nature employing fire, heaved up the land, but now she entrusts to these
microscopic creatures the task of replacing this agent, of which
the dynamic power in the interior of the globe has evidently
diminished--which is proved by the number of volcanoes on the surface of
the earth, now actually extinct. And I believe that centuries succeeding
to centuries, and insects to insects, this Pacific may one day be
changed into a vast continent, which new generations will inhabit and
civilize in their turn.”
“That will take a long time,” said Pencroft.
“Nature has time for it,” replied the engineer.
“But what would be the use of new continents?” asked Herbert. “It
appears to me that the present extent of habitable countries is
sufficient for humanity. Yet nature does nothing uselessly.”
“Nothing uselessly, certainly,” replied the engineer, “but this is
how the necessity of new continents for the future, and exactly on the
tropical zone occupied by the coral islands, may be explained. At least
to me this explanation appears plausible.”
“We are listening, captain,” said Herbert.
“This is my idea: philosophers generally admit that some day our globe
will end, or rather that animal and vegetable life will no longer be
possible, because of the intense cold to which it will be subjected.
What they are not agreed upon, is the cause of this cold. Some think
that it will arise from the falling of the temperature, which the
sun will experience after millions of years; others, from the gradual
extinction of the fires in the interior of our globe, which have a
greater influence on it than is generally supposed. I hold to this last
hypothesis, grounding it on the fact that the moon is really a cold
star, which is no longer habitable, although the sun continues to throw
on its surface the same amount of heat. If, then, the moon has become
cold, it is because the interior fires to which, as do all the stars of
the stellar world, it owes its origin, are completely extinct. Lastly,
whatever may be the cause, our globe will become cold some day, but this
cold will only operate gradually. What will happen, then? The temperate
zones, at a more or less distant period, will not be more habitable than
the polar regions now are. Then the population of men, as well as the
animals, will flow towards the latitudes which are more directly under
the solar influence. An immense emigration will take place. Europe,
Central Asia, North America, will gradually be abandoned, as well as
Australasia and the lower parts of South America. The vegetation will
follow the human emigration. The flora will retreat towards the Equator
at the same time as the fauna. The central parts of South America and
Africa will be the continents chiefly inhabited. The Laplanders and the
Samoides will find the climate of the polar regions on the shores of the
Mediterranean. Who can say, that at this period, the equatorial regions
will not be too small, to contain and nourish terrestrial humanity? Now,
may not provident nature, so as to give refuge to all the vegetable
and animal emigration, be at present laying the foundation of a new
continent under the Equator, and may she not have entrusted these
insects with the construction of it? I have often thought of all these
things, my friends, and I seriously believe that the aspect of our
globe will some day be completely changed; that by the raising of new
continents the sea will cover the old, and that, in future ages,
a Columbus will go to discover the islands of Chimborazo, of the
Himalayas, or of Mont Blanc, remains of a submerged America, Asia,
and Europe. Then these new continents will become, in their turn,
uninhabitable; heat will die away, as does the heat from a body when
the soul has left it; and life will disappear from the globe, if not for
ever, at least for a period. Perhaps then, our spheroid will rest--will
be left to death--to revive some day under superior conditions! But
all that, my friends, is the secret of the Author of all things; and
beginning by the work of the insects, I have perhaps let myself be
carried too far, in investigating the secrets of the future.
“My dear Cyrus,” replied Spilett, “these theories are prophecies to me,
and they will be accomplished some day.”
“That is the secret of God,” said the engineer.
“All that is well and good,” then said Pencroft, who had listened with
all his might, “but will you tell me, captain, if Lincoln Island has
been made by your insects?”
“No,” replied Harding; “it is of a purely volcanic origin.”
“Then it will disappear some day?”
“That is probable.”
“I hope we won’t be here then.”
“No, don’t be uneasy, Pencroft; we shall not be here then, as we have no
wish to die here, and hope to get away some time.”
“In the meantime,” replied Gideon Spilett, “let us establish ourselves
here as if forever. There is no use in doing things by halves.”
This ended the conversation. Breakfast was finished, the exploration was
continued, and the settlers arrived at the border of the marshy
region. It was a marsh of which the extent, to the rounded coast which
terminated the island at the southeast, was about twenty square miles.
The soil was formed of clayey flint-earth, mingled with vegetable
matter, such as the remains of rushes, reeds, grass, etc. Here and there
beds of grass, thick as a carpet, covered it. In many places icy pools
sparkled in the sun. Neither rain nor any river, increased by a sudden
swelling, could supply these ponds. They therefore naturally concluded
that the marsh was fed by the infiltrations of the soil and it was
really so. It was also to be feared that during the heat miasmas would
arise, which might produce fevers.
Above the aquatic plants, on the surface of the stagnant water,
fluttered numbers of birds. Wild duck, teal, snipe lived there in
flocks, and those fearless birds allowed themselves to be easily
approached.
One shot from a gun would certainly have brought down some dozen of the
birds, they were so close together. The explorers were, however, obliged
to content themselves with bows and arrows. The result was less, but the
silent arrow had the advantage of not frightening the birds, while the
noise of firearms would have dispersed them to all parts of the marsh.
The hunters were satisfied, for this time, with a dozen ducks, which had
white bodies with a band of cinnamon, a green head, wings black, white,
and red, and flattened beak. Herbert called them tadorns. Top helped in
the capture of these birds, whose name was given to this marshy part of
the island. The settlers had here an abundant reserve of aquatic game.
At some future time they meant to explore it more carefully, and it was
probable that some of the birds there might be domesticated, or at least
brought to the shores of the lake, so that they would be more within
their reach.
About five o’clock in the evening Cyrus Harding and his companions
retraced their steps to their dwelling by traversing Tadorn’s Fens, and
crossed the Mercy on the ice-bridge.
At eight in the evening they all entered Granite House.
Chapter 22
This intense cold lasted till the 15th of August, without, however,
passing the degree of Fahrenheit already mentioned. When the atmosphere
was calm, the low temperature was easily borne, but when the wind blew,
the poor settlers, insufficiently clothed, felt it severely. Pencroft
regretted that Lincoln Island was not the home of a few families of
bears rather than of so many foxes and seals.
“Bears,” said he, “are generally very well dressed, and I ask no more
than to borrow for the winter the warm cloaks which they have on their
backs.”
“But,” replied Neb, laughing, “perhaps the bears would not consent to
give you their cloaks, Pencroft. These beasts are not St. Martins.”
“We would make them do it, Neb, we would make them,” replied Pencroft,
in quite an authoritative tone.
But these formidable carnivora did not exist in the island, or at any
rate they had not yet shown themselves.
In the meanwhile, Herbert, Pencroft, and the reporter occupied
themselves with making traps on Prospect Heights and at the border of
the forest.
According to the sailor, any animal, whatever it was, would be a lawful
prize, and the rodents or carnivora which might get into the new snares
would be well received at Granite House.
The traps were besides extremely simple; being pits dug in the ground,
a platform of branches and grass above, which concealed the opening, and
at the bottom some bait, the scent of which would attract animals. It
must be mentioned also, that they had not been dug at random, but
at certain places where numerous footprints showed that quadrupeds
frequented the ground. They were visited every day, and at three
different times, during the first days, specimens of those Antarctic
foxes which they had already seen on the right bank of the Mercy were
found in them.
“Why, there are nothing but foxes in this country!” cried Pencroft, when
for the third time he drew one of the animals out of the pit. Looking at
it in great disgust, he added, “beasts which are good for nothing!”
“Yes,” said Gideon Spilett, “they are good for something!”
“And what is that?”
“To make bait to attract other creatures!”
The reporter was right, and the traps were henceforward baited with the
foxes carcasses.
The sailor had also made snares from the long tough fibers of a certain
plant, and they were even more successful than the traps. Rarely a day
passed without some rabbits from the warren being caught. It was always
rabbit, but Neb knew how to vary his sauces and the settlers did not
think of complaining.
However, once or twice in the second week of August, the traps supplied
the hunters with other animals more useful than foxes, namely, several
of those small wild boars which had already been seen to the north of
the lake. Pencroft had no need to ask if these beasts were eatable. He
could see that by their resemblance to the pig of America and Europe.
“But these are not pigs,” said Herbert to him, “I warn you of that,
Pencroft.”
“My boy,” replied the sailor, bending over the trap and drawing out one
of these representatives of the family of sus by the little appendage
which served it as a tail. “Let me believe that these are pigs.”
“Why?”
“Because that pleases me!”
“Are you very fond of pig then, Pencroft?”
“I am very fond of pig,” replied the sailor, “particularly of its feet,
and if it had eight instead of four, I should like it twice as much!”
As to the animals in question, they were peccaries belonging to one of
the four species which are included in the family, and they were also of
the species of Tajacu, recognizable by their deep color and the absence
of those long teeth with which the mouths of their congeners are armed.
These peccaries generally live in herds, and it was probable that they
abounded in the woody parts of the island.
At any rate, they were eatable from head to foot, and Pencroft did not
ask more from them.
Towards the 15th of August, the state of the atmosphere was suddenly
moderated by the wind shifting to the northwest. The temperature rose
some degrees, and the accumulated vapor in the air was not long in
resolving into snow. All the island was covered with a sheet of white,
and showed itself to its inhabitants under a new aspect. The snow fell
abundantly for several days, and it soon reached a thickness of two
feet.
The wind also blew with great violence, and at the height of Granite
House the sea could be heard thundering against the reefs. In some
places, the wind, eddying round the corners, formed the snow into tall
whirling columns, resembling those waterspouts which turn round on their
base, and which vessels attack with a shot from a gun. However, the
storm, coming from the northwest, blew across the island, and the
position of Granite House preserved it from a direct attack.
But in the midst of this snow-storm, as terrible as if it had been
produced in some polar country, neither Cyrus Harding nor his companions
could, notwithstanding their wish for it, venture forth, and they
remained shut up for five days, from the 20th to the 25th of August.
They could hear the tempest raging in Jacamar Wood, which would surely
suffer from it. Many of the trees would no doubt be torn up by the
roots, but Pencroft consoled himself by thinking that he would not have
the trouble of cutting them down.
“The wind is turning woodman, let it alone,” he repeated.
Besides, there was no way of stopping it, if they had wished to do so.
How grateful the inhabitants of Granite House then were to Heaven for
having prepared for them this solid and immovable retreat! Cyrus Harding
had also his legitimate share of thanks, but after all, it was Nature
who had hollowed out this vast cavern, and he had only discovered it.
There all were in safety, and the tempest could not reach them. If
they had constructed a house of bricks and wood on Prospect Heights,
it certainly would not have resisted the fury of this storm. As to
the Chimneys, it must have been absolutely uninhabitable, for the sea,
passing over the islet, would beat furiously against it. But here, in
Granite House, in the middle of a solid mass, over which neither the sea
nor air had any influence, there was nothing to fear.
During these days of seclusion the settlers did not remain inactive.
There was no want of wood, cut up into planks, in the storeroom, and
little by little they completed their furnishing; constructing the
most solid of tables and chairs, for material was not spared. Neb and
Pencroft were very proud of this rather heavy furniture, which they
would not have changed on any account.
Then the carpenters became basket-makers, and they did not succeed badly
in this new manufacture. At the point of the lake which projected to the
north, they had discovered an osier-bed in which grew a large number
of purple osiers. Before the rainy season, Pencroft and Herbert had cut
down these useful shrubs, and their branches, well prepared, could now
be effectively employed. The first attempts were somewhat crude, but
in consequence of the cleverness and intelligence of the workmen,
by consulting, and recalling the models which they had seen, and by
emulating each other, the possessions of the colony were soon increased
by several baskets of different sizes. The storeroom was provided with
them, and in special baskets Neb placed his collection of rhizomes,
stone-pine almonds, etc.
During the last week of the month of August the weather moderated again.
The temperature fell a little, and the tempest abated. The colonists
sallied out directly. There was certainly two feet of snow on the shore,
but they were able to walk without much difficulty on the hardened
surface. Cyrus Harding and his companions climbed Prospect Heights.
What a change! The woods, which they had left green, especially in the
part at which the firs predominated, had disappeared under a uniform
color. All was white, from the summit of Mount Franklin to the shore,
the forests, the plains, the lake, the river. The waters of the Mercy
flowed under a roof of ice, which, at each rising and ebbing of the
tide, broke up with loud crashes. Numerous birds fluttered over the
frozen surface of the lake. Ducks and snipe, teal and guillemots were
assembled in thousands. The rocks among which the cascade flowed were
bristling with icicles. One might have said that the water escaped by a
monstrous gargoyle, shaped with all the imagination of an artist of the
Renaissance. As to the damage caused by the storm in the forest, that
could not as yet be ascertained; they would have to wait till the snowy
covering was dissipated.
Gideon Spilett, Pencroft, and Herbert did not miss this opportunity of
going to visit their traps. They did not find them easily, under the
snow with which they were covered. They had also to be careful not to
fall into one or other of them, which would have been both dangerous and
humiliating; to be taken in their own snares! But happily they avoided
this unpleasantness, and found their traps perfectly intact. No animal
had fallen into them, and yet the footprints in the neighborhood were
very numerous, among others, certain very clear marks of claws. Herbert
did not hesitate to affirm that some animal of the feline species had
passed there, which justified the engineer’s opinion that dangerous
beasts existed in Lincoln Island. These animals doubtless generally
lived in the forests of the Far West, but pressed by hunger, they had
ventured as far as Prospect Heights. Perhaps they had smelled out the
inhabitants of Granite House. “Now, what are these feline creatures?”
asked Pencroft. “They are tigers,” replied Herbert. “I thought those
beasts were only found in hot countries?”
“On the new continent,” replied the lad, “they are found from Mexico to
the Pampas of Buenos Aires. Now, as Lincoln Island is nearly under the
same latitude as the provinces of La Plata, it is not surprising that
tigers are to be met with in it.”
“Well, we must look out for them,” replied Pencroft.
However, the snow soon disappeared, quickly dissolving under the
influence of the rising temperature. Rain fell, and the sheet of white
soon vanished. Notwithstanding the bad weather, the settlers renewed
their stores of different things, stone-pine almonds, rhizomes, syrup
from the maple-tree, for the vegetable part; rabbits from the warren,
agouties, and kangaroos for the animal part. This necessitated several
excursions into the forest, and they found that a great number of trees
had been blown down by the last hurricane. Pencroft and Neb also pushed
with the cart as far as the vein of coal, and brought back several tons
of fuel. They saw in passing that the pottery kiln had been severely
damaged by the wind, at least six feet of it having been blown off.
At the same time as the coal, the store of wood was renewed at Granite
House, and they profited by the current of the Mercy having again become
free, to float down several rafts. They could see that the cold period
was not ended.
A visit was also paid to the Chimneys, and the settlers could not but
congratulate themselves on not having been living there during the
hurricane. The sea had left unquestionable traces of its ravages.
Sweeping over the islet, it had furiously assailed the passages, half
filling them with sand, while thick beds of seaweed covered the rocks.
While Neb, Herbert, and Pencroft hunted or collected wood, Cyrus Harding
and Gideon Spilett busied themselves in putting the Chimneys to rights,
and they found the forge and the bellows almost unhurt, protected as
they had been from the first by the heaps of sand.
The store of fuel had not been made uselessly. The settlers had not done
with the rigorous cold. It is known that, in the Northern Hemisphere,
the month of February is principally distinguished by rapid fallings of
the temperature. It is the same in the Southern Hemisphere, and the end
of the month of August, which is the February of North America, does not
escape this climatic law.
About the 25th, after another change from snow to rain, the wind shifted
to the southeast, and the cold became, suddenly, very severe. According
to the engineer’s calculation, the mercurial column of a Fahrenheit
thermometer would not have marked less than eight degrees below zero,
and this intense cold, rendered still more painful by a sharp gale,
lasted for several days. The colonists were again shut up in Granite
House, and as it was necessary to hermetically seal all the openings
of the facade, only leaving a narrow passage for renewing the air, the
consumption of candles was considerable. To economize them, the cavern
was often only lighted by the blazing hearths, on which fuel was not
spared. Several times, one or other of the settlers descended to the
beach in the midst of ice which the waves heaped up at each tide, but
they soon climbed up again to Granite House, and it was not without pain
and difficulty that their hands could hold to the rounds of the ladder.
In consequence of the intense cold, their fingers felt as if burned when
they touched the rounds. To occupy the leisure hours, which the tenants
of Granite House now had at their disposal, Cyrus Harding undertook an
operation which could be performed indoors.
We know that the settlers had no other sugar at their disposal than
the liquid substance which they drew from the maple, by making deep
incisions in the tree. They contented themselves with collecting this
liquor in jars and employing it in this state for different culinary
purposes, and the more so, as on growing old, this liquid began to
become white and to be of a syrupy consistence.
But there was something better to be made of it, and one day Cyrus
Harding announced that they were going to turn into refiners.
“Refiners!” replied Pencroft. “That is rather a warm trade, I think.”
“Very warm,” answered the engineer.
“Then it will be seasonable!” said the sailor.
This word refining need not awake in the mind thoughts of an elaborate
manufactory with apparatus and numerous workmen. No! to crystallize this
liquor, only an extremely easy operation is required. Placed on the fire
in large earthen pots, it was simply subjected to evaporation, and
soon a scum arose to its surface. As soon as this began to thicken,
Neb carefully removed it with a wooden spatula; this accelerated the
evaporation, and at the same time prevented it from contracting an
empyreumatic flavor.
After boiling for several hours on a hot fire, which did as much good to
the operators as the substance operated upon, the latter was transformed
into a thick syrup. This syrup was poured into clay molds, previously
fabricated in the kitchen stove, and to which they had given various
shapes. The next day this syrup had become cold, and formed cakes
and tablets. This was sugar of rather a reddish color, but nearly
transparent and of a delicious taste.
The cold continued to the middle of September, and the prisoners in
Granite House began to find their captivity rather tedious. Nearly every
day they attempted sorties which they could not prolong. They constantly
worked at the improvement of their dwelling. They talked while working.
Harding instructed his companions in many things, principally explaining
to them the practical applications of science. The colonists had no
library at their disposal; but the engineer was a book which was always
at hand, always open at the page which one wanted, a book which answered
all their questions, and which they often consulted. The time thus
passed away pleasantly, these brave men not appearing to have any fears
for the future.
However, all were anxious to see, if not the fine season, at least the
cessation of the insupportable cold. If only they had been clothed in a
way to meet it, how many excursions they would have attempted, either to
the downs or to Tadorn’s Fens! Game would have been easily approached,
and the chase would certainly have been most productive. But Cyrus
Harding considered it of importance that no one should injure his
health, for he had need of all his hands, and his advice was followed.
But it must be said, that the one who was most impatient of this
imprisonment, after Pencroft perhaps, was Top. The faithful dog found
Granite House very narrow. He ran backwards and forwards from one
room to another, showing in his way how weary he was of being shut
up. Harding often remarked that when he approached the dark well which
communicated with the sea, and of which the orifice opened at the back
of the storeroom, Top uttered singular growlings. He ran round and round
this hole, which had been covered with a wooden lid. Sometimes even he
tried to put his paws under the lid, as if he wished to raise it.
He then yelped in a peculiar way, which showed at once anger and
uneasiness.
The engineer observed this maneuver several times.
What could there be in this abyss to make such an impression on the
intelligent animal? The well led to the sea, that was certain. Could
narrow passages spread from it through the foundations of the island?
Did some marine monster come from time to time, to breathe at the bottom
of this well? The engineer did not know what to think, and could not
refrain from dreaming of many strange improbabilities. Accustomed to go
far into the regions of scientific reality, he would not allow
himself to be drawn into the regions of the strange and almost of the
supernatural; but yet how to explain why Top, one of those sensible dogs
who never waste their time in barking at the moon, should persist in
trying with scent and hearing to fathom this abyss, if there was nothing
there to cause his uneasiness? Top’s conduct puzzled Cyrus Harding even
more than he cared to acknowledge to himself.
At all events, the engineer only communicated his impressions to Gideon
Spilett, for he thought it useless to explain to his companions the
suspicions which arose from what perhaps was only Top’s fancy.
At last the cold ceased. There had been rain, squalls mingled with snow,
hailstorms, gusts of wind, but these inclemencies did not last. The ice
melted, the snow disappeared; the shore, the plateau, the banks of
the Mercy, the forest, again became practicable. This return of spring
delighted the tenants of Granite House, and they soon only passed in it
the hours necessary for eating and sleeping.
They hunted much in the second part of September, which led Pencroft to
again entreat for the firearms, which he asserted had been promised by
Cyrus Harding. The latter, knowing well that without special tools it
would be nearly impossible for him to manufacture a gun which would be
of any use, still drew back and put off the operation to some future
time, observing in his usual dry way, that Herbert and Spilett had
become very skilful archers, so that many sorts of excellent animals,
agouties, kangaroos, capybaras, pigeons, bustards, wild ducks, snipes,
in short, game both with fur and feathers, fell victims to their arrows,
and that, consequently, they could wait. But the obstinate sailor would
listen to nothing of this, and he would give the engineer no peace till
he promised to satisfy his desire. Gideon Spilett, however, supported
Pencroft.
“If, which may be doubted,” said he, “the island is inhabited by wild
beasts, we must think how to fight with and exterminate them. A time may
come when this will be our first duty.”
But at this period, it was not the question of firearms which occupied
Harding, but that of clothes. Those which the settlers wore had passed
this winter, but they would not last until next winter. Skins of
carnivora or the wool of ruminants must be procured at any price, and
since there were plenty of musmons, it was agreed to consult on the
means of forming a flock which might be brought up for the use of the
colony. An enclosure for the domestic animals, a poultry-yard for the
birds, in a word to establish a sort of farm in the island, such were
the two important projects for the fine season.
In consequence and in view of these future establishments, it became
of much importance that they should penetrate into all the yet unknown
parts of Lincoln Island, that is to say, through that thick forest which
extended on the right bank of the Mercy, from its mouth to the extremity
of the Serpentine Peninsula, as well as on the whole of its western
side. But this needed settled weather, and a month must pass before this
exploration could be profitably undertaken.
They therefore waited with some impatience, when an incident occurred
which increased the desire the settlers had to visit the whole of their
domain.
It was the 24th of October. On this day, Pencroft had gone to visit his
traps, which he always kept properly baited. In one of them he found
three animals which would be very welcome for the larder. They were a
female peccary and her two young ones.
Pencroft then returned to Granite House, enchanted with his capture,
and, as usual, he made a great show of his game.
“Come, we shall have a grand feast, captain!” he exclaimed. “And you
too, Mr. Spilett, you will eat some!”
“I shall be very happy,” replied the reporter; “but what is it that I am
going to eat?”
“Suckling-pig.”
“Oh, indeed, suckling-pig, Pencroft? To hear you, I thought that you
were bringing back a young partridge stuffed with truffles!”
“What?” cried Pencroft. “Do you mean to say that you turn up your nose
at suckling-pig?’
“No,” replied Gideon Spilett, without showing any enthusiasm; “provided
one doesn’t eat too much.”
“That’s right, that’s right,” returned the sailor, who was not pleased
whenever he heard his chase made light of. “You like to make objections.
Seven months ago, when we landed on the island, you would have been only
too glad to have met with such game!”
“Well, well,” replied the reporter, “man is never perfect, nor
contented.”
“Now,” said Pencroft, “I hope that Neb will distinguish himself. Look
here! These two little peccaries are not more than three months old!
They will be as tender as quails! Come along, Neb, come! I will look
after the cooking myself.”
And the sailor, followed by Neb, entered the kitchen, where they were
soon absorbed in their culinary labors.
They were allowed to do it in their own way. Neb, therefore, prepared
a magnificent repast--the two little peccaries, kangaroo soup, a smoked
ham, stone-pine almonds, Oswego tea; in fact, all the best that they
had, but among all the dishes figured in the first rank the savory
peccaries.
At five o’clock dinner was served in the dining-room of Granite House.
The kangaroo soup was smoking on the table. They found it excellent.
To the soup succeeded the peccaries, which Pencroft insisted on carving
himself, and of which he served out monstrous portions to each of the
guests.
These suckling-pigs were really delicious, and Pencroft was devouring
his share with great gusto, when all at once a cry and an oath escaped
him.
“What’s the matter?” asked Cyrus Harding.
“The matter? the matter is that I have just broken a tooth!” replied the
sailor.
“What, are there pebbles in your peccaries?” said Gideon Spilett.
“I suppose so,” replied Pencroft, drawing from his lips the object which
had cost him a grinder--!
It was not a pebble--it was a leaden bullet.
PART 2
ABANDONED
Chapter 1
It was now exactly seven months since the balloon voyagers had been
thrown on Lincoln Island. During that time, notwithstanding the
researches they had made, no human being had been discovered. No smoke
even had betrayed the presence of man on the surface of the island. No
vestiges of his handiwork showed that either at an early or at a late
period had man lived there. Not only did it now appear to be uninhabited
by any but themselves, but the colonists were compelled to believe that
it never had been inhabited. And now, all this scaffolding of reasonings
fell before a simple ball of metal, found in the body of an inoffensive
rodent! In fact, this bullet must have issued from a firearm, and who
but a human being could have used such a weapon?
When Pencroft had placed the bullet on the table, his companions looked
at it with intense astonishment. All the consequences likely to result
from this incident, notwithstanding its apparent insignificance,
immediately took possession of their minds. The sudden apparition of a
supernatural being could not have startled them more completely.
Cyrus Harding did not hesitate to give utterance to the suggestions
which this fact, at once surprising and unexpected, could not fail to
raise in his mind. He took the bullet, turned it over and over, rolled
it between his finger and thumb; then, turning to Pencroft, he asked,--
“Are you sure that the peccary wounded by this bullet was not more than
three months old?”
“Not more, captain,” replied Pencroft. “It was still sucking its mother
when I found it in the trap.”
“Well,” said the engineer, “that proves that within three months a
gun-shot was fired in Lincoln Island.”
“And that a bullet,” added Gideon Spilett, “wounded, though not
mortally, this little animal.”
“That is unquestionable,” said Cyrus Harding, “and these are the
deductions which must be drawn from this incident: that the island was
inhabited before our arrival, or that men have landed here within three
months. Did these men arrive here voluntarily or involuntarily, by
disembarking on the shore or by being wrecked? This point can only be
cleared up later. As to what they were, Europeans or Malays, enemies or
friends of our race, we cannot possibly guess; and if they still inhabit
the island, or if they have left it, we know not. But these questions
are of too much importance to be allowed to remain long unsettled.”
“No! a hundred times no! a thousand times no!” cried the sailor,
springing up from the table. “There are no other men than ourselves on
Lincoln Island! By my faith! The island isn’t large and if it had been
inhabited, we should have seen some of the inhabitants long before
this!”
“In fact, the contrary would be very astonishing,” said Herbert.
“But it would be much more astonishing, I should think,” observed the
reporter, “if this peccary had been born with a bullet in its inside!”
“At least,” said Neb seriously, “if Pencroft has not had--”
“Look here, Neb,” burst out Pencroft. “Do you think I could have a
bullet in my jaw for five or six months without finding it out?
Where could it be hidden?” he asked, opening his mouth to show the
two-and-thirty teeth with which it was furnished. “Look well, Neb, and
if you find one hollow tooth in this set, I will let you pull out half a
dozen!”
“Neb’s supposition is certainly inadmissible,” replied Harding, who,
notwithstanding the gravity of his thoughts, could not restrain a smile.
“It is certain that a gun has been fired in the island, within three
months at most. But I am inclined to think that the people who landed
on this coast were only here a very short time ago, or that they just
touched here; for if, when we surveyed the island from the summit of
Mount Franklin, it had been inhabited, we should have seen them or we
should have been seen ourselves. It is therefore, probable that within
only a few weeks castaways have been thrown by a storm on some part of
the coast. However that may be, it is of consequence to us to have this
point settled.”
“I think that we should act with caution,” said the reporter.
“Such is my advice,” replied Cyrus Harding, “for it is to be feared that
Malay pirates have landed on the island!”
“Captain,” asked the sailor, “would it not be a good plan, before
setting out, to build a canoe in which we could either ascend the
river, or, if we liked, coast round the inland? It will not do to be
unprovided.”
“Your idea is good, Pencroft,” replied the engineer, “but we cannot wait
for that. It would take at least a month to build a boat.”
“Yes, a real boat,” replied the sailor; “but we do not want one for a
sea voyage, and in five days at the most, I will undertake to construct
a canoe fit to navigate the Mercy.”
“Five days,” cried Neb, “to build a boat?”
“Yes, Neb; a boat in the Indian fashion.”
“Of wood?” asked the Negro, looking still unconvinced.
“Of wood,” replied Pencroft, “or rather of bark. I repeat, captain, that
in five days the work will be finished!”
“In five days, then, be it,” replied the engineer.
“But till that time we must be very watchful,” said Herbert.
“Very watchful indeed, my friends,” replied Harding; “and I beg you to
confine your hunting excursions to the neighborhood of Granite House.”
The dinner ended less gaily than Pencroft had hoped.
So, then, the island was, or had been, inhabited by others than the
settlers. Proved as it was by the incident of the bullet, it was
hereafter an unquestionable fact, and such a discovery could not but
cause great uneasiness among the colonists.
Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett, before sleeping, conversed long about
the matter. They asked themselves if by chance this incident might not
have some connection with the inexplicable way in which the engineer had
been saved, and the other peculiar circumstances which had struck them
at different times. However, Cyrus Harding, after having discussed the
pros and cons of the question, ended by saying,--
“In short, would you like to know my opinion, my dear Spilett?”
“Yes, Cyrus.”
“Well, then, it is this: however minutely we explore the island, we
shall find nothing.”
The next day Pencroft set to work. He did not mean to build a boat with
boards and planking, but simply a flat-bottomed canoe, which would be
well suited for navigating the Mercy--above all, for approaching its
source, where the water would naturally be shallow. Pieces of bark,
fastened one to the other, would form a light boat; and in case of
natural obstacles, which would render a portage necessary, it would be
easily carried. Pencroft intended to secure the pieces of bark by means
of nails, to insure the canoe being water-tight.
It was first necessary to select the trees which would afford a strong
and supple bark for the work. Now the last storm had brought down a
number of large birch-trees, the bark of which would be perfectly suited
for their purpose. Some of these trees lay on the ground, and they had
only to be barked, which was the most difficult thing of all, owing to
the imperfect tools which the settlers possessed. However, they overcame
all difficulties.
While the sailor, seconded by the engineer, thus occupied himself
without losing an hour, Gideon Spilett and Herbert were not idle.
They were made purveyors to the colony. The reporter could not but
admire the boy, who had acquired great skill in handling the bow and
spear. Herbert also showed great courage and much of that presence of
mind which may justly be called “the reasoning of bravery.” These two
companions of the chase, remembering Cyrus Harding’s recommendations,
did not go beyond a radius of two miles round Granite House; but
the borders of the forest furnished a sufficient tribute of agoutis,
capybaras, kangaroos, peccaries, etc.; and if the result from the traps
was less than during the cold, still the warren yielded its accustomed
quota, which might have fed all the colony in Lincoln Island.
Often during these excursions, Herbert talked with Gideon Spilett on the
incident of the bullet, and the deductions which the engineer drew from
it, and one day--it was the 26th of October--he said--“But, Mr. Spilett,
do you not think it very extraordinary that, if any castaways have
landed on the island, they have not yet shown themselves near Granite
House?”
“Very astonishing if they are still here,” replied the reporter, “but
not astonishing at all if they are here no longer!”
“So you think that these people have already quitted the island?”
returned Herbert.
“It is more than probable, my boy; for if their stay was prolonged, and
above all, if they were still here, some accident would have at last
betrayed their presence.”
“But if they were able to go away,” observed the lad, “they could not
have been castaways.”
“No, Herbert; or, at least, they were what might be called provisional
castaways. It is very possible that a storm may have driven them to the
island without destroying their vessel, and that, the storm over, they
went away again.”
“I must acknowledge one thing,” said Herbert, “it is that Captain
Harding appears rather to fear than desire the presence of human beings
on our island.”
“In short,” responded the reporter, “there are only Malays who frequent
these seas, and those fellows are ruffians which it is best to avoid.”
“It is not impossible, Mr. Spilett,” said Herbert, “that some day or
other we may find traces of their landing.”
“I do not say no, my boy. A deserted camp, the ashes of a fire, would
put us on the track, and this is what we will look for in our next
expedition.”
The day on which the hunters spoke thus, they were in a part of the
forest near the Mercy, remarkable for its beautiful trees. There, among
others, rose, to a height of nearly 200 feet above the ground, some of
those superb coniferae, to which, in New Zealand, the natives give the
name of Kauris.
“I have an idea, Mr. Spilett,” said Herbert. “If I were to climb to the
top of one of these kauris, I could survey the country for an immense
distance round.”
“The idea is good,” replied the reporter; “but could you climb to the
top of those giants?”
“I can at least try,” replied Herbert.
The light and active boy then sprang on the first branches, the
arrangement of which made the ascent of the kauri easy, and in a few
minutes he arrived at the summit, which emerged from the immense plain
of verdure.
From this elevated situation his gaze extended over all the southern
portion of the island, from Claw Cape on the southeast, to Reptile End
on the southwest. To the northwest rose Mount Franklin, which concealed
a great part of the horizon.
But Herbert, from the height of his observatory, could examine all the
yet unknown portion of the island, which might have given shelter to the
strangers whose presence they suspected.
The lad looked attentively. There was nothing in sight on the sea, not
a sail, neither on the horizon nor near the island. However, as the bank
of trees hid the shore, it was possible that a vessel, especially if
deprived of her masts, might lie close to the land and thus be invisible
to Herbert.
Neither in the forests of the Far West was anything to be seen. The wood
formed an impenetrable screen, measuring several square miles, without a
break or an opening. It was impossible even to follow the course of the
Mercy, or to ascertain in what part of the mountain it took its source.
Perhaps other creeks also ran towards the west, but they could not be
seen.
But at last, if all indication of an encampment escaped Herbert’s sight
could he not even catch a glimpse of smoke, the faintest trace of which
would be easily discernible in the pure atmosphere?
For an instant Herbert thought he could perceive a slight smoke in the
west, but a more attentive examination showed that he was mistaken. He
strained his eyes in every direction, and his sight was excellent. No,
decidedly there was nothing there.
Herbert descended to the foot of the kauri, and the two sportsmen
returned to Granite House. There Cyrus Harding listened to the lad’s
account, shook his head and said nothing. It was very evident that
no decided opinion could be pronounced on this question until after a
complete exploration of the island.
Two days after--the 28th of October--another incident occurred, for
which an explanation was again required.
While strolling along the shore about two miles from Granite House,
Herbert and Neb were fortunate enough to capture a magnificent specimen
of the order of chelonia. It was a turtle of the species Midas, the
edible green turtle, so called from the color both of its shell and fat.
Herbert caught sight of this turtle as it was crawling among the rocks
to reach the sea.
“Help, Neb, help!” he cried.
Neb ran up.
“What a fine animal!” said Neb; “but how are we to catch it?”
“Nothing is easier, Neb,” replied Herbert. “We have only to turn the
turtle on its back, and it cannot possibly get away. Take your spear and
do as I do.”
The reptile, aware of danger, had retired between its carapace and
plastron. They no longer saw its head or feet, and it was motionless as
a rock.
Herbert and Neb then drove their sticks underneath the animal, and by
their united efforts managed without difficulty to turn it on its back.
The turtle, which was three feet in length, would have weighed at least
four hundred pounds.
“Capital!” cried Neb; “this is something which will rejoice friend
Pencroft’s heart.”
In fact, the heart of friend Pencroft could not fail to be rejoiced,
for the flesh of the turtle, which feeds on wrack-grass, is extremely
savory. At this moment the creature’s head could be seen, which was
small, flat, but widened behind by the large temporal fossae hidden
under the long roof.
“And now, what shall we do with our prize?” said Neb. “We can’t drag it
to Granite House!”
“Leave it here, since it cannot turn over,” replied Herbert, “and we
will come back with the cart to fetch it.”
“That is the best plan.”
However, for greater precaution, Herbert took the trouble, which Neb
deemed superfluous, to wedge up the animal with great stones; after
which the two hunters returned to Granite House, following the beach,
which the tide had left uncovered. Herbert, wishing to surprise
Pencroft, said nothing about the “superb specimen of a chelonian” which
they had turned over on the sand; but, two hours later, he and Neb
returned with the cart to the place where they had left it. The “superb
specimen of a chelonian” was no longer there!
Neb and Herbert stared at each other first; then they stared about them.
It was just at this spot that the turtle had been left. The lad even
found the stones which he had used, and therefore he was certain of not
being mistaken.
“Well!” said Neb, “these beasts can turn themselves over, then?’’
“It appears so,” replied Herbert, who could not understand it at all,
and was gazing at the stones scattered on the sand.
“Well, Pencroft will be disgusted!”
“And Captain Harding will perhaps be very perplexed how to explain this
disappearance,” thought Herbert.
“Look here,” said Neb, who wished to hide his ill-luck, “we won’t speak
about it.”
“On the contrary, Neb, we must speak about it,” replied Herbert.
And the two, taking the cart, which there was now no use for, returned
to Granite House.
Arrived at the dockyard, where the engineer and the sailor were working
together, Herbert recounted what had happened.
“Oh! the stupids!” cried the sailor, “to have let at least fifty meals
escape!”
“But, Pencroft,” replied Neb, “it wasn’t our fault that the beast got
away; as I tell you, we had turned it over on its back!”
“Then you didn’t turn it over enough!” returned the obstinate sailor.
“Not enough!” cried Herbert.
And he told how he had taken care to wedge up the turtle with stones.
“It is a miracle, then!” replied Pencroft.
“I thought, captain,” said Herbert, “that turtles, once placed on their
backs, could not regain their feet, especially when they are of a large
size?’
“That is true, my boy,” replied Cyrus Harding.
“Then how did it manage?”
“At what distance from the sea did you leave this turtle?” asked
the engineer, who, having suspended his work, was reflecting on this
incident.
“Fifteen feet at the most,” replied Herbert.
“And the tide was low at the time?”
“Yes, captain.”
“Well,” replied the engineer, “what the turtle could not do on the sand
it might have been able to do in the water. It turned over when the tide
overtook it, and then quietly returned to the deep sea.”
“Oh! what stupids we were!” cried Neb.
“That is precisely what I had the honor of telling you before!” returned
the sailor.
Cyrus Harding had given this explanation, which, no doubt, was
admissible. But was he himself convinced of the accuracy of this
explanation? It cannot be said that he was.
Chapter 2
On the 9th of October the bark canoe was entirely finished. Pencroft
had kept his promise, and a light boat, the shell of which was joined
together by the flexible twigs of the crejimba, had been constructed in
five days. A seat in the stern, a second seat in the middle to preserve
the equilibrium, a third seat in the bows, rowlocks for the two oars, a
scull to steer with, completed the little craft, which was twelve feet
long, and did not weigh more than two hundred pounds. The operation of
launching it was extremely simple. The canoe was carried to the beach
and laid on the sand before Granite House, and the rising tide floated
it. Pencroft, who leaped in directly, maneuvered it with the scull and
declared it to be just the thing for the purpose to which they wished to
put it.
“Hurrah!” cried the sailor, who did not disdain to celebrate thus his
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000