Facing the Flag: Chapter 15

Chapter 15

EXPECTATION.

As soon as I recover my senses I find myself lying on my bed in my
cell, where it appears I have been lying for thirty-six hours.

I am not alone. Engineer Serko is near me. He has attended to me
himself, not because he regards me as a friend, I surmise, but as
a man from whom indispensable explanations are awaited, and who
afterwards can be done away with if necessary.

I am still so weak that I could not walk a step. A little more and I
should have been asphyxiated in that narrow compartment of the _Sword_
at the bottom of the lagoon.

Am I in condition to reply to the questions that Engineer Serko is
dying to put to me? Yes--but I shall maintain the utmost reserve.

In the first place I wonder what has become of Lieutenant Davon and
the crew of the _Sword_. Did those brave Englishmen perish in the
collision? Are they safe and sound like us--for I suppose that Thomas
Roch has also survived?

The first question that Engineer Serko puts to me is this:

"Will you explain to me what happened, Mr. Hart?"

Instead of replying it occurs to me to question him myself.

"And Thomas Roch?" I inquire.

"In good health, Mr. Hart." Then he adds in an imperious tone: "Tell
me what occurred!"

"In the first place, tell me what became of the others."

"What others?" replies Serko, glancing at me savagely.

"Why, those men who threw themselves upon Thomas Roch and me, who
gagged, bound, and carried us off and shut us up, I know not where?"

On reflection I had come to the conclusion that the best thing to do
was to pretend that I had been surprised before I knew where I was or
who my aggressors were.

"You will know what became of them later. But first, tell me how, the
thing was done."

By the threatening tone of his voice, as he for the third time puts
this question, I understand the nature of the suspicions entertained
of me. Yet to be in the position to accuse me of having had relations
with the outside he would have had to get possession of my keg. This
he could not have done, seeing that it is in the hands of the Bermudan
authorities. The pirates cannot, I am convinced, have a single proof
to back up their suspicions.

I therefore recount how about eight o'clock on the previous evening I
was walking along the edge of the lagoon, after Thomas Roch had passed
me, going towards his laboratory, when I felt myself seized from
behind; how having been gagged, bound, and blindfolded, I felt myself
carried off and lowered into a hole with another person whom I thought
I recognized from his groans as Thomas Roch; how I soon felt that I
was on board a boat of some description and naturally concluded that
it was the tug; how I felt it sink; how I felt a shock that threw me
violently against the side, and how I felt myself suffocating and lost
consciousness, since I remember nothing further.

Engineer Serko listens with profound attention, a stern look in his
eyes and a frown on his brow; and yet he can have no reason that
authorizes him to doubt my word.

"You claim that three men threw themselves upon you?" he asks.

"Yes. I thought they were some of your people, for I did not see them
coming. Who were they?"

"Strangers, as you must have known from their language."

"They did not utter a word!"

"Have you no idea as to their nationality?"

"Not the remotest."

Do you know what were their intentions in entering the cavern?"

"I do not."

"What is your opinion about it?"

"My opinion, Mr. Serko? I repeat I thought they were two or three of
your pirates who had come to throw me into the lagoon by the Count
d'Artigas' orders, and that they were going to do the same thing to
Thomas Roch. I supposed that having obtained his secrets--as you
informed me was the case--you had no further use for him and were
about to get rid of us both."

"Is it possible, Mr. Hart, that you could have thought such a thing!"
continued Serko in his sarcastic way.

"I did, until having been able to remove the bandage from my eyes, I
perceived that I was in the tug."

"It was not the tug, but a boat of the same kind that had got through
the tunnel."

"A submarine boat?" I ejaculate.

"Yes, and manned by persons whose mission was to kidnap you and Thomas
Roch."

"Kidnap us?" I echo, continuing to feign surprise.

"And," adds Engineer Serko, "I want to know what you think about the
matter."

"What I think about it? Well, it appears to me that there is only one
plausible explanation possible. If the secret of your retreat has not
been betrayed--and I cannot conceive how you could have been betrayed
or what imprudence you or yours could have committed--my opinion is
that this submarine boat was exploring the bottom of the sea in this
neighborhood, that she must have found her way into the tunnel,
that she rose to the surface of the lagoon, that her crew, greatly
surprised to find themselves inside an inhabited cavern, seized hold
of the first persons they came across, Thomas Roch and myself, and
others as well perhaps, for of course I do not know----"

Engineer Serko has become serious again. Does he realize the inanity
of the hypothesis I try to pass off on him? Does he think I know more
than I will say? However this may be, he accepts my professed view,
and says:

"In effect, Mr. Hart, it must have happened as you suggest, and when
the stranger tried to make her way out through the tunnel just as the
tug was entering, there was a collision--a collision of which she was
the victim. But we are not the kind of people to allow our fellow-men
to perish before our eyes. Moreover, the disappearance of Thomas Roch
and yourself was almost immediately discovered. Two such valuable
lives had to be saved at all hazards. We set to work. There are many
expert divers among our men. They hastily donned their suits and
descended to the bottom of the lagoon. They passed lines around the
hull of the _Sword_----"

"The _Sword_?" I exclaim.

"That is the name we saw painted on the bow of the vessel when we
raised her to the surface. What satisfaction we experienced when we
recovered you--unconscious, it is true, but still breathing--and were
able to bring you back to life! Unfortunately all our attentions to
the officer who commanded the _Sword_, and to his crew were useless.
The shock had torn open the after and middle compartments, and
they paid with their lives the misfortune--due to chance, as you
observe--of having discovered our mysterious retreat."

On learning that Lieutenant Davon and his companions are dead, my
heart is filled with anguish; but to keep up my role--as they were
persons with whom, presumably, I was not acquainted, and had never
seen--I am careful not to display any emotion. I must, on no account,
afford ground for the suspicion that there was any connivance between
the commander of the _Sword_ and me. For aught I know, Engineer Serko
may have reason to be very skeptical about the discovery of the tunnel
being accidental.

What, however, I am most concerned about is that the unlooked-for
occasion to recover my liberty was lost. Shall I ever be afforded
another chance? However this may be, my notice reached the English
authorities of the archipelago, and they now know where Ker Karraje
is to be found. When it is seen that the _Sword_ does not return to
Bermuda, there can be no doubt that another attempt will be made to
get inside Back Cup, in which, had it not been for the inopportune
return of the tug, I should no longer be a prisoner.

I have resumed my usual existence, and having allayed all mistrust, am
permitted to wander freely about the cavern, as usual.

It is patent that the adventure has had no ill effect upon Thomas
Roch. Intelligent nursing brought him around, as it did me. In full
possession of his mental faculties he has returned to work, and spends
the entire day in his laboratory.

The _Ebba_ brought back from her last trip bales, boxes, and a
quantity of objects of varied origin, and I conclude that a number of
ships must have been pillaged during this marauding expedition.

The work on the trestles for Roch's engine goes steadily forward, and
there are now no fewer than fifty engines. If Ker Karraje and Engineer
Serko are under the necessity of defending Back Cup, three or four
will be sufficient to render the island unapproachable, as they will
cover a zone which no vessel could enter without being blown to
pieces. And it occurs to me that they intend to put Back Cup in a
state of defence after having argued as follows:

"If the appearance of the _Sword_ in the lagoon was due to chance the
situation remains unchanged, and no power, not even England, will
think of seeking for the _Sword_ inside the cavern. If, on the other
hand, as the result of an incomprehensible revelation, it has been
learned that Back Cup is become the retreat of Ker Karraje, if the
expedition of the _Sword_ was a first effort against the island,
another of a different kind--either a bombardment from a distance, or
an attack by a landing party--is to be expected. Therefore, ere we
can quit Back Cup and carry away our plunder, we shall have to defend
ourselves by means of Roch's fulgurator."

In my opinion the rascals must have gone on to reason still further in
this wise:

"Is there any connection between the disclosure of our secret--if it
was, and however it may have been made--and the double abduction from
Healthful House? Is it known that Thomas Roch and his keeper are
confined in Back Cup? Is it known that the abduction was effected in
the interest of Ker Karraje? Have Americans, English, French, Germans,
and Russians reason to fear that an attack in force against the island
would be doomed to failure?"

Ker Karraje must know very well that these powers would not hesitate
to attack him, however great the danger might be. The destruction of
his lair is an urgent duty in the interest of public security and
of humanity. After sweeping the West Pacific the pirate and his
companions are infesting the West Atlantic, and must be wiped out at
all costs.

In any case, it is imperative that the inhabitants of Back Cup should
be on their guard. This fact is realized, and, from the day on which
the _Sword_ was destroyed, strict watch has been kept. Thanks to the
new passage, they are able to hide among the rocks without having
recourse to the submarine tunnel to get there, and day and night a
dozen sentries are posted about the island. The moment a ship appears
in sight the fact is at once made known inside the cavern.

Nothing occurs for some days, and the latter succeed each other with
dreadful monotony. The pirates, however, feel that Back Cup no longer
enjoys its former security. Every moment an alarm from the sentries
posted outside is expected. The situation is no longer the same since
the advent of the _Sword_. Gallant Lieutenant Davon, gallant crew,
may England, may the civilized nations, never forget that you have
sacrificed your lives in the cause of humanity!

It is evident that now, however powerful may be their means of
defence, even more powerful than a network of torpedoes, Engineer
Serko and Captain Spade are filled with an anxiety that they vainly
essay to dissemble. They hold frequent conferences together. Maybe
they discuss the advisability of quitting Back Cup with their wealth,
for they are aware that if the existence of the cavern is known means
will be found to reduce it, even if the inmates have to be starved
out.

This is, of course, mere conjecture on my part. What is essential to
me is that they do not suspect me of having launched the keg that
was so providentially picked up at Bermuda. Never, I must say, has
Engineer Serko ever made any allusion to any such probability. No, I
am not even suspected. If the contrary were the case I am sufficiently
acquainted with Ker Karraje to know that he would long ago have sent
me to rejoin Lieutenant Davon and the _Sword_ at the bottom of the
lagoon.

The winter tempests have set in with a vengeance. The wind howls
though the hole in the roof, and rude gusts sweep through the forest
of pillars producing sonorous sounds, so sonorous, so deep, that one
might sometimes almost fancy they were produced by the firing of the
guns of a squadron. Flocks of seabirds take refuge in the cavern from
the gale, and at intervals, when it lulls, almost deafen us with their
screaming.

It is to be presumed that in such weather the schooner will make no
attempt to put to sea, for the stock of provisions is ample enough to
last all the season. Moreover, I imagine the Count d'Artigas will not
be so eager in future to show his _Ebba_ along the American
coast, where he risks being received, not, as hitherto, with the
consideration due to a wealthy yachtsman, but in the manner Ker
Karraje so richly merits.

It occurs to me that if the apparition of the _Sword_ was the
commencement of a campaign against the island, a question of great
moment relative to the future of Back Cup arises.

Therefore, one day, prudently, so as not to excite any suspicion, I
ventured to pump Engineer Serko about it.

We were in the neighborhood of Thomas Roch's laboratory, and had
been conversing for some time, when Engineer Serko touched upon the
extraordinary apparition of an English submarine boat in the lagoon.
On this occasion he seemed to incline to the view that it might have
been a premeditated expedition against Ker Karraje.

"That is not my opinion," I replied, in order to bring him to the
question that I wanted to put to him.

"Why?" he demanded.

"Because if your retreat were known a fresh attempt, if not to
penetrate to the cavern, at least to destroy Back Cup, would ere this
have been made."

"Destroy it!" cried Serko. "It would be a dangerous undertaking, in
view of the means of defence of which we now dispose."

"They can know nothing about this matter, Mr. Serko. It is not
imagined, either in the new world or the old, that the abduction from
Healthful House was effected for your especial benefit, or that you
have succeeded in coming to terms with Thomas Roch for his invention."

Engineer Serko made no response to this observation, which, for that
matter, was unanswerable.

I continued:

"Therefore a squadron sent by the maritime powers who have an interest
in breaking up this island would not hesitate to approach and shell
it. Now, I argue from this that as this squadron has not yet appeared,
it is not likely to come at all, and that nothing is known as to Ker
Karraje's whereabouts, and you must admit that this hypothesis is the
most cheerful one, as far as you are concerned."

"That may be," Engineer Serko replied, "but what is, is. Whether they
are aware of the fact or no, if warships approach within five or six
miles of this island they will be sunk before they have had time to
fire a single shot!"

"Well, and what then?"

"What then? Why the probability is that no others would care to repeat
the experiment."

"That, again, may be. But these warships would invest you beyond the
dangerous zone, and the _Ebba_ would not be able to put in to the
ports she previously visited with the Count d'Artigas. In this event,
how would you be able to provision the island?"

Engineer Serko remained silent.

This argument, which he must already have brooded over, was too
logical to be refuted or dismissed, and I have an idea that the
pirates contemplate abandoning Back Cup.

Nevertheless, not relishing being cornered, he continued:

"We should still have the tug, and what the _Ebba_ could not do, this
would."

"The tug?" I cried. "But if Ker Karraje's secrets are known, do you
suppose the powers are not also aware of the existence of the Count
d'Artigas' submarine boat?"

Engineer Serko looked at me suspiciously.

"Mr. Hart," he said, "you appear to me to carry your deductions rather
far."

"I, Mr. Serko?"

"Yes, and I think you talk about all this like a man who knows more
than he ought to."

This remark brought me up abruptly. It was evident that my arguments
might give rise to the suspicion that I was not altogether
irresponsible for the recent incident. Engineer Serko scrutinized me
sharply as though he would read my innermost thoughts.

"Mr. Serko," I observed, "by profession, as well as by inclination, I
am accustomed to reason upon everything. This is why I communicated to
you the result of my reasoning, which you can take into consideration
or not, as you like."

Thereupon we separate. But I fancy my lack of reserve may have excited
suspicions which may not be easy to allay.

From this interview, however, I gleaned a precious bit of information,
namely, that the dangerous zone of Roch's fulgurator is between five
and six miles off. Perhaps, during the next equinoctial tides,
another notice to this effect in another keg may also reach a safe
destination.

But how many weary months to wait before the orifice of the tunnel
will again be uncovered!

The rough weather continues, and the squalls are more violent than
ever. Is it the state of the sea that delays another campaign against
Back Cup? Lieutenant Davon certainly assured me that if his expedition
failed, if the _Sword_ did not return to St. George, another attempt
under different conditions would be made with a view to breaking up
this bandits' lair. Sooner or later the work of justice must be
done, and Back Cup be destroyed, even though I may not survive its
destruction.

Ah! why can I not go and breathe, if only for a single instant, the
vivifying air outside? Why am I not permitted to cast one glance over
the ocean towards the distant horizon of the Bermudas? My whole life
is concentrated in one desire: to get through the tunnel in the wall
and hide myself among the rocks. Perchance I might be the first to
catch sight of the smoke of a squadron heading for the island.

This project, alas! is unrealizable, as sentries are posted day and
night at each extremity of the passage. No one can enter it without
Engineer Serko's authorization. Were I to attempt it, I should risk
being deprived of my liberty to walk about the cavern, and even worse
might happen to me.

Since our last conversation, Engineer Serko's attitude towards me has
undergone a change. His gaze has lost its old-time sarcasm and is
distrustful, suspicious, searching and as stern as Ker Karraje's.

_November 17_.--This afternoon there was a great commotion in the
Beehive, and the men rushed out of their cells with loud cries.

I was reclining on my bed, but immediately rose and hurried out.

All the pirates were making for the passage, in front of which were
Ker Karraje, Engineer Serko, Captain Spade, Boatswain Effrondat,
Engine-driver Gibson and the Count d'Artigas' big Malay attendant.

I soon learn the reason for the tumult, for the sentries rush in with
shouts of alarm.

Several vessels have been sighted to the northwest--warships steaming
at full speed in the direction of Back Cup.

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