Masterman Ready; Or, The Wreck of the Pacific

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

  Ready was up before the sun had appeared, and he awakened William. Theknapsacks had been already packed, with two bottles of water in each,wrapped round with cocoa-nut leaves, to prevent their breaking, and thebeef and pork divided between each knapsack. Ready's, which was largerthan William's, held the biscuit and several other things which Readyhad prepared in case they might require them.

  As soon as the knapsacks were on, Ready took the axe and gun, and askedWilliam if he thought he could carry a small spade on his shoulder,which they had brought on shore along with the shovels. William repliedthat he could; and the dogs, who appeared to know they were going, wereall ready standing by them. Then, just as the sun rose, they turnedinto the cocoa-nut grove, and were soon out of sight of the tents.

  "Now, William, do you know," said Ready, stopping after they had walkedtwenty yards, "by what means we may find our way back again; for you seethis forest of trees is rather puzzling, and there is no path to guideus?"

  "No, I am sure I cannot tell; I was thinking of the very same thing whenyou spoke; and of Tom Thumb, who strewed peas to find his way back, butcould not do it, because the birds picked them all up."

  "Well, Tom Thumb did not manage well, and we must try to do better; wemust do as the Americans always do in their woods,--we must _blaze_ thetrees."

  "Blaze them! what, set fire to them?" replied William.

  "No, no, William. Blaze is a term they use when they cut a slice of thebark off the trunk of a tree, just with one blow of a sharp axe, as amark to find their way back again. They do not _blaze_ every tree, butabout every tenth tree as they go along, first one to the right, andthen one to the left, which is quite sufficient; and it is very littletrouble,--they do it as they walk along, without stopping. So now we'llbegin: you take the other side, it will be more handy for you to haveyour hatchet in your right hand; I can use my left. See now--just aslice off the bark--the weight of the axe does it almost."

  "What an excellent plan!" observed William.

  "But I have another friend in my pocket," replied Ready, "and I must usehim soon."

  "What is that?"

  "Poor Captain Osborn's pocket-compass. You see, William, the _blazing_will direct us how to go back again; but it will not tell us what coursewe are now to steer. At present, I know we are going right, as I cansee through the wood behind us; but by and by we shall not be able, andthen I must make use of the compass."

  "I understand that very well; but tell me, Ready, why do you bring thespade with us--what will be the use of it? You did not say yesterdaythat you were going to bring me."

  "No, William, I did not, as I did not like to make your mother anxious;but the fact is, I am very anxious myself as to whether there is anywater on this island; if there is not, we shall have to quit it sooneror later, for although we may get water by digging in the sand, it wouldbe too brackish to use for any time, and would make us all ill. Veryoften there will be water if you dig for it, although it does not showabove-ground; and therefore I brought the spade."

  "You think of everything, Ready."

  "No, I do not, William; but, in our present situation, I think of morethings than perhaps your father and mother would: they have never knownwhat it is to be put to their shifts; but a man like me, who has beenall his life at sea, and who has been wrecked, and suffered hardshipsand difficulties, and has been obliged to think or die, has a greaterknowledge, not only from his own sufferings, but by hearing how othershave acted when they were in distress. Necessity sharpens a man's wits;and it is very curious what people do contrive when they are compelledto do so, especially seamen."

  "And where are we going to now, Ready?"

  "Right to the leeward side of the island."

  "Why do you call it the leeward side of the island?"

  "Because among these islands the winds almost always blow one way; welanded on the windward side; the wind is at our back; now put up yourfinger, and you will feel it even among the trees."

  "No, I cannot," replied William, as he held up his finger.

  "Then wet your finger, and try again."

  William wet his finger, and held it up again. "Yes, I feel it now,"said he; "but why is that?"

  "Because the wind blows against the wet, and you feel the cold."

  As Ready said this the dogs growled, then started forward and barked.

  "What can be there?" cried William.

  "Stand still, William," replied Ready, cocking his gun, "and I will goforward to see." Ready advanced cautiously with the gun to his hip.The dogs barked more furiously; and at last, out of a heap of cocoa-nutleaves collected together, burst all the pigs which had been brought onshore, grunting and galloping away as fast as they could, with the dogsin pursuit of them.

  "It's only the pigs," said Ready, smiling; "I never thought I should behalf-frightened by a tame pig. Here, Romulus! here, Remus! come back!"continued Ready, calling to the dogs. "Well, William, this is our firstadventure."

  "I hope we shall not meet with any one more dangerous," replied William,laughing; "but I must say that I was alarmed."

  "No wonder; for, although not likely, it is possible there may be wildanimals on this island, or even savages; but being alarmed is one thing,and being afraid is another: a man may be alarmed, and stand his ground;but a man that is afraid will run away."

  "I do not think I shall ever run away and leave you, Ready, if there isdanger."

  "I'm sure you will not; but still you must not be rash; and now we willgo on again, as soon as I have uncocked my gun. I have seen moreaccidents happen from people cocking their guns, and forgetting touncock them afterwards, than you can have any idea of. Recollect, also,until you want to fire, never cock your gun."

  Ready and William continued their way through the cocoa-nut grove formore than an hour longer, marking the trees as they went along; theythen sat down to take their breakfast.

  "Don't give the dogs any water, William, nor any of the salt meat; givethem biscuit only."

  "But they are very thirsty; may not I give them a little?"

  "No: we shall want it all ourselves, in the first place; and, in thenext, I wish them to be thirsty. And, William, take my advice, and onlydrink a small quantity of water at a time. The more you drink, the moreyou want."

  "Then I should not eat so much salt meat."

  "Very true; the less you eat the better, unless we find water, and fillour bottles again."

  "But we have our axes, and can always cut down a cocoa-nut, and get themilk from the young nuts."

  "Very true; and fortunate it is that we have that to resort to; butstill we could not do very well on cocoa-nut milk alone, even if it wereto be procured all the year round. Now we will go on if you do not feeltired."

  "Not in the least; I am tired of seeing nothing but the stems ofcocoa-nut trees, and shall be glad when we are through the wood."

  "Then the faster we walk the better," said Ready; "as far as I canjudge, we must be about half-way across now."

  Ready and William recommenced their journey; and, after half-an-hour'swalking, they found that the ground was not so level as it had been--sometimes they went gradually up hill, at others down.

  "I am very glad to find the island is not so flat here; we have a betterchance of finding water."

  "It is much steeper before us," replied William; "it's quite a hill."

  The ground now became more undulating, although still covered withcocoa-nut trees, even thicker together than before. They continuedtheir march, occasionally looking at the compass, until William showedsymptoms of weariness, for the wood had become more difficult to getthrough than at first.

  "How many miles do you think we have walked, Ready?" said Willy.

  "About eight, I should think."

  "Not more than eight?"

  "No; I do not think that we have made more than two miles an hour: it'sslow work, travelling by compass and marking the trees; but I think thewood looks lighter before u
s, now that we are at the top of this hill."

  "It does, Ready; I fancy I can see the blue sky again."

  "Your eyes are younger than mine, William, and perhaps you may--however,we shall soon find out."

  They now descended into a small hollow, and then went up hill again. Assoon as they arrived at the top, William cried out, "The sea, Ready!there's the sea!"

  "Very true, William, and I'm not sorry for it."

  "I thought we never should get out of that nasty wood again," saidWilliam, as he impatiently pushed on, and at last stood clear of thecocoa-nut grove. Ready soon joined him, and they surveyed the scenebefore them in silence.