L'île mystérieuse. English

by Jules Verne

  Chapter 9

  The weather changed during the first week of March. There had been afull moon at the commencement of the month, and the heat was excessive.The atmosphere was felt to be full of electricity, and a period of somelength of tempestuous weather was to be feared.

  Indeed, on the 2nd, peals of thunder were heard, the wind blew from theeast, and hail rattled against the facade of Granite House likevolleys of grape-shot. The door and windows were immediately closed,or everything in the rooms would have been drenched. On seeing thesehailstones, some of which were the size of a pigeon's egg, Pencroft'sfirst thought was that his cornfield was in serious danger.

  He directly rushed to his field, where little green heads were alreadyappearing, and by means of a great cloth, he managed to protect hiscrop.

  This bad weather lasted a week, during which time the thunder rolledwithout cessation in the depths of the sky.

  The colonists, not having any pressing work out of doors, profitedby the bad weather to work at the interior of Granite House, thearrangement of which was becoming more complete from day to day. Theengineer made a turning-lathe, with which he turned several articlesboth for the toilet and the kitchen, particularly buttons, the want ofwhich was greatly felt. A gunrack had been made for the firearms, whichwere kept with extreme care, and neither tables nor cupboards were leftincomplete. They sawed, they planed, they filed, they turned; and duringthe whole of this bad season, nothing was heard but the grindingof tools or the humming of the turning-lathe which responded to thegrowling of the thunder.

  Master Jup had not been forgotten, and he occupied a room at the back,near the storeroom, a sort of cabin with a cot always full of goodlitter, which perfectly suited his taste.

  "With good old Jup there is never any quarreling," often repeatedPencroft, "never any improper reply. What a servant, Neb, what aservant!"

  Of course Jup was now well used to service. He brushed their clothes,he turned the spit, he waited at table, he swept the rooms, he gatheredwood, and he performed another admirable piece of service whichdelighted Pencroft--he never went to sleep without first coming to tuckup the worthy sailor in his bed.

  As to the health of the members of the colony, bipeds or bimana,quadrumana or quadrupeds, it left nothing to be desired. With their lifein the open air, on this salubrious soil, under that temperate zone,working both with head and hands, they could not suppose that illnesswould ever attack them.

  All were indeed wonderfully well. Herbert had already grown two inchesin the year. His figure was forming and becoming more manly, and hepromised to be an accomplished man, physically as well as morally.Besides he improved himself during the leisure hours which manualoccupations left to him; he read the books found in the case; and afterthe practical lessons which were taught by the very necessity of theirposition, he found in the engineer for science, and the reporter forlanguages, masters who were delighted to complete his education.

  The tempest ended about the 9th of March, but the sky remained coveredwith clouds during the whole of this last summer month. The atmosphere,violently agitated by the electric commotions, could not recover itsformer purity, and there was almost invariably rain and fog, except forthree or four fine days on which several excursions were made. Aboutthis time the female onager gave birth to a young one which belonged tothe same sex as its mother, and which throve capitally. In the corral,the flock of musmons had also increased, and several lambs alreadybleated in the sheds, to the great delight of Neb and Herbert, who hadeach their favorite among these newcomers. An attempt was also madefor the domestication of the peccaries, which succeeded well. A sty wasconstructed under the poultry-yard, and soon contained several youngones in the way to become civilized, that is to say, to become fatunder Neb's care. Master Jup, entrusted with carrying them theirdaily nourishment, leavings from the kitchen, etc., acquitted himselfconscientiously of his task. He sometimes amused himself at the expenseof his little pensioners by tweaking their tails; but this was mischief,and not wickedness, for these little twisted tails amused him like aplaything, and his instinct was that of a child. One day in this monthof March, Pencroft, talking to the engineer, reminded Cyrus Harding of apromise which the latter had not as yet had time to fulfil.

  "You once spoke of an apparatus which would take the place of the longladders at Granite House, captain," said he; "won't you make it someday?"

  "Nothing will be easier; but is this a really useful thing?"

  "Certainly, captain. After we have given ourselves necessaries, let usthink a little of luxury. For us it may be luxury, if you like, butfor things it is necessary. It isn't very convenient to climb up a longladder when one is heavily loaded."

  "Well, Pencroft, we will try to please you," replied Cyrus Harding.

  "But you have no machine at your disposal."

  "We will make one."

  "A steam machine?"

  "No, a water machine."

  And, indeed, to work his apparatus there was already a natural forceat the disposal of the engineer which could be used without greatdifficulty. For this, it was enough to augment the flow of the littlestream which supplied the interior of Granite House with water. Theopening among the stones and grass was then increased, thus producinga strong fall at the bottom of the passage, the overflow from whichescaped by the inner well. Below this fall the engineer fixed a cylinderwith paddles, which was joined on the exterior with a strong cablerolled on a wheel, supporting a basket. In this way, by means of a longrope reaching to the ground, which enabled them to regulate the motivepower, they could rise in the basket to the door of Granite House.

  It was on the 17th of March that the lift acted for the first time, andgave universal satisfaction. Henceforward all the loads, wood, coal,provisions, and even the settlers themselves, were hoisted by thissimple system, which replaced the primitive ladder, and, as may besupposed, no one thought of regretting the change. Top particularly wasenchanted with this improvement, for he had not, and never could havepossessed Master Jup's skill in climbing ladders, and often it was onNeb's back, or even on that of the orang that he had been obliged tomake the ascent to Granite House. About this time, too, Cyrus Hardingattempted to manufacture glass, and he at first put the old pottery-kilnto this new use. There were some difficulties to be encountered; but,after several fruitless attempts, he succeeded in setting up a glassmanufactory, which Gideon Spilett and Herbert, his usual assistants, didnot leave for several days. As to the substances used in the compositionof glass, they are simply sand, chalk, and soda, either carbonate orsulphate. Now the beach supplied sand, lime supplied chalk, sea-weedssupplied soda, pyrites supplied sulphuric acid, and the ground suppliedcoal to heat the kiln to the wished-for temperature. Cyrus Harding thussoon had everything ready for setting to work.

  The tool, the manufacture of which presented the most difficulty, wasthe pipe of the glass-maker, an iron tube, five or six feet long, whichcollects on one end the material in a state of fusion. But by means ofa long, thin piece of iron rolled up like the barrel of a gun, Pencroftsucceeded in making a tube soon ready for use.

  On the 28th of March the tube was heated. A hundred parts of sand,thirty-five of chalk, forty of sulphate of soda, mixed with two or threeparts of powdered coal, composed the substance, which was placed incrucibles. When the high temperature of the oven had reduced it to aliquid, or rather a pasty state, Cyrus Harding collected with the tubea quantity of the paste: he turned it about on a metal plate, previouslyarranged, so as to give it a form suitable for blowing, then he passedthe tube to Herbert, telling him to blow at the other extremity.

  And Herbert, swelling out his cheeks, blew so much and so well into thetube-taking care to twirl it round at the same time--that his breathdilated the glassy mass. Other quantities of the substance in a stateof fusion were added to the first, and in a short time the result was abubble which measured a foot in diameter. Harding then took the tubeout of Herbert's hands, and, giving it a pendulous motion, he ended bylengthening the malleable
bubble so as to give it a cylindroconic shape.

  The blowing operation had given a cylinder of glass terminated by twohemispheric caps, which were easily detached by means of a sharp irondipped in cold water; then, by the same proceeding, this cylinder wascut lengthways, and after having been rendered malleable by a secondheating, it was extended on a plate and spread out with a wooden roller.

  The first pane was thus manufactured, and they had only to perform thisoperation fifty times to have fifty panes. The windows at Granite Housewere soon furnished with panes; not very white, perhaps, but stillsufficiently transparent.

  As to bottles and tumblers, that was only play. They were satisfied withthem, besides, just as they came from the end of the tube. Pencroft hadasked to be allowed to "blow" in his turn, and it was great fun forhim; but he blew so hard that his productions took the most ridiculousshapes, which he admired immensely.

  Cyrus Harding and Herbert, while hunting one day, had entered the forestof the Far West, on the left bank of the Mercy, and, as usual, thelad was asking a thousand questions of the engineer, who answered themheartily. Now, as Harding was not a sportsman, and as, on the otherside, Herbert was talking chemistry and natural philosophy, numbers ofkangaroos, capybaras, and agouties came within range, which, however,escaped the lad's gun; the consequence was that the day was alreadyadvanced, and the two hunters were in danger of having made auseless excursion, when Herbert, stopping, and uttering a cry of joy,exclaimed,--

  "Oh, Captain Harding, do you see that tree?" and he pointed to a shrub,rather than a tree, for it was composed of a single stem, covered with ascaly bark, which bore leaves streaked with little parallel veins.

  "And what is this tree which resembles a little palm?" asked Harding.

  "It is a 'cycas revoluta,' of which I have a picture in our dictionaryof Natural History!" said Herbert.

  "But I can't see any fruit on this shrub!" observed his companion.

  "No, captain," replied Herbert; "but its stem contains a flour withwhich nature has provided us all ready ground."

  "It is, then, the bread-tree?"

  "Yes, the bread-tree."

  "Well, my boy," replied the engineer, "this is a valuable discovery,since our wheat harvest is not yet ripe; I hope that you are notmistaken!"

  Herbert was not mistaken: he broke the stem of a cycas, which wascomposed of a glandulous tissue, containing a quantity of floury pith,traversed with woody fiber, separated by rings of the same substance,arranged concentrically. With this fecula was mingled a mucilaginousjuice of disagreeable flavor, but which it would be easy to get rid ofby pressure. This cellular substance was regular flour of a superiorquality, extremely nourishing; its exportation was formerly forbidden bythe Japanese laws.

  Cyrus Harding and Herbert, after having examined that part of the FarWest where the cycas grew, took their bearings, and returned to GraniteHouse, where they made known their discovery.

  The next day the settlers went to collect some, and returned to GraniteHouse with an ample supply of cycas stems. The engineer constructed apress, with which to extract the mucilaginous juice mingled with thefecula, and he obtained a large quantity of flour, which Neb soontransformed into cakes and puddings. This was not quite real wheatenbread, but it was very like it.

  Now, too, the onager, the goats, and the sheep in the corral furnisheddaily the milk necessary to the colony. The cart, or rather a sort oflight carriole which had replaced it, made frequent journeys to thecorral, and when it was Pencroft's turn to go he took Jup, and let himdrive, and Jup, cracking his whip, acquitted himself with his customaryintelligence.

  Everything prospered, as well in the corral as in Granite House, andcertainly the settlers, if it had not been that they were so far fromtheir native land, had no reason to complain. They were so well suitedto this life, and were, besides, so accustomed to the island, that theycould not have left its hospitable soil without regret!

  And yet so deeply is the love of his country implanted in the heart ofman, that if a ship had unexpectedly come in sight of the island, thecolonists would have made signals, would have attracted her attention,and would have departed!

  It was the 1st of April, a Sunday, Easter Day, which Harding and hiscompanions sanctified by rest and prayer. The day was fine, such as anOctober day in the Northern Hemisphere might be.

  All, towards the evening after dinner, were seated under the verandaon the edge of Prospect Heights, and they were watching thedarkness creeping up from the horizon. Some cups of the infusion ofelder-berries, which took the place of coffee, had been served by Neb.They were speaking of the island and of its isolated situation in thePacific, which led Gideon Spilett to say,--

  "My dear Cyrus, have you ever, since you possessed the sextant found inthe case, again taken the position of our island?"

  "No," replied the engineer.

  "But it would perhaps be a good thing to do it with this instrument,which is more perfect than that which you before used."

  "What is the good?" said Pencroft. "The island is quite comfortablewhere it is!"

  "Well, who knows," returned the reporter, "who knows but that we may bemuch nearer inhabited land than we think?"

  "We shall know to-morrow," replied Cyrus Harding, "and if it had notbeen for the occupations which left me no leisure, we should have knownit already."

  "Good!" said Pencroft. "The captain is too good an observer to bemistaken, and, if it has not moved from its place, the island is justwhere he put it."

  "We shall see."

  On the next day, therefore, by means of the sextant, the engineer madethe necessary observations to verify the position which he hadalready obtained, and this was the result of his operation. His firstobservation had given him the situation of Lincoln Island,--

  In west longitude: from 150deg. to 155deg.;

  In south latitude: from 30deg. to 35deg.

  The second gave exactly:

  In longitude: 150deg. 30'

  In south latitude: 34deg. 57'

  So then, notwithstanding the imperfection of his apparatus, CyrusHarding had operated with so much skill that his error did not exceedfive degrees.

  "Now," said Gideon Spilett, "since we possess an atlas as well as asextant, let us see, my dear Cyrus, the exact position which LincolnIsland occupies in the Pacific."

  Herbert fetched the atlas, and the map of the Pacific was opened, andthe engineer, compass in hand, prepared to determine their position.

  Suddenly the compasses stopped, and he exclaimed,

  "But an island exists in this part of the Pacific already!"

  "An island?" cried Pencroft.

  "Tabor Island."

  "An important island?"

  "No, an islet lost in the Pacific, and which perhaps has never beenvisited."

  "Well, we will visit it," said Pencroft.

  "We?"

  "Yes, captain. We will build a decked boat, and I will undertake tosteer her. At what distance are we from this Tabor Island?"

  "About a hundred and fifty miles to the northeast," replied Harding.

  "A hundred and fifty miles! And what's that?" returned Pencroft. "Inforty-eight hours, with a good wind, we should sight it!"

  And, on this reply, it was decided that a vessel should be constructedin time to be launched towards the month of next October, on the returnof the fine season.