His thoughts had reached thus far when he arrived in the pilot-house.

Grasping the switch-handle of the great electric lantern, he proceeded to switch the light on and off rapidly, which act had the effect of almost immediately attracting the attention of the three men who were sitting on the skylight of the wreck. He saw them look at each other, as though speaking, and then von Schalckenberg rose to his feet and raised both hands above his head, to indicate that he was attending.

And, thereupon, Lethbridge immediately began to signal, in the Morse code, by means of long and short flashes, the message--

"Mildmay in danger. Seized by octopus and carried into cave some distance above your heads."

To this message the professor at once replied by waving his arms in accordance with the "flag-waving" system used in the British navy and army--

"Right. We go to his rescue. Guide us to the cave."

Lethbridge gave the flash that indicated his comprehension of the communication, and then, with the switch-handle still in his hand, intently watched, through one of the pilot-house windows, the movements of the three. He saw them lower themselves down on to the sand, and immediately begin to climb up the rugged side of the reef. The surface of the rocks was slippery with weed, and their progress was, therefore, painfully slow; but at length they reached a point above and clear of the wreck, and von Schalckenberg then turned and faced the pilot-house, evidently asking for guidance.

"Go higher and bear to your right," signalled Lethbridge; and the men resumed their climb.

They were now making directly for the spot at which the octopus had disappeared, and a _few_ minutes later they reached a ledge, with the cave immediately in front of them. The professor now again faced round inquiringly, and Lethbridge signalled--

"That is the spot."

Von Schalckenberg threw up his arms to indicate that he understood; and then Lethbridge saw the three men stand and confer together for a moment. Then, drawing their daggers and switching on their lights, they all three plunged into the cave and vanished, leaving the solitary watcher in the pilot-house in a state of painful suspense that endured for fully ten minutes. At length, however, the professor and one of the others reappeared, each of them dragging at a long, limp tentacle; and in another moment the huge body of the octopus came into view with the remaining two men pushing it vigorously from behind. As it reached the edge of the ledge the professor and his companion stepped round to a.s.sist the other two, and presently the great unwieldy body went rolling limply and lifelessly down the face of the reef until it lay motionless upon the sand. Then the four men made their way carefully down after it, when, having reached the sand, they turned and bent their footsteps in the direction of the _Flying Fish_.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.

THE PIRATE CRUISER.

When, having reached the dining-room of the _Flying Fish_, Mildmay changed out of his diving-suit into his ordinary clothes, it was found that he was so severely bruised and strained that the professor, in his capacity of emergency medical adviser to the party, insisted upon his immediate retirement to his cabin and his bed. There the worthy man subjected him to so vigorous a ma.s.sage, and so generous an anointing with a certain embrocation of his own concocting, that two days later the genial sailor was again able to be up and about. And, meanwhile, Sir Reginald and Colonel Sziszkinski continued the examination of the wreck, but unfortunately without any satisfactory result; for although they succeeded in finding the captain's cabin, and bringing therefrom, and from some of the other cabins, a considerable number of doc.u.ments, it was found that, owing to their long submersion, they had become so completely sodden that any attempt to handle them, while still wet, reduced them to pulp; and when the alternative of carefully drying them was tried, they became so exceedingly brittle that they simply crumbled to pieces, while, even on the fragments that they contrived to preserve, the writing was so nearly obliterated as to be quite undecipherable.

Nevertheless, they preserved as much as they could, in the hope that the experts in such matters, at home, might be more successful than themselves. But it may here be stated that the experts also failed; and the name and nationality of the ship, as well as the ident.i.ty of those who perished in her at the murderous hands of the savage M'Bongwele, remain a mystery to this day.

On the third day following Mildmay's adventure with the octopus, the _Flying Fish_ being once more berthed on the beach near the spot where the party had made their amazingly rich haul of rubies, all hands had adjourned to the deck after dinner to enjoy the delicious coolness of a breeze off the sea. Ida had gone to bed somewhat earlier than usual that evening, complaining that she was not feeling very well, her symptoms being a feverish pulse and a slightly increased temperature, toward the alleviation of which the professor had administered a fairly liberal dose of quinine.

Sir Reginald and Lady Olivia, naturally anxious in everything relating to their only child's health, were discussing the matter with von Schalckenberg, who was endeavouring, without his usual success, to rea.s.sure the pair, who were of opinion that the African climate was to blame for their daughter's indisposition.

"Well," at length said the professor, "if you really think so, nothing in this world is easier than for us to change it. We can ascend into the atmosphere to any height we please, thus obtaining any desired temperature; we can, in a very _few_ hours, reach any other country that you would care to visit; or, which is perhaps better than either, we can go out to sea and leisurely cruise about in any required direction, and in absolutely pure air."

"Hear, hear!" exclaimed Mildmay, who, although chatting with Mlle.

Feodorovna, had overheard the professor's words. "There is no sanatorium like old ocean; no doctor like Father Neptune, believe me, Elphinstone. A week's cruise somewhere away out there to the eastward would set the little darling up far more effectively than all the professor's drugs. Try it, man; it can do no harm; and I'll bet you a-- a--well, let us say a peck of rubies, that you'll not regret it."

"Well, while declining your modest little bet, Mildmay, I really feel more than half inclined to act upon your suggestion," answered Sir Reginald, with a laugh. "There is no particular reason why we should not, I fancy, beyond the fact that the professor wants to shoot one or two of those new zebras, and we can easily return here for that purpose.

The fact is that I am beginning to tire a little of sh.o.r.e life, and I think a trip out to sea would do us all good. What do the rest say?"

"So far as I am concerned I will gladly go anywhere, or do anything, for Ida's sake," answered Lethbridge.

"Thanks, old chap; I know you will," said Sir Reginald. "What say you, Colonel?"--to Sziszkinski--"would you like to go with us, or would you prefer to remain here until our return, and go in for shooting under the aegis of our friend Lobelalatutu?"

"Thank you very much, Sir Reginald, for offering me the choice,"

answered the Russian. "I prefer to accompany you. I am quite of your own opinion, that a change will do us all good; and, like my friend, Monsieur Lethbridge, I will gladly go anywhere and do anything for the sake of the charming little Mademoiselle Ida."

"And you, Mademoiselle?" asked Sir Reginald, turning to Mildmay's companion.

"I?" she answered. "Oh, Monsieur Edouard--Sir Reginald, I mean--I am so happy on board this beautiful ship that I feel I shall never want to leave her. Please accept papa's answer as mine also."

"I am really very much obliged to you all for so cheerfully and readily falling in with my wishes," said Sir Reginald. "Very well, then; it is settled that we go to sea for a week or two, as the mood takes us. Now, the next question is, Where shall we go? We certainly ought to have some definite objective, don't you think? Does any one desire to go anywhere in particular?"

There was silence for a minute or two. Apparently no one wished to go anywhere in particular; or, if they did, they were not sufficiently eager to feel called upon to mention the fact.

At length Lady Olivia looked up.

"Has n.o.body a suggestion to make?" she asked, with a smile. "Then I will make one that I think will be sympathetically received by at least one of us--yourself, my dear Feodorovna. I have long had the wish to possess a really fine set of pearls, not the kind that one can go into any jeweller's shop and buy, you know, but something quite out of the common; and it appears to me that this voyage of ours affords just the opportunity for somebody to fish those pearls up for me from the bottom of the sea. And I dare say that your papa--or somebody else--would be quite willing to do the same for you, dear. What do you say?"

"What do I say?" repeated the lovely young Russian. "Why, that I simply adore pearls."

"Then, I think, Reginald, that you have your answer," said Lady Olivia, turning to her husband.

"All right, dear," he answered. "Pearl-fishing will suit me down to the ground; and if the ocean holds pearls enough to satisfy you, you shall have them. Now, Professor--Mildmay--where must we go in order to get those pearls? For, of course, we must go to some definite spot to look for them; we can't go grubbing along the sea-bottom at random until we happen to stumble upon a bed of pearl-oysters, you know."

"The most famous pearl-fishing grounds are situated in the Persian Gulf and off the coast of Ceylon," answered Mildmay. "And I believe," he added, "that in both cases they are Government property, and strictly preserved. But I have no doubt there are plenty of oyster-beds which are beyond the reach of the ordinary pearl-diver; and it is one of those that we must seek. We shall not be poaching on anybody's preserves if we do this; and shall also stand a better chance of securing some good specimens."

"Before you come to any definite decision, I should like to refer to a rather interesting ma.n.u.script book that I have in my cabin--the book that I recovered from the sunken wreck of the _Daedalus_, under circ.u.mstances which, perhaps, yet remain in your memory," observed von Schalckenberg, addressing Sir Reginald. "I seem to remember," he continued, "having come across a pa.s.sage in it relating to a bed of pearl-oysters of immense value, the situation of which was then unknown to any one except the writer. If you will excuse me a moment, I will go and fetch it."

"By all means," said Sir Reginald. "From what you say, Professor, it would appear that the bed to which you refer is the identical one we want to find."

The professor accordingly retreated; and presently returned with a small, leather-bound, and much discoloured book in his hand. His forefinger was between the pages, and he opened the book there.

"Yes," he said, "I thought I was not mistaken. Here is the pa.s.sage, under the heading of 'Pearls. In Longitude 155 degrees 32 minutes 17 seconds East, and exactly under the Equator, there exists a small atoll, unnamed, and, I believe, unknown, unless it be to the natives of Matador and Greenwich Islands, which are in its neighbourhood. The islet, which is uninhabited, is little more than a mere rock, about a quarter of a mile long, and some fifty feet wide, over which the sea makes a clean breach in heavy weather; but the lagoon is about five miles long and three miles wide, with good anchorage for ships in a pretty uniform depth of ten fathoms. Two miles due west of this island there is a shoal, some seven miles long, by from two to four miles wide, with twenty-eight feet of water over it. And this shoal is almost entirely covered with pearl-oysters, yielding some of the finest and most perfect gems that I have ever seen.' Now, what think you of that, my friend.

Is that good enough for you?" demanded the professor.

"Quite good enough," answered Sir Reginald. "Now, skipper," he continued, turning to Mildmay, "how far off is this famous oyster-bed, and how long will it take us to get there?"

"What did you say is the position of the spot, Professor?" asked Mildmay.

The professor restated the longitude.

"Um!" observed Mildmay, figuring upon a piece of paper that he drew from his pocket; "it is a goodish step from here to there! roughly, about seven thousand miles, as the crow flies. As to how long it will take us to get there; we can do the distance in sixty hours, by going aloft into the calm belt, shutting ourselves in, and going full speed ahead.

Otherwise--"

"Thanks, very much; and never mind the 'otherwise,'" answered Sir Reginald. "This is going to be a _sea_ trip; and we are going to do at least a part of it in leisurely fashion, say, about ten to fifteen knots an hour. When we are tired of that, and at night, we can go aloft and put on the speed if we wish. And, now that I come to think of it, is there any reason why we should not start at once?"

No one, it appeared, had any reason to advance against the baronet's proposal. Accordingly, he and Mildmay forthwith adjourned to consult the chart and lay off the course; and ten minutes later the remainder of the party, who were still sitting on deck, awaiting the return of the absentees, became conscious of the fact that the night-breeze had suddenly strengthened; and when they looked about them in search of an explanation, they saw the sea about three hundred feet beneath them, and the land slipping away into the gloom of the night astern.

The travellers had been at sea a week, pottering along on the surface during the day, and rising some three hundred feet into the air at night--just high enough, in fact, to take them over and clear of the masts of any ships that they might happen to encounter during the hours of darkness--maintaining a tolerably uniform speed of ten knots through the air--not counting the acceleration or r.e.t.a.r.dation of speed due to the varying direction and strength of the several winds that they met with. Thus they had been able to sleep at night with wide open ports, to their great comfort and enjoyment, and the manifest improvement of their health, as was particularly exemplified in the case of little Ida, who was by this time as well as even her parents could desire.

The hour was eleven o'clock in the forenoon--six bells, Mildmay called it--and the ship had been running on the surface for about an hour. The entire party were sitting out on deck under the awnings, amusing themselves in various ways, the two ladies, each with a book on her lap, to which it is to be feared she was giving but scant attention, and Ida, her father, Lethbridge, and the Russian colonel playing bull. It was a most lovely day, the sky without a cloud, the water smooth, and a soft but refreshing breeze was breathing out from the southward. The ship was steering herself, the self-steering apparatus having been thrown into action, as no other craft were in sight.

The horizon was not to remain bare for very long, however; for just as Mildmay rose to his feet with some idea of going below, the dull, m.u.f.fled boom of a distant gun was heard, and, everybody at once looking round the horizon in search of the source of so very novel an occurrence, the topmast-heads and smoke of a steamer were seen just showing above the ocean's rim, about three points on the starboard bow.

She seemed to be in a hurry, too, if the dense volumes of smoke that poured from her as yet unseen funnels were to be taken as any criterion.

"Now, what craft will that be?" exclaimed "the skipper," as he studied the two mastheads attentively. "A liner, I should say, by the length of her between her masts. Probably an 'Orient,' 'Orient-Pacific,' or 'X.

and Z.' boat. But surely she did not fire that gun? And, if she did not--oho! what is this? There is another craft astern of her! I can just make out her mastheads rising above the horizon. Now, did number two fire that gun; and, if so, why? I must get my gla.s.ses; this promises to be interesting. And we shall see more of it presently; they are crossing our hawse in a diagonal direction, and edging this way."