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Thomas looked over the carpenter s body. His face was reddened
and his feet were muddied, but there was no obvious injury. The lad
spun about, and dashed down through the brush until he was on the
route to the fall. Seeing nothing unusual, he halted. The bushes
remained motionless. The treetops swayed slightly in the breeze. He
listened for several seconds, but he could only hear the chirping of
the birds and the faint rumble of the cascade to the south. He turned
and ran back to the work yard.
The mate and the captain were standing beside the carpenter
repeating questions, but he was still unable to answer. The mate turned
to Thomas and asked,  What s the matter with him?
MOTOO EETEE 237
 He ran in here as if devils were after him.
 They may well be! the captain blurted out, looking warily in the
direction of the bluff.
Mr. Morgen then asked Harrison,  Is there danger for us?
He shook his head once, then drew in a deep breath. Harrison s
panting slowed and he leaned his head back from the thatch and
breathed out one hoarse word.
 Brig!
 Huzzah! the lad cheered and slapped his hands together.  We are
rescued!
Captain Tobit held up his palm for silence.  Have you spoken to
the crew? he demanded.
Harrison shook his head.
 Have they seen you? the mate asked.
The carpenter, after a few more gasps, responded,  No, ran here.
 Why didn t you go to them and let them know we are wrecked
here? Thomas demanded.
 Have time . . . they re two anchors down . . . have boat ashore,
Harrison choked out.  Come to wood an water.
Mr. Morgen looked in the direction of the bay and asked the car-
penter,  A brig, you say?
 Aye, he answered.  Hundred eighty . . . two hundred ton.
 They must have come in during the night, the mate guessed.
 I wonder why they would choose to enter the bay in the dark?
the captain muttered.
 I ll go and let them know we are here, Thomas called back as he
started toward the trail.
 Stop! Stand where you are! the captain shouted and pointed his
right finger at the lad.
Thomas wheeled around and with a bewildered look on his face
marched back.  Why? he protested.  We must let them know we are
wrecked here. They might sail within the hour, and this might be our
sole chance for rescue.
Captain Tobit shook his head vigorously and warned,  We do not
238 MOTOO EETEE
know where these men have come from. Harrison has seen them only
from the lookout. They may be rogues and murderers who have taken
this vessel in New Holland, as I have warned you. No! We will look
them over before we reveal ourselves.
 It s a sensible caution, Mr. Morgen agreed.  They might well be
convicts. If they are men facing the gibbet, they will not want wit-
nesses to their whereabouts. We must know for sure who they are.
 Mr. Morgen, the captain ordered,  bring out your bows and
arrows. Each of you men take one from the mate. We may have to
defend ourselves.
Once they had their weapons, Captain Tobit led the group toward
the bluff and across the stream to the west side of the fall. They moved
cautiously toward the path that led down to the field of flax, hunched
low and keeping behind the greenery.
 Stay well hidden, the captain whispered as though the brig was
only a few yards away.  Any master fetching this island will look it over
well with his glass. The four men worked their way into the ferns at
the edge of the bluff and crouched there, peeking between the fronds.
 What a glorious sight, Harrison sighed.
The brig was held by her anchors fore and aft, parallel to the shore
about a cable s length away. Five black squares were spaced evenly in
the wide, white band painted along her wales. All her sails were furled
and not simply gathered up by the clew-lines and the bunts, perhaps
an indication the brig meant to remain after the wood and water were
aboard. A boat was drawn up just opposite it on the beach. One sailor
serving as a guard sat on the cinders and rested his back against his
charge. The moored brig and the man and boat on the shore appeared
out of place, almost apparitions to the crewmen. They had scanned
the sea and the bay for months and had accepted that it might be
years before a ship happened upon the island. Now that it was there,
with its tall masts and riding quietly between its bowers, its reality
was almost suspect.
 She flies no ensign, the captain noted.  Mark you, that is not a
good thing.
MOTOO EETEE 239
 Still has her royals yards up, the mate said.  She s not come up
from the sealing grounds.
 Aye, this time of year they surely would have sent them down,
unless she has been in the low latitudes, Harrison pointed out.  Maybe
the brig is in the sandalwood trade.
 Or fled here from New Holland or Van Diemen s. That brig there
may be full of cutthroats, the captain warned.  With springs on her
lines she may bring her guns to command the whole of the beach.
 Any master would do so to protect his men on a strange shore,
Thomas said.
 Come, lads, follow me, Captain Tobit ordered. He wriggled back
out of the ferns, picked up his bow and arrows, and started down the
path to the flax field, slinking along in an awkward crouch.
For several yards along the top of the path, they would be visible
to anyone on the brig, the shore, or the ground around the lake. They
hurried through into the trees below. At several places on the descend-
ing path there were openings in the forest. The captain approached
each of these and peeked out to assure himself that neither the sailor [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]