I had not seen what I did when we found Sol Cousins tied by his neck to the old gibbet at Gallowstree Point, I should have been sickened beyond possibility of thought or action by the sight that now confronted me from that patch of sunlit sand. But the Cousins affair, I suppose, had hardened me, and my first impulse on seeing Getch’s dead body and the blackening gash in his throat was to start forward and get nearer to him, intent on further discovery. Not so, however, with Pepita, who, catching sight of the horror at the same time that I did, first let out a scream that went echoing away among the rocks, and then turned and sped along the beach like a thing possessed. I had to run after her, to seize her, to hold her forcibly; she struggled in my grasp; the sight, I saw, had utterly unnerved her.
“For God’s sake, don’t scream again, Pepita!” I entreated. “If that Hindu heard you, he’d be on our tracks—don’t! There’s no danger if”
“It’s—it’s not that!” she gasped. “It’s—what we saw!” She covered her eyes with her hands, shuddering. “Oh, Ben!” she went on. “Can’t—can’t we get away somewhere, anywhere, from all this? Can’t we do something to attract attention? I didn’t mind being there in the tower so much, but if there’s going to be murder”
“We will try—only don’t let’s do anything to attract attention here,” I said. “That Hindu chap’s somewhere on the island, and the worst of it is we don’t know that he mayn’t have other men with him. Anyway, he, or they, have killed Getch. And I must find out more about that. Be brave, Pepita!—look here, sit down there a bit, while I go back for a few minutes. I shan’t be out of your sight, and I promise you I won’t be long, and then we’ll see what we can do about making a signal of some sort. Come now!”
I persuaded her to sit down on a ledge of rock at the foot of the cliffs, and after remaining by her until she grew calmer went back to the dead man. For I wanted—it was necessary—to know as much as I could about him and his fate. Much as I had disliked Getch in life, I disliked him still more in death—there was a fierce, angry scowl on his distorted features, and his eyes, half-open, were malignant, glazed and lifeless though they were. But I touched him, hand and cheek; both were stone cold, and I came to the conclusion that he had been dead some hours. Looking about me, I formed the opinion that his assailant had sprung upon him, probably in the dark hours, from behind an adjacent rock—the place seemed to have been well chosen, and all the circumstances suggested preconceived design. I began to wonder then if Getch and Mandhu Khan had come together to the island, and—it was not the first time I had thought of this particular thing—if the Hindu had been in league with Uncle Joseph and Getch all along. However, there would be plenty of time to speculate on that later on; just then I wanted to know all I could about Getch. And much as I loathed the job, I felt in his pockets, and all I found there was a pretty considerable sum of money, chiefly in gold, and an automatic pistol, brand-new, similar in appearance and presumably of the same make as that which Uncle Joseph had produced.
I put the money back, and the pistol in my own pocket, after ascertaining that it was fully loaded. Then, having first covered the dead man with sea-weed, and heaped heavy stones upon it, so that his temporary wrappings should not be disturbed, I returned to Pepita. She had got over her sudden fright by that time, and I saw at once when she jumped from her seat and came to meet me that she was going to face things.
“I’m sorry I behaved like that, Ben!” she said, contritely. “It was only because I was taken aback. I’ll be braver in future—only, what are we going to do? Did you find out anything?”
“Nothing! except that he’d a lot of money on him, and a pistol,” I answered. “I’ve got the pistol—it may be of use, but all the money in the world would be none, to us. I’ve thought of what we’ll do. For one thing, we won’t go back to the tower—yet awhile at any rate. We’ve got plenty to eat with us, and we’ll stay out, and watch. But we’ll do more. Let’s go up to the top of the island, and see if we can’t get enough dry stuff together to make a big bonfire. Then, to-night, when darkness falls, I’ll set a light to it, and maybe the blaze will attract somebody on the mainland. It’s worth trying, anyhow.”