CHAPTER IX
AUSTIN MAKES A VENTURE
It was late one hot night when Austin first met Captain Farquhar of theS.S. _Carsegarry_ in a calle of Santa Cruz, and the worthy shipmaster,being then in a somewhat unpleasant position, was sincerely pleased tosee him. The _Carsegarry_ had reached Las Palmas with three thousandtons of steam coal some ten days earlier, and, because there aredisadvantages attached to living on board a vessel that is dischargingcoal, Farquhar had taken up his abode at the Metropole. He had, asusual, made friends with almost everybody in the hotel during the firstfew days, which said a good deal for his capabilities, considering thatmost of them were Englishmen; and then, finding their society pall onhim, went across to Santa Cruz in search of adventure and more congenialcompany.
As it happened, he found the latter in the person of another Englishmanwith similar tastes; and one or two of their frolics are remembered inthat island yet. On the night Farquhar came across Austin they hadamused themselves not altogether wisely in a certain cafA(C), from whichits proprietor begged them to depart when they had broken one citizen'sguitar and damaged another's clothes. Then, as it was getting late, theyadjourned to the mole, where the Englishman had arranged that a boat athis command should meet them, and convey Farquhar, who was going back toLas Palmas next day, on board the _Estremedura_. The boat was notforthcoming, and the Englishman's temper deteriorated while they waitedhalf an hour for it, until when at last the splash of oars came out ofthe soft darkness he was not only in a very unpleasant humour, butdetermined upon showing his companion that he was not a man with whom aSpanish crew could take liberties.
There was also a pile of limestone on the mole, and when a shadowylaunch slid into the blackness beneath it he hurled down the biggestlumps he could find, as well as a torrent of Castilian vituperation.Then, however, instead of the excuses he had expected, there werewrathful cries, and the Englishman gasped when he saw dim, white-cladfigures clambering in portentous haste up the adjacent steps.
"We'll have to get out of this--quick!" he said. "I've made a littlemistake. It's somebody else's boat."
They set about it without waste of time, but there was a good deal ofmerchandise lying about the mole, and the Englishman, who fell over someof it, lay still until a peon came across him peacefully asleep behind abarrel next morning. Farquhar, however, ran on, snatching up a handspikeas he went, with odd lumps of limestone hurtling behind him; and as heand his pursuers made a good deal of noise as they sped across the plazaat the head of the mole, the citizens still left in the cafA(C)s turned outto enjoy the spectacle. English seafarers are tolerated in that city,but it is, perhaps, their own fault that they are not regarded with anyparticular favour, and when Farquhar turned at bay in a doorway andproceeded to defy all the subjects of Spain, nobody was anxious to standbetween him and the barelegged sailors, who had nasty knives. It might,in fact, have gone hard with him had not two civiles, with big revolversstrapped about them, arrived.
They heard the crowd's explanations with official unconcern, and then,though it was, perhaps, their duty to place Farquhar in safe custody inthe cuartel, decided on sending for Austin, who was known to be stayingthat night in a neighbouring hotel. He had befriended English skippersalready under somewhat similar circumstances, and the civiles, who knewtheir business, were quite aware that nobody would thank them forforcing the affair upon the attention of the English Consul. Austincame, and saw Farquhar gazing angrily at the civiles and still grippinghis bar, while the crowd stood round and made insulting remarks abouthim in Castilian. He at once grasped the position, and made a sign ofconcurrence when one of the civiles spoke to him.
"You take him to his steamer," said the officer. "One of us will comeround in the morning when he understands."
Austin turned to Farquhar. "Give the man that bar," he said. "Comealong, and I'll send you off to your steamer."
"I'm going to have satisfaction out of some of them first," and Farquharmade an indignant gesture of protest. "Then I'll knock up the Consul.I'll show them if a crowd of garlic-eating pigs can run after me."
"If you stop here you'll probably get it, in the shape of a knifebetween your ribs," said Austin, who seized his arm. "A wise man doesn'tdrag in the Consul when he wants to keep his berth."
He forced Farquhar, who still protested vigorously, along, and, becausethe civiles marched behind, conveyed him to the mole, where a boat wasprocured to take them off to the _Estremedura_. Farquhar had cooled downa little by the time they reached her, and appeared grateful when Austinput him into his berth.
"Perhaps you did save me some trouble, and I'll not forget you," hesaid. "Take you round all the nice people in Las Palmas and tell themyou're a friend of mine."
"I'm not sure it would be very much of a recommendation," said Austin,drily.
Farquhar laughed. "That's where you're mistaken. When I've been a weekin a place I'm friends with everybody worth knowing."
"If to-night's affair is anything to go by, it's a little difficult tounderstand how you manage it," said Austin.
"It's quite easy to be looked up to, and still have your fun," andFarquhar lowered his voice confidentially. "When folks think a good dealof you in one place you have only to go somewhere else when you feel thefit coming on."
The _Estremedura_ sailed for Las Palmas next morning, and on arrivingthere Austin was somewhat astonished to discover that Farquhar had, infact, acquired the good-will of a good many people of consequence inthat city. He was a genial, frolic-loving man, and Austin, who becamesensible of a liking for him, spent a good deal of his leisure on boardthe _Carsegarry_, while, when the _Estremedura_ came back there, he alsoconsented to advise Farquhar about the getting up of a dance to whicheverybody was invited. It was a testimony to the latter's capacity formaking friends that a good many of them came, and among the rest werePancho Brown, his daughter, Muriel Gascoyne, and Mrs. Hatherly, as wellas the commander of a Spanish warship, and several officers ofartillery.
The night was soft and still, and clear moonlight shone down upon thesea. The trade breeze had fallen away, and only a little cool air camedown from the black Isleta hill, while fleecy mists drifted ethereallyathwart the jagged peaks of the great cordillera. An orchestra ofguitars and mandolins discoursed Spanish music from the poop, and therewas room for bolero and casucha on the big after-hatch, while, when thewaltzers had swung round it, the _Carsegarry_'s engineer made shift toplay the English lancers on his fiddle. Everybody seemed content, andthe genial Farquhar diffused high spirits and good humour.
Austin had swung through a waltz with Jacinta, though the guitars werestill twinging softly when they climbed the ladder to the bridge-deck,where canvas chairs were laid out. It was a curious waltz, tinged withthe melancholy there is in most Spanish music, but the crash of a gunbroke through it, and while the roar of a whistle drowned the drowsymurmur of the surf, the long black hull of an African mailboat slid intothe harbour ringed with lights. Then there followed the rattle of cable,and Austin fancied that the sight of the steamer had, for no veryapparent reason, its effect upon his companion. She had been cordialduring the evening, but there was a faint suggestion of hardness in herface as she turned to him.
"I am especially fond of that waltz," she said. "You may have noticedthere's a trace of what one might call the bizarre in it. No doubt, it'sEastern. They got it from the Moors."
"It only struck me as very pretty," said Austin, who surmised by herexpression that Jacinta was preparing the way for what she meant to say."I'm afraid I'm not much of a musician."
"You, at least, dance rather well. There are not many Englishmen whoreally do, which is, perhaps, no great disadvantage, after all."
Austin laughed, though he was a trifle perplexed. "Well," he said,"though you don't overwhelm me with compliments, as a rule, you havetold me that I could dance before. Now, however, one could almost fancythat the fact didn't meet with your approval."
Jacinta looked at him reflectively over her fan. "I scarcely supposed
you would understand, and one does not always feel in the mood toundertake a logical exposition of their views. Still, here's Muriel, andshe, at least, generally seems to know just what she means. Suppose youask her what she thinks of dancing."
Austin did so, and Miss Gascoyne, who was crossing the deck-bridge withFarquhar, stopped beside them.
"I don't think there is any harm in dancing, in itself--in fact, I havejust been waltzing with Captain Farquhar," she said. "Of course, thedisadvantage attached to amusements of any kind is that they maydistract one's attention from more serious things. Don't you think so,Captain Farquhar?"
Farquhar caught Austin's eye, and grinned wickedly, but Miss Gascoyne,who failed to notice this, glanced towards the steamer which had justcome in.
"That must be the African boat, but I suppose there is no use expectingany news?" she said quietly, though there was a faint suggestive tremourin her voice.
She passed on with Farquhar, and Jacinta glanced at Austin with a littleenquiring smile.
"If I had a sister who persisted in talking in that aggravatinglyedifying fashion, I should feel tempted to shake her," he said. "Still,one could forgive her a good deal if only for the way she looked at theWest-coast boat. It suggested that she has as much humanity in her asthere is in the rest of us, after all."
"Still, don't you think there was a little reason in what she said?"
"Of course. That is, no doubt, why one objects to it. Well, since it'sdifficult to keep the personal equation out, I suppose dancing andsailing about these islands on board the _Estremedura_ is rather awasteful life. Painting little pictures probably comes to much the samething, too, though there are people who seem to take art seriously."
Jacinta looked at him steadily. "When one has really an artistic talentit is different," she said.
Austin, who hoped she did not notice that he winced, sat silent a space,gazing out across the glittering sea, and it was not altogether acoincidence that his eyes were turned eastwards towards Africa, whereJefferson was toiling in the fever swamps. He wondered if Jacinta knewhis thoughts had also turned in that direction somewhat frequently oflate.
"Well," he said, "I suppose it is. Some of those pictures must bepretty, or the tourists wouldn't buy them, but that doesn't go very far,after all." He stopped a moment, and then went on with a little wrysmile. "No doubt some patients require drastic treatment, and there arecases where it is necessary to use the knife."
Jacinta rose, and, dropping her fan to her side, gravely met his gaze.
"If it wasn't, it would probably not be tried," she said. "One couldfancy that it was, now and then, a little painful to the surgeon."
Austin walked with her to the ladder, and stopped a moment at the headof it. "Well," he said, "one has to remember that all men are not builton the same model, and, what is more to the purpose, they haven't allthe same opportunities. No doubt the latter fact is fortunate for someof them, since they would probably make a deplorable mess of things ifthey undertook a big enterprise."
"Ah!" said Jacinta, who remembered it afterwards, "one never knows whenthe opportunities may present themselves."
She went down the ladder, and it was about an hour later when a boatslid alongside, and a man came up, asking for Austin. The latter, whosat on the bridge-deck amidst a group of Farquhar's guests, looked athim curiously when he handed him an envelope. His garments had evidentlynot been made for him, and there were stains of grease and soot on hiscoarse serge jacket, while the coal dust had not been wholly washed fromhis face. It was not difficult to recognise him as a steamer's fireman.
"You're Mr. Austin?" he said.
Austin admitted that he was, and after a glance at the letter turnedround and saw that Muriel Gascoyne, who sat close by, was watching himwith a curious intentness. Then he once more fixed his attention on thepaper in his hand.
"S.S. _Cumbria_" was written at the top of it, and there followed adescription of the creek, and how the steamer lay, as well as the cargoin her holds. Then he read: "I'm beginning to understand why thosewrecker fellows let up on the contract, though they hadn't the stake Ihave in the game. There are times when I get wondering whether I canlast it out, for it seems to me that white men who work in the sun allday are apt to drop out suddenly in this country. I make you and Mr.Pancho Brown my executors in case of anything of that kind happening tome. If you come across anybody willing to take the _Cumbria_ over as abusiness proposition, do what you can, on the understanding thatone-third of the profit goes to Miss Gascoyne, the rest as executors'and wreckers' remuneration. I don't know how far this statement meetsyour law, but I feel I can trust you, any way. In case either party isnot willing to take the thing up, the other may act alone."
Austin turned to the fireman. "You have another letter for Mr. Brown?"
"Yes, sir," said the man. "Mr. Jefferson----"
Austin, who heard a rustle of feminine draperies and what seemed to be alittle gasp of surprise or alarm, made the man a sign.
"Come into the skipper's room. I've two or three things to ask you," hesaid. "Miss Brown, will you please hand that letter to your father?"
They disappeared into the room beneath the bridge, and it was some timebefore they came out again. Then Austin sent the man down the ladderwith a steward to take him to Brown, and leaned against the rail.Jacinta, Muriel, and Mrs. Hatherly were still sitting there, but therest had gone. He told them briefly all he had heard about Jefferson,and then descended the ladder in search of Brown. The latter met himwith the letter in his hand, and they found a seat in the shadow of the_Carsegarry_'s rail. Nobody seemed to notice them, though the flutteringdresses of the women brushed them as they swung in the waltz.
"You have read it," said Austin. "What do you think?"
Pancho Brown tapped the letter with the gold-rimmed glasses he held inhis hand.
"As a business proposition I would not look at it. The risks are toogreat," he said.
"It struck me like that, too. Still, that's not quite the question. Yousee, the man isn't dead."
"I almost think he is by this time," said Brown, reflectively. "Now, hedid not seem quite sure when he wrote those letters that there wasreally any gum in her. At least, he hadn't found it, and I understandthat circumstances had made him a little suspicious about the_Cumbria_'s skipper, who we know is dead. Taking oil at present value,in view of what we would have to pay for a salvage expedition andchartering, there is, it seems to me, nothing in the thing."
"I'm not quite sure of that; but you are still presuming Jeffersondead."
Brown turned and looked at him. "The first thing we have to do is tofind out. Somebody will have to go across, and, of course, he must be areliable man. I should be disposed to go so far as to meet the necessaryexpenses, not as a business venture, but because Jacinta would give meno peace if I didn't."
"There would be no difficulty about the man."
Brown turned to him sharply. "You?"
"Yes. If Jefferson is dead I should probably also undertake to do what Ican to meet his wishes as executor."
Brown sat silent a space, and then tapped the letter with his glassesagain. "In that case I might go as far as to find, say, AL200. It should,at least, be sufficient to prove if there is any odd chance of gettingthe _Cumbria_ off."
"I think I shall do that with AL80, but I should prefer that you did notprovide it. That is, unless you decide to go into the thing on abusiness footing, and take your share of the results, as laid down byJefferson."
Brown seemed to be looking hard at him, but they sat in shadow, andAustin was glad of it.
"Ah!" he said quietly, though there was a significance in his tone."Well, somebody must certainly go across, and if you fail elsewhere youcan always fall back on me for--a loan. When are you going?"
"By the first boat that calls anywhere near the creek."
He rose and turned away, but Pancho Brown sat still, with a curiousexpression in his face. If any of the dancers had noticed him, it wouldprobably have occurred t
o them that he was thinking hard. Pancho Brownwas a quiet man, but he often noticed a good deal more than his daughtergave him credit for. Still, when at length he rose and joined Farquharthere was nothing in his appearance which suggested that he was eitheranxious or displeased.
In the meanwhile Austin came upon Mrs. Hatherly, who was wandering upand down the deck, and she drew him beneath a lifeboat.
"Miss Gascoyne is, no doubt, distressed? I am sorry for her," he said.
The little lady held his arm in a tightening grasp. "Of course," shesaid, and there was a tremour in her voice. "Still, after all, that doesnot concern us most just now. Somebody must go, and see what can be donefor Mr. Jefferson."
"Yes," said Austin. "I am going."
"Then--and I am sure you will excuse me--it will cost a good deal, andyou cannot be a rich man, or----"
"I should not have been on board the _Estremedura_? You are quitecorrect, madam."
Mrs. Hatherly made a little deprecatory gesture. "I am not exactly poor;in fact, I have more money than I shall live to spend, and I alwaysmeant to leave it to Muriel. It seems to me that it would be wiser tospend some of it on her now. You will let me give you what you want, Mr.Austin?"
Austin stood silent a moment, with a flush in his face, and then gravelymet her gaze.
"I almost think I could let you lend me forty pounds. With that I shallhave enough in the meanwhile. You will not think me ungracious if I saythat just now I am especially sorry I have not more money of my own?"
The little lady smiled at him. "Oh, I understand. That is what made mealmost afraid. It cannot be nice to borrow from a woman. Still, I thinkyou could, if it was necessary, do even harder things."
"I shall probably have to," said Austin, a trifle drily. "I don't mindadmitting that what you have suggested is a great relief to me."
"You would naturally sooner let me lend it you than Mr. Brown?"
"Why should you suppose that?" and the flush crept back into Austin'sface.
Mrs. Hatherly smiled again. "Ah," she said, "I am an old woman, and havemy fancies, but they are right now and then. I will send you a chequeto-morrow, and, Mr. Austin, I should like you to think of me as one ofyour friends. Do you know that I told Muriel half an hour ago you wouldgo?"
Austin made her a little grave inclination, though there was a smile inhis eyes.
"I am not sure that any of my other friends has so much confidence inme, madam," he said. "After all, it is another responsibility, and Ishall have to do what I can."
The little lady smiled at him as she turned away. "Well," she saidquietly, "I think that will be a good deal."
It was ten minutes later when Austin met Jacinta, and she stopped himwith a sign.
"You are going to Mr. Jefferson?" she said.
"Yes," said Austin, with a trace of dryness. "I believe so. After all,he is a friend of mine."
Jacinta watched him closely, and her pale, olive-tinting was a triflewarmer in tone than usual. His self-control was excellent, to the littlesmile, but she could make a shrewd guess as to what it cost him.
"Soon?" she asked.
"In two or three days. That is, if the Compania don't get the Spaniardsto lay hands on me. By the way, you may as well know now that I had toget Mrs. Hatherly to lend me part, at least, of the necessary money."
Jacinta flushed visibly. "You will not be vindictive, though, ofcourse, I have now and then been hard on you."
"I shouldn't venture to blame you. As we admitted, there are occasionson which one has to resort to drastic remedies."
Jacinta stopped him with a gesture. "Please--you won't," she said. "Ofcourse, I deserve it, but you will try to forgive me. You can affordto--now."
She stood still a moment in the moonlight, an ethereal, white-cladfigure, with a suggestion of uncertainly and apprehension in her facewhich very few people had ever seen there before, and then turnedabruptly, with a little smile of relief, as Miss Gascoyne came towardsthem.
"He's going out, Muriel. You will thank him--I don't seem able to," shesaid.
Muriel came forward with outstretched hands, and in another momentAustin, to his visible embarrassment, felt her warm grasp.
"Oh," she said, "Mrs. Hatherly knew you meant to. I feel quite sure Ican trust you to bring him back to me."
Austin managed to disengage his hands, and smiled a little, though itwas Jacinta he looked at.
"I think," he said, "I have a sufficient inducement for doing what Ican. Still, you will excuse me. There are one or two points I want totalk over with Captain Farquhar."
He turned away, and twenty minutes later Jacinta, standing on thebridge-deck, alone, watched his boat slide away into the blaze ofmoonlight that stretched suggestively towards Africa.