In Tropic Seas. A tale of the Spanish Main

Front matter

IN TROPIC SEAS %. %ix\t oi the Spanish ittain. BY W. WESTALL, author of "tales and legends of saxony and lusatia." IJOttiOtt : SAMUEL TINSLEY & CO., io, SOUTHAMPTON STREET, STRAND. 1878. [All Rights Reserved.] CONTENTS. CHAPTER PACK I. THE STORE OF CHRISTINE AND SCOTT - - 1 II. CAPTAIN JULYAN BEGINS HIS STORY - - 7 III. THE " PHANTOM'S " CAPTAIN - - - 14 IV. THE CRUISE OF THE " PHANTOM " - - 26 V. DEATH IN THE SHIP - - - •- 30 VI. SAVED - 39 VII. BERTRAM JULYAN's WILL - - - -52 VIII. SANTIAGO - - - - - - 64 IX. JUAN MORALES, THE POSADERO - - - 87 'X. THE GOLD-SEEKERS BEGIN THEIR JOURNEY - 97 XI. NAPOLEON PIETRI EXPLORES A MINE - - 108 XII. DONALD WHITE OVERCOMES AN ENEMY - - 121 XIII. THE HAUNTED ISLAND - 132 XIV. LEFT IN THE LURCH - - - - 145 XV. THE NEGRO'S STORY - - - - 156 XVI. ALGERNON YOEKE'S STORY - - - 181 XVII.

THE "ESMERALDA" ARRIVES AND THE "PHAN- TOM" DEPARTS ----- 201 XVIII. SIGHTING THE PAINTED ROCK - - - 215 XIX. A CANOE VOYAGE, AND AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 225 XX. CASCABEL ------ 234 XXI. DON ALBEETO - 243 XXII. THE MINE ------ 255 XXIII. EXEUNT OMNES - - - - IN TROPIC SEAS.

Chapter I. The Store Of Christine And Scott

It was " crop-time" in Trinidad ; the canes were being cut, and converted, as rapidly as possible, into sugar. Long strings of mule wagons, laden with heavy barrels, were constantly arriving at Port-of- Spain, the chief town and principal port of the island. The wharves were crowded with barrels, some containing sugar, some molasses, some rum ; the warehouses were filled with barrels; perspiring negroes were rolling them about, lighters were transporting them to ships lying at anchor in the bay ; barrels encumbered the footpaths and road way ; street and wall were sticky with drippings and leakages, aud the heated air was pervaded with a strong aroma of sugar and treacle,, dashed with a flavour of rum. Of all the stores that lined the quay, that of Christine and Scott was the biggest and the busiest — a long, low, whitewashed building, with two wide entrances; one leading into the sugar warehouse, the other into the general store.

A peep into the former revealed — barrels ; TROPIC SEAS. tlie interior of the latter presented to eyes accustomed only to the trim neatness of a merchant's offices in Eng land or the States, a strange and unwonted sight. A wide, lofty, barn-like apartment was hung round witli agricultural implements — spades, rakes, scythes ; with boat-tackle — anchors, coils of rope, sail cloth ; with horse crear — collars, bits, reins, saddles, and traces. The middle of the floor was taken up by a long, broad, semicircular counter, on which stood boxes containing nails, screws, gimlets, and all sorts of ironmongery ; and under a glass case was a collection of revolvers, daggers, and many blailed knives. The people in this room were quite as curious and promiscuous, and afforded as many contrasts, as the things.

There was a mulatto bargaining for a ball of string ; a tall black woman buying needles ; a stalwart, white, and all but naked, Chinaman examining a spade; a gentle-looking, profusely polite, East Indian Cooly wanting a rope to tether his new-bought cow ; a half-Indian Llanero, lately landed from Venezuela with a cargo of cattle ; the broad-shouldered and swarthy master of a trading sloop from the Spanish Main; skippers from Liverpool and Glasgow ; a French merchant from Martinique, and a'tobacco "drummer" from Philadelphia. Elevated on a sort of rostrum above the crowd, never speaking to any one unless directly addressed, but losin" not] ling of what was going on, and occasionally turning over the pages of a huge ledger which lay on the desk before him, sat the head of the firm, Mr. Philip Christine.

He was of lean and sinewy build, under middle height, past middle age, his countenance pleasing and benevolent, and his hair grey. He was clad entirely in white, THE STORE OF CHRISTINE AND SCOTT. and with scrupulous neatness ; he did not seem to feel the heat in the least, and looked altogether so cool that the perspiring crowd below him seemed hotter by the contrast. He had concluded his occupation of examin ing his ledger, and was about to take down the Panama hat that hung above his head, when his eye was attracted to a man of singular and striking aspect, who had just entered the store, and was advancing to greet him. The new comer was evidently a sailor ; his figure was tall and commanding, a tawny beard hung low on his breast ; over a white streak of forehead waved a mass of silvery hair, while the rest of his face had been dyed by sun and storm of a red-brown hue.

Bright, and occa sionally laughing, grey eyes imparted grace and softness to an expression otherwise too stern and resolute, and which was often, in moments of repose, overshawdowed by a deep cast of melancholy. The keenest observer would have been puzzled to guess the sailor's age ; there M'ere lines on his face that, together with his white locks, indicated at least fifty years, but the elasticity of his frame, the vigour of his movements, and his general appearance, were those of a man still young. He was cordially greeted by Mr. Christine : " Good-morning, Captain Julyan ! How are the good ship Esmeralda and her worthy commander ? have you got nearly all your cargo on board ?" " That is exactly what I have come to see you about," said the sailor ; " we are only fifty hogsheads short of what we can safely stow, the wind is fair, and I should like, if possible, to have my papers in order early to morrow, and weigh anchor in the evening, so as to have 1—2 IN TROHC SEAS. daylight for working through the Bocas.* Your people are very busy with the crop, and all sorts of things, and I thought, sir, if you spoke to them yourself they might make a push, and let us have the lighter alongside in good time to-day."

"Certainly, Captain Julyan," replied the merchant, " I will do whatever I can for you, and you shall have the fifty casks alongside in the course of a very few hours. " Boy" (addressing a young negro who stood near), " tell Mr. Brandt I want him." Mr. Brandt came, and received instructions to do all he could to expedite the Captain's business, and to in form the shipping clerk in the sugar store that the last hogshead must be on board the Esmeralda in five hours. "Well, I declare!" said the head of the firm, "if breakfast is not ready ; it is actually after nine o'clock. Come, Captain Julyan ! I see our young gentlemen are nitting down in the verandah ; you will join us, of course, and I will give you a regular West Indian breakfast. I always enjoy breakfast more than dinner, which I am often too tired and too hot to eat.

In the morning I always feel fresh, and generally hungry ; we Creoles, you know, have only two meals in the twenty-four hours, unless you call the cup of coffee we take on rising one ; and when a man dines at five or six o'clock, and turns out at half-past five next morning, he ought to be in appetite for breakfast, don't you think ? Here we are ; take a seat, Captain ; what will you have ?" * Bocas, or Dragon's Mouth, numerous narrow channels formed by the islands constituting tlie northern boundary of the Bay of Baria. THE STORE OF CHRISTINE AND SCOTT. The Captain found himself in a large verandah at the back of the store, well protected from the suu. A long table, decked with a white cloth, was covered with a profusion of meats, fruits, and cool, long-necked bottles of refreshing aspect.

There were juicy-looking cutlets, turtle-steaks, salt-fish, and salt-fish cakes, and tins of pickled salmon ; there were yams and bananas, boiled, fried, and au naturel, and dishes of Avocada pears, and the repast was gra eed by the presence of a pyramid of freshly-gathered oranges, and half a dozen Pitch Lake pine-apples. And had it not been for the appearance, on a remote side-table, of a tea-pot and coffee-pot, the repast might easily have been mistaken for a rather luxurious dinner. About a dozen persons, consisting chiefly of junior partners, clerks, ancl assistants in the house of Christine and Scott, sat down to the meal. Mr. Christine was at some pains to explain to Captain Julyan that their breakfast, on that particular day, was more profuse than usual, inasmuch as it was the birth day of one of his young gentlemen (as he courteously called his clerks), and being desirous to maintain the most friendly relations with all his assistants, he made it the custom to mark such occasions by a special breakfast, the only meal of which it was convenient for them to partake together.

The old gentleman waa evidently a kind-hearted and liberal master, and tha zest with which he drank the young clerk's health, the sprightliness of his manner, and the loving respect freely tendered to him by all, were pleasant to witness, and afforded the Captain of the Esmeralda the most lively satisfaction. The conversation naturally — the occasion being considered — fell on the subject of age, and Mr. Christine, thinking the moment favourable, determined, if pos sible, to ascertain how old the Captain really was, and to solve a mystery that appeared to excite the curiosity of all who saw him. " Captain," said the merchant, " will you pardon my impertinence, or, I would rather say, will you excuse my curiosity, if I venture to ask you, apropos of the event we are celebrating, how old you are ?

Your white hair and brown beard puzzle us all, and I am asked every day if I can tell whether you are an old, a young, or a middle-aged man." As these words were spoken, Julyan's brightness left him, his face darkened, not, as it seemed, with anger, but under the burden of painful memories. A silence fell on all, and it was only by a quite perceptible effort that he mastered himself sufficiently to reply to Mr. Christine's question. " I am neither old nor middle-aged, Mr. Christine," he said, in a low voice, " I am still a young man ; how my hair has become white I may some time, perhaps, tell you, but here and now I cannot." The merchant was touched ; he regretted having asked the question, and, anxious to remove the feeling of constraint the incident had occasioned, remarked briskly : " Come, boys ! we must not linger too long over our breakfast, we have all plenty of work before us. — Now Captain," laying his hand familiarly on Julyan's shoulder, " you must come out and dine with me this evening ; hour six o'clock.

Be at the store punctually at five, and we will drive together. No refusal ! You will come ; all right. Good-morning !" And so the kind-hearted Mr. Christine bustled into the store; the young men went to their work, and the Captain returned to his ship.