CHAPTER THREE.
HARRY A MEMBER OF OUR MESS--HE RAPIDLY IMPROVES--ANCHOR OFF A VOLCANICISLAND--OUR BOAT-CRUISE ROUND THE ISLAND--CHASE A WHALER--A HURRICANE--RUN BEFORE IT--DRIVEN ON AN ISLAND--BOAT DAMAGED--FIND COCOA-NUTS--SEARCH FOR FOOD--THE BIRD ISLAND--WE FORM A CAMP, AND GO TO SLEEP.
I must not stop to describe our run to the westward, the islands wesighted, the narrow escapes we had of knocking our bows in against coralreefs, or the gales we encountered in the falsely so-called Pacific,--not but that it is pacific enough at times, when long calms prevail; andon two such occasions we lay basking, or rather sweltering, under therays of a tropical sun, scarcely cooled even during the night. Still weall retained our health, being amply supplied with lime-juice andpreserved vegetables, calculated to keep the much-dreaded scurvy at bay.
Harry at once became a favourite on board; for though he had been cowedby his task-masters, his spirit had not been broken. He was gratefulfor all kindness shown him, and anxious to learn, so that he in a shorttime was as civilised as any one on board. He also rapidly acquired aknowledge of English,--or, I may say, regained it, for so quickly did hepick up the more simple words, that it was clear he must have known thembefore. As he did so, recollections of the past seemed to come back tohis mind; and when he was able to speak his thoughts, he mentionednumerous circumstances which convinced us of what the commander had fromthe first suspected.
I took a great liking to him, as he did to me; and taking care not tosuggest ideas to him which might have led him into error, I frequentlygot him to tell me the recollections of his early days. He rememberedhis mother, whom he described as very beautiful, as he naturally thoughther, and very like what Mrs Hudson must have been; and he spoke of hisfather as being a great chief, who commanded a number of men; and alsoof being on board a ship, which he said was very much larger than the_Heroine_, and had a great number of men and boats. He spoke, also, ofenormous fish being caught, and brought alongside, and cut up andburned; so that, of course, I knew she must have been a whaler. Atlength he said he recollected being carried into a boat and rowed awayfrom the ship, which he had never seen again; and now I had not a shadowof doubt that he was indeed the long-lost child of Captain and MrsHudson. He had no recollection of the murder of the crew, however; buthe next remembered finding himself among dark-skinned savages, with whomhe had ever afterwards remained. Possibly he might have been in anunconscious state, from want of food, when the boat was seized by thesavages, and had so escaped witnessing the murder of her crew.
As soon as I made this out, I told the commander; who took great painsto cross-question Harry, and ultimately arrived at the same conclusionthat I had done. He therefore at once told Harry that his surname wasHudson, and that he would spare no pains to restore him to his fatherand mother, who had long mourned him as lost. Harry seemed muchaffected by this, and often expressed to me his wish to see his motheragain, declaring that he should know her at once; and he thought, also,that he could recognise his father. I reminded him that his motherwould look much older than when he had been parted from her, as griefand sickness had paled her cheek; but that I felt sure she wouldrecognise him, and that he must do his best to be like us, so that shemight find him a real English boy.
The commander, on thus ascertaining who he was, asked us if we wouldreceive him in the midshipmen's berth,--charging us at the same time toset him a good example, by avoiding anything that was wrong, and byteaching him only what was right. Without a dissentient voice we allagreed to the commander's proposal, and Harry Hudson forthwith became amember of our mess. Some of the men, and Dick Tillard especially, wereat first rather jealous of this. When I told him what the commander hadsaid, he replied,--"It's all right, Mr Rayner; and if you follow hisadvice, it will do you as much good as it will Harry; and we'll all beready to serve him as much as before."
The commander also spoke on the subject to Harry; who, however, did notrequire his lecture, as he took the greatest possible pains to imitateus, as well as to speak correctly. We began also to teach him to readand write; but I think he must have known his letters before, from therapid way in which he learned them--he knew them all in a couple ofdays, and in a week could read short words; indeed, it was evident thathe was possessed of great natural intelligence, and an amiabledisposition. Yet, had he lived on with the savages, he would haveremained as wild and ignorant as they were.
The commander, who was a truly religious man, frequently had him in totalk to him about God, and to tell him how man, being sinful, hadseparated from God, and had become a rebel to him; how God,notwithstanding, loved him, and yet how, being a God of justice, he mustpunish sin, and could not therefore forgive him unless he had allowedanother--his own sinless Son--to be punished instead of sinful man.Harry thought over what the commander told him; and a day or twoafterwards he repeated to me all that had been said, and observed thathe was convinced it was just the plan to suit man's wants, and that hewould henceforth try to serve so good and merciful a God, and love thatdear Son who had been punished instead of him. Thus Harry became aChristian; and, I believe, a much better Christian than very many onboard. Of course, when we found him his mind was imbued with the samedark heathenism as were the minds of the savages among whom he hadlived.
A sharp look-out was kept for a sail; and our earnest wish was, that aswe got to the westward we should fall in with Captain Hudson's ship, ashe had intended to proceed in that direction. We were not so likely, itwas feared, to fall in with any of the abominable Chilian kidnappers;they would probably only attempt to carry off the brown natives from theislands on the eastern side of the Pacific.
We were now, it will be understood, approaching the region inhabited bythe black-skinned races. We had stood to the southward, and visitedSamoa or Navigator's Islands, inhabited by an intelligent brown-skinnedrace, far more advanced in civilisation than the people we now expectedto meet with; but I must not stop to describe them.
We had been some days at sea, still running to the westward, when wesighted a small island ahead. The captain considered that it was thenorthernmost of a chain of volcanic islands extending from the Friendlygroup; and, as it was not marked on the chart, he wished to survey it,so we accordingly stood on. As we approached nearer, we saw that itconsisted of a range of conical peaks,--many of the hills rising sheerout of the water, while others were bordered by low cliffs or beaches.It had also several deep bays or inlets. Though it was surrounded by acoral reef, two openings were perceived in it, through which it appearedthat there would be no difficulty in taking the ship, when we might findsecure anchorage in one of the bays within it. A passage nearly theeighth of a mile wide appearing ahead of us, we entered, havinglook-outs as usual aloft, to warn us in time of any hidden reefs in ourcourse, while the lead was also kept going.
The wind being light, it was evening before we came to an anchor; anddarkness soon coming on, displayed to our eyes the magnificent spectacleof a volcano sending forth masses of flame, with hot lava running downthe sides of the mountain in broad streams, some making their waytowards the bay in which we lay, others being lost to sight in a deepgully, apparently on the other side. Now and then loud rumbling soundswere heard, like the discharge of big guns in rapid succession or therattling of thunder; and the watch on deck declared they felt the shipshake, as if there had been an earthquake. Once, also, a shower ofashes fell on the ship's deck, the wind having shifted, and blowing fromoff the land. The commander, however, did not consider there was anydanger, so we remained quietly at anchor.
The next morning, when the commander and master were preparing to setoff to commence their survey, Mudge asked me if I should like to make atrip along the coast. Of course I said Yes. As Tom and Harry beggedthat they might accompany us, Mudge got leave to take the jolly-boat,with Tillard, Tamaku, and Popo to assist in pulling. We providedourselves with food to last us for the day, put four muskets and acutlass apiece into the boat; though, as the island did not appear to beinhabited, we did n
ot expect to meet with natives. We might, however,we thought, get a shot at some wild-fowl; and we intended landingsomewhere and lighting a fire to cook our provisions.
Fully expecting to have a pleasant day, we pulled away from the ship.Shortly afterwards a breeze sprang up, and we made sail, running swiftlyalong the shore. Mudge and I had our note-books, in which we noted downthe points and inlets, with the computed distances.
We soon got to the extreme end of the island, and had just doubled itwhen I caught sight of a vessel in the offing. I pointed her out toMudge. He looked at her through his spy-glass. "She is becalmed," heobserved; "and, Rayner, do you just look at her, and tell me what youthink she is; but speak in a low voice, because I don't want Harry tohear."
I took the glass, and made out that the vessel was barque-rigged; andthough she was hull down, I felt sure that she was a whaler.
"From the appearance of her sails, I shouldn't be surprised if she wasthe _Hopewell_," said Mudge. "I am sure that the commander would wishus to try and communicate with her, and restore that poor lad to hisparents; and even if it should fall dark before we can get back, thevolcano will serve to guide us."
Of course I was very willing to do as Mudge proposed. We agreed,however, not to say anything to Harry, lest we should disappoint him.
"We are going to board yonder barque," said Mudge aloud; "there is anopening through the reef just abreast of us, and we shall have nodifficulty in reaching her."
"Orders are orders," said Tillard; "I never knew any good come ofdisobeying them."
Mudge, however, did not hear him; and I, looking forward to the pleasureof seeing Harry restored to his parents,--and it may be that I justthought of the pretty young lady I had seen on board,--did not repeatwhat he had said.
As there was a light breeze off the land, we hoisted our sail, that wemight benefit by it as long as it lasted. Our only fear was that thebarque might get the breeze also, and stand away from us. We keptrowing, therefore, to increase our speed. On we pulled, but in myeagerness it appeared that we were no nearer the barque than at first.I saw by Harry's countenance that he was as eager as we were, and Icould not help thinking that he suspected the object of our trying toboard the barque. At last he asked, looking at me intently, "Do youthink that my father's ship?"
"We have some hopes that she is; but, you know, we may be mistaken,Harry," said Mudge; "so you must not raise your expectations too high.Even if she is, we may not reach her; but, at all events, we'll do ourbest to get on board."
Soon after this, on looking through the glass I observed the barque'ssails fill out, though the wind came from a different quarter to thatfrom which we got it.
"We may still cut her off, though we must steer rather more to thewestward than we are doing," remarked Mudge, altering the boat's course.
We immediately afterwards got a much stronger breeze; and the boat ranmerrily over the waves, which, as we got from under the lee of the land,were somewhat higher than they had before been. Still Mudge, in hiseagerness, did not seem to notice this, nor, I confess, did I; havingour eyes fixed on the vessel, we did not look astern. We had beenstanding on for some distance, when an exclamation from Tillard made melook towards the land, over which hung a dense black cloud. Directlyafterwards, a loud rushing noise reached our ears, resembling thecontinuous roar of thunder, mingled with the sound of a downpour ofrain. It was the voice of the hurricane. Tillard sprang to thehalyards, and, without waiting for Mudge's orders, lowered the sail halfdown.
"Keep her before the wind, Mr Mudge; it's our only chance now!" heexclaimed.
Mudge, seeing that this was the best thing to be done, followed hisadvice; and the wind striking us the instant afterwards, away we flewdirectly before it. Had the seas been higher, we might have attemptedto keep the boat's head to wind, and our chance of escape would havebeen small indeed; as it was, fast as we flew through the seethingocean, we hardly escaped being pooped, the crests of the seascontinually breaking over the stern and compelling all hands to keepbaling. I looked for the barque, but could nowhere see her; indeed, themasses of spray which filled the atmosphere, mingled with showers ofdust and ashes which came from the volcano, completely obscured allobjects at a distance; and in a short time we entirely lost sight of theland itself. We all felt that we were in a most perilous position: didthe sea get up more, we should in all probability be swamped; or did thegale continue and we live through it, we should be driven far away fromthe island. There might be others ahead, but they were certain to besurrounded by reefs, on which the boat would probably be dashed topieces. All we could do was to keep the sail hoisted a few feet up, andto bale out the water as fast as it washed over the gunwale.
Night now came on, adding to the horrors of the scene. On and on wewent, Mudge sitting at the helm, and steering the boat in a way which agood seaman only could have done. Tillard offered to relieve him.
"No," he answered; "I got you into this mess, and it is my business toget you out of it if I can. The hurricane will come to an end atlast,--maybe before daybreak,--and then we must do our best to make ourway back to the island."
In spite of our dangerous position, we were all getting very hungry; wehad been about to land in order to cook our dinner, when we saw thebarque, and after that we were too eager to think of eating. I got somebiscuits out of our basket, which I served round to all hands; and Ithen found a bottle of wine.
"We must economise that," observed Mudge, when he found what I wasabout; "half a glass to each person is as much as we ought to take--itmay be longer than you suppose before we get back over the ground wehave come."
The food somewhat revived our spirits. Harry sat wonderfully quiet andcalm; Tommy Peck's teeth chattered a little, as if he did not like it;but neither Popo nor Tamaku uttered a word. The storm gave no signs ofbreaking, and on and on we went, rushing through the darkness. At anymoment we might find ourselves, we knew, cast upon a reef, and the boatdashed to pieces; but that risk, fearful as it was, must be run.
I asked Mudge if he could tell what o'clock it was.
"It's too dark to see the hands of my watch, but I judge that it is sometime past midnight," he answered.
I groaned, for I thought it must be nearly daybreak.
"God has taken care of us thus far, and he will take care of us, if hethinks fit, till morning," observed Tillard; "we must not give in,however bad things look."
At last day began to break. The wind blew as hard as ever, and no landwas visible--only the tumbling, foam-crested seas, amid which we flew,were around us.
"Patience, lads," said Mudge; "all we can do is to stand on as we havebeen going,--and we may be thankful that we have been preserved thusfar,--better to have no land, than to find ourselves close to a coralreef with the sea dashing furiously over it." Which there was nogainsaying.
After a time I again asked if I might serve out some food; to this Mudgeconsented, charging me to be careful as to quantity.
After taking our scanty meal, most of us lay down to rest again.Tillard having repeatedly begged Mudge to let him take the helm, Mudgeat last agreed to his offer, desiring to be called in a couple of hours,or immediately should there be the slightest change; and in a moment,almost, he was asleep.
Tillard ordered Tamaku to keep a look-out ahead, while we four youngerones went to sleep. Before I did so, however, I took a look-out inevery direction in the hope of seeing the barque; but no sail was insight. Though the weather was much clearer than it had been on theprevious evening, the gale blew as heavily as at first; and in a coupleof hours Mudge started up and insisted on taking the helm again, whileTillard lay down to obtain the rest he so much needed, I taking Tamaku'splace in the bows.
Thus we ran on for the greater part of the day, hoping every hour thatthe wind would abate. Late in the afternoon I thought I saw land. Itold Mudge, who, standing up, observed that there was no doubt about it.It was a small island directly in our course, so that we should have tohaul up to avoid it.
"If we do, we shall be swamped," said Mudge. "We must trust, therefore,to find an opening in the encircling reef, if there is one; but if not,to run into a harbour, or to beach the boat on the sand. Of course, youwill understand, we may run on a coral reef and be dashed to pieces, orwe may meet with the same fate against a rocky shore. We must trust toProvidence, as we have done heretofore, and not expect the worst till itcomes upon us."
"We are ready, I hope, for whatever is to happen, Mr Mudge," saidTillard; "and we know that you will do the best that is to be done underthe circumstances."
Though it would be satisfactory to run into a snug harbour, yet I couldnot help wishing that the land was farther off. We approached it withterrible rapidity; in a few minutes, I knew, our fate must be sealed.
Mudge stood up and gazed ahead. "The sea is breaking heavily over theencircling reef," he said; "but there is a smooth lagoon between it andthe land. If we strike the reef, though our boat may be knocked topieces we may be washed over into the lagoon, and those who can swimwell may reach the shore," he said quite calmly.
He was silent for a minute, and no one else spoke.
"Lads," he exclaimed at length, "I see an opening--it is a narrow one,but we may get through it if we can hit the centre; get your oars ready,and stand by to hoist the sail, should I tell you."
Soon after he spoke I heard the roar of the breakers borne up againstthe blast, and turning round for a moment I saw that we were rapidlyapproaching them.
"Hoist the sail," he cried out; "and you at the oars, give way for yourlives!"
We tore on, the foaming surges rising up on either side; the sea washedinto the boat, and half filled her, but still we flew on. I know that Iheld my breath, as I should think did most of the party; but Mudge had afirm grasp of the helm, and I saw that his countenance exhibited nosigns of dismay. Another sea struck the boat on the opposite quarter;the next moment, when I thought we were safe, a crash was heard,--theboat quivered from stem to stern,--we had struck the reef. A cryescaped from several of us, for we expected the boat to sink. Anothersea came roaring towards us, completely deluging us, and washing awayeverything not firmly secured; but we held tightly to the sides andthwarts. I felt that the boat was being hurled forward.
"Pull for your lives, lads!" shouted Mudge.
Alas! only two oars remained. Those were plied lustily by Tillard, andHarry, and I; and before we had time for much more thought the boat wasdriven on the beach which formed the inner shore of the lagoon. How wehad got there we could scarcely tell: all we knew was that we had beenmercifully preserved. We leaped out of our shattered boat, andendeavoured to haul her up so as to prevent her being carried away byany of the following seas; but none of those which succeeded were oflike size to that which had carried us on to the beach. We had greatcause to be thankful that we had escaped the fearful danger which hadthreatened us. Exhausted with the anxiety we had felt, and want ofsleep, we all sank down on the sand.
It was now nearly dark, and we felt too tired to go in search of anyother spot on which we could rest. After a little time, however, ourhunger reminded us that we had had no food for some hours; and as wenaturally expected to obtain an abundance on the island, we agreed thatwe would at all events have a good supper. Tillard and Tamakuaccordingly went to the boat to bring up our provisions, which had beenstowed away in the locker.
As they were some time absent,--"Well, lads, when are you coming backwith our food?" asked Mudge.
"We can't find it, sir," was the unsatisfactory answer. "It must havebeen washed out of the boat when that sea struck us."
There could be no doubt about the matter. The breaker of water, whichhad fortunately been secured, was at length found; the contents servedto quench our thirst, but we had to go to sleep in our wet clothes, andsupperless. Tommy began to grumble at his hard fate, for he was verysharp set; and so were we all.
"I'll tell you what, my lads," said Mudge: "we ought to be thanking Godfrom our hearts that we have been preserved thus far; for in all my lifeI never came through so bad a sea as that we have just escaped from.Now let us just lift our voices together and praise Him from whom allblessings flow."
We joined heartily in the prayer Mudge offered up, as also in the hymnin which he led us; and then we again lay down on the bank, trustingthat we should find food the next morning; and that if there were anyinhabitants they might prove friendly.
The rays of the sun just rising out of the ocean awoke me. Harry andTom were already sitting up; the rest of the party, having their facesturned away from the bright luminary, were still asleep. The countrywore a more pleasing aspect than it had done when we landed in the gloomof evening. The shore was fringed by a variety of trees, among which werecognised the graceful plume-like heads of a grove of cocoa-nut trees,several broad-leaved bananas, and a number of the pandanus or screw-pine(readily known by the beauty of its form and its white glossy leaves),as also the paper mulberry tree, of much lower growth, with largeleaves. The gnawings of hunger, however, made us consider moreparticularly how we could most quickly obtain some cocoa-nuts,--which Isaw hanging from the trees,--rather than about anything else. Harry andTom were thinking of exactly the same thing; so we got up, and beingunwilling to awaken our companions, proceeded together along the shoretill we reached one of the smaller trees, which Harry said he couldclimb without difficulty.
"Then the sooner you are up it the better," cried Tom; "for if I don'tget something solid to eat soon, I must turn into a sheep, and begin tonibble the grass and leaves."
"Other animals than sheep eat grass and leaves," I could not helpsaying; "you might find yourself turned into one of them."
Tommy looked somewhat angry, which surprised Harry, who did notunderstand my allusion, never having seen either a sheep or a donkey."Don't quarrel," he said. "I will soon get the cocoa-nuts; and Tom mayeat a whole one if he likes." So saying, he pulled off his shoes andsocks, and began climbing the tree in a way neither Tommy nor I couldhave accomplished.
We watched him eagerly. I ran under the tree, intending to catch them.
"You had better stand away, or they may chance to break your head,"shouted Harry. In a short time he had reached the top of the tree, andbroken off two large clusters of the fruit, with which he descended."They might have broken, and we should have lost the milk," he observed,as he reached the bottom.
While we were employed in breaking off the outer husks, Harry ran downto the beach and brought back a piece of sharp coral, with which he soonmade a hole in one of the cocoa-nuts. "There," he said, handing it tome, "drink that--that will do you good."
How delicious the milk tasted! I passed it on to Tommy. In themeantime, Harry had another cocoa-nut ready. We insisted, however, onhis taking the first draught from it. A third cocoa-nut supplied us allwith as much liquid as we required; we then broke open the shells, butone cocoa-nut afforded us a sufficient breakfast. With the remainder wereturned to the spot where we had left our companions; who were veryglad, when they awoke, to find their breakfast ready.
The hurricane, I should have said, was over, and the sea glitteredbrightly in the rays of the sun. We asked Mudge whether he proposedreturning at once to the island where we had left the ship.
"There are several reasons against our doing so," he answered. "We mustin the first place repair our battered boat--and that will be no easyjob, I suspect; and we have but two oars remaining to pull, should itprove calm; then, we have no food nor water, and the distance which ithas taken us a night and a day to accomplish may occupy us three or fourdays in returning, perhaps longer, should the wind be contrary. Beforewe can put to sea, therefore, we must repair our boat, and make a coupleof oars at all events, if not more, and obtain a sufficient stock ofprovisions and water. It won't do to trust to cocoa-nuts; we want fishor fowl, and it will take us more than a day to get them. We must alsoconsider whether it will be prudent to go in search of the ship, as shemay have left the harbour to look for us. Judging fro
m the appearanceof the country we saw, we are not likely to find any food upon it; sothat should we arrive there after she has gone, we should be in a worsepredicament than we should be by remaining here."
The rest of the party agreeing to Mudge's proposal, we went down to thebeach and anxiously examined the boat. Two planks in her starboardbilge had been stove in, as had also a portion of her bow; and it seemedwonderful that she should have floated till she had reached the shore.Harry and I must have placed our feet unconsciously on the shatteredplanks, and thus partially prevented the water from rushing in. Tom,who was in the bows, had also pressed down the sail with his body, whilehe was desperately clinging to the foremost thwart. We could accountfor our preservation in no other way.
Without nails, or tools of any sort except our clasp-knives, we couldscarcely hope to render the boat sufficiently sea-worthy for such avoyage as we might have to take before we could get back to the ship.We all looked at each other, wondering whether any one would suggestsomething.
"Our safest plan will be to remain on the island, in the hope that theship may, in the course of time, come off the shore to look for us,"said Mudge. "They will know that if we have escaped, we must have beendriven in this direction; and I don't think our commander will desert ustill he has made a thorough search in all directions. If the _Heroine_,from any cause, does not appear, we may hope that a whaler or some othercraft may pass by and see our signals. We must keep a look-out on bothsides of the island; for though we may be happy enough while we remainhere, it won't do to turn altogether into Robinson Crusoes."
"Pleasanter than having to keep watch, however," remarked Tom.
"We must think of our friends at home," I observed. "Should the reportreach England that we are lost, they will be mourning for us; and I forone am anxious to let Captain and Mrs Hudson know that we have foundtheir son."
"Very right, Godfrey," said Mudge. "I am glad to see you thoughtfulabout others; and I don't suppose Tom would wish to make his own familyunhappy, as I have no doubt that they care for him more than hefancies."
"I was not thinking about them just then," said Tom. "However, if Icatch sight of a passing sail, depend upon it I will do my best to lether know that we are here."
The idea of immediately going off in the boat to try and find the shipwas, therefore, of necessity abandoned. We agreed that our firstbusiness must be to explore the island, and ascertain what supplies offood we were likely to find. We had little doubt that we should procureother fruit besides cocoa-nuts, while we might also obtain oysters orother molluscs, and perhaps be able to catch fish--though we shouldfirst have to manufacture hooks and lines or nets of some sort.
While Mudge and Tom and I had been talking over these matters, Tillardhad been again examining the boat. "I have been thinking, Mr Mudge,that if we could manage to get some small nails, we might secure somecanvas over the damaged part of the boat, and patch her up fit to go tosea again," he said.
"That `if' is the most difficult thing to get over," said Mudge. "Whereare the nails to come from?"
"Out of the handles of our clasp-knives," answered Dick. "I am a bit ofa blacksmith; and I have been thinking that if I could manage to make apair of bellows, I would soon get a forge up, and I should not be longbefore I had a few dozen of nails."
"There's another `if' in the case," observed Mudge.
"Yes, sir; but it's one that can be got over, if I can catch a seal orsome other animal with a thick skin."
"Still there is an `if,'" said Mudge.
"Well, sir, but perhaps I can do without the skin. I'll try and makeuse of a piece of canvas. I'll render it air-tight with grease or wax,or something of that sort. I don't promise to succeed, but I'll try mybest."
"That's all we can expect of you," said Mudge.
Tillard's proposal somewhat raised our hopes. We had, however, in thefirst place, to look out for water, though the cocoa-nut milk preventedour suffering from thirst; and, what was of equal importance, to searchfor food. Before setting out, we each of us cut a long pointed stick--the most ready weapon we could manufacture; not for defence, for itwould be useless against the arms of the natives, should any exist onthe island, but to enable us to kill any animals we might meet with, asalso to assist us in getting over any rough ground, or to beat down thebrushwood should we meet with forests through which we might have toforce our way.
Leaving Tillard to look after the boat and to make preparations forrepairing her, we set out. Mudge led the way, Tom and Harry and Ifollowed, Tamaku and Popo brought up the rear. We proceeded along thesea-shore, which was more level than the interior, and presented fewimpediments to our progress. After going some distance to the south, wereached a region which had apparently, at no remote period, been coveredby the sea--probably upheaved by some convulsion of nature. A fewcocoa-nut and pandanus trees, however, grew on it, and a scant herbage.We were about to keep along the sea-beach, near which the land rose,covered thickly with trees, when I observed a number of birds hoveringover the part of the island I have described. Crossing a level spacecovered at high tide by the sea, we reached what was evidently at suchtimes an island. Numberless birds had made it their abode. As weapproached, they seemed in no way alarmed--those which were sitting ontheir nests keeping their posts, merely poking out their necks, anduttering such hoarse croaks that we were almost deafened by the sound,and could scarcely hear each other speak.
"Hurrah!" cried Mudge, "we have here food enough to supply all ourwants; and, what's better, such as I hope we may be able to preserve forour voyage."
A large number of the birds were sitting on their eggs, and so tame werethey that we had to push them over to get at the said eggs. Among themwere numerous beautiful tropic-birds, sooty terns, and gannets. Theeggs of the latter were laid on the ground, without any nest; and sofaithful were the hens to their trust, that they allowed themselves tobe captured rather than desert them. The most remarkable and beautifulof those we saw, however, were the frigate-birds, whose nests,constructed of a few sticks, were seen in all the surrounding trees.The old birds, as they flew off, inflated their blood-red pouches to thesize of a child's head, looking exactly as if large bladders wereattached to their necks, and not at all improving their appearance,handsome as they were in other respects. We at once filled our pocketswith eggs; choosing such as looked the freshest. We also knocked downas many birds as we were likely to require for our dinner and supper.This discovery raised our spirits, as we had now as much animal food aswe could require.
On our return along the sea-shore, we met with several large crabs. Onebig fellow had caught a snake, and was walking off with it wriggling inhis claws, when down pounced a frigate-bird, and carried off both craband snake together. Whole armies, too, of soldier-crabs, with theirshells on their backs, were moving about in search of prey, or lookingout for more commodious homes; it being their wise custom not to leaveone home until they have found another. When they neglect thisprecaution, their soft tails are nearly sure to be nabbed by one oftheir numerous enemies. The snakes, as far as we could judge, were notvenomous; though, as we were not certain of that fact, we agreed that itwould be as well to avoid them. The tropic-birds were the tamest,--or Ishould rather say the least aware of the harm we might do them,--andallowed us to put our hands under them and carry off their eggs withoutshowing the slightest fear.
We had to hurry back, as the tide was rising, and our retreat might becut off.
On reaching the bay where we were cast ashore, we found that Tillard hadmade some progress with his forge.
"If I can once get the bellows to work, it will not be long before weshall have as many nails as we want. But we must have patience, sir,"he observed to Mudge; "patience will overcome all difficulties."
We none of us were disposed to dispute this; so, just then, being ratheranxious to cook our eggs and birds, I inquired how we were to get alight to kindle our fire. No one till then had thought of thatimportant point. We each of us searched in
our pockets for flint andsteel, but none were to be found. The Sandwich Islander was applied to.We had heard that the natives of the South Sea Islands obtained a lightby rubbing two pieces of wood together. He could do it, he replied, ifhe could find the right sort of wood. But the process was not an easyone, and required time; so, as we were too hungry to wait, we dined offraw eggs, with a dessert of cocoa-nut, washed down with the milk.
After we had finished our meal, Tamaku set off to look for the wood herequired, while we were employed in collecting leaves and erecting somearbours of boughs, in which we might shelter ourselves during the night,instead of spending it, as we had done the previous one, on the openbeach. It was nearly dark when Tamaku returned, saying that he hadfound the wood he required; but as we were tired and sleepy, wepreferred lying down to rest instead of waiting till a fire could bekindled and provisions cooked.
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