As the captain stepped upon deck, Redvignez and Brazzier respectfully saluted him, and looked as if they were the most loyal of sailors.

Captain Bergen forced himself to respond to their salute, and then he walked quietly over to where Abe stood at the wheel.

"Well, what do you make of it?" asked the mate, in a low voice.

"It's the island!" replied Bergen.

"Are you sure of it?"

"Yes; there can be no doubt. I made out the landmark that Grebbens told me would identify it beyond all question. That's the mast which they erected on the shore, close to the inlet. You can see it without the glass," added the captain, turning about and looking in that direction.

Such was the case, and Storms observed it plainly.

"What's the matter, captain?" asked the mate, bringing his gaze back to the face of his friend, and scrutinizing him keenly. "You look pale and agitated. Have your nerves given out after this strain?"

"Abe," said the captain, in a carefully-guarded voice, and glancing over his shoulder, "I learned, a few minutes ago, that those two men forward intend to mutiny and run away with the pearls."

"Is that all? Why, I knew that weeks ago!"

"You did?" demanded the astounded captain. "Why, then, didn't you tell me?"

"I thought it was better to wait till we reached the island, by which time their plans were likely to be more fully developed."

"That sort of reasoning I don't understand," said the captain, anything but pleased with his mate. "But never mind about it now. Tell me what you have learned."

"Not a great deal more than you have told. Those two men, I am satisfied, are old acquaintances, who have been partners in more than one crime, though we supposed them strangers at the time we shipped them; and I have no doubt they began planning our deaths from the day we sailed out of San Francisco harbor."

"What about Pomp?"

"They had a hard time, but they have won him over, and he is pledged to go with them."

"And you have tried to gain the good will of Pomp?"

"I have done my utmost, and have treated him with unusual leniency, making him many presents, some of which I gave him to understand came from you. But they've got him, for all that. There's our greatest safeguard."

As the mate spoke, he pointed to Inez, who, at that moment, came bounding up the steps of the cabin and ran laughing forward.

"Pomp thinks all the world of her, and she will be the peacemaker, perhaps."

"But don't they like her as well?"

"No; they wouldn't hesitate any more over killing her than they would in killing us."

"The villains!" muttered the horrified captain. "I never conceived it possible that any human being could fail to love such beauty and innocence as hers."

"There is no immediate danger," said the mate, somewhat surprised to observe how completely the discovery had taken possession of the mind of the captain. "Let's give our attention now to the business upon which we came, and there will be time enough to think of the other matter between now and nightfall."

Captain Bergen was sorely perplexed, but the circumstances were such that he was able to follow the suggestion of his faithful mate. They were now close to the island, which was of that singular formation so frequently seen in the Pacific. Countless millions of tiny insects, toiling through many years, had gradually lifted the foundations of coral from the depths of the ocean, until the mass, in the form of a gigantic ring or horse-shoe, was above the surface. Upon this had gradually gathered sand, seeds and vegetable matter, in the usual way, until beneath the tropical sun and the balmy climate the "desert blossomed like the rose." This took a long while, but the process it went through was similar to that of hundreds of much larger islands which to-day rest like nosegays upon the bosom of the vast Pacific.

Among these fruits were the banana, plantain, breadfruit, and a sort of mango, found in Farther India, and which, at first disliked, becomes in time a great favorite with every one. Most singular of all was the fact that at two widely-separated points burst forth a spring of clear, fresh water.

One might well wonder where the supply for this came from, since the whole island had its foundation in salt water—but there are many strange distillations going on at all times in nature's laboratory beyond the power of man to fathom.

These were probably stored away in some of the hidden vaults of the island, and bubbled forth, the fountain being renewed before the precious contents were exhausted.

The entrance to the interior was through a deep passage, toward which Mr. Storms directed the vessel. As the Coral glided into this "inland sea," Captain Bergen took the helm, being as familiar with the contour of the atoll as if he had spent a dozen years upon it. He knew where the best anchorage was to be found, and he headed over toward the eastern shore, where it was safe to run close enough in to spring from the deck to the land. He was a good seaman, and he brought his craft to with as much skill as a stage-driver brings his team to a halt before the door of an inn. The anchor was let go at the proper moment, and the Coral slowly swung at her mooring in the very position her master desired, both bow and stern being so close to shore that there would be no occasion to use the small boat which is generally called into requisition on such occasions.

The scenery and situation were peculiar and novel in the highest degree. These atolls are the natural harbors of the ocean, and if any vessel can run through the openings into the calm waters within, she may ride in safety from the severest tempest.

The water within the lagoon was as calm as the surface of a mill-pond. On every hand rose the trees and vegetation so dense that the only portion where a glimpse of the ocean could be caught was at the entrance, which, it would seem, the builders of the island had left on purpose for the ingress and exit of endangered shipping.

Despite the alarming discovery which Captain Bergen had made but a short time previous, he carried out the purpose formed weeks before, and which the mate urged him to fulfil. The schooner having been secured in position and everything put in ship-shape order, he addressed the three men who composed the crew:

"My friends, when I engaged you to go upon this voyage, I did not tell you whither, and you may think it is late in the day to give you such information, now that we have reached our destination. Some time ago, before I sailed, I received information that a bed of oysters existed at a certain portion of this island unusually rich in pearls. It is to obtain them I have come, and now I wish to say, what I determined to say from the first, that if you work faithfully, and give me all the assistance you can, each of you three shall receive enough to make you rich for life. In an enterprise of this kind the business is a partnership, and you shall be liberally treated, provided you prove worthy."

During the utterance of these words, both the captain and the mate carefully watched the faces of the three men to see the effect produced.

Had the African been alone he would have been won over, and as it was he turned about in an inquiring way, and looked toward the two men as if seeking to see how they took it. Their countenances were so immobile that he gained no information from the looks there; but both the officers did. Abe Storms, especially, was a skilful physiognomist, and that which he saw convinced him that the speech, coming as it did, was a mistake. As is frequently the case, it was accepted as an evidence of timidity on the part of the officers, and the conspirators were given a confidence which otherwise would not have been theirs.

"It was a blunder," whispered Storms, when the captain stepped beside him. "Those wretches mean mischief, and it is coming within twenty-four hours."



CHAPTER XIII

THE OYSTER BED

Little Inez Hawthorne was overrunning with delight at the prospect of a romp on shore, after having been confined so long in the cramped quarters of the schooner, and she was darting hither and thither, eager to start upon her frolic.

"I say, captain," said Hyde Brazzier, bowing profoundly and with great humility, "we be greatly surprised by what you tell us about the pearls, and we are very much obliged for your kindness, which the same is a great deal more than we expected; but it has set us all topsy-turvy, as we may say. If it's all the same, we would like to go and take a look at that same pearl-oyster bed, if it isn't inconvenient."

The captain and mate both understood the meaning of this, for it showed only too clearly how impatient the men were to commit the crime which they had in mind. Still, there was no excuse for refusal, and the officers were anxious enough to see the place for themselves. Each had his revolver carefully shoved into his pocket, and each knew that the six chambers were fully charged, when they sprang over the vessel's side and started toward the northernmost part of the island. The captain and mate led the way, for they were sure they were in no personal danger so long as the oyster-bed remained undiscovered.

The fringe of coral trees was quite broad, but, as the little party made their way through them, they could catch the gleam of the water on each side, while the roar and boom of the breakers never ceased.

The sun seemed to linger in the horizon to their left, as if to guide them in the search they were making.

As they advanced, all observed that the outer rim of this fringe was very irregular, as if it had been broken up and changed by the action of fierce tempests for many decades. This peculiarity, if such it may be termed, left many places where the ocean was as calm as within the atoll, and it was in one of these that the oyster-bed for which they were searching was to be found.

Mate and captain advanced quite spiritedly for some distance, until they were close to the northernmost portion, when they hesitated, slackened their gait, looked to the right and left, conferred in low tones, and then the captain suddenly exclaimed:

"This looks like the spot!"

The words were scarcely out of his mouth when the two men dashed down the slight slope, ran a short distance, and then abruptly halted close to the water's edge, at a point where the sea was locked in so that it was only slightly disturbed by the ordinary swell. Close behind them were Redvignez and Brazzier, while Pomp brought up the rear. The three men exchanged only a word or two while following, and those were heard by the leaders, because they were of no significance, but it is safe to conclude they did a great deal of thinking.

The five grouped themselves along the water, standing side by side and peering down into the depths before them. This perhaps averaged three fathoms, and the water itself was as clear as crystal, without even the tinge of green generally seen in the ocean. The bottom was quite even and flat, resting upon a substratum of coral. The glinting rays of the sun helped, so that a marble could have been distinguished many fathoms down. And looking downward, the quintette saw the bottom strewn with oysters of unusual size, lying so close together that in many places they seemed to touch each other.

For a full minute the five stood motionless and speechless. It was Pomp who was the first to recover his voice:

"My gracious! am dem 'isters full of pearls?"

"That can only be told by examination," was the quiet reply of Mr. Storms.

"Dat's ruther deep to dive down, an' how 'bout sharks?"

The mate smiled.

"We thought of all that before we left home, Pomp."

"Well, what good did all de thinkin' do? Dat won't drive away de shark, dat would as lief bite a man in two as to swaller a fish."

"If you and Redvig will return to the vessel and get that coat of mail on deck, I will agree to go down there and take all the risks."

The three mutineers, as they may be called, exchanged glances, but said nothing. The captain and mate noted this telegraphy of the eyes, and they, too, were silent, but it was a little test which they had determined upon before leaving the Coral, lying some distance away, safely moored close inshore. Evidently the three could think of no valid excuse, and Brazzier said, in a low voice, which was heard by all:

"Go, men, and hurry back."

Pomp started off at once, Redvignez following close behind him. The mate and captain saw they were speaking together; but, of course, it could only be conjectured what they were talking about.

The three who remained behind were in an embarrassing situation, for there could be no doubt that Brazzier, the leader in the plot, had had his suspicions aroused by this little incident, and it was hard work for him to conceal a certain uneasiness at the thought that he had lost the confidence of the two officers of the Coral.

With a view of strengthening his position, Captain Bergen took out his revolver, looked at it in an inquiring way, and then shoved it back into his hip-pocket. Abe Storms did precisely the same thing, excepting that he perhaps made a little more display about it.

Not one of the three as yet had spoken a word; but Brazzier, as if to conceal his uneasiness, advanced to the edge of the water and peered down into the crystal depths at the supposed wealth which lay scattered over the bottom, awaiting the hour when some one should draw it forth from the hiding-place it had occupied for so many years.

"If they've got pearls in 'em," observed Brazzier, "it'll make a good haul for us."

"There is reason to think so," replied the captain, holding his peace, for he began to suspect that too much deference had already been paid to the crew.

Since Pomp and Redvignez were making good time, they soon reappeared, bearing between them the coat of armor which Abe Storms had constructed before leaving his New England home. This, it may be said, was an invention peculiarly his own, containing some conveniences not generally attributed to diving-bells or armor, and which, if they withstood the test to which they were sure to be subjected, would be a great step forward in the rapid improvements that have been made in submarine armor during the last few years. A superficial examination would not discover anything out of the usual order in the make of the armor, with its bulging glass eyes and general resemblance to the coats of mail such as were used by the crusaders and knights of the middle ages. There were the two pipes, one of which went in at the top of the helmet, as if the man were going to breathe through the crown of his head, while the other was adjusted so as to come nearer the front of the face. One of these was for the admission of fresh air, and the other for the expulsion of that which was exhaled. Besides this, there was the rope, fastened around the waist of the diver, to assist him to the surface should a sudden necessity arise. But, without going into any detailed description, we may say that the ingenious New Englander had so constructed it that he required the assistance of no second person at any portion of the work.

Storms immediately began adjusting the apparatus, the others standing off and looking on, for he had declined their proffers of service. The armor had never been tested, and the man might well pause, now that he was going to stake his life upon the issue, as may be said.

But it was not that fact which caused the mate the most uneasiness, for his confidence in his own invention was so strong that he would not have hesitated a moment to trust himself in water of twice the depth. Indeed, the pearls were so near at hand that a very ordinary diver would have found no difficulty in bringing them up without the help of any armor at all—the latter being required by other considerations.

"Now, all I want done is to allow the two upper ends of the pipes to be kept clear," said Storms, when he had adjusted the "harness" about him. "I will do the breathing for myself, provided I am not interfered with."

The two ends were secured among the coral in such a way that there was no danger of their being drawn in by any action of the armor itself, and then Storms, taking an immense sheath-knife in his hand, promptly stepped off from the shore, and as promptly sank under water.

It was a singular sight the four companions whom he left behind saw, when they approached to the edge of the water and looked over.

The mate, incased in his armor, looked like some huge, curiously-shaped shellfish or monster, whose weight was such that he went as straight down as an arrow, and, a few seconds later, was seen bent over and moving about the bottom, loosening up the oysters.

This first venture of Storms' was more in the nature of an experiment or preliminary reconnoissance. He wished to find how the land lay, as the expression goes. If everything should prove to be in good shape, he would venture down again, with a basket, and the real work of gathering the pearl-oysters would begin.

As we have intimated, Abe Storms felt no misgivings concerning his armor when he moved off from solid land and was submerged in the edge of the Pacific, for he had constructed so many contrivances and machines that he had learned to understand fully what they would do before they were put to work. He carried the enormous sheath-knife in his right hand, and when his feet lightly touched the shells on the bottom, he began turning them over with the point of his knife. The depth of the water being so moderate, he found no difficulty in breathing, and indeed the conditions were such that whoever chose to collect the oysters in this armor was not likely to experience the slightest difficulty.

Down where he was at work the water seemed to be of a light-yellowish tint, caused by the refraction of the sunlight as it made its way to him. He noticed the mild glow, which, of course, would steadily diminish as the sun went down, when all at once it was eclipsed so suddenly by a dark shadow that he instantly suspected the true cause.

Looking upward, he saw an immense shark, certainly a dozen feet in length, that had halted and was evidently surveying with some curiosity this intruder upon his domains.

The man-eater being directly over the diver, was not in the best position to use his fearful jaws with effect, but he was evidently reconnoitering with a view to hostilities. Abe observed that this shadowy figure was motionless, its fins slightly moving back and forth as if it were using them like a balancing-pole, to maintain itself motionless in position, and he marked the horridly-shaped mouth which yawned over his head. Reaching upward with his long-bladed knife, he touched it against the white belly of the monster, and then gave it a strong push.

It was so keen and sharp that it entered deep into the yielding flesh and inflicted a severe wound. Just then the gigantic man-eater suspected he had committed a blunder, and with a lightning-like whirl of his huge body, he dashed out to sea, leaving a crimson trail after him.

Indeed, his charge was so sudden that the huge knife was wrenched from the grasp of Abe Storms, and he was drawn forward off his balance. Had it been in the open air, he would have been hurled to the ground with great force. But he managed to recover himself, and caught a shadowy glimpse of the great shark darting off, as the knife dropped from the wound and sank to the bottom. Not wishing to lose the valuable weapon, Storms walked forward, and seeing it lying on the bottom, at a point which seemed to be the edge of the oyster-bed, he stooped over and recovered it.

He had now been down a considerable while, and muttered:

"The captain promised to signal me if trouble came, and he hasn't done so. But, for all that, I don't believe it will be safe for me to stay down here much longer. I may as well——"

The sentence was never finished, for it received a startling interruption. The rubber pipes by which he breathed were suddenly closed, and Abe Storms knew it had been done purposely by some one above.



CHAPTER XIV

THE REVOLT

For a brief while after the descent of the mate of the Coral, incased in his new diving armor, the four men above did nothing more than merely wait for his coming up. But all the time the parties were watching each other, for Captain Bergen was convinced that the crisis was at hand. The mutineers had learned where the oyster-bed was, and therefore could be no longer restrained by that consideration. They could get on without the diving-armor, though they saw how convenient it might be to have it; but, since it was connected with the shore, it could be drawn in and recovered if they should need it.

The mate was down in the ocean, and the captain was standing on terra firma. What more favorable separation was likely to present itself? Here were three men against one, and the three had gained the secret which had restrained them so long.

"I say," said Hyde Brazzier, "does the mate down there find things as he expected?"

"We can tell that better after he comes up," was the reply of the captain, who kept his hand at his hip, where it could rest on the butt of his revolver. "But there is reason to believe that he isn't disappointed."

"And he breathes through these pipes that lie here?" pursued Brazzier, while the expression on the face of Pomp and Redvignez convinced Skipper Bergen that serious mischief was coming.

"You can see that without asking me," replied he, stepping back a pace or two so as to keep the men before him.

"Well, if a man can't get what air he wants, what is likely to happen?" continued Brazzier, with an insolent swagger that was exasperating, following upon his fawning sycophancy.

"Any fool would know that he would die."

"Well, now that we've landed, I don't see as there is any need of a mate or a captain neither, with this crew—do you, boys?"

And he turned toward his companions with a laugh.

"Of course not. The best place for him is in Davy Jones' locker!" said Redvignez.

"Now you is talkin' right!" was the characteristic comment of the negro, Pomp, who seemed the most eager of the three, when the mutiny had come to a head.

It was evident that Brazzier had determined to drown the mate while he was below the surface.

"The first man who interferes with those pipes I will shoot dead!"

Captain Bergen spoke the words in a low voice, but there could be no mistaking his deadly earnestness. Feeling that the crisis had come, the captain determined to give the signal agreed upon with Abe Storms, which was a sudden jerk of the rope fastened to the one around the waist of the mate. The latter would understand that his presence above was needed at once.

The captain was in the act of stooping over, when Redvignez sprang behind him with the stealth and agility of a cat, and struck his arm a violent blow. His purpose was to knock the revolver out of the captain's hand, so that he and his friends could secure the use of it. But he overdid the matter, for the revolver went spinning out of the captain's hand and dropped into the water, where it sank out of sight. Startled and shocked, he straightened up without giving the signal to Abe Storms below the surface.

None of the party had any firearms, but Captain Bergen saw it would be madness for him to make any resistance. Without a moment's hesitation, therefore, he wheeled about and ran with all the speed of which he was capable.

His flight was not altogether an aimless one, for he hoped to reach the schooner, lying an eighth of a mile away, far enough in advance of his pursuers to seize one of the rifles carefully concealed there, and to make defense against his foes. The instant he broke into a run, his pursuers did the same, uttering loud shouts, as if they were American Indians who were certain of their prey.

For the time, it was a question of speed between pursuers and pursued. If the latter could reach the craft considerably ahead of the others, there was a chance of his making a successful defense against the three who were seeking his life. If he failed to attain the goal, he felt it would be all over with him, for they were not the men to show any mercy.

Darting among the palm-trees, therefore, he strained every nerve to draw away from his enemies, while they strove, with equal desperation, to overtake him.

It was a straight run, and comparatively an unobstructed one, for the palm-trees were far enough apart to give him a pretty fair course, which was of equal advantage to all parties. Perhaps it is possible, therefore, to imagine the anxiety with which, after running a short distance, Captain Bergen glanced over his shoulder to see how his pursuers were making out. But it is not possible to appreciate his consternation when he saw that two of them were outrunning him, and, as he had striven to his very utmost, the frightful truth was manifest that he was sure to be overtaken before he could reach the Coral.

Those who were gaining upon him were Pomp, the negro, and Brazzier himself. But the fact that they were gaining upon him was no cause for the fugitive falling down and yielding without a struggle. He still had his sheath-knife, which he grasped with a despairing feeling as he realized, during those awful seconds, that complete, disastrous failure, instead of the brilliant success he had counted upon, had overtaken him at last.

The pursuers gained rapidly, and not one-half the distance was passed, when all three of the men were almost within striking distance, for Redvignez was at the elbow of his companions. Captain Bergen looked over his shoulder, and was about to throw his back against a palm-tree, with the view of turning at bay and fighting to the last, when, like the historical John Smith of our own earlier times, his lack of attention to his feet precipitated the very fate against which he was struggling. His feet struck some obstruction, and being exhausted from his extraordinary exertion, he pitched forward and fell on his face. As he went down he was conscious of hearing two widely different sounds—one the exultant cries of the pursuers, and the other the terrified scream of a little girl.

Captain Bergen attempted to rise, but Redvignez and Brazzier were upon him, and the knife of the latter was upraised with the purpose of ending the matter then and there forever, when the cry of the child was heard the second time, and little Inez sprang, like Pocahontas, between the uplifted arm and the intended victim.

"Oh, don't hurt him! Please don't hurt him! Please, please don't hurt him, 'cause I love him!" pleaded the agonized child, with all the earnestness of her nature.

The position of the prostrate captain attempting to rise, and the little one interceding for him, was such that the mutineer hesitated for the moment, for he could not strike without endangering her life. Seeing this, with the wonderful quickness which sometimes comes over the youngest child in such a crisis, Inez persistently forced her body with amazing quickness in the way of the poised knife as it started to descend more than once—the other two holding back for their leader to finish the work.

Brazzier was a man of tigerish temper, and he became infuriated in a few seconds at this repeated baffling of his purpose.

"Confound you!" he suddenly exclaimed, with a fierce execration. "If you will keep in the way, then you must take it!"

The arm was drawn still further back, with the intention of carrying out this dreadful threat, when the wrist was seized in the iron grip of Black Pomp, who said:

"Hold on, dere! None ob dat! De man dat hurts a ha'r ob dat little gal's head will got sot down on by me, an' mashed so flat dat he'll neber rose ag'in. Does you hear me, sah?"



CHAPTER XV

THE FRIEND IN NEED

There was no excuse for not hearing this warning, for it was uttered in a voice loud enough to reach over the whole extent of the atoll.

Both Redvignez and Brazzier were enraged at the interference, and there was an instant of time when the two were on the point of attacking him. But he was a terrible foe for any one to assail, and he would have made warm work, as they well knew, for he was not afraid of the two together.

Brazzier was quick to comprehend the situation, and he refrained.

"Take away the girl, then," he commanded, "so I can get at him."

"I will not leave him," declared Inez, throwing her arms about the neck of the captain, who was rising to his feet. "You mean to hurt him, and you shan't hurt him without hurting me. He has been kind, and he's a good man."

"Take her away," commanded Brazzier, with difficulty repressing his anger at the repeated delay.

"Oh, Pomp! You won't let him hurt the captain?" pleaded Inez, turning toward him, and ready to throw her arms about his dusky neck, were it not that she was afraid to leave the captain for the moment—he having risen to his feet, while he held her hand and looked at his enemies, panting from his own great exertion, though he did not speak a word.

Even in the dreadful peril which enveloped him, he was too proud to ask for mercy from such wretches.

But the appeal of Inez to Pomp had produced its effect. When she turned her misty eyes upon him, and pleaded in such piteous tones for mercy, the mouth of the huge African twitched, and any one could see that a hard struggle was going on within.

"If you don't keep those bad men from hurting Captain Bergen," she added, in the same impassioned manner, "I'll never speak to you—never, never, never—there!"

This was accompanied by a stamp of her tiny foot, and then she burst into weeping—sobbing as if her heart would break.

Hyde Brazzier stood irresolute, and seemed on the point of leaping, knife in hand, upon the captain. But the prayer of the innocent child had settled the question, and the sable Hercules sprang in front of the endangered man.

"Dis 'ere thing hab gone fur 'nough; let de cap'in alone. If dere's any killin' to be done, why I'm de one dat's gwine to do it."

The two mutineers were wild with fury, for this unexpected show of mercy promised to upset the whole scheme they had been hatching for weeks. Both Redvignez and Brazzier protested vehemently, seeking to show that it was imperatively necessary that both the officers should be put out of the way, and that since the mate was gone, it was the sheerest folly to allow the captain to remain.

But the words were thrown away.

The prayer of little Inez Hawthorne had reached the heart of the gigantic African, and the sight of the child standing there weeping was more than he could bear, although it but served to add to the exasperation of the other two savages.

Captain Bergen did not stand mute and motionless during all this rush of events, which really occupied but a few seconds. As soon as he saw the way open, he took the hand of little Inez and began moving in the direction of the schooner, his purpose being to secure refuge upon that if possible. As he moved away he saw Pomp and the two mutineers in conference, for Brazzier and Redvignez at that moment would have given a large share of their prospective wealth for the purpose of disposing finally and forever of the captain.

"We have been in mutinies before, Pomp, and the only safe course—and that ain't safe by any means—is to follow the rule that dead men tell no tales."

"Dat may be de rule, but it ain't gwine to work in dis case; an' de reason am 'cause de little gal dere don't want it done. You can talk an' argufy fo' fourteen years, but it won't do no good. De only way you can finish up de job am by killin' me fust."

The foregoing is the substance of the protests and replies of the two parties to the angry discussion. It so happened, as we have shown, that the African held the balance of power. He was strong and courageous, and he was armed and ready to fight, and they knew it. They did not dare to attack him openly, where the result was so likely to be disastrous to both, and they were compelled to fall in with his scheme of saving the captain, though it can well be understood that it was the most distasteful thing to which they could consent.

This discussion lasted but a few minutes; but, as we have said, it was improved by Captain Bergen, who saw that the wisest course for him to pursue was to remove the cause as far as practical. He walked backward a few steps until he was some way off, when he turned about, still holding the hand of Inez in his, and they continued until a number of palm-trees intervened, when he sped so rapidly that the child was kept on a run to maintain her place at his side. She had ceased her crying, but her face and eyes were red, and she was in an apprehensive, nervous and almost hysterical condition from the terrible scene she had witnessed—a scene such as should never be looked upon by one of her tender years.

A minute later Captain Bergen caught sight of the trimly-built schooner lying at rest in the lagoon, close to the shore, and his heart gave a throb of hope, that, if he could once secure position on her deck, he would be able to hold his own against the mutineers.

During the next few hurried minutes occupied in the passage to the schooner, the conviction had grown upon him that this mercy which had spared his life for a brief while would not be continued. Pomp Cooper would not continue to be his friend after his spasm of affection for Inez should spend itself, and devoid as the African was of intellect, he was likely to understand that the true course of the party who had entered upon the villainy was to make thorough work of it.

The captain saw the three men still talking and gesticulating angrily when he reached the schooner.

In a twinkling he had lifted Inez upon the deck, and then he sprang after her. He ran into the cabin, reappearing in an instant with the three loaded rifles.

"Now," said he, with a sigh of relief, "let them come! I am ready."



CHAPTER XVI

A STRANGE VISITOR

But the mutineers took good care not to show themselves just then; and the captain, deeming such a course prudent, tugged at the anchor until it was lifted, when he managed to shove the craft off, and reaching the middle of the lagoon, the anchor was dropped.

"Now they won't be likely to approach without my seeing them," was his conclusion; "and so long as I can keep awake, I can hold them at bay. I hate to shoot a man, but if ever a person had justification for doing so, I have. I am rather inclined to think that if either Brazzier or Redvignez should wander into range, one of these rifles would be likely to go off!"

Seeing no immediate danger, Captain Bergen descended into the cabin for a few minutes. Poor, tired Inez had thrown herself on the hammock and was sound asleep.

"Sleep, little one," murmured the captain, as he lingered for a minute to look at the sweet, infantile face, in the gathering twilight. "It is a sad fate which orders you to witness so much violence, and sorry I am that it is so; but where would I have been excepting for you?"

Then he softly left the cabin and took his position on deck. The moon was full, which was gratefully noticed by the captain, for he could easily keep awake all night, and thus detect the approach of his enemies. In fact, his nerves were so unstrung that he would not be able to sleep for many hours to come.

"But what is to be done hereafter?"

This was the question he put to himself, and which had to be answered.

The mutineers kept carefully out of sight, and, as night settled over the scene, the captain remained wide awake and vigilant. There was ample food for thought and reflection—the cutting of the hose-pipes of the diving apparatus, the attack by the mutineers, the terrible flight and pursuit, the interference of Inez—all these and more surged through the brain of the captain, while he slowly paced back and forth, with eyes and ears wide open. Inez still slumbered, and all was silent, excepting the boom of the ocean against the coral-reef; while, as the night wore on, the captain maintained his lonely watch.

Captain Bergen scanned the fringe of shore which circled about him, like a great wall thrown up between the lagoon and the Pacific, that steadily broke on the outside. But turn his keen eyes wheresoever he chose, he could detect not the slightest sign of the mutineers. He thought it likely they would start a fire somewhere, but no starlike point of light twinkled from beneath the palm-trees, and he was left to conjecture where they were and what they were doing.

"They will probably wait till they think I am asleep," was his thought, "and then they will swim quietly out and try to board."

He believed it would be either that way or they would construct a raft and paddle themselves out to the schooner. Knowing the captain was on the Coral, and knowing how important it was that he should not be allowed to run away and leave them there, they would neglect no precaution to prevent his going off. They, too, would understand what it was he was waiting for, and they were seamen enough to know the hour when he would be able to sail, and, consequently, what they were to do to prevent it.

"They have no way of closing the channel, or they would do so, and it remains——Hello!"

He was standing at the prow, looking carefully about him, and with all his senses alert, and he stood thus fully twenty minutes, expecting something whose precise nature he had already conjectured.

"That splash meant something, and I think——"

Just then he heard a commotion in the water directly under the prow, and, looking over, he saw a strange-looking object, like one of the uncouth monsters of the deep, come to the surface and begin climbing up by aid of the fore-chains.

"I say, cap'n, can't you give a fellow a lift?"

It was the mate, Abe Storms, who asked the question, and, as the captain extended his hand, he said, in a low, fervent voice:

"Thank heaven! I was about giving you up for lost!"



CHAPTER XVII

ON THE CORAL

Captain Bergen and Abe Storms, as may be supposed, greeted each other ardently when the latter stepped upon the deck of the schooner, clad in his diving-suit.

"I was growing very anxious about you," said the captain, "for I could not understand what kept you away so long."

The eccentric New Englander, removing his headgear, but leaving the rest of his armor on, laughed and asked:

"Tell me what took place after I went down."

The captain hurriedly related his experience, which has been already told the reader.

"We took a good deal of risk, as you know," said the mate, "and when I went down in the water, I was a great deal more uneasy than I seemed to be. I was expecting a signal from you, and when it did not come I started for the surface. The shore is rough and craggy, you know, so that it was something like climbing up stairs.

"Well, I had got pretty well up when the pipes were cut. I understood what it meant, and, holding my breath, with the water rushing down the two hose-pipes, I scrambled for the top.

"It may have been a perilous thing for you that the rascals pursued you with such enthusiasm, but it was fortunate for me, for, although I had a dry revolver under my armor, it was several minutes before I was in a condition to use it.

"As soon as possible, however, I made ready, believing you were in sore need of help. Crawling forward on my hands and knees, I took a quick look over the bank, and saw you and Inez walking off in the direction of the schooner, with the three scamps sullenly watching you.

"I suspected what you tell me was the truth, and I was on the point of rushing forward and making short work of them with my revolver, but it flashed upon me that they possessed a fearful advantage over us. Redvignez and Brazzier are as cunning as serpents, and one of them, more than likely, would have caught up the little girl and held her in front of him as a screen.

"Inez would have proved an effectual armor, indeed, and, with her in their possession, they would have been masters of the situation, and could have dictated whatever terms they chose to us. Pomp would have been transformed into a bitter enemy at once, and the chances of disaster to us all were so great that I remained quiet, but watchful, ready to dash forward to your assistance should it become necessary.

"I lay down in a secluded place to rest, when—shall I confess it?—I fell asleep, and did not wake up until half an hour ago. After thinking the matter over, I decided still to deceive the rascals. I was quite certain that the water in the lagoon was not very deep, so I fastened the upper ends of the hose to floats, and walked out here on the bottom."

"Did you see anything of them?"

"No; I don't know where they are; but you can feel sure they'll never take their eyes off the schooner."

After further discussing the exciting events of the day, they considered the all-important question as to what should be their own line of action. The decision which they reached was a most remarkable one, being no less than to make a direct proposition to the mutineers to turn over the schooner to them, with a portion of the oysters, and to allow them to depart, while the captain, mate and little girl were left upon the island.

The captain was not convinced that this was altogether wise, and he said:

"Since your plan is for us to stay on the island, and allow them to leave with the schooner, will you tell me how we are to depart, when ready?"

The mate indicated the inlet, where the mast was still pointing toward the sky.

"We've got to run our chances. We may be taken off in a week, and possibly not for years; but, with all these probabilities before us, I am in favor of surrendering the schooner, and allowing them to leave us forever, if they will agree to do so."

"But, if we make the proposition, will they not suspect our purpose, or take it as a confession of weakness on our part?"

"We must prevent that. But, captain, I've had all the sleep I want, and you are in need of it. Better secure it, therefore, while you can. Go below in the cabin and take your rest. I will stand guard here, and you need have no fear of my dropping into slumber again."

The captain remained some time longer, and even then was loth to leave, but he consented to do so, and finally descended into the cabin, where he threw himself upon his hammock without removing his clothes.

The incidents of the day were exciting enough to keep him awake, and, despite the exhaustion of his body, he lay a long time before he closed his eyes in slumber. Even then his sleep was haunted by horrible dreams, in which he lived over again the scenes through which he had passed, when, but for the piteous pleadings of little Inez, he would have fallen a victim to the ferocity of the mutineers, and he awoke more than once with a gasp and a start, which showed how disturbed his mind was.

He had not slept long when he suddenly awoke again, and looked around in the gloom. The lamp overhead had been extinguished, and he was in utter darkness, though the silvery glow of the moonlight outside was perceptible through the windows and partly-open door. He could hear the dull booming of the breakers on the outside of the atoll, but all else was quiet, except the gentle breathing of Inez, in the berth beneath his.

"God protect her and us all!" he prayed, his heart, in the solemn stillness and solitude, ascending to the only being who could assist him and his friend in their dire extremity; for Captain Bergen was sure that no one could be placed in greater peril than were he and Abe Storms, so long as they remained among the Pearl Islands.



CHAPTER XVIII

A VISIT FROM SHORE

In the meantime Abram Storms was acting the part of a vigilant sentinel at his station on deck.

There was no doubt in his mind that the mutineers were fearful the schooner would sail away and leave them on the lonely coral island, and they were certain, as he viewed it, to make some effort to prevent such a disaster to them. But precisely how this was to be done was a serious question. They knew that the captain, having reached the Coral, had several rifles at command, and would not hesitate to shoot them the instant any attempt was made against him or little Inez, under his charge.

Nothing was more certain than that an unremitting watch would be kept upon the Coral, and, though they might believe there was but the single man there, yet unquestionably he commanded the situation.

"They will try some trick," muttered the mate; "but I shall have a very small opinion of myself if they win. Pomp Cooper's affection for Inez led him to interfere, when his interference accomplished a good deal more than he imagined. Ah!"

At that moment the mate heard a ghostly "Halloo!" from the shore, and he recognized the voice as belonging to Pomp.

"Just as I suspected," said Storms, to himself; "they're using the negro as a cat's-paw. Well, I'll see what they are driving at."

Imitating the tones of Captain Bergen as closely as possible, the mate shouted:

"What do you want?"

"Am you dere?" was the rather superfluous question.

"Yes."

"Won't you let me come on board?"

"What for?"

"I'm sick ob dis business. I hab quarreled wid Redvig an' Brazzier, an' I want to jine you an' git away from dis place."

Abe Storms was not deceived for a moment by this transparent story. He knew there had been no quarrel, but that the mutineers had planned to get the negro on the schooner with the hope of deceiving the captain and gaining a chance to overpower him when off his guard.

"Come on out here, then," replied the mate, who quickly determined his course of action.

Almost at the same instant a loud splash was heard, and the head of Pomp was descried in the moonlight, swimming toward the boat. The mate kept himself concealed as much as he could, stepping back when the negro began clambering up the fore-chains. Panting from his exertion, he speedily came over the gunwale upon the deck.

"Yes, cap'in, I's tired ob dem willains, an' I'm gwine——Oh! oh! oh!"

At that instant his eyes fell upon the figure of the mate, clad in his diving-armor, with the exception of his face, which was so clearly revealed in the moonlight that there could be no mistaking his identity.

Worse than that, the mate, standing as rigid as iron, had a gleaming revolver pointed straight at him. Pomp sank on his knees in the most abject terror.

"Oh, my heben!" he chattered, clasping his hands, "I t'ought dat you was drowned. Am you sartin dat you ain't?"

"I am quite well satisfied on that point. But, Pomp, get up; I've got a word or two to say to you."

"I will, I will; but please p'int dat weepon some oder way."

The mate complied, and the African, somewhat reassured, though still considerably frightened, listened to the words of the man who he supposed was drowned hours before.

"I am alive and well, Pomp, as you can see, and so is the captain, who is taking a short nap in the cabin. We are well armed, as you know——"

"Yas! yas! yas!" chattered the negro.

"And we can sail away in the morning, at the turning of the tide, and leave you here——"

"Dat's what I want you to do, an' I'll go wid you."

"You can't go! I know well enough what you came out here for. You thought you would find a chance to get the upper hand of the captain, and would let the other villains on board. There! you needn't deny it. I understand the matter too well to be deceived."

"Didn't I sabe de cap'in's life?" quavered Pomp, still fearful of the cold, measured tones of the mate.

"You befriended him at a critical moment, and therefore I won't shoot you, when I have such a good chance to do so. But you have regretted your interference more than once, and you are seeking now to undo all the good you have done. We have it in our power not only to go away, but to bring back a force which shall hang every one of you three, as you deserve to be, but——"

"Oh! oh-o-o-o!"

"But we don't propose to do it. We are not going away to leave you here. To-morrow we shall have a proposal to offer to your mates, which they will be glad to accept. That is about all I have to say to you."



CHAPTER XIX

THE DEPARTURE

As Mate Storms said, he had but little more communication to make with the negro.

"You may now swim back to your friends and say that we will be ready to negotiate to-morrow morning. If they will come down to the shore, we will have a talk and arrange the whole business. Now, perhaps, you had better go back."

Pomp Cooper was quick-witted enough to understand that this utterance was in the nature of a hint for him to depart, and he stood not on the order of his going.

"Good-by, sah," he called out. "Much obleege fo' your kindness, dat I shall remember a good while."

Mate Storms stood motionless, watching him until he was perhaps a hundred feet from the craft, when he said, just loud enough to be heard:

"Sharks are mighty plenty hereabout, and I saw a big one yesterday. Shouldn't wonder if he has a leg bit off before he gets back."

Pomp heard the words, and they "disturbed" him, to put it mildly. Evidently he had forgotten the peril to which all persons are exposed in tropical waters, and, as the truth was impressed upon him with such suddenness, he uttered a "whiff" like a porpoise and began swimming with fierce energy toward the shore. In fact, he never put forth so much effort in all his life. The expectation of feeling a huge man-eating monster gliding beneath you when in the water is enough to shake the nerves of the strongest swimmer. He kept diving and swimming as far as he could below the surface, and then came up and continued his desperate efforts until he reached the land, where he joined his companions.

Abe Storms stood looking and listening, his face expanded in a broad smile, when he heard a light laugh at his elbow. Turning his head, he found the captain there.

"I heard your summons to him," said the captain, by way of explanation, "and I came up to hear what it meant. I must admit, you managed the case well."

"It might have been worse. My only fear is that the imps won't believe we honestly intend to hold the conference with them, and offer a compromise."

"They will find it out at daylight, and meanwhile they can't help themselves. It is useless for me to stay below, Abe," added the nervous captain. "There's too much on my mind to sleep."

Therefore, the two remained on watch until the sun rose, at which time there was nothing to be seen of the mutineers.

"They're suspicious," concluded the mate, who called out, in a loud voice that reached every portion of the island:

"Hello, men! come and show yourselves. We want to have a talk with you!"

A few minutes later Hyde Brazzier appeared on the shore and answered back again. It was deemed best to give the mutineers a proof of their sincerity, and instead, therefore, of holding the conversation from the deck of the schooner, the small boat was lowered, and both the captain and mate entered it and rowed ashore, where all three awaited them, as may be supposed, with some degree of astonishment.

Storms and Captain Bergen were not without some misgivings, and they did not venture unprepared into the lion's den. Both carried a loaded revolver at command, and in case of an attack the business would have been lively. But it was unreasonable to suppose that our friends would be assailed under the peculiar circumstances. Furthermore, as the parties understood each other, there was no time wasted in reproaches or recriminations, but Captain Bergen came directly to the point.

"This state of things can't last," said he; "we are deadly enemies, and we would kill each other on the slightest pretext. The island is too small to contain us all. Either you three or we two must leave before the sun reaches meridian, or we shall go to fighting like caged tigers. Neither can we go away together, for I would not trust any of you again, nor would you trust either of us; therefore, one party must go, and the other must stay—which shall it be? We were prepared to leave, when we reflected that if we should be caught in some of the storms which sweep over this region, the mate and I would hardly be able to manage the schooner, and we are anxious to take care of the little girl, to whom we are greatly attached. There are three of you, all able-bodied seamen, and in case of a tempest you would be able to navigate the Coral. It would be safer, therefore, for you to take the vessel and go to some of the ports, secure assistance and send them after us. We make, therefore, this proposition: We will turn over the schooner to you, on condition that you leave with us such stores as we may choose to take, and that you proceed at once to the nearest of the inhabited Paumotu Islands and send assistance to us. Furthermore, as you know all about the pearl-oysters, we will agree to divide with you. You can take up half of what are on the bed out yonder, and you may carry them away with you, leaving a moiety to us. You are to sail just as soon as the oysters are placed on board. That's our proposition—what do you say?"

There could be no doubt that the mutineers were astonished by the generosity of the offer, coming, as it did, from those who were in reality masters of the situation.

Had they been a little more cunning, they might have suspected there was something behind it all, which was kept carefully out of sight; but the terms were so good that Brazzier answered, the instant the question was put to him:

"We'll do it, and carry out our part fair and square."

"Very well; there's no need of delay. We'll bring the schooner inshore and take out what we want, and then turn the craft over to you."

This amazing programme was carried out to the letter. Captain and mate, accompanied by Pomp, rowed back in the small boat, and the schooner was carefully worked toward the shore.

Abe Storms and Captain Bergen saw that among the possibilities of the future was a long stay on the lonely island, and they therefore prepared for such a contingency, having an eye mainly to securing that which little Inez would be likely to need. Pomp informed the officers that there was a small cabin a short distance away, which had no doubt been put up by the sailors of whom Grebbens had told the captain. It was made of planking that had come ashore from the wreck, and the fact that it had stood so long proved that it must have been built with much skill as well as strength.

It was found just as represented by Pomp—there being two compartments, each a dozen feet or so square, and one of these was so well put together that it seemed to be waterproof. Our friends were greatly surprised and pleased over the discovery, for Grebbens had never said anything about the structure.

The goods from the Coral were carried to this building and deposited in the rear room, which was so tight that one would have almost suffocated had he remained in it during the tropical weather which prevails among the Paumotu Islands most of the time.

The goods stowed there were of a varied assortment, including the three breech-loading rifles, ammunition, tool-chest and contents, a portion of the medicine-chest, some biscuits, cooking utensils, and a trunk of calicoes, linens and materials such as are used in the making of feminine costumes. It was a singular coincidence that Abe Storms had provided a considerable quantity of this before leaving San Francisco, knowing as he did the fondness of savages for such finery, and having a suspicion that it might be turned to good account in the way of barter in some of the South Sea islands. Little did he suspect the use to which it would be put, and thankful indeed was he that it was at his command, when it was so likely to be needed for Inez Hawthorne.

There was a goodly amount of stock, which was transferred to the cabin, the mutineers assisting with the rest, for all felt there was no time to lose. There was mistrust at first, each party seeming to be suspicious of the other, but it soon wore off, and any one looking upon them could not have been made to believe they were deadly enemies.

When the transfer was completed, it was evident that the current was close upon its turn, and unless they should leave the island soon, they would be compelled to wait perhaps twelve or twenty-four hours longer.

Since the sea was very calm, Hyde Brazzier proposed that the schooner should be taken outside and anchored directly over the pearl-oyster bed, so that sail could be hoisted as soon as they were ready. There was a slight risk in the action, but it was done, and after some careful maneuvering the Coral was secured in position.

It looked very magnanimous and somewhat stupid for Abe Storms to volunteer to go down in his coat of armor and scoop the oysters into a huge basket, for the very parties who had tried so hard to drown him when similarly engaged the day before. Nothing, it would seem, could be more absurd, and yet the reader is requested to suspend judgment until he shall have read the following chapter.

All this was done, and in the course of the succeeding two hours fully three-fourths of the oysters scattered over that particular bed were dumped upon the deck of the Coral, and Abe Storms, pretty well exhausted, was pulled to the surface. The captain and mate, with the armor, rowed themselves the short distance ashore in the small boat. The Coral hoisted sail, and, heading out to sea, rapidly sped away over the Pacific.

And all this time the three mutineers felicitated themselves upon the manner in which they had gotten the best of the bargain. And yet, never in all their lives had they been so completely outwitted as they were by Abe Storms and Captain Jack Bergen, as we shall now proceed to show.



CHAPTER XX

HOW DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND

The three mutineers on board the schooner Coral had sailed away and disappeared from view on the face of the vast Pacific, and the captain and mate were left with little Inez alone upon a small, lonely member of the Paumotu Group, in the distant South Seas.

Inez was too young to realize the gravity of the situation, and she ran hither and thither, delighted with her new home, though she found the cabin too warm inside to be comfortable, and she made frequent draughts upon the spring of cool, clear water near which the former residents of the atoll had built the cabin. Then, too, she had found that there was considerable tropical fruit growing in the place, and she made such havoc among it that Captain Bergen felt impelled to caution her, if she should become sick on their hands, she would be apt to fare ill, for they had little medicine at command.

While she was thus engaged, captain and mate were reclining on the ground, in the shade of the palm-trees. They spoke only now and then, but there was a peculiar expression on their faces as they watched the schooner gradually disappearing in the distance, for it was a long while in sight. The time came at last, however, when even their straining vision could not detect the faintest resemblance to a sail in the horizon, though it was still visible, as a matter of course, through their glasses.

"I believe she is gone," said Storms, looking toward the captain.

"Yes; I see nothing of her."

"Then it's about time to shake."

The two brawny hands clasped, and the friends greeted each other with remarkable cordiality; and, as they did so, they laughed heartily, and the mate almost shouted:

"Captain, but it was a good trick!"

"So it was; and I give you the credit of inventing it. I never would have thought of it."

"Shake again; and now to work."

The mate had deposited some of the oysters brought up on the bank, and they were carefully opened. They were eight in number, and there was not found a single pearl among them.

In all probability the entire lot which were carried away upon the schooner were not worth as much as the same quantity of bivalves from Chesapeake Bay. In short, this was not the pearl-oyster bed which had brought the two friends the greater part of the way around the globe. Suspecting—or, rather, knowing—the evil intentions of the mutineers, Abe Storms proposed the ruse, by which the visit was made to the wrong place. The mutineers themselves were outwitted, and, under the belief that they were carrying away a cargo of fabulous wealth, they did not wait to make an examination of the mollusks until they were well out to sea.

When they should open and examine them they were not likely to suspect the trick, but would think that the whole journey was a failure, and the three left on the island were, in reality, worse off than themselves.

And yet the true bed of oyster-pearls remained to be visited.

"It is possible they may suspect something and come back again," said the mate, "but it is hardly probable."

"Are they likely to send any friends to take us off?" asked the captain, with a quizzical look.

"Not to any great extent. They will be sure to give us as wide a berth hereafter as possible. In the meantime, I propose that we investigate."

The two rose to their feet, and, lugging the armor between them, moved off toward a point whose location was as well known to them as if they had spent years upon the atoll.

While they were thus walking, the mate, who was much the better-educated man, said:

"This pearl-hunting is a curious business. Those specimens that I brought up were the genuine species, and yet they have very few or no pearls among them. It must be because the conditions are not favorable for their creation or development, while, at the place we are about to visit, the mollusks are the same, and yet there are conditions existing there which cause an abnormal growth of the precious jewels."

"Did you make a careful examination of those other oysters?"

"Yes. As I told you, they are genuine, but they have no pearls of any account, the conditions being unfavorable for their formation. You know the pearls grow within the oysters, being composed of slimy secretions deposited around some foreign substance that enters them. It may be that a peculiar action of the tide drives a grain of sand into the mollusks, where we are to visit—though that is all conjecture."

But Mate Storms, who was only fairly launched out in the discourse upon pearls, was here interrupted by the captain exclaiming:

"This must be the spot."

The particular bank had been designated so clearly that there could be no mistake, and had the chart, or map, fallen into the hands of the mutineers, they would have discovered the trick played on them in an instant. The spot was a peculiar one where the two friends stopped. Instead of being partly landlocked like the other, it opened out fairly upon the sea, and appeared to be entirely unprotected from the force of the breakers, which boomed against the beach.

It would have been supposed naturally that the true course was for the fishermen to go out in a small boat, and make their explorations from that, but Grebbens had instructed the captain that the formation was so peculiar that nothing would be gained by this course. The shore sank like the side of a wall to a considerable depth, and the oysters lay on the bottom, with some clusters clinging to the rocks, where they could be torn off like sponges.

It can be understood that the work of removing these would be almost impossible for any one excepting a professional diver, unless, as was the case with our friends, he should have some artificial assistance. But for the diving-armor, it is hardly possible that Abe Storms would have made a serious attempt to secure anything, knowing the danger from sharks, and the difficulty of retaining his breath for any extended time below the surface of the water.

It was near the middle of the afternoon when this spot was reached. The sea was calm, but there were signs in the sky ominous of a coming storm, so that the two were anxious to make a beginning without any unnecessary delay. Stooping almost upon their faces, when the swell had receded enough to permit them, they peered down into the crystal depths, and caught shadowy glimpses of the prizes. They saw the craggy clusters, big and brown, clinging to the rocks, while others were outlined on the floor of the bank.

"They're there, beyond a doubt," said Storms, "and it now remains to see whether they are worth the gathering. Help me get on this suit."

Both worked deftly, and it was soon adjusted. The main thing was the breathing apparatus, Storms having some fear that at such a depth the pressure would be so great as to close the pipes, and thus shut out the air. However, the only way to learn was by experiment, and he did not wait. Carefully coiling his pipe, he took the rope in his hand and began descending, the two having arranged the signals so that with ordinary care no accident need result. Captain Bergen held one end of the rope in his hand, ready to draw his friend to the surface the instant he should receive notice that it was necessary.

"It is a long way to the bottom!" exclaimed the captain, standing like the harpooner in a whale-boat, and saw the line steadily paying out.

"It won't do for him to go much further," was his conclusion, noticing, with some alarm, that but little more of the hose was left on the ground. "I wish those pearls had fixed themselves not quite——Hello!"

He knew from the instant cessation of the weight on the rope, and the motionless condition of the hose, that the bottom had been reached by Abe Storms, and none too soon, either. Peering carefully into the clear depths, Captain Bergen saw, too, that his mate was attending to business.



CHAPTER XXI

AT LAST

Mate Storms, so far as could be seen, looked like an immense crab at work on the bottom of the pearl bank and along the rough rocks. He was so far below the surface that he was insensible to the long, heavy swells, which at intervals broke upon the beach with a thunderous boom, and so long as the breathing apparatus kept right he could pursue his labor without difficulty.

As he anticipated, he had not been long at work when several sharks made their appearance and reconnoitered the mysterious intruder upon their domains. They were evidently puzzled over the appearance of the strange visitor, and when Storms gave one of them an ugly prod with the point of his knife, he darted out of sight, instantly followed by the others, who seemed to suspect they were in danger from the monster, whose slightest touch was so emphatic.

It did not take long for the diver to fill his basket, and when he gave the signal, Captain Bergen pulled with might and main, and, a few minutes after, the man in his armor scrambled upon shore, tumbled over by a huge swell, which broke at that moment. The basket was full, and catching it up, Captain Bergen left his friend to himself and began hurriedly prying open the mollusks with his sheath-knife. His heart throbbed, for they were the largest oysters he had ever seen, and he was full of high hope.

The first bivalve opened disclosed a pearl almost as large as a robin's egg. It possessed the faint yellowish tinge which is recognized in the East as belonging to the most valuable species.

With trembling, eager hands, Captain Bergen opened the second, and discovered another, nearly as large as the first. Half beside himself, he snatched up the largest oyster in the heap, and forced it apart with such precipitancy that he cut his hand. There lay a pearl before him fully a third larger than the first, with the purest tint, oval in form, and worth thousands of dollars.

Captain Bergen could contain himself no longer, but springing to his feet he threw his hat in the air, and shouted, and danced about like a madman.

Mr. Storms did not remove his armor, for he intended to go down again. His laugh, muffled and sounding strangely from within the visor, was heard as he joined in the demonstrations of his companion.

When, encumbered as he was with his awkward armor, he began executing a double shuffle on the beach, the sight was so grotesque that the captain came near going into convulsions. But the exercise was too exhausting, and the mate speedily sat down on the shore and also began opening oysters. His ardor was somewhat dampened when he failed to discover anything in the first, and he became quite solemn when the second was equally barren of results; but the third yielded a beautiful pearl, fully equal to the first which the captain brought forth. There could be no doubt now that the men had struck a pearl bank of marvelous richness.

"There are plenty more down there," said the mate, preparing to descend with his knife and basket again.

Captain Bergen allowed him to go, while he took the rope in hand, restraining his excitement with difficulty, for he was now sure that the wildest dreams in which he had indulged promised to be more than realized, and he considered the fortune of himself and friend assured.

"The fools," he muttered, referring to the mutineers; "if they had acted the part of honest men they might have shared this, but they chose to be scoundrels, and truly they have had their reward."

He noticed this time that the mate drew more upon the hose than before—so much so, indeed, that he threatened to draw the upper ends under water—and the captain gave a warning tug at the rope, to apprise him that he must venture no further. The warning was heeded, and when, a few minutes later, the diver was helped to terra firma again, his basket was filled heaping full.

This was dumped out, and he prepared to descend once more. Captain Bergen was so occupied in attending to his friend that he gained little time to open the oysters, and could only look longingly at them. Now and then, while the diver was cautiously working below, the captain snatched one up and pried the shells apart, and the success he met with was enough to turn the head of the coolest and most unconcerned of men. Beyond question, as we have said, the bank contained oysters of astonishing richness, fully three-fourths possessing pearls of extraordinary size and value.

Abe Storms went down and came up with the basket heaped to the top six separate times, and then doffed his armor.

"What's the matter?" asked the captain, in surprise.

"That's all!"

"What! are there no more?"

"Not another one, so far as I can see."

"That's too bad," observed the captain, in a tone of disappointment. "I supposed there was enough to keep us employed several days."

"Ah, Jack," replied the mate, in a reproving tone, "see the emptiness of riches, and how little they can do to satisfy the cravings of the human heart. There is enough wealth there at your feet to make you and me independently rich for life, and yet you complain because you have so little."

"It was wrong," said the captain, meekly. "I am in such a nervous condition that I'm hardly myself. I am truly grateful for what we have here, and glad that we made the long voyage to secure them. We have enough—to crave more is wicked."

They now set to work opening the shells between which were nestling the pearls, and the result was simply astonishing. It was hard work to get some of the thick, ridgy bivalves apart, but when they succeeded they rarely failed to be rewarded munificently. Some of the pearls were small, the majority large, and about twenty of enormous size and clearness. When the entire lot was placed in a little pile, there were found to be one hundred and twenty-odd; and, although it was impossible to estimate their value, Mate Storms—who was the better informed—believed they were worth at least a quarter of a million of dollars. All these had been taken in a few hours, though the preparations and the voyage thither had occupied many long, long months.

"I think I will go down and take a farewell look," said Abe, when the task was finished. "I have a suspicion that I may have missed something."

"I am quite sure you have," replied the captain, assisting him with his armor; "and you have but a short time at your disposal, either, for I think a storm is brewing."

This time the mate meant to proceed differently. In descending along the rocks the first time, he paused to break off some of the clusters, and he thought he caught the shadowy glimpse of an enormous oyster, further in; but there were so many closer at hand, and he was so excited—despite his natural coolness—that he forgot about it until now, when he determined to look further, half hoping, more than believing, that it might possess a still larger pearl than any he had seen. He was confident that this was the only one he had missed, for the search he made during his last descent, in other respects, was thorough and left nothing to be done over again.

Carefully he sank into the depths of the ocean, with one hand grasping the rope, ready to give the signal to stop lowering the instant it should become necessary. He passed several yawning crevices in the rocks, which, of course, were of coral formation, and all at once he tugged smartly at the rope. He recognized the spot, and his feet were still about three yards from the bank upon which he had walked back and forth so many times. Captain Bergen responded at once, and held him suspended where he was, which was anything but a comfortable position, inasmuch as he could find no support for his feet, and his left hand was of little use.

Immediately before his face the rock made an inward sweep, showing an abrupt ledge, a yard in width and depth. Scanning this as closely as he could in the dim twilight of the ocean-cavern, Storms thought he saw something resembling an oyster, which was fully a foot in length. Uncertain as to its identity, he shoved his hand in and found it was suspended to the rock above, and after two or three violent wrenches, and by using his knife as well as he could, he broke it loose and drew it out.

It was an oyster, indeed, of prodigious size, and he instantly signaled to the captain to draw him up. The latter did so with a vigor that threatened to dislocate the armor itself.

"Here it is," he exclaimed, the moment he reached the air. "But I don't know whether there is anything in it or not."

"My stars! Is that an oyster?" asked the captain, picking it up and turning it over like a huge stone, with inquiring eyes.

Little Inez Hawthorne had come to the spot while the mate was down the last time, and she danced with delight at the sight of the beautiful pearls piled upon the ground like a heap of tiny cannon balls.

"What are you going to do with that?" she asked, surveying the big bivalve, with an expression of disgust on her pretty face.

"That is yours," said the captain, earnestly.

The mate looked at him and said:

"Do you mean that, captain?"

"I do. Whatever we find inside of that shall be consecrated to the use of Inez Hawthorne—to be hers absolutely. There may be nothing at all, but if there be a pearl, it will possess a value which we cannot estimate."

The mate reached out his hand.

"The proposition does credit to your heart, captain, and I join it without reservation. Now do you open it."

The captain hesitated a moment and looked at the big shell curiously, as if afraid to make the investigation.

While thus employed, Storms called attention to the fact that the two shells were already slightly separated, as if the mollusk were gasping for air, which could not be the case. Captain Bergen held up the huge shell and peeped inside. He did so but an instant, when he dropped it upon the sand, and exclaimed, with a pale face and trembling voice:

"It's there!"

Mate Storms knew what it meant, and he in turn raised the oyster, ran his knife in carefully, worked hard for a minute, and then managed to get the two shells apart.



CHAPTER XXII

THE PEARL OF THE PACIFIC

There, at the front of the oyster, and slightly to one side, was the most marvelous pearl upon which the eyes of the men had ever rested. It was the size of an ordinary hen's egg, clear and pure, and worth a sum of money which neither of the astounded men dared attempt to guess.

For a few seconds they were speechless, and then Inez clapped her hands with delight, and asked:

"Is that for me?"

"Yes, that is yours," replied Captain Bergen. "The mate and I give it to you, to be yours and no one's else."

"Isn't it splendid?" cried Inez, catching it up, passing it from one hand to the other, holding it up in the sunlight, and showing as much genuine pleasure as if she were a veritable South Sea Islander, presented with some new trinket.

"That," said Mate Storms, "may be called The Pearl of the Pacific!"

"No," objected the captain, "it is she who is the pearl of this great ocean, for it was upon its surface that we first saw her, and she has proved herself far above the worth of pearls or diamonds or rubies. To her, under heaven, my life, and not impossibly yours, is owing. The greatest pleasure of this voyage has come from her companionship, and all that I ask now is that we shall be able to preserve this wealth for her, and that the opportunity may be ours to do our full duty toward her."

Mate Storms looked admiringly at the captain, who had so eloquently expressed his own sentiments.

"You are right, Jack," said he, speaking in his familiar way. "It is she who is the Pearl of the Pacific!"

The men surveyed, with the greatest pleasure, the frolicsome delight of the little one, who was all unmindful of the immense treasure which had fallen to her lot, and of the title of honor which her friends had given her. Naturally, the entire party were so absorbed that for a time they hardly glanced beyond their immediate surroundings; but when Abe Storms came up for the last time, he glanced, by the merest accident, out to sea, and exclaimed:

"Oh, my goodness! Just look there, Jack!"

No more than half a mile distant, a flying proa was seen, speeding with great swiftness over the water, while a number of dark figures were discovered on the deck, evidently looking with no little curiosity at the white men.

The singular craft, however, came no nearer, and soon vanished in the distance. Its appearance caused some apprehension and uneasiness on the part of our friends, and after discussing the matter they decided, as a matter of precaution, to bury the pearls.

Inez was persuaded, without difficulty, to trust hers to the keeping of her friends, who dug a small well in the sand, and inclosing the entire number of pearls in strong canvas bags, made for that purpose, buried them out of sight, there to remain until one or both of the men should choose to dig them up again, and it was agreed that that should not be done until the way opened for them to leave the island.

The long afternoon was well advanced when this task was completed, they fixing the precise spot so clearly in their minds that there was no necessity of landmarks, either being sure of finding it whenever it should become necessary.

"It seems to me the swells are larger than usual, and they make more noise when they break upon the beach," observed Mr. Storms, looking curiously at the sky.

They had just dumped back the remains of the pearl-oysters into the sea, so as to leave no trace of their work, and Captain Bergen straightened up and surveyed the sky.

"There's a storm coming—a regular screamer! Look, by the great horn spoon!" he added, in no little excitement.

There was good cause for the emotion of the captain, for the light of the sun was obscured by a thick, yellow haze, which was fast overspreading the sky, and, far out to sea, the long line of mist seemed to be churning the water into foam, and to be advancing rapidly toward the island, where stood the two men contemplating the coming fury of the elements.

The light of the sun was obscured, and there was a perceptible chilliness in the air, and the barometer—which they had brought from the Coral—showed a most startling change. One of the fiercest of the tropical tempests was gathering, and was sure to break upon the island in a few minutes.

This was alarming to contemplate, for the men knew well what kind of elemental disturbances spring up on the shortest notice in the South Seas. But it was not this alone which startled them.

Looking directly out to sea, toward the yeasty waters, they saw a schooner sinking and rising upon the long swells, and certain to be caught, in the very vortex, as may be said, of the hurricane, or tornado, or typhoon, or whatever it should be termed. The craft was not an unfamiliar one—both knew it well—for it was the Coral, with the mutineers on board.

Unarmed as they were, they would not dare place themselves in the power of those toward whom they had shown such enmity, but that they were literally forced to do so to escape almost certain destruction from the impending tempest.

If they should run into the lagoon to wait until the storm should subside, neither the captain nor mate would disturb them—provided they took their departure as soon as it became safe. Still, knowing their treacherous character so well, Bergen and Storms did not mean to trust them at all. Inez was therefore placed within the cabin, while her protectors made certain they were armed and ready for any contingency.

Now that the sun was shut out from sight, a darkness like that of night overspread land and water, while the strong gale howled among the palms, which swayed and bent as if they would soon be uprooted and flung out into the boiling sea. The swells were topped with foam, and large drops of rain, sweeping almost horizontally across the island, struck against the face like pebbles.

The mutineers were heading, so far as was possible, towards the opening in the atoll, but they were not in position to strike it, and, with the deepening darkness and increasing tempest, the task was becoming more difficult every minute. Suddenly a vivid flash of lightning illumined the gloom, and the schooner Coral was observed on the crest of a high wave, heading toward the island; but the two men who saw her, saw also, that she missed the opening and was too close in to make it.

The rumble of thunder continued for some minutes, when once more a blinding flash swept across the murky sky, lighting up sea and island for the instant, as if with the glare of the noonday sun. Captain Bergen and Mate Storms were straining their eyes to catch sight of the little schooner and its crew, but it was invisible. In that single searching glance, they could not have failed to see her had she been afloat. The conclusion, therefore, was inevitable. She and her crew had gone to the bottom of the sea.

Such was the fact. The mutineers had met a frightful though merited fate, and could trouble our friends no more.



CHAPTER XXIII

A DISMAL HOME

Captain Bergen and his mate were not certain that one or more of the mutineers had not survived the foundering of the schooner Coral, and had managed to reach the island.

If such were the case, they considered it important that it should be known as soon as possible, and on the morrow, therefore, they made careful search, but none of the three men was ever seen again. A few fragments of spars, floating here and there, were all the signs that such a craft had ever sailed over the Pacific.

Since the captain and mate were now given the opportunity to think of their own situation, they did so like men of gravity and sense. They were safely upon Pearl Island, as they had named it. They had secured the prize for which they had come so many thousand miles, and they were, as the world goes, wealthy men. More than that, they had found a pearl of such marvelous size and purity that, being dedicated to little Inez Hawthorne, it was a great fortune indeed to her.

And yet, in one sense, the little party were paupers; that is, so long as they were held prisoners upon the atoll, for the treasure of pearls could not purchase them food, clothing, friends, happiness—nor, in fact, were they anything more than so many valueless pebbles. They must reach civilization again to realize anything from the riches which had come into their possession.

But how were they to leave the island? This was the one great question which faced them, and which they were called upon to solve, for now that there was no further cause for staying, the homesickness of the men increased, and it was not long before they felt they would give half their wealth for the means of getting back to Boston.

Since they were absolutely without this means, it was evident they could do nothing but rely upon Providence to send some vessel to their relief. It was not impossible that Abe Storms, gifted as he was with so much wonderful ingenuity, might have attempted to construct some sort of craft from the palm trees, and it is quite likely he would have succeeded in making something that could be utilized. But the awful blotting out of the Coral, before their eyes, had alarmed both, and made them more timid than they otherwise would have been.

It was a good many miles to the nearest inhabited island, as laid down on their chart, and they might succeed in reaching it, provided they could be assured of a week of good weather. But there could be no such assurance, and a disturbance meant the same fate that overtook the mutineers.

It is not at all unlikely, too, that the presence of little Inez Hawthorne increased this timidity. Had they been without her, they would not have hesitated to take great risks, but, somehow or other, her life was inestimably precious in their eyes, and they would never have forgiven themselves had any ill befallen her through their dereliction of duty.

"There is a mystery about her life which shall yet be cleared up," Abe Storms frequently remarked; "and we must not do aught that shall endanger or delay the solution of the question."

There were comparatively few stores which the schooner had left them before its final departure, and the survivors were forced to rely mainly upon what the island afforded. Of course there were fish in abundance, and they frequently rowed out in the lagoon in the tender, or small boat, or cast out their lines from shore, and never failed in a short time to catch all they wanted.

The spring of clear, cool water bubbled and trickled steadily, and never failed them. And the several species of tropical fruits about them were used sparingly, the men having the prudence to seek to prevent the supply giving out.

It was a great relief to Storms and Bergen to find, after the most thorough exploration they could make, that there were no poisonous reptiles upon the island.

"We may as well face the situation," said Captain Bergen, after they had held frequent consultations; "we have been here five weeks now, and we haven't caught sight of the first sail, with the exception of our own, which has gone to the bottom, and it may be that weeks and months more may pass before we shall see another."

"It is not unlikely that it may be years," added Storms, gravely; "for, according to the narrative of Grebbens himself, he was here a long time before he was taken away. The wisest thing we can do is to prepare ourselves for an indefinite stay."

A long time before, the captain had laboriously climbed the mast which was erected in the sand by the inlet, and had securely fastened an old garment to the highest point. There it was still, fluttering in the wind, when there was enough breeze to raise the irregular folds, but, alas! it had not brought the friendly sail which they longed for, and they had been forced at last to look upon an extended residence upon the island as not only possible, but very probable.

Like philosophers, they governed themselves accordingly. The signal was kept flying and they busied themselves fishing, talking or doing odd things which were done simply to pass away time. But the two felt that a most urgent duty was upon them, respecting Inez Hawthorne.

"We must do what we can for her," said Storms. "With the material which I have on hand we can construct garments that will keep her clad with comeliness, though she may not be in the fashion; and yet I don't know but what she will," he added, with a smile, "for we may strike some of the vagaries without knowing it. Then, too, she must be educated."

"I'm not well up in the line of an education," said the captain, with some embarrassment, "being as I never attended any other than a district school, but I believe you graduated, didn't you, Abe?"

"Yes, I went through Harvard three years ago, and stood second in my class. I haven't any fear that I won't be able to teach her, for she is a child of unusual brightness."

And, as may be supposed, the mate went to work thoroughly in the instruction of Inez Hawthorne, who proved herself one of the most apt of pupils, and advanced with a rapidity which delighted her teacher.



CHAPTER XXIV

THREE YEARS

Three years have passed, and still Captain Bergen, Mate Storms and Inez Hawthorne are upon the lonely Pearl Island in the South Sea.

Could they have believed when they left Boston that they would be doomed to such an imprisonment, it may well be doubted whether they would have made the voyage, even if assured of the vast fortune which thereby came into their hands.

The three years had been dismally monotonous to them, and their courage had been tried to the utmost, for there had been times when both agreed that they would probably stay there until released by death, and then they fell to speculating as to which would be the last one to survive. According to human logic, it would seem that that lot would fall to Inez, and their hearts sank at the thought of her being left to perish in the lonely spot.

When the coat fluttering from the top of the mast was blown away by the gale, Captain Bergen climbed up and nailed another in its place, grimly remarking that it looked as if they were going down with their colors flying.

It was surprising what was done by Mate Storms, whose ingenuity was almost incredible. With the material at his command, he kept Inez clothed in a tasteful manner.

She wore dresses and shoes which fitted her well, and her hat was renewed with extraordinary skill, from material obtained from the palm-trees.

Those three years, although of indescribable weariness at times, were marked by some startling incidents, and by many worthy of record. The great object of Storms was to educate Inez, and he did his utmost in that direction, assisted by the bright intellect of the girl and her own ardent desire to explore the wonders of knowledge.

There were few facilities in the way of furniture, considered so indispensable in these later days. He had no pens or ink, and only a Bible in the way of books. He had some blank paper and a single lead pencil, which were utilized to their fullest extent. For a slate or blackboard, he used the beach, as did Archimedes of the olden time.

Selecting a place where the water had left it hard and smooth, Storms, with a sharp-pointed stick, made his characters and gave his instruction in the mysteries of mathematics.

It would sound incredible were we to say that, during those three years, the dwellers on the lonely atoll had never descried a sail; and such was not a fact, for there are few shores on this globe where a human being can bury himself so long from sight of the white-winged birds of commerce. They had seen many ships, but it looked very much as if they themselves had not been seen, nor had their presence been suspected by any of them.

"The idea of our being so nervous lest some one should get here ahead of us," remarked Storms, more than once, "when we might have delayed our coming a dozen years without any danger from that cause."

They had discovered the cloud-like picture of the canvas sail as it came up over the horizon, and their hearts swelled as it expanded and came closer. But all hope faded again when it grew less in the distance and finally passed from view altogether.

This had happened repeatedly, and more than once Captain Bergen had laboriously made his way up the smooth mast to the very top, where he swung his hat wildly; but it must have been that the little island in the South Seas possessed slight interest in the eyes of the navigators who occasionally drifted in that direction, for had they seen the signal of distress, or caught sight of the man frantically waving his hat from the top, they would have learned what its meaning was.

The greatest dejection which took possession of the couple was when they, through the glass, saw the Stars and Stripes fluttering from the mizzen of the ship which came the nearest and then made off again. The sight of that most beautiful banner in the world was like a glimpse of their distant New England home, and they seemed to feel the cool breeze fanning their hot brows as it bore steadily toward them.

When it went over the convex sea out of sight, Captain Bergen covered his face with his hands and wept, and when, after awhile, he looked up again, he saw the tears on the cheeks of Abe Storms, who stood motionless and gazing silently off upon the deep, as if he expected the vessel would come back to them. It was a severe blow, and it was a long time before they recovered from it.

The exact age of Inez Hawthorne when she became, by an extraordinary turn of the wheel of fortune, the protegee of the two sailors, was, as given by herself, six years, but both the captain and mate were confident that she was fully one, if not two years older.

Now, at the termination of the period named, she was a girl as fully developed mentally and physically as one of a dozen years, and she was growing into a woman of striking beauty. She was still a child, with all the innocence and simplicity which distinguished her at the time she was taken from the deck of the steamer Polynesia, but in a few years more, should she be spared, she would become a woman.