Story, - The Boats of the Glen Carrig: Chapter 4

IV
THE TWO FACES
OF THE remainder of that night, I have but a confused memory. At times
we heard the door shaken behind the great chests; but no harm came to
it. And, odd whiles, there was a soft thudding and rubbing upon the
decks over our heads, and once, as I recollect, the Thing madea final
try at the teak covers across the windows; but the day came at last,
and found me sleeping. Indeed, we had slept beyond the noon, but that
the bo'sun, mindful of our needs, waked us, and weremoved the chests.
Yet, for perhaps the space of a minute, none durst open the door,
until the bo'sun bid us stand to one side. We faced aboutat him then,
and saw that he held a great cutlass in his right hand.
He called to us that therewere four more of the weapons, and made a
backward motion with his left hand towards an open locker. At that, as
might be supposed, we made some haste to the place to which he
pointed, and found that, among some other gear, there were three more
weapons such as he held; but the fourth was a straight
cut-and-thrust,and this I had the good fortune to secure.
Being now armed, we ran to join the bo'sun; for by this he had the
door open, and was scanning the main cabin.I would remark here how a
good weapon doth seem to put heart into a man; for I, who but a few,
short hours since had feared for my life, was now right full
oflustiness and fight; which, mayhap, was no matter for regret.
From the main cabin, thebo'sun led up on to the deck, and I remember
some surprise at finding the lid of the scuttle evenas we had left it
the previous night; but then I recollected that the skylight was
broken, andthere was access to the big cabin that way. Yet, I
questioned within myself as to what manner of thing it could be which
ignored the convenience of the scuttle, and descended by way of the
broken skylight.
We made a search of the decks and fo'cas'le, but found nothing, and,
after that, the bo'sun stationed two of us on guard, whilst the rest
went about such duties as were needful. In a little, we came to
breakfast, and, after that, we prepared to testthe story upon the
sample wrappers and see perchance whether there was indeed a spring of
fresh water among the trees.
Now between the vessel and the trees, lay a slope of the thick mud,
againstwhich the vessel rested. To have scrambled up this bank had
been next to impossible, by reason of its fat richness; for, indeed,
it looked fit to crawl; but that Josh called out to the bo'sun that he
had come upon aladder, lashed across the fo'cas'le head. This was
brought, also several hatch covers. The latter were placed first upon
the mud, and the ladder laid upon them; by which means we were enabled
to pass up to thetop of the bank without contact with the mud.
Here, we entered at onceamong the trees; for they grew right up to the
edge; but we had no trouble in making a way;for they were nowhere
close together; but standing, rather, each one in a little open
spaceby itself.
We had gone a little wayamong the trees, when, suddenly, one who was
with us cried out that he could see something away on our right, and
we clutched everyone his weapon the more determinedly, and went
towards it. Yet it proved to be but a seaman's chest, and a space
further off, we discovered another. And so, after a little walking, we
found the camp; but there was small semblance of a camp about it; for
the sail of which the tent had been formed, was all torn and stained,
and lay muddy upon the ground. Yet thespring was all we had wished,
clear and sweet, and so we knew we might dream of deliverance.
Now, upon our discoveryof the spring, it might bethought that we
should set up a shout to those upon the vessel; but this was not so;
for there wassomething in the air of the place which cast a gloom upon
our spirits, and we had no disinclination to return unto the vessel.
Upon coming to the brig,the bo'sun called to four of the men to go
down into the boats, and pass up the breakers: also, he collected all
the buckets belonging to the brig, and forthwith each of us was set to
our work. Some, those with the weapons, entered into the wood, and
gave down the water to thosestationed upon the bank,and these, in
turn, passed it to those in the vessel. To the man in the galley, the
bo'sun gave command to fill a boiler with some of the most select
pieces of the pork and beef from the casks and get them cooked so soon
as might be, and so we were kept at it; for it had been
determined--now that we had come upon water--that we should stay not
an hour longer in that monster-ridden craft, and we were all agog to
get the boats revictualled, and put back to the sea, fromwhich we had
too gladly escaped.
So we worked through all that remainder of the morning, and right on
into the afternoon; for we were in mortal fear of the coming dark.
Towards four o'clock, thebo'sun sent the man, who had been set to do
our cooking, up to us with slices of salt meat upon biscuits, and we
ate as we worked, washing our throats with water from the spring, and
so, before the evening, we had filled our breakers, and near every
vessel which was convenient for us to take in the boats. More, some of
us snatched the chance to wash our bodies; for we were sorewith brine,
having dipped in the sea to keep down thirst as much as might be.
Now, though it had not taken us so great a whileto make a finish of
our water-carrying if mattershad been more convenient; yet because of
the softness of the ground under our feet, and the care with which we
had to pick our steps,and some little distance between us and the
brig,it had grown later than we desired, before we had made an end.
Therefore, when the bo'sun sent word that we should come aboard, and
bring our gear, we made all haste. Thus, as itchanced, I found that I
had left my sword besidethe spring, having placed it there to have two
hands for the carrying of one of the breakers. At my remarking my
loss, George, who stood near, cried out that he would run for it, and
was gone in a moment, being greatly curious to see thespring.
Now, at this moment, thebo'sun came up, and called for George; but I
informed him that he had run to the spring to bring me my sword. At
this, the bo'sun stamped his foot, and swore a great oath, declaring
that he had kept the lad by him all the day; having a wish to keep him
from any danger which the wood might hold, and knowing the lad's
desire to adventure there. At this, a matter which I should have
known, I reproached myself for so gross a piece of stupidity, and
hastened after the bo'sun, who had disappeared over the top of the
bank. I saw hisback as he passed into the wood, and ran until Iwas up
with him; for, suddenly, as it were, I found that a sense of chilly
dampness had come among the trees; though a while before the place had
been full of the warmth of the sun. This, I put to the account of
evening, which was drawing on apace; and also, it must be borne in
mind, that there were but the two of us.
We came to the spring; but George was not to be seen, and I saw no
sign of my sword. At this,the bo'sun raised his voice, and cried out
the lad's name. Once he called, and again; then atthe second shout we
heard the boy's shrill halloo, from some distance ahead among the
trees. At that, we ran towards the sound, plunging heavily across the
ground, which was everywhere covered with a thick scum, that clogged
the feet in walking. As we ran, we hallooed, and so came upon the boy,
and I saw that he had my sword.
The bo'sun ran towards him, and caught him by the arm, speaking with
anger, and commanding him to return with us immediately to the vessel.
But the lad, for reply, pointed with my sword, and we saw that he
pointed at what appeared to be a bird against the trunk of one of the
trees. This, as I moved closer, I perceived to be a part of the tree,
and no bird; butit had a very wondrous likeness to a bird; so much so
that I went up to it, to see if my eyes had deceived me. Yet it seemed
no more than a freak of nature, though most wondrous in its fidelity;
being but an excrescence upon the trunk. With a sudden thought that it
would make me a curio, I reached up to see whether I could break it
away from the tree; but it was above my reach, so that I had to leave
it. Yet, one thing I discovered; for, in stretching towards the
protuberance, I had placed a hand upon the tree, and its trunk was
soft as pulp under my fingers, much after the fashion of a mushroom.
As we turned to go, the bo'sun inquired of George his reason for going
beyond the spring, and George told him that he had seemed to hear
someone calling to him among the trees, and there had been so much
pain in the voice that he had run towards it; but been unable to
discover the owner. Immediately afterwards he had seen the curious,
bird-like excrescence upon a tree nearby. Thenwe had called, and of
therest we had knowledge.
We had come nigh to thespring on our return journey, when a sudden low
whine seemed to run among the trees. I glanced towards the sky,and
realized that the evening was upon us. I was about to remark upon this
to the bo'sun, when, abruptly, he came to a stand, and bent forward to
stare into theshadows to our right. At that, George and I turned
ourselves about to perceive what matter it was which had attracted the
attention of the bo'sun; thus we made out a tree some twenty yards
away, which had all its branches wrapped aboutits trunk, much as the
lash of a whip is wound about its stock. Now this seemed to us a very
strange sight, and we made all of us toward it, to learn the reason of
so extraordinary a happening.
Yet, when we had come close upon it, we had no means of arriving at a
knowledge of that whichit portended; but walkedeach of us around the
tree, and were more astonished, after our circumnavigation of the
great vegetable than before.
Now, suddenly, and in the distance, I caught thefar wailing that came
before the night, and abruptly, as it seemed to me, the tree wailed at
us.At that I was vastly astonished and frightened; yet, though I
retreated, I could not withdraw my gaze from the tree; but scanned it
the more intently; and, suddenly, I saw a brown,human face peering at
us from between the wrapped branches. At this, I stood very still,
being seized with that fear which renders one shortly incapable of
movement. Then, before I had possession of myself, I saw that it was
of a part with the trunk of the tree; for I could not tell where it
ended and the tree began.
Then I caught the bo'sun by the arm, and pointed; for whether it was a
partof the tree or not, it was a work of the devil; but the bo'sun, on
seeing it, ran straightway so close to the tree that he might have
touched it with his hand, and I found myselfbeside him. Now, George,
who was on the bo'sun's other side, whispered that there was another
face, not unlike to a woman's, and, indeed, so soon as I perceived it,
I saw that the tree had a second excrescence, most strangely after the
face of a woman. Then the bo'sun cried out with an oath, at the
strangeness of the thing, and I felt the arm, which I held, shake
somewhat, as it might be with a deep emotion. Then, far away,I heard
again the sound of the wailing and, immediately, from among the trees
about us, there came answering wails and a great sighing. And before I
had time to be more than aware of these things, the tree wailed again
at us. And at that, the bo'sun cried out suddenly that he knew; though
of what it was that he knew I had at that time no knowledge. And,
immediately, he began with his cutlass to strike at the tree before
us, and to cry upon God to blast it; and lo! at his smiting a very
fearsome thing happened, for the tree did bleed like any live
creature. Thereafter, a great yowling came from it, and it began to
writhe. And, suddenly, I became aware that all about us the trees were
a-quiver.
Then George cried out, and ran round upon my side of the bo'sun, and I
saw that one of the great cabbage-like things pursued him uponits
stem, even as an evil serpent; and very dreadful it was, for it had
become blood red incolor; but I smote it with the sword, which I had
taken from the lad, and it fell to the ground.
Now from the brig I heard them hallooing, and the trees had become
like live things, and there was a vast growling in the air, and
hideous trumpetings. Then I caught the bo'sun again by the arm, and
shouted to him that we must run for our lives; and this we did,
smiting with our swords as we ran; for there came things at us, out
from thegrowing dusk.
Thus we made the brig, and, the boats being ready, I scrambled after
the bo'sun into his, and we put straightway into the creek, all of us,
pulling with so much haste as our loads wouldallow. As we went I
looked back at the brig, and it seemed to me thata multitude of things
hung over the bank above her, and there seemed a flicker of things
moving hither and thither aboard of her. And then we were in the great
creek up which we had come, andso, in a little, it was night.
All that night we rowed, keeping very strictly to the center of the
big creek, and all about us bellowed the vast growling, being more
fearsome than ever I hadheard it, until it seemed to me that we had
waked all that land of terror to a knowledge ofour presence. But, when
the morning came, so good a speed had we made, what with our fear, and
the current being with us, that we were nigh upon the open sea;
whereat each one of us raised a shout, feeling like freed prisoners.
And so, full of thankfulness to the Almighty, we rowed outward to the sea.