University of Virginia Library

9. CHAPTER IX.
The Beacon Light.

The singular discovery made by Forrestal with
which the last chapter concluded, removed at once
every doubt that might before have existed as to the
identity of the man they had so wonderfully got into
their power, with the person who had taken away
Isidore. Harry had no need of this confirmation.
The recognition from the first had been unhesitating
and without a doubt in his mind.

`Now that you are convinced, my dear Mr. Forrestal,'
said Harry, earnestly, his cheek glowing with
his zealous solicitude, `let there be no delay in bringing
him into the cabin and making him answer truly,
with his life at your feet, where my sister is. I would
have asked him at once to his face, had you not checked
and bade me wait. I have waited.'

`There is now no opportunity to question him as I
wish to, dear Harry,' said his friend, smiling. `He is safe
enough for the present. As soon as you get the bow-sprit
rigged and the jib on, I will tack ship and lay
her course for the light. I am afraid to run much
longer in this direction; and if I can weather the light
there is a snug harbor there that I can lay in, with the
schooner against the rock, as at a pier. There we
must lay until I can send some wrecker to Nassau for

anchors and a compass; or till the sloop-of-war arrives
on the Banks.'

`The light is out of sight, sir,' called Rogers.

`Yes, we are drifting away from it every moment.
Go, Harry, and drive the men to get on with their work
forward as fast as possible. Keep her to the wind,
helmsnan! Let her hug it as close as she can!'

`Ay, ay, sir! she lays to pretty well now.'

In half an hour more the bowsprit was rigged, jib
set, and the gale having lessened to a steady nine-knot
breeze from the south, the schooner bore up and laid
her course for the light, which was just visible from
mast-head, glimmering on the horizon like a planet
setting in the west.

`She lays her course very well, Mr. Forrestal,' said
Rogers, who stood by him on the deck; only she
throws the spray forward so heavily that no man can
stay on the forecastle.'

`The light opens fast and bright upon us,' answered
Forrestal. `It is now about a league and a half.
What soundings have we here? Heave the lead. If
we have eight and a half, I know I am right in my
calculations as to our whereabouts. The star Aldebaran
I caught a glimpse of through the drift a moment
ago, and I knew from that my bearings pretty
accurately. I am running right.'

`No bottom!' called out the leadsman from the lee
rigging.

`No bottom! How much line did you throw?'

`Fifteen fathom, sir.'

`This is strange. Run out thirty.'

Forrestal walked forward and stood anxiously waiting
the result.

`No-bor-or-or-to-o-o-m,' sung the man, in the sonorous
sing-song strain peculiar to leadsmen.

`This is surprising! We must be on soundings!
That must be the English light!' cried Forrestal.
`Wrecker,' he said, turning to his silent prisoner, `you
must know these waters. Is that the English light?'

`If an American naval officer does n't know his
duty, he must not expect to learn it from a poor wrecker,'
answered the man, derisively.

`Confound the villain!' said Forrestal to himself,
`if I do n't humble your haughty bearing, my fine fellow,
ere you and I part!'

`Mr. Forrestal,' said Harry, `you can't be too careful.
You know this is the part of the Banks on which
false beacons were displayed! This may be one!
and there is an expression of exulting malignity in
that man's face, since he answered you, that leads me
to fear this may be a false light you are running for.'

`I begin to mistrust, since I find I am not on soundings.
On the chart I should have eight fathoms all
along here.'

`Deep water!' sang the leadsman.

`Have you bottom?'

`Yes, sir, at twenty fathom.'

`Throw again; this is better.'

`Sixteen fathom!'

`That is better still! we were out farther than I
thought, and are now running in to the regular bank
soundings.'

`Thirteen fathom!'

`I am right! we are correct. It is the English light,
if the next heave give us less water.'

`Nine and a half!'

From nine and a half to eight it continued for
nearly ten minutes, when the soundings became so
regular that Forrestal's doubts were removed. Moreover
he was confirmed by a sneering remark made by
the wrecker.

You had best be cautious how you run for that
light so boldly, master; for I see you fear false beacons.
Now I think it more than probable that is one;
so if you take my advice you will run farther to the
south.'

`This man's words decide my course,' said Forrestal
to his young officers. `I know well that this is
the neighborhood of the false lights that the captains
of the two ships say misled them; though the Spanish
cruiser that went to find them returned, saying there
was no signs of any.'

Forrestal felt a slight touch, and catching Harry's
eye, was directed by its glance to the face of the wrecker.
Its expression was one of singular exultation.

`This man is a very devil. I do n't know what to
make of him,' said Forrestal to his friend. `But I will
bring him up with a round turn, soon as I get the
schooner in safety.'

The light now opened so round and clear, being
about two and a half miles distant, that Forrestal was
satisfied it was the English light, which he had often
seen.

`No wreckers could show a light like that,' he said.
`We are right. Keep a good look-out there forward
for land!'

`Ay, ay, sir!'

`Rogers, take your place forward, and keep watch.
We are running in now very freely. The lead speaks
correctly, and I think we are safe in running. It is
impossible this should be a false light, for then where
is the English light? We must see two lights, if we
see one!'

`That is true,' answered Rogers.

`We shall have a heavy rain out of that black cloud
upon us soon, that will hide it,' said Forrestal. `We
have had the wind, and now we are to have a shower.'

As he spoke, a flash of lightning, followed by thunder,
came from a rain-cloud that had risen in the west
after the heaviest of the storm had blown over. It
rapidly obscured the few stars, and came upon them
with that rapid advance so common in that latitude.
In five minutes the rain poured upon the deck in a
deluge, while the sea, beaten down by its force, seemed
almost without a billow. The light was faintly
seen, for a moment, and then was lost in the dense
atmosphere of water.

`Do you mean to stand on in this course long?'
asked the wrecker, suddenly.

`Yes. I know where I am. Why do you ask?'

`Because that light, I assure you, is a false one!' he
answered, earnestly. `If you wish to save your vessel,
you must alter your course several points farther south.'

`I shall do, be assured, just the opposite of what
you say,' answered Forrestal. `Your object is to mislead
me. The rain is lessening,—keep her as she is.
Can you see the light ahead there?'

`No, sir.'

`Keep a bright look-out, Harry! We must run close
under it, and leave it a quarter of a mile on the starboard
bow, says the chart, and when we get it abeam,
steer west northwest, one half north, and that will bring
us into the haven behind it.'

The schooner continued to stand on. The wrecker
appeared very uneasy, and several times ejaculated as
if he would speak. He was constantly looking out
ahead with anxiety.

`You fear, if I run in here, that I shall find men who
know you and can bear testimony to some villanies of
yours on the Banks,' said Forrestal, observing him.

`Light, ho!' shouted several voices.

The schooner, advancing obliquely in one direction
and the shower in another, suddenly passed out of it,
and the light blazed forth not two cables length distant
on the lee bow!

`Put about, sir, or we are lost!' shouted the wrecker,
bounding as if he would break from his confinement.

`I hear the roar of breakers!' cried Rogers.

`And I see a dark reef dead ahead!' responded
Forrestal. `Ready about! Hard down your helm!
Luff! Luff! right up into the wind's eye! There is
no time nor room to put her away!' cried Forrestal,
his voice elevated to its highest pitch.

The danger of the schooner was instantly apparent;
for the light from the `Tower Rock,' which blazed
above them, shed its glare over the angry waters which
all around them were lashed into foam by the repelling
rocks over which they were breaking. Dark as the
night was, Forrestal could see a wall of reef-rocks

stretching away to the right and left, and the light
which had lured him on to the danger, now served only
to show him the fearful trap in which he had been
taken.

`I told you of your peril,' cried the wrecker. `Now,
loose me! Would you have me perish here, bound
like a dog?'

But he was unheard. Forrestal had sprung to the
aid of the helmsman, and every man was exerting
himself to get the schooner out of the danger. She
obeyed her helm and luffed into the wind with all
shivering; but she had got such head-way, and the
seas set so strongly upon the reef, that, before she
could wear and take the wind on the larboard tack,
she was lifted upon a large billow and dashed, beam
on, upon the jagged rocks that rose above the surface
on all sides of them. She struck with such force, as
the wave passed from under her, that her masts went
by the board, shivering upon the sharp rocks as they
fell. Another wave bore the bull farther on, and letting
her fall heavily upon a cleft in the reef, there she became
firmly wedged in. The next billow leaped over
her with a wild roar that drowned the cries of the
mariners, who were seeking safety by every means
within their reach.

`Be cool, men,' cried Forrestal, `and try to reach the
rocks over the stern, between the coming of the seas.
Harry, you stand by me. Rogers, see that the men
do not throw themselves over rashly, to be dashed to
pieces! Now, men, is your time!'

By great exertions, nearly all the sailors reached the
rocks above the surges. The light which had led them

on to ruin blazing brilliantly down upon the scene of
death and devastation. At intervals from the shore,
and as it seemed on the summit of a tall cliff that hung
over them a cable's length off, came to their ears a wild
savage shout of triumph. It seemed as if a demon
was exulting over the ruin below him.

`Now, for our safety, Harry! Wait till the next wave
passes over us. Lay close to the deck, when you see
it coming!'

`But the man! Hear him call upon us and curse
us!'

`I mean to free him as soon as the next sea clears
us, and give him his chance with us!'

`If he is lost, all my hopes —'

Harry's words were broken off by Forrestal's pulling
him flat upon the deck. The wrecker, who had been
struggling to free himself, and calling for aid, crouched
behind the capstan, to let it swoop over him. Its force
and weight broke the hull near the main-mast, leaving
him on the more forward part, alone! Forrestal and
Harry were irresistibly borne upon the surge from the
deck and lodged together upon a rock, to which they
clung. Aided by Rogers, and the men who had
already got ashore, they were lifted from this place,
from which the next wave would have washed them,
to a shelf on which they stood above its reach.

The first thought Forrestal had, was of the wrecker.
The man was seen by the glare of the beacon, still
bound to the capstan, and each moment the part of the
wreck he was on was sinking lower and lower, as it
slid from the rock. His cries were more like those of
a wild beast, than human! He writhed and struggled

and plunged with mad but impotent efforts to free
himself.

`He will perish! I should have released him before,
but the schooner struck so suddenly, it was out of my
power!' said Forrestal, with pity and grief. `I care
not so much for the villain's life, but for you, Harry!
Yet, I would not like a man should perish, bound,
whoever he is, without giving him a chance for his
life. Nor shall he perish!'

With a generous impulse, Forrestal made a spring
to reach the wreck, when the gunner caught him and
held him back with a strong arm.

`It will be death, Captain Forrestal!'

He had hardly spoken before there was a general
cry from Rogers and the men, and Harry Carneil
the next moment was seen swimming amid the
surges.

`Harry!' cried Forrestal, with horror; and but for
Rogers and the others, he would have plunged after
him. Two seamen, however, did so at the risk of their
lives. One was driven back by the waves, but the
other, diving, as did Harry, let it pass over. The next
moment the daring boy was by the side of the man
whom he most feared and hated on earth, but whose
life he would rather save than any man's living, — not
excepting, perhaps, even Forrestal's!

`You come to save me, boy!' cried the man, looking
upon him with a singular expression of ferocity.

`Yes. You shall not die yet!' answered Harry,
casting off the strong rope that bound the man to the
capstan, and which he had stranded in his superhuman
efforts to liberate himself. The bonds were loosened

and the man stood free, save his manacles, which gave
his hands about twenty inches play, — this being the
length of the chain connecting the hand-cuffs.

`Now, your hand-cuffs!' said the determined boy,
taking the key from his pocket to unlock them. While
he was doing it, the light of the Tower was suddenly
extinguished.

`One word, now,' said the wrecker, flinging his
chains into the surf. `Do you know who I am?' The
wrecker spoke in English, with his mouth close to his
ear.

`Yes, villain!'

`And you have pursued me to take me, because you
recognize me!'

`Yes!'

`Then know, before you die, for die you shall, if I
have to drown myself to drown you, that your sister
lives, and is in my power!'

As he spoke, he caught him up and sprung over the
stern with him into the boiling surge. The sudden
extinction of the light, after the prey had been taken,
to prevent the discovery of its position, prevented Forrestal
from seeing what was done, though he was also
on the wreck again, having risked his life to save that
of Harry. But as he reached the capstan, he heard
Harry's wild shriek ring above the roar of the billows,
as the monster plunged with him into the mad waters.
Forgetful of all else but his young friend's safety, and
divining, from his knowledge of the facts of Harry's
life, and of the character of the man, that he was
attempting his destruction, he did not hesitate to leap
after them. It was pitchy dark, but he heard near

him, in the water, a gurgling cry and swam in that
direction with all his force. The next moment he felt
his foot strike something beneath him, which yielded.
He dove and buried his hand in the wiry hair of the
wrecker. Another grasp lower down and he held him
by the throat. The wrecker, who had sunk beneath
the surface to keep his victim under water till he should
drown him, knowing, from his experience in swimming,
that he would outlast him in breath, at once
rose to the top of the water, but releasing his hold of
Harry and thrusting him far beneath him. He then
grappled with Forrestal. The latter, however, held his
advantage of having him by the throat, and, although
the wrecker clung to his waist and sunk with him, he did
not release his hold. Suddenly, he found Harry's hand
pass across his face and his grasp upon his arm. To
save him, he instantly released the wrecker's throat,
dashed his fist into his face, and, catching Carneil in
his arm, rose to the surface with him, and after an
arduous struggle, gained, first the wreck, and then the
rocks.

`Has he drowned, sir?' were Harry's first words, after
being able to articulate, which was not for five minutes
after the men had got him and Forrestal beyond the
reach of the waves.

`God knows! I hope so, the incarnate demon!' answered
Forrestal, who was chafing his young friend's
temples and hands with the tenderness of a brother.

`O, no, no! He must not perish! Save him, dear
Forrestal! All depends on him! All is lost if he die!'

`It cant be helped, Harry. He may have got to the

reef, but it is so dark here we can see nothing. If he
is saved, we can secure him.

`O, I hope so! I hope he is saved! He told me
my sister lives, and is in his power!

`Did he say this?'

`Yes. After I had released him, he asked me if I
knew him. I told him, yes. He asked if I had pursued
him because I recognized him. I said, I had. He
then said, in the most savage manner, `that he would
let me know, before I died, that my sister lived, and
was in his power. He then caught me up and said
I should drown, if he had to drown with me!'

`The man is a fiend! This is wonderful, you tell
me! His revenge against you is wonderful! Never
was a person involved in such mysteries as seem
thrown around you! I do hope the man has got to
the rocks safely! But our shipwreck, Rogers! This
is a most singular affair!'

`That light was not the English light.'

`It was the prince of darkness, holding out a lantern
to lead us on, rather. I now believe that there is a
false light, and that we have been running for it. And
the fact that it has been put out, so soon as it was discovered
a vessel had come ashore!'

`If it is a false light, it is on Abaco Point, just where
the captain said, and we are ten miles north of the
English light. One thing is certain, — we are wrecked
on a long reef, as we can tell by the roar to the right
of us, running south of the light we were steering for,
and such a reef is no where near the English light;
but there is such a one stretching off south of `The-Hole-in-the-Wall,'
on Abaco Island; and on that reef we

are, I am very well convinced. But now we are here,
I dont leave the Island till I know all about this beacon
affair. If it is to be found, and those who kindle it
are to be found, they wont escape us. If I could sift
this matter to the bottom, and catch these monsters,
who thus murder seamen by wholesale, I would not
regret the loss of the schooner.'

`What time does the moon rise?' asked Rogers.

`At about an hour after midnight. By feeling the
hands of my watch, that goes still, with all its wetting,
I find that it is now just twelve; for they are both close
together at the handle. We will wait here quietly till
we get the light of the moon, and then move to better
quarters. Dont despair, Harry, we may catch your
man skulking about the rocks yet.'

`The sea is falling fast, sir,' said the boatswain; `I
think by the time the moon is up, we can get on board
the wreck and get arms as well as provisions If this
is the `Light of the Reef,' that has lured us on here
to-night, we are likely to need something to defend
ourselves against the villains, as well as help us capture
the whole nest of 'em.'

`The fellow was right when he cautioned me about
steering for the light,' said Forrestal.

`It was to save himself, when he found we were
likely to be wrecked; as he knew the light he must
be of the gang,' remarked Harry.

`Hark! Hear that yell from the cliff!' cried Rogers.
`It is the same exulting cry we heard when we struck!'

Again it was repeated, and then again, with increased
exultation, — a sound something between shrieking
and laughter. The men huddled together, appalled

with superstitious fear. And as the light had gone out
at once, leaving no sign of its ever having existed,
they began to whisper among themselves that the
devil had more to do with their shipwreck than any
wreckers; for they were quite assured that the voice
they heard was his.

The cry began to be uttered again, when it was suddenly
checked, and ended in a yell of pain, while a
deep voice was heard, in menacing tones. Then all
was silent.

`That voice was his!' cried Harry, almost with a
shout. `He is saved, Forrestal, he is saved! I felt he
would not die with that secret on his soul!'