Dialstone Lane, Part 5 by W.W. Jacobs

On a fine afternoon towards the end of the following month Captain / Brisket and Mr. Duckett sat outside the Swan and Bottle Inn, Holemouth, a / small port forty miles distant from Biddlecombe. The day was fine, with / just a touch of crispness in the air to indicate the waning of the year, / and, despite a position regarded by the gloomy Mr. Duckett as teeming / with perils, the captain turned a bright and confident eye on the _Fair / Emily_, anchored in the harbour.

"We ought to have gone straight to Biddlecombe," said Mr. Duckett, / following his glance; "it would have looked better. Not that anything'll / make much difference."

"And everybody in a flutter of excitement telegraphing off to the / owners," commented the captain. "No, we'll tell our story first; quiet / and comfortable-like. Say it over again."

"I've said it three times," objected Mr. Duckett; "and each time it / sounds more unreal than ever."

"It'll be all right," said Brisket, puffing at his cigar. "Besides, / we've got no choice. It's that or ruin, and there's nobody within / thousands of miles to contradict us. We bring both the ship and the map / back to 'em. What more can they ask?"

"You'll soon know," said the pessimistic Mr. Duckett. "I wonder whether / they'll have another shot for the treasure when they get that map back? " / "I should like to send that Captain Bowers out searching for it," said / Brisket, scowling, "and keep him out there till he finds it. It's all / his fault. If it hadn't been for his cock-and-bull story we shouldn't / ha' done what we did. Hanging's too good for him."

"I suppose it's best for them not to know that there's no such island? " / hazarded Mr. Duckett.

"O' course," snapped his companion. "Looks better for us, don't it, / giving them back a map worth half a million. Now go through the yarn / again and I'll see whether I can pick any holes in it. The train goes in / half an hour."

Mr. Duckett sighed and, first emptying his mug, began a monotonous / recital. Brisket listened attentively.

"We were down below asleep when the men came running down and overpowered / us. They weighed anchor at night, and following morning made you, by / threats, promise to steer them to the island. You told me on the quiet / that you'd die before you betrayed the owners' trust. How did they know / that the island the gentlemen were on wasn't the right one? Because Sam / Betts was standing by when you told me you'd made a mistake in your / reckoning and said we'd better go ashore and tell them."

"That's all right so far, I think," said Brisket, nodding.

"We sailed about and tried island after island just to satisfy the men / and seize our opportunity," continued Mr. Duckett, with a weary air. "At / last, one day, when they were all drunk ashore, we took the map, shipped / these natives, and sailed back to the island to rescue the owners. Found / they'd gone when we got there. Mr. Stobell's boot and an old pair of / braces produced in proof."

"Better wrap it up in a piece o' newspaper," said Brisket, stooping and / producing the relic in question from under the table.

"Shipped four white men at Viti Levu and sailed for home," continued Mr. / Duckett. "Could have had more, but wanted to save owners' pockets, and / worked like A. B. 's ourselves to do so."

"Let'em upset that if they can," said Brisket, with a confident smile. / "The crew are scattered, and if they happened to get one of them it's / only his word against ours. Wait a bit. How did the crew know of the / treasure?"

"Chalk told you," responded the obedient Duckett. "And if he told you / -- and he can't deny it -- why not them?"

Captain Briskett nodded approval. "It's all right as far as I can see," / he said, cautiously. "But mind. Leave the telling of it to me. You can / just chip in with little bits here and there. Now let's get under way."

He threw away the stump of his cigar and rose, turning as he reached the / corner for a lingering glance at the Fair Emily.

"Scrape her and clean her and she'd be as good as ever," he said, with a / sigh. "She's just the sort o' little craft you and me could ha' done / with, Peter."

They had to change twice on the way to Binchester, and at each / stopping-place Mr. Duckett, a prey to nervousness, suggested the wisdom / of disappearing while they had the opportunity.