Kitabı oku: «The Perils and Adventures of Harry Skipwith by Land and Sea», sayfa 7
Chapter Ten
I cling to a part of the Wreck, and am tossed in the Sea – Peter and Ready are also saved – I improvise a Raft, and get Peter and Ready aboard – We reach an uninhabited Island – Sam Snag and another also reach land – Friends or Foes? – Water! Water! – We land a Cask and find it Claret – Ready discovers a Spring – The Mate wants Meat, and means to eat us
My impulse – and I followed it – was to cling fast to the ring-bolt to which I was holding on when the ship struck. I heard a few piercing shrieks, some faint cries followed, and then all was silent. I felt that the vessel was breaking up, and plank after plank was torn away, till I judged that but a small portion of the wreck remained for me to hold to. I urged poor Peter to hold on tight to the last, and scarcely had I uttered the words than the remainder of the vessel was rent asunder, and I found myself floating alone on the plank through which the ring-bolt was run. I shouted to Peter – there was no answer; I called Ready, but, for the first time since his puppyhood, he did not reply. I felt very forlorn as I was tossed up and down in the darkness amid that raging sea, with a sensation of down-heartedness which I had never before experienced. The planks forming the part of the deck to which I clung seemed to hold well together, so that I was under no expectation of immediate destruction, and that fact gave me time to think more of the loss of my two faithful companions.
I was convinced that daylight must soon come, and I hoped then to be able to ascertain how near to land I was. I supposed that the vessel had struck on a coral reef, and that it formed a barrier or outside reef to some island, or islet, such as is common in those seas. I was confirmed in this belief from finding the sea so much calmer than it had been, judging by the comparatively easy movements of my raft. I wished and wished for day, and though the wishing did not bring it, it came at last – a grey, cold dawn at first; but as the sun rose, the wind fell, the black vapours cleared away, the blue sky appeared, and now – the raft floating so calmly that I was able to stand up on it – I saw, rising at no great distance above, a yellow sandy beach, a grove of cocoa-nut palms, bananas, and other trees of the tropics. On the opposite side, a line of breakers, showing the position of the reef, outside which the sea still tossed and tumbled from the effects of the hurricane. Portions of the wreck, too, were floating about in the smooth water, and as I looked I saw that something was moving on one of them. I waved and shouted to draw attention to myself. A figure rose up and waved in return, and a faint bark reached my ear. Even at that distance my faithful Ready recognised me. I was indeed thankful that Peter and he had been thus far saved, though, as we were still some distance from the shore, we might both be starved before we could reach it. I could have swam to it with perfect ease, but I knew too much of the black fins of those seas to risk myself in the water, especially as I suspected that the monsters must have had their thirst for blood freshened by the meal they must have had off some of my late shipmates.
I longed to be able to communicate with poor Peter, but it seemed impossible that I could reach him. As the sun rose the hurricane completely ceased, and the water inside the reef became so perfectly smooth, that I could not only stand upright but could walk about. As I was doing so I saw, not far off, a boat’s oar, and a little beyond it what I took to be a mast, with other spars, and a sail and cordage hanging to it. I was contemplating swimming towards the oar, at all events, when, as I was about to plunge in, the fin of a shark slowly gliding by, warned me of my danger. I looked at the oar with a longing eye, and tried if I could by running on the piece of wreck urge it forward. While thus employed without any effect, I felt the breeze, which had completely fallen, fan my cheek, and as it increased I saw that my body was acting as a sail, and the raft was approaching the oar, though very slowly. At length I was able to seize it, and giving it a flourish above my head in my satisfaction, I began to paddle towards the broken mast with the spars and sail.
As the breeze increased, my fear was that I should be driven past it on one side, and I had to paddle with all my might to steer for it. I shouted with satisfaction when I got up to it, and had hauled it upon the raft. By forcing out a bull’s-eye in the deck I found a stop for the mast, and by carrying shrouds to the ring-bolts and to the splintered ends of the planks, I was able to secure it. I next hoisted my sail, and, infinitely to my satisfaction, found that I could direct my course for the part of the wreck to which Peter and Ready were clinging. They saw me coming. Peter waved his hands, and shouted and cried, and Ready jumped and barked, and nearly tumbled overboard in his agitation. I saw a shark waiting to catch him had he done so, and I entreated Peter to hold him down in case of an accident. They both, as I got up, sprang on to my raft at the same moment. Peter could scarcely speak to express his joy at my preservation, and Ready tried to lick me all over to show his love, though he could scarcely have understood how great was the danger we had run. The breeze which had carried me thus far, began to fail, and I feared that, after all, we should be unable to reach the shore.
We were very hungry, and as we had nothing to eat or drink, we were anxious to reach land as soon as possible. Peter suggested that we should make another paddle with one of the smaller spars I had picked up. To show that it was possible to do so he forced out some nails from the planks, and breaking off a piece of board, secured it to the spar. By this means we were able to paddle much faster than before, and, after considerable exertion, we reached the sandy beach with hearts thankful for our preservation.
To show his satisfaction, Ready scampered about on the sands, and then coming to lick my hands, lay down at my feet, with his tongue out, panting for water. My heart misgave me when I saw this. Had there been water his instinct would have conducted him to it, I fancied. I was already suffering severely from thirst, and so, I saw, was Peter, but he made no complaints. The cocoa-nuts, many of which strewed the ground, were yet too small to contain any milk, and we broke one after the other without finding one with any milk, although we allayed our thirst by chewing a little of the scarcely-formed fruit. A little refreshed, we set off in search of the much-desired water, but we had not gone many yards before the conviction forced itself on me that there was none to be procured.
Except the narrow belt of palm which I had at first seen, not another green thing was to be seen on the islet, the whole surface being little more than sand and coral rock.
As we stood outside the belt observing the inhospitable aspect of the country, I saw two objects moving along the beach in the distance. They were men, and there could be no doubt that they were part of the crew of the unfortunate Weathercock. I was thankful that some of the poor fellows had escaped, and we at once hurried on toward them. We had gone some distance when Peter slackened his speed, and even Ready hung back.
“What is the matter?” I asked of the former.
“Don’t you see that it’s that ill-doing mate fellow?” he answered. “No good’ll come if he’s to be with us.”
“Possibly the peril he has escaped may have improved his character,” I remarked, as I advanced towards the individual named, for I saw that he was no other than Sam Snag, and that the man with him was one of the most ill-favoured of the crew – a fellow with a stolid, hang-dog, evil countenance, who looked capable of committing any atrocity without the slightest compunction. Still, repulsive as were the two men, they were fellow-creatures, and I instinctively held out my hand to congratulate them on escaping from the terrific dangers we had gone through, when so many of our companions had perished.
Without either of them appearing to observe the motion they scowled fiercely at me, Snag greeting me with the remark, “Oh, so you’ve turned up, have you?”
“Yes, our lives have been spared as yet,” I answered quietly, determined not to give any cause of offence. “But, friends, we are suffering greatly from want of water. Can you tell us if any is to be found on the island?”
“Friends! eh – well, that’s as the case may be,” growled Snag. “As to the water, there may or there may not be some; but as there isn’t enough for all, it will be for those who have it and can keep it.”
The two ruffians held pieces of a spar in their hands, and assumed so menacing an attitude that I felt that it would be hopeless to obtain the water they had found by force, and equally hopeless to obtain it by persuasion.
“Very well, Mr Snag, what is your own you have a right to keep,” I replied calmly. “But I thought that a common danger escaped, would have made us friends, and I certainly should not have treated you as you seem disposed to treat me.” Saying this I turned aside towards the belt of palm trees. I was very glad that he had no firearms in his hand, for from the look he gave me, I felt very sure that he would have shot me at that moment, and would then probably have made Peter work for him as a slave, or have killed him also. I heard the ruffians giving way to shouts of hoarse laughter as I and Peter and Ready retired.
Such were the men who were to be my fellow islanders (I will not call them associates or companions), till we could make our escape from the islet. Their presence would greatly increase my difficulties. It would have been bad enough had I and Peter and Ready been alone. All we could do was to keep away from them, and to try and find something with which to quench our thirst.
After hunting about we found some young cocoa-nuts, blown down by the hurricane. The softest part of these afforded us sufficient moisture somewhat to allay our burning thirst. Ready shared with us, and without this would I think have gone mad. We then felt very hungry, and hoping to find some shell-fish on the rocks we returned to the beach. We were not disappointed, and were soon able to collect as many as we could require. While thus engaged I saw an object floating some way off in the lagoon. I pointed it out to Peter. He thought with me that it looked like a cask. We were seized with the hope that it might be filled with water, and therefore resolved forthwith to put off on our raft to try and obtain it. We had some difficulty in launching the raft, but at length getting it afloat we paddled out into the lagoon. I cannot describe the eagerness we felt as we neared what we hoped would prove a treasure incomparable. Only those who have been suffering from thirst as we then were, or in an open boat in the tropics, or when traversing the sandy deserts, can fully comprehend our sensations. We reached the cask. As I was paddling Peter ran to the fore part of the raft and seized it.
“It’s heavy, sir, it’s heavy,” he shouted. “I hope it’s water by the weight.”
Putting down my paddle I eagerly ran to help him. It was indeed heavy, but we at length got it safe up on the raft. Though the cask had the appearance of a water-cask, I dared not broach it till we could get it back to the shore, as while engaged in doing it we might have drifted away from the land. Parched as were our mouths and throats, we refrained, therefore, till we reached the beach. We had then to find a piece of wood to serve as a hammer, with which I knocked a nail out of our raft, and having sharpened the point, with this instrument managed to make a hole in the cask. It was frill of liquid, but not the pure fluid we wished for – it was wine. I cannot describe my disappointment. For an instant I refrained even from tasting it, till Peter observed —
“Well, sir, sure wine ain’t so bad a thing after all, is it?”
My month in a moment was at the hole. Instead of the strong wine I expected, it was claret. I quickly quenched my thirst, and bid Peter do the same. Though we valued it far less than water I hoped that after all it might serve to prolong existence if used with moderation, and keep us in health even better than water.
Our next thought was to conceal it from the other men, for of course should they find it, they would take care that we should not benefit by it. I was very anxious, however, about Ready – for though claret might keep us alive it would certainly not suit his taste.
We were not long in digging a hole in the sand and rolling our cask into it, and we then set to work to collect shell-fish to satisfy our hunger. Fortunately I had in my pocket a small article which I would advise every one travelling as I was to carry – a burning-glass – and with it we easily lighted a fire, so that we had not to eat our shell-fish raw. While we were employed as I have described, Ready disappeared. He had been absent for some time, and I began to fear that he had fallen into the power of Snag and the other man, who I felt sure would kill him if they could catch him. We were too hungry to wait, so we sat down to our mollusc meal.
While engaged in picking a shell-fish out of the ashes I felt Ready’s nose poked under my arm. “You want to share our meal, and you shall, old fellow,” I said, putting a full juicy mollusc into his mouth, which was, I felt, cool and moist, so that I had no doubt he had discovered some water, and taken care to avoid the villains who would not let us enjoy it. I suspected that they were either searching for food, or had fallen asleep, and that he had sagaciously taken the opportunity of approaching the spring. Supposing the latter idea to be correct, I allowed Peter to set off with Ready to try and find it, while I kept up the fire, which when they awoke was likely to attract the two men towards me and thus draw them away from the spring. Ready at once understood our wishes, and as soon as Peter got up he ran on before him as if to show the way.
I had on a Panama straw hat, which having been secured by a lanyard had been preserved. From its thick texture, it held water completely, and so I gave it to Peter to bring it back with as much as it could hold. I told him to cry out lustily should he be attacked that I might go to his assistance. I followed him a short distance till I could survey the greater part of the island through the grove of trees, but I could see nothing of the two men. Having made up the fire I took my post behind a tree, that I might watch for the two men. As the rock which formed the island was very unequal, Peter and Ready were soon lost to sight. I waited anxiously for their return. However, as the men did not appear, I hoped that they might, as we had supposed, be fast asleep in some cave, or under the shade of some rock, and that they would not interfere with us for the present. From the spot where I stood I could command a wide extent of the ocean’s surface, and I eagerly scanned it in the possibility that a sail might appear in the horizon, when I intended, should she approach the island, to signalise her, and endeavour to escape from it.
My mind was greatly relieved when Ready appeared with that jaunty, active air which a dog assumes when he is well satisfied, and he was followed closely by Peter carrying my hat brimful of water. In an instant I had my head into it almost, and had drunk up a large portion before I asked any questions. Peter had found a stream of pure water bubbling up from a deft in a rock, not thirty yards from the sea, into which it ran in a clear rivulet, in sufficient quantity to fill any number of ship’s casks. The landing on the beach, as far as I could judge from the lad’s description, was very good. As he had also observed the staves and hoops of some casks lying about, I had no doubt that it was a spot frequented by vessels in those seas to obtain a supply of water, when kept out by baffling winds. Had it not therefore been for the presence of the mulatto mate and his associate, we should have had no great cause for anxiety, as we might hope in a short time to be rescued by some vessel visiting the spot. I must confess, however, that I dreaded what might occur before we could get away. A savage villain is the most difficult being in creation to deal with. A lion or a tiger may be seen approaching, and be destroyed, so may a bear, or even a mad dog, a snake may be avoided; but however strongly we may suspect that a fellow man is plotting against our life, we may not defend ourselves until some overt act is committed, or take his life, unless we would have the guilt of homicide or murder on our heads, till he attempts openly to take ours.
Such was the position in which I felt that I was placed with regard to Snag and his companion. All we could do was to be on our guard, for I felt sure that if they fancied it was to their interest to kill us they would do so without the slightest scruple. We had, however, an advantage over them in having Ready on our side, as we might sleep securely, depending on his awakening us on the approach of danger. Then again I felt certain they would try to kill him first if they wished to destroy us.
We had discovered some cocoa-nut shells, the produce of the last year, and though the fruit was dried up they were split in a way which enabled them to hold water. These we filled with the remainder of the contents of my hat, which afforded us a sufficient supply for some hours. We spent the remainder of the day in erecting a hut in which we could shelter ourselves during the night. We passed it, contrary to my expectations, undisturbed. The next day we several times saw our shipmates on the shore, but they did not come near us, and as before, Peter, accompanied by Ready, accomplished the journey to the spring without being seen by them. He told me that he was sure that from the marks he had before observed on the sand not being increased, that they had not been to the spring since his last visit. This, coupled with their quietness, made me suspect that they also had got hold of a cask of wine, and that as long as that lasted we might hope to escape any annoyance from them.
Several days thus passed, and each day I was more confirmed in my suspicious. At length, one day after we had seen them in the morning on the beach, Peter proposed that he should try and discover what they were about.
“I can creep, creep along, Master Skipwith, for all the world like a snail; do, Mr Skipwith, do let me go.”
With my permission he stole off, and Ready seemed to understand that this time he was not wanted. The sun had nearly reached the horizon, so the men would probably have taken up their quarters for the night. As before, I sat down in a sheltered spot, where, should the men by chance be wandering about, they would not be likely to discover me. I waited for some time till I calculated that Peter ought to have returned. Then the stars came out in the dark sky, bright and clear like drops of liquid fire, but still my young follower did not make his appearance. However, Ready remained perfectly quiet, and I was sure that had he fancied anything was wrong he would have shown signs of uneasiness. At length, despairing of seeing Peter, though I hoped he might have gone round some other way, I returned to our hut. It was empty, and I began seriously to fear that the lad had fallen into the wretches’ hands, and I regretted having let him make the expedition.
I knew so little of the island that I could not venture to go in search of him, and all I could do, therefore, was to sit down and await his coming. I had fallen into an uneasy slumber when I was awoke by the sound of a voice in my ear, which I recognised as that of Peter.
“Oh sir, isn’t it just lucky I went, or we’d all have been murdered and eaten by this time to-morrow evening,” he said, still trembling with fear. “I heard them from beginning to end, but I’d like to make a long story short. They said one to the other as how they’d had no food, and that starve they wouldn’t, and that they’d have the dog to eat, and after him they’d have one of us; that would have been me, but that wouldn’t have so much mattered, may be, but they said they’d kill you too – indeed they did – and eat you too – yes – eat you! Oh, I felt my hair stand on end when I heard it, and was near crying out, but I didn’t, and waiting till they were talking again to each other loudly, I crept away as I came.”
I should have been inclined to doubt the truth of Peter’s tale, but it was so circumstantial that I was compelled to believe that his fancy had not deceived him. I cross-questioned him, and found that he had heard the voices of the two men, and had crawled on hands and feet towards them, when he discovered them seated in a cave, which it was evident they had made their present abode. Unfortunately he had not heard them speak of the hour they proposed to attack us. We were thus compelled to be constantly on the watch, and to be prepared for a struggle at any moment. I can answer for it from experience that it is excessively trying to the nerves to be sitting all night long in the dark, with the expectation of being attacked by a couple of villains with heavy clubs who intend to knock out one’s brains. I fully believed that Ready would prove faithful and watchful, but considering that my life and that of Peter were at stake, I could not bring myself to trust altogether to his sagacity. Sleep, of course, I could not, at least so I thought. The hours passed slowly by, the soft sighing of the wind in the trees over head, mingled with the low murmur of the ocean as it beat on the rocks, sounded in my ears, and then there came strange noises, and shrieks, and cries, and unearthly voices in the far distance, away out over the sea, and in spite of all my anxiety and intention of keeping awake till daylight, I was fast asleep. I must have slept soundly, and during more hours than I had supposed it wanted to daylight, when I was effectually aroused by a sharp bark from Ready, and a loud cry from Peter, and starting up I seized my staff and stood ready for action.
