Hard Harman: A South Seas Rover of the 40’s by Dan L Read online

of him, but it seemed possible that he had got mighty effort, and succeeded in rolling partly away and that the reenforcement of the

  over with him and freeing my arms, while his

  constabulary, not knowing how many of us

  right became imprisoned by his own body.

  there were, had not missed him, or he might

  Another heave and a push with both

  have been killed or badly wounded and been

  hands against his chest and I sprang erect. He taken away. As I said, I could only conjecture was too clumsy to rise quickly, and I quieted

  and a whispered consultation with the trio

  him with a terrific kick on the back of his head showed that they knew no more than I did

  as he was struggling to get on his feet. I hated what had happened to him.

  to do it, but things looked pretty serious for us.

  Things looked pretty black for us. In

  Dan had grabbed a club from each of

  fact our situation was about as desperate as it the fallen constables and, with blood could be. I could not understand then why streaming down his face, and lips drawn back

  they did not put us in the jail, but Dan told me in a set grin, he was working them like the

  afterward that it was because it was

  blades of a two-way propeller, warding off the overcrowded, as it usually was, and this gave

  attacks of the two constables, and with eyes

  the brutal officials excuse to torture prisoners alert for an opening. Even as I rushed to his

  by letting them lie in the open, bound, at the assistance, one of them sank to his knees, then mercy of the mosquitoes and sand-fleas by

  suddenly sprawled on the ground. “The trio!”

  night and the poisonous reptiles from the

  gasped Dan.

  swamp by day. Almost incredible but true, and

  Adventure

  10

  as you see me here alive to tell the tale, you their strength, as they might-need it in case

  know I escaped, but it was a pretty close shave Dan was at large and should find some way to

  and no thanks to them. As it was, we help, us.

  experienced all the horrors except the mere

  That he was free was my only hope,

  fact of dying, which would have been and a pretty slim one, guarded as we were, but welcomed as a relief if help hadn’t come when

  still a hope, and I clung to it as those

  it did.

  mosquitoes did to our blood-vessels. It was all Now that the excitement had died that kept me from giving up for, aside from down, the mosquitoes and sand-fleas began to

  that, I knew that death was only a matter of a get busy, and in our helpless state they found few hours, and I urged the trio to depend on it an opportunity they seldom had to indulge in

  and be ready for it.

  fiendish orgies of blood. Our clothes were

  The thought hadn’t occurred to me as

  little protection and they settled all over our yet that if we survived till morning we would

  bodies by the thousands, crowding each other

  be left in the street at the mercy of the reptiles.

  for room on the exposed places. The agony

  It was too horrible to think of even those

  was terrible, and the only fight we could make inhuman Dutchmen doing such a thing. But

  was to roll around in the mud, I dug my head

  about mid-watch two constables came up to

  into it and, repulsive as it was, sunk my face relieve the others, leaving only one on patrol.

  in and turned my head this way and that in an

  They stood talking for a few minutes and I

  effort to cover every part of it. The trio, gathered that their instructions were to retire at needless to say, were doing likewise.

  sunup.

  The guard seemed to be of the opinion

  They said the injured constables were

  that this was a circus arranged for his in a bad way, and that being left in the street amusement and laughed heartily, calling to the to be finished by the reptiles was only a small men on patrol to come nearer so that they

  part of what we deserved. Then they all came

  could get a view of our antics. They certainly over and each of ’em gave us a kick apiece to

  must have appeared droll to any one hardened

  emphasize the expression of his opinion. None

  and cruel enough.

  of the trio understood their mutterings, and I didn’t tell them of the fate in store for us.

  WELL, as I said, our situation was bad and

  I didn’t have much time to indulge in

  getting worse every minute. We had to keep

  the pleasures of imagining those horrible

  rolling and digging all the time, for as soon as creatures of the swamp disputing ownership of

  we’d smother those on one side of us, a new

  my body with the vampires then in possession,

  swarm was on the rest of us, and they’d and I tried to put away the thought when it did manage to get in some pretty devilish work

  come, but every once in a while it gripped me

  before we could roll over again, bound as we

  with a sickening sensation so paralyzing that I were. To keep this up for a couple of hours

  lost what little strength I had left, only to be was about the most exhausting thing I’ve ever

  whipped up to it again by the agony I was

  done, and it seemed sometimes as if I’d just

  enduring. If it had not been for the repulsive have to give up and let them finish me.

  horror snakes always give me, and especially

  It was pretty bad poison they injected

  that kind, a couple of good hard jabs from

  while they were taking out the blood, and I

  their poisonous fangs would have been far

  could feel myself swelling up all over my

  easier to endure than the torture of being

  body. The trio, at first kept up a constant and drained of my blood drop by drop. But there

  loud cursing, but I whispered to them to keep

  was still the hope of Dan, and life looks

  Hard Harman: A South Seas Rover of the 40’s 11

  promising at twenty-eight, so I fought on and

  moment there were again five figures in the

  gasped encouragement to the trio whenever I

  mud, but the fifth wasn’t Dan.

  could spare a breath.

  The whisky had sent fight coursing

  I could tell that it was near morning

  through my veins and it was all I could do to

  when the moon sank behind the cloud-bank on

  restrain myself, so I was glad when Dan gave

  the horizon, leaving the islands in inky me the bottle and a knife and told me to loose blackness until the sun should break. It was in the trio and give them a drink and instructions this interval that help must come, if it came at while he crept over and attended to the patrol.

  all, and I told the trio to be prepared to obey We were to wait there until he returned, as he orders strictly if anything happened. And wanted to take no chances of our getting happen it did. We hadn’t much longer to wait,

  separated in the dark. By the time I had

  either, for Dan had been holding off for this

  finished my work he was back, and a moment

  very interval of darkness—not that he had

  later five figures crept, four of them painfully, been idle the rest of the time either, as you

  but all with the greatest caution, between the will soon see.

  huts and down to the beach.

  So confident had my hope of him been

  that I was hardly surprised when a voice SILENTLY as shadows they waded into the whispered in my ear, “Keep qui
et and drink

  sea and swam for a familiar schooner, lying

  this.”

  five fathoms off the shore. An unseen hand

  At the same time I felt the mouth of a

  slipped her cable and she floated gently

  bottle pressed to my lips and, while I drank, I toward the open sea with the outgoing tide,

  was conscious that his other hand was cutting

  five dark figures clinging to her channels. As my bonds.

  she reached the southern point her jib and

  “The guard is over talking to the spanker were sheeted home and a boat was patrol,” he whispered. “Don’t get up but keep

  carefully lowered over the side. Across the

  moving same as you were. I’ve got to silence

  thwarts lay three figures, securely bound. Two the guards, so that we can get away. No, leave wore the gray blouses of the constabulary. The it all to me. You’re too weak, and there must

  other was a Dutchman with his head done up

  be no mistake and no noise. Only be ready to

  in bandages and minus a chamois belt he had

  go when I say the word, and without any

  worn next his skin! For the third time the

  questions. I’m going to stay here until the

  schooner was ours.

  guard comes back, and then I’m going to give

  Dan had run behind the huts just as the

  him a punch that’ll keep him quiet for a while.

  reenforcement came up, crept down to the

  Then I’m going to creep over and fix the

  beach and, not finding the dingy, swum out to

  patrol the same way. Don’t worry; I won’t

  the schooner, which had been left in charge of fail. I’m, all keyed up to it, and they’re not a single constable when the trip were taken

  expecting it.”

  off. Dan was quickly in possession, in his own At this moment the guard returned and

  inimitable way, and then lay in wait for

  kicked among us to see if we were there all

  whoever might come aboard, which same

  right. It was so dark he couldn’t distinguish

  proved to be the Dutchman and another

  details, not even that there were five figures constable.

  instead of four, which fact Dan had counted

  While the slow-moving Hollander was

  on. He waited only until the guard’s back was

  coming up the ladder, Dan engaged in a little

  turned, when he was on him, swift and sure as

  set-to with the constable, who came first, and the pounce of a panther, and in another was through in time to assist the Dutchman,

  Adventure

  12

  whose bandaged head deafened him to the

  pounds in Bank of England notes and forty

  noise, to the deck. The latter, thinking it was perfect pearls. And to think that that

  the constable, was still in the midst of his

  Dutchman had called us pirates!

  thanks when Dan laid him beside his silent

  companion, trussed them as comfortably as

  AT THIS point in the skipper’s narrative a

  security would allow, then hunted up the hail came from a small boat putting out from Chinese cook, who expressed his delight, but

  the landing.

  showed no surprise at seeing him, nor made

  “Our clearance,” said the skipper,

  any complaint at being awakened and rising. Then, looking at Bedell, he asked, requested to prepare a meal.

  “Was Harman a fighter?”

  I wonder what would have been the

  “I reckon he was,” admitted Bedell.

  Dutchman’s feelings if he could have seen us

  The papers were tossed aboard and the

  after we had recovered a little, gathered round skipper bawled, “On deck all hands! Stand by

  Dan in the wheel-house, while he opened the

  to up anchor!”

  chamois belt. It contained two thousand