three fella time. Then I shoot you fella dead, good-bye, all
finish you.”
And Sheldon knew that when he had counted three he would drop him
in his tracks. The black knew it, too. That was why Sheldon did
not have to do it, for when he had counted one, Astoa reached out
his hand and took the whip. And right well Astoa laid on the whip,
angered at his fellows for not supporting him and venting his anger
with every stroke. From the veranda Sheldon egged him on to strike
with strength, till the two triced savages screamed and howled
while the blood oozed down their backs. The lesson was being well
written in red.
When the last of the gang, including the two howling culprits, had
passed out through the compound gate, Sheldon sank down half-
fainting on his couch.
“You’re a sick man,” he groaned. “A sick man.”
“But you can sleep at ease to-night,” he added, half an hour later.
CHAPTER III–THE JESSIE
Two days passed, and Sheldon felt that he could not grow any weaker
and live, much less make his four daily rounds of the hospital.
The deaths were averaging four a day, and there were more new cases
than recoveries. The blacks were in a funk. Each one, when taken
sick, seemed to make every effort to die. Once down on their backs
they lacked the grit to make a struggle. They believed they were
going to die, and they did their best to vindicate that belief.
Even those that were well were sure that it was only a mater of
days when the sickness would catch them and carry them off. And
yet, believing this with absolute conviction, they somehow lacked
the nerve to rush the frail wraith of a man with the white skin and
escape from the charnel house by the whale-boats. They chose the
lingering death they were sure awaited them, rather than the
immediate death they were very sure would pounce upon them if they
went up against the master. That he never slept, they knew. That
he could not be conjured to death, they were equally sure–they had
tried it. And even the sickness that was sweeping them off could
not kill him.
With the whipping in the compound, discipline had improved. They
cringed under the iron hand of the white man. They gave their
scowls or malignant looks with averted faces or when his back was
turned. They saved their mutterings for the barracks at night,
where he could not hear. And there were no more runaways and no
more night-prowlers on the veranda.
D
awn of the third day after the whipping brought the Jessie’s white
sails in sight. Eight miles away, it was not till two in the
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12
afternoon that the light air-fans enabled her to drop anchor a
quarter of a mile off the shore. The sight of her gave Sheldon
fresh courage, and the tedious hours of waiting did not irk him.
He gave his orders to the boss-boys and made his regular trips to
the hospital. Nothing mattered now. His troubles were at an end.
He could lie down and take care of himself and proceed to get well.
The Jessie had arrived. His partner was on board, vigorous and
hearty from six weeks’ recruiting on Malaita. He could take charge
now, and all would be well with Berande.
Sheldon lay in the steamer-chair and watched the Jessie’s whale-
boat pull in for the beach. He wondered why only three sweeps were
pulling, and he wondered still more when, beached, there was so
much delay in getting out of the boat. Then he understood. The
three blacks who had been pulling started up the beach with a
stretcher on their shoulders. A white man, whom he recognized as
the Jessie’s captain, walked in front and opened the gate, then
dropped behind to close it. Sheldon knew that it was Hughie
Drummond who lay in the stretcher, and a mist came before his eyes.
He felt an overwhelming desire to die. The disappointment was too
great. In his own state of terrible weakness he felt that it was
impossible to go on with his task of holding Berande plantation
tight-gripped in his fist. Then the will of him flamed up again,
and he directed the blacks to lay the stretcher beside him on the
floor. Hughie Drummond, whom he had last seen in health, was an
emaciated skeleton. His closed eyes were deep-sunken. The
shrivelled lips had fallen away from the teeth, and the cheek-bones
seemed bursting through the skin. Sheldon sent a house-boy for his
thermometer and glanced questioningly at the captain.
“Black-water fever,” the captain said. “He’s been like this for
six days, unconscious. And we’ve got dysentery on board. What’s
the matter with you?”
“I’m burying four a day,” Sheldon answered, as he bent over from
the steamer-chair and inserted the thermometer under his partner’s
tongue.
Captain Oleson swore blasphemously, and sent a house-boy to bring
whisky and soda. Sheldon glanced at the thermometer.
“One hundred and seven,” he said. “Poor Hughie.”
Captain Oleson offered him some whisky.
“Couldn’t think of it–perforation, you know,” Sheldon said.
He sent for a boss-boy and ordered a grave to be dug, also some of
the packing-cases to be knocked together into a coffin. The blacks
did not get coffins. They were buried as they died, being carted
on a sheet of galvanized iron, in their nakedness, from the
hospital to the hole in the ground. Having given the orders,
Sheldon lay back in his chair with closed eyes.
“It’s ben fair hell, sir,” Captain Oleson began, then broke off to
help himself to more whisky. “It’s ben fair hell, Mr. Sheldon, I
tell you. Contrary winds and calms. We’ve ben driftin’ all about
ADVENTURE
13
the shop for ten days. There’s ten thousand sharks following us
for the tucker we’ve ben throwin’ over to them. They was snappin’
at the oars when we started to come ashore. I wisht to God a
nor’wester’d come along an’ blow the Solomons clean to hell.”
“We got it from the water–water from Owga creek. Filled my casks
with it. How was we to know? I’ve filled there before an’ it was
all right. We had sixty recruits-full up; and my crew of fifteen.
We’ve ben buryin’ them day an’ night. The beggars won’t live, damn
them! They die out of spite. Only three of my crew left on its
legs. Five more down. Seven dead. Oh, hell! What’s the good of
talkin’?”
“How many recruits left?” Sheldon asked.
“Lost half. Thirty left. Twenty down, and ten tottering around.”
Sheldon sighed.
“That means another addition to the hospital. We’ve got to get
them ashore somehow.–Viaburi! Hey, you, Viaburi, ring big fella
bell strong fella too much.”
The hands, called in from the fields at that unwonted hour, were
split into detachments. Some were sent into the woods to cut
timber for house-beams, others to cutting cane-grass for thatching,
and forty of them lifted a whale-boat above their heads and carried
it down to the sea. Sheldon had gritted his teeth, pulled his
collapsing soul together, and taken Berande plantation into his
fist once more.
“Have you seen the barometer?” Captain Oleson asked, pausing at the
bottom of the steps on his way to oversee the disembarkation of the
sick.
“No,” Sheldon answered. “Is it down?”
“It’s going down.”
“Then you’d better sleep aboard to-night,” was Sheldon’s judgment.
“Never mind the funeral. I’ll see to poor Hughie.”
“A nigger was kicking the bucket when I dropped anchor.”
The captain made the statement as a simple fact, but obviously
waited for a suggestion. The other felt a sudden wave of
irritation rush through him.
“Dump him over,” he cried. “Great God, man! don’t you think I’ve
got enough graves ashore?”
“I just wanted to know, that was all,” the captain answered, in no
wise offended.
Sheldon regretted his childishness.
“Oh, Captain Oleson,” he called. “If you can see your way to it,
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14
come ashore to-morrow and lend me a hand. If you can’t, send the
mate.”
“Right O. I’ll come myself. Mr. Johnson’s dead, sir. I forgot to
tell you–three days ago.”
Sheldon watched the Jessie’s captain go down the path, with waving
arms and loud curses calling upon God to sink the Solomons. Next,
Sheldon noted the Jessie rolling lazily on the glassy swell, and
beyond, in the north-west, high over Florida Island, an alpine
chain of dark-massed clouds. Then he turned to his partner,
calling for boys to carry him into the house. But Hughie Drummond
had reached the end. His breathing was imperceptible. By mere
touch, Sheldon could ascertain that the dying man’s temperature was
going down. It must have been going down when the thermometer
registered one hundred and seven. He had burned out. Sheldon
knelt beside him, the house-boys grouped around, their white
singlets and loin-cloths peculiarly at variance with their dark