Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 482 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

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Anether grating sound, a tremor of the hnll, then a rise on a mighty wave, followed by a plunge and a shock that seemed to shiver every timber in the wreck, and almost stunned the prisoner. There was a momentary creaking and crash- ing of timbers, as the wreck settled upon its bed of rocks, and then Rafael Rodriguez knew that the hull was at a standstill, and had been driven hard upon a rocky shore, One moment of fearful anxiety, and as he glanced about him, fora crevice in the deck, a long split made by. the shock caused him to be- hold something which brought from his lips a long, loud cry, acry that frightened the rats, causing them to scatter and fly away from the human being whom, in their terror they had seemed to seek for sympathy. ,CHAPTER XXX, HOPE AND DESPAIR, Waat had wrung from the lips of Rafael Rodriguez the wild ery, was that his eyes had fallen upon a strange sight, This was none other than that the shock of the wreck striking upon the rocks with such terrifie force, had split in twain the timber into which the ringbolt had been imbedded, This released the bolt, and though still in irons the Cuban was no longer chained to the deck. So his ery had been one of joy, of hope. He arose, shook himself, stretched his chained hands over his head, and tried to shake off the nuinbness that was upon him from his long con- finement, Then he made his way to the hatch and up the steps to it. ut his strength would not move itas it was “lashed down from the deck. A bundle of handspikes tied together caught his eye, and one of these he quickly seized upon. But he could not get the end under the hatch, as it was too large. Back to where he had seen some old cutlasses, knives and muskets he went, and taking one of the latter from a rack he discovered that it was loaded. t A powder-horn was near, among other traps, for he was in a cuddy where all manner of odds and ends about aship were kept, and priming the pen of the musket, he aimed it at a corner of the hatch and fired. : It tore a small hole there, and again and again he loaded the gun and fired; but it was slow work, ironed as he was, At last however he had made a small, ragged hole, and into this he stuck a cutlass blade and began to cut it oub, He was weak for want of food; but he worked on steadily until night came and then went back to his cot to rest. Utterly worn out he did not waken until a stream of sunshine peering through a crevice fell upon his face, He took it as a good omen and arose and started again at his work, refreshed yet suffer- ing for want of food. A coupls of hours passed and he was enabled to make a hole through which he could get the end of the handspike. With this as a purchase he swung his weight upon it and, after several efforts tore up. one corner of the hatch. A shout broke from his lips at his triumph, and he went to work with renewed vigor, and at last was enabled to get an opening through which he could drag himself, It was by a great effort that he pulled himself through to the deck Once free from the loathsome hold and out into the bright sunshine his brain reeled and he fell his length upon the deck. He had swooned from want of food, over- exertion and the rush of joy at his triumph. For a long time he lay like one dead, But at last he recovered, and sitting up looked about him. His head had struck the iron manacles on his wrist and cut a gash that was bleeding freely and this had revived him. Unmindful of the wound he arose and gazed about him. He saw an island, barren and rocky, and with only a clump of small trees in sight. It was a most forbidding spot, and the wreck had been cast high and dry upon the rocky shores, When lashed into fury by the storms the a tee eee es os sf wr Ocean Tr amps. waves would reach the wreck, but otherwise it was above high-water mark. The wreck was badly shattered, its back be- ing broken, and its masts gone, and bulwarks broken in many places, and forward completely torn away. . The hatches had remained firm, and the cabin companionway had been securely closed, Thither Rafael Rodriguez made his way, and opening the companionway descended into the cabin. The sea had not broken in there, but all around was a scene of confusion, There were several dead bodies upon the floor, some of the crew of the schooner, the furniture had. been overturned, and it looked as though a hasty search had been made for the hiding-place of Belmont the Buccaneer’s treasure. ‘Oh that my poor wife and child had been left here,” groaned the unhappy man, But a rapid search revealed no living being on board, other than himself, and shot-holes in the schooner’s sides showed that the iron mes- sengers had torn through the cabin. Food was what Rafael Rodriguez most needed, and he quickly sought the steward’s pantry and eagerly devoured what he could find in the way of edibles. ‘*T shall not starve at least, for there are enough stores aboard to last a year,” he said. Draggihg the dead bodies upon deck he tossed them overboard, and then lay down to rest, for he sadly needed it. Night came on and the prostrate. man slept on; but another dawn broke and he quickly be- gan the day’s work. After breakfast, he sought to find something by which he could free himself of his irons, A search in the carpenter’s chest revealed some files; and with them he began to rid him- self of his chains. But it was slow, tedious and weary work, and it was not until two days passed that he had filed the manacle through on his left wrist. As long a time was taken in cutting the right hand manacle in twain, and having worn the half-dozen files he had nearly smooth it was a wéek before he freed his ankles from the chains upon them. He had found provisions enough in the pan- try to support him the while, and when, at last freed of his irons, he felt like another being. His legs were stiff, and his bones sore, but a bath in the sea helped him and he went ashore to see what manner of place he had been cast upon. Tt was an island, half a mile in length, nar- row and curving. It was almost barren, save the clump of trees before referred to, and where there was a grass plot an acre in size, with a tiny spring bubbling up out of a gravel bed. ° The whole shore was rocky and forbidding, and Rafael Rodriguez could see that the waves, when a tempest was sweeping the seas, must break over nearly the whole island, ‘*T am as much a prisoner here as I. would be upon the wreck. ’ ‘** But I will not give up hope, and make my- self as comfortable as possible,” So saying, he set to work to erect himself a hut, from what he brought from the wreck. Then he-took his provisions ashore and stowed them away, knowing how preg ane they were. In a week’s time he had made himself most comfortable, and had taken from the wreck all that could besaved from the stores of provisions, well knowing how precious they were to him. But when bis work was done, and he realized that he had no boat, nomeans of building one, and that not a sail had he seen passing the isl- and, his heart sunk within him, and he seemed as though he would utterly yield to despair at his fearful fate, CHAPTER XXXI, A PIRATE’S TREASURE, Ir was when the work which he had laic out for himself to do was over that the lonely isiander began Lo realize his situation, He knew that the island must be one of the West India group, far off the course of vessels, and that he might have toremain there fora long time, perhaps forever, He had ample stores to last him several years, if taken care of, fish were abundant and wild fowl frequently visited the island, so there was BO danger of starvation staring him in the ace. t length he set out work for himself to do, and this was to carry all that was valuable on the schooner up to his little cabin home and build a shelter over it, There were a number of arms, of all kinds upon the vessel, and plenty of powder that had not been spoiled by the sea, Then in the hold of the schooner there was a goodly supply of booty, and he knew that a storm from the eastward, more severe than the one which had driven the wreck high upon the rocks, would break the hull into fragments. So he begun the removal of all that was in the schooner and _ worked dilligently until he felt that he could soon accomplish the task he had set himself to do. The carpenter’s chest he fouud a valuable a a ee ee t. <g tey * or ; os ee 15 ri thing indeed, and he already began to think of building a boat out of the ship’s timbers, in which he could leave the island. While selecting planking from the cabin he ay eee, brought to view a secret recep- | tacle. ‘9 It had evidently been made for a particular purpose, and that purpose was to conceal there the iron chest of the buccaneer chief, The pulling off of the planking revealed a — trap, and in it was an oak chest, stoutly bound with iron bands. With considerable difficulty this chest, which was bet heavy, was raised from its place and gradually gotten upon deck. There it was lowered to the rocks, and a rudely-constructed, but serviceable wheelbar- row, was brought into use to carryit up to the cabin of the islander. . The work in moving it had been severe, and tired out with the exertion he ate his supper — and retired. , About midnight he was awakened by the howling of the winds, arfd he quickly realized that he had been wise in building his cabin ina sheltered spot, and making it substantialenough to resist a hard blow, The wind came from the eastward, and in- creased in violence until.it blew a burricane, a The waves dashed upon the island with a force that shook it to its foundation, and the spra from the sea fairly drenched the cabin as wit a heavy rain, > x3 Putting on his storm-suit, Rafael Rodriguez started forth to have a look at the wreck. < As he neared the shore he heard the crashing | and creaking of timbers, and he knew that | vessel was going to pieces rapidly. f It was just such a night as the one on which ~ the wreck had been driven high upon the surf, and the hurricane forced the waves against the e ‘ bull with force enough to shatter it, “s High and dry the wreckage was cast, and when the storm broke the vessel was no more, Far and wide along the rocky shores the ~— debris was strewn, and the lonely islander set — to work to gather up the timbers and planking for future use, ° . He knew not how long he would have to re- | main on the desolate island, and he was in hopes ~ that with the tools and material he had, he might be able to construct a small boat that | would enable him to leave the spot upon which — a kind Fate had driven him, for hadtheschooner — not have struck there, it would have doubtless gone to the bottom, or been driven upon sunken reefs and gone to pieces, sending its solitary — occupant to a grave in the sea, ‘¥ The timber was safely gathered together, and — a spot was selected for the building of the boat which Rafael Rodriguez began to feel would be his only chance of leaving the island, . This occupied several days of hard work,from — dawn to darkness, and the treasure had not yet _ been examined. * But at last there was no work to do, and the — sailor turned his attention to his treasure, wh strange to say, he had not felt any very strong desire to overhaul. Sy, Had he been differently situated it may be — that he would have at once sought to know the value of his find. cc But food was worth more there than ad, and. alone as he was the treasure was utterly — nter’s chest, — useless. With tools taken from the ca he set to work to open the stron x. : Hardly had he done so, when he gave a shoué that rung over the island. oy Before him was a vast fortune, and the sight — of it seemed suddenly to turn his brain. ee He had been accustomed to riches all his life, — and he had never known the end of gold, ‘3 And yet the sight of the treasure which he — had before him gave him an attack of what — miners call the ** gold fever,” «, He shouted, laughed, danced and almost wept Ni nag the conflicting emotions that came over For a while his desolate situation, his lost wife _ and child, all were forgotten and he reveled in — the joy of his possessions, ae There at his feet was a fortune that was equal — to the riches of a king. . There were jewels of many kinds, bracelets, © necklaces, earrings, finger-rings, watches and — many other articles of value. se Then there were bags of gold and silver, and in fact just such a rare Booty as might be gained — by robbing the passengers of scores of vessels. ** This fortune is mine!” he shouted, . Then as suddenly his humor changed and bh stood regarding it in silence. - ‘* But how has it been gained?” he asked him- self in a low tone. 4.2 ae ‘*] bave not sinned in getting it, and yet every — piece of gold and silver, every trinket has been © stained with blood. re. ‘* Those who have been robbed of their gold and valuables, have in many cases, been slain, and haunting phantoms seem to hover over this — strong box to guard the treasure. me ‘Tt is mine, yes, and yet, if 1 am pel bie - ie * less, childless, homeless, what do I nee money? : =e **] will keep it, and, when I leave here, if I \ m (EO) Ebooks 2