Chapter VI. Land
At last the electric light really went out. I had looked at my watchjust before this happened and wound it up, which, Bickley remarked, wassuperfluous and a waste of energy. It then marked 3.20 in the morning.We had wedged Bastin, who was now snoring comfortably, into his berth,with pillows, and managed to tie a cord over him--no, it was a largebath towel, fixing one end of it to the little rack over his bed andthe other to its framework. As for ourselves, we lay down on the floorbetween the table legs, which, of course, were screwed, and the settee,protecting ourselves as best we were able by help of the cushions, etc.,between two of which we thrust the terrified Tommy who had been slidingup and down the cabin floor. Thus we remained, expecting death everymoment till the light of day, a very dim light, struggling through aport-hole of which the iron cover had somehow been wrenched off. Orperhaps it was never shut, I do not remember.
About this time there came a lull in the hellish, howling hurricane; thefact being, I suppose, that we had reached the centre of the cyclone. Isuggested that we should try to go on deck and see what was happening.So we started, only to find the entrance to the companion so faithfullysecured that we could not by any means get out. We knocked and shouted,but no one answered. My belief is that at this time everyone on theyacht except ourselves had been washed away and drowned.
Then we returned to the saloon, which, except for a little watertrickling about the floor, was marvelously dry, and, being hungry,retrieved some bits of food and biscuit from its corners and ate. Atthis moment the cyclone began to blow again worse than ever, but itseemed to us, from another direction, and before it sped our poorderelict barque. It blew all day till for my part I grew utterly wearyand even longed for the inevitable end. If my views were not quite thoseof Bastin, certainly they were not those of Bickley. I had believed frommy youth up that the individuality of man, the ego, so to speak, doesnot die when life goes out of his poor body, and this faith did notdesert me then. Therefore, I wished to have it over and learn what theremight be upon the other side.
We could not speak much because of the howling of the wind, but Bickleydid manage to shout to me something to the effect that his partnerswould, in his opinion, make an end of their great practice withintwo years, which, he added, was a pity. I nodded my head, not caringtwopence what happened to Bickley's partners or their business, or to myown property, or to anything else. When death is at hand most of us donot think much of such things because then we realise how small theyare. Indeed I was wondering whether within a few minutes or hours Ishould or should not see Natalie again, and if this were the end towhich she had seemed to beckon me in that dream.
On we sped, and on. About four in the afternoon we heard sounds fromBastin's cabin which faintly reminded me of some tune. I crept to thedoor and listened. Evidently he had awakened and was singing or tryingto sing, for music was not one of his strong points, "For those in perilon the sea." Devoutly did I wish that it might be heard. Presently itceased, so I suppose he went to sleep again.
The darkness gathered once more. Then of a sudden something fearfulhappened. There were stupendous noises of a kind I had never heard;there were convulsions. It seemed to us that the ship was flung right upinto the air a hundred feet or more.
"Tidal wave, I expect," shouted Bickley.
Almost as he spoke she came down with the most appalling crash on tosomething hard and nearly jarred the senses out of us. Next the saloonwas whirling round and round and yet being carried forward, and we feltair blowing upon us. Then our senses left us. As I clasped Tommy to myside, whimpering and licking my face, my last thought was that all wasover, and that presently I should learn everything or nothing.
I woke up feeling very bruised and sore and perceived that light wasflowing into the saloon. The door was still shut, but it had beenwrenched off its hinges, and that was where the light came in; also someof the teak planks of the decking, jagged and splintered, were stickingup through the carpet. The table had broken from its fastenings and layupon its side. Everything else was one confusion. I looked at Bickley.Apparently he had not awakened. He was stretched out still wedged inwith his cushions and bleeding from a wound in his head. I crept to himin terror and listened. He was not dead, for his breathing was regularand natural. The whisky bottle which had been corked was upon the floorunbroken and about a third full. I took a good pull at the spirit; tome it tasted like nectar from the gods. Then I tried to force some downBickley's throat but could not, so I poured a little upon the cut on hishead. The smart of it woke him in a hurry.
"Where are we now?" he exclaimed. "You don't mean to tell me that Bastinis right after all and that we live again somewhere else? Oh! I couldnever bear that ignominy."
"I don't know about living somewhere else," I said, "although myopinions on that matter differ from yours. But I do know that you andI are still on earth in what remains of the saloon of the Star of theSouth."
"Thank God for that! Let's go and look for old Bastin," said Bickley. "Ido pray that he is all right also."
"It is most illogical of you, Bickley, and indeed wrong," groaned a deepvoice from the other side of the cabin door, "to thank a God in Whomyou do not believe, and to talk of praying for one of the worst and mostinefficient of His servants when you have no faith in prayer."
"Got you there, my friend," I said.
Bickley murmured something about force of habit, and looked smaller thanI had ever seen him do before.
Somehow we forced that door open; it was not easy because it had jammed.Within the cabin, hanging on either side of the bath towel which hadstood the strain nobly, something like a damp garment over a linen line,was Bastin most of whose bunk seemed to have disappeared. Yes--Bastin,pale and dishevelled and looking shrunk, with his hair touzled and hisbeard apparently growing all ways, but still Bastin alive, if very weak.
Bickley ran at him and made a cursory examination with his fingers.
"Nothing broken," he said triumphantly. "He's all right."
"If you had hung over a towel for many hours in most violent weather youwould not say that," groaned Bastin. "My inside is a pulp. But perhapsyou would be kind enough to untie me."
"Bosh!" said Bickley as he obeyed. "All you want is something to eat.Meanwhile, drink this," and he handed him the remains of the whisky.
Bastin swallowed it every drop, murmuring something about taking alittle wine for his stomach's sake, "one of the Pauline injunctions, youknow," after which he was much more cheerful. Then we hunted about andfound some more of the biscuits and other food with which we filledourselves after a fashion.
"I wonder what has happened," said Bastin. "I suppose that, thanks tothe skill of the captain, we have after all reached the haven where wewould be."
Here he stopped, rubbed his eyes and looked towards the saloon doorwhich, as I have said, had been wrenched off its hinges, but appearedto have opened wider than when I observed it last. Also Tommy, who wasrecovering his spirits, uttered a series of low growls.
"It is a most curious thing," he went on, "and I suppose I must besuffering from hallucinations, but I could swear that just now I sawlooking through that door the same improper young woman clothed in afew flowers and nothing else, whose photograph in that abominable andlibellous book was indirectly the cause of our tempestuous voyage."
"Indeed!" replied Bickley. "Well, so long as she has not got on thebroken-down stays and the Salvation Army bonnet without a crown, whichyou may remember she wore after she had fallen into the hands of yourfraternity, I am sure I do not mind. In fact I should be delighted tosee anything so pleasant."
At this moment a distinct sound of female tittering arose from beyondthe door. Tommy barked and Bickley stepped towards it, but I called tohim.
"Look out! Where there are women there are sure to be men. Let us beready against accidents."
So we armed ourselves with pistols, that is Bickley and I did, Bastinbeing fortified solely with a Bible.
Then we advanced, a remarkabl
e and dilapidated trio, and dragged thedoor wide. Instantly there was a scurry and we caught sight of women'sforms wearing only flowers, and but few of these, running over whitesand towards groups of men armed with odd-looking clubs, some of whichwere fashioned to the shapes of swords and spears. To make an impressionI fired two shots with my revolver into the air, whereupon both men andwomen fled into groves of trees and vanished.
"They don't seem to be accustomed to white people," said Bickley. "Is itpossible that we have found a shore upon which no missionary has set afoot?"
"I hope so," said Bastin, "seeing that unworthy as I am, then theopportunities for me would be very great."
We stood still and looked about us. This was what we saw. All the afterpart of the ship from forward of the bridge had vanished utterly; therewas not a trace of it; she had as it were been cut in two. More, we weresome considerable distance from the sea which was still raging over aquarter of a mile away where great white combers struck upon a reefand spouted into the air. Behind us was a cliff, apparently of rock butcovered with earth and vegetation, and against this cliff, in which theprow of the ship was buried, she, or what remained of her, had come toanchor for the last time.
"You see what has happened," I said. "A great tidal wave has carried usup here and retreated."
"That's it," exclaimed Bickley. "Look at the debris," and he pointed totorn-up palms, bushes and seaweed piled into heaps which still ran saltwater; also to a number of dead fish that lay about among them, adding,"Well, we are saved anyhow."
"And yet there are people like you who say that there is no Providence!"ejaculated Bastin.
"I wonder what the views of Captain Astley and the crew are, or ratherwere, upon that matter," interrupted Bickley.
"I don't know," answered Bastin, looking about him vaguely. "It is truethat I can't see any of them, but if they are drowned no doubt it isbecause their period of usefulness in this world had ended."
"Let's get down and look about us," I remarked, being anxious to avoidfurther argument.
So we scrambled from the remnant of the ship, like Noah descending outof the ark, as Bastin said, on to the beach beneath, where Tommy rushedto and fro, gambolling for joy. Here we discovered a path which randiagonally up the side of a cliff which was nowhere more than fifty orsixty feet in height, and possibly had once formed the shore of thisland, or perhaps that of a lake. Up this path we went, following thetracks of many human feet, and reaching the crest of the cliff, lookedabout us, basking as we did so in the beautiful morning sun, for the skywas now clear of clouds and with that last awful effort, which destroyedour ship, the cyclone had passed away.
We were standing on a plain down which ran a little stream of good waterwhereof Tommy drank greedily, we following his example. To the right andleft of this plain, further than we could see, stretched bushland overwhich towered many palms, rather ragged now because of the lashing ofthe gale. Looking inland we perceived that the ground sloped gentlydownwards, ending at a distance of some miles in a large lake. Far outin this lake something like the top of a mountain of a brown colourrose above the water, and on the edge of it was what from that distanceappeared to be a tumbled ruin.
"This is all very interesting," I said to Bickley. "What do you make ofit?"
"I don't quite know. At first sight I should say that we are standing onthe lip of a crater of some vast extinct volcano. Look how it curves tonorth and south and at the slope running down to the lake."
I nodded.
"Lucky that the tidal wave did not get over the cliff," I said. "If ithad the people here would have all been drowned out. I wonder where theyhave gone?"
As I spoke Bastin pointed to the edge of the bush some hundreds of yardsaway, where we perceived brown figures slipping about among the trees. Isuggested that we should go back to the mouth of our path, so as to havea line of retreat open in case of necessity, and await events. So we didand there stood still. By degrees the brown figures emerged on to theplain to the number of some hundreds, and we saw that they were bothmale and female. The women were clothed in nothing except flowers and alittle girdle; the men were all armed with wooden weapons and also worea girdle but no flowers. The children, of whom there were many, werequite naked.
Among these people we observed a tall person clothed in what seemed tobe a magnificent feather cloak, and, walking around and about him, anumber of grotesque forms adorned with hideous masks and basket-likehead-dresses that were surmounted by plumes.
"The king or chief and his priests or medicine-men! This is splendid,"said Bickley triumphantly.
Bastin also contemplated them with enthusiasm as raw material upon whichhe hoped to get to work.
By degrees and very cautiously they approached us. To our joy, weperceived that behind them walked several young women who bore woodentrays of food or fruit.
"That looks well," I said. "They would not make offerings unless theywere friendly."
"The food may be poisoned," remarked Bickley suspiciously.
The crowd advanced, we standing quite still looking as dignified as wecould, I as the tallest in the middle, with Tommy sitting at my feet.When they were about five and twenty yards away, however, that wretchedlittle dog caught sight of the masked priests. He growled and thenrushed at them barking, his long black ears flapping as he went.
The effect was instantaneous. One and all they turned and fledprecipitately, who evidently had never before seen a dog and lookedupon it as a deadly creature. Yes, even the tall chief and his maskedmedicine-men fled like hares pursued by Tommy, who bit one of them inthe leg, evoking a terrific howl. I called him back and took him intomy arms. Seeing that he was safe for a while the crowd reformed and onceagain advanced.
As they came we noted that they were a wonderfully handsome people, talland straight with regularly shaped features and nothing of the negroabout them. Some of the young women might even be called beautiful,though those who were elderly had become corpulent. The feather-clothedchief, however, was much disfigured by a huge growth with a narrow stalkto it that hung from his neck and rested on his shoulder.
"I'll have that off him before he is a week older," said Bickley,surveying this deformity with great professional interest.
On they came, the girls with the platters walking ahead. On one of thesewere what looked like joints of baked pork, on another some plantainsand pear-shaped fruits. They knelt down and offered these to us. Wecontemplated them for a while. Then Bickley shook his head and beganto rub his stomach with appropriate contortions. Clearly they werequick-minded enough for they saw the point. At some words the girlsbrought the platters to the chief and others, who took from themportions of the food at hazard and ate them to show that it was notpoisoned, we watching their throats the while to make sure that it wasswallowed. Then they returned again and we took some of the food thoughonly Bickley ate, because, as I pointed out to him, being a doctor whounderstood the use of antidotes; clearly he should make the experiment.However, nothing happened; indeed he said that it was very good.
After this there came a pause. Then suddenly Bastin took up his parablein the Polynesian tongue which--to a certain extent--he had acquiredwith so much pains.
"What is this place called?" he asked slowly and distinctly, pausingbetween each word.
His audience shook their heads and he tried again, putting the accentson different syllables. Behold! some bright spirit understood him andanswered:
"Orofena."
"That means a hill, or an island, or a hill in an island," whisperedBickley to me.
"Who is your God?" asked Bastin again.
The point seemed one upon which they were a little doubtful, but at lastthe chief answered, "Oro. He who fights."
"In other words, Mars," said Bickley.
"I will give you a better one," said Bastin in the same slow fashion.
Thinking that he referred to himself these children of Naturecontemplated his angular form doubtfully and shook their heads. Then forthe first time one of t
he men who was wearing a mask and a wicker crateon his head, spoke in a hollow voice, saying:
"If you try Oro will eat you up."
"Head priest!" said Bickley, nudging me. "Old Bastin had better becareful or he will get his teeth into him and call them Oro's."
Another pause, after which the man in a feather cloak with the growth onhis neck that a servant was supporting, said:
"I am Marama, the chief of Orofena. We have never seen men like youbefore, if you are men. What brought you here and with you that fierceand terrible animal, or evil spirit which makes a noise and bites?"
Now Bickley pretended to consult me who stood brooding and majestic,that is if I can be majestic. I whispered something and he answered:
"The gods of the wind and the sea."
"What nonsense," ejaculated Bastin, "there are no such things."
"Shut up," I said, "we must use similes here," to which he replied:
"I don't like similes that tamper with the truth."
"Remember Neptune and Aeolus," I suggested, and he lapsed intoconsideration of the point.
"We knew that you were coming," said Marama. "Our doctors told us allabout you a moon ago. But we wish that you would come more gently, asyou nearly washed away our country."
After looking at me Bickley replied:
"How thankful should you be that in our kindness we have spared you."
"What do you come to do?" inquired Marama again. After the usual formulaof consulting me Bickley answered:
"We come to take that mountain (he meant lump) off your neck and makeyou beautiful; also to cure all the sickness among your people."
"And I come," broke in Bastin, "to give you new hearts."
These announcements evidently caused great excitement. Afterconsultation Marama answered:
"We do not want new hearts as the old ones are good, but we wish to berid of lumps and sicknesses. If you can do this we will make you godsand worship you and give you many wives." (Here Bastin held up his handsin horror.) "When will you begin to take away the lumps?"
"To-morrow," said Bickley. "But learn that if you try to harm us we willbring another wave which will drown all your country."
Nobody seemed to doubt our capacities in this direction, but oneinquiring spirit in a wicker crate did ask how it came about that if wecontrolled the ocean we had arrived in half a canoe instead of a wholeone.
Bickley replied to the effect that it was because the gods alwaystravelled in half-canoes to show their higher nature, which seemed tosatisfy everyone. Then we announced that we had seen enough of them forthat day and would retire to think. Meanwhile we should be obliged ifthey would build us a house and keep us supplied with whatever food theyhad.
"Do the gods eat?" asked the sceptic again.
"That fellow is a confounded radical," I whispered to Bickley. "Tell himthat they do when they come to Orofena."
He did so, whereon the chief said:
"Would the gods like a nice young girl cooked?"
At this point Bastin retired down the path, realising that he had to dowith cannibals. We said that we preferred to look at the girls alive andwould meet them again to-morrow morning, when we hoped that the housewould be ready.
So our first interview with the inhabitants of Orofena came to an end,on which we congratulated ourselves.
On reaching the remains of the Star of the South we set to work to takestock of what was left to us. Fortunately it proved to be a very greatdeal. As I think I mentioned, all the passenger part of the yacht layforward of the bridge, just in front of which the vessel had been brokenin two, almost as cleanly as though she were severed by a giganticknife. Further our stores were forward and practically everything elsethat belonged to us, even down to Bickley's instruments and medicinesand Bastin's religious works, to say nothing of a great quantity oftinned food and groceries. Lastly on the deck above the saloon hadstood two large lifeboats. Although these were amply secured at thecommencement of the gale one of them, that on the port side, was smashedto smithers; probably some spar had fallen upon it. The starboardboat, however, remained intact and so far as we could judge, seaworthy,although the bulwarks were broken by the waves.
"There's something we can get away in if necessary," I said.
"Where to?" remarked Bastin. "We don't know where we are or if there isany other land within a thousand miles. I think we had better stop hereas Providence seems to have intended, especially when there is so muchwork to my hand."
"Be careful," answered Bickley, "that the work to your hand does not endin the cutting of all our throats. It is an awkward thing interferingwith the religion of savages, and I believe that these untutoredchildren of Nature sometimes eat missionaries."
"Yes, I have heard that," said Bastin; "they bake them first as they dopigs. But I don't know that they would care to eat me," and he glancedat his bony limbs, "especially when you are much plumper. Anyhow onecan't stop for a risk of that sort."
Deigning no reply, Bickley walked away to fetch some fine fish whichhad been washed up by the tidal wave and were still flapping about ina little pool of salt water. Then we took counsel as to how to make thebest of our circumstances, and as a result set to work to tidy up thesaloon and cabins, which was not difficult as what remained of the shiplay on an even keel. Also we got out some necessary stores, includingparaffin for the swinging lamps with which the ship was fitted in caseof accident to the electric light, candles, and the guns we had broughtwith us so that they might be handy in the event of attack. This done,by the aid of the tools that were in the storerooms, Bickley, who was anexcellent carpenter, repaired the saloon door, all that was necessary tokeep us private, as the bulkhead still remained.
"Now," he said triumphantly when he had finished and got the lock andbolts to work to his satisfaction, "we can stand a siege if needed, foras the ship is iron built they can't even burn us out and that teak doorwould take some forcing. Also we can shore it up."
"How about something to eat? I want my tea," said Bastin.
"Then, my reverend friend," replied Bickley, "take a couple of the firebuckets and fetch some water from the stream. Also collect driftwood ofwhich there is plenty about, clean those fish and grill them over thesaloon stove."
"I'll try," said Bastin, "but I never did any cooking before."
"No," replied Bickley, "on second thoughts I will see to that myself,but you can get the fish ready."
So, with due precautions, Bastin and I fetched water from the streamwhich we found flowed over the edge of the cliff quite close at handinto a beautiful coral basin that might have been designed for a bath ofthe nymphs. Indeed one at a time, while the other watched, we undressedand plunged into it, and never was a tub more welcome than after ourlong days of tempest. Then we returned to find that Bickley had alreadyset the table and was engaged in frying the fish very skilfully on thesaloon stove, which proved to be well adapted to the purpose. He wascross, however, when he found that we had bathed and that it was now toolate for him to do likewise.
While he was cleaning himself as well as he could in his cabin basin andBastin was boiling water for tea, suddenly I remembered the letter fromthe Danish mate Jacobsen. Concluding that it might now be opened as wehad certainly parted with most of the Star of the South for the lasttime, I read it. It was as follows:
"The reason, honoured Sir, that I am leaving the ship is that on thenight I tore up the paper, the spirit controlling the planchette wrotethese words: 'After leaving Samoa the Star of the South will be wreckedin a hurricane and everybody on board drowned except A. B. and B. Getout of her! Get out of her! Don't be a fool, Jacob, unless you want tocome over here at once. Take our advice and get out of her and you willlive to be old.--SKOLL."
"Sir, I am not a coward but I know that this will happen, for thatspirit which signs itself Skoll never tells a lie. I did try to givethe captain a hint to stop at Apia, but he had been drinking and openlycursed me and called me a sneaking cheat. So I am going to run away,of which I am ve
ry much ashamed. But I do not wish to be drowned yet asthere is a girl whom I want to marry, and my mother I support. You willbe safe and I hope you will not think too badly of me.--JACOB JACOBSEN.
"P.S.--It is an awful thing to know the future. Never try to learnthat."
I gave this letter to Bastin and Bickley to read and asked them whatthey thought of it.
"Coincidence," said Bickley. "The man is a weak-minded idiot and heardin Samoa that they expected a hurricane."
"I think," chimed in Bastin, "that the devil knows how to look after hisown at any rate for a little while. I dare say it would have been muchbetter for him to be drowned."
"At least he is a deserter and failed in his duty. I never wish to hearof him again," I said.
As a matter of fact I never have. But the incident remains quiteunexplained either by Bickley or Bastin.
When the World Shook Page 6
