The Lonely Island: The Refuge of the Mutineers

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER NINE.

  SALLY'S CHIEF JOYS--DARK CLOUDS OVERSPREAD THE PITCAIRN SKY, AND DARKERDEEDS ARE DONE.

  Just before John Adams left the settlement for the purpose of callingChristian, whose retreat at the mountain-top was by that time well-knownto every one, little Sally had gone, as was her wont, to enjoy herselfin her favourite playground. This was a spot close to the house ofEdward Young, where the debris of material saved from the _Bounty_ hadbeen deposited. It formed a bristling pile of masts, spars, planks,cross-trees, oars, anchors, nails, copper-bolts, sails, and cordage.

  No material compound could have been more dangerous to childhood, andnothing conceivable more attractive to Sally. The way in which thatpretty little nude infant disported herself on that pile was absolutelytremendous. She sprang over things as if she had been made expressly tofly. She tumbled off things as if she had been created to fall. Sheinsinuated herself among anchor-flukes and chains as if she had beenborn an eel. She rolled out from among the folds of sails as if shewere a live dumpling. She seemed to dance upon upturned nails, and tospike herself on bristling bolts; but she never hurt herself,--at leastif she did she never cried, except in exuberant glee.

  Now, it was while thus engaged one day that Sally became suddenlyconscious of a new sound. Young as she was, she was fully alive to theinfluence of a new sensation. She paused in an attitude of eagerattention. The strange sound came from Christian's hut. Sally waddledthither and looked in. The first thing that met her gaze was her ownmother with a live creature in her hands, which she was carefullywrapping up in a piece of cloth. It was a pitifully thin whitey-browncreature, with a puckered face, resembling that of a monkey; but Sallyhad never seen a monkey, and probably did not think of the comparison.Presently the creature opened its mouth, shut its eyes, and uttered apainfully weak squall.

  Cause and effect are not infrequently involved in mystery. We cannottell why Sally, who never cried, either when hurt or scolded, should, onbeholding this sight, set up a tremendous howl; but she did, and shekept up the howl with such vigour that John Adams was attracted to thespot in some alarm.

  Stopping only long enough to look at the infant and see that the motherwas all right, Adams ran off at full speed to the mountain-top, as wehave seen, to be the first to announce the joyful news to the father.

  Thus came into the world the first "descendant" of the mutineers of the_Bounty_.

  It was with unwonted animation that the men sat down to supper thatevening, each having congratulated Christian and inquired at the hut forthe baby and mother, as he came in from work.

  "What will you call him?" inquired Young, after pledging the new arrivalin a cup of cocoa-nut milk.

  "What day is it?" asked Christian.

  "Thursday," answered Martin.

  "Then I'll call him Thursday," said Christian; "it will commemorate theday."

  "You'd better add `October,' and commemorate the month," said Adams.

  "So I will," said Christian.

  "An' stick on `Seventeen-ninety' to commemorate the year," suggestedMills.

  "No, there are limits to everything," returned Christian; "three namesare enough. Come, fill up your cups, lads, and drink to ThursdayOctober Christian!"

  With enthusiasm and a shout of laughter, the toast was pledged incocoa-nut milk, and once again Christian's hand was shaken by hiscomrades all round.

  The advent of TOC, as Adams called him, (or Toc, as he afterwards cameto be styled), was, as it were, the breaking of the ice. It wasfollowed ere long by quite a crop of babies. In a few months more aMatthew Quintal was added to the roll. Then a Daniel McCoy furnishedanother voice in the chorus, and Sally ceased to disquiet herselfbecause of that which had ceased to be a novelty. This all occurred in1791. After that there was a pause for a brief period; then, in 1792,Elizabeth Mills burst upon the astonished gaze of her father, and wasfollowed immediately by another Christian, whom Fletcher, discarding hiseccentric taste for days and months, named Charles.

  By this time Sally had developed such a degree of matronly solicitude,that she was absolutely intrusted at times with the care of the otherchildren. In a special manner she devoted herself to little CharlieChristian, who was a particularly sedate infant. Indeed, solemnity wasstamped upon that child's visage from his birth. This seemed toharmonise intensely with Sally's sense of fun. She was wont to takeCharlie away from his mother, and set him up on a log, or the rustyshank of the _Bounty's_ "best bower," prop him up with sticks orbushes--any rubbish that came to hand--and sit down in front of him togaze. Charlie, after the first few months of precarious infancy, becameextremely fat. He used to open his solemn eyes as wide as was possiblein the circumstances, and return the gaze with interest. Unable torestrain herself, Sally would then open her pretty mouth, shut hergorgeous eyes, and give vent to the richest peals of laughter.

  "Oh, you's so good, Charlie!"

  She had learned by that time to speak broken English in an infantinefashion, and her assertion was absolutely true, for Charlie Christianwas preternaturally good.

  The same cannot be said of all the members of this little community.Ere long, a period approached when the harmony which had hithertoprevailed was about to be broken. Increasing life had marked theircourse hitherto. Death now stepped in to claim his share.

  The wife of John Williams went out one day to gather gulls' eggs amongthe cliffs. The women were all in the habit of doing this at times, andthey had become expert climbers, as were also the men, both white andbrown.

  When day began to close, they wondered why Mrs Williams was so late ofreturning. Soon her husband became uneasy; then, taking alarm, he wentoff to search for her, accompanied by all the men. The unfortunatewoman was found dead at the base of the cliffs. She had missed herfooting and fallen while searching for eggs.

  This accident had at first a deeply solemnising effect on the wholecommunity. Accustomed though these men were to the sight of death insome of its worst forms in war, they were awed by this sudden andunexpected assault of the great enemy. The poor mangled body lying soquietly among the rocks at the foot of the awful precipice, the sight ofthe husband's grief, the sad and silent procession with the ghastlyburden in the deepening gloom of evening, the wailing of the women, andthe awestruck gaze of such of the children as were old enough to knowthat something terrible had occurred, though unable to understand it,--all conspired to deepen the impression, even on those among the men whowere least easily impressed; and it was with softened feelings of pitythat Quintal and McCoy, volunteering their services on the occasion, dugthe first grave at Pitcairn.

  Time, however, soon wore away these feelings. Williams not only gotover his bereavement easily, but soon began to wish for another wife.It was, of course, impossible to obtain one righteously in thecircumstances; he therefore resolved to take the wife of Talaloo theOtaheitan.

  It must not be supposed that all Williams', comrades supported him inthis wicked design. Christian, Young, and Adams remonstrated with himstrongly; but he was obstinate, and threatened to take the boat andleave the island if they interfered with him. As he was an expertblacksmith, his comrades could not afford to lose him, and ceasedremonstrating. Eventually he carried out his intention.

  This was, as might have been expected, the beginning of trouble. Thecoloured men made common cause of it, and from that time forward beganto plot the destruction of their white masters. What made matters worsewas that Talaloo's wife was not averse to the change, and from that timebecame a bitter enemy of her Otaheitan husband. It was owing to thiswicked woman's preference for Williams that the plot was afterwardsrevealed.

  One evening, while sitting in Christian's house, Talaloo's wife began tosing a sort of extempore song, the chorus to which was:--

  "Why does black man sharpen axe? To kill white man."

  Hearing this, Christian, who was close at hand, entered the hut anddemanded an explanation. On being informed of the plot of the Otaheitanmen to murder all the wh
ites, a dark frown overspread his face. Hastilyseizing his musket, he loaded it, but it was observed that he put nobullet in.

  The Otaheitans were assembled at the time in a neighbouring house.Christian went straight to the house, charged the men with their guiltyintentions, pointed his gun at them, and pulled the trigger. The piecemissed fire. Before he could re-cock, Talaloo leaped through thedoorway, followed by his friend Timoa, and took shelter in the woods.

  The other four men begged for mercy, said that the two who had just leftwere the instigators as well as ringleaders in the plot, and promised tohunt them down and murder them if their own lives should be spared. AsChristian had probably no fixed intention to kill any of the men, andhis sudden anger soon abated, he accepted their excuses and left them.It was impossible, however, for the mutineers to feel confidence in thenatives after that. The two men who had fled for refuge to the bush didnot return to the settlement, but remained in hiding.

  One day Talaloo's wife went, with some of the other women, to thesouthern side of the island to fish from the rocks. They were soonbusily at work. The lines used had been made by themselves from thefibrous husk of the cocoa-nut. The hooks had been brought on shore fromthe _Bounty_. Chattering and laughing with the free-and-easy gaiety ofsavages, they plied their work--it seemed more like play--with varyingsuccess.

  Suddenly the wife of Talaloo heard a faint hiss behind her. Turning herhead, she saw her former husband in the bushes. He beckoned to her, anddisappeared. None of the other women appeared to have heard or observedthe man. Presently, Talaloo's wife rose, and going into the woods,joined her husband. She found him in company with Timoa.

  "Is Talaloo become a dog that he should be driven to live in the bush?"demanded the man, with a stern air.

  "The white men are strong," answered his wife, with a subdued look; "thewomen can do nothing."

  "You can stay with me here in the bush if you will," said Talaloo. "Thewhite men are strong, but we are stronger. We will kill the white men."

  He turned with an air of offended dignity, and strode away. His wifemeekly followed, and Timoa went with them.

  Now, there was one woman among the fishers whose eyes were sharp and herhearing was keen.

  This was Susannah, the wife of the midshipman Edward Young. She hadfollowed Talaloo's wife, saw what occurred, and carried back a report tothe settlement. A council of war was at once held.

  "If we leave these men at liberty," said Williams, "we shall never againbe able to go to rest in security."

  "Something must be done," said Christian, with the air of a man whosemind wanders far away from the subject in hand.

  "Kill them," suggested McCoy.

  "Yes," said Quintal; "I vote that we get up a grand hunt, run them toearth, and shoot them like dogs, as they are."

  "Not so easy as you think to hunt down such men among these wild andwooded hills," said Young. "Besides, it is only Talaloo who hasthreatened us; Timoa is guiltless, I think."

  "I'll tell you what we'll do, lads; we'll poison 'em," said Williams."I've heard of such a thing bein' done at Otaheite by one of the women.She knows how to get the poison from some sort of plant, I believe, andI'm pretty sure that Menalee will help us."

  The plan thus suggested was finally adopted. One of the women madethree puddings, two of which were good, the third was poisoned. Menaleeat once agreed to go to the fugitives, say he had stolen the puddings,and would be willing to share them. The two good puddings were to begiven to Talaloo's wife and Timoa, the poisoned one to Talaloo himself.For further security Menalee was to carry a pistol with him, and use itif necessary.

  The assassin was not long in tracking out his countrymen.

  "You bring us food?" said Talaloo.

  "Yes, I have stolen it. Will you have some?"

  They all accepted the puddings, and Timoa and the woman began to eat;but Talaloo was quick witted. He observed something unusual inMenalee's manner, suspected poison, and would not eat his pudding.Laying it aside, he ate that of his wife along with her.

  Menalee pretended not to notice this. After the others had done eating,he proposed that they should all go a little farther up into the bushes,where, he said, he had left his own wife among some breadfruit trees.

  Talaloo agreeing to this, they rose and walked away. The footpath beingnarrow, they were obliged to go in single file. Menalee walked behindTalaloo. After having gone a few paces, the former drew his pistol,pointed it at the back of his countryman's head, and pulled the trigger,but it missed fire. Talaloo hearing the click, turned round, saw thepistol, and immediately fled; but his enemy was swift of foot, soonovertook him, and the two grappled. A severe struggle ensued, Timoa andthe woman standing by and looking on, but rendering help to neitherparty.

  The two combatants were pretty well matched. The pistol had fallen atthe first onset, and for a few minutes it seemed doubtful which shouldprove the victor, as they swayed to and fro, straining their dark andsinewy forms in deadly conflict. At last the strength of Talaloo seemedto give way, but still he retained a vice-like grasp of his antagonist'sright wrist.

  "Won't you help me?" gasped Talaloo, turning an appealing glance on hiswife.

  "No," cried Menalee, "but she will help me to kill Talaloo."

  The hardened woman picked up the pistol, and going towards her husbandstruck him on the head. Menalee quickly finished with his knife whatthe murderess had begun.

  For a few minutes the three stood looking at the murdered man insilence, when they returned to the settlement and told what they haddone. But the assassin's work was not yet over. Another of thenatives, named Ohoo, had fled to the woods, threatening vengeanceagainst the white men. It was deemed necessary that he too should bekilled, and Menalee was again found to be a willing instrument. Timoa,who had exhibited such callous indifference at the murder of Talaloo,was his fitting companion. They soon found Ohoo, and succeeded inkilling him.

  Strange to say, the mutineers, after these foul deeds, dwelt for a longtime in comparative peace and harmony. It seemed as if their worstfeelings had found full vent and been expended in the double murder. Nodoubt this state of hollow peace was partly owing to the fact that thenative men, now being reduced to four in number, felt themselves to beunable to cope with their masters, and quietly submitted to theinevitable.

  But by degrees the evil spirits in some of the party began to reasserttheir power. McCoy and Quintal in particular became very savage andcruel. They never hesitated to flog or knock down a native on theslightest pretext, insomuch that these unhappy men were again driven toplot the destruction of their masters. Adams, Christian, and Young werefree from the stain of wanton cruelty. Young in particular was kind tothe natives, and a favourite both with men and women.