20 
LAND & WATER 
March 30, 1916 
Had he frightened or offended her ? He could not tell, 
but lie cursed himself for his precipitancy and stupidity. He 
went down to the landing stage and sat watching Hull, who 
had baled some water into the boat to prevent the seams 
opening, and who was now engaged in overhauling some of the 
gear. But he did not see Hull. He was looking at the mental 
image of Chaya, listening to her voice. 
One of the fascinating things about her was the manner 
in which she used gestures and pantomime to express her 
meaning. He was beginning to understand the great fact 
that whereas l.ove in many cases is the child of long acquaint- 
ance, in others it is born instantaneously and is the child of 
First Sight. There are natures that fly together at lirst 
approach just as the elements of some chemical compounds 
Hy together. 
It seemed to him that he had been wanting Chaya all his 
life, and that she had been waiting for him in these mysterious 
forests of which he had never dreamed, of whose e.xistence he 
had been absolutely ignorant. 
He was deeply disturbed, not really because of the idea 
that he might have given her offence, for some instinct told 
him this was not so, but because of the general situation. 
First there was his own poverty. How, even if she loved 
him, could he ever take Chaya away from here ? He liad no 
trade, no resources, the expedition seemed to be turning out 
the wildest of wild goose chases. How, evcB supposing that 
he could get away with her, could he ever take her to Sydney 
beggared as he was in the goods of the world ? To remain 
here with her was an impossible thought. To live here, 
even with Chaya, would not be to live but to die to the world 
The place lay heavy on his soul, filled him with a vague 
terror ; the languorous, heat-laden atmosphere, the very 
forms of the trees, the sluggish, oily-flowing river, the very 
superabundance of life and of life in its most terrible forms, 
all these had created around him that atmcsphere of night- 
mare that the tropics can alone create. 
Then even supposing that the cache really existed, there 
was Macquart and his threatened treachery. 
Macquart was a terrible man. He was beginning to 
recognise that fact even more fully now. A man who worked 
always for some hidden purpose and always underground. 
A wolf that was yet a mole. It is only given to human nature 
to incorporate in itself the properties of div erse animal natures, 
and sometimes this gift produces most strange monstrosities. 
He remembered that morning of his first meeting with 
Macquart in the Dam tin of Sydney ; even at that first meet- 
ing something predatory in the make-up of his new acquain- 
tance had struck him. Since then, and by slow degrees the 
nature of the man had been half-shewing itself, and the evi- 
dence against him accumulating. Houghton had been keen 
enough about the object of the expedition all through, but 
now he was doubly keen ; it was not only the gold that was at 
Stake, but Chaya. And he could do nothing but wait, nothing 
could be done to hurry matters. 
Houghton's keen psychological sense had given him 
some glimpse of the extraordinary mentality oi the man 
upon whom everything depended. He guessed in Macquart 
some of those qualities that go to form the foundation of 
madness. Not that Macquart was mad in the least, never 
was there a man more coldly sane, but it seemed evident 
to Houghton that here was a man who would destroy every- 
thing, even his own chance of success, rather than allow 
success to a man he hated. 
And Macquart hated Hull with an ungodly hatred. To 
Houghton, now, it seemed clearly demonstrated that Mac- 
quart's original plan was to bring the Barracuda into the 
lagoon, where without doubt the treasure was cached, and not 
to come up here to the village at all. Macquart had meant to 
run straight, at least, till the gold was on board the Barracuda ; 
after that, who knows what he might have done, but he would 
at least have used his companions for the purpose of shipping 
the treasure. 
The advent of Hull changed all this, and the way in 
which Hull had managed to arm himself and his companions 
whilst disarming Macquart. 
Finding his plans destroyed and his enemy on top of him, 
Macquart had evolved new plans which were now in progress. 
What were these plans ? 
It was impossible as yet to predict. It was only possible 
to say that to gain time for some purpose, "Macquart would 
keep them digging every night at the place where there was 
notiiing to be found. 
The hopeful part of the situation was embraced by the 
fact that he knew nothing of their suspicions, and the only 
plan of campaign for the present was to give him a free rein. 
Hull presently relinquished his work on the boat and 
came up and sat down beside Houghton, complaining of the 
heat. 
" Where's Mac ? " said he. 
" He's in there in the house smoking and talking to 
Wiart," replied Houghton. 
The Captain lit a pipe. 
" I don't know what's in me when I'm near that swab," 
said he. " I always want to lay him out. I do so. He 
raises my gizzard. Now mind you, lie played me a low down, 
dirty trick that time fower years ago. but it's not that makes 
me want to flatten his head in witii a shovel, it's himsoif. 
My Gawd, sometimes I feel I could let up on the whole of this 
show just for the sake of givin' that mud turkle a rap on the 
shell that'd finish him. Funny, ain't it ? " 
"01 don't know," replied Houghton. " I feel pretty 
much as you feel, sometimes, but he's the goose that lays the 
golden egg and it's better not to think of him." 
" That's what I can't help," said the Captain. " I 
believe the chap's bamboozling us." 
" Oh, nonsense," said Houghton, alarmed at the idea that 
Hull was sniffing at the truth and at the idea of tlic possible 
consequences. " \\'hy should he let us down over the busf- 
ness ? He has just as big a stake in it as we have, and he's 
no use without us." 
" I don't know why he should," replied the other, " but 
them's my feelings. We ought to have struck the stuff last 
night, we sure ought to if it's there. If we don't strike the 
stuff, well, all I've to say is it's Mac that'll be struck and 
struck hard. You'll see." 
" Look here," said Houghton, " promise me one thing; 
promise me to say nothing to him ever that will make him 
think you suspect him without first consulting with me and 
Tillman. This is a serious matter. Captain, and supposing 
for a moment he is bamboozling us —which doesn't seem 
probable — we must act accordingly and all together to find out 
his plans." 
" O, I won't say anything," replied the other, 'or 111 
have a talk with you two before I do. You tell me one thing. 
If the stuff was cached on that bit of bank, the ship it was 
took from, if they sank her, would be layin' close by. The 
river is only three fathom deep off the stage — I've took 
soundings— I don't believe it's much deeper up there, so 
they'd have sunk her in only eighteen foot of water. Why, 
she'd draw most that." 
" She would," replied Houghton. 
" Let's "go and take soundings off the bank up there," 
said the Cajitain. " It'll be something to do." He went to 
the boat and fetched the sounding lead, and they left the stage 
and walked along the river bank up stream till they reached 
the spot. 
"The Captain looked at their excavation work of last night. 
" It's lonesome enough to work by day up here without 
nobody knowing," he said, " only maybe that blighter of a 
Wiart might see us goin' and suspect. I reckon perliaps 
Mac's right — unless he's foolin' us." 
He made a cast with the lead from the bank edge at the 
base of the spit ; it showed two and a half fathoms or there- 
abouts, then he went to the apex of the spit. The depth here 
was nothing, till one got well away from the bank. 
" I'd have to bring the boat up to get correct soundin's," 
said Hull, " but what we've got will do. You see for yourself. 
There ain't anywhere just here a vessel could be moored to 
and sunk at her moorin's, and that was the way of it, accordin' 
to Mac." 
" You're right," said Houghton. " The only thing one 
can suppose is that the river has altered in the course of fifteen 
years." 
" / don't see what's to alter it," said the Captain, 
looking at the river. " No, sir, unless there's some deep 
pool near here we don't know nothing of, that ship was never 
moored to no bank of this river." 
It seemed astounding to Houghton that Hull should 
not have thought of the lagoon and should not have con- 
nected the idea of the old burnt ship in the lagoon with the 
Terschelling, but a moment's reflection told him that Hull had 
not seen the burnt ship as they saw it. and also reminded him 
of the fact that the human intellect works in very narrow 
circuits. Hull's mind was held by Macquart's story to the 
village and this bit of bank ; he was utterly lacking in imagina- 
tion and the lagoon away down the river never once occurred 
to him as the " deep pool " where the bones of the Ter- 
schelling might be lying. 
They turned from the spit and made back through the 
trees towards the tent, and they had scarcely gone a hundred 
yards when something white moving amidst the tree boles 
drew Houghton's attention 
It was Chaya. 
She had not been foUovvmg them, evidenfly, for she was 
coming towards them, though not in the hne of their path. 
" There's the gal we saw yesterday," said Hull. 
Houghton's heart sprang alive in him like a struggling 
bird. 
It was only a couple of hours ago that she had evaded 
