The Strange Adventure Of James Shervinton Page 9

  CHAPTER IX

  Everything was ready at last, water, stores, arms, and ammunition, andthe boat, with mainsail and jib hoisted, was lying just abreast of thestation, in charge of Tematan and Tepi, surrounded by canoes.

  In the house with me were Mrs. Krause and Niabon; and Kaibuka and hishead men, who had come to take formal charge of the station, and to bidus farewell. I handed old Kaibuka letters to be given to the supercargoof the firm's next vessel, presented him and his colleagues with anew musket each, together with powder and bullets, and a small case oftobacco, and then we all went outside, and I locked the door formally,and handed him the key. He took it, unlocked the door, went inside a fewsteps, and then it was locked a second time, the key twisted in one ofhis pendant ear-lobes, and the ceremony was over. Then we all troopeddown to the beach together, got into a canoe, and went on board.

  Accompanied by thirty or forty canoes 116]

  Shaking hands with old Kaibuka and the rest of the natives who swarmedaround us to say farewell, I told Tepi to lift the anchor, and inanother five minutes the little craft began to move through the watertowards the reef, accompanied by thirty or forty canoes and nativeboats under sail, all packed with natives of both sexes, shouting theirfarewells, and wishing us good fortune.

  By sunset we had crossed over the wide, submerged reef, which for twentymiles runs due north and south on the lee side of Tarawa Lagoon, andhauling up to the wind just as darkness fell, we soon lost sight ofour island friends, though we could still hear them shouting ournames--"Simi," "Niabon," "Lucia," for some little time after.

  The night was dark, but fine, and the light southeasterly breeze sentus along at about three knots over a very smooth sea. Tepi was standingfor'ard on the lookout, for fear we might run into any fishing canoesfrom Taritai, Tematau was busying himself about our miniature galley, mytwo women passengers were rearranging their little cabin, and I steered.

  "Well, here we are at last, Mrs. Krause ------," I began.

  "Lucia, please."

  "Here we are at last, Lucia, then. I'm going to run along like this allnight, until we get to the little island at the north end, and then putthese gruntors ashore," and I pointed to half a dozen pigs which werelying tied up on the deck. They had, with about fifty or sixty fowls,been presented to us by the natives, and as we should have given greatoffence by not accepting them, we had to endure their company for thepresent. Then all around us, stowed in every conceivable place, werebundles of young drinking coco-nuts, husked and unhusked, taking up agreat deal of room, and weighing heavily, and three or four rolls ofsleeping-mats, presented to Niabon, were wedged into the cabin. Allthis collection would have to be either got rid of entirely or largelyreduced, so I decided to bring up at the little islet of which I hadspoken, and overhaul and re-stow the boat by daylight.

  "Look astern," cried Lucia, as I shall now call her; "isn't itpretty? And see, there is another fleet ahead of us, and much nearer."

  Began their flying-fish catching 120]

  The canoes we had left behind us had begun their flying-fish catching,and a long line of brightly burning, isolated flames was lighting upthe sea all around, revealing the dark bodies of the fishers, with fourpaddles sending each canoe through the water, while in the bows stooda fifth, sweeping the water deftly with a scoop net attached to a poletwelve feet in length, his movements guided by a huge torch or flare ofdried coco-nut leaves, held aloft by a naked boy standing on the canoeplatform amidships. It was indeed a pretty sight, for at times the longline of fires would make a graceful sweeping curve, and then almostunite in a circle, then again open out with a fan-like movement, andadvance once more. We watched the fleet astern a little while, and thenfound ourselves in the midst of the one we had seen ahead. Therewere over fifty canoes, all manned by Taritai people. They hailedus vociferously, wished us good luck, and as we sailed through theirblazing lines of fire they threw so many flying-fish on board thatnot only the decks were covered, but hundreds, striking against themainsail, fell into the cabin, and lay there like moving bars ofbrightest silver.

  "_Tiakako, Simi! Tiakapo, Lucia! Tiakapo, Niabon!_" they shouted to us,as we drew away from them, after throwing them some tobacco.

  By daylight we were abreast of the islet, and due north of us couldjust see the tops of the coco-nuts on Apaian Lagoon showing above thesea-line, ten miles distant, and then, to our annoyance, the wind diedaway, and there was every indication of there being a dead calm till theevening. However, it could not be helped, so we pulled in right up tothe beach, and let the two women step ashore to get breakfast ready.Tepi, picking out the youngest and fattest of the pigs, knocked it onthe head, and cutting the thongs of the others tumbled them over theside. They soon recovered themselves, and went off. Then followed amassacre of a dozen of the fowls, the liberation of the rest, and thethrowing away of the greater portion of the heavy coconuts. The bundlesof mats I threw ashore to Niabon, as they would be useless to shield usfrom the rain which might fall during our stay on the island, and thenwe set to and washed down decks, made everything snug, and went ashorefor breakfast, well satisfied with our work, and with the fact that theboat was six inches higher out of the Water.

  The islet, though small, was unusually fertile for so low-lying aspot--it being in no part more than fifteen feet above high-watermark--for in addition to the inevitable coco-palms, which grew thicklyfrom the water's edge, there were hundreds of fine trees, among thembeing some noble and imposing jack-fruits, whose broad, bright greenbranches were almost level with the crowns of the palm-trees, theirroots embedded in a rich, soft, black soil, formed by the fallen leavesof hundreds of years, mixed with decayed coral detritus.

  Niabon had spread the mats in a shady spot, and we all made a simple buthearty breakfast of grilled fowls, biscuit, and young coco-nuts. Thenwe lit our pipes and cigarettes of the good, strong black tobacco, andwatched a shoal of fish leaping and playing about the boat, which, withloose, pendant cable, lay floating on a sea as smooth and as shining asa polished mirror.

  The island, so Niabon told me, had not been inhabited for a great numberof years, though it was occasionally visited by natives for the purposeof collecting the ripe coco-nuts, and turning them into oil, andsometimes the white traders, living on Apaian, would stop there whenthey were on their way to Tarawa and Maiana Lagoons. The name of theisland, she said, was Te Mata Toto ("The Bloody Eye"). "Why such aname?" I asked. "I will tell you some other time," she replied; "notnow, because I do not want Tepi to hear me talking about the place. WithTematau it would not matter, for although he knows the story, he is nota Tarawa man, and has nothing of which he need be afraid."

  We sat talking together for some little time, and as I looked at LuciaI could not but wonder at the marvellous manner in which she wasrecovering her health and strength. Her pallor, once so very manifest,had disappeared, as well as her languid step, and at this moment she wasmerrily reproving Tepi for smoking a pipe so old and dirty and so shortin the stem that it was burning his nose.

  The big man grinned, and said it was a lucky pipe. For when it waswhite, new, and long, and he was smoking it for the first time, he, withtwo other men, was fishing from a canoe, it fell from his mouth intothe sea, and before he could dive for it was swallowed by a _kura_(rock-cod).

  "How know you?" she asked.

  "Because my mother found it in the belly of one of those we caught, whenshe was cooking it," he replied promptly.

  Presently Niabon, who knew exactly to the smallest detail whereeverything was stowed in the boat, told him to look in one of the sternlockers for the fishing tackle, where he would find a small hand castingnet, with which he and Tematau could go catch some grey mullet, whileshe, Lucia, and myself, walked round the island.

  Bringing my gun with me--for there were great numbers of small goldenplover flying past us towards the sand patches now being revealed by theebbing tide, we started off, Niabon leading, and conducting us directlytowards the centre of the islet, which was less than three-quarter
s of amile from shore to shore, and was the northernmost of a chain of fiveor six, almost connected with each other at low water, and forming thenorthern horn of the lagoon. A short walk brought us to a small clearedspace, enclosed by some heavy timber. The ground was devoid of anyfoliage with the exception of some straggling, thorny bushes, growing upbetween the layers of what seemed to be a solid bed of coral slabs castup by the action of the sea during heavy storms long years before.

  "It was once a deep hole and was used as a well, long, long ago," saidNiabon, "but the bones of seven white men lie there under the stones.Their bodies were thrown into the well, and then for two days some ofthe people of Tarawa threw stones upon them till the hole, which wasfive fathoms across from its sloping banks, and a fathom and a half downto where the fresh water lay, was filled, and only a flat surface ofstones was to be seen. Come, let us get away to the other side, forthe air here is hot and foul from the smell of the damp soil underneaththese big trees. It is never dry, for the sun cannot get to it."

  We gladly followed her, and soon reached the other side of the island,which faced the lagoon, of which we had a glorious view as far as eyecould see. Then Niabon told us the story of the well--a story that,horrible as it was, was but a counterpart of many such tragedies whichhad taken place all over the North and South Pacific, moreespecially after the settlement of New South Wales, in 1788, and whensandal-wooding and whaling brought hundreds of ships into the SouthSeas, the former being too often manned and commanded by some of thegreatest ruffians who ever dangled from the end of a rope.

  The story was told to her by old Kaibuka, who himself had participatedin the massacre, which had been planned and executed under the directsupervision of his father, his uncle, and himself. And it was not theonly such affair in which he had been concerned--not on Tarawa alone,but on the neighbouring lagoon of Maiana. From Niabon he had concealednothing of his past life, and I honestly believe could not have done sohad she wished otherwise, for the old fellow showed his respect andfear for her and her powers of "seeing beyond" to the same degree asdid every other one of his people--man, woman, or child. Niabon imaginedthat this particular case of cutting-off occurred about forty or fiftyyears previously, for Kaibuka told her that although he was young at thetime, he was yet a full-grown man; but as he could not even guess at hispresent age, she had no very reliable data.

  This island, he told her, was called Te Mata Toto (The Bloody Eye of theLand) from its being the northern eye or point of the lagoon, fromwhich a watch was always kept in olden times to give warning to theinhabitants of the large villages on the opposite side of the approachof their hereditary enemies--the people of Apaian. The moment a fleetof canoes were seen crossing the ocean strait which divides the twoislands, signal fires, always kept in readiness, were lit, and thevillages would prepare to resist the invaders, who sometimes, however,would content themselves with an assault on the outpost stationed onthe little island. As they generally outnumbered the defenders by tento one, there was usually but one result--every one of the garrison wasslaughtered, and the victors, after stripping the dead bodies of theirvalued armour of coco-nut fibre, and destroying their canoes and houses,would return to Apaian satisfied. For this reason--i.e., the manysanguinary encounters which took place on the little island--it wasgiven its ominous name.

  One day Kaibuka was sent to command a party of ten men who formedthe garrison and who were keeping a keen watch--for a raid was againexpected--when a small, square-rigged vessel was seen heading for theisland.

  She came boldly on 126]

  She came boldly on, and dropped anchor close to the shore, lowered aboat, and five men came on shore. They were all armed, and at first werecautious about advancing up the beach to Kaibuka and his men, butseeing that the latter possessed no firearms, they came on, and Kaibuka,throwing down his club and spear, walked down and shook hands with themin a very friendly manner, and was at once addressed by one of them inthe Gilbert Island tongue, though he could not speak it very well.He told Kaibuka that the ship was going to China, and that he was apassenger; that he had been living on Temana (an island far to thesouth-east) but had tired of it, and so, when the ship called there toget some food, of which she was badly in want, he came away with her,the captain, in return for his services as interpreter, promising togive him a passage to the island of Makin, where were living four orfive white men. He then asked Kaibuka if there was any drinking water onthe little island, and any food--of any kind whatever--to be obtained.

  The white men were at once taken and shown the well, at which they werevery pleased, and two of them went back to the ship for water-casks, theothers remaining on shore bartering with Kaibuka's people for some fish,a turtle, and coco-nuts, paying for them in tobacco and knives,and promising them a keg of rum if twenty turtle and a boat-load offull-grown coco-nuts were brought them within a few days. Turtle,however, were scarce, but Kaibuka said that there were a good manycaptive ones in the turtle ponds at the main village, and he would sendover for some. And then his brain began to work. He suggested that twoor three of the white men should go with his messenger; but they weretoo wary, and made excuses, which Kaibuka took in seeming good part,saying it did not matter, but that he would send a man over at once tohis father to tell him to bring as many turtle as could be obtained. Thecaptain and interpreter were satisfied with this, and returned on board,declining to let any of the curious natives come with them--on the pleathat they would be too busy repairing some water-casks which they hopedKaibuka and his men would help fill in the morning.

  Then the young chief called to his messenger.

  "Tell my father and my uncle that I can see but seven men altogether onthe ship, but each one carries a gun, pistol, and cutlass, and two arealways on guard. Tell him, too, to bring some turtle and fish, and letsome young women who can dance well come with him as well. But my uncleand some of our best men must follow in their canoes at night, and makeno noise. They must land and hide in the bush, and stay there till myfather speaks."

  Early on the following morning the captain again landed, and was pleasedto find Kaibuka's father, accompanied by some unarmed men and eight orten handsome young women, awaiting him on the beach. He had, he said,brought but five turtle that day, but would fetch an equal number ormore on the morrow if they could be obtained. The captain was pleased.Fresh food, he said, he was very anxious to obtain, as they had nothingon board but salt beef and mouldy biscuit. He gave old Takai (Kaibuka'sfather) some tobacco, and a knife, and said that the young women mightgo on board and dance for the amusement of the sailors. This was exactlywhat the old man desired, for he could, from them, obtain definiteinformation as to the condition of affairs on board the ship, for it wasvery evident that the captain was determined not to be led into fanciedsecurity by the friendly demeanour of the natives, but meant to keephimself and crew well prepared to resist a surprise.

  During this time the young Kaibuka and the interpreter--the white manfrom Temana--had become quite friendly, and that evening, whilst theyoung women were still on board, he came on shore alone, and callingKaibuka aside from the other natives, said he wanted to speak to himprivately. As soon as they were alone, he boldly avowed his intention ofcapturing the ship, and murdering all the other white men if Kaibuka andhis people would assist him. The matter, he said, could be easilydone. He and some other white men--two of whom were now living at MakinIsland--had once stolen a ship when they were prisoners in Van Diemen'sLand, had killed five or six soldiers and some of the crew, and sailedaway with her to Fiji; and they had got much plunder from her.

  "What is to be got from _this_ ship?" asked Kaibuka, who had heard thisparticular story from some traders and knew it to be true.

  "Casks and casks of rum, and kegs of powder and bullets, hundreds ofmuskets, swords, knives, and axes and beads--all that man can want--forthis ship is going to a far-off cold country to barter these things forfurs."

  Kaibuka then inquired what share of the plunder he and his people shouldhave if they cap
tured the ship.

  Half, replied the white man. Half of everything that was in theship's hold and in the cabin, except some small square boxes of silvermoney--ten in all--for which he (Kaibuka) would have no use. And hecould have two of the four big guns on the deck if he wished; but theship herself was not to be harmed, nor any of her sails or rigging takenaway. And Kaibuka would lend him two or three men to sail her to Makin,where he (the white man) would reward them well, and where they couldremain till some ship brought them back to Tarawa.

  "It shall be done," said the young man; "come with me to my father andhis brother, so that we may talk together."

  The murderous plot was soon arranged between the three, and thetreacherous convict went off on board again to tell the unsuspectingcaptain that the old chief was anxious that he (the master) would letsome of his men come on shore in the morning with axes and cut down avery large tree growing near the well. It was too great an undertakingfor the natives with their poor tools--it would take them a week, butthe sailors could do it in half a day. Old Takai wanted the tree cutdown so as to build a large canoe.

  The poor captain fell into the trap, the interpreter assuring him thatthe natives would not dream of attempting any mischief. Were not someof the young women still on board? he asked, which was a proof of theamicable intentions of the old chief and his people. Furthermore, headded, all the men had that night returned to the mainland to securemore turtle, and only the young women, a few boys, and the chief himselfremained on the island.

  Early in the morning the captain came on shore with three men, to fellthe tree, leaving two only on board, with orders to be on their guard ifhe fired a shot, or they suspected anything was wrong. The interpreteraccompanied him, and to show his confidence in the islanders heostentatiously, but with seeming carelessness, threw his arms down atthe foot of a tree, remarking to the captain that the old chief and boysand women seemed rather frightened at the sight of four armed whitemen, who also carried axes. Somewhat unwillingly the captain and his menfollowed suit, and then even permitted the children to carry their axesfor them.

  The interpreter walked on ahead with the old chief, apparently talkingon nothing of importance, but in reality telling him with great glee ofhow he had succeeded in lulling the captain's suspicions. Presently thewhole party reached the thicket in which the well was situated, and asthe path was narrow they had to walk in single file, the children whowere carrying the axes falling behind. And then suddenly, and almostwithout a sound, thirty or more stalwart savages, led by the youngKaibuka and his uncle, leapt on the unsuspecting white men, who in a fewseconds were clubbed to death before even they could utter a cry.

  "Now for the two on the ship," cried the renegade to young Raibuka; "go,one of you women, down to the shore, near the ship, and cast a stoneinto the water as if at a fish, and the women on board, who arewatching, will kill them as easily as we have killed these."

  As he turned, an axe was raised and buried in his brain, and he pitchedhead foremost down the bank into the well--dead.

  "Let him lie there," said one of the leaders; "throw the others afterhim, and wait for two more."

  The two poor seamen on board the ship were ruthlessly slaughtered by thewomen in a similarly treacherous manner, their bodies brought onshore, thrown down into the well with those of their shipmates and therenegade, and the whole depression filled with sand and coral slabs,till it was level with the surrounding soil.

  Whilst this was being done by one lot of savages, another was lootingthe vessel of her cargo of trade goods, which was rapidly transferredin canoes to the mainland. Then, as her capturers feared to set fire toher, knowing that the blaze would be seen by the natives of Apaian, tenmiles away, they managed to slip her cable, after cutting a large holein her side at the water-line. Long before sunset she was still insight, drifting on a smooth sea to the westward; then she suddenlydisappeared, and nothing was ever known of her fate, and of the awfulending of her hapless captain and crew, except what was known by theperpetrators of the massacre themselves.

  Such was Niabon's story of _Te Mata Toto_, and both Lucia and myselfwere glad to get away from the immediate vicinity of the tragedy, andreturn to our camping place near the boat, where we found both Tematauand Tepi awaiting us with some fine mullet, which I supplemented lateron by a few plover. In the afternoon, whilst the women slept, the twomen and myself cleaned our firearms, and attended to various matterson the boat. At sunset the breeze came away freshly from the oldquarter--the south-east--and by dark we were at sea again, heading duenorth for Makin, the most northerly of the Gilbert Group, which waseighty miles distant, and which island I wanted to sight before keepingaway north-west for the Caroline Archipelago, for there was a longstretch between, and I was not too brilliant a navigator.