The Golden Harpoon — page 7: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE RESULT. 8B futtock shrouds and in drawing himself into the top. Seizing the bunting, le at once pro- ceeded to unroll it, and a few minutes atter- wards ib might have been seen dancing merrily aioft, as he pulled upon the slender halliards., The breeze, which by this time had freshened considerably, rustled among the folds of the cloth as it ascended, and when it had reached its proper position, its broad red surface streamed out from the mast in a manner that elicited a sigh of the most intense satisfaction from the lips of Stump. “Ay, ay,” he muttered, as he continued to gaze aloft, “there'll be a rumpus among the boats off there in the ice, when they see that. Those rascally ‘ pow-wows’ are in for it now.” At this moment a yell of surprise and rage broke upon the ears of the speaker, and turning his head, he saw Driko directing the attention of his companions to the signal at the truck. No sooner was the red bunting perceived by the other four seamen, than the whole number rushed into the waist and ordered the ship- keeper to pull down the signal at once, and to come down himself, if he valued his life. “ Not a bit of it,” replied the sturdy seaman, thrusting his hands in his pockets and calmly gazing upon the upturned faces of the con- spirators, “not a bit of it. That rag at the truck doesn’t come down while I have an arm to keep it where it is. You may make up your minds upon that point.” The men exchanged glances, and then held a moment’s whispered consultation, after which they rushed simultaneously towards the main shrouds upon the larboard side. Stump waited very quietly until Driko, the foremost of the party, had swung himself into the rigging, and then drawing his revolver, which, although it was quite rusty, looked very formidable with its six loaded barrels, he ae it at the head of the astonished New ealander, and ordered him back. . “Ay, ay, curse you!” he added, giving his lips an ominous twist as he spoke. “ You see J’m prepared. I know all about your infarnal plans to take the ship, and if you make an- other step in this direction, you are a dead pow-wow, that’s sartain!” The Kanaka paused, and after he had ducked his head three or four times, in a vain effort to get it out of the range of the threatening weapon, he looked up with an expression of surprise, which, if not real, was certainly well feigned. “Me no understand. You speakee me take ship. Don’t know what you mean. No want to take ship—me likee cap’en too much. De signal me no like to see, because cap’en he no like to come aboard when he after whale. He make plenty angry whén he see de signal !” “ Bosh! you deceitful blueskin ; it’s all bosh. Just as though I didn’t hear you and your chums there a-whispering and plotting to free the mutineer, Tom Lark!” The listeners exchanged rapid glances. Driko, however, presently looked up again, and replied: “Hi! hi! You hear we speak about Tom Lark! Why we so speak? Because de ice ’e come to jam de ship, and s’posing we bring ‘om Lark from de run—Tom Lark good sailor, good navigatem, and he save de ship. Dat’s why we speak so much ‘Tom Lark.” “Bosh again! For you know that, although I know nothin’ of navigation, I'd be as handy in working the ship clear of the ice as Tom Lark.” “Me no believe so,” replied Driko, shaking his head. ‘“Navigatem more good as plenty go to sea. But no use me speak to you. You no think me tell truth. Me leaves you. You keep signal at de truck, and when cap’en come he scold you much.” é The islander sprang to the deck and rejoined his shipmates, who had been listening to the foregoing conversation with sullen faces, and with their wmneasy glances directed, at intervals of every few moments, towards the red bunt- ing fluttering at the mast-head. The whole party now withdrew to the forward part of the vessel, but presently they changed their position, sitting down close to the try-works, where they were screened from the watchful eyes of the ship-keeper. *Confound ’em!” muttered the latter, “they are planning some mischief or other, and [ must keep on my guard uatil the rest of the crew returns, which won't be long, unless they are so wedged in the ice that it’s difficult for ‘em to get out.” He turned his eyes towards the floe as he spoke, and gazed long and earnestly in that direction. - But he was unable to see the boats, and a sigh of disappointment rose to his Ips. He gave his pigtail an impatient jerk, and again directed his glances towards the try- works, just in time to witness a spectacle which was certainly a startling proof that the utmost vigilance on his part would not be thrown away in his present position. Towering above the try-works, with his tall, lithe figure drawn back, and his keen, glisten- ing eyes blazing with a deadly purpose, stood the savage, Driko, holding in his uplifted han«ls a well-sharpened harpoon, which he was in the act of darting, point foremost, into the corpu- lent body of Stump. The latter had so much respect for the won- derful skill of the islander in the use of the barbed weapon with which he was now armed that he drew back, sereening himself behind the mast with a celerity which was remarkable in a man of his calibre. The movement, how- ever, was well-timed, for the next moment the deadly iron flew whistling upon its way, and, passing close to the mast, struck the revolver held in his hand with a force that sent the weapon flying from the grasp of its owner into the sea!*: A yell of exultation followed, and then the mutineers rushed to the main rigging, and, leaping into the shrouds, proceeded to mount in the direction of the top, with cat-like agility. Stump, however, did not’ lose his self-pos- session, but, seizing both parts of the signal halliards, he gave them a sudden jerk, that mMiIGboo (€) KS ~ _ (E©)