Abandoned
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Title: Abandoned
Author: Jules Verne
Translator: Agnes Kinloch Kingston
Release date: August 23, 2010 [eBook #33516]
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/33516
Credits: Produced by Hemant Garach, David Starner and the Online
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ABANDONED ***
Produced by Hemant Garach, David Starner and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY
EDITED BY ERNEST RHYS
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
ABANDONED
BY JULES VERNE
FIFTY ILLUSTRATIONS
THE PUBLISHERS OF _EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY_ WILL BE PLEASED TO SEND
FREELY TO ALL APPLICANTS A LIST OF THE PUBLISHED AND PROJECTED
VOLUMES TO BE COMPRISED UNDER THE FOLLOWING TWELVE HEADINGS:
TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION
THEOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY
HISTORY CLASSICAL
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
ESSAYS ORATORY
POETRY & DRAMA
BIOGRAPHY
ROMANCE
IN TWO STYLES OF BINDING, CLOTH, FLAT BACK, COLOURED TOP, AND
LEATHER, ROUND CORNERS, GILT TOP.
LONDON: J. M. DENT & CO.
NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.
[Illustration: THIS IS FAIRY GOLD, BOY; AND 'TWILL PROVE SO.
SHAKESPEARE.]
[Illustration: ABANDONED By JULES VERNE
_Translated from the French_
By W. H. G. KINGSTON
LONDON: PUBLISHED by J. M. DENT & CO
AND IN NEW YORK BY E. P. DUTTON & CO]
INTRODUCTION
The present romance, the second in the Mysterious Island triad, was
originally issued in Paris with the title of _L'Abandonne_. Jules
Verne's list of stories already ran then to some twenty volumes--a
number which has since grown to almost Dumasien proportions.
_L'Abandonne_, like its two companion tales, ran its course as a
serial through the _Magasin Illustre_ of education and recreation,
before its issue as a boy's story-book. Its success in both forms
seems to have established a record in the race for popularity and
a circulation in both the French and English fields of current
literature. The present book was translated into English by the late
W. H. G. Kingston; and is printed in EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY by special
exclusive arrangement with Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd.
1909
The list of tales and favourite romances by Jules Verne includes the
following:--
Five Weeks in a Balloon, 1870; A Journey to the Centre of the
Earth, translated by J. V., 1872; tr. F. A. Malleson, 1876;
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, 1873; tr. H. Frith,
1876; From the Earth to the Moon, and a Trip Round it, tr. Q.
Mercier and E. G. King, 1873; The English at the North Pole,
1873; Meridiana: Adventures of Three English and Three
Russians, 1873; Dr. Ox's Experiment and other Stories, 1874; A
Floating City, 1874; The Blockade Runners, 1874; Around the
World in Eighty Days, tr. G. M. Towle and N. D'Anvers, 1874,
1876; tr. H. Frith, 1879; The Fur Country, or Seventy Degrees
North Latitude, tr. N. D'Anvers, 1874; tr H. Frith, 1879; The
Mysterious Island, tr. W. H. G. Kingston, 1875; The Survivors
of the _Chancellor_: Diary of J. R. Kazallon, tr E. Frewer,
1875; Martin Paz, tr. E. Frewer, 1876; Field of Ice, 1876;
Child of the Cavern, tr. W. H. G. Kingston, 1877, Michael
Strogoff, tr. W. H. G. Kingston, 1877; A Voyage Round the
World, 1877; Hector Senvadac, tr. E. Frewer, 1878; Dick Sands,
the Boy Captain, tr. E. Frewer, 1879; Celebrated Travels and
Travellers: The Great Navigators of the Eighteenth Century,
tr. Dora Leigh, N. D'Anvers, etc., 1879-81; Tribulations of a
Chinaman, tr. E. Frewer, 1880; The Begum's Fortune, tr. W. H.
G. Kingston, 1880; The Steam House, tr. A. D. Kingston, 1881;
The Giant Raft, W. J. Gordon, 1881; Godfrey Morgan, 1883; The
Green Ray, tr. M. de Hauteville, 1883; The Vanished Diamond,
1885; The Archipelago on Fire, 1886; Mathias Sandorf, 1886;
Keraban the Inflexible, 1887; The Lottery Ticket, 1887;
Clipper of the Clouds, 1887; The Flight to France, or Memoirs
of a Dragoon, 1888; North against South: Story of the American
Civil War, 1888; Adrift in the Pacific, 1889; Cesar Cacabel,
1891; The Purchase of the North Pole, 1891; A Family without a
Name, 1891; Mistress Branican, 1892; Claudius Bombarnac, 1894;
Foundling Mick, 1895; Clovis Dardentor, 1897; For the Flag,
tr. Mrs. C. Hoey, 1897; An Antarctic Mystery, 1898.
Jules Verne's works are published in an authorised and
illustrated edition by Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston & Co.,
Ltd.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGE
Conversation on the Subject of the Bullet -- Construction
of a Canoe -- Hunting -- At the Top of a Kauri -- Nothing
to attest the Presence of Man -- Neb and Herbert's Prize
-- Turning a Turtle -- The Turtle disappears -- Cyrus
Harding's Explanation 1
CHAPTER II
First Trial of the Canoe -- A Wreck on the Coast --
Towing -- Flotsam Point -- Inventory of the Case: Tools,
Weapons, Instruments, Clothes, Books, Utensils -- What
Pencroft misses -- The Gospel -- A Verse from the Sacred
Book 11
CHAPTER III
The Start -- The rising Tide -- Elms and different Plants
-- The Jacamar -- Aspect of the Forest -- Gigantic
Eucalypti -- The Reason they are called "Fever Trees" --
Troops of Monkeys -- A Waterfall -- The Night Encampment 23
CHAPTER IV
Journey to the Coast -- Troops of Monkeys -- A new River
-- The Reason the Tide was not felt -- A woody Shore --
Reptile Promontory -- Herbert envies Gideon Spilett --
Explosion of Bamboos 34
CHAPTER V
Proposal to return by the Southern Shore -- Configuration
of the Coast -- Searching for the supposed Wreck -- A
Wreck in the Air -- Discovery of a small Natural Port --
At Midnight on the Banks of the Mercy -- The Canoe
Adrift 45
CHAPTER VI
Pencroft's Halloos -- A Night in the Chimneys --
Herbert's Arrows -- The Captain's Project -- An
unexpected Explanation -- What has happened in Granite
House -- How a new Servant enters the Service of the
Colonists 58
CHAPTER VII
Plans -- A Bridge over the Mercy -- Mode adopted for
making an Island of Prospect Heights -- The Drawbridge
-- Harvest -- The Stream -- The Poultry-yard -- A
Pigeon-house -- The two Onagas -- The Cart -- Excursion
to Port Balloon 70
CHAPTER VIII
Linen -- Shoes of Seal-leather -- Manufacture of Pyroxyle
-- Gardening -- Fishing -- Turtle-eggs -- Improvement of
Master Jup -- The Corral -- Musmon Hunt -- New Animal
and Vegetable Possessions -- Recollections of their
Native Land 81
CHAPTER IX
Bad Weather -- The Hydraulic Lift -- Manufacture of
Glass-ware -- The Bread-tree -- Frequent Visits to the
Corral -- Increase of the Flock -- The Reporter's
Question -- Exact Position of Lincoln Island --
Pencroft's Proposal 92
CHAPTER X
Boat-building -- Second Crop of Corn -- Hunting Koalas
-- A new Plant, more Pleasant than Useful -- Whale in
Sight -- A Harpoon from the Vineyard -- Cutting up the
Whale -- Use for the Bones -- End of the Month of May --
Pencroft has nothing left to wish for 103
CHAPTER XI
Winter -- Felling Wood -- The Mill -- Pencroft's fixed
Idea -- The Bones -- To what Use an Albatross may be put
-- Fuel for the Future -- Top and Jup -- Storms -- Damage
to the Poultry-yard -- Excursion to the Marsh -- Cyrus
Harding alone -- Exploring the Well 114
CHAPTER XII
The Rigging of the Vessel -- An Attack from Foxes -- Jup
wounded -- Jup cured -- Completion of the Boat --
Pencroft's Triumph -- The _Bonadventure's_ trial Trip
to the South of the Island -- An unexpected Document 127
CHAPTER XIII
Departure decided upon -- Conjectures -- Preparations --
The three Passengers -- First Night -- Second Night --
Tabor Island -- Searching the Shore -- Searching the
Wood -- No one -- Animals -- Plants -- A Dwelling --
Deserted 142
CHAPTER XIV
The Inventory -- Night -- A few Letters -- Continuation
of the Search -- Plants and Animals -- Herbert in great
Danger -- On Board -- The Departure -- Bad Weather -- A
Gleam of Reason -- Lost on the Sea -- A timely Light 154
CHAPTER XV
The Return -- Discussion -- Cyrus Harding and the Stranger
-- Port Balloon -- The Engineer's Devotion -- A touching
Incident -- Tears flow 166
CHAPTER XVI
A Mystery to be cleared up -- The Stranger's first Words
-- Twelve Years on the Islet -- Avowal which escapes him
-- The Disappearance -- Cyrus Harding's Confidence --
Construction of a Mill -- The first Bread -- An Act of
Devotion -- Honest Hands 176
CHAPTER XVII
Still alone -- The Stranger's Request -- The Farm
established at the Corral -- Twelve Years ago -- The
Boatswain's Mate of the _Britannia_ -- Left on Tabor
Island -- Cyrus Harding's Hand -- The mysterious
Document 191
CHAPTER XVIII
Conversation -- Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett -- An
Idea of the Engineer's -- The Electric Telegraph -- The
Wires -- The Battery -- The Alphabet -- Fine Season --
Prosperity of the Colony -- Photography -- An Appearance
of Snow -- Two Years on Lincoln Island 203
CHAPTER XIX
Recollections of their Native Land -- Probable Future --
Project for surveying the Coasts of the Island --
Departure on the 16th of April -- Sea-view of Reptile
End -- The basaltic Rocks of the Western Coast -- Bad
Weather -- Night comes on -- New Incident 216
CHAPTER XX
A Night at Sea -- Shark Gulf -- Confidences --
Preparations for Winter -- Forwardness of the Bad Season
-- Severe Cold -- Work in the Interior -- In Six Months
-- A Photographic Negative -- Unexpected Incident 226
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
TURNING A TURTLE 9
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM 15
UNPACKING THE MARVELLOUS CHEST 17
PENCROFT'S SUPERSTITION 21
IS IT TOBACCO? 27
THE HALT FOR BREAKFAST 29
DENIZENS OF THE FOREST 37
THE SEA 39
AT THAT MOMENT A SHOT STRUCK THE JAGUAR BETWEEN THE EYES
AND IT FELL DEAD 43
"NOW THERE'S SOMETHING TO EXPLAIN THE BULLET!" EXCLAIMED
PENCROFT 51
A WRECK IN THE AIR 53
THERE WAS NO LONGER A LADDER! 57
THE INVADERS OF GRANITE HOUSE 63
CAPTURING THE ORANG 67
ENGAGING THE NEW SERVANT 69
BUILDING THE BRIDGE 73
PENCROFT'S SCARECROWS 77
THE SETTLERS' NEW SHIRTS 83
JUP PASSED MOST OF HIS TIME IN THE KITCHEN, TRYING TO
IMITATE NEB 87
PENCROFT TO THE RESCUE 93
THE GLASS-BLOWERS 97
THE VERANDAH ON THE EDGE OF PROSPECT HEIGHTS 101
THE DOCKYARD 105
A VALUABLE PRIZE 109
PENCROFT HAS NOTHING LEFT TO WISH FOR 113
THE MESSENGER 119
WINTER EVENINGS IN GRANITE HOUSE 121
HE SAW NOTHING SUSPICIOUS 125
TOP VISITING THE INVALID 133
THE TRIAL TRIP 137
"LUFF, PENCROFT, LUFF!" 141
THE DEPARTURE 145
NEARING THE ISLAND 149
A HUT! 153
HERBERT IN DANGER 159
A LIGHT! A LIGHT! 165
"POOR FELLOW," MURMURED THE ENGINEER 169
THE EXPERIMENT 175
"WHO ARE YOU?" HE ASKED IN A HOLLOW VOICE 177
THE STRANGER 179
NOW FOR A GOOD WIND 187
HE SEIZED THE JAGUAR'S THROAT WITH ONE POWERFUL HAND 189
THE STRANGER'S STORY 195
"HERE IS MY HAND," SAID THE ENGINEER 201
THE ENGINEER AT WORK 209
JUP SITTING FOR HIS PORTRAIT 213
THE SNOWY SHEET AROSE AND DISPERSED IN THE AIR 215
ANOTHER MYSTERY 225
RETURNING FROM A SPORTING EXCURSION 233
THE PHOTOGRAPHIC NEGATIVE 235
THE ABANDONED
CHAPTER I
Conversation on the Subject of the Bullet -- Construction of
a Canoe -- Hunting -- At the Top of a Kauri -- Nothing to
attest the Presence of Man -- Neb and Herbert's Prize --
Turning a Turtle -- The Turtle disappears -- Cyrus Harding's
Explanation.
It was now exactly seven months since the balloon voyagers had been
thrown on Lincoln Island. During that time, notwithstanding the
researches they had made, no human being had been discovered. No smoke
even had betrayed the presence of man on the surface of the island. No
vestiges of his handiwork showed that either at an early or at a late
period had man lived there. Not only did it now appear to be
uninhabited by any but themselves, but the colonists were compelled to
believe that it never had been inhabited. And now, all this
scaffolding of reasonings fell before a simple ball of metal, found in
the body of an inoffensive rodent! In fact, this bullet must have
issued from a firearm, and who but a human being could have used such
a weapon?
When Pencroft had placed the bullet on the table, his companions
looked at it with intense astonishment. All the consequences likely to
result from this incident, notwithstanding its apparent
insignificance, immediately took possession of their minds. The sudden
apparition of a supernatural being could not have startled them more
completely.
Cyrus Harding did not hesitate to give utterance to the suggestions
which this fact, at once surprising and unexpected, could not fail to
raise in his mind. He took the bullet, turned it over and over, rolled
it between his finger and thumb; then, turning to Pencroft, he
asked,--
"Are you sure that the peccary wounded by this bullet was not more
than three months old?"
"Not more, captain," replied Pencroft. "It was still sucking its
mother when I found it in the trap."
"Well," said the engineer, "that proves that within three months a
gun-shot was fired in Lincoln Island."
"And that a bullet," added Gideon Spilett, "wounded, though not
mortally, this little animal."
"That is unquestionable," said Cyrus Harding, "and these are the
deductions which must be drawn from this incident: that the island was
inhabited before our arrival, or that men have landed here within
three months. Did these men arrive here voluntarily or involuntarily,
by disembarking on the shore or by being wrecked? This point can only
be cleared up later. As to what they were, Europeans or Malays,
enemies or friends of our race, we cannot possibly guess; and if they
still inhabit the island, or if they have left it, we know not. But
these questions are of too much importance to be allowed to remain
long unsettled."
"No! a hundred times no! a thousand times no!" cried the sailor,
springing up from the table. "There are no other men than ourselves on
Lincoln Island! By my faith! The island isn't large, and if it had
been inhabited, we should have seen some of the inhabitants long
before this!"
"In fact, the contrary would be very astonishing," said Herbert.
"But it would be much more astonishing, I should think," observed the
reporter, "that this peccary should have been born with a bullet in
its inside!"
"At least," said Neb seriously, "if Pencroft has not had--"
"Look here, Neb," burst out Pencroft. "Do you think I could have a
bullet in my jaw for five or six months without finding it out? Where
could it be hidden?" he asked opening his mouth to show the
two-and-thirty teeth with which it was furnished. "Look well, Neb, and
if you find one hollow tooth in this set, I will let you pull out half
a dozen!"
"Neb's supposition is certainly inadmissible," replied Harding, who,
notwithstanding the gravity of his thoughts, could not restrain a
smile. "It is certain that a gun has been fired in the island, within
three months at most. But I am inclined to think that the people who
landed on this coast were only here a very short time ago, or that
they just touched here; for if, when we surveyed the island from the
summit of Mount Franklin, it had been inhabited, we should have seen
them or we should have been seen ourselves. It is therefore probable
that within only a few weeks castaways have been thrown by a storm on
some part of the coast. However that may be, it is of consequence to
us to have this point settled."
"I think that we should act with caution," said the reporter.
"Such is my advice," replied Cyrus Harding, "for it is to be feared
that Malay pirates have landed on the island!"
"Captain," asked the sailor, "would it not be a good plan, before
setting out, to build a canoe in which we could either ascend the
river, or, if we liked, coast round the island? It will not do to be
unprovided."
"Your idea is good, Pencroft," replied the engineer, "but we cannot
wait for that. It would take at least a month to build a boat."
"Yes, a real boat," replied the sailor; "but we do not want one for a
sea voyage, and in five days at the most, I will undertake to
construct a canoe fit to navigate the Mercy."
"Five days," cried Neb, "to build a boat?"
"Yes, Neb; a boat in the Indian fashion."
"Of wood?" asked the negro, looking still unconvinced.
"Of wood," replied Pencroft, "or rather of bark. I repeat, captain,
that in five days the work will be finished!"
"In five days, then, be it," replied the engineer.
"But till that time we must be very watchful," said Herbert.
"Very watchful indeed, my friends," replied Harding; "and I beg you to
confine your hunting excursions to the neighbourhood of Granite
House."
The dinner ended less gaily than Pencroft had hoped.
So, then, the island was, or had been, inhabited by others than the
settlers. Proved as it was by the incident of the bullet, it was
hereafter an unquestionable fact, and such a discovery could not but
cause great uneasiness amongst the colonists.
Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett, before sleeping, conversed long
about the matter. They asked themselves if by chance this incident
might not have some connection with the inexplicable way in which the
engineer had been saved, and the other peculiar circumstances which
had struck them at different times. However Cyrus Harding, after
having discussed the pros and cons of the question, ended by saying,--
"In short, would you like to know my opinion, my dear Spilett?"
"Yes, Cyrus."
"Well, then, it is this: however minutely we explore the island, we
shall find nothing."
The next day Pencroft set to work. He did not mean to build a boat
with boards and planking, but simply a flat-bottomed canoe, which
would be well suited for navigating the Mercy--above all, for
approaching its source, where the water would naturally be shallow.
Pieces of bark, fastened one to the other, would form a light boat;
and in case of natural obstacles, which would render a portage
necessary, it would be easily carried. Pencroft intended to secure the
pieces of bark by means of nails, to insure the canoe being
water-tight.
It was first necessary to select the trees which would afford a strong
and supple bark for the work. Now the last storm had brought down a
number of large birch trees, the bark of which would be perfectly
suited for their purpose. Some of these trees lay on the ground, and
they had only to be barked, which was the most difficult thing of all,
owing to the imperfect tools which the settlers possessed. However,
they overcame all difficulties.
Whilst the sailor, seconded by the engineer, thus occupied himself
without losing an hour, Gideon Spilett and Herbert were not idle. They
were made purveyors to the colony. The reporter could not but admire
the boy, who had acquired great skill in handling the bow and spear.
Herbert also showed great courage and much of that presence of mind
which may justly be called "the reasoning of bravery." These two
companions of the chase, remembering Cyrus Harding's recommendations,
did not go beyond a radius of two miles round Granite House; but the
borders of the forest furnished a sufficient tribute of agouties,
capybaras, kangaroos, peccaries, etc.; and if the result from the
traps was less than during the cold, still the warren yielded its
accustomed quota, which might have fed all the colony in Lincoln
Island.
Often during these excursions, Herbert talked with Gideon Spilett on
the incident of the bullet, and the deductions which the engineer drew
from it, and one day--it was the 26th of October--he said,--
"But, Mr. Spilett, do you not think it very extraordinary that, if any
castaways have landed on the island, they have not yet shown
themselves near Granite House?"
"Very astonishing if they are still here," replied the reporter, "but
not astonishing at all if they are here no longer!"
"So you think that these people have already quitted the island?"
returned Herbert.
"It is more than probable, my boy; for if their stay was prolonged,
and above all, if they were still here, some accident would have at
last betrayed their presence."
"But if they were able to go away," observed the lad, "they could not
have been castaways."
"No, Herbert; or, at least, they were what might be called provisional
castaways. It is very possible that a storm may have driven them to
the island without destroying their vessel, and that, the storm over,
they went away again."
"I must acknowledge one thing," said Herbert, "it is that Captain
Harding appears rather to fear than desire the presence of human
beings on our island."
"In short," responded the reporter, "there are only Malays who
frequent these seas, and those fellows are ruffians which it is best
to avoid."
"It is not impossible, Mr. Spilett," said Herbert, "that some day or
other we may find traces of their landing."
"I do not say no, my boy. A deserted camp, the ashes of a fire, would
put us on the track, and this is what we will look for in our next
expedition."
The day on which the hunters spoke thus, they were in a part of the
forest near the Mercy, remarkable for its beautiful trees. There,
among others, rose, to a height of nearly 200 feet above the ground,
some of those superb coniferae, to which, in New Zealand, the natives
give the name of Kauris.
"I have an idea, Mr. Spilett," said Herbert. "If I were to climb to
the top of one of these kauris, I could survey the country for an
immense distance round."
"The idea is good," replied the reporter; "but could you climb to the
top of those giants?"
"I can at least try," replied Herbert.
The light and active boy then sprang on the first branches, the
arrangement of which made the ascent of the kauri easy, and in a few
minutes he arrived at the summit, which emerged from the immense plain
of verdure.
From this elevated situation his gaze extended over all the southern
portion of the island, from Claw Cape on the south-east, to Reptile
End on the south-west. To the north-west rose Mount Franklin, which
concealed a great part of the horizon.
But Herbert, from the height of his observatory, could examine all the
yet unknown portion of the island which might have given shelter to
the strangers whose presence they suspected.
The lad looked attentively. There was nothing in sight on the sea, not
a sail, neither on the horizon nor near the island. However, as the
bank of trees hid the shore, it was possible that a vessel, especially
if deprived of her masts, might lie close to the land and thus be
invisible to Herbert.
Neither in the forests of the Far West was anything to be seen. The
wood formed an impenetrable screen, measuring several square miles,
without a break or an opening. It was impossible even to follow the
course of the Mercy, or to ascertain in what part of the mountain it
took its source. Perhaps other creeks also ran towards the west, but
they could not be seen.
But at last, if all indication of an encampment escaped Herbert's
sight, could he not even catch a glimpse of smoke, the faintest trace
of which would be easily discernible in the pure atmosphere?
For an instant Herbert thought he could perceive a slight smoke in the
west, but a more attentive examination showed that he was mistaken. He
strained his eyes in every direction, and his sight was excellent. No,
decidedly there was nothing there.
Herbert descended to the foot of the kauri, and the two sportsmen
returned to Granite House. There Cyrus Harding listened to the lad's
account, shook his head and said nothing. It was very evident that no
decided opinion could be pronounced on this question until after a
complete exploration of the island.
Two days after--the 28th of October--another incident occurred, for
which an explanation was again required.
Whilst strolling along the shore about two miles from Granite House,
Herbert and Neb were fortunate enough to capture a magnificent
specimen of the order of chelonia. It was a turtle of the species
Midas, the edible green turtle, so called from the colour both of its
shell and fat.
Herbert caught sight of this turtle as it was crawling among the rocks
to reach the sea.
"Help, Neb, help!" he cried.
Neb ran up.
"What a fine animal!" said Neb; "but how are we to catch it?"
"Nothing is easier, Neb," replied Herbert. "We have only to turn the
turtle on its back, and it cannot possibly get away. Take your spear
and do as I do."
The reptile, aware of danger, had retired between its carapace and
plastron. They no longer saw its head or feet, and it was motionless
as a rock.
Herbert and Neb then drove their sticks underneath the animal, and by
their united efforts managed without difficulty to turn it on its
back. The turtle, which was three feet in length, would have weighed
at least four hundred pounds.
"Capital!" cried Neb; "this is something which will rejoice friend
Pencroft's heart."
In fact, the heart of friend Pencroft could not fail to be rejoiced,
for the flesh of the turtle, which feeds on wrack-grass, is extremely
savoury. At this moment the creature's head could be seen, which was
small, flat, but widened behind by the large temporal fossae hidden
under the long roof.
"And now, what shall we do with our prize?" said Neb. "We can't drag
it to Granite House!"
"Leave it here, since it cannot turn over," replied Herbert, "and we
will come back with the cart to fetch it."
"That is the best plan."
However, for greater precaution, Herbert took the trouble, which Neb
deemed superfluous, to wedge up the animal with great stones, after
which the two hunters returned to Granite House, following the beach,
which the tide had left uncovered. Herbert, wishing to surprise
Pencroft, said nothing about the "superb specimen of a chelonian"
which they had turned over on the sand, but, two hours later, he and
Neb returned with the cart to the place where they had left it. The
"superb specimen of a chelonian" was no longer there!
Neb and Herbert stared at each other first, then they stared about
them. It was just at this spot that the turtle had been left. The lad
even found the stones which he had used, and therefore he was certain
of not being mistaken.
"Well!" said Neb, "these beasts can turn themselves over, then?"
"It appears so," replied Herbert, who could not understand it at all,
and was gazing at the stones scattered on the sand.
"Well, Pencroft will be disgusted!"
"And Captain Harding will perhaps be very perplexed how to explain
this disappearance" thought Herbert.
"Look here," said Neb, who wished to hide his ill-luck, "we won't
speak about it."
"On the contrary, Neb we must speak about it," replied Herbert.
And the two, taking the cart, which there was now no use for, returned
to Granite House.
Arrived at the dockyard, where the engineer and the sailor were
working together Herbert recounted what had happened.
"Oh! the stupids!" cried the sailor, "to have let at least fifty meals
escape!"
"But, Pencroft," replied Neb, "it wasn't our fault that the beast got
away, as I tell you, we had turned it over on its back!"
"Then you didn't turn it over enough!" returned the obstinate sailor.
[Illustration: TURNING A TURTLE]
"Not enough!" cried Herbert.
And he told how he had taken care to wedge up the turtle with stones.
"It is a miracle, then!" replied Pencroft.
"I thought, captain," said Herbert, "that turtles, once placed on
their backs, could not regain their feet, especially when they are of
a large size?"
"That is true, my boy," replied Cyrus Harding.
"Then how did it manage?"
"At what distance from the sea did you leave this turtle?" asked the
engineer, who, having suspended his work, was reflecting on this
incident.
"Fifteen feet at the most," replied Herbert.
"And the tide was low at the time?"
"Yes, captain."
"Well," replied the engineer, "what the turtle could not do on the
sand it might have been able to do in the water. It turned over when
the tide overtook it, and then quietly returned to the deep sea."
"Oh! what stupids we were!" cried Neb.
"That is precisely what I had the honour of telling you before!"
returned the sailor.
Cyrus Harding had given this explanation, which, no doubt, was
admissible. But was he himself convinced of the accuracy of this
explanation? It cannot be said that he was.
CHAPTER II
First Trial of the Canoe -- A Wreck on the Coast -- Towing --
Flotsam Point -- Inventory of the Case: Tools, Weapons,
Instruments, Clothes, Books, Utensils -- What Pencroft misses
-- The Gospel -- A Verse from the Sacred Book.
On the 9th of October the bark canoe was entirely finished. Pencroft
had kept his promise, and a light boat, the shell of which was joined
together by the flexible twigs of the crejimba, had been constructed
in five days. A seat in the stern, a second seat in the middle to
preserve the equilibrium, a third seat in the bows, rowlocks for the
two oars, a scull to steer with, completed the little craft, which was
twelve feet long, and did not weigh more than 200 pounds.
The operation of launching it was extremely simple. The canoe was
carried to the beach and laid on the sand before Granite House, and
the rising tide floated it. Pencroft, who leapt in directly,
manoeuvred it with the scull and declared it to be just the thing for
the purpose to which they wished to put it.
"Hurrah!" cried the sailor, who did not disdain to celebrate thus his
own triumph. "With this we could go round--"
"The world?" asked Gideon Spilett.
"No, the island. Some stones for ballast, a mast, and a sail, which
the captain will make for us some day, and we shall go splendidly!
Well, captain--and you, Mr. Spilett; and you, Herbert; and you,
Neb--aren't you coming to try our new vessel? Come along! we must see
if it will carry all five of us!"
This was certainly a trial which ought to be made. Pencroft soon
brought the canoe to the shore by a narrow passage among the rocks,
and it was agreed that they should make a trial of the boat that day
by following the shore as far as the first point at which the rocks of
the south ended.
As they embarked, Neb cried,--
"But your boat leaks rather, Pencroft."
"That's nothing, Neb," replied the sailor; "the wood will get
seasoned. In two days there won't be a single leak, and our boat will
have no more water in her than there is in the stomach of a drunkard.
Jump in!"
They were soon all seated, and Pencroft shoved off. The weather was
magnificent, the sea as calm as if its waters were contained within
the narrow limits of a lake. Thus the boat could proceed with as much
security as if it was ascending the tranquil current of the Mercy.
Neb took one of the oars, Herbert the other, and Pencroft remained in
the stern in order to use the skull.
The sailor first crossed the channel, and steered close to the
southern point of the islet. A light breeze blew from the south. No
roughness was found either in the channel or the green sea. A long
swell, which the canoe scarcely felt, as it was heavily laden, rolled
regularly over the surface of the water. They pulled out about half a
mile distant from the shore, that they might have a good view of Mount
Franklin.
Pencroft afterwards returned towards the mouth of the river. The boat
then skirted the shore, which, extending to the extreme point, hid all
Tadorn's Fens.
This point, of which the distance was increased by the irregularity of
the coast, was nearly three miles from the Mercy. The settlers
resolved to go to its extremity, and only go beyond it as much as was
necessary to take a rapid survey of the coast as far as Claw Cape.
The canoe followed the windings of the shore, avoiding the rocks which
fringed it, and which the rising tide began to cover. The cliff
gradually sloped away from the mouth of the river to the point. This
was formed of granite rocks, capriciously distributed, very different
from the cliff at Prospect Heights, and of an extremely wild aspect.
It might have been said that an immense cartload of rocks had been
emptied out there. There was no vegetation on this sharp promontory,
which projected two miles from the forest, and it thus represented a
giant's arm stretched out from a leafy sleeve.
The canoe, impelled by the two oars, advanced without difficulty.
Gideon Spilett, pencil in one hand and note-book in the other,
sketched the coast in bold strokes. Neb, Herbert, and Pencroft
chatted, whilst examining this part of their domain, which was new to
them, and, in proportion as the canoe proceeded towards the south, the
two Mandible Capes appeared to move, and surround Union Bay more
closely.
As to Cyrus Harding, he did not speak; he simply gazed, and by the
mistrust which his look expressed, it appeared that he was examining
some strange country.
In the meanwhile, after a voyage of three quarters of an hour, the
canoe reached the extremity of the point, and Pencroft was preparing
to return, when Herbert, rising, pointed to a black object, saying,--
"What do I see down there on the beach?"
All eyes turned towards the point indicated.
"Why," said the reporter, "there is something. It looks like part of a
wreck half buried in the sand."
"Ah!" cried Pencroft, "I see what it is!"
"What?" asked Neb.
"Barrels, barrels, which perhaps are full," replied the sailor.
"Pull to the shore, Pencroft!" said Cyrus.
A few strokes of the oar brought the canoe into a little creek, and
its passengers leapt on shore.
Pencroft was not mistaken. Two barrels were there, half buried in the
sand, but still firmly attached to a large chest, which, sustained by
them, had floated to the moment when it stranded on the beach.
"There has been a wreck, then, in some part of the island," said
Herbert.
"Evidently," replied Spilett.
"But what's in this chest?" cried Pencroft, with very natural
impatience. "What's in this chest? It is shut up, and nothing to open
it with! Well, perhaps a stone--"
And the sailor, raising a heavy block, was about to break in one of
the sides of the chest, when the engineer arrested his hand.
"Pencroft," said he, "can you restrain your impatience for one hour
only?"
"But, captain, just think! Perhaps there is everything we want in
there!"
"We shall find that out, Pencroft," replied the engineer; "but trust
to me, and do not break the chest, which may be useful to us. We must
convey it to Granite House, where we can open it easily and without
breaking it. It is quite prepared for a voyage, and, since it has
floated here, it may just as well float to the mouth of the river."
"You are right, captain, and I was wrong, as usual," replied the
sailor.
The engineer's advice was good. In fact, the canoe probably would not
have been able to contain the articles possibly enclosed in the chest,
which doubtless was heavy, since two empty barrels were required to
buoy it up. It was, therefore, much better to tow it to the beach at
Granite House.
And now, whence had this chest come? That was the important question
Cyrus Harding and his companions looked attentively around them, and
examined the shore for several hundred steps. No other articles or
pieces of wreck could be found. Herbert and Neb climbed a high rock to
survey the sea, but there was nothing in sight--neither a dismasted
vessel nor a ship under sail.
However, there was no doubt that there had been a wreck Perhaps this
incident was connected with that of the bullet? Perhaps strangers had
landed on another part of the island? Perhaps they were still there?
But the thought which came naturally to the settlers was, that these
strangers could not be Malay pirates, for the chest was evidently of
American or European make.
All the party returned to the chest, which was of an unusually large
size. It was made of oak wood, very carefully closed and covered with
a thick hide, which was secured by copper nails. The two great
barrels, hermetically sealed, but which sounded hollow and empty, were
fastened to its sides by strong ropes knotted with a skill which
Pencroft directly pronounced sailors alone could exhibit. It appeared
to be in a perfect state of preservation, which was explained by the
fact that it had stranded on a sandy beach, and not among rocks. They
had no doubt whatever, on examining it carefully, that it had not been
long in the water, and that its arrival on this coast was recent. The
water did not appear to have penetrated to the inside, and the
articles which it contained were no doubt uninjured.
[Illustration: FLOTSAM AND JETSAM]
It was evident that this chest had been thrown overboard from some
dismasted vessel driven towards the island, and that, in the hope that
it would reach the land, where they might afterwards find it, the
passengers had taken the precaution to buoy it up by means of this
floating apparatus.
"We will tow this chest to Granite House," said the engineer, "where
we can make an inventory of its contents, then, if we discover any of
the survivors from the supposed wreck, we can return it to those to
whom it belongs. If we find no one--"
"We will keep it for ourselves!" cried Pencroft "But what in the world
can there be in it?"
The sea was already approaching the chest, and the high tide would
evidently float it. One of the ropes which fastened the barrels was
partly unlashed and used as a cable to unite the floating apparatus
with the canoe. Pencroft and Neb then dug away the sand with their
oars, so as to facilitate the moving of the chest, towing which the
boat soon began to double the point to which the name of Flotsam Point
was given.
The chest was heavy, and the barrels were scarcely sufficient to keep
it above water. The sailor also feared every instant that it would get
loose and sink to the bottom of the sea. But happily his fears were
not realised, and an hour and a half after they set out--all that time
had been taken up in going a distance of three miles--the boat touched
the beach below Granite House.
Canoe and chest were then hauled up on the sand, and as the tide was
then going out, they were soon left high and dry. Neb, hurrying home,
brought back some tools with which to open the chest in such a way
that it might be injured as little as possible, and they proceeded to
its inventory. Pencroft did not try to hide that he was greatly
excited.
The sailor began by detaching the two barrels, which, being in good
condition, would of course be of use. Then the locks were forced with
a cold chisel and hammer, and the lid thrown back. A second casing of
zinc lined the interior of the chest, which had been evidently
arranged that the articles which it enclosed might under any
circumstances be sheltered from damp.
"Oh!" cried Neb, "suppose it's jam!".
[Illustration: UNPACKING THE MARVELLOUS CHEST]
"I hope not," replied the reporter.
"If only there was--" said the sailor in a low voice.
"What?" asked Neb, who overheard him.
"Nothing!"
The covering of zinc was torn off and thrown back over the sides of
the chest, and by degrees numerous articles of very varied character
were produced and strewn about on the sand. At each new object
Pencroft uttered fresh hurrahs, Herbert clapped his hands, and Neb
danced--like a nigger. There were books which made Herbert wild with
joy, and cooking utensils which Neb covered with kisses!
In short, the colonists had reason to be extremely satisfied, for this
chest contained tools, weapons, instruments, clothes, books; and this
is the exact list of them as stated in Gideon Spilett's note-book:--
Tools:--3 knives with several blades, 2 woodmen's axes, 2 carpenter's
hatchets, 3 planes, 2 adzes, 1 twibil or mattock, 6 chisels, 2 files,
3 hammers, 3 gimlets, 2 augers, 10 bags of nails and screws, 3 saws of
different sizes, 2 boxes of needles.
Weapons:--2 flint-lock guns, 2 for percussion caps, 2 breech-loader
carbines, 5 boarding cutlasses, 4 sabres, 2 barrels of powder, each
containing twenty-five pounds; 12 boxes of percussion caps.
Instruments:--1 sextant, 1 double opera-glass, 1 telescope, 1 box of
mathematical instruments, 1 mariner's compass, 1 Fahrenheit
thermometer, 1 aneroid barometer, 1 box containing a photographic
apparatus, object-glass, plates, chemicals, etc.
Clothes:--2 dozen shirts of a peculiar material resembling wool, but
evidently of a vegetable origin; 3 dozen stockings of the same
material.
Utensils:--1 iron pot, 6 copper saucepans, 3 iron dishes, 10 metal
plates, 2 kettles, 1 portable stove, 6 table-knives.
Books:--1 Bible, 1 atlas, 1 dictionary of the different Polynesian
idioms, 1 dictionary of natural science, in six volumes; 3 reams of
white paper, 2 books with blank pages.
"It must be allowed," said the reporter, after the inventory had been
made, "that the owner of this chest was a practical man! Tools,
weapons, instruments, clothes, utensils, books--nothing is wanting! It
might really be said that he expected to be wrecked, and had prepared
for it beforehand."
"Nothing is wanting, indeed," murmured Cyrus Harding thoughtfully.
"And for a certainty," added Herbert, "the vessel which carried this
chest and its owner was not a Malay pirate!"
"Unless," said Pencroft, "the owner had been taken prisoner by
pirates--"
"That is not admissible," replied the reporter. "It is more probable
that an American or European vessel has been driven into this quarter,
and that her passengers, wishing to save necessaries at least,
prepared this chest and threw it overboard."
"Is that your opinion, captain?" asked Herbert.
"Yes, my boy," replied the engineer, "that may have been the case. It
is possible that at the moment, or in expectation of a wreck, they
collected into this chest different articles of the greatest use in
hopes of finding it again on the coast--"
"Even the photographic box!" exclaimed the sailor incredulously.
"As to that apparatus," replied Harding, "I do not quite see the use
of it; and a more complete supply of clothes or more abundant
ammunition would have been more valuable to us as well as to any other
castaways!"
"But isn't there any mark or direction on these instruments, tools, or
books, which would tell us something about them?" asked Gideon
Spilett.
That might be ascertained. Each article was carefully examined,
especially the books, instruments and weapons. Neither the weapons nor
the instruments, contrary to the usual custom, bore the name of the
maker; they were, besides, in a perfect state, and did not appear to
have been used. The same peculiarity marked the tools and utensils;
all were new, which proved that the articles had not been taken by
chance and thrown into the chest, but, on the contrary, that the
choice of the things had been well considered and arranged with care.
This was also indicated by a second case of metal which had preserved
them from damp, and which could not have been soldered in a moment of
haste.
As to the dictionaries of natural science and Polynesian idioms, both
were English, but they neither bore the name of the publisher nor the
date of publication.
The same with the Bible printed in English, in quarto, remarkable in a
typographical point of view, and which appeared to have been often
used.
The atlas was a magnificent work, comprising maps of every country in
the world, and several planispheres arranged upon Mercator's
projection, aid of which the nomenclature was in French--but which
also bore neither date nor name of publisher.
There was nothing, therefore, on these different articles by which
they could be traced and nothing consequently of a nature to show the
nationality of the vessel which must have recently passed these
shores.
But, wherever the chest might have come from, it was a treasure to the
settlers on Lincoln Island. Till then, by making use of the
productions of nature, they had created everything for themselves,
and, thanks to their intelligence, they had managed without
difficulty. But did it not appear as if Providence had wished to
reward them by sending them these productions of human industry? Their
thanks rose unanimously to Heaven.
However, one of them was not quite satisfied: it was Pencroft. It
appeared that the chest did not contain some thing which he evidently
held in great esteem, for in proportion as they approached the bottom
of the box, his hurrahs diminished in heartiness, and, the inventory
finished, he was heard to mutter these words--
"That's all very fine, but you can see that there is nothing for me in
that box!"
This led Neb to say,--
"Why, friend Pencroft, what more do you expect?"
"Half a pound of tobacco," replied Pencroft seriously, "and nothing
would have been wanting to complete my happiness."
No one could help laughing at this speech of the sailor's.
[Illustration: PENCROFT'S SUPERSTITION]
But the result of this discovery of the chest was, that it was more
than ever necessary to explore the island thoroughly. It was therefore
agreed that the next morning at break of day they should set out, by
ascending the Mercy so as to reach the western shore. If any castaways
had landed on the coast, it was to be feared they were without
resources, and it was therefore the more necessary to carry help to
them without delay.
During the day the different articles were carried to Granite House,
where they were methodically arranged in the great hall.
This day--the 29th of October--happened to be a Sunday, and, before
going to bed, Herbert asked the engineer if he would not read them
something from the Gospel.
"Willingly," replied Cyrus Harding.
He took the sacred volume, and was about to open it, when Pencroft
stopped him, saying,--
"Captain, I am superstitious. Open at random and read the first verse
which your eye falls upon. We will see if it applies to our
situation."
Cyrus Harding smiled at the sailor's idea, and, yielding to his wish,
he opened exactly at a place where the leaves were separated by a
marker.
Immediately his eyes were attracted by a cross which, made with a
pencil, was placed against the eighth verse of the seventh chapter of
the Gospel of St. Matthew. He read the verse, which was this:--
"For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth."
CHAPTER III
The Start -- The rising Tide -- Elms and different Plants --
The Jacamar -- Aspect of the Forest -- Gigantic Eucalypti --
The Reason they are called "Fever Trees" -- Troops of Monkeys
-- A Waterfall -- The Night Encampment.
The next day, the 30th of October, all was ready for the proposed
exploring expedition, which recent events had rendered so necessary.
In fact, things had so come about that the settlers in Lincoln Island
no longer needed help for themselves, but were even able to carry it
to others.
It was therefore agreed that they should ascend the Mercy as far as
the river was navigable. A great part of the distance would thus be
traversed without fatigue, and the explorers could transport their
provisions and arms to an advanced point in the west of the island.
It was necessary to think not only of the things which they should
take with them, but also of those which they might have by chance to
bring back to Granite House. If there had been a wreck on the coast,
as was supposed, there would be many things cast up, which would be
lawfully their prizes. In the event of this, the cart would have been
of more use than the light canoe, but it was heavy and clumsy to drag,
and therefore more difficult to use; this led Pencroft to express his
regret that the chest had not contained, besides "his half-pound of
tobacco," a pair of strong New Jersey horses, which would have been
very useful to the colony!
The provisions, which Neb had already packed up, consisted of a store
of meat and of several gallons of beer, that is to say, enough to
sustain them for three days, the time which Harding assigned for the
expedition. They hoped besides to supply themselves on the road, and
Neb took care not to forget the portable stove.
The only tools the settlers took were the two woodmen's axes, which
they could use to cut a path through the thick forests, as also the
instruments, the telescope and pocket-compass.
For weapons they selected the two flint-lock guns, which were likely
to be more useful to them than the percussion fowling-pieces, the
first only requiring flints which could be easily replaced, and the
latter needing fulminating caps, a frequent use of which would soon
exhaust their limited stock. However, they took also one of the
carbines and some cartridges. As to the powder, of which there was
about fifty pounds in the barrel, a small supply of it had to be
taken, but the engineer hoped to manufacture an explosive substance
which would allow them to husband it. To the firearms were added the
five cutlasses well sheathed in leather, and, thus supplied, the
settlers could venture into the vast forest with some chance of
success.
It is useless to add that Pencroft, Herbert, and Neb, thus armed, were
at the summit of their happiness, although Cyrus Harding made them
promise not to fire a shot unless it was necessary.
At six in the morning the canoe put off from the shore; all had
embarked, including Top, and they proceeded to the mouth of the Mercy.
The tide had begun to come up half an hour before. For several hours,
therefore, there would be a current, which it was well to profit by,
for later the ebb would make it difficult to ascend the river. The
tide was already strong, for in three days the moon would be full, and
it was enough to keep the boat in the centre of the current, where it
floated swiftly along between the high banks without its being
necessary to increase its speed by the aid of the oars. In a few
minutes the explorers arrived at the angle formed by the Mercy, and
exactly at the place where, seven months before, Pencroft had made his
first raft of wood.
After this sudden angle the river widened and flowed under the shade
of great evergreen firs.
The aspect of the banks was magnificent. Cyrus Harding and his
companions could not but admire the lovely effects so easily produced
by nature with water and trees. As they advanced the forest element
diminished. On the right bank of the river grew magnificent specimens
of the ulmaceae tribe, the precious elm, so valuable to builders, and
which withstands well the action of water. Then there were numerous
groups belonging to the same family, amongst others one in particular,
the fruit of which produces a very useful oil. Further on, Herbert
remarked the lardizabala, a twining shrub which, when bruised in
water, furnishes excellent cordage; and two or three ebony trees of a
beautiful black, crossed with capricious veins.
From time to time, in certain places where the landing was easy, the
canoe was stopped, when Gideon Spilett, Herbert, and Pencroft, their
guns in their hands, and preceded by Top, jumped on shore. Without
expecting game, some useful plant might be met with, and the young
naturalist was delighted with discovering a sort of wild spinage,
belonging to the order of chenopodiaceae, and numerous specimens of
cruciferae, belonging to the cabbage tribe, which it would certainly
be possible to cultivate by transplanting. There were cresses,
horse-radish, turnips, and lastly, little branching hairy stalks,
scarcely more than three feet high, which produced brownish grains.
"Do you know what this plant is?" asked Herbert of the sailor.
"Tobacco!" cried Pencroft, who evidently had never seen his favourite
plant except in the bowl of his pipe.
"No, Pencroft," replied Herbert; "this is not tobacco, it is mustard."
"Mustard be hanged!" returned the sailor; "but if by chance you happen
to come across a tobacco-plant, my boy, pray don't scorn that!"
"We shall find it some day!" said Gideon Spilett.
"Well!" exclaimed Pencroft, "when that day comes, I do not know what
more will be wanting in our island!"
These different plants, which had been carefully rooted, up, were
carried to the canoe, where Cyrus Harding had remained buried in
thought.
The reporter, Herbert, and Pencroft in this manner frequently
disembarked, sometimes on the right bank, sometimes on the left bank
of the Mercy.
The latter was less abrupt, but the former more wooded. The engineer
ascertained by consulting his pocket compass that the direction of the
river from the first turn was obviously south-west and north-east, and
nearly straight for a length of about three miles. But it was to be
supposed that this direction changed beyond that point, and that the
Mercy continued to the north-west, towards the spurs of Mount
Franklin, among which the river rose.
During one of these excursions, Gideon Spilett managed to get hold of
two couples of living gallinaceae. They were birds with long, thin
beaks, lengthened necks, short wings, and without any appearance of a
tail. Herbert rightly gave them the name of tinamons, and it was
resolved that they should be the first tenants of their future poultry
yard.
But till then the guns had not spoken, and the first report which
awoke the echoes of the forest of the Far West was provoked by the
appearance of a beautiful bird, resembling the kingfisher.
"I recognise him!" cried Pencroft, and it seemed as if his gun went
off by itself.
"What do you recognise?" asked the reporter.
"The bird which escaped us on our first excursion, and from which we
gave the name to that part of the forest."
"A jacamar!" cried Herbert.
It was indeed a jacamar, of which the plumage shines with a metallic
lustre. A shot brought it to the ground, and Top carried it to the
canoe. At the same time half a dozen lories were brought down. The
lory is of the size of a pigeon, the plumage dashed with green, part
of the wings crimson, and its crest bordered with white. To the young
boy belonged the honour of this shot, and he was proud enough of it.
Lories are better food than the jacamar, the flesh of which is rather
tough, but it was difficult to persuade Pencroft that he had not
killed the king of eatable birds. It was ten o'clock in the morning
when the canoe reached a second angle of the Mercy, nearly five miles
from its mouth. Here a halt was made for breakfast under the shade of
some splendid trees. The river still measured from sixty to seventy
feet in breadth, and its bed from five to six feet in depth. The
engineer had observed that it was increased by numerous affluents, but
they were unnavigable, being simply little streams. As to the forest,
including Jacamar Wood, as well as the forests of the Far West, it
extended as far as the eye could reach. In no place, either in the
depths of the forest or under the trees on the banks of the Mercy, was
the presence of man revealed. The explorers could not discover one
suspicious trace. It was evident that the woodman's axe had never
touched these trees, that the pioneer's knife had never severed the
creepers hanging from one trunk to another in the midst of tangled
brushwood and long grass. If castaways had landed on the island, they
could not have yet quitted the shore and it was not in the woods that
the survivors of the supposed shipwreck should be sought.
[Illustration: IS IT TOBACCO?]
The engineer therefore manifested some impatience to reach the western
coast of Lincoln Island, which was at least five miles distant
according to his estimation.
The voyage was continued, and as the Mercy appeared to flow not
towards the shore, but rather towards Mount Franklin, it was decided
that they should use the boat as long as there was enough water under
its keel to float it. It was both fatigue spared and time gained, for
they would have been obliged to cut a path through the thick wood with
their axes. But soon the flow completely failed them either the tide
was going down, and it was about the hour, or it could no longer be
felt at this distance from the mouth of the Mercy. They had therefore
to make use of the oars, Herbert and Neb each took one, and Pencroft
took the scull. The forest soon became less dense, the trees grew
further apart and often quite isolated. But the further they were from
each other the more magnificent they appeared, profiting, as they did,
by the free, pure air which circulated around them.
What splendid specimens of the Flora of this latitude! Certainly their
presence would have been enough for a botanist to name without
hesitation the parallel which traversed Lincoln Island.
"Eucalypti!" cried Herbert.
They were, in fact, those splendid trees, the giants of the
extra-tropical zone, the congeners of the Australian and New Zealand
eucalyptus, both situated under the same latitude as Lincoln Island.
Some rose to a height of two hundred feet. Their trunks at the base
measured twenty feet in circumference, and their bark was covered by a
network of furrows containing a red, sweet-smelling gum. Nothing is
more wonderful or more singular than those enormous specimens of the
order of the myrtaceae, with their leaves placed vertically and not
horizontally, so that an edge and not a surface looks upwards, the
effect being that the sun's rays penetrate more freely among the
trees.
[Illustration: THE HALT FOR BREAKFAST]
The ground at the foot of the eucalypti was carpeted with grass, and
from the bushes escaped flights of little birds, which glittered in
the sunlight like winged rubies.
"These are something like trees!" cried Neb; "but are they good for
anything?"
"Pooh!" replied Pencroft. "Of course there are vegetable giants as
well as human giants, and they are no good, except to show themselves
at fairs!"
"I think that you are mistaken, Pencroft," replied Gideon Spilett,
"and that the wood of the eucalyptus has begun to be very
advantageously employed in cabinet-making."
"And I may add," said Herbert, "that the eucalyptus belongs to a
family which comprises many useful members; the guava-tree, from whose
fruit guava jelly is made; the clove-tree, which produces the spice;
the pomegranate-tree, which bears pomegranates; the Eugeacia
Cauliflora, the fruit of which is used in making a tolerable wine; the
Ugui myrtle, which contains an excellent alcoholic liquor; the
Caryophyllus myrtle, of which the bark forms an esteemed cinnamon; the
Eugenia Pimenta, from whence comes Jamaica pepper; the common myrtle,
from whose buds and berries spice is sometimes made; the Eucalyptus
manifera, which yields a sweet sort of manna; the Guinea Eucalyptus,
the sap of which is transformed into beer by fermentation; in short,
all those trees known under the name of gum-trees or iron-bark trees
in Australia, belong to this family of the myrtaceae, which contains
forty-six genera and thirteen hundred species!"
The lad was allowed to run on, and he delivered his little botanical
lecture with great animation. Cyrus Harding listened smiling, and
Pencroft with an indescribable feeling of pride.
"Very good, Herbert," replied Pencroft, "but I could swear that all
those useful specimens you have just told us about are none of them
giants like these!"
"That is true, Pencroft."
"That supports what I said," returned the sailor, "namely, that these
giants are good for nothing!"
"There you are wrong, Pencroft," said the engineer; "these gigantic
eucalypti, which shelter us, are good for something."
"And what is that?"
"To render the countries which they inhabit healthy. Do you know what
they are called in Australia and New Zealand?"
"No, captain."
"They are called 'fever trees.'"
"Because they give fevers?"
"No, because they prevent them!"
"Good. I must note that," said the reporter.
"Note it then, my dear Spilett; for it appears proved that the
presence of the eucalyptus is enough to neutralise miasmas. This
natural antidote has been tried in certain countries in the middle of
Europe and the north of Africa, where the soil was absolutely
unhealthy, and the sanitary condition of the inhabitants has been
gradually ameliorated. No more intermittent fevers prevail in the
regions now covered with forests of the myrtaceae. This fact is now
beyond doubt, and it is a happy circumstance for us settlers in
Lincoln Island."
"Ah! what an island! What a blessed island!" cried Pencroft. "I tell
you, it wants nothing--unless it is--"
"That will come, Pencroft, that will be found," replied the engineer;
"but now we must continue our voyage and push on as far as the river
will carry our boat!"
The exploration was therefore continued for another two miles in the
midst of country covered with eucalypti, which predominated in the
woods of this portion of the island. The space which they occupied
extended as far as the eye could reach on each side of the Mercy,
which wound along between high green banks. The bed was often
obstructed by long weeds, and even by pointed rocks, which rendered
the navigation very difficult. The action of the oars was prevented,
and Pencroft was obliged to push with a pole. They found also that the
water was becoming shallower and shallower, and that the canoe must
soon stop. The sun was already sinking towards the horizon, and the
trees threw long shadows on the ground. Cyrus Harding, seeing that he
could not hope to reach the western coast of the island in one
journey, resolved to camp at the place where any further navigation
was prevented by want of water. He calculated that they were still
five or six miles from the coast, and this distance was too great for
them to attempt traversing during the night in the midst of unknown
woods.
The boat was pushed on through the forest, which gradually became
thicker again, and appeared also to have more inhabitants; for if the
eyes of the sailor did not deceive him, he thought he saw bands of
monkeys springing among the trees. Sometimes even two or three of
these animals stopped at a little distance from the canoe and gazed at
the settlers without manifesting any terror, as if, seeing men for the
first time, they had not yet learned to fear them. It would have been
easy to bring down one of these quadrumani with a gunshot, and
Pencroft was greatly tempted to fire, but Harding opposed so useless a
massacre. This was prudent, for the monkeys, or apes rather, appearing
to be very powerful and extremely active, it was useless to provoke an
unnecessary aggression, and the creatures might, ignorant of the power
of the explorer's firearms, have attacked them. It is true that the
sailor considered the monkeys from a purely alimentary point of view,
for those animals which are herbivorous make very excellent game; but
since they had an abundant supply of provisions, it was a pity to
waste their ammunition.
Towards four o'clock, the navigation of the Mercy became exceedingly
difficult, for its course was obstructed by aquatic plants and rocks.
The banks rose higher and higher, and already they were approaching
the spurs of Mount Franklin. The source could not be far off, since it
was fed by the water from the southern slopes of the mountain.
"In a quarter of an hour," said the sailor, "we shall be obliged to
stop, captain."
"Very well, we will stop, Pencroft, and we will make our encampment
for the night."
"At what distance are we from Granite House?" asked Herbert.
"About seven miles," replied the engineer, "taking into calculation,
however, the _detours_ of the river, which has carried us to the
north-west."
"Shall, we go on?" asked the reporter.
"Yes, as long as we can," replied Cyrus Harding. "To-morrow, at break
of day, we will leave the canoe, and in two hours I hope we shall
cross the distance which separates us from the coast, and then we
shall have the whole day in which to explore the shore."
"Go-ahead!" replied Pencroft.
But soon the boat grated on the stony bottom of the river, which was
now not more than twenty feet in breadth. The trees met like a bower
overhead, and caused a half-darkness. They also heard the noise of a
waterfall, which showed that a few hundred feet up the river there was
a natural barrier.
Presently, after a sudden turn of the river, a cascade appeared
through the trees. The canoe again touched the bottom, and in a few
minutes it was moored to a trunk near the right bank.
It was nearly five o'clock. The last rays of the sun gleamed through
the thick foliage and glanced on the little waterfall, making the
spray sparkle with all the colours of the rainbow. Beyond that, the
Mercy was lost in the brushwood, where it was fed from some hidden
source. The different streams which flowed into it increased it to a
regular river further down, but here it was simply a shallow, limpid
brook.
It was agreed to camp here, as the place was charming. The colonists
disembarked, and a fire was soon lighted under a clump of trees, among
the branches of which Cyrus Harding and his companions could, if it
was necessary, take refuge for the night.
Supper was quickly devoured, for they were very hungry, and then there
was only sleeping to think of. But, as roarings of rather a suspicious
nature had been heard during the evening, a good fire was made up for
the night, so as to protect the sleepers with its crackling flames.
Neb and Pencroft also watched by turns, and did not spare fuel. They
thought they saw the dark forms of some wild animals prowling round
the camp among the bushes, but the night passed without incident, and
the next day, the 31st of October, at five o'clock in the morning, all
were on foot, ready for a start.
CHAPTER IV
Journey to the Coast -- Troops of Monkeys -- A new River --
The Reason the Tide was not felt -- A woody Shore -- Reptile
Promontory -- Herbert envies Gideon Spilett -- Explosion of
Bamboos.
It was six o'clock in the morning when the settlers, after a hasty
breakfast, set out to reach by the shortest way the western coast of the
island. And how long would it take to do this? Cyrus Harding had said
two hours, but of course that depended on the nature of the obstacles
they might meet with. As it was probable that they would have to cut a
path through the grass, shrubs, and creepers, they marched axe in hand,
and with guns also ready, wisely taking warning from the cries of the
wild beasts heard in the night.
The exact position of the encampment could be determined by the bearing
of Mount Franklin, and as the volcano arose in the north at a distance
of less than three miles, they had only to go straight towards the
south-west to reach the western coast. They set out, having first
carefully secured the canoe. Pencroft and Neb carried sufficient
provisions for the little band for at least two days. It would not thus
be necessary to hunt. The engineer advised his companions to refrain
from firing, that their presence might not be betrayed to any one near
the shore. The first hatchet blows were given among the brushwood in the
midst of some mastick-trees, a little above the cascade; and his compass
in his hand, Cyrus Harding led the way.
The forest here was composed for the most part of trees which had
already been met with near the lake and on Prospect Heights. There were
deodars, Douglas firs, casuarinas, gum-trees, eucalypti, hibiscus,
cedars, and other trees, generally of a moderate size, for their number
prevented their growth.
Since their departure, the settlers had descended the slopes which
constituted the mountain system of the island, on to a dry soil, but the
luxuriant vegetation of which indicated it to be watered either by some
subterranean marsh or by some stream. However, Cyrus Harding did not
remember to have seen, at the time of his excursion to the crater, any
other watercourses but the Red Creek and the Mercy.
During the first part of their excursion, they saw numerous troops of
monkeys who exhibited great astonishment at the sight of men, whose
appearance was so new to them. Gideon Spilett jokingly asked whether
these active and merry quadrupeds did not consider him and his
companions as degenerate brothers.
And certainly, pedestrians, hindered at each step by bushes, caught by
creepers, barred by trunks of trees, did not shine beside those supple
animals, who, bounding from branch to branch, were hindered by nothing
on their course. The monkeys were numerous, but happily they did not
manifest any hostile disposition.
Several pigs, agoutis, kangaroos, and other rodents were seen, also two
or three kaolas, at which Pencroft longed to have a shot.
"But," said he, "you may jump and play just now; we shall have one or
two words to say to you on our way back!"
At half-past nine the way was suddenly found to be barred by an unknown
stream, from thirty to forty feet broad, whose rapid current dashed
foaming over the numerous rocks which interrupted its course. This creek
was deep and clear, but it was absolutely unnavigable.
"We are cut off!" cried Neb.
"No," replied Herbert, "it is only a stream, and we can easily swim
over."
"What would be the use of that?" returned Harding. "This creek evidently
runs to the sea. Let us remain on this side and follow the bank, and I
shall be much astonished if it does not lead us very quickly to the
coast. Forward!"
"One minute," said the reporter. "The name of this creek, my friends? Do
not let us leave our geography incomplete."
"All right!" said Pencroft.
"Name it, my boy," said the engineer, addressing the lad.
"Will it not be better to wait until we have explored it to its mouth?"
answered Herbert.
"Very well," replied Cyrus Harding. "Let us follow it as fast as we can
without stopping."
"Still another minute!" said Pencroft.
"What's the matter?" asked the reporter.
"Though hunting is forbidden, fishing is allowed, I suppose," said the
sailor.
"We have no time to lose," replied the engineer.
"Oh! five minutes!" replied Pencroft, "I only ask for five minutes to
use in the interest of our breakfast!"
And Pencroft, lying down on the bank, plunged his arm into the water,
and soon pulled up several dozen of fine crayfish from among the stores.
"These will be good!" cried Neb, going to the sailor's aid.
"As I said, there is everything in this island, except tobacco!"
muttered Pencroft with a sigh.
The fishing did not take five minutes for the crayfish were swarming in
the creek. A bag was filled with the crustaceae, whose shells were of a
cobalt blue. The settlers then pushed on.
They advanced more rapidly and easily along the bank of the river than
in the forest. From time to time they came upon the traces of animals of
a large size who had come to quench their thirst at the stream but none
were actually seen and it was evidently not in this part of the forest
that the peccary had received the bullet which had cost Pencroft a
grinder.
In the meanwhile, considering the rapid current Harding was led to
suppose that he and his companions were much farther from the western
coast than they had at first supposed. In fact, at this hour, the rising
tide would have turned back the current of the creek if its mouth had
only been a few miles distant. Now, this effect was not produced, and
the water pursued its natural course. The engineer was much astonished
at this, and frequently consulted his compass to assure himself that
some turn of the river was not leading them again into the Far West.
However, the creek gradually widened and its waters became less
tumultuous. The trees on the right bank were as close together as on the
left bank, and it was impossible to distinguish anything beyond them,
but these masses of wood were evidently uninhabited, for Top did not
bark, and the intelligent animal would not have failed to signal the
presence of any stranger in the neighbourhood.
[Illustration: DENIZENS OF THE FOREST]
At half past ten, to the great surprise of Cyrus Harding, Herbert, who
was a little in front, suddenly stopped and exclaimed--
"The sea!"
In a few minutes more, the whole western shore of the island lay
extended before the eyes of the settlers.
But what a contrast between this and the eastern coast, upon which
chance had first thrown them. No granite cliff, no rocks, not even a
sandy beach. The forest reached the shore, and the tall trees bending
over the water were beaten by the waves. It was not such a shore as is
usually formed by nature, either by extending a vast carpet of sand, or
by grouping masses of rock, but a beautiful border consisting of the
most splendid trees. The bank was raised a little above the level of the
sea, and on this luxuriant soil supported by a granite base, the fine
forest trees seemed to be as firmly planted as in the interior of the
island.
The colonists were then on the shore of an unimportant little harbour,
which would scarcely have contained even two or three fishing boats. It
served as a neck to the new creek of which the curious thing was that
its waters, instead of joining the sea by a gentle slope, fell from a
height of more than forty feet, which explained why the rising tide was
not felt up the stream. In fact, the tides of the Pacific, even at their
maximum of elevation, could never reach the level of the river, and,
doubtless millions of years would pass before the water would have worn
away the granite and hollowed a practicable mouth.
It was settled that the name of Falls River should be given to this
stream. Beyond, towards the north, the forest border was prolonged for a
space of nearly two miles, then the trees became scarcer, and beyond
that again the picturesque heights described a nearly straight line
which ran north and south. On the contrary, all the part of the shore
between Falls River and Reptile End was a mass of wood, magnificent
trees, some straight, others bent, so that the long sea swell bathed
their roots. Now, it was this coast, that is, all the Serpentine
peninsula, that was to be explored, for this part of the shore offered
a refuge to castaways, which the other wild and barren side must have
refused.
[Illustration: THE SEA.]
The weather was fine and clear, and from the height of a hillock on
which Neb and Pencroft had arranged breakfast, a wide view was obtained.
There was, however, not a sail in sight; nothing could be seen along the
shore as far as the eye could reach. But the engineer would take nothing
for granted until he had explored the coast to the very extremity of the
Serpentine peninsula.
Breakfast was soon despatched, and at half-past eleven the captain gave
the signal for departure. Instead of proceeding over the summit of a
cliff or along a sandy beach, the settlers were obliged to remain under
cover of the trees so that they might continue on the shore.
The distance which separated Falls River from Reptile End was about
twelve miles. It would have taken the settlers four hours to do this, on
a clear ground and without hurrying themselves; but as it was they
needed double the time, for what with trees to go round, bushes to cut
down, and creepers to chop away, they were impeded at every step, these
obstacles greatly lengthening their journey.
There was, however, nothing to show that a shipwreck had taken place
recently. It is true that, as Gideon Spilett observed, any remains of it
might have drifted out to sea, and they must not take it for granted
that because they could find no traces of it, a ship had not been cast
away on the coast.
The reporter's argument was just, and besides, the incident of the
bullet proved that a shot must have been fired in Lincoln Island within
three months.
It was already five o'clock, and there were still two miles between the
settlers and the extremity of the Serpentine peninsula. It was evident
that after having reached Reptile End, Harding and his companions would
not have time to return before dark to their encampment near the source
of the Mercy. It would therefore be necessary to pass the night on the
promontory. But they had no lack of provisions, which was lucky, for
there were no animals on the shore, though birds, on the contrary,
abounded--jacamars, couroucoos, tragopans, grouse, lories, parrots,
cockatoos, pheasants, pigeons, and a hundred others. There was not a
tree without a nest, and not a nest which was not full of flapping
wings.
Towards seven o'clock the weary explorers arrived at Reptile End. Here
the seaside forest ended, and the shore resumed the customary appearance
of a coast, with rocks, reefs, and sands. It was possible that something
might be found here, but darkness came on, and the further exploration
had to be put off to the next day.
Pencroft and Herbert hastened on to find a suitable place for their
camp. Amongst the last trees of the forest of the Far West, the boy
found several thick clumps of bamboos.
"Good," said he; "this is a valuable discovery."
"Valuable?" returned Pencroft.
"Certainly," replied Herbert. "I may say, Pencroft, that the bark of the
bamboo cut into flexible laths, is used for making baskets; that this
bark, mashed into a paste, is used for the manufacture of Chinese paper;
that the stalks furnish, according to their size, canes and pipes, and
are used for conducting water; that large bamboos make excellent
material for building, being light and strong, and being never attacked
by insects. I will add that by sawing the bamboo in two at the joint,
keeping for the bottom the part of the transverse film which forms the
joint, useful cups are obtained, which are much in use among the
Chinese. No! you don't care for that. But--"
"But what?"
"But I can tell you, if you are ignorant of it, that in India these
bamboos are eaten like asparagus."
"Asparagus thirty feet high!" exclaimed the sailor. "And are they good?"
"Excellent," replied Herbert. "Only it is not the stems of thirty feet
high which are eaten, but the young shoots."
"Perfect, my boy, perfect!" replied Pencroft.
"I will also add that the pith of the young stalks, preserved in
vinegar, makes a good pickle."
"Better and better, Herbert!"
"And lastly, that the bamboos exude a sweet liquor which can be made
into a very agreeable drink."
"Is that all?" asked the sailor.
"That is all!"
"And they don't happen to do for smoking?"
"No, my poor Pencroft."
Herbert and the sailor had not to look long for a place in which to pass
the night. The rocks, which must have been violently beaten by the sea
under the influence of the winds of the south west, presented many
cavities in which shelter could be found against the night air. But just
as they were about to enter one of these caves a loud roaring arrested
them.
"Back!" cried Pencroft. "Our guns are only loaded with small shot, and
beasts which can roar as loud as that would care no more for it than for
grams of salt!". And the sailor, seizing Herbert by the arm, dragged him
behind a rock, just as a magnificent animal showed itself at the
entrance of the cavern.
It was a jaguar of a size at least equal to its Asiatic congeners, that
is to say, it measured five feet from the extremity of its head to the
beginning of its tail. The yellow colour of its hair was relieved by
streaks and regular oblong spots of black, which contrasted with the
white of its chest. Herbert recognised it as the ferocious rival of the
tiger, as formidable as the puma, which is the rival of the largest
wolf!
The jaguar advanced and gazed around him with blazing eyes, his hair
bristling as if this was not the first time he had scented man.
At this moment the reporter appeared round a rock, and Herbert, thinking
that he had not seen the jaguar, was about to rush towards him, when
Gideon Spilett signed to him to remain where he was. This was not his
first tiger, and advancing to within ten feet of the animal he remained
motionless, his gun to his shoulder, without moving a muscle. The jaguar
collected itself for a spring, but at that moment a shot struck it in
the eyes, and it fell dead.
Herbert and Pencroft rushed towards the jaguar. Neb and Harding also ran
up, and they remained for some instants contemplating the animal as it
lay stretched on the ground, thinking that its magnificent skin would be
a great ornament to the hall at Granite House.
"Oh, Mr. Spilett, how I admire and envy you!" cried Herbert, in a fit of
very natural enthusiasm.
"Well, my boy," replied the reporter, "you could have done the same."
[Illustration: AT THAT MOMENT A SHOT STRUCK THE JAGUAR BETWEEN THE EYES
AND IT FELL DEAD]
"I! with such coolness!--"
"Imagine to yourself, Herbert, that the jaguar is only a hare, and you
would fire as quietly as possible."
"That is," rejoined Pencroft, "it is not more dangerous than a hare!"
"And now," said Gideon Spilett, "since the jaguar has left its abode, I
do not see, my friends, why we should not take possession of it for the
night."
"But others may come," said Pencroft.
"It will be enough to light a fire at the entrance of the cavern," said
the reporter, "and no wild beasts will dare to cross the threshold."
"Into the jaguar's house, then!" replied the sailor, dragging after him
the body of the animal.
Whilst Neb skinned the jaguar, his companions collected an abundant
supply of dry wood from the forest, which they heaped up at the cave.
Cyrus Harding, seeing the clump of bamboos, cut a quantity, which he
mingled with the other fuel.
This done, they entered the grotto, of which the floor was strewn with
bones, the guns were carefully loaded, in case of a sudden attack, they
had supper, and then just before they lay down to rest, the heap of wood
piled at the entrance was set fire to. Immediately, a regular explosion,
or rather, a series of reports, broke the silence! The noise was caused,
by the bamboos, which, as the flames reached them, exploded like
fireworks. The noise was enough to terrify even the boldest of wild
beasts.
It was not the engineer who had invented this way of causing loud
explosions, for, according to Marco Polo, the Tartars have employed it
for many centuries to drive away from their encampments the formidable
wild beasts of Central Asia.
CHAPTER V
Proposal to return by the Southern Shore -- Configuration of
the Coast -- Searching for the supposed Wreck -- A Wreck in
the Air -- Discovery of a small Natural Port -- At Midnight
on the Banks of the Mercy -- The Canoe Adrift.
Cyrus Harding and his companions slept like innocent marmots in the
cave which the jaguar had so politely left at their disposal.
At sunrise all were on the shore at the extremity of the promontory,
and their gaze was directed towards the horizon, of which two-thirds
of the circumference were visible. For the last time the engineer
could ascertain that not a sail nor the wreck of a ship was on the
sea, and even with the telescope nothing suspicious could be
discovered.
There was nothing either on the shore, at least, in the straight line
of three miles which formed the south side of the promontory, for
beyond that, rising ground hid the rest of the coast, and even from
the extremity of the Serpentine Peninsula Cape Claw could not be seen.
The southern coast of the island still remained to be explored. Now
should they undertake it immediately, and devote this day to it?
This was not included in their first plan. In fact, when the boat was
abandoned at the sources of the Mercy, it had been agreed that after
having surveyed the west coast, they should go back to it, and return
to Granite House by the Mercy. Harding then thought that the western
coast would have offered refuge, either to a ship in distress, or to a
vessel in her regular course; but now, as he saw that this coast
presented no good anchorage, he wished to seek on the south what they
had not been able to find on the west.
Gideon Spilett proposed to continue the exploration, that the question
of the supposed wreck might be completely settled, and he asked at
what distance Claw Cape might be from the extremity of the peninsula.
"About thirty miles," replied the engineer, "if we take into
consideration the curvings of the coast."
"Thirty miles!" returned Spilett. "That would be a long day's march.
Nevertheless, I think that we should return to Granite House by the
south coast."
"But," observed Herbert, "from Claw Cape to Granite House there must
be at least another ten miles."
"Make it forty miles in all," replied the engineer, "and do not
hesitate to do it. At least we should survey the unknown shore, and
then we shall not have to begin the exploration again."
"Very good," said Pencroft. "But the boat?"
"The boat has remained by itself for one day at the sources of the
Mercy," replied Gideon Spilett; "it may just as well stay there two
days! As yet, we have had no reason to think that the island is
infested by thieves!"
"Yet," said the sailor, "when I remember the history of the turtle, I
am far from confident of that."
"The turtle! the turtle!" replied the reporter. "Don't you know that
the sea turned it over?"
"Who knows?" murmured the engineer.
"But--" said Neb.
Neb had evidently something to say, for he opened his mouth to speak
and yet said nothing.
"What do you want to say, Neb?" asked the engineer.
"If we return by the shore to Claw Cape," replied Neb, "after having
doubled the Cape, we shall be stopped--"
"By the Mercy! of course," replied Herbert, "and we shall have neither
bridge nor boat by which to cross."
"But, captain," added Pencroft, "with a few floating trunks we shall
have no difficulty in crossing the river."
"Never mind," said Spilett, "it will be useful to construct a bridge
if we wish to have an easy access to the Far West!"
"A bridge!" cried Pencroft. "Well, is not the captain the best
engineer in his profession? He will make us a bridge when we want one.
As to transporting you this evening to the other side of the Mercy,
and that without wetting one thread of your clothes, I will take care
of that. We have provisions for another day, and besides we can get
plenty of game. Forward!"
The reporter's proposal, so strongly seconded by the sailor, received
general approbation, for each wished to have their doubts set at rest,
and by returning by Claw Cape the exploration would be ended. But
there was not an hour to lose, for forty miles was a long march, and
they could not hope to reach Granite House before night.
At six o'clock in the morning the little band set out. As a precaution
the guns were loaded with ball, and Top, who led the van, received
orders to beat about the edge of the forest.
From the extremity of the promontory which formed the tail of the
peninsula the coast was rounded for a distance of five miles, which
was rapidly passed over, without even the most minute investigations
bringing to light the least trace of any old or recent landings; no
_debris_, no mark of an encampment, no cinders of a fire, nor even a
footprint!
From the point of the peninsula on which the settlers now were their
gaze could extend along the south-west. Twenty-five miles off the
coast terminated in the Claw Cape, which loomed dimly through the
morning mists, and which, by the phenomenon of the mirage, appeared as
if suspended between land and water.
Between the place occupied by the colonists and the other side of the
immense bay, the shore was composed, first, of a tract of low land,
bordered in the background by trees; then the shore became more
irregular, projecting sharp points into the sea, and finally ended in
the black rocks which, accumulated in picturesque disorder, formed
Claw Cape.
Such was the development of this part of the island, which the
settlers took in at a glance, whilst stopping for an instant.
"If a vessel ran in here," said Pencroft, "she would certainly be
lost. Sandbanks and reefs everywhere! Bad quarters!"
"But at least something would be left of the ship," observed the
reporter.
"There might be pieces of wood on the rocks, but nothing on the
sands," replied the sailor.
"Why?"
"Because the sands are still more dangerous than the rocks, for they
swallow up everything that is thrown on them. In a few days the hull
of a ship of several hundred tons would disappear entirely in there!"
"So, Pencroft," asked the engineer, "if a ship has been wrecked on
these banks, is it not astonishing that there is now no trace of her
remaining?"
"No, captain, with the aid of time and tempest. However, it would be
surprising, even in this case, that some of the masts or spars should
not have been thrown on the beach, out of reach of the waves."
"Let us go on with our search, then," returned Cyrus Harding.
At one o'clock the colonists arrived at the other side of Washington
Bay, they having now gone a distance of twenty miles.
They then halted for breakfast.
Here began the irregular coast, covered with lines of rocks and
sandbanks. The long sea-swell could be seen breaking over the rocks in
the bay, forming a foamy fringe. From this point to Claw Cape the
beach was very narrow between the edge of the forest and the reefs.
Walking was now more difficult, on account of the numerous rocks which
encumbered the beach. The granite cliff also gradually increased in
height, and only the green tops of the trees which crowned it could be
seen.
After half an hour's rest, the settlers resumed their journey, and not
a spot among the rocks was left unexamined. Pencroft and Neb even
rushed into the surf whenever any object attracted their attention.
But they found nothing, some curious formations of the rocks having
deceived them. They ascertained, however, that eatable shell-fish
abounded there, but these could not be of any great advantage to them
until some easy means of communication had been established between
the two banks of the Mercy, and until the means of transport had been
perfected.
Nothing therefore which threw any light on the supposed wreck could be
found on this shore, yet an object of any importance, such as the hull
of a ship, would have been seen directly, or any of her masts and
spars would have been washed on shore, just as the chest had been,
which was found twenty miles from here. But there was nothing.
Towards three o'clock Harding and his companions arrived at a snug
little creek. It formed quite a natural harbour, invisible from the
sea, and was entered by a narrow channel. At the back of this creek
some violent convulsion had torn up the rocky border, and a cutting,
by a gentle slope, gave access to an upper plateau, which might be
situated at least ten miles from Claw Cape, and consequently four
miles in a straight line from Prospect Heights. Gideon Spilett
proposed to his companions that they should make a halt here. They
agreed readily, for their walk had sharpened their appetites; and
although it was not their usual dinner-hour, no one refused to
strengthen himself with a piece of venison. This luncheon would
sustain them till their supper, which they intended to take at Granite
House. In a few minutes the settlers, seated under a clump of fine
sea-pines, were devouring the provisions which Neb produced from his
bag.
This spot was raised from fifty to sixty feet above the level of the
sea. The view was very extensive, but beyond the cape it ended in
Union Bay. Neither the islet nor Prospect Heights were visible, and
could not be from thence, for the rising ground and the curtain of
trees closed the northern horizon.
It is useless to add that notwithstanding the wide extent of sea which
the explorers could survey, and though the engineer swept the horizon
with his glass, no vessel could be found.
The shore was of course examined with the same care from the edge of
the water to the cliff, and nothing could be discovered even with the
aid of the instrument.
"Well," said Gideon Spilett, "it seems we must make up our minds to
console ourselves with thinking that no one will come to dispute with
us the possession of Lincoln Island!"
"But the bullet," cried Herbert. "That was not imaginary, I suppose!"
"Hang it, no!" exclaimed Pencroft, thinking of his absent tooth.
"Then what conclusion may be drawn?" asked the reporter.
"This," replied the engineer, "that three months or more ago, a
vessel, either voluntarily or not, came here."
"What! then you admit, Cyrus, that she was swallowed up without
leaving any trace?" cried the reporter.
"No, my dear Spilett, but you see that if it is certain that a human
being set foot on the island, it appears no less certain that he has
now left it."
"Then, if I understand you right, captain," said Herbert, "the vessel
has left again?"
"Evidently."
"And we have lost an opportunity to get back to our country?" said
Neb.
"I fear so."
"Very well, since the opportunity is lost, let us go on, it can't be
helped," said Pencroft, who felt home sickness for Granite House.
But just as they were rising, Top was heard loudly barking; and the
dog issued from the wood, holding in his mouth a rag soiled with mud.
Neb seized it. It was a piece of strong cloth!
Top still barked, and by his going and coming, seemed to invite his
master to follow him into the forest.
"Now there's something to explain the bullet!" exclaimed Pencroft.
"A castaway!" replied Herbert.
"Wounded, perhaps!" said Neb.
"Or dead!" added the reporter.
All ran after the dog, among the tall pines on the border of the
forest. Harding and his companions made ready their fire-arms, in case
of an emergency.
They advanced some way into the wood, but to their great
disappointment, they as yet saw no signs of any human being having
passed that way. Shrubs and creepers were uninjured, and they had even
to cut them away with the axe, as they had done in the deepest
recesses of the forest. It was difficult to fancy that any human
creature had ever passed there, but yet Top went backwards and
forwards, not like a dog who searches at random, but like a being
endowed with a mind, who is following up an idea.
In about seven or eight minutes Top stopped in a glade surrounded with
tall trees. The settlers gazed around them, but saw nothing, neither
under the bushes nor among the trees.
"What is the matter, Top?" said Cyrus Harding.
Top barked louder, bounding about at the foot of a gigantic pine. All
at once Pencroft shouted,--
[Illustration: "NOW THERE'S SOMETHING TO EXPLAIN THE BULLET!"
EXCLAIMED PENCROFT]
"Ho, splendid! capital!"
"What is it?" asked Spilett
"We have been looking for a wreck at sea or on land!"
"Well?"
"Well, and here we've found one in the air!"
And the sailor pointed to a great white rag, caught in the top of a
pine, a fallen scrap of which the dog had brought to them.
"But that is not a wreck!" cried Gideon Spilett.
"I beg your pardon!" returned Pencroft.
"Why? is it--?"
"It is all that remains of our airy boat, of our balloon, which has
been caught up aloft there, at the top of that tree!"
Pencroft was not mistaken, and he gave vent to his feelings in a
tremendous hurrah, adding,--
"There is good cloth! There is what will furnish us with linen for
years. There is what will make us handkerchiefs and shirts! Ha, ha, Mr
Spilett, what do you say to an island where shirts grow on the trees?"
It was certainly a lucky circumstance for the settlers in Lincoln
Island that the balloon, after having made its last bound into the
air, had fallen on the island and thus given them the opportunity of
finding it again, whether they kept the case under its present form,
or whether they wished to attempt another escape by it, or whether
they usefully employed the several hundred yards of cotton, which was
of fine quality. Pencroft's joy was therefore shared by all.
But it was necessary to bring down the remains of the balloon from the
tree, to place it in security, and this was no slight task. Neb,
Herbert, and the sailor, climbing to the summit of the tree, used all
their skill to disengage the now reduced balloon.
The operation lasted two hours, and then not only the case, with its
valve, its springs, its brasswork, lay on the ground, but the net,
that is to say a considerable quantity of ropes and cordage, and the
circle and the anchor. The case, except for the fracture, was in good
condition, only the lower portion being torn.
[Illustration: A WRECK IN THE AIR]
It was a fortune which had fallen from the sky. "All the same,
captain," said the sailor, "if we ever decide to leave the island, it
won't be in a balloon, will it? These air-boats won't go where we want
them to go, and we have had some experience in that way! Look here, We
will build a craft of some twenty tons, and then we can make a
main-sail, a fore-sail, and a jib out of that cloth. As to the rest of
it, that will help to dress us."
"We shall see, Pencroft," replied Cyrus Harding; "we shall see."
"In the meantime, we must put it in a safe place," said Neb.
They certainly could not think of carrying this load of cloth, ropes,
and cordage, to Granite House, for the weight of it was very
considerable, and whilst waiting for a suitable vehicle in which to
convey it, it was of importance that this treasure should not be left
longer exposed to the mercies of the first storm. The settlers uniting
their efforts managed to drag it as far as the shore, where they
discovered a large rocky cavity, which owing to its position could not
be visited either by the wind or rain.
"We needed a locker, and now we have one," said Pencroft; "but as we
cannot lock it up, it will be prudent to hide the opening. I don't
mean from two-legged thieves, but; from those with four paws!"
At six o'clock, all was stowed away, and after having given the creek
the very suitable name of "Port Balloon," the settlers pursued their
way along Claw Cape. Pencroft and the engineer talked of the different
projects which it was agreed to put into execution with the briefest
possible delay. It was necessary first of all to throw a bridge over
the Mercy, so as to establish an easy communication with the south of
the island; then the cart must be taken to bring back the balloon, for
the canoe alone could not carry it, then they would build a decked
boat, and Pencroft would rig it as a cutter, and they would be able to
undertake voyages of circumnavigation round the island, etc.
In the meanwhile night came on, and it was already dark when the
settlers reached Flotsam Point, the place where they had discovered
the precious chest.
The distance between Flotsam Point and Granite House was another four
miles, and it was midnight when, after having followed the shore to
the mouth of the Mercy, the settlers arrived at the first angle formed
by the Mercy.
There the river was eighty feet in breadth, which was awkward to
cross, but as Pencroft had taken upon himself to conquer this
difficulty, he was compelled to do it. The settlers certainly had
reason to be pretty tired. The journey had been long, and the task of
getting down the balloon had not rested either their arms or legs.
They were anxious to reach Granite House to eat and sleep, and if the
bridge had been constructed, in a quarter of an hour they would have
been at home.
The night was very dark. Pencroft prepared to keep his promise by
constructing a sort of raft, on which to make the passage of the
Mercy. He and Neb, armed with axes, chose two trees near the water,
and began to attack them at the base.
Cyrus Harding and Spilett, seated on the bank, waited till their
companions were ready for their help, whilst Herbert roamed about,
though without going to any distance. All at once, the lad, who had
strolled by the river, came running back, and, pointing up the Mercy,
exclaimed,--
"What is floating there?"
Pencroft stopped working, and seeing an indistinct object moving
through the gloom,--
"A canoe!" cried he.
All approached, and saw to their extreme surprise, a boat floating
down the current.
"Boat ahoy!" shouted the sailor, without thinking that perhaps it
would be best to keep silence.
No reply. The boat still drifted onwards, and it was not more than
twelve feet off, when the sailor exclaimed--
"But it is our own boat! she has broken her moorings, and floated down
the current. I must say she has arrived very opportunely."
"Our boat?" murmured the engineer.
Pencroft was right. It was indeed the canoe, of which the rope had
undoubtedly broken, and which had come alone from the sources of the
Mercy. It was very important to seize it before the rapid current
should have swept it away out of the mouth of the river, but Neb and
Pencroft cleverly managed this by means of a long pole.
The canoe touched the shore. The engineer leapt in first, and found,
on examining the rope, that it had been really worn through by rubbing
against the rocks.
"Well," said the reporter to him, in a low voice, "this is a strange
thing."
"Strange indeed!" returned Cyrus Handing.
Strange or not, it was very fortunate. Herbert, the reporter, Neb, and
Pencroft, embarked in turn. There was no doubt about the rope having
been worn through, but the astonishing part of the affair was, that
the boat should have arrived just at the moment when the settlers were
there to seize it on its way, for a quarter of an hour earlier or
later it would have been lost in the sea.
If they had been living in the time of genii, this incident would have
given them the right to think that the island was haunted by some
supernatural being, who used his power in the service of the
castaways!
A few strokes of the oar brought the settlers to the mouth of the
Mercy. The canoe was hauled up on the beach near the Chimneys, and all
proceeded towards the ladder of Granite House.
But at that moment, Top barked angrily, and Neb, who was looking for
the first steps, uttered a cry.
There was no longer a ladder!
[Illustration: THERE WAS NO LONGER A LADDER!]
CHAPTER VI
Pencroft's Halloos -- A Night in the Chimneys -- Herbert's
Arrows -- The Captain's Project -- An unexpected Explanation
-- What has happened in Granite House -- How a new Servant
enters the Service of the Colonists.
Cyrus Harding stood still, without saying a word. His companions
searched in the darkness on the wall, in case the wind should have
moved the ladder, and on the ground, thinking that it might have
fallen down.... But the ladder had quite disappeared. As to
ascertaining if a squall had blown it on to the landing-place, half
way up, that was impossible in the dark.
"If it is a joke," cried Pencroft, "it is a very stupid one; to come
home and find no staircase to go up to your room by; for weary men,
there is nothing to laugh at that I can see."
Neb could do nothing but cry out, "Oh! oh! oh!"
"I begin to think that very curious things happen in Lincoln Island!"
said Pencroft.
"Curious?" replied Gideon Spilett, "not at all, Pencroft, nothing can
be more natural. Some one has come during our absence, taken
possession of our dwelling and drawn up the ladder."
"Some one," cried the sailor. "But who?"
"Who but the hunter who fired the bullet?" replied the reporter.
"Well, if there is any one up there," replied Pencroft, who began to
lose patience, "I will give them a hail, and they must answer."
And in a stentorian voice the sailor gave a prolonged "Halloo!" which
was echoed again and again from the cliff and rocks.
The settlers listened and they thought they heard a sort of chuckling
laugh, of which they could not guess the origin. But no voice replied
to Pencroft, who in vain repeated his vigorous shouts.
There was something indeed in this to astonish the most apathetic of
men, and the settlers were not men of that description. In their
situation every incident had its importance, and, certainly, during
the seven months which they had spent on the island, they had not
before met with anything of so surprising a character.
Be that as it may, forgetting their fatigue in the singularity of the
event, they remained below Granite House, not knowing what to think,
not knowing what to do, questioning each other without any hope of a
satisfactory reply, every one starting some supposition each more
unlikely than the last. Neb bewailed himself, much disappointed at not
being able to get into his kitchen, for the provisions which they had
had on their expedition were exhausted, and they had no means of
renewing them.
"My friends," at last said Cyrus Harding, "there is only one thing to
be done at present, wait for day, and then act according to
circumstances. But let us go to the Chimneys. There we shall be under
shelter, and if we cannot eat, we can at least sleep."
"But who is it that has played us this cool trick?" again asked
Pencroft, unable to make up his mind to retire from the spot.
Whoever it was, the only thing practicable was to do as the engineer
proposed, to go to the Chimneys and there wait for day. In the
meanwhile Top was ordered to mount guard below the windows of Granite
House, and when Top received an order he obeyed it without any
questioning. The brave dog therefore remained at the foot of the cliff
whilst his master with his companions sought a refuge among the rocks.
To say that the settlers, notwithstanding their fatigue, slept well on
the sandy floor of the Chimneys would not be true. It was not only
that they were extremely anxious to find out the cause of what had
happened, whether it was the result of an accident which would be
discovered at the return of day, or whether on the contrary it was the
work of a human being; but they also had very uncomfortable beds. That
could not be helped, however, for in some way or other at that moment
their dwelling was occupied, and they could not possibly enter it.
Now Granite House was more than their dwelling, it was their
warehouse. There were all the stores belonging to the colony, weapons,
instruments, tools, ammunition, provisions, etc. To think that all
that might be pillaged and that the settlers would have all their work
to do over again, fresh weapons and tools to make, was a serious
matter. Their uneasiness led one or other of them also to go out every
few minutes to see if Top was keeping good watch. Cyrus Harding alone
waited with his habitual patience, although his strong mind was
exasperated at being confronted with such an inexplicable fact, and he
was provoked at himself for allowing a feeling to which he could not
give a name, to gain an influence over him. Gideon Spilett shared his
feelings in this respect, and the two conversed together in whispers
of the inexplicable circumstance which baffled even their intelligence
and experience.
"It is a joke," said Pencroft; "it is a trick some one has played us.
Well, I don't like such jokes, and the joker had better look out for
himself, if he falls into my hands, I can tell him."
As soon as the first gleam of light appeared in the east, the
colonists, suitably armed, repaired to the beach under Granite House.
The rising sun now shone on the cliff and they could see the windows,
the shutters of which were closed, through the curtains of foliage.
All here was in order; but a cry escaped the colonists when they saw
that the door, which they had closed on their departure, was now wide
open.
Some one had entered Granite House--there could be no more doubt about
that.
The upper ladder, which generally hung from the door to the landing,
was in its place, but the lower ladder was drawn up and raised to the
threshold. It was evident that the intruders had wished to guard
themselves against a surprise.
Pencroft hailed again.
No reply.
"The beggars," exclaimed the sailor. "There they are sleeping quietly
as if they were in their own house. Hallo there, you pirates,
brigands, robbers, sons of John Bull!".
When Pencroft, being a Yankee, treated any one to the epithet of "son
of John Bull," he considered he had reached the last limits of insult.
The sun had now completely risen, and the whole facade of Granite
House became illuminated by his rays; but in the interior as well as
on the exterior all was quiet and calm.
The settlers asked if Granite House was inhabited or not, and yet the
position of the ladder was sufficient to show that it was; it was also
certain that the inhabitants, whoever they might be, had not been able
to escape. But how were they to be got at?
Herbert then thought of fastening a cord to an arrow, and shooting the
arrow so that it should pass between the first rounds of the ladder
which hung from the threshold. By means of the cord they would then be
able to draw down the ladder to the ground, and so re-establish the
communication between the beach and Granite House. There was evidently
nothing else to be done, and, with a little skill, this method might
succeed. Very fortunately bows and arrows had been left at the
Chimneys, where they also found a quantity of light hibiscus cord.
Pencroft fastened this to a well-feathered arrow. Then Herbert fixing
it to his bow, took a careful aim for the lower part of the ladder.
Cyrus Harding, Gideon Spilett, Pencroft, and Neb drew back, so as to
see if anything appeared at the windows. The reporter lifted his gun
to his shoulder and covered the door.
The bow was bent, the arrow flew, taking the cord with it, and passed
between the two last rounds.
The operation had succeeded.
Herbert immediately seized the end of the cord, but, at that moment
when he gave it a pull to bring down the ladder, an arm, thrust
suddenly out between the wall and the door, grasped it and dragged it
inside Granite House.
"The rascals!" shouted the sailor. "If a ball can do anything for you,
you shall not have long to wait for it."
"But who was it?" asked Neb.
"Who was it? Didn't you see?"
"No."
"It was a monkey, a sapago, an orang-outang, a baboon, a gorilla, a
sagoin. Our dwelling has been invaded by monkeys, who climbed up the
ladder during our absence."
And, at this moment, as if to bear witness to the truth of the sailors
words, two or three quadrumana showed themselves at the windows, from
which they had pushed back the shutters, and saluted the real
proprietors of the place with a thousand hideous grimaces.
"I knew that it was only a joke," cried Pencroft, "but one of the
jokers shall pay the penalty for the rest."
So saying, the sailor, raising his piece, took a rapid aim at one of
the monkeys and fired. All disappeared, except one who fell mortally
wounded on the beach. This monkey, which was of a large size,
evidently belonged to the first order of the quadrumana. Whether this
was a chimpanzee, an orang-outang, or a gorilla, he took rank among
the anthropoid apes, who are so called from their resemblance to the
human race. However, Herbert declared it to be an orang-outang.
"What a magnificent beast!" cried Neb.
"Magnificent, if you like," replied Pencroft; "but still I do not see
how we are to get into our house."
"Herbert is a good marksman," said the reporter, "and his bow is here.
He can try again."
"Why, these apes are so cunning," returned Pencroft, "they won't show
themselves again at the windows and so we can't kill them, and when I
think of the mischief they may do in the rooms and storehouse--"
"Have patience," replied Harding; "these creatures cannot keep us long
at bay."
"I shall not be sure of that till I see them down here," replied the
sailor "And now, captain, do you know how many dozens of these fellows
are up there?"
It was difficult to reply to Pencroft, and as for the young boy making
another attempt, that was not easy; for the lower part of the ladder
had been drawn again into the door, and when another pull was given,
the line broke and the ladder remained firm. The case was really
perplexing. Pencroft stormed. There was a comic side to the situation,
but he did not think it funny at all. It was certain that the settlers
would end by reinstating themselves in their domicile and driving out
the intruders, but when and how? that is what they were not able to
say.
[Illustration: THE INVADERS OF GRANITE HOUSE]
Two hours passed, during which the apes took care not to show
themselves, but they were still there, and three or four times a nose
or a paw was poked out at the door or windows, and was immediately
saluted by a gun-shot.
"Let us hide ourselves," at last said the engineer. "Perhaps the apes
will think we have gone quite away and will show themselves again. Let
Spilett and Herbert conceal themselves behind those rocks and fire on
all that may appear."
The engineer's orders were obeyed, and whilst the reporter and the
lad, the best marksmen in the colony, posted themselves in a good
position, but out of the monkeys' sight, Neb, Pencroft, and Cyrus
climbed the plateau and entered the forest in order to kill some game,
for it was now time for breakfast and they had no provisions
remaining.
In half an hour the hunters returned with a few rock pigeons, which
they roasted as well as they could. Not an ape had appeared. Gideon
Spilett and Herbert went to take their share of the breakfast, leaving
Top to watch under the windows. They then, having eaten, returned to
their post.
Two hours later, their situation was in no degree improved. The
quadrumana gave no sign of existence, and it might have been supposed
that they had disappeared; but what seemed more probable was that,
terrified by the death of one of their companions, and frightened by
the noise of the firearms, they had retreated to the back part of the
house or probably even into the storeroom. And when they thought of
the valuables which this storeroom contained, the patience so much
recommended by the engineer, fast changed into great irritation, and
there certainly was room for it.
"Decidedly it is too bad," said the reporter; "and the worst of it is,
there is no way of putting an end to it."
"But we must drive these vagabonds out somehow," cried the sailor. "We
could soon get the better of them, even if there are twenty of the
rascals; but for that, we must meet them hand to hand. Come now, is
there no way of getting at them?"
"Let us try to enter Granite House by the old opening at the lake,"
replied the engineer.
"Oh!" shouted the sailor, "and I never thought of that."
This was in reality the only way by which to penetrate into Granite
House so as to fight with and drive out the intruders. The opening
was, it is true, closed up with a wall of cemented stones, which it
would be necessary to sacrifice, but that could easily be rebuilt.
Fortunately, Cyrus Harding had not as yet effected his project of
hiding this opening by raising the waters of the lake, for the
operation would then have taken some time.
It was already past twelve o'clock when the colonists, well armed and
provided with picks and spades, left the Chimneys, passed beneath the
windows of Granite House, after telling Top to remain at his post, and
began to ascend the left bank of the Mercy, so as to reach Prospect
Heights.
But they had not made fifty steps in this direction, when they heard
the dog barking furiously.
And all rushed down the bank again.
Arrived at the turning, they saw that the situation had changed.
In fact, the apes, seized with a sudden panic, from some unknown
cause, were trying to escape. Two or three ran and clambered from one
window to another with the agility of acrobats. They were not even
trying to replace the ladder, by which it would have been easy to
descend; perhaps in their terror they had forgotten this way of
escape. The colonists, now being able to take aim without difficulty,
fired. Some, wounded or killed, fell back into the rooms, uttering
piercing cries. The rest, throwing themselves out, were dashed to
pieces in their fall, and in a few minutes, so far as they knew, there
was not a living quadrumana in Granite House.
At this moment the ladder was seen to slip over the threshold, then
unroll and fall to the ground.
"Hullo!" cried the sailor, "this is queer!"
"Very strange!" murmured the engineer, leaping first up the ladder.
"Take care, captain!" cried Pencroft, "perhaps there are still some of
these rascals..."
"We shall soon see," replied the engineer, without stopping however.
All his companions followed him, and in a minute they had arrived at
the threshold. They searched everywhere. There was no one in the rooms
nor in the storehouse, which had been respected by the band of
quadrumana.
"Well now, and the ladder," cried the sailor; "who can the gentleman
have been who sent us that down?"
But at that moment a cry was heard, and a great orang, who had hidden
himself in the passage, rushed into the room, pursued by Neb.
"Ah the robber!" cried Pencroft.
And hatchet in hand, he was about to cleave the head of the animal,
when Cyrus Harding seized his arm, saying,--
"Spare him, Pencroft."
"Pardon this rascal?"
"Yes! it was he who threw us the ladder!"
And the engineer said this in such a peculiar voice that it was
difficult to know whether he spoke seriously or not.
Nevertheless, they threw themselves on the orang, who defended himself
gallantly, but was soon overpowered and bound.
"There!" said Pencroft. "And what shall we make of him, now we've got
him?"
"A servant!" replied Herbert.
The lad was not joking in saying this, for he knew how this
intelligent race could be turned to account.
The settlers then approached the ape and gazed at it attentively. He
belonged to the family of anthropoid apes, of which the facial angle
is not much inferior to that of the Australians and Hottentots. It was
an orang-outang, and as such, had neither the ferocity of the gorilla,
nor the stupidity of the baboon. It is to this family of the
anthropoid apes that so many characteristics belong which prove them
to be possessed of an almost human intelligence. Employed in houses,
they can wait at table, sweep rooms, brush clothes, clean boots,
handle a knife, fork, and spoon properly, and even drink wine,...
doing everything as well as the best servant that ever walked upon two
legs. Buffon possessed one of these apes, who served him for a long
time as a faithful and zealous servant.
[Illustration: CAPTURING THE ORANG]
The one which had been seized in the hall of Granite House was a great
fellow, six feet high, with an admirably proportioned frame, a broad
chest, head of a moderate size, the facial angle reaching sixty-five
degrees, round skull, projecting nose, skin covered with soft glossy
hair, in short, a fine specimen of the anthropoids. His eyes, rather
smaller than human eyes, sparkled with intelligence, his white teeth
glittered under his moustache, and he wore a little curly brown beard.
"A handsome fellow!" said Pencroft; "if we only knew his language, we
could talk to him."
"But, master," said Neb, "are you serious? Are we going to take him as
a servant?"
"Yes, Neb," replied the engineer, smiling. "But you must not be
jealous."
"And I hope he will make an excellent servant," added Herbert. "He
appears young, and will be easy to educate, and we shall not be
obliged to use force to subdue him, nor draw his teeth, as is
sometimes done. He will soon grow fond of his masters if they are kind
to him."
"And they will be," replied Pencroft, who had forgotten all his
rancour against "the jokers."
Then, approaching the orang,--
"Well, old boy!" he asked, "how are you?"
The orang replied by a little grunt which did not show any anger.
"You wish to join the colony?" again asked the sailor. "You are going
to enter the service of Captain Cyrus Harding?"
Another respondent grunt was uttered by the ape.
"And you will be satisfied with no other wages than your food?"
Third affirmative grunt.
"This conversation is slightly monotonous," observed Gideon Spilett.
"So much the better," replied Pencroft, "the best servants are those
who talk the least. And then, no wages, do you hear, my boy? We will
give you no wages at first, but we will double them afterwards if we
are pleased with you."
Thus the colony was increased by a new member. As to his name the
sailor begged that in memory of another ape which he had known, he
might be called Jupiter, and Jup for short.
And so, without more ceremony, Master Jup was installed in Granite
House.
[Illustration: ENGAGING THE NEW SERVANT]
CHAPTER VII
Plans -- A Bridge over the Mercy -- Mode adopted for making
an Island of Prospect Heights -- The Drawbridge -- Harvest --
The Stream -- The Poultry Yard -- A Pigeon-house -- The two
Onagas -- The Cart -- Excursion to Port Balloon.
The settlers in Lincoln Island had now regained their dwelling,
without having been obliged to reach it by the old opening, and were
therefore spared the trouble of mason's work. It was certainly lucky,
that at the moment they were about to set out to do so, the apes had
been seized with that terror, no less sudden than inexplicable, which
had driven them out of Granite House. Had the animals discovered that
they were about to be attacked from another direction? This was the
only explanation of their sudden retreat.
During the day the bodies of the apes were carried into the wood,
where they were buried; then the settlers busied themselves in
repairing the disorder caused by the intruders, disorder but not
damage, for although they had turned everything in the rooms
topsy-turvy, yet they had broken nothing. Neb relighted his stove, and
the stores in the larder furnished a substantial repast, to which all
did ample justice.
Jup was not forgotten, and he ate with relish some stone-pine almonds
and rhizome roots, with which he was abundantly supplied. Pencroft had
unfastened his arms, but judged it best to have his legs tied until
they were more sure of his submission.
Then, before retiring to rest, Harding and his companions seated round
their table, discussed those plans, the execution of which was most
pressing. The most important and most urgent was the establishment of
a bridge over the Mercy, so as to form a communication with the
southern part of the island and Granite House; then the making of an
enclosure for the musmons or other woolly animals which they wished to
capture.
These two projects would help to solve the difficulty as to their
clothing, which was now serious. The bridge would render easy the
transport of the balloon case, which would furnish them with linen,
and the inhabitants of the enclosure would yield wool which would
supply them with winter clothes.
As to the enclosure, it was Cyrus Harding's intention to establish it
at the sources of the Red Creek, where the ruminants would find fresh
and abundant pasture. The road between Prospect Heights and the
sources of the stream was already partly beaten, and with a better
cart than the first, the material could be easily conveyed to the
spot, especially if they could manage to capture some animals to draw
it.
But though there might be no inconvenience in the enclosure being so
far from Granite House, it would not be the same with the
poultry-yard, to which Neb called the attention of the colonists. It
was indeed necessary that the birds should be close within reach of
the cook, and no place appeared more favourable for the establishment
of the said poultry-yard than that portion of the banks of the lake
which was close to the old opening.
Water-birds would prosper there as well as others, and the couple of
tinamous taken in their last excursion would be the first to be
domesticated.
The next day, the 3rd of November, the new works were begun by the
construction of the bridge, and all hands were required for this
important task. Saws, hatchets, and hammers were shouldered by the
settlers, who, now transformed into carpenters, descended to the
shore.
There Pencroft observed,--
"Suppose, that during our absence, Master Jup takes it into his head
to draw up the ladder which he so politely returned to us yesterday?"
"Let us tie its lower end down firmly," replied Cyrus Harding.
This was done by means of two stakes securely fixed in the sand. Then
the settlers, ascending the left bank of the Mercy, soon arrived at
the angle formed by the river.
There they halted, in order to ascertain if the bridge could be thrown
across. The place appeared suitable.
In fact, from this spot, to Port Balloon, discovered the day before on
the southern coast, there was only a distance of three miles and a
half, and from the bridge to the Port, it would be easy to make a good
cart-road which would render the communication between Granite House
and the south of the island extremely easy.
Cyrus Harding now imparted to his companions a scheme for completely
isolating Prospect Heights so as to shelter it from the attacks both
of quadrupeds and quadrumana. In this way, Granite House, the
Chimneys, the poultry-yard, and all the upper part of the plateau
which was to be used for cultivation, would be protected against the
depredations of animals. Nothing could be easier than to execute this
project, and this is how the engineer intended to set to work.
The plateau was already defended on three sides by watercourses,
either artificial or natural. On the north-west, by the shores of Lake
Grant, from the entrance of the passage to the breach made in the
banks of the lake for the escape of the water.
On the north, from this breach to the sea, by the new watercourse
which had hollowed out a bed for itself across the plateau and shore,
above and below the fall, and it would be enough to dig the bed of
this creek a little deeper to make it impracticable for animals, on
all the eastern border by the sea itself, from the mouth of the
aforesaid creek to the mouth of the Mercy.
Lastly on the south, from the mouth to the turn of the Mercy where the
bridge was to be established.
The western border of the plateau now remained between the turn of the
river and the southern angle of the lake, a distance of about a mile,
which was open to all comers. But nothing could be easier than to dig
a broad deep ditch, which could be filled from the lake, and the
overflow of which would throw itself by a rapid fall into the bed of
the Mercy. The level of the lake would, no doubt, be somewhat lowered
by this fresh discharge of its waters, but Cyrus Harding had
ascertained that the volume of water in the Red Creek was considerable
enough to allow of the execution of this project.
[Illustration: BUILDING THE BRIDGE]
"So then," added the engineer, "Prospect Heights will become a regular
island, being surrounded with water on all sides, and only
communicating with the rest of our domain by the bridge which we are
about to throw across the Mercy, the two little bridges already
established above and below the fall; and, lastly, two other little
bridges which must be constructed, one over the canal which I propose
to dig, the other across to the left bank of the Mercy. Now, if these
bridges can be raised at will, Prospect Heights will be guarded from
any surprise."
The bridge was the most urgent work. Trees were selected, cut down,
stripped of their branches, and cut into beams, joists, and planks.
The end of the bridge which rested on the right bank of the Mercy was
to be firm, but the other end on the left bank was to be movable, so
that it might be raised by means of a counterpoise, as some canal
bridges are managed.
This was certainly a considerable work, and though it was skilfully
conducted, it took some time, for the Mercy at this place was eighty
feet wide. It was therefore necessary to fix piles in the bed of the
river so as to sustain the floor of the bridge and establish a
pile-driver to act on the tops of these piles, which would thus form
two arches and allow the bridge to support heavy loads.
Happily there was no want of tools with which to shape the wood, nor
of iron-work to make it firm, nor of the ingenuity of a man who had a
marvellous knowledge of the work, nor lastly, the zeal of his
companions, who in seven months had necessarily acquired great skill
in the use of their tools; and it must be said that not the least
skillful was Gideon Spilett, who in dexterity almost equalled the
sailor himself. "Who would ever have expected so much from a newspaper
man!" thought Pencroft.
The construction of the Mercy bridge lasted three weeks of regular
hard work. They even breakfasted on the scene of their labours, and
the weather being magnificent, they only returned to Granite House to
sleep.
During this period it may be stated that Master Jup grew more
accustomed to his new masters, whose movements he always watched with
very inquisitive eyes. However, as a precautionary measure, Pencroft
did not as yet allow him complete liberty, rightly wishing to wait
until the limits of the plateau should be settled by the projected
works. Top and Jup were good friends and played willingly together,
but Jup did everything solemnly.
On the 20th of November the bridge was finished. The movable part,
balanced by the counterpoise, swung easily, and only a slight effort
was needed to raise it; between its hinge and the last cross-bar on
which it rested when closed, there existed a space of twenty feet,
which was sufficiently wide to prevent any animals from crossing.
The settlers now began to talk of fetching the balloon-case, which
they were anxious to place in perfect security; but to bring it, it
would be necessary to take a cart to Port Balloon, and consequently,
necessary to beat a road through the dense forests of the Far West.
This would take some time. Also, Neb and Pencroft having gone to
examine into the state of things at Port Balloon, and reported that
the stock of cloth would suffer no damage in the grotto where it was
stored, it was decided that the work at Prospect Heights should not be
discontinued.
"That," observed Pencroft, "will enable us to establish our
poultry-yard under better conditions, since we need have no fear of
visits from foxes nor the attacks of other beasts."
"Then," added Neb, "we can clear the plateau, and transplant wild
plants to it."
"And prepare our second cornfield!" cried the sailor with a triumphant
air.
In fact, the first cornfield sown with a single grain had prospered
admirably, thanks to Pencroft's care. It had produced the ten ears
foretold by the engineer, and each ear containing eighty grains, the
colony found itself in possession of eight hundred grains, in six
months, which promised a double harvest each year.
These eight hundred grains, except fifty, which were prudently
reserved, were to be sown in a new field, but with no less care than
was bestowed on the single grain.
The field was prepared, then surrounded with a strong palisade, high
and pointed, which quadrupeds would have found difficulty in leaping.
As to birds, some scarecrows, due to Pencroft's ingenious brain, were
enough to frighten them. The seven hundred and fifty grains, deposited
in very regular furrows, were then left for nature to do the rest.
On the 21st of November, Cyrus Harding began to plan the canal which
was to close the plateau on the west, from the south angle of Lake
Grant to the angle of the Mercy. There was there two or three feet of
vegetable earth, and below that granite. It was therefore necessary to
manufacture some more nitro glycerine, and the nitro glycerine did its
accustomed work. In less than a fortnight a ditch twelve feet wide and
six deep, was dug out in the hard ground of the plateau. A new trench
was made by the same means in the rocky border of the lake forming a
small stream, to which they gave the name of Creek Glycerine, and
which was thus an affluent of the Mercy. As the engineer had
predicted, the level of the lake was lowered, though very slightly. To
complete the enclosure the bed of the stream on the beach was
considerably enlarged, and the sand supported by means of stakes.
By the end of the first fortnight of December these works were
finished, and Prospect Heights--that is to say, a sort of irregular
pentagon having a perimeter of nearly four miles, surrounded by a
liquid belt--was completely protected from depredators of every
description.
During the month of December, the heat was very great. In spite of it
however, the settlers continued their work, and as they were anxious
to possess a poultry-yard they forthwith commenced it.
It is useless to say that since the enclosing of the plateau had been
completed, Master Jup had been set at liberty. He did not leave his
masters, and evinced no wish to escape. He was a gentle animal, though
very powerful and wonderfully active. He was already taught to make
himself useful by drawing loads of wood and carting away the stones
which were extracted from the bed of Creek Glycerine.
The poultry yard occupied an area of two hundred square yards on the
south eastern bank of the lake. It was surrounded by a palisade, and
in it were constructed various shelters for the birds which were to
populate it. These were simply built of branches and divided into
compartments made ready for the expected guests.
[Illustration: PENCROFT'S SCARECROWS]
The first were the two tinamous, which were not long in having a
number of young ones; they had for companions half a dozen ducks,
accustomed to the borders of the lake. Some belonged to the Chinese
species, of which the wings open like a fan, and which by the
brilliancy of their plumage rival the golden pheasants. A few days
afterwards, Herbert snared a couple of gallinaceae, with spreading
tails composed of long feathers, magnificent alectors, which soon
became tame. As to pelicans, kingfishers, water-hens, they came of
themselves to the shores of the poultry-yard, and this little
community, after some disputes, cooing, screaming, clucking, ended by
settling down peacefully, and increased in encouraging proportion for
the future use of the colony.
Cyrus Harding, wishing to complete his performance, established a
pigeon-house in a corner of the poultry-yard. There he lodged a dozen
of those pigeons which frequented the rocks of the plateau. These
birds soon became accustomed to returning every evening to their new
dwelling, and showed more disposition to domesticate themselves than
their congeners, the wood-pigeons.
Lastly, the time had come for turning the balloon-case to use, by
cutting it up to make shirts and other articles; for as to keeping it
in its present form, and risking themselves in a balloon filled with
gas, above a sea of the limits of which they had no idea, it was not
to be thought of.
It was necessary to bring the case to Granite House, and the colonists
employed themselves in rendering their heavy cart lighter and more
manageable. But though they had a vehicle, the moving power was yet to
be found.
But did there not exist in the island some animal which might supply
the place of the horse, ass, or ox? That was the question.
"Certainly," said Pencroft, "a beast of burden would be very useful to
us until the captain has made a steam cart, or even an engine, for
some day we shall have a railroad from Granite House to Port Balloon,
with a branch line to Mount Franklin!"
One day, the 23rd of December, Neb and Top were heard shouting and
barking, each apparently trying who could make the most noise. The
settlers, who were busy at the Chimneys, ran, fearing some vexatious
incident.
What did they see? Two fine animals of a large size, who had
imprudently ventured on the plateau, when the bridges were open. One
would have said they were horses, or at least donkeys, male and
female, of a fine shape, dove-coloured, the legs and tail white,
striped with black on the head and neck. They advanced quietly without
showing any uneasiness, and gazed at the men, in whom they could not
as yet recognise their future masters.
"These are onagas!" cried Herbert, "animals something between the
zebra and the conaga!"
"Why not donkeys?" asked Neb.
"Because they have not long ears, and their shape is more graceful!"
"Donkeys or horses," interrupted Pencroft, "they are 'moving powers,'
as the captain would say, and as such must be captured!"
The sailor, without frightening the animals, crept through the grass
to the bridge over Creek Glycerine, lowered it, and the onagas were
prisoners.
Now, should they seize them with violence and master them by force?
No. It was decided that for a few days they should be allowed to roam
freely about the plateau, where there was an abundance of grass, and
the engineer immediately began to prepare a stable near the
poultry-yard, in which the onagas might find food, with a good litter,
and shelter during the night.
This done, the movements of the two magnificent creatures were left
entirely free, and the settlers avoided even approaching them so as to
terrify them. Several times, however, the onagas appeared to wish to
leave the plateau, too confined for animals accustomed to the plains
and forests. They were then seen following the water-barrier which
everywhere presented itself before them, uttering short neighs, then
galloping through the grass, and becoming calmer, they would remain
entire hours gazing at the woods, from which they were cut off for
ever!
In the meantime harness of vegetable fibre had been manufactured, and
some days after the capture of the onagas, not only the cart was
ready, but a straight road, or rather a cutting, had been made through
the forests of the Far West, from the angle of the Mercy to Port
Balloon. The cart might then be driven there, and towards the end of
December they tried the onagas for the first time.
Pencroft had already coaxed the animals to come and eat out of his
hand, and they allowed him to approach without making any difficulty,
but once harnessed they reared and could with difficulty be held in.
However it was not long before they submitted to this new service, for
the onaga, being less refractory than the zebra, is frequently put in
harness in the mountainous regions of Southern Africa, and it has even
been acclimatised in Europe, under zones of a relative coolness.
On this day all the colony, except Pencroft who walked at the animals'
heads, mounted the cart, and set out on the road to Port Balloon.
Of course they were jolted over the somewhat rough road, but the
vehicle arrived without any accident, and was soon loaded with the
case and rigging of the balloon.
At eight o'clock that evening the cart, after passing over the Mercy
bridge, descended the left bank of the river, and stopped on the
beach. The onagas being unharnessed, were thence led to their stable,
and Pencroft before going to sleep gave vent to his feelings in a deep
sigh of satisfaction that awoke all the echoes of Granite House.
CHAPTER VIII
Linen -- Shoes of Seal-leather -- Manufacture of Pyroxyle --
Gardening -- Fishing -- Turtle-eggs -- Improvement of Master
Jup -- The Corral -- Musmon Hunt -- New Animal and Vegetable
Possessions -- Recollections of their Native Land.
The first week of January was devoted to the manufacture of the linen
garments required by the colony. The needles found in the box were
used by sturdy if not delicate fingers, and we may be sure that what
was sewn was sewn firmly.
There was no lack of thread, thanks to Cyrus Harding's idea of
re-employing that which had been already used in the covering of the
balloon. This with admirable patience was all unpicked by Gideon
Spilett and Herbert, for Pencroft had been obliged to give this work
up, as it irritated him beyond measure; but he had no equal in the
sewing part of the business. Indeed, everybody knows that sailors have
a remarkable aptitude for tailoring.
The cloth of which the balloon-case was made was then cleaned by means
of soda and potash, obtained by the incineration of plants, in such a
way that the cotton, having got rid of the varnish, resumed its
natural softness and elasticity; then, exposed to the action of the
atmosphere, it soon became perfectly white. Some dozen shirts and
socks--the latter not knitted of course, but made of cotton--were thus
manufactured. What a comfort it was to the settlers to clothe
themselves again in clean linen, which was doubtless rather rough, but
they were not troubled about that! and then to go to sleep between
sheets, which made the couches at Granite House into quite comfortable
beds!
It was about this time also that they made boots of seal-leather,
which were greatly needed to replace the shoes and boots brought from
America. We may be sure that these new shoes were large enough and
never pinched the feet of the wearers.
With the beginning of the year 1866 the heat was very great, but the
hunting in the forests did not stand still. Agoutis, peccaries,
capybaras, kangaroos, game of all sorts, actually swarmed there, and
Spilett and Herbert were too good marksmen ever to throw away their
shot uselessly.
Cyrus Harding still recommended them to husband the ammunition, and he
took measures to replace the powder and shot which had been found in
the box, and which he wished to reserve for the future. How did he
know where chance might one day cast his companions and himself in the
event of their leaving their domain? They should, then, prepare for
the unknown future by husbanding their ammunition and by substituting
for it some easily renewable substance.
To replace lead, of which Harding had found no traces in the island,
he employed granulated iron, which was easy to manufacture. These
bullets, not having the weight of leaden bullets, were made larger,
and each charge contained less, but the skill of the sportsmen made up
this deficiency. As to powder, Cyrus Harding would have been able to
make that also, for he had at his disposal saltpetre, sulphur, and
coal; but this preparation requires extreme care, and without special
tools it is difficult to produce it of a good quality. Harding
preferred, therefore, to manufacture pyroxyle, that is to say
gun-cotton, a substance in which cotton is not indispensable, as the
elementary tissue of vegetables may be used, and this is found in an
almost pure state, not only in cotton, but in the textile fibres of
hemp and flax, in paper, the pith of the elder, etc. Now, the elder
abounded in the island towards the mouth of Red Creek, and the
colonists had already made coffee of the berries of these shrubs,
which belong to the family of the caprifoliaceae.
[Illustration: THE SETTLERS' NEW SHIRTS]
The only thing to be collected, therefore, was elder-pith, for as to
the other substance necessary for the manufacture of pyroxyle, it was
only fuming azotic acid. Now, Harding having sulphuric acid at his
disposal, had already been easily able to produce azotic acid by
attacking the saltpetre with which nature supplied him. He accordingly
resolved to manufacture and employ pyroxyle, although it has some
inconveniences, that is to say, a great inequality of effect, an
excessive inflammability, since it takes fire at one hundred and
seventy degrees instead of two hundred and forty, and lastly, an
instantaneous deflagration which might damage the firearms. On the
other hand, the advantages of pyroxyle consist in this, that it is not
injured by damp, that it does not make the gun-barrels dirty, and that
its force is four times that of ordinary powder.
To make pyroxyle, the cotton must be immersed in the fuming azotic
acid for a quarter of an hour, then washed in cold water and dried.
Nothing could be more simple.
Cyrus Harding had only at his disposal the ordinary azotic acid and
not the fuming or monohydrate azotic acid, that is to say, acid which
emits white vapours when it comes in contact with damp air; but by
substituting for the latter ordinary azotic acid, mixed, in the
proportion of from three to five volumes of concentrated sulphuric
acid, the engineer obtained the same result. The sportsmen of the
island therefore soon had a perfectly prepared substance, which,
employed discreetly, produced admirable results.
About this time the settlers cleared three acres of the plateau, and
the rest was preserved in a wild state, for the benefit of the onagas.
Several excursions were made into the Jacamar woods and forests of the
Far West, and they brought back from thence a large collection of wild
vegetables, spinage, cress, radishes, and turnips, which careful
culture would soon improve, and which would temper the regimen on
which the settlers had till then subsisted. Supplies of wood and coal
were also carted. Each excursion was at the same time a means of
improving the roads, which gradually became smoother under the wheels
of the cart.
The rabbit-warren still continued to supply the larder of Granite
House. As fortunately it was situated on the other side of Creek
Glycerine, its inhabitants could not reach the plateau nor ravage the
newly-made plantation. The oyster-bed among the rocks was frequently
renewed, and furnished excellent molluscs. Besides that, the fishing,
either in the lake or the Mercy, was very profitable, for Pencroft had
made some lines, armed with iron hooks, with which they frequently
caught fine trout, and a species of fish whose silvery sides were
speckled with yellow, and which were also extremely savoury. Master
Neb, who was skilled in the culinary art, knew how to vary agreeably
the bill of fare. Bread alone was wanting at the table of the
settlers, and as has been said, they felt this privation greatly.
The settlers hunted too the turtles which frequented the shores of
Cape Mandible. At this place the beach was covered with little mounds,
concealing perfectly spherical turtles' eggs, with white hard shells,
the albumen of which does not coagulate as that of birds' eggs. They
were hatched by the sun, and their number was naturally considerable,
as each turtle can lay annually two hundred and fifty.
"A regular egg-field," observed Gideon Spilett, "and we have nothing
to do but to pick them up."
But not being contented with simply the produce, they made chase after
the producers, the result of which was that they were able to bring
back to Granite House a dozen of these chelonians, which were really
valuable in an alimentary point of view. The turtle soup, flavoured
with aromatic herbs, often gained well-merited praises for its
preparer, Neb.
We must here mention another fortunate circumstance by which new
stores for the winter were laid in. Shoals of salmon entered the
Mercy, and ascended the country for several miles. It was the time at
which the females, going to find suitable places in which to spawn,
precede the males and make a great noise through the fresh water. A
thousand of these fish, which measured about two feet and a half in
length, came up the river, and a large quantity were retained by
fixing dams across the stream. More than a hundred were thus taken,
which were salted and stored for the time when winter, freezing up the
streams, would render fishing impracticable. By this time the
intelligent Jup was raised to the duty of valet. He had been dressed
in a jacket, white linen breeches, and an apron, the pockets of which
were his delight. The clever orang had been marvellously trained by
Neb, and any one would have said that the negro and the ape understood
each other when they talked together. Jup had besides a real affection
for Neb, and Neb returned it. When his services were not required,
either for carrying wood or for climbing to the top of some tree, Jup
passed the greatest part of his time in the kitchen, where he
endeavoured to imitate Neb in all that he saw him do. The black showed
the greatest patience and even extreme zeal in instructing his pupil,
and the pupil exhibited remarkable intelligence in profiting by the
lessons he received from his master.
Judge then of the pleasure Master Jup gave to the inhabitants of
Granite House when, without their having had any idea of it, he
appeared one day, napkin on his arm, ready to wait at table. Quick,
attentive, he acquitted himself perfectly, changing the plates,
bringing dishes, pouring out water, all with a gravity which gave
intense amusement to the settlers, and which enraptured Pencroft.
"Jup, some soup!"
"Jup, a little agouti!"
"Jup, a plate!"
"Jup! Good Jup! Honest Jup!"
Nothing was heard but that, and Jup without ever being disconcerted,
replied to every one, watched for everything, and he shook his head in
a knowing way when Pencroft, referring to his joke of the first day,
said to him,--
"Decidedly, Jup, your wages must be doubled."
It is useless to say that the orang was now thoroughly domesticated at
Granite House, and that he often accompanied his masters to the forest
without showing any wish to leave them. It was most amusing to see him
walking with a stick which Pencroft had given him, and which he
carried on his shoulder like a gun. If they wished to gather some
fruit from the summit of a tree, how quickly he climbed for it! If the
wheel of the cart, stuck in the mud, with what energy did Jup with a
single heave of his shoulder put it right again.
"What a jolly fellow he is!" cried Pencroft often. "If he was as
mischievous as he is good, there would be no doing any thing with
him!"
It was towards the end of January the colonists began their labours in
the centre of the island. It had been decided that a corral should be
established near the sources of the Red Creek, at the foot of Mount
Franklin, destined to contain the ruminants, whose presence would have
been troublesome at Granite House, and especially for the musmons, who
were to supply the wool for the settlers' winter garments.
Each morning, the colony, sometimes entire, but more often represented
only by Harding, Herbert, and Pencroft, proceeded to the sources of
the Creek, a distance of not more than five miles, by the newly beaten
road to which the name of Corral Road had been given.
[Illustration: JUP PASSED MOST OF HIS TIME IN THE KITCHEN, TRYING TO
IMITATE NEB]
There a site was chosen, at the back of the southern ridge of the
mountain. It was a meadow land, dotted here and there with clumps of
trees, and watered by a little stream, which sprung from the slopes
which closed it in on one side. The grass was fresh, and it was not
too much shaded by the trees which grew about it. This meadow was to
be surrounded by a palisade, high enough to prevent even the most
agile animals from leaping over. This enclosure would be large enough
to contain a hundred musmons and wild goats, with all the young ones
they might produce.
The perimeter of the corral was then traced by the engineer, and they
would then have proceeded to fell the trees necessary for the
construction of the palisade, but as the opening up of the road had
already necessitated the sacrifice of a considerable number, those
were brought and supplied a hundred stakes, which were firmly fixed in
the ground.
At the front of the palisade a large entrance was reserved, and closed
with strong folding-doors.
The construction of this corral did not take less than three weeks,
for besides the palisade, Cyrus Harding built large sheds, in which
the animals could take shelter. These buildings had also to be made
very strong, for musmons are powerful animals, and their first fury
was to be feared. The stakes, sharpened at their upper end and
hardened by fire, had been fixed by means of cross-bars, and at
regular distances props assured the solidity of the whole.
The corral finished, a raid had to be made on the pastures frequented
by the ruminants. This was done on the 7th of February, on a beautiful
summer's day, and every one took part in it. The onagas, already well
trained, were ridden by Spilett and Herbert, and were of great use.
The manoeuvre consisted simply in surrounding the musmons and goats,
and gradually narrowing the circle around them. Cyrus Harding,
Pencroft, Neb, and Jup, posted themselves in different parts of the
wood, whilst the two cavaliers and Top galloped in a radius of half a
mile round the corral.
The musmons were very numerous in this part of the island. These fine
animals were as large as deer; their horns were stronger than those of
the ram, and their grey-coloured fleece was mixed with long hair.
This hunting day was very fatiguing. Such going and coming, and
running and riding and shouting! Of a hundred musmons which had been
surrounded, more than two-thirds escaped, but at last, thirty of these
animals and ten wild goats were gradually driven back towards the
corral, the open door of which appearing to offer a means of escape,
they rushed in and were prisoners.
In short, the result was satisfactory, and the settlers had no reason
to complain. There was no doubt that the flock would prosper, and that
at no distant time not only wool but hides would be abundant.
That evening the hunters returned to Granite House quite exhausted.
However, notwithstanding their fatigue, they returned the next day to
visit the corral. The prisoners had been trying to overthrow the
palisade, but of course had not succeeded, and were not long in
becoming more tranquil.
During the month of February, no event of any importance occurred. The
daily labours were pursued methodically, and, as well as improving the
roads to the corral and to Port Balloon, a third was commenced, which,
starting from the enclosure, proceeded towards the western coast. The
yet unknown portion of Lincoln Island was that of the wood-covered
Serpentine Peninsula, which sheltered the wild beasts, from which
Gideon Spilett was so anxious to clear their domain.
Before the cold season should appear the most assiduous care was given
to the cultivation of the wild plants which had been transplanted from
the forest to Prospect Heights. Herbert never returned from an
excursion without bringing home some useful vegetable. One day, it was
some specimens of the chicory tribe, the seeds of which by pressure
yield an excellent oil; another, it was some common sorrel, whose
anti-scorbutic qualities were not to be despised; then, some of those
precious tubers, which have at all times been cultivated in South
America, potatoes, of which more than two hundred species are now
known. The kitchen garden, now well stocked and carefully defended
from the birds, was divided into small beds, where grew lettuces,
kidney potatoes, sorrel, turnips, radishes, and other cruciferae. The
soil on the plateau was particularly fertile, and it was hoped that
the harvests would be abundant.
They had also a variety of different beverages, and so long as they
did not demand wine, the most hard to please would have had no reason
to complain. To the Oswego tea, and the fermented liquor extracted
from the roots of the dragonnier, Harding had added a regular beer,
made from the young shoots of the spruce-fir, which, after having been
boiled and fermented, made that agreeable drink, called by the
Anglo-Americans spring-beer.
Towards the end of the summer, the poultry-yard was possessed of a
couple of fine bustards, which belonged to the houbara species,
characterised by a sort of feathery mantle; a dozen shovellers, whose
upper mandible was prolonged on each side by a membraneous appendage;
and also some magnificent cocks, similar to the Mozambique cocks, the
comb, caruncle and epidermis being black. So far, everything had
succeeded, thanks to the activity of these courageous and intelligent
men. Nature did much for them, doubtless; but faithful to the great
precept, they made a right use of what a bountiful Providence gave
them.
After the heat of these warm summer days, in the evening when their
work was finished and the sea breeze began to blow, they liked to sit
on the edge of Prospect Heights, in a sort of verandah, covered with
creepers, which Neb had made with his own hands. There they talked,
they instructed each other, they made plans, and the rough good-humour
of the sailor always amused this little world, in which the most
perfect harmony had never ceased to reign.
They often spoke of their country, of their dear and great America.
What was the result of the War of Secession? It could not have been
greatly prolonged, Richmond had doubtless soon fallen into the hands
of General Grant. The taking of the capital of the Confederates must
have been the last action of this terrible struggle. Now the North had
triumphed in the good cause, how welcome would have been a newspaper
to the exiles in Lincoln Island! For eleven months all communication
between them and the rest of their fellow-creatures had been
interrupted, and in a short time the 24th of March would arrive, the
anniversary of the day on which the balloon had thrown them on this
unknown coast. They were then mere castaways, not even knowing how
they should preserve their miserable lives from the fury of the
elements! And now, thanks to the knowledge of their captain, and their
own intelligence, they were regular colonists, furnished with arms,
tools, and instruments; they had been able to turn to their profit the
animals, plants, and minerals of the island, that is to say, the three
kingdoms of Nature.
Yes; they often talked of all these things and formed still more plans
for the future.
As to Cyrus Harding he was for the most part silent, and listened to
his companions more often than he spoke to them. Sometimes he smiled
at Herbert's ideas or Pencroft's nonsense, but always and everywhere
he pondered over those inexplicable facts, that strange enigma, of
which the secret still escaped him!
CHAPTER IX
Bad Weather -- The Hydraulic Lift -- Manufacture of
Glass-ware -- The Bread-tree -- Frequent Visits to the Corral
-- Increase of the Flock -- The Reporter's Question -- Exact
Position of Lincoln Island -- Pencroft's Proposal.
The weather changed during the first week of March. There had been a
full moon at the commencement of the month, and the heat was still
excessive. The atmosphere was felt to be full of electricity, and a
period of some length of tempestuous weather was to be feared.
Indeed, on the 2nd, peals of thunder were heard, the wind blew from
the east, and hail rattled against the facade of Granite House like
volleys of grape-shot. The door and windows were immediately closed,
or everything in the rooms would have been drenched. On seeing these
hailstones, some of which were the size of a pigeon's egg, Pencroft's
first thought was that his cornfield was in serious danger.
He directly rushed to his field, where little green heads were already
appearing, and, by means of a great cloth, he managed to protect his
crop.
This bad weather lasted a week, during which time the thunder rolled
without cessation in the depths of the sky.
The colonists, not having any pressing work out of doors, profited by
the bad weather to work at the interior of Granite House, the
arrangement of which was becoming more complete from day to day. The
engineer made a turning-lathe, with which he turned several articles
both for the toilet and the kitchen, particularly buttons, the want of
which was greatly felt. A gun-rack had been made for the firearms,
which were kept with extreme care, and neither tables nor cupboards
were left incomplete. They sawed, they planed, they filed, they
turned: and during the whole of this bad season, nothing was heard but
the grinding of tools or the humming of the turning-lathe which
responded to the growling of the thunder.
[Illustration: PENCROFT TO THE RESCUE]
Master Jup had not been forgotten, and he occupied a room at the back,
near the storeroom, a sort of cabin with a cot always full of good
litter, which perfectly suited his taste.
"With good old Jup there is never any quarrelling," often repeated
Pencroft, "never any improper reply! What a servant, Neb, what a
servant!"
Of course Jup was now well used to service. He brushed their clothes,
he turned the spit, he waited at table, he swept the rooms, he
gathered wood, and he performed another admirable piece of service
which delighted Pencroft--he never went to sleep without first coming
to tuck up the worthy sailor in his bed.
As to the health of the members of the colony, bipeds or bimana,
quadrumana or quadrupeds, it left nothing to be desired. With their
life in the open air, on this salubrious soil, under that temperate
zone, working both with head and hands, they could not suppose that
illness would ever attack them.
All were indeed wonderfully well. Herbert had already grown two inches
in the year. His figure was forming and becoming more manly, and he
promised to be an accomplished man, physically as well as morally.
Besides, he improved himself during the leisure hours which manual
occupations left to him; he read the books found in the case; and
after the practical lessons which were taught by the very necessity of
their position, he found in the engineer for science, and the reporter
for languages, masters who were delighted to complete his education.
The tempest ended about the 9th of March, but the sky remained covered
with clouds during the whole of this last summer month. The
atmosphere, violently agitated by the electric commotions, could not
recover its former purity, and there was almost invariably rain and
fog, except for three or four fine days on which several excursions
were made. About this time the female onaga gave birth to a young one
which belonged to the same sex as its mother, and which throve
capitally. In the corral, the flock of musmons had also increased, and
several lambs already bleated in the sheds, to the great delight of
Neb and Herbert, who had each their favourite among these new-comers.
An attempt was also made for the domestication of the peccaries, which
succeeded well. A sty was constructed near the poultry-yard, and soon
contained several young ones in the way to become civilised, that is
to say, to become fat under Neb's care. Master Jup, entrusted with
carrying them their daily nourishment, leavings from the kitchen,
etc., acquitted himself conscientiously of his task. He sometimes
amused himself at the expense of his little pensioners by tweaking
their tails; but this was mischief, and not wickedness, for these
little twisted tails amused him like a plaything, and his instinct was
that of a child. One day in this month of March, Pencroft, talking to
the engineer, reminded Cyrus Harding of a promise which the latter had
not as yet had time to fulfil.
"You once spoke of an apparatus which would take the place of the long
ladders at Granite House, captain," said he; "won't you make it some
day?"
"Nothing will be easier; but is this a really useful thing?"
"Certainly, captain. After we have given ourselves necessaries, let us
think a little of luxury. For us it may be luxury, if you like, but
for things it is necessary. It isn't very convenient to climb up a
long ladder when one is heavily loaded."
"Well, Pencroft, we will try to please you," replied Cyrus Harding.
"But you have no machine at your disposal."
"We will make one."
"A steam machine?"
"No, a water machine."
And, indeed, to work his apparatus there was already a natural force
at the disposal of the engineer which could be used without great
difficulty. For this, it was enough to augment the flow of the little
stream which supplied the interior of Granite House with water. The
opening among the stones and grass was then increased, thus producing
a strong fall at the bottom of the passage, the overflow from which
escaped by the inner well. Below this fall the engineer fixed a
cylinder with paddles, which was joined on the exterior with a strong
cable rolled on a wheel, supporting a basket. In this way, by means of
a long rope reaching to the ground, which enabled them to regulate the
motive power, they could rise in the basket to the door of Granite
House.
It was on the 17th of March that the lift acted for the first time,
and gave universal satisfaction. Henceforward all the loads, wood,
coal, provisions, and even the settlers themselves, were hoisted by
this simple system, which replaced the primitive ladder, and, as may
be supposed, no one thought of regretting the change. Top particularly
was enchanted with this improvement, for he had not, and never could
have possessed Master Jup's skill in climbing ladders, and often it
was on Neb's back, or even on that of the orang, that he had been
obliged to make the ascent to Granite House. About this time, too,
Cyrus Harding attempted to manufacture glass and he at first put the
old pottery-kiln to this new use. There were some difficulties to be
encountered, but after several fruitless attempts, he succeeded in
setting up a glass manufactory, which Gideon Spilett and Herbert, his
usual assistants did not leave for several days. As to the substances
used in the composition of glass, they are simply sand, chalk and
soda, either carbonate or sulphate. Now the beach supplied sand, lime
supplied chalk, sea weeds supplied soda, pyrites supplied sulphuric
acid and the ground supplied coal to heat the kiln to the wished-for
temperature. Cyrus Harding thus soon had every thing ready for setting
to work.
The tool, the manufacture of which presented the most difficulty, was
the pipe of the glass maker, an iron tube, five or six feet long,
which collects on one end the material in a state of fusion. But by
means of a long, thin piece of iron rolled up like the barrel of a
gun, Pencroft succeeded in making a tube soon ready for use.
On the 28th of March the tube was heated. A hundred parts of sand
thirty-five of chalk, forty of sulphate of soda, mixed with two or
three parts of powered coal, composed the substance which was placed
in crucibles. When the high temperature of the oven had reduced it to
a liquid, or rather a pasty state, Cyrus Harding collected with the
tube a quantity of the paste, he turned it about on a metal plate
previously arranged so as to give it a form suitable for blowing, then
he passed the tube to Herbert, telling him to blow at the other
extremity.
[Illustration: THE GLASS-BLOWERS]
And Herbert, swelling out his cheeks, blew so much and so well into
the tube--taking care to twirl it round at the same time--that his
breath dilated the glassy mass. Other quantities of the substance in a
state of fusion were added to the first, and in a short time the
result was a bubble which measured a foot in diameter. Harding then
took the tube out of Herbert's hands, and, giving to it a pendulous
motion, he ended by lengthening the malleable bubble so as to give it
a cylindro-conic shape.
The blowing operation had given a cylinder of glass terminated by two
hemispheric caps, which were easily detached by means of a sharp iron
dipped in cold water; then, by the same proceeding, this cylinder was
cut lengthways, and after having been rendered malleable by a second
heating, it was extended on a plate and spread out with a wooden
roller.
The first pane was thus manufactured, and they had only to perform
this operation fifty times to have fifty panes. The windows at Granite
House were soon furnished with panes; not very white, perhaps, but
still sufficiently transparent.
As to bottles and tumblers, that was only play. They were satisfied
with them, besides, just as they came from the end of the tube.
Pencroft had asked to be allowed to "blow" in his turn, and it was
great fun for him; but he blew so hard that his productions took the
most ridiculous shapes, which he admired immensely.
Cyrus Harding and Herbert, whilst hunting one day, had entered the
forest of the Far West, on the left bank of the Mercy, and, as usual,
the lad was asking a thousand questions of the engineer, who answered
them heartily. Now, as Harding was not a sportsman, and as, on the
other side, Herbert was talking chemistry and natural philosophy,
numbers of kangaroos, capybaras, and agoutis came within range, which,
however, escaped the lad's gun; the consequence was that the day was
already advanced, and the two hunters were in danger of having made a
useless excursion, when Herbert, stopping, and uttering a cry of joy,
exclaimed,--
"Oh, Captain Harding, do you see that tree?" and he pointed to a
shrub, rather than a tree, for it was composed of a single stem,
covered with a scaly bark, which bore leaves streaked with little
parallel veins.
"And what is this tree which resembles a little palm?" asked Harding.
"It is a 'cycas revoluta,' of which I have a picture in our dictionary
of Natural History!" said Herbert.
"But I can't see any fruit on this shrub!" observed his companion.
"No, captain," replied Herbert; "but its stem contains a flour with
which nature has provided us all ready ground."
"It is, then, the bread-tree?"
"Yes, the bread-tree."
"Well, my boy," replied the engineer, "this is a valuable discovery,
since our wheat harvest is not yet ripe; I hope that you are not
mistaken!"
Herbert was not mistaken: he broke the stem of a cycas, which was
composed of a glandulous tissue, containing a quantity of floury pith,
traversed with woody fibre, separated by rings of the same substance,
arranged concentrically. With this fecula was mingled a mucilaginous
juice of disagreeable flavour, but which it would be easy to get rid
of by pressure. This cellular substance was regular flour of a
superior quality, extremely nourishing; its exportation was formerly
forbidden by the Japanese laws.
Cyrus Harding and Herbert, after having examined that part of the Far
West where the cycas grew, took their bearings, and returned to
Granite House, where they made known their discovery.
The next day the settlers went to collect some and returned to Granite
House with an ample supply of cycas stems. The engineer constructed a
press, with which to extract the mucilaginous juice mingled with the
fecula, and he obtained a large quantity of flour, which Neb soon
transformed into cakes and puddings. This was not quite real wheaten
bread, but it was very like it.
Now, too, the onaga, the goats, and the sheep in the corral furnished
daily the milk necessary to the colony. The cart, or rather a sort of
light carriole which had replaced it, made frequent journeys to the
corral, and when it was Pencroft's turn to go he took Jup, and let him
drive, and Jup, cracking his whip, acquitted himself with his
customary intelligence.
Everything prospered, as well in the corral as in Granite House and
certainly the settlers, if it had not been that they were so far from
their native land, had no reason to complain. They were so well suited
to this life, and were, besides, so accustomed to the island, that
they could not have left its hospitable soil without regret!
And yet so deeply is the love of his country implanted in the heart of
man, that if a ship had unexpectedly come in sight of the island, the
colonists would have made signals, would have attracted her attention,
and would have departed!
It was the 1st of April, a Sunday, Easter Day, which Harding and his
companions sanctified by rest and prayer. The day was fine, such as an
October day in the northern hemisphere might be.
All, towards the evening after dinner, were seated under the verandah
on the edge of Prospect Heights, and they were watching the darkness
creeping up from the horizon. Some cups of the infusion of elder
berries, which took the place of coffee, had been served by Neb. They
were speaking of the island and of its isolated situation in the
Pacific, which led Gideon Spilett to say,--
"My dear Cyrus, have you ever, since you possessed the sextant found
in the case, again taken the position of our island?"
"No," replied the engineer
"But it would perhaps be a good thing to do it with this instrument,
which is more perfect than that which you before used."
"What is the good?" said Pencroft. "The island is quite comfortable
where it is!"
"Well, who knows," returned the reporter, "who knows but that we may
be much nearer inhabited land than we think?"
"We shall know to morrow," replied Cyrus Harding, "and if it had not
been for the occupations which left me no leisure, we should have
known it already."
"Good!" said Pencroft. "The captain is too good an observer to be
mistaken, and, if it has not moved from its place, the island is just
where he put it."
"We shall see."
[Illustration: THE VERANDAH ON THE EDGE OF PROSPECT HEIGHTS]
On the next day, therefore, by means of the sextant, the engineer made
the necessary observations to verify the position which he had already
obtained, and this was the result of his operation. His first
observation had given him for the situation of Lincoln Island,--
In west longitude: from 150 deg. to 155 deg.;
In south latitude: from 30 deg. to 35 deg..
The second gave exactly:
In longitude: 150 deg. 30';
In south latitude: 34 deg. 57'.
So then, notwithstanding the imperfection of his apparatus, Cyrus
Harding had operated with so much skill that his error did not exceed
five degrees.
"Now," said Gideon Spilett, "since we possess an atlas as well as a
sextant, let us see, my dear Cyrus, the exact position which Lincoln
Island occupies in the Pacific."
Herbert fetched the atlas, and the map of the Pacific was opened, and
the engineer, compass in hand, prepared to determine their position.
Suddenly the compasses stopped, and he exclaimed,--
"But an island exists in this part of the Pacific already!"
"An island?" cried Pencroft.
"Tabor Island."
"An important island?"
"No, an islet lost in the Pacific, and which perhaps has never been
visited."
"Well, we will visit it," said Pencroft.
"We?"
"Yes, captain. We will build a decked boat, and I will undertake to
steer her. At what distance are we from this Tabor Island?"
"About a hundred and fifty miles to the north-east," replied Harding.
"A hundred and fifty miles! And what's that?" returned Pencroft. "In
forty-eight hours, with a good wind, we should sight it!"
And, on this reply, it was decided that a vessel should be constructed
in time to be launched towards the month of next October, on the
return of the fine season.
CHAPTER X
Boat-building -- Second Crop of Corn -- Hunting Koalas -- A
new Plant, more Pleasant than Useful -- Whale in Sight -- A
Harpoon from the Vineyard -- Cutting up the Whale -- Use for
the Bones -- End of the Month of May -- Pencroft has nothing
left to wish for.
When Pencroft had once got a plan into his head, he had no peace till
it was executed. Now he wished to visit Tabor Island, and as a boat of
a certain size was necessary for this voyage, he determined to build
one.
What wood should be employed? Elm or fir, both of which abounded in
the island? They decided for the fir, as being easy to work, but which
stands water as well as the elm.
These details settled, it was agreed that since the fine season would
not return before six months, Cyrus Harding and Pencroft should work
alone at the boat. Gideon Spilett and Herbert were to continue to
hunt, and neither Neb nor Master Jup his assistant were to leave the
domestic duties which had devolved upon them.
Directly the trees were chosen, they were felled, stripped of their
branches, and sawn into planks as well as sawyers would have been able
to do it. A week after, in the recess between the Chimneys and the
cliff, a dockyard was prepared, and a keel five-and-thirty feet long,
furnished with a stern-post at the stern and a stem at the bows, lay
along the sand.
Cyrus Harding was not working in the dark at this new trade. He knew
as much about ship-building as about nearly everything else, and he
had at first drawn the model of his ship on paper. Besides, he was
ably seconded by Pencroft, who, having worked for several years in a
dockyard at Brooklyn, knew the practical part of the trade. It was not
until after careful calculation and deep thought that the timbers were
laid on the keel.
Pencroft, as may be believed, was all eagerness to carry out his new
enterprise, and would not leave his work for an instant.
A single thing had the honour of drawing him, but for one day only,
from his dockyard. This was the second wheat-harvest, which was
gathered in on the 15th of April. It was as much a success as the
first, and yielded the number of grains which had been predicted.
"Five bushels, captain," said Pencroft, after having scrupulously
measured his treasure.
"Five bushels," replied the engineer; "and a hundred and thirty
thousand grains a bushel will make six hundred and fifty thousand
grains."
"Well, we will sow them all this time," said the sailor, "except a
little in reserve."
"Yes, Pencroft, and if the next crop gives a proportionate yield, we
shall have four thousand bushels."
"And shall we eat bread?"
"We shall eat bread."
"But we must have a mill."
"We will make one."
The third cornfield was very much larger than the two first, and the
soil, prepared with extreme care, received the precious seed. That
done, Pencroft returned to his work.
During this time Spilett and Herbert hunted in the neighbourhood, and
they ventured deep into the still unknown parts of the Far West, their
guns loaded with ball, ready for any dangerous emergency. It was a
vast thicket of magnificent trees, crowded together as if pressed for
room. The exploration of these dense masses of wood was difficult in
the extreme, and the reporter never ventured there without the
pocket-compass, for the sun scarcely pierced through the thick
foliage, and it would have been very difficult for them to retrace
their way. It naturally happened that game was more rare in those
situations where there was hardly sufficient room to move; two or
three large herbivorous animals were however killed during the last
fortnight of April. These were koalas, specimens of which the settlers
had already seen to the north of the lake, and which stupidly allowed
themselves to be killed among the thick branches of the trees in which
they took refuge. Their skins were brought back to Granite House, and
there, by the help of sulphuric acid, they were subjected to a sort of
tanning process which rendered them capable of being used.
[Illustration: THE DOCKYARD]
On the 30th of April, the two sportsmen were in the depth of the Far
West, when the reporter, preceding Herbert a few paces, arrived in a
sort of clearing, into which the trees more sparsely scattered had
permitted a few rays to penetrate. Gideon Spilett was at first
surprised at the odour which exhaled from certain plants with straight
stalks, round and branchy, bearing grape-like clusters of flowers and
very small berries. The reporter broke off one or two of these stalks
and returned to the lad, to whom he said,--
"What can this be, Herbert?"
"Well, Mr. Spilett," said Herbert, "this is a treasure which will
secure you Pencroft's gratitude for ever."
"Is it tobacco?"
"Yes, and though it may not be of the first quality, it is none the
less tobacco!"
"Oh, good old Pencroft! Won't he be pleased? But we must not let him
smoke it all, he must give us our share."
"Ah! an idea occurs to me, Mr. Spilett," replied Herbert. "Don't let
us say anything to Pencroft yet; we will prepare these leaves, and one
fine day we will present him with a pipe already filled!"
"All right, Herbert, and on that day our worthy companion will have
nothing left to wish for in this world."
The reporter and the lad secured a good store of the precious plant,
and then returned to Granite House, where they smuggled it in with as
much precaution as if Pencroft had been the most vigilant and severe
of custom-house officers.
Cyrus Harding and Neb were taken into confidence, and the sailor
suspected nothing during the whole time, necessarily somewhat long,
which was required in order to dry the small leaves, chop them up, and
subject them to a certain torrefaction on hot stones. This took two
months; but all these manipulations were successfully carried on
unknown to Pencroft, for, occupied with the construction of his boat,
he only returned to Granite House at the hour of rest.
For some days they had observed an enormous animal two or three miles
out in the open sea swimming around Lincoln Island. This was a whale
of the largest size, which apparently belonged to the southern
species, called the "Cape Whale."
"What a lucky chance it would be if we could capture it!" cried the
sailor. "Ah, if we only had a proper boat and a good harpoon, I would
say, 'After the beast,' for he would be well worth the trouble of
catching!"
"Well, Pencroft," observed Harding, "I should much like to watch you
handling a harpoon. It would be very interesting."
"I am astonished," said the reporter, "to see a whale in this
comparatively high latitude."
"Why so, Mr. Spilett?" replied Herbert. "We are exactly in that part
of the Pacific which English and American whalemen call the whale
field, and it is here, between New Zealand and South America, that the
whales of the southern hemisphere are met with in the greatest
numbers."
And Pencroft returned to his work, not without uttering a sigh of
regret, for every sailor is a born fisherman, and if the pleasure of
fishing is in exact proportion to the size of the animal, one can
judge how a whaler feels in sight of a whale. And if this had only
been for pleasure! But they could not help feeling how valuable such a
prize would have been to the colony, for the oil, the fat, and the
bones would have been put to many uses.
Now it happened that this whale appeared to have no wish to leave the
waters of the island. Therefore, whether from the windows of Granite
House, or from Prospect Heights, Herbert and Gideon Spilett, when they
were not hunting, or Neb unless presiding over his fires, never left
the telescope, but watched all the animal's movements. The cetacean,
having entered far into Union Bay, made rapid furrows across it from
Mandible Cape to Claw Cape, propelled by its enormously powerful
flukes, on which it supported itself, and making its way through the
water at the rate little short of twelve knots an hour. Sometimes also
it approached so near to the island that it could be clearly
distinguished. It was the southern whale, which is completely black,
the head being more depressed than that of the northern whale.
They could also see it throwing up from its air-holes to a great
height, a cloud of vapour, or of water, for, strange as it may appear,
naturalists and whalers are not agreed on this subject. Is it air or
is it water which is thus driven out? It is generally admitted to be
vapour, which, condensing suddenly by contact with the cold air, falls
again as rain.
However, the presence of this mammifer preoccupied the colonists. It
irritated Pencroft especially as he could think of nothing else while
at work. He ended by longing for it, like a child for a thing which it
has been denied. At night he talked about it in his sleep, and
certainly if he had had the means of attacking it, if the sloop had
been in a fit state to put to sea, he would not have hesitated to set
out in pursuit.
But what the colonists could not do for themselves, chance did for
them, and on the 3rd of May, shouts from Neb, who had stationed
himself at the kitchen window, announced that the whale was stranded
on the beach of the island.
Herbert and Gideon Spilett, who were just about to set out hunting,
left their guns, Pencroft threw down his axe, and Harding and Neb
joining their companions, all rushed towards the scene of action.
The stranding had taken place on the beach of Flotsam Point, three
miles from Granite House, and at high tide. It was therefore probable
that the cetacean would not be able to extricate itself easily, at any
rate it was best to hasten, so as to cut off its retreat if necessary.
They ran with pick-axes and iron-tipped poles in their hands, passed
over the Mercy bridge, descended the right bank of the river, along
the beach, and in less than twenty minutes the settlers were close to
the enormous animal, above which flocks of birds already hovered.
"What a monster!" cried Neb.
And the exclamation was natural, for it was a southern whale, eighty
feet long, a giant of the species, probably not weighing less than a
hundred and fifty thousand pounds!
In the meanwhile, the monster thus stranded did not move, nor attempt
by struggling to regain the water whilst the tide was still high.
It was dead, and a harpoon was sticking out of its left side.
"There are whalers in these quarters, then?" said Gideon Spilett
directly.
[Illustration: A VALUABLE PRIZE]
"Oh, Mr Spilett, that doesn't prove anything!" replied Pencroft.
"Whales have been known to go thousands of miles with a harpoon in the
side, and this one might even have been struck in the north of the
Atlantic and come to die in the south of the Pacific, and it would be
nothing astonishing."
Pencroft, having torn the harpoon from the animal's side, read this
inscription on it:--
"'MARIA STELLA,'
"VINEYARD."
"A vessel from the Vineyard! A ship from my country!" he cried. "The
_Maria Stella_! A fine whaler, 'pon my word; I know her well! Oh, my
friends, a vessel from the Vineyard!--a whaler from the Vineyard!"[1]
[1] A port in the State of New York.
And the sailor brandishing the harpoon, repeated, not without emotion,
the name which he loved so well--the name of his birthplace.
But as it could not be expected that the _Maria Stella_ would come to
reclaim the animal harpooned by her, they resolved to begin cutting it
up before decomposition should commence. The birds, who had watched
this rich prey for several days, had determined to take possession of
it without further delay, and it was necessary to drive them off by
firing at them repeatedly.
The whale was a female, and a large quantity of milk was taken from
it, which, according to the opinion of the naturalist Duffenbach,
might pass for cow's milk, and, indeed, it differs from it neither in
taste, colour, nor density.
Pencroft had formerly served on board a whaling-ship, and he could
methodically direct the operation of cutting up--a sufficiently
disagreeable operation lasting three days, but from which the settlers
did not flinch, not even Gideon Spilett, who, as the sailor said,
would end by making a "real good castaway."
The blubber, cut in parallel slices of two feet and a half in
thickness, then divided into pieces which might weigh about a thousand
pounds each, was melted down in large earthen pots brought to the
spot, for they did not wish to taint the environs of Granite House,
and in this fusion it lost nearly a third of its weight.
But there was an immense quantity of it; the tongue alone yielded six
thousand pounds of oil, and the lower lip four thousand. Then, besides
the fat, which would insure for a long time a store of stearine and
glycerine, there were still the bones, for which a use could doubtless
be found, although there were neither umbrellas nor stays used at
Granite House. The upper part of the mouth of the cetacean was,
indeed, provided on both sides with eight hundred horny blades, very
elastic, of a fibrous texture, and fringed at the edge like great
combs, of which the teeth, six feet long, served to retain the
thousands of animalculae, little fish, and molluscs, on which the whale
fed.
The operation finished, to the great satisfaction of the operators,
the remains of the animal were left to the birds, who would soon make
every vestige of it disappear, and their usual daily occupations were
resumed by the inmates of Granite House.
However, before returning to the dockyard, Cyrus Harding conceived the
idea of fabricating certain machines, which greatly excited the
curiosity of his companions. He took a dozen of the whale's bones, cut
them into six equal parts, and sharpened their ends.
"This machine is not my own invention, and it is frequently employed
by the Aleutian hunters in Russian America. You see these bones, my
friends; well, when it freezes, I will bend them, and then wet them
with water till they are entirely covered with ice, which will keep
them bent, and I will strew them on the snow, having previously
covered them with fat. Now, what will happen if a hungry animal
swallows one of these baits? Why, the heat of his stomach will melt
the ice, and the bone, springing straight, will pierce him with its
sharp points."
"Well! I do call that ingenious!" said Pencroft.
"And it will spare the powder and shot," rejoined Cyrus Harding.
"That will be better than traps!" added Neb.
In the meanwhile the boat-building progressed, and towards the end of
the month half the planking was completed. It could already be seen
that her shape was excellent, and that she would sail well.
Pencroft worked with unparalleled ardour, and only a sturdy frame
could have borne such fatigue; but his companions were preparing in
secret a reward for his labours, and on the 31st of May he was to meet
with one of the greatest joy's of his life.
On that day, after dinner, just as he was about to leave the table,
Pencroft felt a hand on his shoulder.
It was the hand of Gideon Spilett, who said,--
"One moment, Master Pencroft, you mustn't sneak off like that! You've
forgotten your dessert."
"Thank you, Mr. Spilett," replied the sailor, "I am going back to my
work."
"Well a cup of coffee, my friend?"
"Nothing more."
"A pipe, then?"
Pencroft jumped up, and his great good-natured face grew pale when he
saw the reporter presenting him with a ready-filled pipe, and Herbert
with a glowing coal.
The sailor endeavoured to speak, but could not get out a word, so,
seizing the pipe, he carried it to his lips, then applying the coal,
he drew five or six great whiffs. A fragrant blue cloud soon arose,
and from its depths a voice was heard repeating excitedly,--
"Tobacco! real tobacco!"
"Yes, Pencroft," returned Cyrus Harding, "and very good tobacco too!"
"O divine Providence! sacred Author of all things!" cried the sailor.
"Nothing more is now wanting to our island."
And Pencroft smoked, and smoked, and smoked.
"And who made this discovery?" he asked at length. "You, Herbert, no
doubt?"
"No, Pencroft, it was Mr. Spilett."
"Mr Spilett!" exclaimed the sailor seizing the reporter, and clasping
him to his breast with such a squeeze that he had never felt anything
like it before.
"Oh, Pencroft," said Spilett, recovering his breath at last, "a truce
for one moment. You must share your gratitude with Herbert, who
recognised the plant, with Cyrus, who prepared it, and with Neb who
took a great deal of trouble to keep our secret."
"Well, my friends, I will repay you some day," replied the sailor.
"Now we are friends for life."
[Illustration: PENCROFT HAS NOTHING LEFT TO WISH FOR]
CHAPTER XI
Winter -- Felling Wood -- The Mill -- Pencroft's fixed Idea
-- The Bones -- To what Use an Albatross may be put -- Fuel
for the Future -- Top and Jup -- Storms -- Damage to the
Poultry-yard -- Excursion to the Marsh -- Cyrus Harding alone
-- Exploring the Well
Winter arrived with the month of June, which is the December of the
northern zones, and the great business was the making of warm and
solid clothing.
The musmons in the corral had been stripped of their wool, and this
precious textile material was now to be transformed into stuff.
Of course Cyrus Harding, having at his disposal neither carders,
combers, polishers, stretchers, twisters, mule-jenny, nor self-acting
machine to spin the wool, nor loom to weave it, was obliged to proceed
in a simpler way, so as to do without spinning and weaving. And indeed
he proposed to make use of the property which the filaments of wool
possess when subjected to a powerful pressure of mixing together, and
of manufacturing by this simple process the material called felt. This
felt could then be obtained by a simple operation which, if it
diminished the flexibility of the stuff, increased its power of
retaining heat in proportion. Now the wool furnished by the musmons
was composed of very short hairs, and was in a good condition to be
felted.
The engineer, aided by his companions, including Pencroft, who was
once more obliged to leave his boat, commenced the preliminary
operations, the object of which was to rid the wool of that fat and
oily substance with which it is impregnated, and which is called
grease. This cleaning was done in vats filled with water, which was
maintained at the temperature of seventy degrees, and in which the
wool was soaked for four-and-twenty hours; it was then thoroughly
washed in baths of soda, and, when sufficiently dried by pressure, it
was in a state to be compressed, that is to say, to produce a solid
material, rough, no doubt, and such as would have no value in a
manufacturing centre of Europe or America, but which would be highly
esteemed in the Lincoln Island markets.
This sort of material must have been known from the most ancient
times, and, in fact, the first woollen stuffs were manufactured by the
process which Harding was now about to employ. Where Harding's
engineering qualifications now came into play was in the construction
of the machine for pressing the wool, for he knew how to turn
ingeniously to profit the mechanical force, hitherto unused, which the
waterfall on the beach possessed to move a fulling-mill.
Nothing could be more rudimentary. The wool was placed in troughs, and
upon it fell in turns heavy wooden mallets, such was the machine in
question, and such it had been for centuries until the time when the
mallets were replaced by cylinders of compression, and the material
was no longer subjected to beating, but to regular rolling.
The operation, ably directed by Cyrus Harding, was a complete success.
The wool, previously impregnated with a solution of soap, intended on
the one hand to facilitate the interlacing, the compression, and the
softening of the wool, and on the other to prevent its diminution by
the beating, issued from the mill in the shape of thick felt cloth.
The roughnesses with which the staple of wool is naturally filled were
so thoroughly entangled and interlaced together that a material was
formed equally suitable either for garments or bedclothes. It was
certainly neither merino, muslin, cashmere, rep, satin, alpaca, cloth,
nor flannel. It was "Lincolnian felt," and Lincoln Island possessed
yet another manufacture. The colonists had now warm garments and thick
bedclothes, and they could without fear await the approach of the
winter of 1866-67.
The severe cold began to be felt about the 20th of June, and, to his
great regret, Pencroft was obliged to suspend his boat-building, which
he hoped to finish in time for next spring.
The sailor's great idea was to make a voyage of discovery to Tabor
Island, although Harding could not approve of a voyage simply for
curiosity's sake, for there was evidently nothing to be found on this
desert and almost arid rock. A voyage of a hundred and fifty miles in
a comparatively small vessel, over unknown seas, could not but cause
him some anxiety. Suppose that their vessel, once out at sea, should
be unable to reach Tabor Island, and could not return to Lincoln
Island, what would become of her in the midst of the Pacific, so
fruitful of disasters?
Harding often talked over this project with Pencroft, and he found him
strangely bent upon undertaking this voyage, for which determination
he himself could give no sufficient reason.
"Now," said the engineer one day to him, "I must observe, my friend,
that after having said so much, in praise of Lincoln Island, after
having spoken so often of the sorrow you would feel if you were
obliged to forsake it, you are the first to wish to leave it."
"Only to leave it for a few days," replied Pencroft, "only for a few
days, captain. Time to go and come back, and see what that islet is
like!"
"But it is not nearly as good as Lincoln Island."
"I know that beforehand."
"Then why venture there?"
"To know what is going on in Tabor Island."
"But nothing is going on there; nothing could happen there."
"Who knows?"
"And if you are caught in a hurricane?"
"There is no fear of that in the fine season," replied Pencroft. "But,
captain, as we must provide against everything, I shall ask your
permission to take Herbert only with me on this voyage."
"Pencroft," replied the engineer, placing his hand on the sailor's
shoulder, "if any misfortune happens to you, or
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