me e'er I could 
 stop him, but I heeded it little, for I was aching to 
 know where Mr Hopton and the others were, and 
 as soon as he gave me the chance to speak I put 
 the question to him. 
 
 And a sad and dreadful tale it was he had to 
 tell, and the marrow of it was this. 
 
 It seems that England had lately hurt his foot, 
 or pretended he had, by a fall from the rigging, and 
 for that reason was left aboard the " White Ship ' 
 to rest, while the others went to work on the 
 " Drake." At such times Joe was the only other
 
 ENGLAND TURNED THIEF 189 
 
 man aboard, he being occupied in the business of 
 cooking or cleaning. On the second day, when 
 they were alone, England said he was going forward 
 to sleep, his foot giving him much pain, but a little 
 later when Joe, desiring to ask a question, went 
 into the forecastle, he was unable to find him, 
 which he thought strange ; but not long after, 
 chancing to glance through a porthole, was surprised 
 to see him stealing aboard from the shore, and, 
 moreover, making nothing of his injured foot, but 
 using it freely as the other. A little later, going 
 forward again, he found him in his bunk apparently 
 asleep, and upon calling him, England roused up, 
 and said he had had a long sleep, but his foot was 
 none the better. 
 
 All this Joe thought very peculiar, and indicating 
 some devilment, but said nothing, only he deter- 
 mined to watch. Accordingly, on the following 
 day, when England said he would go forward 
 and sleep, and begged the cook not to disturb him, 
 for that, owing to the pain in his foot, he had not 
 slept the night before, Joe, while affecting to make 
 a great clatter of dishes, and singing a catch he was 
 fond of, placed himself where, without being seen, 
 he could see the plank which led ashore. And in 
 a little time he saw England appear, and run along 
 it with incredible speed, carrying one of the sacks 
 of gold, that he had gotten from the strong room 
 where they were kept, and plunge into the forest. 
 
 Then it was clear that, for some reason, England 
 had turned thief, though what he hoped to gain 

 
 190 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 by it (except he had a notion to return in another 
 ship some day), was not clear. Still, this much 
 was clear, he was stealing the gold with great 
 cunning, and hiding it away, and the cook determined 
 to find out where it was^be hid it. So the day 
 following, when he had seen him steal off again 
 with a sack, he only waited long enough to be sure 
 he was well on his way, and then followed after. 
 And it seemed that in his youth Joe had been used 
 to track animals in his own country, and was able 
 to tell their goings by the slightest of signs, such as 
 a crushed leaf, or a broken twig, or a footprint in 
 soft ground, and so had no difficulty in tracking 
 England. Nor did it take him long to come up 
 with him, or near to him, for he did not come so 
 close as to be seen. 
 
 And England went from the ship along the slope 
 towards the cliffs until he came to a certain water- 
 hole. Of these there were several in that neighbour- 
 hood, all thickly hedged in with a growth of those 
 soft-foliaged trees, that are always in this country 
 to be found by the water, and this was the roundest 
 and smallest and deepest of them. 
 
 As Joe watched, he saw that England pressed 
 his way through the thick growing trees, and bushes, 
 into the water, and wading out a little way, cast 
 the sack of gold into the middle of it. And seeing 
 that, Joe waited for no more, but returned swiftly 
 to the ship. And for several days this went on, 
 the while the cook pondered what he would do. 
 And, at last, he thought best to tell Mr Hopton.
 
 ENGLAND TURNED THIEF 191 
 
 And that night, when he gave Mr Hopton his 
 supper in his cabin, he first made sure that none 
 spied upon them, and then told what he had seen. 
 
 " I doubted not the dirty dog was feigning to 
 be more hurt than was the case," Mr Hopton said, 
 when Joe had finished, " but I am no seaman, 
 and unfit to command a cockle boat, an' I give 
 him not something now to limp for. But say 
 nought of this to any man, Joe," he added, " and 
 I will lay for him myself to-morrow." 
 
 On the morrow all went off as usual to the building 
 of the " Drake," but about ten of the clock, Mr 
 Hopton, calling certain of the pirates to follow 
 him, that they might be the witnesses, told them 
 that he had somewhat to show them. So they 
 came by a roundabout way to some bushes that 
 overlooked the gang-plank, and scarce had they 
 settled to watch, than the man they thought a 
 cripple, appeared over the side of the ship with 
 a sack of gold under his arm, and running lightly 
 down the plank came ashore, and plunging into 
 the bushes came face to face with Mr Hopton 
 and his comrades, and there stood aghast. 
 
 Mr Hopton regarded him scornfully a minute, 
 and then turning to the others. 
 
 " What think you of our poor comrade ? " he 
 said, " whose foot is so sore that he cannot lend a 
 hand to help us build the ship, but is so sound 
 that it will carry weight like an ox, and run like 
 a horse ? ' And at that, some of the pirates were 
 so enraged, that they roared against England, and
 
 192 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 gnashed upon him with their teeth. And when 
 Mr Hopton cried again : 
 
 '• What shall be done to the man that feigns 
 sickness in order to steal his comrades' gold ? ' 
 one of them shouted with a great oath " He shall 
 die ! " and so said several more, and rushed upon 
 him. 
 
 But England had his friends too, and these stood 
 out to take his part ; so in a moment, pistols and 
 knives were going, and all fighting like devils. 
 And the noise of their tumult reached the others 
 that were at work on the " Drake," and, not knowing 
 what to make of it, they grasped their weapons, 
 and ran to see. And when they had come, seeing 
 some fighting with Mr Hopton and others against, 
 those that were loyal went to his help, while the 
 others, and they were more numerous by far, 
 sided with England, and in a moment all the crew 
 were in a welter of bloodshed and savagery, and 
 more like wild beasts than men. And the screams 
 of the wounded and dying, and the shouts and 
 curses of the others, with the firing of pistols, made 
 a din dreadful to hear. 
 
 And Joe heard it, where he was preparing the 
 food in the ship, and came to the ship's side to 
 hearken, and not knowing what it could all mean, 
 and being unable to see, climbed up to the cross- 
 trees, and from thence saw what was taking place, 
 and that Mr Hopton, with two or three that yet 
 stood by him, was far outnumbered, and sore beset, 
 and was fighting with his back to a tree.
 
 ENGLAND TURNED THIEF 193 
 
 So Joe must needs hurry down and grasp a 
 weapon, and rush across the plank and so to the 
 field of battle. But he was too late, for when 
 he burst out into the midst, the fight was done. 
 Mr Hopton, with a grisly wound, lay dying, and 
 about him those that had stood by him, all wounded, 
 dying or dead, together with all but eight of the 
 pirates. And, indeed, such a fierce and bloody 
 fray was it that none came out of it unwounded, 
 and of nigh thirty men that ran together in their 
 might, only twelve recovered of their wounds and 
 lived to tell the tale. When Joe came amongst 
 them, only seven could stand upon their feet — 
 and these leaned against trees or stood loose-legged 
 and swaying with exhaustion, and cheeks all pale, 
 the while they gasped for breath. Mr Hopton 
 and England lay side by side. They had singled 
 each other out, and according to the story of one 
 of the survivors, had fought together like a pair 
 of tigers ; and all had wondered to see Mr Hopton, 
 for none ever thought that one so small and spare 
 could have lived a minute in a fight with a great 
 man like England. Yet was he not only equal 
 to him, but would soon have killed him, only that 
 seeing it, one of the pirates turned aside, and coming 
 behind gave him that grisly wound. But even 
 so, he dragged England down, and left him for 
 dead, and turned and fought on with the rest until, 
 and the last of all, he fell at the foot of the tree, 
 dying from loss of blood. 
 
 To him then the kindly black went, and would 
 
 N
 
 194 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 have bound up his wounds, but Mr Hopton, in a 
 whisper, bade him not, for it was too late. 
 
 " But, Joe," he said, " I have a last command 
 for thee, and see thou fulfil it. If thou livest 
 to see the captain or Master Barton, tell them I 
 did my duty as an officer, and died at my post. 
 And tell them, also, that I would make one request. 
 In Plymouth Town I have a dear wife and child, 
 and I would have thee say to the captain or to 
 Master Barton that my last word was, that when 
 they come again to England, they will seek my dear 
 ones out, and see that they want for nothing till 
 my boy is old enough to support his mother." 
 
 And when Joe had told me this I said to him, 
 " The Lord do so to me and more also, if, by any 
 means I reach my native land again, I set not that 
 widow and babe far above all want for the rest of 
 their days ! ' And still am I resolved to do it, 
 and more than ever, if in God's mercy I reach home. 
 
 So having got Joe's promise that he would faith- 
 fully carry that message, Mr Hopton lay back 
 and said " Now, may God for Christ's sake forgive 
 me, and receive my spirit," and so died. 
 
 And as Joe concluded the telling of this, the 
 unwonted tears stood in mine eyes, and I sorrowed 
 for our mate as though he had been my own son. 
 
 So after Mr Hopton had passed, Joe went about 
 amongst the others that lay around, and five he found 
 that were alive, and like to live, of whom England 
 was one. And him he would have brained there 
 and then, but that the others were looking on, for
 
 ENGLAND TURNED THIEF 195 
 
 he regarded him as the maker of the trouble. And 
 after that Joe went aboard, and returned with 
 wine and strong drink, and with the help of the 
 others got the wounded men on to the ship, and 
 their wounds washed and dressed, and made com- 
 fortable as might be. 
 
 And while they were carrying, he persuaded 
 them to carry the dead men aboard too, and tie 
 great weights to them, and drop them over the 
 stern into deep water, where the current might 
 carry them out to sea. And this they did, and 
 over with them, one after another, sixteen dead 
 men in all, and Mr Hopton among them, and him 
 the last. 
 
 Then, for a day or two, a kind of glut of blood 
 seemed to be upon those pirates, and they spake 
 little to each other, and did no work, but drank a 
 great deal of strong drink — which Joe was powerless 
 to keep from them. And the wounded men grew 
 better, and Joe fed them and mollified their wounds 
 with ointment from the ship's medicine chest, 
 and saw that they lacked nothing, and after a 
 few days all were about again. 
 
 And a strange thing was, that of all the men who 
 survived the fight, not one save England and Black 
 Joe, knew what was the cause of it. Those that 
 had seen England with the gold had died to a man, 
 and the others supposed it was all due to an attack 
 by Mr Hopton. As to the sack of gold, that, had 
 it been found by them, would have demanded 
 explanation, it fell among the bushes, and was
 
 196 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 not seen. But Joe, remembering it, after night 
 had fallen, went ashore and searched till he found 
 it ; and was bringing it aboard, when some of the 
 pirates who were prowling about the ship came 
 towards him as he crossed the gang plank, so 
 he was obliged to stoop and drop it quietly down 
 by the ship's side in the water, and there it abides 
 to this day. 
 
 And so things had gone on, and nothing done but 
 drinking and dicing, cursing and quarrelling, from 
 morning till night. And yesterday a mad fit 
 taking them, they had brought up a barrel of drink 
 from the hold, and rolled it over beyond the water- 
 holes and down the cliffs to a little cave on a sandy 
 beach, and there it seemed, were determined to 
 drink themselves to death.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 OF THE DEBAUCHERY OF THE PIRATES AND 
 THE COMING OF THE NEW CAPTAIN 
 
 So when Joe had made an end of speaking of these 
 horrors, and I had told him something of what had 
 befallen me, the while he gave me supper — we con- 
 sulted what were best to be done. And at length we 
 agreed that all things considered, it were best to seek 
 out those drunkards, and endeavour to rouse them 
 and tell them of what had happened, and how, Cary 
 being dead, George was now captain of the gold 
 hunters, and required them to send a boat up to the 
 river head with provisions. 
 
 And this we did. After carrying the gold aboard 
 from the boat and arming ourselves carefully, we 
 set out in the moonlight. In a little time we came 
 to that marshy water-hole where England had 
 sunk those bags of gold, and stood a moment there 
 and wondered what his motive was in doing it, 
 and what he hoped to gain. And we resolved that 
 wc should one* day tell of his theft — that they 
 might be got aboard again, but we never did, as 
 you shall hear, and there it lies at the bottom of 
 that pool to this present time. 
 
 It was but a little then until we stood on the 
 
 197
 
 198 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 cliffs, and there lay the sea, great and wide, shimmer- 
 ing in the moonlight, and roaring and thundering 
 over the reefs, that bulwark these coasts at every 
 point, and break the fury of the waves. And 
 presently we came to a place close by a great sand- 
 hill, that was piled on top of the cliffs, and descend- 
 ing by a kind of natural path to the beach, we 
 came in a few yards to a smouldering fire before 
 the mouth of a little cave ; and round about the 
 fire and within the cave, lay, for the most part, 
 the drunken wretches we had come to seek. All 
 were dead drunk, and four, as we presently found, 
 were dead in actual fact. For they had been 
 amongst those that were wounded, and being yet 
 weak from loss of blood were unable to bear the 
 strain of the debauch, and had drunk themselves 
 to death. 
 
 So here was another horror, and enough to turn 
 me sick, but by now I was grown used to it, so 
 that it affected me little, and indeed, I would have 
 cared little had all been dead, except that it grieved 
 me to think of them all plunging headlong to hell 
 in this fashion. As for Joe Van, he was glad to 
 find them dead, and wished all had died. 
 
 So now we made a shift to wake those that were 
 alive, and by carrying seawater in a vessel they 
 had brought to drink from, and dashing it in their 
 faces, we presently succeeded. But they were ill 
 to rouse, and cursed, and cried to be let alone. 
 And it was not until Joe got the dregs of the drink 
 that was left in the barrel and gave it to them,
 
 THE PIRATES AND THE CAPTAIN 199 
 
 that we were able to rouse them sufficiently to get 
 them to move. And even then, we got no more 
 than four aboard that night, the rest falling out 
 at this point or that, and lying down amongst the 
 bushes, and refusing to go further. Two, indeed, 
 we never got up the cliffs, though they both 
 staggered aboard next morning more dead than 
 alive — and the other two that we did get up, 
 persisted that we were leading them astray, and 
 would go their own way, and so to their deaths, 
 for they walked over the cliffs and brake their 
 necks on the rocks, as we found next day. So it 
 was a night to be remembered. 
 
 In the morning, then, when the drunkards had 
 slept off somewhat the effects of the drink, we told 
 them, of whom England was one, of what had 
 come to pass up the river, and that George was 
 now captain. And at that England was in deep 
 thought awhile, as though he considered how best 
 he might use this news for his own ends. Also 
 he consulted much with the others, but in the end 
 decided, it would seem, that it were best to let 
 events march their own way, and trust something 
 might fall out that would profit him, and in the 
 end give the control into his hands. 
 
 Then the twa came aboard that had lain out 
 all night in the woods ; and such a sight ! Dirty, 
 red-eyed and all atremble, as would have sickened 
 a dog to see, let alone living men. And at their 
 coming we asked them concerning the others, 
 and when they could tell us nothing, we set out
 
 200 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 to seek them, and found them, as has been said, 
 broken on the rocks where they had fallen over 
 the cliff. And I had a mind to get them and give 
 them decent burial, but there was no way down, 
 and I had, perforce, to leave them to the high 
 tide which would take them when next it came 
 full. As for the others, they cared for none of 
 these things, and scarce could be persuaded to 
 dig a hole in the sand to bury those of their comrades 
 that had died in drink — but in the end they helped 
 in that, and the labour, I think, did them good. 
 
 And now England bestirred himself, and had 
 the long boat — that I had brought down stream — 
 stocked with meat and drink, and soon after mid- 
 day two of the men were sent away in her to meet 
 the others at the landing place. And it was not 
 only food they took, but a wild distorted story 
 of how Mr Hopton had made a savage and un- 
 provoked assault upon certain of them, and of all 
 the terrible results that followed. And doubtless, 
 those that had drunk themselves to death, would 
 be held up as martyrs to the mate's fury. So 
 they went away up the river, on a rising tide, 
 and with a southerly wind behind them ; and the 
 remainder, and I among them, set to work again 
 upon the building of the " Drake." And wonderful 
 it was to see the progress that had been made, 
 and wonderful to me also to see the way in which 
 these men could turn their hands to anything, 
 and the use of any tool. As for me, I could only 
 run here and there at their bidding, and hold this,
 
 THE PIRATES AND THE CAPTAIN 201 
 
 and lift that, and generally fetch and carry for 
 them like a ship's boy, and be cursed at and called 
 all manner of viles names. Yet I held my peace, 
 even from good, and such as it was, I did my do. 
 
 And the following day, we went at it again, and 
 the pirates worked like slaves to make up for the 
 time they had lost, and none harder than England ; 
 and me they had running hither and thither until 
 I was ready to drop on the deck ; and had it not 
 been that I had become strong and hardy through 
 my travels in the forest, I never would have survived 
 it. But now I was able to endure. 
 
 And this went on another six days and great 
 progress was made, but that evening, as we were 
 about to return to the " White Ship," one called 
 out that the boat was coming, and when we looked ' 
 we saw that it was, though far off yet. So we 
 watched it and saw the wild fowl rise from before 
 it and circle round, and the long lines of the swans 
 flinch back. Still, a southerly wind blew hard 
 against them, and ruffled the water more than 
 seemed possible, and the boat, what with the gold, 
 and the number of men, was laden almost to the 
 water, so that they had to go warily, and were not 
 able to drive her through it lest they sink her. So 
 it was a full hour before they reached? us. But 
 at last they rounded the ship — beached the boat, 
 and came aboard. 
 
 And strange was it to see the difference in George's 
 coming now, and the first time he had come down 
 the river. For then Cary was captain and George
 
 202 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 but a common seaman, with a plot to nurse and 
 hatch, and he did as he was told, though with an 
 ill grace. But now all was changed. He came 
 aboard as a captain comes, regarding none. And 
 when England, who had seemed to be nervous and 
 ill at ease, stepped up and cried. " Give you 
 good day, George," he turned on him and assailed 
 him with such a stream of epithets and curses, as 
 made my blood run cold. And I gathered that he 
 had closely questioned the men that went with 
 the boat, and had put the pieces of the story to- 
 gether, and what they knew not, he guessed (save 
 only the stealing of the gold), and concluded that 
 England had been the head and front of the whole 
 affair, and was the one responsible for the loss of 
 lives — of all those men, his comrades ; the which 
 made him mad ; and when England would have 
 protested, he said that if he spoke ten words he 
 would have his back broken, and his carcass flung 
 over the side, and none doubted that he was able 
 to do it, for the men with him would do his bidding. 
 So England, like a man broken-spirited, turned 
 away. Then George went below with several of 
 those that were with him, and took up his abode in 
 the captain's cabin. 
 
 It fell out then that Joe Van had prepared a 
 mighty dish of wild fowl and of fishes for supper, 
 expecting that the boat would come e'er night. 
 And I, presently descending, mightily hungered 
 after the hard work on the " Drake," made my 
 way into the cabin to eat.
 
 THE PIRATES AND THE CAPTAIN 203 
 
 Full well I knew that some humiliation, if not 
 harm, would be inflicted on me, but I preferred 
 knowing at once, rather than suffering suspense. 
 So I went below to put the matter to the proof. 
 When I came to the doorway, the pirates, with 
 the exception of George, were all sprawled about 
 the seats round the table, while George sat at 
 the head of it, and in a measure, aloof from them. 
 When I appeared all eyes were turned upon me, 
 and one demanded to know what I meant by 
 coming thus amongst my betters. Ere I had a 
 reply ready or could speak, George broke in : — 
 
 " Hearken to me, old muck- worm," he said, 
 " for months thou hast lived in ease in this cabin, 
 when far better men lay forrard, and sweated 
 and slaved to do thy bidding. Now tilings are 
 changed, the true men are in their rightful places, 
 and the forecastle is for such as thou. Now away 
 forrard, and step lively ! ' I stood a moment too 
 confused to obey or speak, and seeing it, George 
 rose in wrath. 
 
 " Must I help thee ? " he cried, angrily. And 
 then, with great swiftness, lifting a pistol that lay 
 on the table beside him, fired between my feet — 
 whereupon I leapt in the air, and fled up the stairs, 
 followed by their laughter and shouts of contempt. 
 
 So now, the storm having burst upon me, there 
 was nothing to do but to bow my head before it 
 and submit, and this I did. Forward then I went, 
 but when I came there found my presence was 
 not more welcome than in the cabin. And when
 
 204 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 I would have gone in with them one drew a pistol, 
 and said if I were not out of sight by the time he 
 had counted ten, he would fire, and because I knew 
 they were utterly without law, and would think 
 no more of killing me than of killing one of the 
 hopping beasts, I made haste to leave them, and 
 only in time. 
 
 So there I was on my own ship, without right 
 or authority, and, indeed, worse off than a slave. 
 An outcast from both cabin and forecastle, captain 
 and crew, and they the scum of the high seas. 
 And I had not where to lay my head, and was 
 hungry and thirsty, and my soul fainting in me.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 how cary's river closed its mouth and opened 
 it, and how george and england fought 
 for leadership 
 
 But even here the kindness and love of God ap- 
 peared, for when mine own countrymen had reviled 
 me, and cast me out, there came to me Black Joe, 
 the ship's cook (as another black — Ebed-melech 
 — to Jeremiah when that prophet was in similar 
 wretched case), and had me to his quarters and 
 there fed me and cared for me, and gave his bed 
 to me, the while he slept on the floor. 
 
 And now for a month my life was a misery indeed, 
 and but for the black, and presently for another, 
 I must have died. Such hazing and cursing I 
 endured as never was borne by ship's boy. And 
 from morning till night I was everybody's slave. 
 None are such tyrants as ignorant men, who have 
 suddenly clutched new and unusual power, and 
 that I found to the full. 
 
 But apart from the black, I suddenly found I 
 had a friend in England. As I well knew, England 
 had his friends among the men, though no doubt 
 the majority were loyal to George, and I had ex- 
 pected that he would ere this have made some 
 
 20G
 
 206 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 show of resistance ; but from the first outburst 
 it was not so. He bowed to the blast, and went 
 about his work, and apparently submitted to his 
 fate, the which surprised me greatly, for he was 
 not one to surrender his rights quickly. But soon 
 I was aware he only acted a part, and planned 
 some revenge, and how he might yet regain his 
 position, though at what cost I shuddered to think. 
 But nothing of this entered my thoughts until one 
 day when he was at work alone at the far end of 
 the ' Drake ,: when he called me to bring some 
 nails to him. I took them, and without looking 
 at me, and seemingly intent upon his work, he 
 whispered : — 
 
 ' Master Barton, I like not to see thee in such 
 hard case ; an I had my way thou wouldst be back 
 in thy cabin in comfort. It's all along of George 
 that thou'rt treated so, but all is not lost yet. 
 Thou hast good friends here, who will stand by 
 thee, though it suits us not to do so yet. But be 
 of good cheer, and keep thine own counsel, except 
 that thou mayest give a hint to the black cook." 
 
 I said never a word in reply, but went my ways 
 without so much as a sign. However, the black- 
 ness that had settled down upon my spirit like a 
 cloud upon the mountains, lifted somewhat, the 
 loads I bore seemed lighter, a new strength glowed 
 in me, and hope revived. 
 
 And it was strange to think that England of all 
 men should have been the cause of my good cheer 
 — for of all the crew him I dreaded and disliked
 
 GEORGE AND ENGLAND 207 
 
 most. Yet now because of these words of his, 
 I was drawn to him, and liked him better than 
 the rest, and forgot his deceit and murderous 
 threats, and thought only how I had misjudged 
 him. Truly, misfortune and far travel bring us 
 strange bed-fellows, and play havoc with our 
 prejudices. 
 
 That night when we were alone, I told the cook 
 what England had said, but Joe was not so surprised 
 as might be thought. It was not like England to 
 submit to ill-fortune so easily, he said, and it had 
 come to him that some scheme was afoot, and 
 when it was ripe England would make a bid for 
 power. If he succeeded, George, with his nearest 
 friends, would be killed, and England would be 
 captain in his place. And, moreover, Joe told me 
 that he had once heard England express his ad- 
 miration of my fighting qualities, and he no doubt 
 wished to be sure, if it came to a battle, that he 
 would have me on his side ; the which gave me 
 enough to think of. 
 
 But on the morrow a strange thing happened, 
 for Joe Van, who was the first man up, presently 
 shouted that the river mouth was blocked, and 
 we were cut off from the sea, and when all had 
 come running up incredulous, we found it was even 
 as he had said. It was now near the end of the 
 summer, and we had noticed for some time that 
 the lagoon was growing shallower, and the channel 
 to the sea narrower. But such a disaster as this, 
 and withal so sudden, none had ever dreamed to
 
 208 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 be possible. Yet so it was, and there we were 
 with our ship nearly ready for sea penned up in 
 this lagoon by a solid wall of sand. 
 
 So at first there was great consternation and 
 cursing and bitterness. But in the end England, 
 with much deference to George, ventured to urge 
 that all the work proceed as before. " For," said 
 he, " the rainy season cannot now be far off, and 
 if I be not mistaken, when it comes this river will 
 come down in floods, and the floods will sweep the 
 sand away again, the channel will open up afresh, 
 and we'll have a clear course to sea." And upon 
 this advice George acted, though much against 
 the grain. So the work went on. And it fell 
 out, even as England said, for a few days later 
 great banks of cloud appeared in the nor'west, 
 the sky became overcast, and presently came such 
 a deluge of rain as I had never seen — floods of 
 water poured upon the land (which had for long 
 been dry and parched for want of it), and at the 
 end of a week, when it abated somewhat, the 
 lagoon was swollen to twice its usual size. 
 
 So great was the rain that little could be done 
 to the " Drake " on the outside, so all were em- 
 ployed fitting her up within, and in the end, although 
 there was but little of the comfort and finish that 
 was on the ' White Ship," yet was there room 
 and a place for all. And we doubted not she 
 would weather what storms we might meet and 
 bring us safe to our desired haven. 
 
 When the rain cleared off, there came a month
 
 GEORGE AND ENGLAND 209 
 
 of such weather as no people ever knew anywhere 
 else in the world — for delight. The days were 
 still and gently warm ; the sun shone from a soft 
 blue sky where no clouds were. The outgoings of 
 the morning and the evenings were of such vivid 
 splendour (sometimes even the sea itself being as 
 full of colour as the sky), that the rudest pirate of 
 them all hushed his oaths and gazed with awe. 
 The nights, too, were crisp now and full of a wonder- 
 full energy, and the sky Uttered with stars, that 
 seemed to sparkle and flash as never before, as 
 though the late rains had washed and polished 
 them anew. And, moreover, the nights were full 
 of wings and the noise of birds flying and crying. 
 The grass, that in the open places had become 
 brown with the long heat, now suddenly changed 
 to a vivid green, and the long hard days were a 
 joy notwithstanding all the work, and the un- 
 certainty of the future. 
 
 And in those days the " Drake " was brought 
 down-stream in the channel close to the " White 
 Ship " and there made fast, and while some wrought 
 at her spars and bent her sails, others carried 
 aboard her fittings and provisions and arms, and 
 most of all, the gold from the " White Ship." 
 
 And now the Swan Lagoon was full of water, 
 and seemed like to burst the bank next to the 
 sea at any time, and well we knew that at the 
 next heavy rain it would, nor had we long to wait. 
 The calm weather ended in three weeks' time, 
 when a great wind came roaring up from the south- 
 o
 
 210 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 west, turning the sea into a wild cauldron, and 
 driving the waves until they were racing over the 
 sand and into the Swan Lagoon. And the Lagoon 
 became bigger and bigger with its weight of water 
 piling up behind and before, and no one was surprised 
 when one morning a small break was seen, and the 
 water began to run into the sea. But wonderful 
 it was to see how quickly the first little channel 
 widened. Every minute in every part the banks 
 of sand fell in as the water raced by, until at noon, 
 the channel over which one might have stepped, 
 when the sun rose, was a wide river roaring its 
 way out to sea. 
 
 And now all was ready, and there was nothing 
 more to do until the storm abated, and then we 
 might put to sea. And most of the men were 
 ashore " stretching their legs," as .they said, for 
 the last time, for well they knew it would be many 
 a day before they set foot on land again. And I 
 had a thought that way myself, and wondered how 
 I might cross from the " Drake " where I was, to 
 the " White Ship," that I might go ashore from her, 
 when of a sudden England came from below and 
 passed me by. As he did so he looked meaningly 
 upon me, and there was that in his face which 
 made me pause and turn and watch him. 
 
 George and Handover were standing together on 
 the deck, and England made as though he would 
 have passed them and gone forward, but as he 
 passed he stumbled and fell against George. In- 
 stantly the captain swung round — his face aflame
 
 GEORGE AND ENGLAND 211 
 
 with rage — for he ever magnified his office, and 
 was very jealous of any failure to recognise his 
 authority and greatness (and indeed in that 
 company it appeared to be the only way to rule, 
 for these pirates would never obey one they did 
 not fear). But when he saw who it was that 
 pushed him, his rage know no bounds. 
 
 " How now, thou filth ! " he roared, " art blind 
 as well as a fool that thou canst not see where 
 thou'rt going ? " 
 
 ' Filth, yourself ! ' England roared in response, 
 and sprang upon the other as a dog leaps at a fox. 
 George was nothing loth to meet him, and instantly 
 they grappled together like two wild beasts. 
 
 Handover for a moment was too surprised to 
 make a move of any kind, but then, recovering his 
 wits, he sprang to his friend's assistance. But 
 even as he did a shot rang out from the deck house 
 amidships, and he dropped, and when I had looked 
 I saw several of England's men emerge from the 
 companion-way armed from head to foot. I 
 realised then how deep had been England's scheme 
 to get command, and how well he had carried it out. 
 All these days he had endured insults and suffered 
 indignities, such as were enough to have wrought 
 him to murder point, but he had held himself and 
 waited. Waited until the ship was all built, that 
 he might have the advantage of the help of all the 
 crew that was left. Waited until all the goods 
 and chattels and provisions were aboard, and all 
 ready to sail ; and crowned all by waiting until
 
 212 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 all but his chosen friends had gone ashore out of 
 the way, and then with the certainty of a clear 
 field, he had gone to avenge on George the insults 
 of the past, and, at the same time, regain command. 
 At the sound of the shot those that were ashore 
 came running, but all they could do was to climb 
 aboard the " White Ship " and watch the fight 
 going on on the " Drake," for there were ten feet 
 of water and no gangway between the two ships, 
 and, moreover, there was not a musket among 
 them, and England's men stood by on the " Drake ' 
 with their muskets pointed at them. 
 
 But all the care of these latter, as it appeared, 
 was to keep the ring, for as I learned presently, 
 England had so ordered it. He wanted no more 
 lives lost, and no advantages over George, but 
 just a fair field to fight him. And that he got. 
 And together they fought with a beastly rage 
 and blindness to other things, and an intensity of 
 passion beyond belief in human beings. And all 
 the crew that were on the " White Ship " climbed 
 to every high place where they might see, and cried 
 to one or the other to fight on and use this trick or 
 that. 
 
 And how it would have ended had they been 
 left to themselves I know not, for they were well 
 matched, and either might have won, and though 
 it would have been best for me had England won, 
 I was so sick of their eternal quarrels and blood- 
 shed, and grasping after power, that I cared nothing 
 one way or the other. And God Himself, as it
 
 GEORGE AND ENGLAND 213 
 
 appeared, was sick of them too, and would suffer 
 them no more, for while they yet fought, locked 
 together like animals, He commanded and raised 
 a stormy wind that rushed swiftly up from the 
 sea with a roar that startled all, and, catching 
 the shrouds of the " Drake," heeled her suddenly 
 over until her yards had wellnigh struck the 
 water. I was flung into the scuppers myself, and 
 when I arose, England and George were no more 
 to be seen ; — cursing, foaming, fighting, they had 
 gone over the side together, and sunk like lead. 
 Truly I think this was the Judgment of God.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 HOW RED TOM LEFT ANDREW BARTON BEHIND 
 AND HOW THE " DRAKE " PUT OUT TO SEA 
 
 And now the crowning judgment was not long 
 delayed. For with George and England at the 
 bottom of the sea, a truce was made between the 
 parties, and another captain chosen — one that 
 stood well with both — none other than Red Tom, 
 and a great red hairy man he was (such as Esau), who 
 had lately acted as George's boatswain, and on all 
 the ship there was not one more devilishly cruel. 
 But yet he was one that could do things, and feared 
 nothing. 
 
 That night, there being nothing to do, was spent 
 in drunkenness and revelling, but in the morning 
 it was decided to put to sea. The day was fine, 
 the sea had gone down, the wind blew from the 
 land ; the river ran out in a wide channel ; the 
 " Drake " was straining at her cables as though 
 eager to be away on her first voyage ; and all was 
 ready to go. There only remained the seamen's 
 bedding, and what things they owned, to bring 
 aboard, and already they were busy at the work. 
 I was the last to go below on the " White Ship," 
 that I might fetch mine, for Red Tom had, with 
 
 214
 
 THE " DRAKE " SAILS 215 
 
 much laughter and winking at the others that were 
 near, kept me doing unnecessary things until the 
 time was almost gone. 
 
 " Now, away with thee, thou old dog ! and bring 
 thy bedding ! " he cried at length, " else thou'lt 
 have us miss the tide." 
 
 And away I went, and below, as I have said — 
 but scarce had I got there when I heard the sound 
 of a closing hatch, and at that a great fear fell upon 
 me, and catching up what things lay at hand, I 
 rushed to the top of the ladder, only to find the 
 hatch closed, and something so heavy upon it, that 
 I was unable to lift it. And, at the same time, I 
 heard a great tramping, and shouting of orders, on 
 the " Drake " ; and then understood I their end, 
 and their devilish cruelty. They had sent me 
 below, closed the hatch above me, and were going 
 away without me. 
 
 When first I knew this, it was too hard for me 
 — and such a horror of the loneliness and misery 
 of my fate came upon me, that in my agony I 
 forgot God, and cursed and raged. And I beat 
 upon the hatch with my hands, and then dashing 
 below again, found an axe, and with this worked like 
 a madman, and presently had so splintered the 
 timber that I was able to draw it aside, and drag 
 myself on the deck through the hole. 
 
 But I was too late, the " Drake " was already 
 under way, her sails bellying to the wind, and a 
 turgid rushing torrent of water, ever widening, 
 lay between her and the " White Ship." But all
 
 216 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 hands were on deck, and when they saw me they 
 burst into a shout of laughter. I cried on them 
 to stop, and screamed not to be left, but I might 
 as well have cried to the white gulls that followed 
 them to sea. And, indeed, they could not then 
 have returned for me had they wished (which they 
 did not). 
 
 But to the desperate man, nothing seems im- 
 possible, and in my horror of being left behind I 
 ran from the " White Ship " to the shore, and 
 along the bank, calling as I went, and when I could 
 go no further that way, I ran into the sea, as far as 
 I might, and with the waves dashing over me, and 
 my arms outstretched, cried with tears — " Come 
 back ! Come back ! Come back ! " 
 
 But now none were able to come, had they desired, 
 yet was I not quite forgotten either, for, as I looked, 
 suddenly Black Joe appeared upon the deck, and 
 rushing aft waved something white, and then 
 with his right hand, pointed upward, as though 
 he bade me hope, and look to God — and then a 
 great wave coming overwhelmed me, so that I 
 had much ado to get back to land. And now I 
 knew I was left alone, but still I watched them. 
 And the better to do this I climbed the cliff and 
 ran out along that causeway of rock that juts into 
 the sea, near which they must pass, and there I 
 was able to see without let or hindrance. And 
 what I saw then I have but to shut my eyes to 
 see still, and shall see, until mine eyes shut for ever 
 in the sleep of death.
 
 THE " DRAKE " SAILS 217 
 
 The " Drake ' was now in what we had called 
 the " Gate of Hell," and going bravely with the 
 following wind. But just off the mouth of Cary's 
 River on the eastern side, there is what seems to 
 be a reef, set in the midst of a welter of cross 
 currents, and round about it the water is always 
 troubled. There have been days in plenty since 
 we came to this coast when no breath of wind stirred, 
 and no swell of any kind moved the sea. Yet 
 never have I seen that part calm ; always the 
 water was racing, and the spray flying ; and in 
 rough weather, or when, as to-day, a heavy swell 
 was on, it boiled like a whirlpool (as indeed it 
 is), and its broken water flew in clouds of sleet. 
 And often and often had I stood in other days 
 where I now stood, and looked upon it, and 
 wondered what would be the fate of any ship that 
 came near to it. And now I was to know. 
 
 The passage that was called the " Gate of Hell ' 
 was but narrow, as I have told already. To the 
 west were the great rocks that jutted out as I have 
 described, and to the east that seething cauldron, 
 and it needed a clear eye and a steady hand to 
 keep the middle course. But there was no Cary 
 now in the shrouds with unfaltering judgment 
 and will of iron to keep the way at all hazards, 
 and no Mr Hopton at the helm with nerve of steel 
 to obey orders and hold the ship to the course, 
 even when it must have seemed he was going 
 straight on to the rocks. In their places were 
 others, new and untried, and in the moment of
 
 218 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 test they failed. And while I watched, it came 
 to pass that, fearing the rocks on one side, they 
 took not sufficient account of the strength of that 
 whirlpool on the other, and before ever they were 
 aware they were in its power. The " Drake ' 
 went strongly before the wind, and already seemed 
 to have gone beyond the danger point, when 
 suddenly she hesitated uncertainly, and trembled 
 and shook, then she stopped, and in spite of her 
 helm, swung round to the east, and rushed away 
 with the waters. East she went for a few score 
 yards, and then stopped again, and methought 
 she was on the reef, but, no — slowly she swung 
 round, but now head on to the land, and seemed 
 to be going ashore. Anon she swung about again, 
 and came straight towards where I stood upon 
 the rock, but while I yet rushed back out of the 
 way, expecting her to crash upon it, the wind 
 and whirlpool catched her once again, and flung 
 her round to the south. At once she gathered 
 speed, and now had by a miracle sailed right round 
 the reef, and another moment of time would have 
 seen her clear away and out to sea. But in that 
 moment she met her doom. Some long knife-like 
 point of reef evidently there was lurking quiet 
 below the surface, and as the poor " Drake " rushed 
 across to her freedom, it caught and stabbed her 
 to the heart. She stopped dead with a frightful 
 lurch that made all her spars to crack, then turned 
 sideways on to the sea ; and the wind then catching 
 her sails, heeled her over ; and worse than all,
 
 THE " DRAKE " SAILS 219 
 
 one of those great waves, far larger and higher 
 than any of their fellows (that on this coast for 
 some reason rise up without respect to wind or 
 tide, and rush towards the shore), must needs 
 rise up now and fling itself upon the poor " Drake." 
 A very mountain of water it was, and in a horror 
 of apprehension, I shut mine eyes. And I would 
 have shut mine ears, too, an it had been possible, 
 that I might not hear the cry of those strong men 
 in their agony, but that I could not do. When I 
 had the heart a moment later to look again, the 
 wave had passed, and the " Drake ' with it. A 
 few spare things that had been loose about her 
 deck, together with what I thought to be some 
 of her crew, I saw a moment whirled round in the 
 currents, but they were sucked under instantly, 
 and I saw them no more. 
 
 V
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 HOW ANDREW BARTON TOOK COURAGE, AND MADE 
 A GRUESOME FIND ON THE BEACH 
 
 And now for a time I knew not what I did, for 
 a shuddering horror chilled my brain ; and what 
 next I remember is that it was evening and I was 
 back again on the " White Ship," and in mine own 
 cabin, filthy after its occupation by the pirates, 
 but yet mine. My Bible was open before me, 
 and I was trying to read, and for a long time I think 
 I must have read on not knowing what I read, 
 my brain all clouded with the horror of the last 
 and greatest calamity of all. But in the end, 
 my mind, dragging over the pages, as an anchor 
 that has not rope enough, drags over the sea 
 bottom, presently caught on these words — " Be 
 still and know that I am God," and there held. 
 
 This I pondered a little in a detached way, and 
 it began to grow upon me, and with it presently 
 there came unspeakable relief to my spirit, and 
 I raised my head and looked about me. It was as 
 though I had long been sleeping, and was awakened 
 from dreadful visions of the night to reality and 
 beautiful daylight. But in a little all that had 
 passed came upon me with a rush, and I sank
 
 A GRUESOME FIND 221 
 
 down again and layed my head on my arms, and 
 thought if I could but shed tears I might be helped. 
 But no tears came, and I turned again to the book 
 and read again the words of that Psalm, " Be still 
 and know that I am God." Other words I presently 
 read also from the same page. " Come, behold 
 the Works of the Lord, what desolations He hath 
 made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto 
 the ends of the earth. He breaketh the bow and 
 cutteth the spear in sunder. Be still and know 
 that I am God. I will be exalted." And presently 
 it came to me that God yet lived and reigned, and 
 still thought about me, and was speaking to me 
 and bidding me be of good cheer. The desolations 
 I had witnessed had wellnigh crushed my spirit 
 and killed me, but now I saw that He had caused 
 them in order to punish the ungodly and exalt 
 His name, and who was I to complain or set my 
 will against His ? And, moreover, as I thought 
 upon the happenings of the past, I saw what a 
 great deliverance had been wrought for me. The 
 pirates in their cruelty had left me behind and 
 had meant it to me for evil, but the Lord meant it for 
 good, as in the case of Joseph, for had they taken 
 me, I had now been rolling with them in the weeds 
 at the bottom of the sea, instead of sitting here in 
 my cabin with good health and all my needs pro- 
 vided for. So I saw it was the Lord's doings, and 
 it was marvellous in mine eyes, and I stilled my 
 spirit according to His Word, and was assured that 
 all was well. Then I prayed and communed with
 
 222 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 God, and besought His forgiveness, and committed 
 my way to Him, and afterwards ate and drank 
 and was refreshed. 
 
 The next day early in the morning when I came 
 upon the deck, I saw at a little distance in the 
 waves by the water's edge an object that I took 
 for the body of one of the seamen, and hastened 
 towards it that I might see who it was, and give 
 it burial. When I drew near I thought for a little 
 it was alive, for it seemed to be raising its arm 
 as if making signals, and I hurried forward with 
 beating heart. Soon I saw it was not one body 
 but two, and they England and George, and 
 moreover they were still locked together in their 
 embrace of death ; each had one arm about the 
 other, but George's left wrist was held by England's 
 right hand, and the two arms were outstretched 
 straight from the body, and were as one, and were 
 rigid in death. And it was this I had seen moving 
 in the air, for each wave as it came in turned the 
 bodies over on the steep beach, and the out- 
 stretched hands rose up out of the water, and 
 swung over through the air, then as the water 
 receded the bodies rolled back by their own weight, 
 and the arms swung' over again. 
 
 So there it was, and most horrible to look upon, 
 the arms rising out of the water and swinging over 
 to the shore, and then back again to the sea, back 
 and forth, forth and back, with a sickening 
 monotony. And now George was on top, and 
 now England, and it almost seemed that even two
 
 A GRUESOME FIND 223 
 
 days after they were dead, they were yet fighting 
 and struggling for the mastery. 
 
 So I looked upon them for a little with great 
 horror and pity, and then I drew them up beyond 
 reach of the waves, and brought a mattock from the 
 ship and dug a grave in the sand, and because 
 I could not separate them, I buried them both 
 together. And I digged the grave deep and put 
 them in ; but it was too narrow to allow of the 
 rigid arms to lie down, so each lay on his side 
 with a hand pointing to heaven. And I looked 
 on that and thought it well, for now they were 
 not one above the other as each had designed, 
 but were side by side, and equal, and their fierce 
 rivalry at an end ; for death ends all distinctions. 
 And so I covered them up, and prayed to God to 
 have mercy on their souls, and so left them. 
 
 But what a pitiful end was this to all our great 
 enterprise 1 The great " White Ship ' : lay there 
 in the mud, her spars dismantled and her glory 
 gone, and doomed to rot and decay. And the 
 gold we came so far to seek, and gathered at such 
 terrible cost, what of it ? Part lay in the little 
 pool up the hill yonder, where England buried it ; 
 part in a bag by the " White Ship," close to the 
 shore, where Black Joe had sunk it ; and the rest, 
 that was the value of a king's ransom, lay among 
 the rocks and quicksands, with the bones of the 
 " Drake " hard by the reef where the four tides 
 meet, and the whirlpools race for ever. 
 
 And to speak of the men were more pitiful still,
 
 224 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 for the bones of Cary, the author of all our work, 
 were, I doubted not, bleaching somewhere in the 
 wilderness, where none knew or pitied, or would 
 give them burial. Other two, and they the chief 
 of the mischief-makers, lay locked in each other's 
 arms in a hateful embrace, beneath the sand by 
 the river mouth ; others there were also, friends 
 of mine and foes, whose bodies lay, some here, 
 some there ; some in the forest, and some by the 
 shore of the sea ; but the greatest number, in- 
 cluding kind black Joe Van, rode the wild tides 
 that race through the deeps, about the reefs, hard 
 by the Gates of Hell. 
 
 And I only of the sixty men who put to sea in 
 the great " White Ship " am left to tell the tale. 
 And thus I have told it.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 THE COT IN THE FOREST 
 
 What followed may soon be set forth. For many 
 days I remained at the Swan Lagoon, and on each 
 one went up the cliffs and looked out, if haply I 
 might find some ship approaching. But nothing 
 did I ever see that was like one, save only the 
 flash of a gull's white wing as it turned in the 
 sunlight, or the top of a wave broken by the wind. 
 And at last it came to me that no ship was likely 
 ever to come that way, and I must live and die 
 here alone. And then, as the winter came on, 
 and storms raged along the coast, and the bleak 
 winds blew, I determined to seek the shelter of 
 the forest, and build me a hut in the woodlands 
 in a sweet spot I knew by the riverside. 
 
 And this I did. It meant many a journey up 
 and down in the one boat left, but it roused me and 
 gave me something to do, and the work occupied 
 my thoughts, so that the days passed quickly by. 
 I found too in the ship, seeds of various kinds, 
 and slips and roots of trees, that had been left 
 there from a former voyage. So, when my hut 
 was built, I made a stockade about it. and 
 digged the ground, and planted it with the
 
 226 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 things I had found, and to-day many show signs 
 of life. 
 
 The wild black men seem not to like this forest, 
 nor yet did I ever see any trace of them at the 
 Swan Lagoon, so I hope I may abide in peace to 
 the end. And how that end may come I know 
 not, nor do I fear. Man is distant but God is 
 near ; I find increasing comfort in His Word, and 
 when I have to pass through the Valley of the 
 Shadow of Death, I doubt not He will come nearer 
 still than now, and see me safely through. 
 
 Yet would I give much could I but see once more 
 my dear wife and children, and embrace them once 
 again. But since that may not be, I commend 
 them to God and the word of His Grace, and 
 though my heart and my flesh fail as I climb the 
 last long slope of the last steep hill, yet I know 
 that I shall reach the top, for He will stay me 
 with His Arm. And I know too, and am persuaded, 
 that when I reach it I shall find, not gathering 
 night, but the sunrise, and that somewhere, some- 
 how, as the light shines more and more to the 
 perfect day, I shall come up with my loved ones 
 where they walk in the celestial fields.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 THE RETURN OF THE NUT-FACED SAILOR 
 
 It is two full months since I wrote the words on 
 the last page, and I had neither heart nor design 
 to write more, for I wearied of the work long ere 
 it was done, and in truth my tale was told. 
 
 But to-day I set myself down again to it to 
 record the great and wonderful thing that has come 
 to pass. Cary has come back. 
 
 It happened on this wise. On the morning of 
 the last Lord's Day, I had risen betimes, and after 
 I had broken my fast, was pacing up and down 
 the little clearing by the river, in the bright sun- 
 shine. It had been a night of frost, but the morning 
 dawned without a cloud, as it ever does here in 
 frosty weather, and the air, clean and crisp, seemed 
 filled with the glory of the Lord. 
 
 So I paced up and down looking now at my 
 Bible and now about me, my soul open to the 
 influences of heaven, as the windows of Daniel's 
 house to Jerusalem, and filled with a great content. 
 And then it came to pass as I reached the end of 
 my walk up-stream, and lifted mine eyes from 
 the Book, I saw one of gigantic size, and with long 
 hair and beard, and clothed in a great robe of 
 
 227
 
 228 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 skins that reached from his shoulders to his knees, 
 standing on the edge of the forest, staring at me. 
 
 A moment I gazed at him in horror, for his great 
 black beard and matted hair and nut-coloured 
 skin, together with the skins of animals that 
 clothed him, made me think him a native, and a 
 very Goliath among them at that. But, when 
 seeing my consternation, he put back his head 
 and laughed, and his great voice rolled out of 
 him, I knew him to be Cary — for the tone of his 
 voice was not to be mistaken, there was none 
 like it. 
 
 So with a great cry of joy I ran to him, and he 
 to me, and grasped hands — yea, and were ready 
 to embrace each other for very joy. And after 
 we had greeted one another in this way, I had 
 him to my cot, and there fed him and gave him 
 drink, and all the while either questioned the 
 other, and both were more eager to know than 
 tell. And that being so, it was long before we 
 got to know all. 
 
 But in the end, I learned that at the Mountains 
 of Desire, when I did not return, Cary feared the 
 worst, and early the following day sent out a party 
 to look for me, and towards night they returned 
 bringing my cloak (that I had hung upon the 
 " Sailing Tree," because of its weight, thinking to 
 get it on my return), and saying they had seen a 
 few rags more, and my carcass nearly eaten by 
 wild animals, and that they had buried it. Which 
 was all a hideous lie, but one by which they hoped
 
 RETURN OF THE SAILOR 229 
 
 perhaps to profit themselves in the division of 
 the gold ; or to remove one more opponent out 
 of the way before the fight they had planned came 
 on, I know not. Howe'er it be, that was their 
 story, and when Cary saw the cloak, he could not 
 but believe, so all being ready they had set out 
 for the coast. 
 
 Then he told me of how the heart went out of 
 him, and he had no more zest in the getting of gold, 
 but that he needs must go on with it because of 
 the others ; and so had led another expedition 
 and yet another, and that on the last as they re- 
 turned one day, as he stooped over a pool of water 
 to drink, he was shot in the back and left for dead. 
 But by God's Mercy, he was not so badly hurt 
 after all, and when he came to himself was able 
 to creep up the bank a little, and there lay, not 
 daring to move much because when he did the 
 blood flowed afresh. So he lay there quietly, 
 and in time slept, but towards evening was awakened 
 by a loud shout, and starting up found himself 
 surrounded by a horde of black men, and feared 
 for his life. But there was no need for fear, for 
 they were all friendliness, and showed him no 
 small kindness, and brought him food to eat, and 
 rugs of skin to lie upon, and when they found he was 
 wounded, were full of a great concern ; and made 
 their camp in that place and abode with him there. 
 
 And here it may be said in a word, that by com- 
 paring one thing with another, we presently con- 
 cluded that Cary had been found by the kindly
 
 230 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 people from whom I had escaped, and probably 
 soon after I had left them. So their kindness and 
 satisfaction was understood. 
 
 But they were determined not to let Cary away 
 so easily as they had me, and guarded him night 
 and day, and took him back towards the mountains. 
 And so he had lived amongst them for many weeks 
 like a captive god, and in the end escaped as I 
 did, the night following a battle. For he had 
 gone out and fought for them with a great club 
 against a neighbouring clan, and had struck terror 
 to the hearts of their enemies, and that night, 
 the tribe, sated with fighting and feasting and 
 victory, slacked their watch, and Cary made off. 
 Much he endured making his way to the coast, 
 and much he speculated what it would profit him 
 to do so, since he was well assured that, even if 
 the " Drake " had not sailed, all the loyal men 
 of the ship would long since have been killed, and 
 the pirates in possession. Yet something, he 
 averred, led him on, and striking the landing place, 
 he had followed the river down, though with great 
 difficulty, until that morning, when to his joy he 
 found me. At first when he reached the edge 
 of the forest and saw me pacing up and down, he 
 was afraid, thinking it to be my spirit, but he had 
 continued to watch, and at last concluded I must 
 have escaped in some way, and was before him 
 in the flesh. So he stepped out from his shelter, 
 and when next I turned I saw him, and then passed 
 what I have described.
 
 RETURN OF THE SAILOR 231 
 
 My tale was told in fragments according as Cary 
 questioned me. First as to how I had escaped 
 in the wilderness, then what I did there ? Where 
 were the others, and the like. But in the end all 
 was told, and then for a time Cary sat like one in 
 a dream. That all those strong men were dead 
 and the " Drake ' lost ; and the gold that had 
 cost so many lives, and such incredible toil, gone 
 beyond recall, seemed past belief. And for long 
 he sat staring straight before him, as he had done 
 that day when he first came to my counting-house. 
 And I kept silence before him, knowing what it 
 must mean to him to have lost his all a second 
 time. However, in the end, he fetched a mighty 
 sigh, and turned to me with these words : — 
 
 " My wise old mother was right after all," and 
 then seeing this told me nothing, he went on ; 
 ' No wife nor sweetheart have I, Master Barton, 
 but in Bideford, in Devon, where Tor runs into 
 the sea, an old mother bides, and waits for the 
 return of her son. And it was with no goodwill 
 of hers that I came this voyage, for the good 
 woman clung about my neck, and begged me not 
 to leave her." 
 
 "'Mother,' said I, 'go this voyage I must, but 
 when I return again I'll never leave thee more, 
 for I'll bring thee gold in abundance, and deck 
 thee out in silks ; and for the rest of thy days, 
 thou'll ruffle it with the best in the land, and we'll 
 be happy as the day is long.' 
 
 "'And how long,' the wise woman said to me,
 
 232 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 ' how long wilt thou be away from me this time ? ' 
 and when I answered her ' two years or three at 
 the most,' she came and placed her hands on my 
 shoulders and looked me in the eyes. 
 
 " ' Lucius,' said she, ' I'm an old woman now, 
 and care little for many things that once seemed 
 as now they do to you, the only ones worth having. 
 Gold and silks and lace, and ruffling it with the 
 great ones of the earth, attract me not. If God 
 would come to me as to Solomon, and ask what 
 I would have, I would choose none of these things, 
 but, next to the consolation of His Grace, would 
 ask for the rest of my days the company of my 
 strong son, that I might commit my cares to him, 
 and lean upon his arm as I near the end of my 
 journey ; and after that I should crave the quiet 
 comforts of my own home. These things, my 
 Lucius,' she said, ' I have now, and may continue 
 to have, if thou'lt content thyself here for the rest 
 of my life, which cannot now be long. Time was 
 when I could look forward to the years, and wish 
 them by ; but now, when so few are left me, what 
 folly to think I would barter two of them for a 
 silk gown. Nay, my son,' she said, ' let us not 
 throw away the humble pleasures of the present, 
 in the hope of gaining greater ones in days to 
 come — these we have are real, those you seek 
 imaginary. This love of money,' she said, ' is 
 the root of all evil.' 
 
 " However, Master Barton," Cary went on, 
 " I was ever headstrong, and would have my
 
 RETURN OF THE SAILOR 233 
 
 way, and kissed her good-bye, and left her. But 
 she was quite right. All my calamities have 
 come upon me through a love of money, and a 
 hastening to be rich." 
 
 So we talked of this matter, and how each 
 dreadful happening seemed in some way connected 
 with the gold, and resolved that if ever we got 
 away we would leave it where it was, and tell none 
 of the wealth of this land, but keep our counsel 
 and carry the secret to the grave. 
 
 But now with Cary here my lot is far less hard, 
 the days come and go, but are no longer tedious, 
 for we have much to tell, and many things in 
 common, and we encourage each other in the 
 hope that some day a ship will come this way, and 
 seeing the flagstaff we have placed upon the point 
 of the cliff, west of the Swan Lagoon, heave to, 
 and take us aboard, and bring us safely home. 
 But the Will of the Lord be done, whether it be 
 to go or to stay.
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 THE BOOMING OF THE GUNS 
 
 Again I have opened up this record, when I 
 imagined I had closed it for ever, and this 
 time to add but a line, for we are in great 
 haste. 
 
 This morning, soon after we had risen, we were 
 startled to hear a dull, heavy sound, like the firing 
 of cannon, roll up the river. We listened intently, 
 and heard it again and yet again, and it would 
 seem, incredible though it be, that some ship hath 
 seen our signal of distress flying from the flagstaff 
 on the cliff, and is firing guns to let us know of 
 her arrival. So we are resolved to go down at 
 once. If we be mistaken we shall return ere 
 night. If not, maybe we shall be carried straight- 
 way to sea, and, perchance, home. In any case, 
 we are making what preparation we may to depart, 
 and it seems good to us to leave this record here. 
 If we be disappointed, and there be no ship, we 
 shall return to it ; but were we to take it with 
 us, and find a ship, it might chance that someone 
 aboard her may read what I have written here, 
 and noise abroad the story of the treasure, and 
 so other men be lured to their destruction. So 
 
 234
 
 THE BOOMING OF THE GUNS 235 
 
 we shall leave the writing here, and make all 
 
 safe. 
 
 But again that sound strikes on the ear. Cary 
 calls that the boat is ready. I must away— and 
 
 so farewell. 
 
 I am God's servant, 
 
 Witness the hand of 
 
 Andrew Barton.
 
 EPILOGUE 
 
 THE TWO OLD SHIPS IN THE SANDS 
 
 When it was suggested by Mr Malcolm that I 
 should undertake the task of editing and publishing 
 old Andrew Barton's narrative, I gladly consented 
 and set about the work with enthusiasm. My 
 only regret is that the stress of many duties — 
 far travel — and residence in other lands, to say 
 nothing of the years of active service in the great 
 war — has so long delayed the completion of the task. 
 I was born in Western Victoria, and all my life 
 had been familiar with the legend of the " Mahogany 
 Ship." That ship was said to have been found 
 by the early settlers, half buried in the sands, on 
 the beach near Port Fairy, on the West Victorian 
 Coast. It is true no man is living now who saw 
 her (for it is many years since that terrible sou'- 
 westerly storm, which broke her up and carried 
 her parts away). It is true also that the present 
 generation (stiff-necked and gainsaying) denies 
 that such a ship ever existed, save in the imagina- 
 tion of their grandfathers. But in this sceptical 
 age such was to be expected. For my part, I saw 
 and knew sufficient to firmly establish my faith 
 in her, and when Andrew Barton's narrative was 
 put before me, and with it the opportunity to 
 place beyond a doubt the veracity of the old timers 
 
 236
 
 EPILOGUE 237 
 
 and pioneers, to whom we owe so much, I could 
 not have refused had I desired. And I had already 
 made up my mind, and begun a first draft of the 
 transcript of the manuscript, when a new and 
 striking proof of the exact truthfulness of it all 
 came before me. 
 
 The " Cary's River " of the MS. is unquestion- 
 ably Curdies River in Western Victoria, for it was 
 in the old hut (traces of which still remain) on the 
 bank of Curdies River that the discovery was made. 
 
 Now it chanced that in the winter following 
 Mr Malcolm's discovery, I was in Peterborough at 
 the mouth of Curdies River, on holiday. When I 
 first came down, a strip of sand 300 yards wide 
 lay between the river and the sea completely cutting 
 the one off from the other ; but in consequence of 
 heavy rain up country the river was overflowing 
 its banks back in the forest, and rapidly rising 
 near its mouth, and one morning soon after my 
 arrival I awoke to find the water had cut its way 
 through the sand and was roaring out to sea in 
 an ever-widening channel. But the chief interest 
 for residents that day was in the fact that the 
 river had found a new outlet, and instead of flowing 
 close to the rocks near the village, on the western 
 side, as always before, had cut for itself a new 
 channel about a hundred yards away to the east, 
 directly opposite the Schomberg Reef. The result 
 of this was to deflect the current of the river higher 
 up, and send it raging against a big sandbank 
 opposite the little Presbyterian Church. Hundreds
 
 238 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 of tons of this bank were washed away, and when 
 the flood waters had gone out to sea, and the Inlet 
 had regained its normal level, there lay revealed, 
 the timbers of an old ship. 
 
 No one had any knowledge of her ; even the 
 big bearded farmer and his lady, who lived on the 
 opposite shore, and who were the first to break 
 into this country, were quite ignorant of her. She 
 must, they declared, have been there long before 
 their time. They were right, for beyond a doubt, 
 what we were now looking upon, was all that was 
 left of what had once been the great " White Ship." 
 
 The evidence corresponds at all points. Curdies 
 River is " Cary's River," and " Curdies Inlet " is 
 the " Swan Lagoon " of Mr Barton's manuscript, 
 while the old ship which the pioneers found, fifty 
 miles east of this spot, on the beach close to 
 the Moyne River, where Port Fairy now stands, 
 was unquestionably that mahogany built ship of 
 Spain ' The Gold Moidore," in which Cary first 
 sailed to seek the great South Land, and frequently 
 referred to as the " Mahogany Ship." 
 
 As to the gold, probably the less said the better, 
 though concerning that which the pirate England 
 hid in the circular swamp " on the slope towards 
 the cliffs," it may perhaps be remarked, that such 
 swamps or pools do exist to-day and their name is 
 legion. But all have, within my knowledge, fre- 
 quently been dry ; and doubtless the early settlers 
 — miners most of them — soon accounted for what 
 gold was in them. As to that which the black
 
 EPILOGUE 239 
 
 cook dropped in the river close to the " White 
 Ship " — to look for it were even more futile — for 
 no doubt, it has long since been washed out to sea 
 by the fierce tides, and lies with the vast treasures 
 of the ill-fated " Drake " somewhere by the Schom- 
 berg Reef, where the waters boil and swirl as fiercely 
 now, as in the day when Andrew Barton stood on 
 the rocks, and watched the tragic end of the piratical 
 crew of the " Drake." 
 
 And now remains but one thing more to say. 
 The question ever with me since first I read the 
 MS. had been — was it in reality the firing of guns 
 that Master Barton and Cary heard that day, or 
 was it only the booming of the surf on the reefs ? 
 Did the most unlikely thing in the world happen ? 
 Did a ship really come that way and take them 
 back to England ? Or was it all a dream ? 
 
 At first these questions seemed impossible to 
 answer, but I liked to believe the hypothesis that, 
 seeing the MS. was left as it was, and they had 
 never (apparently) returned to disturb it, they 
 probably got safely away. This, however, did 
 not satisfy me, and when in 1913 I landed in 
 England from America one of my first cares 
 was to visit the famous old town of Plymouth 
 to make what inquiries I could. 
 
 It seemed a hopeless, almost foolish task, yet 
 fortune favoured me, and with the assistance of 
 the courteous parish clerk, an ancient tablet, and 
 sundry town records, I learned that a certain 
 Andrew Barton, whose benefactions to the poor
 
 240 THE " GOLD MOIDORE " 
 
 are set forth at length on the tablet in the quaint 
 fashion of the times, died universally mourned, in 
 the eventful year 1660. And continuing my search, 
 I discovered that one Colonel Lucius Cary (not to 
 be confounded with Charles the First's accom- 
 plished and brilliant Secretary of State, Lucius 
 Cary, Lord Falkland) did a mighty work for Crom- 
 well and the Parliament in the civil war, particularly 
 distinguishing himself at the Siege of Lyme, where, 
 owing to his gigantic stature, lionlike courage, and 
 amazing physical strength and activity, he was 
 at once the inspiration of the defenders, and the 
 despair of the Cavaliers. Of course, it may be 
 argued that here are only names, and the case is 
 not conclusive ; but while admitting this to be so, 
 for myself I am convinced that the characteristics 
 are too marked to be merely a coincidence, and 
 having carefully weighed all things, am satisfied that 
 these two men came again to their own land, and 
 to the happiness they sought. 
 
 But that they kept the secret of Australia's 
 riches there can be no doubt whatever, for no 
 suspicion of its fabulous wealth of virgin gold ever 
 dawned upon the world, until in 1851 those aston- 
 ishing discoveries were made by the Pioneers at 
 Ballarat near by Mounts Buninyong and Warren- 
 heip, those " Mountains of Desire " of the crew of 
 the Gold Moidore. 
 
 THE END
 
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