L'île mystérieuse. English

by Jules Verne

  Chapter 6

  Cyrus Harding stood still, without saying a word. His companionssearched in the darkness on the wall, in case the wind should havemoved the ladder, and on the ground, thinking that it might have fallendown.... But the ladder had quite disappeared. As to ascertaining ifa squall had blown it on the landing-place, half way up, that wasimpossible in the dark.

  "If it is a joke," cried Pencroft, "it is a very stupid one! To comehome and find no staircase to go up to your room by--that's nothing forweary men to laugh at."

  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 bemore natural. Some one has come during our absence, taken possession ofour 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 tolose patience, "I will give them a hail, and they must answer."

  And in a stentorian voice the sailor gave a prolonged "Halloo!" whichwas echoed again and again from the cliff and rocks.

  The settlers listened and they thought they heard a sort of chucklinglaugh, of which they could not guess the origin. But no voice replied toPencroft, who in vain repeated his vigorous shouts.

  There was something indeed in this to astonish the most apatheticof men, and the settlers were not men of that description. In theirsituation every incident had its importance, and, certainly, during theseven months which they had spent on the island, they had not before metwith anything of so surprising a character.

  Be that as it may, forgetting their fatigue in the singularity of theevent, they remained below Granite House, not knowing what to think,not knowing what to do, questioning each other without any hope ofa satisfactory reply, every one starting some supposition each moreunlikely than the last. Neb bewailed himself, much disappointed at notbeing able to get into his kitchen, for the provisions which theyhad had on their expedition were exhausted, and they had no means ofrenewing them.

  "My friends," at last said Cyrus Harding, "there is only one thing to bedone 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 ifwe cannot eat, we can at least sleep."

  "But who is it that has played us this cool trick?" again askedPencroft, unable to make up his mind to retire from the spot.

  Whoever it was, the only thing practicable was to do as the engineerproposed, to go to the Chimneys and there wait for day. In the meanwhileTop was ordered to mount guard below the windows of Granite House, andwhen Top received an order he obeyed it without any questioning. Thebrave dog therefore remained at the foot of the cliff while his masterwith his companions sought a refuge among the rocks.

  To say that the settlers, notwithstanding their fatigue, slept well onthe sandy floor of the Chimneys would not be true. It was not only thatthey were extremely anxious to find out the cause of what had happened,whether it was the result of an accident which would be discovered atthe return of day, or whether on the contrary it was the work of a humanbeing; but they also had very uncomfortable beds. That could not behelped, however, for in some way or other at that moment their dwellingwas 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 bepillaged and that the settlers would have all their work to do overagain, fresh weapons and tools to make, was a serious matter. Theiruneasiness led one or other of them also to go out every few minutes tosee if Top was keeping good watch. Cyrus Harding alone waited with hishabitual patience, although his strong mind was exasperated at beingconfronted with such an inexplicable fact, and he was provoked athimself for allowing a feeling to which he could not give a name, togain an influence over him. Gideon Spilett shared his feelings in thisrespect, and the two conversed together in whispers of the inexplicablecircumstance 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 forhimself, 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 risingsun now shone on the cliff and they could see the windows, the shuttersof which were closed, through the curtains of foliage.

  All here was in order; but a cry escaped the colonists when they sawthat the door, which they had closed on their departure, was now wideopen.

  Some one had entered Granite House--there could be no more doubt aboutthat.

  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 tothe threshold. It was evident that the intruders had wished to guardthemselves against a surprise.

  Pencroft hailed again.

  No reply.

  "The beggars," exclaimed the sailor. "There they are sleeping quietlyas 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 ofJohn Bull," he considered he had reached the last limits of insult.

  The sun had now completely risen, and the whole facade of Granite Housebecame illuminated by its rays; but in the interior as well as on theexterior all was quiet and calm.

  The settlers asked if Granite House was inhabited or not, and yet theposition of the ladder was sufficient to show that it was; it was alsocertain that the inhabitants, whoever they might be, had not been ableto escape. But how were they to be got at?

  Herbert then thought of fastening a cord to an arrow, and shooting thearrow so that it should pass between the first rounds of the ladderwhich hung from the threshold. By means of the cord they would thenbe able to draw down the ladder to the ground, and so re-establish thecommunication between the beach and Granite House. There was evidentlynothing else to be done, and, with a little skill, this method mightsucceed. Very fortunately bows and arrows had been left at the Chimneys,where they also found a quantity of light hibiscus cord. Pencroftfastened this to a well-feathered arrow. Then Herbert fixing it to hisbow, took a careful aim for the lower part of the ladder.

  Cyrus Harding, Gideon Spilett, Pencroft, and Neb drew back, so as to seeif anything appeared at the windows. The reporter lifted his gun to hisshoulder and covered the door.

  The bow was bent, the arrow flew, taking the cord with it, and passedbetween the two last rounds.

  The operation had succeeded.

  Herbert immediately seized the end of the cord, but, at that moment whenhe gave it a pull to bring down the ladder, an arm, thrust suddenly outbetween the wall and the door, grasped it and dragged it inside GraniteHouse.

  "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 sapajou, an orangoutang, a baboon, a gorilla, asagoin. Our dwelling has been invaded by monkeys, who climbed up theladder during our absence."

  And, at this moment, as if to bear witness to the truth of the sailor'swords, two or three quadrumana showed themselves at the windows,from which they had pushed back the shutters, and saluted the realproprietors of the place with a thousand hideous grimaces.

  "I knew that it was only a joke," cried Pencroft; "but one of the jokersshall pay the penalty for the rest."

  So saying, the sailor, raising his piece, took a rapid aim at one of themonkeys and fired. All disappeared, except one who fell mortally woundedon the beach. This monkey, which was of a large size, evi
dently belongedto the first order of the quadrumana. Whether this was a chimpanzee, anorangoutang, or a gorilla, he took rank among the anthropoid apes, whoare so called from their resemblance to the human race. However, Herbertdeclared it to be an orangoutang.

  "What a magnificent beast!" cried Neb.

  "Magnificent, if you like," replied Pencroft; "but still I do not seehow 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 showthemselves again at the windows and so we can't kill them; and when Ithink of the mischief they may do in the rooms and storehouse--"

  "Have patience," replied Harding; "these creatures cannot keep us longat bay."

  "I shall not be sure of that till I see them down here," replied thesailor. "And now, captain, do you know how many dozens of these fellowsare up there?"

  It was difficult to reply to Pencroft, and as for the young boy makinganother attempt, that was not easy; for the lower part of the ladderhad been drawn again into the door, and when another pull was given, theline broke and the ladder remained firm. The case was really perplexing.Pencroft stormed. There was a comic side to the situation, but he didnot think it funny at all. It was certain that the settlers would end byreinstating themselves in their domicile and driving out the intruders,but when and how? this is what they were not able to say.

  Two hours passed, during which the apes took care not to showthemselves, but they were still there, and three or four times a nose ora paw was poked out at the door or windows, and was immediately salutedby a gun-shot.

  "Let us hide ourselves," at last said the engineer. "Perhaps the apeswill think we have gone quite away and will show themselves again. LetSpilett and Herbert conceal themselves behind those rocks and fire onall that may appear."

  The engineer's orders were obeyed, and while 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 theplateau and entered the forest in order to kill some game, for it wasnow time for breakfast and they had no provisions remaining.

  In half an hour the hunters returned with a few rock pigeons, which theyroasted as well as they could. Not an ape had appeared. Gideon Spilettand Herbert went to take their share of the breakfast, leaving Top towatch under the windows. They then, having eaten, returned to theirpost.

  Two hours later, their situation was in no degree improved. Thequadrumana gave no sign of existence, and it might have been supposedthat they had disappeared; but what seemed more probable was that,terrified by the death of one of their companions, and frightened by thenoise of the firearms, they had retreated to the back part of the houseor probably even into the store-room. And when they thought ofthe valuables which this storeroom contained, the patience so muchrecommended by the engineer, fast changed into great irritation, andthere 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 therascals; but for that, we must meet them hand to hand. Come now, isthere 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 GraniteHouse 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 benecessary to sacrifice, but that could easily be rebuilt. Fortunately,Cyrus Harding had not as yet effected his project of hiding this openingby raising the waters of the lake, for the operation would then havetaken some time.

  It was already past twelve o'clock, when the colonists, well armed andprovided with picks and spades, left the Chimneys, passed beneath thewindows of Granite House, after telling Top to remain at his post, andbegan to ascend the left bank of the Mercy, so as to reach ProspectHeights.

  But they had not made fifty steps in this direction, when they heard thedog 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 windowto another with the agility of acrobats. They were not even trying toreplace the ladder, by which it would have been easy to descend; perhapsin their terror they had forgotten this way of escape. The colonists,now being able to take aim without difficulty, fired. Some, wounded orkilled, fell back into the rooms, uttering piercing cries. The rest,throwing themselves out, were dashed to pieces in their fall, and in afew minutes, so far as they knew, there was not a living quadrumana inGranite House.

  At this moment the ladder was seen to slip over the threshold, thenunroll 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 ofthese rascals.

  "We shall soon see," replied the engineer, without stopping however.

  All his companions followed him, and in a minute they had arrived at thethreshold. They searched everywhere. There was no one in the rooms norin the storehouse, which had been respected by the band of quadrumana.

  "Well now, and the ladder," cried the sailor; "who can the gentlemanhave been who sent us that down?"

  But at that moment a cry was heard, and a great orang, who had hiddenhimself 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, whenCyrus 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 wasdifficult to know whether he spoke seriously or not.

  Nevertheless, they threw themselves on the orang, who defended himselfgallantly, but was soon overpowered and bound.

  "There!" said Pencroft. "And what shall we make of him, now we've gothim?"

  "A servant!" replied Herbert.

  The lad was not joking in saying this, for he knew how this intelligentrace could be turned to account.

  The settlers then approached the ape and gazed at it attentively. Hebelonged to the family of anthropoid apes, of which the facial angle isnot much inferior to that of the Australians and Hottentots. It was anorangoutang, and as such, had neither the ferocity of the gorilla, northe stupidity of the baboon. It is to this family of the anthropoid apesthat so many characteristics belong which prove them to be possessedof an almost human intelligence. Employed in houses, they can wait attable, sweep rooms, brush clothes, clean boots, handle a knife, fork,and spoon properly, and even drink wine... doing everything as well asthe best servant that ever walked upon two legs. Buffon possessed oneof these apes, who served him for a long time as a faithful and zealousservant.

  The one which had been seized in the hall of Granite House was a greatfellow, six feet high, with an admirably poportioned frame, a broadchest, head of a moderate size, the facial angle reaching sixty-fivedegrees, round skull, projecting nose, skin covered with soft glossyhair, in short, a fine specimen of the anthropoids. His eyes, rathersmaller than human eyes, sparkled with intelligence; his white teethglittered under his mustache, and he wore a little curly brown beard.

  "A handsome fellow!" said Pencroft; "if we only knew his language, wecould talk to him."

  "But, master," said Neb, "are you serious? Are we going to take him as aservant?"

  "Yes, Neb," replied the engineer, smiling. "But you must
not bejealous."

  "And I hope he will make an excellent servant," added Herbert. "Heappears young, and will be easy to educate, and we shall not be obligedto use force to subdue him, nor draw his teeth, as is sometimes done. Hewill soon grow fond of his masters if they are kind to him."

  "And they will be," replied Pencroft, who had forgotten all his rancoragainst "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 toenter 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 whotalk the least. And then, no wages, do you hear, my boy? We will giveyou no wages at first, but we will double them afterwards if we arepleased with you."

  Thus the colony was increased by a new member. As to his name the sailorbegged that in memory of another ape which he had known, he might becalled Jupiter, and Jup for short.

  And so, without more ceremony, Master Jup was installed in GraniteHouse.