Dan suggested that they should make for the north coast and camp upon some prominent headland, so that from it they could fly distress signals to attract some passing ship which might pick them up. But the American poured cold water on that idea too, by saying:
"The north coast is so precipitous and rocky that ships do not put in there even when in need of water. We might scan the horizon from it for months without sighting a sail; and when we did it would like as not be that of another pirate."
At that their hearts, which so recently had been filled with fresh hope, sank again. It looked now as if there were no alternative to remaining in the forest, and that they were condemned to live there the hard life of savages, perhaps for months, perhaps for years, before some unforeseeable turn of events enabled them to get away from this accursed island.
chapter xii
NIGHT IN THE FOREST
At the thought a gloomy silence settled on the conference, but Roger was not the man to accept such a miserable existence as long as there was any possible alternative. After a few minutes he sighed and said thoughtfully:
"God knows, I've had my fill of fighting for today, but it seems there's only one thing for it. We must attempt to recapture the Circe"
The starlight penetrated to the glade in which they were sitting only just enough for each of them to make out the vague forms of the companions to whom they were nearest, so Roger could not see the faces of the others; but he heard a murmur of astonishment and dismay run round the circle.
"Why should we not?" he asked. "With Dan, Tom, Jake, Kilick, Monsieur Pirouet, the Doctor, Mr. Wilson and myself, we are eight, not counting such help as the ladies may be able to give us. That is fully sufficient to handle a ship in fair weather for so short a voyage as the ten or twelve miles which are all that separate us from Saint-Domingue."
"Aye, Cap'n; it could be done!" cried Dan. "An' it rejoices me old heart ter hear ye propoundin' sich schemes agin. Let we set out upon it here an' now afore we fall asleep an’ the night be lost."
"To make the attempt tonight is out of the question," Fergusson put in quickly. "At least half of us have been wounded to a greater or lesser degree, and her ladyship is still unconscious."
"Even with that handicap I feel that we should be ill-advised to delay the venture," Roger argued. "Down at the house everything must be in confusion. A score or more of the slaves ran off. It is quite possible that they started to loot or burn it before the pirates got back; so our enemies may have been hard put to it to suppress a mutiny. In any case, all their leaders having been killed or rendered hors de combat, it is certain they are at sixes and sevens. I saw Lucette perched up on a high boulder, and she had the sense to keep out of the fight; but, able and unscrupulous as she is, I greatly doubt if - many of them would be willing to serve under a woman. Both the Heraults are crippled, and neither is of the stuff from which leaders are made. Philo the Greek can hardly be sufficiently recovered from the bash over the head I gave him to take charge. The odds are that they are at this moment squabbling about whom to appoint as their new chief, and they may not finally settle the matter till tomorrow. In the meantime, everyone being his own master, no watch will be kept or guards set We should be able to secure a boat with ease, and with luck we may find the Circe deserted. Such a chance is most unlikely ever to occur again."
The sound sense of what he said impressed them all so strongly 'hat, weary as they were, they agreed that this favourable opportunity to reach a safe port within the next few days must not be lost In consequence, stretcher-bearers were nominated to carry Georgina, and others among them made specially responsible for the protection of the three other women. It was then that Clarissa was discovered to be missing.
Thinking that she had left them only for a moment and must be near at hand, they called to her. But no reply came from the surrounding darkness. Greatly puzzled, Roger and Dan made their way several hundred yards farther up the track, still calling her name. Only the echoes of their voices came back to them; so they decided that she must have gone a little way down hill towards the clearing.
By that time the party was ready to set off; so they all proceeded down the track in single file, continuing to call to Clarissa as they went. It was not until they were within fifty yards of the gully that they caught a faint reply. Halting, they anxiously discussed what they should do. The scared note in Clarissa's voice as she now shouted to them made it clear that for some reason she had blundered off the track and got hopelessly lost in the pitch dark forest. But the faintness of her cries also made it clear that she was some way off, and for any of them to plunge in after her was to risk getting lost too.
Fergusson suggested that several of them should go in ten yards apart, but the denseness of the vegetation was such that even in formation they must soon have lost touch with one another; so Roger would not hear of it. After a moment's thought he said:
"The safest course would be to guide her back by continuing to call her, but that may prove a long and weary business, as she will probably blunder about all over the place before she gets near enough to be certain of the direction the calls are coming from. But there is no point in us all remaining here, so you had best continue on your way while I remain to do the shouting. We still have most of the night before us, and our chance of getting away in a boat unseen will be all the greater if we wait until our enemies are asleep. You might even snatch an hour or two's badly needed sleep yourselves; but see to it that you take it in turns, and that two or more of you are constantly on watch against surprise. The best place to spend the time of waiting would be on the edge of the forest where the track comes out on to the beach. I shall be able to find you there without difficulty, and I'll join you as soon as I can."
Again the others agreed that his proposals were sound, and the' thought of a few hours' sleep was more than welcome to all of them; so they resumed their weary trudging and left him there.
At intervals he kept on calling to Clarissa and gradually her replies grew louder. After twenty minutes she was near enough for him to encourage her. Soon afterwards there came a loud rustling of the leaves close by him in the darkness. He could just make out her form as she came towards him. Next moment she gave a gasp, flung her arms round his neck and sobbed:
"Oh Roger! Thank God you're safe!"
For the first time in days he laughed. "Safe, m'dear! But it is you whose safety sent us near distraction some half-hour back. What crazy notion impelled you to separate yourself from us and get lost in this nightmarish jungle?"
"I came to seek you," she murmured. "You remained behind down by the gully for so long. I feared that some ill had befallen you. But I blundered in among the trees and could not find my way out again."
"Poor child," he soothed her. "It must have been terrible for you."
"I am no child," she exclaimed with sudden anger. "And I sought you because I love you."
Dumbfounded by this declaration he could find no words to reply as she hurried on: "There! I've said it now. But I don't give a rap! If you'd had half an eye you'd have seen it long ago. You're all that a man should be, and I've loved you since the first moment I set eyes on you."
"Clarissa!" he protested sharply. "You must not say such things."