The Second String

"And a precious long while you have been, it seems years since those scoundrels put me ashore here, but I'll get even with them one of these days."

The "Wild Cat" cast anchor close to the "Heron," and Harry and Hake Moss came ashore and heartily greeted Rank.

"I'll tell you what it is, before we get on to business, or anything else, I should like to go on board and have a decent meal. I have not starved here, but living on turtle, birds, and eggs, is a bit too much for me. I'd give anything for a decent bit of bread and something to wash it down," said Rank.

"Of course," quickly replied Jack. "Here we are standing talking and never thinking about you. Come along, we will row back at once."

Jacob eagerly got into the boat, and when he put his foot on board the "Heron" he gave a sigh of relief.

"To a man who has been stranded for weeks you have no idea how it feels to find yourself on a decent craft again. I have no ambition to be a second Crusoe."

Jacob enjoyed himself thoroughly, and they gave him of the best their stores could provide.

In the evening they were all anxious to hear how he came to be left in the bay, and what prospect there was of finding shells.

They sat round Jacob, who was nothing loath to satisfy their curiosity.

"It's a long story, but I'll cut it as short as possible," he said. "To begin at the beginning, when Barry Tuxford fitted me out for this job I rather fancy he had doubts as to whether I was 'kidding' him."

"You are mistaken," said Jack. "I can assure you he had, and still has, every confidence in you. I will tell you later on what he instructed us to do if we found you alive."

"I am glad to hear it," said Jacob. "It was a risky job for him to tackle, but he has plenty of pluck, and I told him the truth when I said I knew of a bay for pearl fishing that was equal to Shark's Bay in its best days. Of course he had only my bare word for it, but he's not like other men, and he generally reckons things up pretty correct.

"I got together what I thought was a decent crew, but a bigger set of scoundrels never set foot in a schooner. They were loafers, every man jack of them, and had come out with the intention of having a pleasure trip. When we reached here I saw there was trouble brewing, but I didn't think they would go as far as to leave me in the lurch. I could do nothing against the lot of them, and they put me ashore and left me to my fate, curse them. They said if the bay was full of pearl shell I might have the lot, it would be a fine fortune for me. The divers would have stuck to me, but they frightened the poor devils into submission, and the Lord knows what they did with them, put them ashore somewhere, I expect.

"I was mad with rage when I saw the schooner sail away, but I made up my mind to live through it if possible. I had an idea Barry Tuxford would not let the matter rest. If the schooner did not return he would send out to search for her, if she returned without me, and the crew concocted some cock and bull story, I doubted if he would believe them. It seems I was correct.

"For the first week or two I felt desperate. The loneliness oppressed me, I thought I should go mad. I walked for miles, shouting at the top my voice until I was exhausted. I meant making someone hear, even if it turned out to be savages. I believe in those days I would willingly have walked into the midst of a cannibal camp and taken my chance. Not a soul did I see, black or white, nor have I seen anyone until you came here."

"We saw the signal," said Phil. "I wonder no passing schooner observed it before."

"There are very few boats come in close enough for that," said Jacob. "This is a lonely, almost unknown part of the coast, and it is dangerous in rough weather. That signal pole was blown down a dozen times, I think, and I only fixed it up again a couple of days ago. It is lucky for me you saw it, lucky for all of you, too, as I will tell you.

"I found out this place once when I had been cruising around King's Sound, Roebuck Bay, and such like places. We happened on it quite accidentally. I was keeping a sharp look out and noticed the promontory at the far side of the channel. I had never sailed so near the coast before in these parts, and it struck me there might be a large bay beyond. The crew thought I had taken leave of my senses when I steered for the rock, but they had faith in me and had sailed with me several times. They were surprised to find such a bay as this, but they little knew my object in entering it. In the old days, at Cossack, I had heard an old pearler speak of a wonderful bay where there was heaps of shell that had never been touched. He described the place to me and I asked him why he had not tried it himself. He said he was too old, that he had sufficient to live on, and did not mean to worry about anything. He told me if ever I was near the northern part of Australia to try and find it, and gave me to understand it was north-west of Western Australia. When I saw the big rock at the entrance to the bay I recollected what he had said.

"I am an expert diver myself and have remained down below almost as long as the best of the Malays. At night I cautiously went down in the bay and felt about. There were hundreds of shells, big and little, and I felt certain I had struck a fortune if properly handled. I had to be very careful, as I did not wish the crew to know what I was after. I gave them a rest, and they all went ashore to have some sport, and find turtle. When I was alone, I lost no time in going down again, and groped about the bottom until I found some shells. With these I came up to the surface, almost exhausted, but I managed to get on board. I got a large butcher's knife and opened the first shell, and eagerly examined it for pearls. There was nothing in, but the pearl shell was excellent. In the next I had better luck, for I found two good sized pearls of rich colour, they were loose in the shell, and rolled out when I opened it, which does not often happen.

"I waited until I recovered my strength, and went down again. I brought up two more, in one of them was a big blister, and in it I found a pearl I afterwards sold in Fremantle for over fifty pounds. I knew I had struck it rich, and that if I had the capital there was a heap of money to be made. Since I have been stranded here I have tried various parts of the bay, and I give it you, as my candid opinion, that there is no pearl fishery on the coast to be compared to it. The whole bay is, I think, covered with shells, and I have very little doubt many pearls of great value will be found there. I know where the best spots are, for I have been swimming about and diving all over the place. I can assure you, Barry Tuxford and all of you will be well satisfied with the result."

Jack Redland's heart beat high with hope as he listened to Jacob Rank's story, and even Phil Danks and Hake Moss, who were accustomed to hearing far fetched yarns, knew that Jacob did not speak without the book, or talk at random.

Jack was the first to speak, and thanked Jacob for his interesting story. He then told him that Barry Tuxford had empowered them to give him his fair share in whatever they might find, and that he was to tell him he need have no fear on that head.

"You must work in with us," said Jack, "and I am perfectly certain you will be satisfied."

"Barry Tuxford's word is always reliable," said Jacob. "He has faith in me, and I have faith in him. How many divers have you?"

"Twenty," replied Jack.

"We ought to have more. The best plan will be, however, to do the best we can with them, and not send one of the schooners to look for more. If we do that we shall lose time, and sufficient has been wasted already."

"I quite agree with you," said Jack, "we must get to work at once."

"Where do you hail from?" asked Jacob.

"England, have you been there?"

"No, but my father was a fisherman at Brighton, before he came out to Western Australia, many years ago."

"Brighton!" exclaimed Jack. "That is strange. I was living at Brighton when I made up my mind to try my fortunes out here. I know Sussex well, and my best friends live in that county."

"It's marvellous," said Jacob. "Here we are in an unknown spot on the coast of Australia, and we both hail from the same place. Give me your hand, sir, we'll shake on it, and on the success of this trip."

"With all my heart," said Jack, and amidst general hilarity they clasped hands.

CHAPTER THIRTEENTH

THE DIVERS AT WORK

It was arranged that Jacob Rank should have charge of the divers and superintend their work, as he knew more about it than any of the others. Accordingly the men were mustered on the "Heron" and he inspected them. When he came to Kylis and Miah, the two blacks from Shark's Bay, he looked keenly at them, but they bore the scrutiny well, although they knew Jacob, and had seen him at the Bay.

"What do you think of them?" asked Jack. "Will they do?"

"We shall have to make the best of them," said Jacob. "I prefer Malays, but I have no doubt we can get along with these fellows. Where did you pick the two big men up, they seem in a different class to the others?"

"When we put into Shark's Bay, there seemed some likelihood of trouble arising with the fishermen there, and Phil Danks tried to square matters with Amos Hooker."

"Amos Hooker!" exclaimed Rank, "he is a bad lot."

"That is probable, anyway he pacified the men and we tried the bay, but Phil said it was no good our stopping there, as it was about worked out."

"So it is, he's quite right."

"We asked Hooker if he could get us any good divers, and he said it was possible, and he would do his best. As we decided to leave earlier than was expected, he said he could only provide us with two, and they are the men you alluded to," said Jack.

"Amos Hooker supplied them," said Jacob. "I thought I had seen them before, it must have been at Shark's Bay. I wonder why he sent them on board. For some purpose of his own, no doubt, probably to spy out the land. I'll keep a strict watch on them, and if they show any signs of insubordination, they'll get left like I was."

"Manage them in your own way, I leave it entirely in your hands," replied Jack.

Early next morning four dinghies, with five divers in each, in charge of Jacob, the two skippers, and Jack Redland were rowed to a spot indicated by Rank, about half way across the bay.

Jack was eager to see how the divers accomplished their work. Rank had the two men from Shark's Bay, and three others in his dinghy, and his lot were the first to go down. The divers stood on the gunwale of the boats, dropped into the water feet foremost, then turned and swam to the bottom.

Jack's dinghy was some distance away, and the five divers in his boat waited for his orders. He pointed to the other dinghies, and by signs indicated they should go down at once. One by one they disappeared overboard, and he watched them swim down until they were out of sight. He wondered how long they would remain down, and when they would come up. He rowed the dinghy about, and waited. They seemed an incredibly long time under water, and he became uneasy, he did not know the length of time some of these divers remained below.

At last a head bobbed up close to the boat, and a hand grasped the gunwale. Four more heads appeared almost immediately, and Jack rowed the boat to them. Each man had shells which he dropped into the dinghy, and then drew himself out of the water.

After resting for a few minutes, they went down again, and this diving was repeated throughout the day until the dinghies contained a large quantity of shells.

At a given signal from Jacob Rank, they rowed back to the ship, and Jack was rather surprised the divers seemed none the worse for their exertion.

The shells were handed on board and piled up ready for opening, and then Harry Marton, who had remained on the "Heron," reported supper was ready. There was a general rush, as they were all very hungry after the day's fast, for it was useless to take any food in the dinghies, as it would have been spoilt with the constant wet from the divers bodies, and also the shells.

Jacob Rank was quite satisfied with the day's work as he looked at the pile of shells on board the "Heron." They had only twenty divers and it was evident they had seldom come up empty handed, or the heaps would not have been so large.

"We'll start at opening them first thing in the morning," said Jacob. "You must all take a hand in it, we never allow the divers to open the shells."

"I fear I shall make a mess of it," said Jack.

"You will soon get into it," replied Jacob. "It's just like opening a large oyster."

"And how do you find the pearls?" asked Jack.

"You'll soon find a pearl if there is one in the shell," replied Jacob. "Sometimes they are loose, not often, again you may find them in big blisters, but, as a rule, you can see them embedded in the shell, where they look like pimples on the surface. You must keep an exact account of all we find, so that a proper division can be made."

"My friend, Harry Marton, will attend to that," said Jack, "it is more in his line."

"It matters very little who does it as long as it is done," replied Jacob.

They were all tired out with the day's work, and slept soundly until aroused by Jacob Rank. Each man was provided with a large knife, and Jack admired the dexterity with which Jacob severed the muscle of the mollusc when the shell opened, and with the rapidity of a London oyster opener, he sliced the fish out of the shell. This being done, the next thing was to look for pearls.

Jack Redland was clumsy at first, but quickly got into the way of opening and cleaning the shells, and he felt a strange thrill of excitement as he looked for his first pearl.

It was an old worm eaten encrusted shell he held in his hand, and in it he saw a blister about the size of a penny piece. He was about to smash it when Jacob called out —

"Don't do that; if there is a pearl inside you'll damage it, perhaps crush it to bits. Leave the shell on one side and try another. I will show you how to tap a blister later on."

Jack placed it on one side and forced open another shell, it took him some considerable time, and when his knife slipped, the gaping shell closed sharply and nearly caught his fingers. He forced it again and cut out the fish, as he did so a pearl, the size of a pea, dropped out and he picked it up, at the same time expressing his feelings in a joyful exclamation. The others looked up, and he held it out to Jacob, who examined it carefully.

"Straw coloured," he said, "there are plenty of them, but this is well shaped, it is not a bad pearl at all, I daresay it would bring a tenner."

"A little thing like that!" said Jack.

"Yes, and if it was perfect and a better colour it would be worth a lot more. Try again," said Jacob, as he handed the pearl back to him.

There were pearls of different sizes in nearly every shell, and Phil Danks knew Jacob Rank was not far out when he proclaimed this bay the richest pearl fishery in Australia. Danks had opened hundreds of shells in his time, but he had never seen such beautiful mother of pearl, or so many seeds in the same number of shells.

They continued opening until the last lot was finished, and as Jacob looked at the shell and the pearls, he said, "That's a good day's work for a start, but we shall find a few gems before we have done. Did you ever see richer shell, or a larger number of pearls out of such a take, Phil?"

"No," replied Danks. "I call it marvellous."

Jack Redland was astonished. On the deck lay a pile of glittering shell, dazzling almost to blinding in the sunlight, it recalled to mind a glimpse of a fairy grotto he had once seen in a pantomime. Jacob threw a bucket of water over the heap and the shells reflected a myriad of sparkling lights which danced and flickered in a bewildering manner. From this sight, Jack turned to the small bowl of pearls, and commenced to speculate how many they would get before they cleared out of the bay.

The shells and the pearls were carefully stored, and work commenced again for the day. Harry Marton remained in charge of the schooners, which were anchored alongside, and had with him the cooks and the cabin boys, all the others being left in the dinghies.

They returned at night with a better take than before, and many of the shells were of a considerable age, as could be seen by the encrustations upon the outer surface.

Jacob Rank had so far no cause to complain of Kylis and Miah. They were the best divers out of the lot and always came back with shells. They worked hard, and yet there was something about them he could not quite understand. He noticed they were always together, and kept apart from the other divers, as though considering themselves superior. He kept his thoughts to himself, but he fancied he saw some trouble brewing, although he could not define in what direction.

The day had been very hot, and the white men who had sat in the boats under the blazing sun, were tired out.

Kylis and Miah, however, were wide awake, and seated in earnest conversation at the stern of the schooner.

"This is the richest pearl fishing I ever saw," said Kylis, speaking in his native tongue.

"The whole bay is covered with shell," replied Miah. "It does not seem fair these white men should have it all."

"They will not have it all," said Kylis, with an ugly gleam in his eyes. "You know where they keep the pearls."

Miah shook his head and said they would not be easy to get at.

"There is nothing of great value yet," replied Kylis. "Wait until there is a big pearl, then we must have it."

"How? It will be dangerous."

"Leave it to me," said Kylis.

Miah looked at him, half afraid, he recollected something had been left to Kylis before, and when that something had been accomplished there was one white man less in the world. Miah was a thief, and no coward, but he hated the sight of blood; he was afraid of Kylis because he knew he would stick at nothing to gain his ends.

Kylis was a half civilised black, which made him doubly dangerous, and he was maturing a plan by which he hoped to get possession of any pearls of value before they put into Shark's Bay on the return voyage. He knew Jacob Rank mistrusted him, and also Miah, and hated him accordingly. He meant to be wary and bide his time, but he was determined to carry out the orders of Amos Hooker in some way or other. His keen eyes noted every movement in the schooner, and he had seen Harry Marton hide the first lot of pearls in the cabin of the "Heron." He had no business in that part of the schooner at all, and had he been seen the punishment would have been swift and sure. He crawled along the deck like a snake, and no one saw him as he watched Harry Marton secrete the pearls. He had not told Miah he knew where they were kept. More valuable pearls might be stored in another place, but as he had discovered one he could, he fancied, easily discover another. He had no intention of making any move until the schooners were on their way back, and if the pearls were on the "Heron" and he was put on the "Wild Cat," he meant to devise some means of changing into the other boat. Meanwhile he meant to work hard to divert any suspicion that might lurk in Jacob Rank's mind, and he ordered Miah to do the same.

The second lot of shells turned out even more profitable than the first, and everyone was delighted at their good fortune. Jack Redland was anxious to secure a pearl that would be worth sending to Winifred. He wished for something out of the common, and he hoped to find it himself so that he might tell her so. He was sure Barry Tuxford and the others would agree to let him have such a pearl if he gave equal value for it.

They toiled hard every day, and the shells and pearls accumulated fast. Even now they had a rich cargo to take back, but they were not satisfied. Jacob Rank had no intention of returning until he had struck the richest patch. He knew that in such a place there must be pearls of immense value, because the whole bed of the bay was covered with shells, which had never been disturbed before, and for years they had been hidden, unknown, unsought, until at last he had chanced to hit upon them.

CHAPTER FOURTEENTH

THE BLACK PEARL

Jack Redland was on the deck of the "Heron" opening shells. He was alone, the others had left him to finish the work, and gone off in the dinghies. He saw them in the distance, and watched the divers disappearing into the depths of the bay. Resting for a few minutes his eyes roamed over the beautiful scene spread out around him. In this land locked harbour everything seemed at peace, undisturbed by the dwellings of men, as it probably had been for ages upon ages. Their schooners were probably the first to enter, yet it was strange such a place had not been discovered before. The hills round the bay were well wooded, trees growing almost from base to summit, and the white silvery sand sparkled in the brilliant sunlight. It was hot, and yet there was sufficient breeze to render it pleasant. There was hardly a ripple on the clear water of the bay and the sky was dazzlingly blue. He saw very few signs of bird life, but the big black dots on the beach he knew were turtle, and he saw the males splashing about in the water. Fortunately there were no sharks in the bay, at least they had seen none, nor had Jacob Rank during his enforced stay there. The divers were, therefore, quite safe from these monsters, which sometimes cause shocking havoc amongst them.

Jack settled down to work again, opening the large shells with considerable dexterity, and noticing how carefully the pearls were hidden. Out of curiosity, he scraped the inner coating of one of the larger shells and found layer upon layer of nacre, or mother of pearl, which crumbled away from the knife. It seemed as though the mollusc had deposited these layers one after another to protect itself from attacks, and as there were no signs of even the smallest seeds beneath the outer layer, he came to the conclusion the pearls must be a kind of peculiar growth, perhaps a disease in the fish. However, he did not trouble much about this, his object was to find pearls, and his curiosity being satisfied, he opened another shell.

The one he held in his hand had a golden edge of a far deeper colour than most of the others. It was also a peculiar shape, the centre standing out for all the world like a bruise on the forehead caused by a heavy blow. He felt it, and its perfect roundness made him wonder what had caused it.

He opened the shell, and as he withdrew the knife it shut again with a snap.

"I'll have you next time," he said to himself, and managed to cut the muscles. After cleaning out the fish he examined the shell carefully. It seemed quite dark in the centre, and this struck him as curious. He dug round it with the sharp point of the blade and in a short time a large lump came away from the shell. There was evidently an outer coating, and this he removed, when to his utter astonishment he saw a black egg shaped pearl of great size.

He had heard there were such things as black pearls and that they were very rare and valuable. Had he stumbled across a treasure at last? He handled it tenderly. The pearl was perfect in shape, nearly the size of a pigeon's egg. It was free from blemish, he saw that even with his inexperienced eyes; there was not a speck on it, and it weighed heavy. He feasted his eyes upon it, wondering if it was genuine and what it was worth.

He examined the shell again, but found nothing else; the black pearl, however, was sufficient, and he meant to give his comrades a surprise on their return.

His luck was evidently in, for in the lot of shells he opened he found some of the largest pearls they had yet obtained. Some were curious in shape, being twisted into various designs, one was half black and half white, and larger than the pure black one.

When he had finished his task, he cleared up the shells, put the pearls away, and sat down to have a smoke, lazily watching the dinghies in the distance. At last he saw them coming towards the schooner, and called the boy to ask if supper would be ready, as he knew they would not want to wait. The boats were heavily laden, and it took some time to put all the shells on deck.

"You have had another good day," said Jack.