“That is Top barking!” cried Herbert.
“Yes,” replied Pencroft, “and our brave dog is barking furiously!”
“We have our iron-tipped spears,” said Cyrus Harding. “Keep on your
guard, and forward!”
“It is becoming more and more interesting,” murmured Gideon Spilett in
the sailor’s ear, who nodded. Harding and his companions rushed to the
help of their dog. Top’s barking became more and more perceptible,
and it seemed strangely fierce. Was he engaged in a struggle with some
animal whose retreat he had disturbed? Without thinking of the danger
to which they might be exposed, the explorers were now impelled by an
irresistible curiosity, and in a few minutes, sixteen feet lower they
rejoined Top.
There the passage ended in a vast and magnificent cavern.
Top was running backwards and forwards, barking furiously. Pencroft and
Neb, waving their torches, threw the light into every crevice; and
at the same time, Harding, Gideon Spilett, and Herbert, their spears
raised, were ready for any emergency which might arise. The enormous
cavern was empty. The settlers explored it in every direction. There was
nothing there, not an animal, not a human being; and yet Top continued
to bark. Neither caresses nor threats could make him be silent.
“There must be a place somewhere, by which the waters of the lake
reached the sea,” said the engineer.
“Of course,” replied Pencroft, “and we must take care not to tumble into
a hole.”
“Go, Top, go!” cried Harding.
The dog, excited by his master’s words, ran towards the extremity of the
cavern, and there redoubled his barking.
They followed him, and by the light of the torches, perceived the mouth
of a regular well in the granite. It was by this that the water escaped;
and this time it was not an oblique and practicable passage, but a
perpendicular well, into which it was impossible to venture.
The torches were held over the opening: nothing could be seen. Harding
took a lighted branch, and threw it into the abyss. The blazing resin,
whose illuminating power increased still more by the rapidity of its
fall, lighted up the interior of the well, but yet nothing appeared. The
flame then went out with a slight hiss, which showed that it had reached
the water, that is to say, the level of the sea.
The engineer, calculating the time employed in its fall, was able to
calculate the depth of the well, which was found to be about ninety
feet.
The floor of the cavern must thus be situated ninety feet above the
level of the sea.
“Here is our dwelling,” said Cyrus Harding.
“But it was occupied by some creature,” replied Gideon Spilett, whose
curiosity was not yet satisfied.
“Well, the creature, amphibious or otherwise, has made off through this
opening,” replied the engineer, “and has left the place for us.”
“Never mind,” added the sailor, “I should like very much to be Top just
for a quarter of an hour, for he doesn’t bark for nothing!”
Cyrus Harding looked at his dog, and those of his companions who were
near him might have heard him murmur these words,--
“Yes, I believe that Top knows more than we do about a great many
things.”
However, the wishes of the settlers were for the most part satisfied.
Chance, aided by the marvelous sagacity of their leader, had done them
great service. They had now at their disposal a vast cavern, the size
of which could not be properly calculated by the feeble light of their
torches, but it would certainly be easy to divide it into rooms, by
means of brick partitions, or to use it, if not as a house, at least as
a spacious apartment. The water which had left it could not return. The
place was free.
Two difficulties remained; firstly, the possibility of lighting this
excavation in the midst of solid rock; secondly, the necessity of
rendering the means of access more easy. It was useless to think of
lighting it from above, because of the enormous thickness of the granite
which composed the ceiling; but perhaps the outer wall next the sea
might be pierced. Cyrus Harding, during the descent, had roughly
calculated its obliqueness, and consequently the length of the passage,
and was therefore led to believe that the outer wall could not be very
thick. If light was thus obtained, so would a means of access, for
it would be as easy to pierce a door as windows, and to establish an
exterior ladder.
Harding made known his ideas to his companions.
“Then, captain, let us set to work!” replied Pencroft. “I have my
pickaxe, and I shall soon make my way through this wall. Where shall I
strike?”
“Here,” replied the engineer, showing the sturdy sailor a considerable
recess in the side, which would much diminish the thickness.
Pencroft attacked the granite, and for half an hour, by the light of the
torches, he made the splinters fly around him. Neb relieved him, then
Spilett took Neb’s place.
This work had lasted two hours, and they began to fear that at this spot
the wall would not yield to the pickaxe, when at a last blow given by
Gideon Spilett, the instrument, passing through the rock, fell outside.
“Hurrah! hurrah!” cried Pencroft.
The wall only measured there three feet in thickness.
Harding applied his eye to the aperture, which overlooked the ground
from a height of eighty feet. Before him was extended the sea-coast, the
islet, and beyond the open sea.
Floods of light entered by this hole, inundating the splendid cavern and
producing a magic effect! On its left side it did not measure more than
thirty feet in height and breadth, but on the right it was enormous, and
its vaulted roof rose to a height of more than eighty feet.
In some places granite pillars, irregularly disposed, supported the
vaulted roof, as those in the nave of a cathedral, here forming lateral
piers, there elliptical arches, adorned with pointed moldings, losing
themselves in dark bays, amid the fantastic arches of which glimpses
could be caught in the shade, covered with a profusion of projections
formed like so many pendants. This cavern was a picturesque mixture of
all the styles of Byzantine, Roman, or Gothic architecture ever produced
by the hand of man. And yet this was only the work of nature. She alone
had hollowed this fairy Alhambra in a mass of granite.
The settlers were overwhelmed with admiration. Where they had only
expected to find a narrow cavity, they had found a sort of marvelous
palace, and Neb had taken off his hat, as if he had been transported
into a temple!
Cries of admiration issued from every mouth. Hurrahs resounded, and the
echo was repeated again and again till it died away in the dark naves.
“Ah, my friends!” exclaimed Cyrus Harding, “when we have lighted the
interior of this place, and have arranged our rooms and storehouses in
the left part, we shall still have this splendid cavern, which we will
make our study and our museum!”
“And we will call it?--” asked Herbert.
“Granite House,” replied Harding; a name which his companions again
saluted with a cheer.
The torches were now almost consumed, and as they were obliged to return
by the passage to reach the summit of the plateau, it was decided to put
off the work necessary for the arrangement of their new dwelling till
the next day.
Before departing, Cyrus Harding leaned once more over the dark well,
which descended perpendicularly to the level of the sea. He listened
attentively. No noise was heard, not even that of the water, which the
undulations of the surge must sometimes agitate in its depths. A flaming
branch was again thrown in. The sides of the well were lighted up for an
instant, but as at the first time, nothing suspicious was seen.
If some marine monster had been surprised unawares by the retreat of the
water, he would by this time have regained the sea by the subterranean
passage, before the new opening had been offered to him.
Meanwhile, the engineer was standing motionless, his eyes fixed on the
gulf, without uttering a word.
The sailor approached him, and touching his arm, “Captain!” said he.
“What do you want, my friend?” asked the engineer, as if he had returned
from the land of dreams.
“The torches will soon go out.”
“Forward!” replied Cyrus Harding.
The little band left the cavern and began to ascend through the dark
passage. Top closed the rear, still growling every now and then. The
ascent was painful enough. The settlers rested a few minutes in the
upper grotto, which made a sort of landing-place halfway up the long
granite staircase. Then they began to climb again.
Soon fresher air was felt. The drops of water, dried by evaporation, no
longer sparkled on the walls. The flaring torches began to grow dim. The
one which Neb carried went out, and if they did not wish to find their
way in the dark, they must hasten.
This was done, and a little before four o’clock, at the moment when the
sailor’s torch went out in its turn, Cyrus Harding and his companions
passed out of the passage.
Chapter 19
The next day, the 22nd of May, the arrangement of their new dwelling
was commenced. In fact, the settlers longed to exchange the insufficient
shelter of the Chimneys for this large and healthy retreat, in the midst
of solid rock, and sheltered from the water both of the sea and sky.
Their former dwelling was not, however, to be entirely abandoned, for
the engineer intended to make a manufactory of it for important works.
Cyrus Harding’s first care was to find out the position of the front of
Granite House from the outside. He went to the beach, and as the
pickaxe when it escaped from the hands of the reporter must have fallen
perpendicularly to the foot of the cliff, the finding it would be
sufficient to show the place where the hole had been pierced in the
granite.
The pickaxe was easily found, and the hole could be seen in a
perpendicular line above the spot where it was stuck in the sand. Some
rock pigeons were already flying in and out of the narrow opening; they
evidently thought that Granite House had been discovered on purpose for
them. It was the engineer’s intention to divide the right portion of the
cavern into several rooms, preceded by an entrance passage, and to light
it by means of five windows and a door, pierced in the front. Pencroft
was much pleased with the five windows, but he could not understand the
use of the door, since the passage offered a natural staircase, through
which it would always be easy to enter Granite House.
“My friend,” replied Harding, “if it is easy for us to reach our
dwelling by this passage, it will be equally easy for others besides
us. I mean, on the contrary, to block up that opening, to seal it
hermetically, and, if it is necessary, to completely hide the entrance
by making a dam, and thus causing the water of the lake to rise.”
“And how shall we get in?” asked the sailor.
“By an outside ladder,” replied Cyrus Harding, “a rope ladder, which,
once drawn up, will render access to our dwelling impossible.”
“But why so many precautions?” asked Pencroft. “As yet we have seen no
dangerous animals. As to our island being inhabited by natives, I don’t
believe it!”
“Are you quite sure of that, Pencroft?” asked the engineer, looking at
the sailor.
“Of course we shall not be quite sure, till we have explored it in every
direction,” replied Pencroft.
“Yes,” said Harding, “for we know only a small portion of it as yet. But
at any rate, if we have no enemies in the interior, they may come from
the exterior, for parts of the Pacific are very dangerous. We must be
provided against every contingency.”
Cyrus Harding spoke wisely; and without making any further objection,
Pencroft prepared to execute his orders.
The front of Granite House was then to be lighted by five windows and a
door, besides a large bay window and some smaller oval ones, which would
admit plenty of light to enter into the marvelous nave which was to be
their chief room. This facade, situated at a height of eighty feet above
the ground, was exposed to the east, and the rising sun saluted it with
its first rays. It was found to be just at that part of the cliff which
was between the projection at the mouth of the Mercy and a perpendicular
line traced above the heap of rocks which formed the Chimneys. Thus
the winds from the northeast would only strike it obliquely, for it was
protected by the projection. Besides, until the window-frames were made,
the engineer meant to close the openings with thick shutters, which
would prevent either wind or rain from entering, and which could be
concealed in need.
The first work was to make the openings. This would have taken too long
with the pickaxe alone, and it is known that Harding was an ingenious
man. He had still a quantity of nitro-glycerine at his disposal, and he
employed it usefully. By means of this explosive substance the rock was
broken open at the very places chosen by the engineer. Then, with the
pickaxe and spade, the windows and doors were properly shaped, the
jagged edges were smoothed off, and a few days after the beginning of
the work, Granite House was abundantly lighted by the rising sun,
whose rays penetrated into its most secret recesses. Following the
plan proposed by Cyrus Harding, the space was to be divided into five
compartments looking out on the sea; to the right, an entry with a
door, which would meet the ladder; then a kitchen, thirty feet long; a
dining-room, measuring forty feet; a sleeping-room, of equal size; and
lastly, a “Visitor’s room,” petitioned for by Pencroft, and which was
next to the great hall. These rooms, or rather this suite of rooms,
would not occupy all the depth of the cave. There would be also a
corridor and a storehouse, in which their tools, provisions, and stores
would be kept. All the productions of the island, the flora as well as
the fauna, were to be there in the best possible state of preservation,
and completely sheltered from the damp. There was no want of space, so
that each object could be methodically arranged. Besides, the colonists
had still at their disposal the little grotto above the great cavern,
which was like the garret of the new dwelling.
This plan settled, it had only to be put into execution. The miners
became brickmakers again, then the bricks were brought to the foot of
Granite House. Till then, Harding and his companions had only entered
the cavern by the long passage. This mode of communication obliged them
first to climb Prospect Heights, making a detour by the river’s bank,
and then to descend two hundred feet through the passage, having to
climb as far when they wished to return to the plateau. This was a great
loss of time, and was also very fatiguing. Cyrus Harding, therefore,
resolved to proceed without any further delay to the fabrication of
a strong rope ladder, which, once raised, would render Granite House
completely inaccessible.
This ladder was manufactured with extreme care, and its uprights, formed
of the twisted fibers of a species of cane, had the strength of a thick
cable. As to the rounds, they were made of a sort of red cedar, with
light, strong branches; and this apparatus was wrought by the masterly
hand of Pencroft.
Other ropes were made with vegetable fibers, and a sort of crane with a
tackle was fixed at the door. In this way bricks could easily be
raised into Granite House. The transport of the materials being thus
simplified, the arrangement of the interior could begin immediately.
There was no want of lime, and some thousands of bricks were there
ready to be used. The framework of the partitions was soon raised, very
roughly at first, and in a short time, the cave was divided into rooms
and storehouses, according to the plan agreed upon.
These different works progressed rapidly under the direction of the
engineer, who himself handled the hammer and the trowel. No labor came
amiss to Cyrus Harding, who thus set an example to his intelligent and
zealous companions. They worked with confidence, even gaily, Pencroft
always having some joke to crack, sometimes carpenter, sometimes
rope-maker, sometimes mason, while he communicated his good humor to
all the members of their little world. His faith in the engineer
was complete; nothing could disturb it. He believed him capable of
undertaking anything and succeeding in everything. The question of boots
and clothes--assuredly a serious question,--that of light during the
winter months, utilizing the fertile parts of the island, transforming
the wild flora into cultivated flora, it all appeared easy to him; Cyrus
Harding helping, everything would be done in time. He dreamed of canals
facilitating the transport of the riches of the ground; workings
of quarries and mines; machines for every industrial manufacture;
railroads; yes, railroads! of which a network would certainly one day
cover Lincoln Island.
The engineer let Pencroft talk. He did not put down the aspirations of
this brave heart. He knew how communicable confidence is; he even smiled
to hear him speak, and said nothing of the uneasiness for the future
which he felt. In fact, in that part of the Pacific, out of the course
of vessels, it was to be feared that no help would ever come to them. It
was on themselves, on themselves alone, that the settlers must depend,
for the distance of Lincoln Island from all other land was such, that
to hazard themselves in a boat, of a necessarily inferior construction,
would be a serious and perilous thing.
“But,” as the sailor said, “they quite took the wind out of the sails of
the Robinsons, for whom everything was done by a miracle.”
In fact, they were energetic; an energetic man will succeed where an
indolent one would vegetate and inevitably perish.
Herbert distinguished himself in these works. He was intelligent and
active; understanding quickly, he performed well; and Cyrus Harding
became more and more attached to the boy. Herbert had a lively and
reverent love for the engineer. Pencroft saw the close sympathy which
existed between the two, but he was not in the least jealous. Neb
was Neb: he was what he would be always, courage, zeal, devotion,
self-denial personified. He had the same faith in his master that
Pencroft had, but he showed it less vehemently. When the sailor was
enthusiastic, Neb always looked as if he would say, “Nothing could be
more natural.” Pencroft and he were great friends.
As to Gideon Spilett, he took part in the common work, and was not less
skilful in it than his companions, which always rather astonished
the sailor. A “journalist,” clever, not only in understanding, but in
performing everything.
The ladder was finally fixed on the 28th of May. There were not less
than a hundred rounds in this perpendicular height of eighty feet.
Harding had been able, fortunately, to divide it in two parts, profiting
by an overhanging of the cliff which made a projection forty feet above
the ground. This projection, carefully leveled by the pickaxe, made a
sort of platform, to which they fixed the first ladder, of which the
oscillation was thus diminished one-half, and a rope permitted it to be
raised to the level of Granite House. As to the second ladder, it was
secured both at its lower part, which rested on the projection, and at
its upper end, which was fastened to the door. In short the ascent had
been made much easier. Besides, Cyrus Harding hoped later to establish
an hydraulic apparatus, which would avoid all fatigue and loss of time,
for the inhabitants of Granite House.
The settlers soon became habituated to the use of this ladder. They were
light and active, and Pencroft, as a sailor, accustomed to run up
the masts and shrouds, was able to give them lessons. But it was also
necessary to give them to Top. The poor dog, with his four paws, was
not formed for this sort of exercise. But Pencroft was such a zealous
master, that Top ended by properly performing his ascents, and soon
mounted the ladder as readily as his brethren in the circus. It need not
be said that the sailor was proud of his pupil. However, more than once
Pencroft hoisted him on his back, which Top never complained of.
It must be mentioned here, that during these works, which were actively
conducted, for the bad season was approaching, the alimentary question
was not neglected. Every day, the reporter and Herbert, who had been
voted purveyors to the colony, devoted some hours to the chase. As yet,
they only hunted in Jacamar Wood, on the left of the river, because, for
want of a bridge or boat, the Mercy had not yet been crossed. All the
immense woods, to which the name of the Forests of the Far West had been
given, were not explored. They reserved this important excursion for the
first fine days of the next spring. But Jacamar Wood was full of game;
kangaroos and boars abounded, and the hunters’ iron-tipped spears and
bows and arrows did wonders. Besides, Herbert discovered towards the
southwest point of the lagoon a natural warren, a slightly damp meadow,
covered with willows and aromatic herbs which scented the air, such
as thyme, basil, savory, all the sweet-scented species of the labiated
plants, which the rabbits appeared to be particularly fond of.
On the reporter observing that since the table was spread for the
rabbits, it was strange that the rabbits themselves should be wanting,
the two sportsmen carefully explored the warren. At any rate, it
produced an abundance of useful plants, and a naturalist would have had
a good opportunity of studying many specimens of the vegetable kingdom.
Herbert gathered several shoots of the basil, rosemary, balm, betony,
etc., which possess different medicinal properties, some pectoral,
astringent, febrifuge, others anti-spasmodic, or anti-rheumatic. When,
afterwards, Pencroft asked the use of this collection of herbs,--
“For medicine,” replied the lad, “to treat us when we are ill.”
“Why should we be ill, since there are no doctors in the island?” asked
Pencroft quite seriously.
There was no reply to be made to that, but the lad went on with his
collection all the same, and it was well received at Granite House.
Besides these medicinal herbs, he added a plant known in North America
as “Oswego tea,” which made an excellent beverage.
At last, by searching thoroughly, the hunters arrived at the real site
of the warren. There the ground was perforated like a sieve.
“Here are the burrows!” cried Herbert.
“Yes,” replied the reporter, “so I see.”
“But are they inhabited?”
“That is the question.”
This was soon answered. Almost immediately, hundreds of little animals,
similar to rabbits, fled in every direction, with such rapidity that
even Top could not overtake them. Hunters and dog ran in vain; these
rodents escaped them easily. But the reporter resolved not to leave the
place, until he had captured at least half-a-dozen of the quadrupeds.
He wished to stock their larder first, and domesticate those which they
might take later. It would not have been difficult to do this, with a
few snares stretched at the openings of the burrows. But at this moment
they had neither snares, nor anything to make them of. They must,
therefore, be satisfied with visiting each hole, and rummaging in it
with a stick, hoping by dint of patience to do what could not be done in
any other way.
At last, after half an hour, four rodents were taken in their holes.
They were similar to their European brethren, and are commonly known by
the name of American rabbits.
This produce of the chase was brought back to Granite House, and figured
at the evening repast. The tenants of the warren were not at all to be
despised, for they were delicious. It was a valuable resource of the
colony, and it appeared to be inexhaustible.
On the 31st of May the partitions were finished. The rooms had now only
to be furnished, and this would be work for the long winter days. A
chimney was established in the first room, which served as a kitchen.
The pipe destined to conduct the smoke outside gave some trouble to
these amateur bricklayers. It appeared simplest to Harding to make it of
brick clay; as creating an outlet for it to the upper plateau was not to
be thought of, a hole was pierced in the granite above the window of
the kitchen, and the pipe met it like that of an iron stove. Perhaps
the winds which blew directly against the facade would make the chimney
smoke, but these winds were rare, and besides, Master Neb, the cook, was
not so very particular about that.
When these interior arrangements were finished, the engineer occupied
himself in blocking up the outlet by the lake, so as to prevent any
access by that way. Masses of rock were rolled to the entrance and
strongly cemented together. Cyrus Harding did not yet realize his plan
of drowning this opening under the waters of the lake, by restoring
them to their former level by means of a dam. He contented himself with
hiding the obstruction with grass and shrubs, which were planted in the
interstices of the rocks, and which next spring would sprout thickly.
However, he used the waterfall so as to lead a small stream of fresh
water to the new dwelling. A little trench, made below their level,
produced this result; and this derivation from a pure and inexhaustible
source yielded twenty-five or thirty gallons a day. There would never be
any want of water at Granite House. At last all was finished, and it was
time, for the bad season was near. Thick shutters closed the windows of
the facade, until the engineer had time to make glass.
Gideon Spilett had very artistically arranged on the rocky projections
around the windows plants of different kinds, as well as long streaming
grass, so that the openings were picturesquely framed in green, which
had a pleasing effect.
The inhabitants of this solid, healthy, and secure dwelling, could not
but be charmed with their work. The view from the windows extended over
a boundless horizon, which was closed by the two Mandible Capes on the
north, and Claw Cape on the south. All Union Bay was spread before them.
Yes, our brave settlers had reason to be satisfied, and Pencroft was
lavish in his praise of what he humorously called, “his apartments on
the fifth floor above the ground!”
Chapter 20
The winter season set in with the month of June, which corresponds with
the month of December in the Northern Hemisphere. It began with showers
and squalls, which succeeded each other without intermission. The
tenants of Granite House could appreciate the advantages of a dwelling
which sheltered them from the inclement weather. The Chimneys would have
been quite insufficient to protect them against the rigor of winter, and
it was to be feared that the high tides would make another irruption.
Cyrus Harding had taken precautions against this contingency, so as
to preserve as much as possible the forge and furnace which were
established there.
During the whole of the month of June the time was employed in different
occupations, which excluded neither hunting nor fishing, the larder
being, therefore, abundantly supplied. Pencroft, so soon as he had
leisure, proposed to set some traps, from which he expected great
results. He soon made some snares with creepers, by the aid of which the
warren henceforth every day furnished its quota of rodents. Neb employed
nearly all his time in salting or smoking meat, which insured their
always having plenty of provisions. The question of clothes was now
seriously discussed, the settlers having no other garments than those
they wore when the balloon threw them on the island. These clothes were
warm and good; they had taken great care of them as well as of their
linen, and they were perfectly whole, but they would soon need to be
replaced. Moreover, if the winter was severe, the settlers would suffer
greatly from cold.
On this subject the ingenuity of Harding was at fault. They must provide
for their most pressing wants, settle their dwelling, and lay in a
store of food; thus the cold might come upon them before the question
of clothes had been settled. They must therefore make up their minds to
pass this first winter without additional clothing. When the fine season
came round again, they would regularly hunt those musmons which had been
seen on the expedition to Mount Franklin, and the wool once collected,
the engineer would know how to make it into strong warm stuff.... How?
He would consider.
“Well, we are free to roast ourselves at Granite House!” said Pencroft.
“There are heaps of fuel, and no reason for sparing it.”
“Besides,” added Gideon Spilett, “Lincoln Island is not situated under
a very high latitude, and probably the winters here are not severe. Did
you not say, Cyrus, that this thirty-fifth parallel corresponded to that
of Spain in the other hemisphere?”
“Doubtless,” replied the engineer, “but some winters in Spain are very
cold! No want of snow and ice; and perhaps Lincoln Island is just as
rigorously tried. However, it is an island, and as such, I hope that
the temperature will be more moderate.”
“Why, captain?” asked Herbert.
“Because the sea, my boy, may be considered as an immense reservoir, in
which is stored the heat of the summer. When winter comes, it restores
this heat, which insures for the regions near the ocean a medium
temperature, less high in summer, but less low in winter.”
“We shall prove that,” replied Pencroft. “But I don’t want to bother
myself about whether it will be cold or not. One thing is certain, that
is that the days are already short, and the evenings long. Suppose we
talk about the question of light.”
“Nothing is easier,” replied Harding.
“To talk about?” asked the sailor.
“To settle.”
“And when shall we begin?”
“To-morrow, by having a seal hunt.”
“To make candles?”
“Yes.”
Such was the engineer’s project; and it was quite feasible, since he had
lime and sulphuric acid, while the amphibians of the islet would furnish
the fat necessary for the manufacture.
They were now at the 4th of June. It was Whit Sunday and they agreed to
observe this feast. All work was suspended, and prayers were offered
to Heaven. But these prayers were now thanksgivings. The settlers in
Lincoln Island were no longer the miserable castaways thrown on the
islet. They asked for nothing more--they gave thanks. The next day, the
5th of June, in rather uncertain weather, they set out for the islet.
They had to profit by the low tide to cross the Channel, and it was
agreed that they would construct, for this purpose, as well as they
could, a boat which would render communication so much easier, and
would also permit them to ascend the Mercy, at the time of their grand
exploration of the southwest of the island, which was put off till the
first fine days.
The seals were numerous, and the hunters, armed with their iron-tipped
spears, easily killed half-a-dozen. Neb and Pencroft skinned them, and
only brought back to Granite House their fat and skin, this skin being
intended for the manufacture of boots.
The result of the hunt was this: nearly three hundred pounds of fat, all
to be employed in the fabrication of candles.
The operation was extremely simple, and if it did not yield absolutely
perfect results, they were at least very useful. Cyrus Harding would
only have had at his disposal sulphuric acid, but by heating this acid
with the neutral fatty bodies he could separate the glycerine; then from
this new combination, he easily separated the olein, the margarin, and
the stearin, by employing boiling water. But to simplify the operation,
he preferred to saponify the fat by means of lime. By this he obtained a
calcareous soap, easy to decompose by sulphuric acid, which precipitated
the lime into the state of sulphate, and liberated the fatty acids.
From these three acids-oleic, margaric, and stearic-the first, being
liquid, was driven out by a sufficient pressure. As to the two others,
they formed the very substance of which the candles were to be molded.
This operation did not last more than four and twenty hours. The wicks,
after several trials, were made of vegetable fibers, and dipped in the
liquefied substance, they formed regular stearic candles, molded by the
hand, which only wanted whiteness and polish. They would not doubtless
have the advantages of the wicks which are impregnated with boracic
acid, and which vitrify as they burn and are entirely consumed, but
Cyrus Harding having manufactured a beautiful pair of snuffers, these
candles would be greatly appreciated during the long evenings in Granite
House.
During this month there was no want of work in the interior of their new
dwelling. The joiners had plenty to do. They improved their tools, which
were very rough, and added others also.
Scissors were made among other things, and the settlers were at last
able to cut their hair, and also to shave, or at least trim their
beards. Herbert had none, Neb but little, but their companions were
bristling in a way which justified the making of the said scissors.
The manufacture of a hand-saw cost infinite trouble, but at last an
instrument was obtained which, when vigorously handled, could divide the
ligneous fibers of the wood. They then made tables, seats, cupboards,
to furnish the principal rooms, and bedsteads, of which all the bedding
consisted of grass mattresses. The kitchen, with its shelves, on which
rested the cooking utensils, its brick stove, looked very well, and Neb
worked away there as earnestly as if he was in a chemist’s laboratory.
But the joiners had soon to be replaced by carpenters. In fact, the
waterfall created by the explosion rendered the construction of two
bridges necessary, one on Prospect Heights, the other on the shore. Now
the plateau and the shore were transversely divided by a watercourse,
which had to be crossed to reach the northern part of the island. To
avoid it the colonists had been obliged to make a considerable detour,
by climbing up to the source of the Red Creek. The simplest thing was to
establish on the plateau, and on the shore, two bridges from twenty to
five and twenty feet in length. All the carpenter’s work that was needed
was to clear some trees of their branches: this was a business of some
days. Directly the bridges were established, Neb and Pencroft profited
by them to go to the oyster-bed which had been discovered near the
downs. They dragged with them a sort of rough cart, which replaced the
former inconvenient hurdle, and brought back some thousands of oysters,
which soon increased among the rocks and formed a bed at the mouth of
the Mercy. These molluscs were of excellent quality, and the colonists
consumed some daily.
It has been seen that Lincoln Island, although its inhabitants had as
yet only explored a small portion of it, already contributed to almost
all their wants. It was probable that if they hunted into its most
secret recesses, in all the wooded part between the Mercy and Reptile
Point, they would find new treasures.
The settlers in Lincoln Island had still one privation. There was no
want of meat, nor of vegetable products; those ligneous roots which
they had found, when subjected to fermentation, gave them an acid drink,
which was preferable to cold water; they also made sugar, without canes
or beet-roots, by collecting the liquor which distils from the “acer
saceharinum,” a sort of maple-tree, which flourishes in all the temperate
zones, and of which the island possessed a great number; they made
a very agreeable tea by employing the herbs brought from the warren;
lastly, they had an abundance of salt, the only mineral which is used in
food... but bread was wanting.
Perhaps in time the settlers could replace this want by some equivalent,
it was possible that they might find the sago or the breadfruit tree
among the forests of the south, but they had not as yet met with these
precious trees. However, Providence came directly to their aid, in an
infinitesimal proportion it is true, but Cyrus Harding, with all his
intelligence, all his ingenuity, would never have been able to produce
that which, by the greatest chance, Herbert one day found in the lining
of his waistcoat, which he was occupied in setting to rights.
On this day, as it was raining in torrents, the settlers were assembled
in the great hall in Granite House, when the lad cried out all at
once,--
“Look here, captain--A grain of corn!”
And he showed his companions a grain--a single grain--which from a hole
in his pocket had got into the lining of his waistcoat.
The presence of this grain was explained by the fact that Herbert, when
at Richmond, used to feed some pigeons, of which Pencroft had made him a
present.
“A grain of corn?” said the engineer quickly.
“Yes, captain; but one, only one!”
“Well, my boy,” said Pencroft, laughing, “we’re getting on capitally,
upon my word! What shall we make with one grain of corn?”
“We will make bread of it,” replied Cyrus Harding.
“Bread, cakes, tarts!” replied the sailor. “Come, the bread that this
grain of corn will make won’t choke us very soon!”
Herbert, not attaching much importance to his discovery, was going to
throw away the grain in question; but Harding took it, examined it,
found that it was in good condition, and looking the sailor full in the
face--“Pencroft,” he asked quietly, “do you know how many ears one grain
of corn can produce?”
“One, I suppose!” replied the sailor, surprised at the question.
“Ten, Pencroft! And do you know how many grains one ear bears?”
“No, upon my word.”
“About eighty!” said Cyrus Harding. “Then, if we plant this grain, at
the first crop we shall reap eight hundred grains which at the second
will produce six hundred and forty thousand; at the third, five hundred
and twelve millions; at the fourth, more than four hundred thousands of
millions! There is the proportion.”
Harding’s companions listened without answering. These numbers
astonished them. They were exact, however.
“Yes, my friends,” continued the engineer, “such are the arithmetical
progressions of prolific nature; and yet what is this multiplication
of the grain of corn, of which the ear only bears eight hundred grains,
compared to the poppy-plant, which bears thirty-two thousand seeds; to
the tobacco-plant, which produces three hundred and sixty thousand? In
a few years, without the numerous causes of destruction, which arrests
their fecundity, these plants would overrun the earth.”
But the engineer had not finished his lecture.
“And now, Pencroft,” he continued, “do you know how many bushels four
hundred thousand millions of grains would make?”
“No,” replied the sailor; “but what I do know is, that I am nothing
better than a fool!”
“Well, they would make more than three millions, at a hundred and thirty
thousand a bushel, Pencroft.”
“Three millions!” cried Pencroft.
“Three millions.”
“In four years?”
“In four years,” replied Cyrus Harding, “and even in two years, if, as I
hope, in this latitude we can obtain two crops a year.”
At that, according to his usual custom, Pencroft could not reply
otherwise than by a tremendous hurrah.
“So, Herbert,” added the engineer, “you have made a discovery of great
importance to us. Everything, my friends, everything can serve us in the
condition in which we are. Do not forget that, I beg of you.”
“No, captain, no, we shan’t forget it,” replied Pencroft; “and if ever
I find one of those tobacco-seeds, which multiply by three hundred and
sixty thousand, I assure you I won’t throw it away! And now, what must
we do?”
“We must plant this grain,” replied Herbert.
“Yes,” added Gideon Spilett, “and with every possible care, for it bears
in itself our future harvests.”
“Provided it grows!” cried the sailor.
“It will grow,” replied Cyrus Harding.
This was the 20th of June. The time was then propitious for sowing this
single precious grain of corn. It was first proposed to plant it in
a pot, but upon reflection it was decided to leave it to nature, and
confide it to the earth. This was done that very day, and it is needless
to add, that every precaution was taken that the experiment might
succeed.
The weather having cleared, the settlers climbed the height above
Granite House. There, on the plateau, they chose a spot, well sheltered
from the wind, and exposed to all the heat of the midday sun. The place
was cleared, carefully weeded, and searched for insects and worms;
then a bed of good earth, improved with a little lime, was made; it was
surrounded by a railing; and the grain was buried in the damp earth.
Did it not seem as if the settlers were laying the first stone of some
edifice? It recalled to Pencroft the day on which he lighted his only
match, and all the anxiety of the operation. But this time the thing
was more serious. In fact, the castaways would have been always able
to procure fire, in some mode or other, but no human power could supply
another grain of corn, if unfortunately this should be lost!
Chapter 21
From this time Pencroft did not let a single day pass without going to
visit what he gravely called his “corn-field.” And woe to the insects
which dared to venture there! No mercy was shown them.
Towards the end of the month of June, after incessant rain, the weather
became decidedly colder, and on the 29th a Fahrenheit thermometer
would certainly have announced only twenty degrees above zero, that is
considerably below the freezing-point. The next day, the 30th of June,
the day which corresponds to the 31st of December in the northern year,
was a Friday. Neb remarked that the year finished on a bad day, but
Pencroft replied that naturally the next would begin on a good one,
which was better.
At any rate it commenced by very severe cold. Ice accumulated at the
mouth of the Mercy, and it was not long before the whole expanse of the
lake was frozen.
The settlers had frequently been obliged to renew their store of wood.
Pencroft also had wisely not waited till the river was frozen, but had
brought enormous rafts of wood to their destination. The current was
an indefatigable moving power, and it was employed in conveying the
floating wood to the moment when the frost enchained it. To the fuel
which was so abundantly supplied by the forest, they added several
cartloads of coal, which had to be brought from the foot of the spurs of
Mount Franklin. The powerful heat of the coal was greatly appreciated in
the low temperature, which on the 4th of July fell to eight degrees of
Fahrenheit, that is, thirteen degrees below zero. A second fireplace had
been established in the dining-room, where they all worked together at
their different avocations. During this period of cold, Cyrus Harding
had great cause to congratulate himself on having brought to Granite
House the little stream of water from Lake Grant. Taken below the frozen
surface, and conducted through the passage, it preserved its fluidity,
and arrived at an interior reservoir which had been hollowed out at the
back part of the storeroom, while the overflow ran through the well to
the sea.
About this time, the weather being extremely dry, the colonists, clothed
as warmly as possible, resolved to devote a day to the exploration of
that part of the island between the Mercy and Claw Cape. It was a wide
extent of marshy land, and they would probably find good sport, for
water-birds ought to swarm there.
They reckoned that it would be about eight or nine miles to go there,
and as much to return, so that the whole of the day would be occupied.
As an unknown part of the island was about to be explored, the whole
colony took part in the expedition. Accordingly, on the 5th of July, at
six o’clock in the morning, when day had scarcely broken, Cyrus Harding,
Gideon Spilett, Herbert, Neb, and Pencroft, armed with spears, snares,
bows and arrows, and provided with provisions, left Granite House,
preceded by Top, who bounded before them.
Their shortest way was to cross the Mercy on the ice, which then covered
it.
“But,” as the engineer justly observed, “that could not take the place
of a regular bridge!” So, the construction of a regular bridge was noted
in the list of future works.
It was the first time that the settlers had set foot on the right bank
of the Mercy, and ventured into the midst of those gigantic and superb
coniferae now sprinkled over with snow.
But they had not gone half a mile when from a thicket a whole family of
quadrupeds, who had made a home there, disturbed by Top, rushed forth
into the open country.
“Ah! I should say those are foxes!” cried Herbert, when he saw the troop
rapidly decamping.
They were foxes, but of a very large size, who uttered a sort of
barking, at which Top seemed to be very much astonished, for he stopped
short in the chase, and gave the swift animals time to disappear.
The dog had reason to be surprised, as he did not know Natural History.
But, by their barking, these foxes, with reddish-gray hair, black tails
terminating in a white tuft, had betrayed their origin. So Herbert
was able, without hesitating, to give them their real name of “Arctic
foxes.” They are frequently met with in Chile, in the Falkland Islands,
and in all parts of America traversed by the thirtieth and fortieth
parallels. Herbert much regretted that Top had not been able to catch
one of these carnivora.
“Are they good to eat?” asked Pencroft, who only regarded the
representatives of the fauna in the island from one special point of
view.
“No,” replied Herbert; “but zoologists have not yet found out if the
eye of these foxes is diurnal or nocturnal, or whether it is correct to
class them in the genus dog, properly so called.”
Harding could not help smiling on hearing the lad’s reflection, which
showed a thoughtful mind. As to the sailor, from the moment when he
found that the foxes were not classed in the genus eatable, they were
nothing to him. However, when a poultry-yard was established at Granite
House, he observed that it would be best to take some precautions
against a probable visit from these four-legged plunderers, and no one
disputed this.
After having turned the point, the settlers saw a long beach washed by
the open sea. It was then eight o’clock in the morning. The sky was very
clear, as it often is after prolonged cold; but warmed by their walk,
neither Harding nor his companions felt the sharpness of the atmosphere
too severely. Besides there was no wind, which made it much more
bearable. A brilliant sun, but without any calorific action, was just
issuing from the ocean. The sea was as tranquil and blue as that of a
Mediterranean gulf, when the sky is clear. Claw Cape, bent in the form
of a yataghan, tapered away nearly four miles to the southeast. To
the left the edge of the marsh was abruptly ended by a little point.
Certainly, in this part of Union Bay, which nothing sheltered from the
open sea, not even a sandbank, ships beaten by the east winds would
have found no shelter. They perceived by the tranquillity of the sea, in
which no shallows troubled the waters, by its uniform color, which was
stained by no yellow shades, by the absence of even a reef, that the
coast was steep and that the ocean there covered a deep abyss. Behind in
the west, but at a distance of four miles, rose the first trees of the
forests of the Far West. They might have believed themselves to be on
the desolate coast of some island in the Antarctic regions which the ice
had invaded. The colonists halted at this place for breakfast. A fire of
brushwood and dried seaweed was lighted, and Neb prepared the breakfast
of cold meat, to which he added some cups of Oswego tea.
While eating they looked around them. This part of Lincoln Island was
very sterile, and contrasted with all the western part. The reporter
was thus led to observe that if chance had thrown them at first on the
shore, they would have had but a deplorable idea of their future domain.
“I believe that we should not have been able to reach it,” replied the
engineer, “for the sea is deep, and there is not a rock on which we
could have taken refuge. Before Granite House, at least, there were
sandbanks, an islet, which multiplied our chances of safety. Here,
nothing but the depths!”
“It is singular enough,” remarked Spilett, “that this comparatively
small island should present such varied ground. This diversity of
aspect, logically only belongs to continents of a certain extent. One
would really say, that the western part of Lincoln Island, so rich and
so fertile, is washed by the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and that
its shores to the north and the southeast extend over a sort of Arctic
sea.”
“You are right, my dear Spilett,” replied Cyrus Harding, “I have also
observed this. I think the form and also the nature of this island
strange. It is a summary of all the aspects which a continent presents,
and I should not be surprised if it was a continent formerly.”
“What! a continent in the middle of the Pacific?” cried Pencroft.
“Why not?” replied Cyrus Harding. “Why should not Australia, New
Ireland, Australasia, united to the archipelagoes of the Pacific, have
once formed a sixth part of the world, as important as Europe or Asia,
as Africa or the two Americas? To my mind, it is quite possible that all
these islands, emerging from this vast ocean, are but the summits of
a continent, now submerged, but which was above the waters at a
prehistoric period.”
“As the Atlantis was formerly,” replied Herbert.
“Yes, my boy... if, however, it existed.”
“And would Lincoln Island have been a part of that continent?” asked
Pencroft.
“It is probable,” replied Cyrus Harding, “and that would sufficiently,
explain the variety of productions which are seen on its surface.”
“And the great number of animals which still inhabit it,” added Herbert.
“Yes, my boy,” replied the engineer, “and you furnish me with an
argument to support my theory. It is certain, after what we have seen,
that animals are numerous in this island, and what is more strange, that
the species are extremely varied. There is a reason for that, and to
me it is that Lincoln Island may have formerly been a part of some vast
continent which had gradually sunk below the Pacific.”
“Then, some fine day,” said Pencroft, who did not appear to be entirely
convinced, “the rest of this ancient continent may disappear in its
turn, and there will be nothing between America and Asia.”
“Yes,” replied Harding, “there will be new continents which millions and
millions of animalculae are building at this moment.”
“And what are these masons?” asked Pencroft.
“Coral insects,” replied Cyrus Harding. “By constant work they made the
island of Clermont-Tonnerre, and numerous other coral islands in the
Pacific Ocean. Forty-seven millions of these insects are needed to weigh
a grain, and yet, with the sea-salt they absorb, the solid elements of
water which they assimilate, these animalculae produce limestone, and
this limestone forms enormous submarine erections, of which the hardness
and solidity equal granite. Formerly, at the first periods of creation,
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