L'île mystérieuse. English

by Jules Verne

  Chapter 17

  These last words justified the colonists' presentiment. There had beensome mournful past, perhaps expiated in the sight of men, but from whichhis conscience had not yet absolved him. At any rate the guilty man feltremorse, he repented, and his new friends would have cordially pressedthe hand which they sought; but he did not feel himself worthy to extendit to honest men! However, after the scene with the jaguar, he did notreturn to the forest, and from that day did not go beyond the enclosureof Granite House.

  What was the mystery of his life? Would the stranger one day speak ofit? Time alone could show. At any rate, it was agreed that his secretshould never be asked from him, and that they would live with him as ifthey suspected nothing.

  For some days their life continued as before. Cyrus Harding and GideonSpilett worked together, sometimes chemists, sometimes experimentalists.The reporter never left the engineer except to hunt with Herbert, forit would not have been prudent to allow the lad to ramble alone in theforest; and it was very necessary to be on their guard. As to Neband Pencroft, one day at the stables and poultry-yard, another at thecorral, without reckoning work in Granite House, they were never in wantof employment.

  The stranger worked alone, and he had resumed his usual life, neverappearing at meals, sleeping under the trees in the plateau, nevermingling with his companions. It really seemed as if the society ofthose who had saved him was insupportable to him!

  "But then," observed Pencroft, "why did he entreat the help of hisfellow-creatures? Why did he throw that paper into the sea?"

  "He will tell us why," invariably replied Cyrus Harding.

  "When?"

  "Perhaps sooner than you think, Pencroft."

  And, indeed, the day of confession was near.

  On the 10th of December, a week after his return to Granite House,Harding saw the stranger approaching, who, in a calm voice and humbletone, said to him: "Sir, I have a request to make of you."

  "Speak," answered the engineer, "but first let me ask you a question."

  At these words the stranger reddened, and was on the point ofwithdrawing. Cyrus Harding understood what was passing in the mind ofthe guilty man, who doubtless feared that the engineer would interrogatehim on his past life.

  Harding held him back.

  "Comrade," said he, "we are not only your companions but your friends. Iwish you to believe that, and now I will listen to you."

  The stranger pressed his hand over his eyes. He was seized with asort of trembling, and remained a few moments without being able toarticulate a word.

  "Sir," said he at last, "I have come to beg you to grant me a favor."

  "What is it?"

  "You have, four or five miles from here, a corral for your domesticatedanimals. These animals need to be taken care of. Will you allow me tolive there with them?"

  Cyrus Harding gazed at the unfortunate man for a few moments with afeeling of deep commiseration; then,--

  "My friend," said he, "the corral has only stables hardly fit foranimals."

  "It will be good enough for me, sir."

  "My friend," answered Harding, "we will not constrain you in anything.You wish to live at the corral, so be it. You will, however, be alwayswelcome at Granite House. But since you wish to live at the corralwe will make the necessary arrangements for your being comfortablyestablished there."

  "Never mind that, I shall do very well."

  "My friend," answered Harding, who always intentionally made use of thiscordial appellation, "you must let us judge what it will be best to doin this respect."

  "Thank you, sir," replied the stranger as he withdrew.

  The engineer then made known to his companions the proposal which hadbeen made to him, and it was agreed that they should build a woodenhouse at the corral, which they would make as comfortable as possible.

  That very day the colonists repaired to the corral with the necessarytools, and a week had not passed before the house was ready to receiveits tenant. It was built about twenty feet from the sheds, and fromthere it was easy to overlook the flock of sheep, which then numberedmore than eighty. Some furniture, a bed, table, bench, cupboard, andchest were manufactured, and a gun, ammunition, and tools were carriedto the corral.

  The stranger, however, had seen nothing of his new dwelling, and hehad allowed the settlers to work there without him, while he occupiedhimself on the plateau, wishing, doubtless, to put the finishing stroketo his work. Indeed, thanks to him, all the ground was dug up and readyto be sowed when the time came.

  It was on the 20th of December that all the arrangements at the corralwere completed. The engineer announced to the stranger that his dwellingwas ready to receive him, and the latter replied that he would go andsleep there that very evening.

  On this evening the colonists were gathered in the diningroom of GraniteHouse. It was then eight o'clock, the hour at which their companion wasto leave them. Not wishing to trouble him by their presence, and thusimposing on him the necessity of saying farewells which might perhaps bepainful to him, they had left him alone and ascended to Granite House.

  Now, they had been talking in the room for a few minutes, when a lightknock was heard at the door. Almost immediately the stranger entered,and without any preamble,--

  "Gentlemen," said he, "before I leave you, it is right that you shouldknow my history. I will tell it you."

  These simple words profoundly impressed Cyrus Harding and hiscompanions. The engineer rose.

  "We ask you nothing, my friend," said he; "it is your right to besilent."

  "It is my duty to speak."

  "Sit down, then."

  "No, I will stand."

  "We are ready to hear you," replied Harding.

  The stranger remained standing in a corner of the room, a little in theshade. He was bareheaded, his arms folded across his chest, and itwas in this posture that in a hoarse voice, speaking like some onewho obliges himself to speak, he gave the following recital, which hisauditors did not once interrupt:--

  "On the 20th of December, 1854, a steam-yacht, belonging to a Scotchnobleman, Lord Glenarvan, anchored off Cape Bernouilli, on the westerncoast of Australia, in the thirty-seventh parallel. On board this yachtwere Lord Glenarvan and his wife, a major in the English army, a Frenchgeographer, a young girl, and a young boy. These two last were thechildren of Captain Grant, whose ship, the 'Britannia,' had been lost,crew and cargo, a year before. The 'Duncan' was commanded by CaptainJohn Mangles, and manned by a crew of fifteen men.

  "This is the reason the yacht at this time lay off the coast ofAustralia. Six months before, a bottle, enclosing a document written inEnglish, German, and French, had been found in the Irish Sea, and pickedup by the 'Duncan.' This document stated in substance that there stillexisted three survivors from the wreck of the 'Britannia,' that thesesurvivors were Captain Grant and two of his men, and that they had foundrefuge on some land, of which the document gave the latitude, but ofwhich the longitude, effaced by the sea, was no longer legible.

  "This latitude was 37deg 11' south; therefore, the longitude beingunknown, if they followed the thirty-seventh parallel over continentsand seas, they would be certain to reach the spot inhabited by CaptainGrant and his two companions. The English Admiralty having hesitated toundertake this search, Lord Glenarvan resolved to attempt everything tofind the captain. He communicated with Mary and Robert Grant, who joinedhim. The 'Duncan' yacht was equipped for the distant voyage, in whichthe nobleman's family and the captain's children wished to take part,and the 'Duncan,' leaving Glasgow, proceeded towards the Atlantic,passed through the Straits of Magellan, and ascended the Pacific asfar as Patagonia, where, according to a previous interpretation of thedocument, they supposed that Captain Grant was a prisoner among theIndians.

  "The 'Duncan' disembarked her passengers on the western coast ofPatagonia, and sailed to pick them up again on the eastern coast atCape Corrientes. Lord Glenarvan traversed Patagonia, following thethirty-seventh parallel, and having found no trac
e of the captain, here-embarked on the 13th of November, so as to pursue his search throughthe Ocean.

  "After having unsuccessfully visited the islands of Tristan d'Acunha andAmsterdam, situated in her course, the 'Duncan,' as I have said, arrivedat Cape Bernouilli, on the Australian coast, on the 20th of December,1854.

  "It was Lord Glenarvan's intention to traverse Australia as he hadtraversed America, and he disembarked. A few miles from the coast wasestablished a farm, belonging to an Irishman, who offered hospitality tothe travelers. Lord Glenarvan made known to the Irishman the causewhich had brought him to these parts, and asked if he knew whether athree-masted English vessel, the 'Britannia,' had been lost less thantwo years before on the west coast of Australia.

  "The Irishman had never heard of this wreck, but, to the great surpriseof the bystanders, one of his servants came forward and said,--

  "'My lord, praise and thank God! If Captain Grant is still living, he isliving on the Australian shores.'

  "'Who are you?' asked Lord Glenarvan.

  "'A Scotchman like yourself, my lord,' replied the man; 'I am one ofCaptain Grant's crew--one of the castaways of the "Britannia.'"

  "This man was called Ayrton. He was, in fact, the boatswain's mate ofthe 'Britannia,' as his papers showed. But, separated from Captain Grantat the moment when the ship struck upon the rocks, he had till thenbelieved that the captain with all his crew had perished, and that he,Ayrton, was the sole survivor of the 'Britannia.'

  "'Only,' he added, 'it was not on the west coast, but on the east coastof Australia that the vessel was lost, and if Captain Grant is stillliving, as his document indicates, he is a prisoner among the natives,and it is on the other coast that he must be looked for.'

  "This man spoke in a frank voice and with a confident look; his wordscould not be doubted. The Irishman, in whose service he had been formore than a year, answered for his trustworthiness. Lord Glenarvan,therefore, believed in the fidelity of this man and, by his advice,resolved to cross Australia, following the thirty-seventh parallel. LordGlenarvan, his wife, the two children, the major, the Frenchman, CaptainMangles, and a few sailors composed the little band under the commandof Ayrton, while the 'Duncan,' under charge of the mate, Tom Austin,proceeded to Melbourne, there to await Lord Glenarvan's instructions.

  "They set out on the 23rd of December, 1854.

  "It is time to say that Ayrton was a traitor. He was, indeed, theboatswain's mate of the 'Britannia,' but, after some dispute with hiscaptain, he endeavored to incite the crew to mutiny and seize the ship,and Captain Grant had landed him, on the 8th of April, 1852, on thewest coast of Australia, and then sailed, leaving him there, as was onlyjust.

  "Therefore this wretched man knew nothing of the wreck of the'Britannia'; he had just heard of it from Glenarvan's account. Since hisabandonment, he had become, under the name of Ben Joyce, the leader ofthe escaped convicts; and if he boldly maintained that the wreck hadtaken place on the east coast, and led Lord Glenarvan to proceed in thatdirection, it was that he hoped to separate him from his ship, seize the'Duncan,' and make the yacht a pirate in the Pacific."

  Here the stranger stopped for a moment. His voice trembled, but hecontinued,--

  "The expedition set out and proceeded across Australia. It wasinevitably unfortunate, since Ayrton, or Ben Joyce, as he may becalled, guided it, sometimes preceded, sometimes followed by his band ofconvicts, who had been told what they had to do.

  "Meanwhile, the 'Duncan' had been sent to Melbourne for repairs. It wasnecessary, then, to get Lord Glenarvan to order her to leave Melbourneand go to the east coast of Australia, where it would be easy to seizeher. After having led the expedition near enough to the coast, in themidst of vast forests with no resources, Ayrton obtained a letter, whichhe was charged to carry to the mate of the 'Duncan'--a letter whichordered the yacht to repair immediately to the east coast, to TwofoldBay, that is to say a few days' journey from the place where theexpedition had stopped. It was there that Ayrton had agreed to meet hisaccomplices, and two days after gaining possession of the letter, hearrived at Melbourne.

  "So far the villain had succeeded in his wicked design. He would be ableto take the 'Duncan' into Twofold Bay, where it would be easy for theconvicts to seize her, and her crew massacred, Ben Joyce would becomemaster of the seas. But it pleased God to prevent the accomplishment ofthese terrible projects.

  "Ayrton, arrived at Melbourne, delivered the letter to the mate, TomAustin, who read it and immediately set sail, but judge of Ayrton's rageand disappointment, when the next day he found that the mate was takingthe vessel, not to the east coast of Australia, to Twofold Bay, but tothe east coast of New Zealand. He wished to stop him, but Austin showedhim the letter!... And indeed, by a providential error of the Frenchgeographer, who had written the letter, the east coast of New Zealandwas mentioned as the place of destination.

  "All Ayrton's plans were frustrated! He became outrageous. They put himin irons. He was then taken to the coast of New Zealand, not knowingwhat would become of his accomplices, or what would become of LordGlenarvan.

  "The 'Duncan' cruised about on this coast until the 3rd of March. Onthat day Ayrton heard the report of guns. The guns on the 'Duncan' werebeing fired, and soon Lord Glenarvan and his companions came on board.

  "This is what had happened.

  "After a thousand hardships, a thousand dangers, Lord Glenarvan hadaccomplished his journey, and arrived on the east coast of Australia, atTwofold Bay. 'No "Duncan!"' He telegraphed to Melbourne. They answered,"Duncan" sailed on the 18th instant. Destination unknown.'

  "Lord Glenarvan could only arrive at one conclusion; that his honestyacht had fallen into the hands of Ben Joyce, and had become a piratevessel!

  "However, Lord Glenarvan would not give up. He was a bold and generousman. He embarked in a merchant vessel, sailed to the west coast of NewZealand, traversed it along the thirty-seventh parallel, withoutfinding any trace of Captain Grant; but on the other side, to hisgreat surprise, and by the will of Heaven, he found the 'Duncan,' undercommand of the mate, who had been waiting for him for five weeks!

  "This was on the 3rd of March, 1855. Lord Glenarvan was now on board the'Duncan,' but Ayrton was there also. He appeared before the nobleman,who wished to extract from him all that the villain knew about CaptainGrant. Ayrton refused to speak. Lord Glenarvan then told him, that atthe first port they put into, he would be delivered up to the Englishauthorities. Ayrton remained mute.

  "The 'Duncan' continued her voyage along the thirty-seventh parallel.In the meanwhile, Lady Glenarvan undertook to vanquish the resistance ofthe ruffian.

  "At last, her influence prevailed, and Ayrton, in exchange for what hecould tell, proposed that Lord Glenarvan should leave him on some islandin the Pacific, instead of giving him up to the English authorities.Lord Glenarvan, resolving to do anything to obtain information aboutCaptain Grant, consented.

  "Ayrton then related all his life, and it was certain that he knewnothing from the day on which Captain Grant had landed him on theAustralian coast.

  "Nevertheless, Lord Glenarvan kept the promise which he had given. The'Duncan' continued her voyage and arrived at Tabor Island. It was therethat Ayrton was to be landed, and it was there also that, by averitable miracle, they found Captain Grant and two men, exactly on thethirty-seventh parallel.

  "The convict, then, went to take their place on this desert islet, andat the moment he left the yacht these words were pronounced by LordGlenarvan:--

  "'Here, Ayrton, you will be far from any land, and without any possiblecommunication with your fellow-creatures. You cannot escape from thisislet on which the 'Duncan' leaves you. You will be alone, under the eyeof a God who reads the depths of the heart, but you will be neitherlost nor forgotten, as was Captain Grant. Unworthy as you are to beremembered by men, men will remember you. I know where you are Ayrton,and I know where to find you. I will never forget it!

  "And the 'Duncan,' making sail, soon disappeared. This was 18th ofMarch, 1855
.

  (The events which have just been briefly related are taken from a work which some of our readers have no doubt read, and which is entitled, "Captain Grant's children." They will remark on this occasion, as well as later, some discrepancy in the dates; but later again, they will understand why the real dates were not at first given.)

  "Ayrton was alone, but he had no want of either ammunition, weapons,tools, or seeds.

  "At his, the convict's disposal, was the house built by honest CaptainGrant. He had only to live and expiate in solitude the crimes which hehad committed.

  "Gentlemen, he repented, he was ashamed of his crimes and was verymiserable! He said to himself, that if men came some day to takehim from that islet, he must be worthy to return among them! How hesuffered, that wretched man! How he labored to recover himself by work!How he prayed to be reformed by prayer! For two years, three years, thiswent on, but Ayrton, humbled by solitude, always looking for some shipto appear on the horizon, asking himself if the time of expiation wouldsoon be complete, suffered as none other suffered! Oh! how dreadful wasthis solitude, to a heart tormented by remorse!

  "But doubtless Heaven had not sufficiently punished this unhappy man,for he felt that he was gradually becoming a savage! He felt thatbrutishness was gradually gaining on him!

  "He could not say if it was after two or three years of solitude, but atlast he became the miserable creature you found!

  "I have no need to tell you, gentlemen, that Ayrton, Ben Joyce, and I,are the same."

  Cyrus Harding and his companions rose at the end of this account. Itis impossible to say how much they were moved! What misery, grief, anddespair lay revealed before them!

  "Ayrton," said Harding, rising, "you have been a great criminal, butHeaven must certainly think that you have expiated your crimes! Thathas been proved by your having been brought again among yourfellow-creatures. Ayrton, you are forgiven! And now you will be ourcompanion?"

  Ayrton drew back.

  "Here is my hand!" said the engineer.

  Ayrton grasped the hand which Harding extended to him, and great tearsfell from his eyes.

  "Will you live with us?" asked Cyrus Harding.

  "Captain Harding, leave me some time longer," replied Ayrton, "leave mealone in the hut in the corral!"

  "As you like, Ayrton," answered Cyrus Harding. Ayrton was going towithdraw, when the engineer addressed one more question to him:--

  "One word more, my friend. Since it was your intention to live alone,why did you throw into the sea the document which put us on your track?"

  "A document?" repeated Ayrton, who did not appear to know what he meant.

  "Yes, the document which we found enclosed in a bottle, giving us theexact position of Tabor Island!"

  Ayrton passed his hand over his brow, then after having thought, "Inever threw any document into the sea!" he answered.

  "Never?" exclaimed Pencroft.

  "Never!"

  And Ayrton, bowing, reached the door and departed.