Hamtura. A tale of an unknown land ... Second edition

Front matter

■ HAMTURA OPINIONS OF THE PRESS ON Ibamtura, Rij H. S. LOU KH ART-ROSS. Saturday Review. -"'Hamtura' is a work of considerable pro mise. The descriptions of the island and people of Hamtura are excellent, and the fight is a good one. The idea of the Raven is excellent, almost epic, and the scenes in the Temple of Hamtura are very impressively done. The sketch of the natives of that blissful isle is as good as anything in the book, and if Mr Lockhart-Ross had been a priest of the Sun all his days, he could hardly have devised a better solar ritual." Morning Post. — " The book is full of incident, to which a touch of the supernatural lends additional effect." Atheneum. Mr. Lockhart-Boss' tale of an unknown land is told with suitable minuteness, and the copper-coloured warriors of the Pacific, with their snow-white hair, are brought vividly enough before the reader.

There is plenty of nautical adventure in it, and the wonderful house of the Tressilians in Cornwall is picturesquely described." Daily Telegraph. — " The story is one dealing partly with West Coast superstitions and partly with a search after treasure, supposed to be in an unknown island of the Southern Seas. The difficulties of the two brothers of the Tressilian family are numerous and exciting." Observer. — " The tale is well written, the author's style is good, and he has a pleasant imagination. The sea fights are very well described, and there is enough of a love story to bring the tale to a happy conclusion." Evening News. —An interesting story, superstition, barbaric cus toms and curious adventures, forming excellent material for exciting reading." Academy.- "The originality and freshness of 'Hamtura' con ciliate one towards this latest story of reoovered treasure.

The story is so brightly written that its very impossibility becomes fascinating." Yorkshire Post. —" This story is most effective because of the per fectly natural study of the adventurers The Tressilians and the circumstances which send them roaming are conceivable in every OPINIONS OF THE PRESS -Continued. line of their description. Nor is Mr. Lockhart-Ross less successful in imagining the circumstances of his island than in devising weird scenes in the witch's cottage. There is so much of vraisemblance in his narrative that the reader is never once moved to doubt the existence of Hamtura or its people. In fine, this is a thoroughly successful story, full of promise for its author." Literary World. — " ' Hamtura ' is full of adventures by land and sea, which combine to fill up the outlines of a tale of strange and imaginative interest."

Book I

<;HAP. PAGE I. — The Wreck .... 1 II. — The Home op the Tressilians - - 10 III. — The Tback of the Storm - - 21 IV.— Life or Death - - - 33 V. — The Spanish Galleon - - -48 VI. — A Strange Country - - -60 VII. — The Children of the Sun - - 74 VIII. —A Royal Review - 92 TX. — A Golden Harvest - - - fly X. — The Battle of the Plain - - 107 XI. — Delays and Doubts - ' - 133 XI I. — Midnight Mysteries - - - us XIII. — The Seal of Silence - - -167 CONTENTS. VIII

Book II. Ctcaf

'"•GE I.— A Momentous Question - - - 179 II. — A Link with the Past - - - 191 III. — A Moonlight Adventure - - - 204 IV. — The Secret Revealed ... 215 V. — In Falmouth Harbour - - -. 226 VI. — The Flight of the "Raven" - - 237 VII. — Under a Tropical Sun - - - 247 VIII. — Storms and Calms - - - 262 IX. — An Isle of the Ocean - - - 276 X. — The Language of the Gods - - 290 XL — A Sacred Trust - :!03 XII. — A Precious Cargo - 320 XIII. — Homeward Bound - 334 XIV. — Chased by the Enemy - - . 345 XV. — The Return of the Traveller - . 357 XVI. — The Oracle Fulfilled - - . HAMTURA: A TALE OF AN UNKNOWN LAND.

BOOK I. CHAPTER

I. THE WRECK. On a wild fierce night in March, about the middle of the eighteenth century, an aged sailor stood on the Lizard Cliffs gazing intently out towards the sea. It was by no means the sort of night that a man would remain out of doors without some strong reason, especially on a bleak, exposed spot like the Lizards. Indeed it required a bold man to face such a war of elements as was now taking place. The sea was lashed to fury by a strong gale from the south-west, and a driving mist of spray from the crests of the breakers swept like a cloud over the foaming waves. Black as the depths of a mine was the darkness, illuminated now and again by the brilliant gleam of the lightning, which for a moment lit up the scene HAMTURA. with a vivid unnatural light. Then again the pitchy gloom resumed its sway, and the roar of winds and waves was drowned by the terrific roll of the thunder, which pealed louder and louder above all the tumult of the storm.

Again out of the darkness came the blinding flash of the lightning, illuminat ing the whole scene at intervals of ever-increasing frequency. Through all this pitiless storm the old man stood upon the cliff, shading his eyes from the glare of the lightning, and gazing earnestly out towards the sea. " I hope I may be wrong," he muttered to him self; " but I fancied that I heard a signal-gun after that last flash, and my old ears have rarely misled me. Too often have I heard a gun like that — aye, and fired it too — to be easily mistaken." As he uttered these words the old man was joined in his watch on the cliff by another figure, wrapped up, like himself, in oilskins. But rough as his gar ments were they failed to disguise the tall, com manding presence of the stranger. " Did you hear anything, Martin ?

" shouted the new-comer, making a trumpet of both his hands and speaking close to the ear of the old sailor. " I fancied that I heard a gun, but could not be certain amid such a turmoil as this." The question answered itself, for at that moment the boom of a heavy gun was distinctly heard, even above the shrieking of the wind and the roar of the waves. A flash of lightning at the same instant lit up the whole scene, and showed to the watchers on the cliff a dark object some half-mile or so from the shore. Then while the eyes of the two spectators were strained to the uttermost, a small flash in the darkness, followed by the report of another gun, proved unmistakably that a vessel in distress was trying to weather the Lizard. The discharge of the cannon sounded as nothing compared with the deafening peal of thunder which immediately followed, and then the two men stood together on the cliff in anxious expectation.

" Aye, aye, Mr. Tressilian," shouted old Martin ; " I was afraid I heard right, and there's no doubt now. It's but little chance a ship has of weathering the Lizard on such a night as this." " Can nothing be done ? " said his companion. " It's a fearful thing to stand here quietly and see our fellow-creatures perish before our eyes." As he spoke they were joined by some of the fishermen, who had heard the news of the impending wreck, and had come from their cottages to the point where the best view could be obtained. The old sailor stood abstracted and silent, and made no reply to the excited utterance of Tressilian. In truth, he looked like the prophet of the storm, as 1—2 HAMTURA. he stood there upon the cliff, firm as the rock itself, the centre of the eager group which the lightning showed up from time to time in strong relief.

" We must do something," muttered Tressilian to himself; and placing his hand impulsively on the old man's shoulder, he shouted, " Speak, Martin, before it is too late. Can nothing be done to rescue the crew of the vessel ? " Old Martin, thus adjured, replied slowly, " We cannot help them ; if they haven't weathered the Point before the next flash shows them to us, the vessel is doomed." Even as he finished speaking the lightning came, vivid and clear, and the ship was plainly visible drifting rapidly on towards the fatal reef. She was a big vessel, like an East Indiaman, and her deck was crowded with men, who appeared, however, to main tain order and discipline even in such a moment. A shudder went through the group of men on the cliff at the momentary glimpse afforded them of the awful tragedy being enacted almost at their feet, and again the curtain of the storm fell, and all was black and dark.

Flash ! Boom ! came the gun, uttering its sullen protest against the pitiless cruelty of the storm, and then the echoes of the report were drowned by a crashing peal of thunder. The next flash showed that the vessel was indeed doomed. There she lay upon her side, fixed firmly upon the reef, with a gigantic wave just breaking over her with over whelming fury. Her masts had gone when she struck, and now they hung over the side of the vessel, cumbering the decks with a mass of rigging and spars. With desperate energy the sailors could be seen cutting away the wreckage in order to free their ship from the shattered remains of the masts. Then the darkness again fell and hid the fearful scene from the watchers on the cliff, until Tressilian almost imagined that what he had just beheld was nothing but a vision conjured up by his excited fancy.

It seemed a lifetime before the glare of the lightning again lit up the boiling sea and showed that the work of death and destruction was almost per fected. The ship was still visible on the reef, only more heeled over than before, but the black crowd of figures upon her decks had disappeared, engulfed in the depths of the pitiless ocean. Some dark spots here and there alone remained in remembrance of the fact that a few minutes previous the ill-fated ship had been peopled with human life. The next view that the spectators had of this scene of destruction showed that these few sailors had also disappeared, while the vessel herself was barely visible as the waves broke over her decks. Then, as if satisfied with its work, the storm moderated its HAMTURA. fury, and the thunder and lightning abated now that the waves had wreaked their vengeance upon the ill fated vessel.

" It's but small chance a man has of being washed ashore alive on such a night," said old Martin, turning to the little knot of fishermen, " but we must do what we can. Away with you, lads, and get your lanterns and meet us down on the beach. Even if we cannot save life, there'll be pickings in plenty for all out of the wreck of such a vessel." Then, turning to Mr. Tressilian, he continued, " We'll go straight down by the cliff path, sir, and make our way along the shore till we meet the lads with their lights. They will be none the slower in coming down for the hint I gave them about wreckage." " Do you think," said Tressilian, " that there is any possibility of a man coming ashore alive ? " " It's barely possible, sir, but still it might happen so if a man lashed himself firmly to a spar or such like, and chanced to steer clear of the rocks.

But even then he would be fearfully battered by the waves, and would have small chance of life." The two continued their journey down to the beach in silence, each occupied with his own thoughts, and listening intently for any cry of dis tress that might happen to reach them. The old man was thinking of a time, long, long ago, when on just such a night as this his own father had been drowned almost before the eyes of his son. Looking back, it seemed again so vividly brought before him in the clear colours of yesterday, and yet threescore years had elapsed. Many a wreck had old Martin seen since that time, and often had he been in peril himself during his half-century of roaming about the world, yet all the incidents between seemed to fade away and he now felt once more a boy of ten years old, going down by the same cliff path to the iden tical spot on the beach to see the wreck of his father's fishing-boat.

Tressilian, on the other hand, although not a sailor himself, had bitter remembrances of the sea which had claimed his elder brother as a victim, though when or where he had met his end had never trans pired. Ten years ago he had sailed to seek his fortune, and nothing more was ever known of the adventurer or his crew. Musing thus, the two proceeded steadily along the beach, until the dancing lights and torches borne by the fishermen appeared in the distance, proving what haste they had made to arrive early at the scene of the wreck. Gathered together on the shore they formed a most picturesque group. The wild rough figures of the fishermen, with their rugged faces lit up by the glow of the torches and the light of the lanterns, flitted about like shadows close to HAMTURA, the foam of the breakers, which, illuminated by the ruddy light, burst upon the shore with irresistible force.

The roar of the waves was still deafening, and the shouts of the fishermen calling to each other mingled with the voice of the storm and formed a scene of tumult which was most bewil dering. A loud shout attracted the attention of Tressilian, who went forward and saw a dozen or so of the fishermen forming a chain which extended out into the undertow of the huge breakers. The further most man was directed by the cries of those on shore, and by the light of the blazing torches Tressilian saw a black object approaching on the crest of the next wave. " Now she comes ! Look out, lads ; stand fast ! " shouted the men on shore, as with a roar the wave broke over the gallant fellows, the outermost of whom were overwhelmed and blinded by the weight of the water, and would inevitably have been washed away had it not been for the firm grip of those in rear.

" Catch her, lads ; stick to her as she passes ! " and at the cry the outer man of the chain flung himself with his whole weight upon the black object, grip ping it firmly with his disengaged hand just as the rush of the sea was again carrying it backwards. The whole crowd of men now dashed in and rapidly hauled up what they had rescued until it was out of the reach of the next wave. The object proved to be a large spar, upon which was lashed a stalwart sailor, who was lying face uppermost, stripped to his trousers. He was per fectly insensible ; but one of the fishermen, while casting loose the lashings which bound the sailor, felt his heart and exclaimed, " Some brandy — quick ! " Tressilian handed his flask to Martin, who forced open the teeth of the sailor, and poured a considerable portion of the spirit down his throat, while the bystanders set to work to chafe the limbs of the exhausted mariner.

Success rewarded their efforts, as in a few minutes the sailor opened his eyes for a moment and drew a deep breath, relapsing almost immediately into unconsciousness. " We must get him under cover as soon as possible," said old Martin, " or he'll die from cold and exposure after what he's gone through."' " Take him up to my place, then," said Tressilian ; " it will be the nearest and the easiest to reach." Accordingly the shipwrecked sailor was carried up to Polwhen Place, with considerable difficulty, by Tressilian and Martin, assisted by two of the fisher men, who gave their assistance all the more readily as Tressilian promised to make up to them any loss they might sustain owing to their absence from the wreck. HAMTURA.

Chapter II. The Home Of The Tressilians

Polwhen Place, towards which the party of four were now bending their steps, deserves more than a passing description. Situated in a sheltered spot about half-a-mile from the sea, it was well protected from the cold cutting winds which at times swept over the higher ground with pitiless severity. The house was not easily seen from the road, as it lay well back from observation, and was secluded from view both by the formation of the land and the luxuriance of the foliage. The first thing which struck the traveller on ap proaching Polwhen Place was a gateway of majestic appearance in the centre of a battlemented wall. The door itself was of heavy oak thickly studded with iron, and above it was placed a gigantic stone raven, the crest of the Tressilians. On each side of the short private road which led up to this gateway a high mossy bank had been made, which guided the footsteps of the stranger up to the entrance, and making a perspective green avenue, set off the fine proportions of the gateway to the best advantage.

On the left of the main entrance was a small postern gate which was generally made use of, the principal one being re served for carriages. Although the tall branches of the trees could be seen in abundance within the gate, yet outside not a tree or shrub could be observed. This was probably a relic of ancient feudal times, when any cover for the enemy outside the walls might have proved of material disadvantage to the defending garrison. The battlements were loopholed, and on the inner side was built a stone platform, about two feet in width, and sufficiently high to enable a man to stand thereon and fire through the loopholes. This battle mented wall only extended about fifty yards on each side of the gateway, and had been originally built in order to defend the road which led up to the house.

A fine avenue of sycamores extended as far as the front door of the building, which was placed in one corner of its own territories. A low two-storied house, surmounted by a lofty watch-tower, the whole solidly built of granite and clothed with ivy, was at first sight somewhat disappointing to a stranger whose expectations of grandeur had been aroused by the massive entrance. But for all that, Polwhen Place was a building the charms of which grew upon the beholder, especially if he happened to know the history of the many sieges it had sustained. Fancy would then fill in the picture of the scenes in which that sturdy old tower HAMTURA. had taken part, giving a halo of honour and romance to its grim old walls. Many a stranger at first sight disliked the plain, homely exterior of Polwhen Place, but after staying there for a few days every one came to love it almost as intensely as the Tressilians themselves.

For years the Tressilians, father and son, had lived there ; in fact, no one could remember the time when a Tres silian had not lived at the Place. It had been built by an ancient ancestor many years ago in the dark ages, and since then father and son had each lived in the house as it had descended to them, repairing and re building now and then, it is true, but altering very slightly the original plan of the foundations. As places went in those days it was by no means a fine property, but the proprietors were well content with it. They cultivated the home farm themselves, and let out the remainder of the land to a few tenants whose forefathers always had been tenants of the Tressilians, and who intended their sons to be so likewise in the years to come. The interior of the house had undergone more re construction than the outside, and was, comparatively speaking, full of modern comforts.

The father of the present proprietor had been one of the wild sea-rovers of that age of adventure, and returning to marry and settle down at his old home after a life of roaming, he found the sameness of a quiet life of civilization an impossibility. Accordingly, he conceived the idea of entirely refitting the interior of Polwhen Place, providing for himself thereby not only occu pation but also a pleasant means of spending the treasure he had amassed. He therefore embarked on another voyage, this time a peaceful one, and returned from the Spanish Main with stores of mahogany and sandal-wood, with which to prose cute his design. Labour was cheap in those days, and as the material was abundant, old Tressilian carried out his plans in a lordly fashion. The staircase, instead of being of stone with an oaken handrail as in former years, was now of solid mahogany, with massive balustrades of the same material carved in fluted pillars with rounded base ments.

The handrail was a heavy coping of solid wood, carved at the corners on each landing-stage with figures of ships and sea-fights. The doors of each room were of heavy panelled mahogany, as also were all the wainscots, and wherever this wood was used it was polished to the very utmost degree. In order to relieve the monotony of this, the dining-room was panelled to the roof with old oak, while the chimneypiece was a triumph of the wood carver's art, being heavily loaded with deep-cut figures from the roof to the floor. Above it, built into the wall in a deep-set frame of beautiful carving, was a large oil painting, commemorating the final HAMTURA. naval victory which the old sea-rover had gained over six Spanish galleons. The roof of the room was also of panelled oak in quaint designs, and at the corners and in the centre were painted the raven crest and the coat of arms of the Tressilians.

The space above the fireplaces in the other rooms was panelled with mahogany and satin-wood, inlaid according to the taste of the foreign workmen who were employed, and the whole interior of the house was so entirely altered that had one of the ancestors of the family seen the place he would scarcely have recognized his old abode. The door of the entrance hall alone was a work of art, to complete which some half-dozen skilled work men had been brought back from abroad by Tressilian on his last voyage, their services being retained until the improvements were completed. The old hall door had been removed and the entrance widened so as to receive a pair of immense mahogany doors divided into six deeply-sunk panels, each of which was ornamented with massive carving. And inasmuch as the old sea-rover had won the greater part of his wealth in the above-mentioned combat with the six Spanish galleons, out of which number he had sunk three and captured three, it seemed to him a merry conceit to perpetuate the remembrance of such a notable example of British pluck over Spanish pride.

This he accomplished in the following manner. In the centre of each of the panels of the hall door was fixed a brazen model of the figure-head of one of the Spanish ships, with the name of the vessel carved in mahogany underneath. These six figures of solid brass were firmly riveted on to the six panels, and above them, in the centre of the arch of the door way, old Tressilian had fixed a brass socket in which was placed the figure-head itself of his own ship, the "Raven," which had won him this celebrated victory. The great brazen bird with outstretched wings and open beak seemed to hover over the six Spaniards even as she had done in the day of battle, and now, having won the victory against such terrific odds, she still kept silent watch and ward over her prey. The six prows of the Spaniards were, however, just now freed from their oppressor, who had taken flight anew, leaving behind only the brazen socket which had been her perch.

For when the brother of the present owner of Polwhen Place had fitted out a vessel and sailed to seek adventure and fortune, he had taken with him as a figure-head for his vessel the famous raven which had so often flown to victory at his father's bidding. Thus the empty socket was still over the hall door, for the brother of the absent rover refused to fill its place with a fresh image, since by so doing HAMTURA. he felt he would be tacitly acquiescing in the fact that the return of his brother was yearly becoming more and more improbable. Accordingly, for ten years that socket had been empty, and the Spanish figure-heads below had enjoyed a respite from the vaunting superiority of their proud conqueror. The old roving Tressilian had done his work well, more especially in the particular of spending the money he had acquired by such hard fighting, for when the workmen were paid off and the business of re-fitting the interior of Polwhen Place completed, he found that he had but little money left to spend upon altering the gardens and the exterior of the property.

On this account the latter remained much as it always had been, with one notable excep tion. For in order to commemorate his victory both outside as well as within the house, Tressilian had caused to be planted in a circle six young elms, corresponding in number to the Spanish ships. These trees were planted with great care as close to one another as it was possible for great trees to grow, and being only a hundred yards or so away from the house, in full view of the dining-room window, they bid fair to become in time a noteworthy feature in the scenery. Thus inside and outside did the fine old sea-rover perpetuate the crowning feat of his successful career, and then he settled himself down to spend the rest of his life in comfort with his wife and two young sons, Hugh and Walter. But light come, light go, is a true saying, and the old fellow was even a better hand at spending money than he had been at acquiring it.

Thus it came to pass that after his death the family was no longer so well off as in former times, and later on, when their mother died also, and the two young men were living alone together at the home of their ancestors, the roving spirit of his father came over the elder of the two brothers. Accordingly he said to Walter, " Do you remain here, while I fit out a ship and seek my fortune as my father did before me. In two years at the outside I will return again with foreign gold and treasure. Till I come, wait for me here, and look after the estate which our father took such pride in restoring, and on my return we will live here again in the way Tressilians ought to live." Then, collecting what money he could raise him self and borrowing the remainder from friendly merchants, he fitted out a vessel, and taking down from its station above the door the great brass raven he proceeded to recruit his crew.

In three days he had a picked body of men, most of them sons or relatives of the old sea-dogs who had fought under his father. These flocked eagerly to his banner as soon as they knew that they were again to fight HAMTURA. under " Tressilian of the Raven." So they sailed away from Falmouth Harbour one bright morning in May ten years ago, and since then no tidings had reached the anxious ears of the brother of the adven turer or the relatives of his crew. Still, Walter Tressilian kept watch at his post, hoping against hope for the return of that brother who had been absent so long. Many a time had he longed to equip an expedition and, following the footsteps of his brother, seek his fortune upon the high seas. But the money for the purpose was not to be obtained, and he felt, moreover, that his post was at Polwhen Place, to look after the home intrusted to his care.

He alone of all the people in the neigh bourhood still regarded the estate as being not his own property, but as merely held in trust for the rightful owner. On the occasion of his marriage a year or so ago, he laid especial stress upon this fact, and refused to allow Polwhen Place to be considered as any pro perty of his unless some definite news of his brother's death reached Cornwall. To these terms, however, his bride made no demur, since he was looked upon as Tressilian of Polwhen by the whole county, and after all, what matter was it if he chose to consider himself nominally not the owner so long as prac tically he remained in possession ? He had one son, called Hugh after his absent uncle, and with this boy and his young wife he lived a quiet home life at Polwhen Place, smothering as best he could his inherited desires of roving abroad in foreign seas.