the vessel which had last appeared upon the scene and which was now steaming down towards the dunkery beacon and the summer shelter, while the small steamer from the mediterranean was making her way northward to meet her, was the monterey of vera cruz, and carried captain philip horn and his wife edna.
as soon as captain horn had heard of the danger which threatened the treasure which was on its way from london to the peruvian government,—treasure which had cost him such toil, anxiety, and suffering, and in the final just disposition of which he felt the deepest interest and even responsibility,—although, in fact, the care and charge of which had passed entirely out of his hands,—he determined not only to write to shirley to go to jamaica, but to go there himself without loss of time, believing from what he had heard that he could[pg 248] surely reach kingston before the arrival there of the dunkery beacon.
but that steamer started before her time, and when he reached vera cruz, he found it impossible to leave immediately for his destination. and when at last he bought a steamer, and arrived at kingston, the dunkery beacon and the yacht summer shelter had both departed. but the captain found the letter from mrs. cliff, and while this explained a great deal, it also puzzled him greatly.
his wife and mrs. cliff had corresponded with some regularity, but the latter had never mentioned the fact that she was the owner of a yacht. mrs. cliff had intended to tell edna all about this new piece of property, but when she looked at the matter from an outside point of view, it seemed to her such a ridiculous thing that she should own a yacht that she did not want to write anything about it until her plans were perfected, and she could tell just what she was going to do. but when she suddenly decided to sail for jamaica, her mind was so occupied with the plans of the moment that she had no time to write.
therefore it was that captain and mrs. horn wondered greatly what in the name of common sense mrs. cliff was doing with a yacht. but they knew that shirley and burke were on board, and that they had sailed on the track of the dunkery beacon, hoping to overtake her and deliver the message which shirley carried. the captain decided that it was his duty to follow these two vessels down the coast of south america.[pg 249]
the monterey was a large steamer sailing in ballast, and of moderate speed, and the captain had with him—besides his wife and her maid—the three negro men whom he had brought up from south america and who were now his devoted personal attendants, and a good-sized crew. captain horn had little hope of overhauling the two steamers, for even the yacht, which he had heard was a fast-sailing vessel, had had twenty-four hours' start of him; but he had reason to hope that he might meet one or both of them on their return; for if the yacht should fail to overhaul the dunkery beacon, she would certainly turn back to kingston.
edna was as enthusiastic and interested in this voyage as her husband. she sympathized in all his anxiety in regard to the safety of the treasure, but even stronger than this was her desire to see once more her dear friend, whom she had come to look upon almost as an elder sister.
during each day the captain and his wife were almost constantly on deck, their glasses sweeping the south-eastern horizon, hoping for the sight of two steamers coming back to kingston. they saw vessels coming and going, but they were not the craft they looked for, and after they left the caribbean sea the sail became fewer and fewer. on the second day after they left tobago island they fell in with a small steamer apparently in distress, for she was working her way under sail and against head-winds towards the coast.
when the captain spoke this steamer, he received a request to lower a boat and go on board of her. there[pg 250] he found an astonishing state of affairs. the steamer was from a french port, she carried no cargo, and she was commanded and manned by captain hagar and the crew of the english ship dunkery beacon. captain hagar's story was not a long one, and he told it as readily to captain horn as he would to any other friendly mariner who might have boarded him.
he had left kingston with his vessel as he left it many times before, and the caribbees were not half a day behind him when he was hailed by a steamer,—the one he was now on, which had been following him for some time. he was told that this steamer carried a message from his owners, and without suspecting anything, he lay to, and a boat came to him from the other ship. this boat had in it a good many more men than was necessary, but he suspected no evil until half-a-dozen men were on his deck and half-a-dozen pistols were pointed at the heads of himself and those around him. then two more boats came over, more men boarded him, and without a struggle, or hardly a cross word,—as he expressed it,—the dunkery beacon was in the hands of sea-robbers.
captain hagar was a mild-mannered man, an excellent seaman, and of good common sense. he had before found orders waiting for him at jamaica, and had not thought it surprising that orders should now have been sent after him. he had firearms on board and might have defended himself to a certain extent, but he had suspected no evil, and when the pirates had boarded him it was useless to think of arms or defence.[pg 251]
the men who had captured the dunkery beacon made very short work of their business. they simply exchanged vessels. they commanded captain hagar and all his men to go over to the french steamer, while they all came on board the dunkery beacon, bringing with them whatever they cared for. captain hagar was told that he could work his new vessel to any port in the world which suited him best, and then the dunkery beacon was headed southward and steamed away.
when captain hagar's engineers attempted to start the engines of their vessel, they found it impossible to do so. several important pieces of the machinery had been taken out, hoisted on deck, and dropped overboard. whatever port they might make, they must make it under sail.
a broken-hearted and dejected man was captain hagar. he had lost a vast treasure which had been entrusted to him, and he had not ceased to wonder why the pirates had not murdered him and all his crew, and thrown them overboard. he hoped that in time he and his men might reach georgetown, or some other port, but it would be slow and disheartening work under the circumstances.
captain horn was also greatly cast down by the news he had received. with the least possible amount of trouble, the pirates had carried off, not only the treasure, but the ship which conveyed it, and now in all probability were far away with their booty. he could understand very well why they would not undertake such wholesale crime as the murder of all the people on the[pg 252] dunkery, for it is probable that there were men among them who could not be trusted even had the leaders been willing to undertake such useless bloodshed. if captain hagar and his men were set adrift on a steamer without machinery, it would be long before they could reach any port, and even if they should soon speak a vessel and report their misfortune, where was the policeman of the sea who would have authority to sail after the stolen vessel, or, if he had, would know on what course to follow her?
captain horn gave up the treasure as lost. the dunkery beacon was probably shaping her course for the coast of africa, and even if he had a swifter vessel and could overhaul her, what could he do?
but now he almost forgot his trouble about the treasure, in his deep concern in the fate of mrs. cliff and her yacht. he had made up his mind that his friends on board that little vessel—he had very shadowy ideas as to what sort of a yacht it was—had embarked upon this cruise entirely for his sake. they knew that he took such a deep personal interest in the safety of the dunkery beacon; they knew that he had done everything possible to detain that vessel at jamaica, and that now, for his peace of mind, for the gratification of his feelings of honor,—no matter how exaggerated they might consider them,—they were following in a little pleasure craft a steamer which they supposed to be a peaceful merchantman, but which was in fact a pirate ship manned by miscreants without conscience.
his plan was soon decided upon. he told captain[pg 253] hagar that he would take him and his men on his own vessel, and that he would carry them with him on his search for the yacht on which his friends had sailed. captain hagar agreed in part to this proposition. he would be glad to go with captain horn, for it was possible he might hear news of his lost vessel, but he did not wish to give up the french steamer. she was worth money, and if she could be got into port, he felt it his duty to get her there. so he left on board a crew sufficient to work her to georgetown, but with the majority of his crew came on board the monterey, and captain horn continued on his southern course.
when on the following morning captain horn perceived far away to the south a steamer which captain hagar, standing by with a glass to his eye, declared to be none other than his old vessel, the dunkery beacon, and when, not long afterwards, he made out a smaller vessel, apparently keeping company with the dunkery beacon, with another steamer lying off to the eastward, he was absolutely amazed and confounded. he could not comprehend the state of affairs. what was the dunkery beacon doing down south, when by this time she ought to be far away to the east, if she were running away with the treasure, and what were those two other vessels keeping so close to her?
he could not imagine what they could be, unless, indeed, they were her pirate consorts. "if that's the case," thought captain horn, but saying no word to any one, "this is not a part of the sea for my wife to sail upon!"[pg 254]
still he knew nothing, and he could decide upon nothing. he could not be sure that one of those vessels was not the yacht which had sailed from kingston with mrs. cliff, and burke, and shirley on board, and so the monterey did not turn back, but steamed on slowly towards the distant steamers.
