heard the shrill "twang! squeak!" of the kit, and soon found himself
face to face with Professor Tartlet, who, in the attitude of a vestal,
was watching the sacred fire confided to his keeping.
CHAPTER XIV.
WHEREIN GODFREY FINDS SOME WRECKAGE, TO WHICH HE AND HIS COMPANION GIVE
A HEARTY WELCOME.
To put up with what you cannot avoid is a philosophical principle, that
may not perhaps lead you to the accomplishment of great deeds, but is
assuredly eminently practical. On this principle Godfrey had resolved to
act for the future. If he had to live in this island, the wisest thing
for him to do was to live there as comfortably as possible until an
opportunity offered for him to leave it.
And so, without delay, he set to work to get the interior of Will Tree
into some order. Cleanliness was of the first importance. The beds of
dried grass were frequently renewed. The plates and dishes were only
scallop shells, it is true, but no American kitchen could show cleaner
ones. It should be said to his praise that Professor Tartlet was a
capital washer. With the help of his knife Godfrey, by flattening out a
large piece of bark, and sticking four uprights into the ground, had
contrived a table in the middle of the room. Some large stumps served
for stools. The comrades were no longer reduced to eating on their
knees, when the weather prevented their dining in the open air.
There was still the question of clothing, which was of great interest to
them, and they did the best they could. In that climate, and under that
latitude, there was no reason why they should not go about half naked;
but, at length, trousers, waistcoat, and linen shirt were all worn out.
How could they replace them? Were the sheep and the goats to provide
them with skins for clothing, after furnishing them with flesh for food?
It looked like it. Meanwhile, Godfrey had the few garments he possessed
frequently washed. It was on Tartlet, transformed into a laundress, that
this task fell, and he acquitted himself of it to the general
satisfaction.
Godfrey busied himself specially in providing food, and in arranging
matters generally. He was, in fact, the caterer. Collecting the edible
roots and the manzanilla fruit occupied him some hours every day; and so
did fishing with plaited rushes, sometimes in the waters of the stream,
and sometimes in the hollows of the rocks on the beach when the tide had
gone out. The means were primitive, no doubt, but from time to time a
fine crustacean or a succulent fish figured on the table of Will Tree,
to say nothing of the mollusks, which were easily caught by hand.
But we must confess that the pot--of all the pieces in the battery of
the cook undoubtedly the most essential--the simple iron pot, was
wanting. Its absence could not but be deeply felt. Godfrey knew not how
to replace the vulgar pipkin, whose use is universal. No hash, no stew,
no boiled meat, no fish, nothing but roasts and grills. No soup appeared
at the beginning of a meal. Constantly and bitterly did Tartlet
complain--but how to satisfy the poor man?
Godfrey was busied with other cares. In visiting the different trees of
the group he had found a second sequoia of great height, of which the
lower part, hollowed out by the weather, was very rugged and uneven.
Here he devised his poultry-house, and in it the fowls took up their
abode. The hens soon became accustomed to their home, and settled
themselves to set on eggs placed in the dried grass, and chickens began
to multiply. Every evening the broods were driven in and shut up, so as
to keep them from birds of prey, who, aloft in the branches, watched
their easy victims, and would, if they could, have ended by destroying
them.
As for the agoutis, the sheep, and the goats, it would have been useless
then to have looked out a stable or a shelter for them. When the bad
weather came, there would be time enough to see to that. Meanwhile they
prospered on the luxuriant pasturage of the prairie, with its abundance
of sainfoin and edible roots, of which the porcine representatives
showed genuine appreciation. A few kids had been dropped since the
arrival in the island, and as much milk as possible was left to the
goats with which to nourish their little ones.
From all this it resulted that the surroundings of Will Tree were quite
lively. The well-fed domestic animals came during the warm hours of the
day to find there a refuge from the heat of the sun. No fear was there
of their wandering abroad, or of their falling a prey to wild beasts, of
which Phina Island seemed to contain not a single specimen.
And so things went on, with a present fairly comfortable perhaps, but a
future very disquieting, when an unexpected incident occurred which
bettered the position considerably.
It was on the 29th of July.
Godfrey was strolling in the morning along that part of the shore which
formed the beach of the large bight to which he had given the name of
Dream Bay. He was exploring it to see if it was as rich in shell-fish as
the coast on the north. Perhaps he still hoped that he might yet come
across some of the wreck, of which it seemed to him so strange that the
tide had as yet brought in not a single fragment.
On this occasion he had advanced to the northern point which terminated
in a sandy spit, when his attention was attracted by a rock of curious
shape, rising near the last group of algæ and sea-weeds.
A strange presentiment made him hasten his steps. What was his surprise,
and his joy, when he saw that what he had taken for a rock was a box,
half buried in the sand.
Was it one of the packages of the -Dream-? Had it been here ever since
the wreck? Was it not rather all that remained of another and more
recent catastrophe? It was difficult to say. In any case no matter
whence it came or what it held, the box was a valuable prize.
Godfrey examined it outwardly. There was no trace of an address not even
a name, not even one of those huge initials cut out of thin sheet metal
which ornament the boxes of the Americans. Perhaps he would find inside
it some paper which would indicate the origin, or nationality, or name
of the proprietor? Any how it was apparently hermetically sealed, and
there was hope that its contents had not been spoiled by their sojourn
in the sea-water. It was a very strong wooden box, covered with thick
leather, with copper corner plates at the angles, and large straps all
over it.
Impatient as he was to view the contents of the box, Godfrey did not
think of damaging it, but of opening it after destroying the lock; as to
transporting it from the bottom of Dream Bay to Will Tree, its weight
forbade it, and he never gave that a thought.
"Well," said Godfrey to himself, "we must empty it where it is, and make
as many journeys as may be necessary to take away all that is inside."
It was about four miles from the end of the promontory to the group of
sequoias. It would therefore take some time to do this, and occasion
considerable fatigue. Time did not press, however. As for the fatigue,
it was hardly worth thinking about.
What did the box contain? Before returning to Will Tree, Godfrey had a
try at opening it.
He began by unbuckling the straps, and once they were off he very
carefully lifted the leather shield which protected the lock. But how
was he to force it?
It was a difficult job. Godfrey had no lever with which to bring his
strength to bear. He had to guard against the risk of breaking his
knife, and so he looked about for a heavy stone with which he could
start the staple.
The beach was strewn with lumps of hard silex in every form which could
do for a hammer.
Godfrey picked out one as thick as his wrist, and with it he gave a
tremendous whack on the plate of copper.
To his extreme surprise the bolt shot through the staple immediately
gave way.
Either the staple was broken by the blow, or the lock was not turned.
Godfrey's heart beat high as he stooped to lift up the box lid.
It rose unchecked, and in truth had Godfrey had to get it to pieces he
would not have done so without trouble. The trunk was a regular
strong-box. The interior was lined with sheet zinc, so that the
sea-water had failed to penetrate. The objects it contained, however
delicate they might be, would be found in a perfect state of
preservation.
And what objects! As he took them out Godfrey could not restrain
exclamations of joy! Most assuredly the box must have belonged to some
highly practical traveller, who had reckoned on getting into a country
where he would have to trust to his own resources.
In the first place there was linen--shirts, table-cloths, sheets,
counterpanes; then clothes--woollen jerseys, woollen socks, cotton
socks, cloth trousers, velveteen trousers, knitted waistcoats,
waistcoats of good heavy stuffs; then two pairs of strong boots, and
hunting-shoes and felt hats.
Then came a few kitchen and toilet utensils; and an iron pot--the famous
pot which was wanted so badly--a kettle, a coffee-pot, a tea-pot, some
spoons, some forks, some knives, a looking-glass, and brushes of all
kinds, and, what was by no means to be despised, three cans, containing
about fifteen pints of brandy and tafia, and several pounds of tea and
coffee.
Then, in the third place, came some tools--an auger, a gimlet, a
handsaw, an assortment of nails and brads, a spade, a shovel, a pickaxe,
a hatchet, an adze, &c., &c.
In the fourth place, there were some weapons, two hunting-knives in
their leather sheaths, a carbine and two muskets, three six-shooter
revolvers, a dozen pounds of powder, many thousand caps, and an
important stock of lead and bullets, all the arms seeming to be of
English make. There was also a small medicine-chest, a telescope, a
compass, and a chronometer. There were also a few English books, several
quires of blank paper, pencils, pens, and ink, an almanac, a Bible with
a New York imprint, and a "Complete Cook's Manual."
Verily this is an inventory of what under the circumstances was an
inestimable prize.
Godfrey could not contain himself for joy. Had he expressly ordered the
trousseau for the use of shipwrecked folks in difficulties, he could not
have made it more complete.
Abundant thanks were due for it to Providence. And Providence had the
thanks, and from an overflowing heart.
Godfrey indulged himself in the pleasure of spreading out all his
treasure on the beach. Every object was looked over, but not a scrap of
paper was there in the box to indicate to whom it belonged, or the ship
on which it had been embarked.
Around, the sea showed no signs of a recent wreck.
Nothing was there on the rocks, nothing on the sands. The box must have
been brought in by the flood, after being afloat for perhaps many days.
In fact, its size in proportion to its weight had assured for it
sufficient buoyancy.
The two inhabitants of Phina Island would for some time be kept provided
in a large measure with the material wants of life,--tools, arms,
instruments, utensils, clothes--due to the luckiest of chances.
Godfrey did not dream of taking all the things to Will Tree at once.
Their transport would necessitate several journeys but he would have to
make haste for fear of bad weather.
Godfrey then put back most of the things in the box. A gun, a revolver,
a certain quantity of powder and lead, a hunting-knife, the telescope,
and the iron pot, he took as his first load.
The box was carefully closed and strapped up, and with a rapid step
Godfrey strode back along the shore.
Ah! What a reception he had from Tartlet, an hour later! And the delight
of the Professor when his pupil ran over the list of their new riches!
The pot--that pot above everything--threw him into transports of joy,
culminating in a series of "hornpipes" and "cellar-flaps," wound up by a
triumphant "six-eight breakdown."
It was only noon as yet. Godfrey wished after the meal to get back at
once to Dream Bay. He would never rest until the whole was in safety at
Will Tree.
Tartlet made no objection, and declared himself ready to start. It was
no longer necessary to watch the fire. With the powder they could always
get a light. But the Professor was desirous that during their absence
the soup which he was thinking about might be kept gently on the simmer.
The wonderful pot was soon filled with water from the stream, a whole
quarter of a goat was thrown in, accompanied by a dozen yamph roots, to
take the place of vegetables, and then a pinch or two of salt found in
the crevices of the rocks gave seasoning to the mixture.
"It must skim itself," exclaimed Tartlet, who seemed highly satisfied
at his performance.
And off they started for Dream Bay by the shortest road. The box had not
been disturbed. Godfrey opened it with care. Amid a storm of admiring
exclamations from Tartlet, he began to pick out the things.
In this first journey Godfrey and his companion, transformed into beasts
of burden, carried away to Will Tree the arms, the ammunition, and a
part of the wearing apparel.
Then they rested from their fatigue beside the table, on which there
smoked the stewed agouti, which they pronounced most excellent. As for
the meat, to listen to the Professor it would have been difficult even
to imagine anything more exquisite! Oh! the marvellous effect of
privation!
On the 30th, the next day, Godfrey and Tartlet set forth at dawn, and in
three other journeys succeeded in emptying and carrying away all that
the box contained. Before the evening, tools, weapons, instruments,
utensils, were all brought, arranged, and stowed away in Will Tree.
On the 1st of August, the box itself, dragged along the beach not
without difficulty, found a place in the tree, and was transformed into
a linen-closet.
Tartlet, with the fickleness of his mind, now looked upon the future
through none but rosy glasses. We can hardly feel astonished then that
on this day, with his kit in his hand, he went out to find his pupil,
and said to him in all seriousness, as if he were in the drawing-room of
Kolderup's mansion,--
"Well, Godfrey, my boy, don't you think it is time to resume our dancing
lessons?"
CHAPTER XV.
IN WHICH THERE HAPPENS WHAT HAPPENS AT LEAST ONCE IN THE LIFE OF EVERY
CRUSOE, REAL OR IMAGINARY.
And now the future looked less gloomy. But if Tartlet saw in the
possession of the instruments, the tools, and the weapons only the means
of making their life of isolation a little more agreeable, Godfrey was
already thinking of how to escape from Phina Island. Could he not now
construct a vessel strong enough to enable them to reach if not some
neighbouring land, at least some ship passing within sight of the
island?
Meanwhile the weeks which followed were principally spent in carrying
out not these ideas, but those of Tartlet. The wardrobe at Will Tree was
now replenished, but it was decided to use it with all the discretion
which the uncertainty of the future required. Never to wear any of the
clothes unless necessity compelled him to do so, was the rule to which
the professor was forced to submit.
"What is the good of that?" grumbled he. "It is a great deal too
stingy, my dear Godfrey! Are we savages, that we should go about half
naked?"
"I beg your pardon, Tartlet," replied Godfrey; "we are savages, and
nothing else."
"As you please; but you will see that we shall leave the island before
we have worn the clothes!"
"I know nothing about it, Tartlet, and it is better to have than to
want."
"But on Sunday now, surely on Sunday, we might dress up a little?"
"Very well, on Sundays then, and perhaps on public holidays," answered
Godfrey, who did not wish to anger his frivolous companion; "but as to
day is Monday we shall have to wait a whole week before we come out in
our best."
We need hardly mention that from the moment he arrived on the island
Godfrey had not omitted to mark each day as it passed. By the aid of the
calendar he found in the box he was able to verify that the day was
really Monday.
Each performed his daily task according to his ability. It was no longer
necessary for them to keep watch by day and night over a fire which they
had now the means of relighting.
Tartlet therefore abandoned, not without regret, a task which suited
him so well. Henceforwards he took charge of the provisioning with yamph
and camas roots--of that in short which formed the daily bread of the
establishment, so that the professor went every day and collected them,
up to the lines of shrubs with which the prairie was bordered behind
Will Tree. It was one or two miles to walk, but he accustomed himself to
it. Between whiles he occupied his time in collecting oysters or other
mollusks, of which they consumed a great quantity.
Godfrey reserved for himself the care of the domestic animals and the
poultry. The butchering trade was hardly to his taste, but he soon
overcame his repugnance. Thanks to him, boiled meats appeared frequently
on the table, followed by an occasional joint of roast meat to afford a
sufficiently varied bill of fare. Game abounded in the woods of Phina
Island, and Godfrey proposed to begin his shooting when other more
pressing cares allowed him time. He thought of making good use of the
guns, powder, and bullets in his arsenal, but he in the first place
wished to complete his preparations. His tools enabled him to make
several benches inside and outside Will Tree. The stools were cut out
roughly with the axe, the table made a little less roughly became more
worthy of the dishes and dinner things with which Professor Tartlet
adorned it. The beds were arranged in wooden boxes and their litter of
dry grass assumed a more inviting aspect. If mattresses and palliasses
were still wanting, counterpanes at least were not. The various cooking
utensils stood no longer on the ground, but had their places on planks
fixed along the walls. Stores, linen, and clothes were carefully put
away in cavities hollowed out in the bark of the sequoia. From strong
pegs were suspended the arms and instruments, forming quite a trophy on
the walls.
Godfrey was also desirous of putting a door to the house, so that the
other living creatures--the domestic animals--should not come during the
night and trouble their sleep. As he could not cut out boards with his
only saw, the handsaw, he used large and thick pieces of bark, which he
got off very easily. With these he made a door sufficiently massive to
close the opening into Will Tree, at the same time he made two little
windows, one opposite to the other, so as to let light and air into the
room. Shutters allowed him to close them at night, but from the morning
to the evening it was no longer necessary to take refuge in flaring
resinous torches which filled the dwelling with smoke. What Godfrey
would think of to yield them light during the long nights of winter he
had as yet no idea. He might take to making candles with the mutton fat,
or he might be contented with resinous torches more carefully prepared.
We shall see.
Another of his anxieties was how to construct a chimney in Will Tree.
While the fine weather lasted, the fire outside among the roots of the
sequoia sufficed for all the wants of the kitchen, but when the bad
weather came and the rain fell in torrents, and they would have to
battle with the cold, whose extreme rigour during a certain time they
reasonably feared, they would have to have a fire inside their house,
and the smoke from it must have some vent. This important question
therefore had to be settled.
One very useful work which Godfrey undertook was to put both banks of
the river in communication with each other on the skirt of the
sequoia-trees.
He managed, after some difficulty, to drive a few stakes into the
river-bed, and on them he fixed a staging of planks, which served for a
bridge. They could thus get away to the northern shore without crossing
the ford, which led them a couple of miles out of their road.
But if Godfrey took all these precautions so as to make existence a
little more possible on this lone isle of the Pacific, in case he and
his companion were destined to live on it for some time, or perhaps live
on it for ever, he had no intention of neglecting in any way the chances
of rescue.
Phina Island was not on the routes taken by the ships--that was only too
evident. It offered no port of call, nor means of revictualling. There
was nothing to encourage ships to take notice of it. At the same time
it was not impossible that a war-ship or a merchant-vessel might come in
sight. It was advisable therefore to find some way of attracting
attention, and showing that the island was inhabited.
With this object Godfrey erected a flagstaff at the end of the cape
which ran out to the north, and for a flag he sacrificed a piece of one
of the cloths found in the trunk. As he thought that the white colour
would only be visible in a strong light, he tried to stain his flag with
the berries of a sort of shrub which grew at the foot of the dunes. He
obtained a very vivid red, which he could not make indelible owing to
his having no mordant, but he could easily re-dye the cloth when the
wind or rain had faded it.
These varied employments occupied him up to the 15th of August. For many
weeks the sky had been constantly clear, with the exception of two or
three storms of extreme violence which had brought down a large quantity
of water, to be greedily drunk in by the soil.
About this time Godfrey began his shooting expeditions. But if he was
skilful enough in the use of the gun, he could not reckon on Tartlet,
who had yet to fire his first shot.
Many days of the week did Godfrey devote to the pursuit of fur and
feather, which, without being abundant, were yet plentiful enough for
the requirements of Will Tree.
A few partridges, some of the red-legged variety, and a few snipes, came
as a welcome variation of the bill of fare. Two or three antelopes fell
to the prowess of the young stalker; and although he had had nothing to
do with their capture, the professor gave them a no less welcome than he
did when they appeared as haunches and cutlets.
But while he was out shooting, Godfrey did not forget to take a more
complete survey of the island. He penetrated the depths of the dense
forests which occupied the central districts. He ascended the river to
its source. He again mounted the summit of the cone, and redescended by
the talus on the eastern shore, which he had not, up to then, visited.
"After all these explorations," repeated Godfrey to himself, "there can
be no doubt that Phina Island has no dangerous animals, neither wild
beasts, snakes, nor saurians! I have not caught sight of one! Assuredly
if there had been any, the report of the gun would have woke them up! It
is fortunate, indeed. If it were to become necessary to fortify Will
Tree against their attacks, I do not know how we should get on!"
Then passing on to quite a natural deduction--
"It must also be concluded," continued he, "that the island is not
inhabited at all. Either natives or people shipwrecked here would have
appeared before now at the sound of the gun! There is, however, that
inexplicable smoke which I twice thought I saw."
The fact is, that Godfrey had never been able to trace any fire. As for
the hot water springs to which he attributed the origin of the vapour he
had noticed, Phina Island being in no way volcanic did not appear to
contain any, and he had to content himself with thinking that he had
twice been the victim of an illusion.
Besides, this apparition of the smoke or the vapour was not repeated.
When Godfrey the second time ascended the central cone, as also when he
again climbed up into Will Tree, he saw nothing to attract his
attention. He ended by forgetting the circumstance altogether.
Many weeks passed in different occupations about the tree, and many
shooting excursions were undertaken. With every day their mode of life
improved.
Every Sunday, as had been agreed, Tartlet donned his best clothes. On
that day he did nothing but walk about under the big trees, and indulge
in an occasional tune on the kit. Many were the glissades he performed,
giving lessons to himself, as his pupil had positively refused to
continue his course.
"What is the good of it?" was Godfrey's answer to the entreaties of the
professor. "Can you imagine Robinson Crusoe taking lessons in dancing
and deportment?"
"And why not?" asked Tartlet seriously. "Why should Robinson Crusoe
dispense with deportment? Not for the good of others, but of himself, he
should acquire refined manners."
To which Godfrey made no reply. And as he never came for his lesson, the
professor became professor "emeritus."
The 13th of September was noted for one of the greatest and cruellest
deceptions to which, on a desert island, the unfortunate survivors of a
shipwreck could be subjected.
Godfrey had never again seen that inexplicable and undiscoverable smoke
on the island; but on this day, about three o'clock in the afternoon,
his attention was attracted by a long line of vapour, about the origin
of which he could not be deceived.
He had gone for a walk to the end of Flag Point--the name which he had
given to the cape on which he had erected his flagstaff. While he was
looking through his glass he saw above the horizon a smoke driven by the
west wind towards the island.
Godfrey's heart beat high.
"A ship!" he exclaimed.
But would this ship, this steamer, pass in sight of Phina Island? And if
it passed, would it come near enough for the signal thereon to be seen
on board?
Or would not rather the semi-visible smoke disappear with the vessel
towards the north-west or south-west of the horizon?
For two hours Godfrey was a prey to alternating emotions more easy to
indicate than to describe.
The smoke got bigger and bigger. It increased when the steamer re-stoked
her fires, and diminished almost to vanishing-point as the fuel was
consumed. Continually did the vessel visibly approach. About four
o'clock her hull had come up on the line between the sky and the sea.
She was a large steamer, bearing north-east. Godfrey easily made that
out. If that direction was maintained, she would inevitably approach
Phina Island.
Godfrey had at first thought of running back to Will Tree to inform
Tartlet. What was the use of doing so? The sight of one man making
signals could do as much good as that of two. He remained there, his
glass at his eye, losing not a single movement of the ship.
The steamer kept on her course towards the coast, her bow steered
straight for the cape. By five o'clock the horizon-line was already
above her hull, and her rig was visible. Godfrey could even recognize
the colours at her gaff.
She carried the United States' ensign.
"But if I can see their flag, cannot they see mine? The wind keeps it
out, so that they could easily see my flag with their glasses. Shall I
make signals, by raising it and lowering it a few times, so as to show
that I want to enter into communication with them? Yes! I have not an
instant to lose."
It was a good idea. Godfrey ran to the end of Flag Point, and began to
haul his flag up and down, as if he were saluting. Then he left it
half-mast high, so as to show, in the way usual with seafaring people,
that he required help and succour.
The steamer still approached to within three miles of the shore, but her
flag remained immovable at the peak, and replied not to that on Flag
Point. Godfrey felt his heart sink. He would not be noticed! It was
half-past six, and the sun was about to set!
The steamer was now about two miles from the cape, which she was rapidly
nearing. At this moment the sun disappeared below the horizon. With the
first shadows of night, all hope of being seen had to be given up.
Godfrey again, with no more success, began to raise and lower his flag.
There was no reply.
He then fired his gun two or three times, but the distance was still
great, and the wind did not set in that direction! No report would be
heard on board!
The night gradually came on; soon the steamer's hull grew invisible.
Doubtless in another hour she would have passed Phina Island.
Godfrey, not knowing what to do, thought of setting fire to a group of
resinous trees which grew at the back of Flag Point. He lighted a heap
of dry leaves with some gunpowder, and then set light to the group of
pines, which flared up like an enormous torch.
But no fire on the ship answered to the one on the land, and Godfrey
returned sadly to Will Tree, feeling perhaps more desolate than he had
ever felt till then.
CHAPTER XVI.
IN WHICH SOMETHING HAPPENS WHICH CANNOT FAIL TO SURPRISE THE READER.
To Godfrey the blow was serious. Would this unexpected chance which had
just escaped him ever offer again? Could he hope so? No! The
indifference of the steamer as she passed in sight of the island,
without even taking a look at it, was obviously shared in by all the
vessels venturing in this deserted portion of the Pacific. Why should
they put into port more than she had done? The island did not possess a
single harbour.
Godfrey passed a sorrowful night. Every now and then jumping up as if he
heard a cannon out at sea, he would ask himself if the steamer had not
caught sight of the huge fire which still burnt on the coast, and if she
were not endeavouring to answer the signal by a gun-shot?
Godfrey listened. It was only an illusion of his over-excited brain.
When the day came, he had come to look upon the apparition of the ship
as but a dream, which had commenced about three o'clock on the previous
afternoon.
But no! He was only too certain that a ship had been in sight of Phina
Island, maybe within two miles of it, and certainly she had not put in.
Of this deception Godfrey said not a word to Tartlet. What was the good
of talking about it? Besides, his frivolous mind could not see more than
twenty-four hours ahead. He was no longer thinking of the chances of
escaping from the island which might offer. He no longer imagined that
the future had great things in store for them. San Francisco was fading
out of his recollection. He had no sweetheart waiting for him, no Uncle
Will to return to. If at this end of the world he could only commence a
course of lessons on dancing, his happiness would be complete--were it
only with one pupil.
If the professor dreamt not of immediate danger, such as to compromise
his safety in this island--bare, as it was, of wild beasts and
savages--he was wrong. This very day his optimism was to be put to a
rude test.
About four o'clock in the afternoon Tartlet had gone, according to his
custom, to collect some oysters and mussels, on that part of the shore
behind Flag Point, when Godfrey saw him coming back as fast as his legs
could carry him to Will Tree. His hair stood on end round his
temples. He looked like a man in flight, who dared not turn his head to
the right or to the left.
"What is the matter?" shouted Godfrey, not without alarm, running to
meet his companion.
"There! there!" answered Tartlet, pointing with his finger towards the
narrow strip of sea visible to the north between the trees.
"But what is it?" asked Godfrey, whose first movement was to run to the
edge of the sequoias.
"A canoe!"
[Illustration: "A Canoe!" -page 181-]
"A canoe?"
"Yes! Savages! Quite a fleet of savages! Cannibals, perhaps!"
Godfrey looked in the direction pointed out.
It was not a fleet, as the distracted Tartlet had said; but he was only
mistaken about the quantity.
In fact, there was a small vessel gliding through the water, now very
calm, about half-a-mile from the coast, so as to double Flag Point.
"And why should they be cannibals?" asked Godfrey, turning towards the
professor.
"Because in Crusoe Islands," answered Tartlet, "there are always
cannibals, who arrive sooner or later."
"Is it not a boat from some merchant-ship?"
"From a ship?"
"Yes. From a steamer which passed here yesterday afternoon, in sight of
our island?"
"And you said nothing to me about it!" exclaimed Tartlet, lifting his
hands to the sky.
"What good should I have done?" asked Godfrey. "Besides, I thought that
the vessel had disappeared! But that boat might belong to her! Let us go
and see!"
Godfrey ran rapidly back to Will Tree, and, seizing his glass, returned
to the edge of the trees.
He then examined with extreme attention the little vessel, which would
ere then have perceived the flag on Flag Point as it fluttered in the
breeze.
The glass fell from his hands.
"Savages! Yes! They are really savages!" he exclaimed.
Tartlet felt his knees knock together, and a tremor of fright ran
through his body.
It was a vessel manned by savages which Godfrey saw approaching the
island. Built like a Polynesian canoe, she carried a large sail of woven
bamboo; an outrigger on the weather side kept her from capsizing as she
heeled down to the wind.
Godfrey easily distinguished the build of the vessel. She was a proa,
and this would indicate that Phina Island was not far from Malaysia. But
they were not Malays on board; they were half-naked blacks, and there
were about a dozen of them.
The danger of being found was thus great. Godfrey regretted that he had
hoisted the flag, which had not been seen by the ship, but would be by
these black fellows. To take it down now would be too late.
It was, in truth, very unfortunate. The savages had probably come to the
island thinking it was uninhabited, as indeed it had been before the
wreck of the -Dream-. But there was the flag, indicating the presence of
human beings on the coast! How were they to escape them if they landed?
Godfrey knew not what to do. Anyhow his immediate care must be to watch
if they set foot on the island. He could think of other things
afterwards.
With his glass at his eye he followed the proa; he saw it turn the point
of the promontory, then run along the shore and then approach the mouth
of the small stream, which, two miles up, flowed past Will Tree.
If the savages intended to paddle up the river, they would soon reach
the group of sequoias--and nothing could hinder them. Godfrey and
Tartlet ran rapidly back to their dwelling. They first of all set about
guarding them selves against surprise, and giving themselves time to
prepare their defence.
At least that is what Godfrey thought of. The ideas of the professor
took quite a different turn.
"Ah!" he exclaimed. "It is destiny! This is as it was written? We could
not escape it! You cannot be a Crusoe without a canoe coming to your
island, without cannibals appearing one day or another! Here we have
been for only three months, and there they are already! Assuredly,
neither Defoe, nor De Wyss exaggerated matters! You can make yourself a
Crusoe, if you like!"
Worthy Tartlet, folks do not make themselves Crusoes, they become
Crusoes, and you are not sure that you are wise in comparing your
position with that of the heroes of the two English and Swiss romances!
The precautions taken by Godfrey as soon as he returned to Will Tree
were as follows. The fire burning among the roots of the sequoia was
extinguished, and the embers scattered broadcast, so as to leave no
trace; cocks, hens, and chickens were already in their house for the
night, and the entrance was hidden with shrubs and twigs as much as
possible; the other animals, the goats, agoutis, and sheep, were driven
on to the prairie, but it was unlucky that there was no stable to shut
them up in; all the instruments and tools were taken into the tree.
Nothing was left outside that could indicate the presence or the passage
of human beings.
Then the door was closely shut, after Godfrey and Tartlet had gone in.
The door made of the sequoia bark was indistinguishable from the bark of
the trunk, and might perhaps escape the eyes of the savages, who would
not look at it very closely. It was the same with the two windows, in
which the lower boards were shut. Then all light was extinguished in the
dwelling, and our friends remained in total darkness. How long that
night was! Godfrey and Tartlet heard the slightest sounds outside. The
creaking of a dry branch, even a puff of wind, made them start. They
thought they heard some one walking under the trees. It seemed that they
were prowling round Will Tree. Then Godfrey climbed up to one of the
windows, opened one of the boards, and anxiously peered into the gloom.
Nothing!
However, Godfrey at last heard footsteps on the ground. His ear could
not deceive him this time. He still looked, but could only see one of
the goats come for shelter beneath the trees.
Had any of the savages happened to discover the house hidden in the
enormous sequoia, Godfrey had made up his mind what to do: he would drag
up Tartlet with him by the chimney inside, and take refuge in the higher
branches, where he would be better able to resist. With guns and
revolvers in his possession, and ammunition in abundance, he would
there have some chance against a dozen savages devoid of fire-arms.
If in the event of their being armed with bows and arrows they attacked
from below, it was not likely that they would have the best of it
against fire-arms aimed from above. If on the other hand they forced the
door of the dwelling and tried to reach the branches from the inside,
they would find it very difficult to get there, owing to the narrow
opening, which the besieged could easily defend.
Godfrey said nothing about this to Tartlet. The poor man had been almost
out of his mind with fright since he had seen the proa. The thought that
he might be obliged to take refuge in the upper part of a tree, as if in
an eagle's nest, would not have soothed him in the least. If it became
necessary, Godfrey decided to drag him up before he had time to think
about it.
The night passed amid these alternations of fear and hope. No attack
occurred. The savages had not yet come to the sequoia group. Perhaps
they would wait for the day before venturing to cross the island.
"That is probably what they will do," said Godfrey, "since our flag
shows that it is inhabited! But there are only a dozen of them, and they
will have to be cautious! How are they to know that they have only to
deal with a couple of shipwrecked men? No! They will risk nothing
except by daylight--at least, if they are going to stop."
"Supposing they go away when the daylight comes?" answered Tartlet.
"Go away? Why should they have come to Phina Island for one night?"
"I do not know," replied the professor, who in his terror could only
explain the arrival of the blacks by supposing that they had come to
feed on human flesh.
"Anyhow," continued Godfrey; "to-morrow morning, if they have not come
to Will Tree, we will go out and reconnoitre."
"We?"
"Yes! we! Nothing would be more imprudent than for us to separate! Who
knows whether we may not have to run to the forest in the centre of the
island and hide there for some days--until the departure of the proa!
No! We will keep together, Tartlet!"
"Hush!" said the professor in a low voice; "I think I hear something
outside."
Godfrey climbed up again to the window, and got down again almost
immediately.
"No!" he said. "Nothing suspicious! It is only our cattle coming back to
the wood."
"Hunted perhaps!" exclaimed Tartlet.
"They seem very quiet then," replied Godfrey; "I fancy they have only
come in search of shelter against the morning dew."
"Ah!" murmured Tartlet in so piteous a tone that Godfrey could hardly
help laughing, "these things could not happen at your uncle's place in
Montgomery Street!"
"Day will soon break," said Godfrey, after a pause. "In an hour's time,
if the savages have not appeared, we will leave Will Tree and
reconnoitre towards the north of the island. You are able to carry a
gun, Tartlet?"
"Carry? Yes!"
"And to fire it in a stated direction?"
"I do not know! I have never tried such a thing, and you may be sure,
Godfrey, that my bullet will not go--"
"Who knows if the report alone might not frighten the savages?"
An hour later, it was light enough to see beyond the sequoias.
Godfrey then cautiously reopened the shutters.
From that looking to the south he saw nothing extraordinary. The
domestic animals wandered peacefully under the trees, and did not appear
in the least alarmed. The survey completed, Godfrey carefully shut this
window. Through the opening to the north there was a view up to the
shore. Two miles off even the end of Flag Point could be seen; but the
mouth of the river at the place where the savages had landed the evening
before was not visible. Godfrey at first looked around without using his
glass, so as to examine the environs of Will Tree on this side of Phina
Island.
All was quite peaceful.
Godfrey then taking his glass swept round the coast to the promontory at
Flag Point. Perhaps, as Tartlet had said, though it was difficult to
find the reason, the savages had embarked, after a night spent on shore,
without attempting to see if the island were inhabited.
CHAPTER XVII.
IN WHICH PROFESSOR TARTLET'S GUN REALLY DOES MARVELS.
But Godfrey suddenly uttered an exclamation which made the professor
jump. There could be no doubt that the savages knew the island was
inhabited, for the flag hitherto hoisted at the extremity of the cape
had been carried away by them and no longer floated on the mast at Flag
Point. The moment had then come to put the project into execution, to
reconnoitre if the savages were still in the island, and to see what
they were doing.
"Let us go," said he to his companion.
"Go! But--" answered Tartlet.
"Would you rather stay here?"
"With you, Godfrey--yes!"
"No--alone!"
"Alone! Never!"
"Come along then!"
Tartlet, thoroughly understanding that Godfrey would not alter his
decision, resolved to accompany him. He had not courage enough to stay
behind at Will Tree.
Before starting, Godfrey assured himself that the fire-arms were ready
for action. The two guns were loaded, and one passed into the hands of
the professor, who seemed as much embarrassed with it as might have been
a savage of Pomotou. He also hung one of the hunting-knives to his belt,
to which he had already attached his cartridge-pouch. The thought had
occurred to him to also take his fiddle, imagining perhaps that they
would be sensible to the charm of its squeaking, of which all the talent
of a virtuoso could not conceal the harshness.
Godfrey had some trouble in getting him to abandon this idea, which was
as ridiculous as it was impracticable.
It was now six o'clock in the morning. The summits of the sequoias were
glowing in the first rays of the sun.
Godfrey opened the door; he stepped outside; he scanned the group of
trees.
Complete solitude.
The animals had returned to the prairie. There they were, tranquilly
browsing, about a quarter of a mile away. Nothing about them denoted the
least uneasiness.
Godfrey made a sign to Tartlet to join him. The professor, as clumsy as
could be in his fighting harness, followed--not without some hesitation.
Then Godfrey shut the door, and saw that it was well hidden in the bark
of the sequoia. Then, having thrown at the foot of the tree a bundle of
twigs, which he weighted with a few large stones, he set out towards the
river, whose banks he intended to descend, if necessary, to its mouth.
Tartlet followed him not without giving before each of his steps an
uneasy stare completely round him up to the very limits of the horizon;
but the fear of being left alone impelled him to advance.
Arrived at the edge of the group of trees, Godfrey stopped.
Taking his glasses from their case, he scanned with extreme attention
all that part of the coast between the Flag Point promontory and the
north-east angle of the island.
Not a living being showed itself, not a single smoke wreath was rising
in the air.
The end of the cape was equally deserted, but they would there doubtless
find numberless footprints freshly made. As for the mast, Godfrey had
not been deceived. If the staff still rose above the last rock on the
cape, it was bereft of its flag. Evidently the savages after coming to
the place had gone off with the red cloth which had excited their
covetousness, and had regained their boat at the mouth of the river.
Godfrey then turned off so as to examine the western shore.
It was nothing but a vast desert from Flag Point right away beyond the
curve of Dream Bay.
No boat of any kind appeared on the surface of the sea. If the savages
had taken to their proa, it only could be concluded that they were
hugging the coast sheltered by the rocks, and so closely that they could
not be seen.
However, Godfrey could not and would not remain in doubt. He was
determined to ascertain, yes or no, if the proa had definitely left the
island.
To do this it was necessary to visit the spot where the savages had
landed the night before, that is to say, the narrow creek at the mouth
of the river.
This he immediately attempted.
The borders of the small watercourse were shaded by occasional clumps of
trees encircled by shrubs, for a distance of about two miles. Beyond
that for some five or six hundred yards down to the sea the river ran
between naked banks. This state of affairs enabled him to approach close
to the landing-place without being perceived. It might be, however, that
the savages had ascended the stream, and to be prepared for this
eventuality the advance had to be made with extreme caution.
Godfrey, however thought, not without reason, that, at this early hour
the savages, fatigued by their long voyage, would not have quitted their
anchorage. Perhaps they were still sleeping either in their canoe or on
land; in which case it would be seen if they could not be surprised.
This idea was acted upon at once. It was important that they should get
on quickly. In such circumstances the advantage is generally gained at
the outset. The fire-arms were again examined, the revolvers were
carefully looked at, and then Godfrey and Tartlet commenced the descent
of the left bank of the river in Indian file. All around was quiet.
Flocks of birds flew from one bank to the other, pursuing each other
among the higher branches without showing any uneasiness.
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