TheCoralIsland 10020014 PDF

RA L S LA N D
A Tale o f th e Pac ic O c ean
R ob ert ( Mi ch ael JB aIlantg ne

A u th or of T h e D on r u s oe a n d h is Mas ter ,

T h e You ng F r er
ur -T ad s,
r
T h e G o ill a-H unt er s,

Th e Wor ld of I r e .
Mar tin R at tl er ,

Ung ava ,
&c . &c .
N E W E D I T I O N
72 N E L S O N A N D S O N S
L O N D O N E D I N B UR G H
N E W YO R !
da d .
M Z; 4
z
PRE PA CE .
I WA S a boy wh en I wen t through th e won d erful ad

ven tur es her ei n s et down With th e memory of my
.
boyish feelin gs stron g upon m e I present my book ,
sp ecially to boys in th e earn est hop e th at th ey may

,
d erive valuabl e in formatio n much pl easure great pro t

, , ,
and u n bounded amus em en t from i ts pag es .
One word mor e If th ere is any boy or m an w h o

.
loves to b e m elancholy and m oros e and wh o can n ot ,
ent er with kindly sympathy into t h e r egions o f fu n .
let m e s eriously advis e him to s h u t m y book an d pu t
it away It i s not m ean t for him

. .
RA L P H RO V E R .
C O N TE N TS .
CHA P TER I .

Th e beg i n n i n g 111 g a ly l ife an d ch ar act
e r er I th i r st for a dv en t ur e i n fo r ei gn
lan ds ,
an d go to s ea . 9
CHA P TER II .
Th e dep
ar tu r e Th e sea M
g co mp an i o ns Some accou n t of th e wo n derfu l
si ghts we sa w on th e gr eat
deep A dr eadfu l stor m a n d a fr i ghtfu l
wr eck . 14
CHA P TER III .
Th e C or al I lan d Ou r r st cogi tati o ns aft er land i ng

s ,
an d th e r e su lt of them
We co n clu de that th e i sla n d i s u n i n h abi ted
CHA P TER I V .
We exami n e in to
o al p op er ty a nd make a happ y
p er s n
o ur r ,

di scover y Ou r
i sland d sc b d
ack oves hi mself to be lear n ed a nd sagac i ou s abo ve
e r i e J pr
h i s fello s o s d scov er i es N atu r al lemo nade !
w -
Cu r i u i
CHA P TER V .
Mo r n i n g ,
cogi tati o ns con n ect ed ther ewi th We lu xu r i ate i n th e sea tr y ou r
an d ,
di v i n g p o wer s an d make en chan ti n g exc u s i on s a mo n g th e co r al g ov es at

,
r r
th e bottom of th e ocea n Th e wo n d e s of th e deep en la g ed up o nr 38 r
CHA P TER V I .
A n e xcu r s i on i n to th e i n ter i o r i n wh i ch we make ma ny valu able a n d i n t er est i ng

,
d i scove i es r W e a t a d r eadfu l f i g h t
c Th e b r ead fr u i t t ee Wo n derfu l
r r
p e c u l i a r i ty of s o me of th e fr u i t t es S i g n s offo -
me i
r e n h ab i ta n ts 44 r r .
CHA P TER V II .
J ack s i n genu i ty We g et i n to diffi c u lt i es ab ou t fi sh i n g a n d g et ou t of th em by a

method wh i ch g i v es u s a cold bath H o r i ble en cou n t er wi th a sh ar k r 55
C H A P TER V III .
Th e beau t i es f obottom of th e sea temp t Pet er ki n to di ve H ow h e di d i t

th e -
r
I II or e dii c u l ti es ov e co me Th e Water Ga r d en Cu r i o u s c r eat u r es of th e s ea
VI CON T EN T S .
Th e ta nt an dles mi ss ed v er y mu ch a nd th e ca n dl e n u t t r ee d i sco ver ed

,
-
Wond erfu l acco u nt of Peter ki n s fi r st voyage Cloth fou n d gr o wi n g on a

t r eeA plan pr oj ected an d a r ms pr ep a r ed for of enee an d d efen c eA

,
d r ea dfu l cr y . 62
CHA P TER IX .
P a
r ep r e f or a jo
y o u nd
u r ne r th e i sla n d S agac i ou s

r e ect i on s Myster i o u s ap
-
pea r an ces a nd star tli ng occu r r en ces 8
CHA P TER X .
Mak e d i sco ver y of man y excellen t r oots an d fr u i ts

so u r ces of th e Cor a l Th e re
r
I sla n d g adu ally u nfolded Th e ba n ya n t r ee A n oth er t r ee whi ch i s sup

p or ted by n at u r al p lan ks Water fowl fo u n d A v er y ema r kable di scov

-
r
er y and a ver y p ecu li ar mu r der

, We lu xu r ia te on th e fa t of th e lan d .
CHAP TER X I .
Eects
'
f
o over e at i -
ng a n d r
, efl ect i o n s th er o
e n H um ble adv i ce r egar d i n g cold

water Th e ho r r i ble cr y acco u n t ed for Th e cu r i o u s b i r ds called p en

g ai ns P ec u l i ar i ty of t h e cocoa n u t -
p al m ! u esti o ns on th e fo r mati o n
of co r al i sla nds Myste i ou s footstep s S tr an ge d i scover i es a n d sad
r
sights .
CHA P TE R X II .
o
S me thi ng wr o ng wi th th e
tan k J ack s wi sdom

a nd P et er ki n s i mp er tm ence

Wonderfu l b ehav i o u r of a cr ab Good w i shes for thos e who dw ell fa r fr om

th e sea J ack c ommen c es to b u i ld a li ttle boat .
CHAP TE R X III .
N otable di sco ver y at th e sp o u ti ng cl isTh e myst er i o u s g r een mo n st er exp la i n ed

'
We a r e thr own i n to u n u tt er a ble t er r o r by th e i dea tha t J ack i s dr o wn ed

Th e Di a mon d Cav e
CHAP TER X I V .
S tr ange p ecu l i ar i ty of th e t i des A lso of th e twi li ght P e

ter k i n s r ema kable

r
co n du ct i n embr aci ng a l i ttle p i g an d ki lli ng a big sow S ag e r ema r ks on
j est i ng A lso on love 12 4
CHA P TE R XV .
B oat bu i ldi ng
- t
ex r ao r d i a y Peter ki n
tr i es h i s han d at cooke y a n d fa i ls
n r r
most si gna llyTh e boat n i sh ed Cu r i o u s c on v er sat i o n wi th th e cat an d ,
oth er matter s . 131
CHAP TER XV I .
Th e boat lau n ch ed We vi si t th e cor al Th e gr eat

br eaker th at n ever go es
r eef

do wn Co al i n sects Th e way i n whi ch co al i slan ds a e mad Th e
r e r r
boat s sa i l

We tax owr i n gen u i ty to for m fi sh hooks S ome of th e sh -

we saw A n d a m o ns tr ou s wh ale Wo nder fu l shower of li ttle fi sh Water
CON T EN T S . vi i
CHA P T ER XV II .
mon ster wa v e co s cs boat lost fo d Peter k i n s

A a n d i ts n eq u en e -
Th e a nd un -
ter r i bl e acc i d en t
Su pp li es of food for a voyage i n th e boat We vi si t
Pengu i n I slan d , an d a r e a mazed b eyo n d measu r eA cco u n t of th e p en
g u i ns 1 49
CHAP TER X VIII .
A n awfu l sto r m an d i ts con seq u en ces a r r ow escap e A r ock pr oves a su r e

fo un dat i o n f f Deli ver an ce fr om
A ea r u l n i ght an d a b r ight mo r n i n g
dang er . 1 62
CHA P TE R X I X .
S ho emaki ng Th e even teno f ou r way su dden ly i nte r up ted n u n expected

-
r o r
vi s i t a nd a n a pp all i ng b a ttl e We all b eco me wa r r i or s an d J ack pr oves ,
h i ms elf to be a h er o 1 69
CHAP TER XX .
I t cou r se
n er savages Can ni bali sm p r even t ed Th e slai n
wi th th e ar e bu r i d
e
an d th e s u r v i vo r s d epa r t l eavi n g u s aga i n alo n e on ou

, Co r al r
CHA P TER XX I .
S agac o s i u an d m r o al
ks ma
r e r ga d
i n r e r to
life A sai l A n u n exp e ted salu te
c
Th e end of th e black cat t bl

A er r i e di veA n i n ca u ti ou s p r oceedi ng an d
a fr i gh tfu l catastr ophe
X II CHA P TER X .
I fa ll i n to th e han ds of p i r ates H ow th ey tr eated me an d what I sa i d to th em

Th e r esu lt of th e whole endi ng i n a melan choly separ at i o n a n d i n a most
,
u nexp ected gift 1 96
CH A P TER XX III .
B loody B i
su r mi ses A st r an ge sai l an d a str an ge cr ew
ll Dar k , , an d a st i ll
st a g ca go N ew r ea son s for favou r i n g mi ss on ar i esA
n err r i mu r der o s u
ma ssacr e an d th o ug h ts t h e eo n
, r 2 06
CHA P TE R XX I V .
B loody B i ll i s c ommu n i cati ve an d sagaci ou s Unp leas an t p r osp ects R etr osp ect
i ve medi tat i o n s i n t er up ted by volca n i c ag en cy
r Th e p i r at es n eg ot i at e
wi th a F eej ee ch i ef V a r i o u s etc et er as that a r e calcu lat ed to s u rp i se a n d r
h oor ify . . 2 17
CHA P TE R X XV .
Th e san dal wood -

p a r ty

ati v e ch i ldr en s games somewhat su rp r i si n g
N
Desp er ate a mu semen ts su dden ly an d fatally b r o u ght to a closeA n old

f i
r en d cog d
r e n i ze N ew
s Romata s mad co n d u ct
2 31
CO N T EN T S .
CHA P TER XXV I .
Mi sch i ef b g
r ewi n y blood i s made to
AI r u n col d
E vi l co n su ltat i on s a n dwi cked
r es olv s
e loody ll attemp ts to do good
B B i , a n dfa i ls Th e a ttack Wholesale
m u r der Th e i g h t Th e escap e
CHAP TER XXV II .
Re lec ti on s
f
Th e wo u n ded ma n Th e s gu all Tr u e con solat i on

Death .
CHA P TE R XX V III .
lon e on th e deep N
ecess ty moth er v t on A
val u a ble book di scov
A i th e of in en i
er ed N at u r al ph en o men o n -v
A b r ig ht day i n my h i to r ys 2 63
CHA P TER XX I X .
Th e effe ct of a ca n n o n sho t A happy r eu n i on of a som ewhat mo i s t nat u e

-
r
Re r
t osp ects a n d explan at i on s A n awfu l d i ve N ew p lan s Th e last f th e
o
Co r al I sla n d 2 68
CHAP TER XX X .
Th e voyag e Th e i sla n d a n d a co n s u ltat i o n i n wh i ch da ng er i s sco u ted as a

,
r o

thi n g u nwo th y f cons i der at i on Rats an d cats Th e n ati v e teach er
A wfu l r ev el a t i o ns Wo n derfu l effects of Ch r i st i an i ty 2 80 .
CHAP TER XXX I .
A str an ge an d bloody battle Th e l on b ear ded i n h i s den F

i r i ghtf l scenes
u of
cr u elty an dfear s for th e
,
CHAP TER XXX II .
An cted di scov er y a nd a bold r eckless dean c e

u n exp e , , ,
wi th i ts co nseq u en ces
P lan s of escape an d h e o i c esolves
,
r r
CHAP TER XXX III .
Th e ig h t Th e p u r s i t Despa i a n d i ts r esu lts Th l i on b ea d ed i n h i s den

u r e r
i n A wfu
aga n h r a
l da ger t e ten ed a n won de fu lly aver t ed A ter ic
d r r
stor m . . 31 4
CHAP TE R XXX I V .
I mpr i so nmen
t Si nki ng hop es Un exp ected fr eedo m to m o r e th a n on e, a n d i n
mo r e sen s es th an one . 32 6
CHA P TER XXX V .
Co n clu s i o n
TH E C O RA L I SL A N D .
C HA PT ER I .
Th e b eg i n n i ngMy ear ly life and char act er I thi r st for ad ventur e i n fo r ei gn

lands , an d go to s ea .
O VIN G h as always be en and still i s m y ruling , ,
passion th e j oy of my hear t the v ery sunshine

, ,
of my existence In childhood in boyhood and in

.
, ,
man s estate I hav e b een a rov er ; not a m ere rambl er

among the woody gl ens and upon the hill tOps of m y -
own native land but an enthusiasti c rov er thro u ghout

,
the l en gth and breadth of th e wid e wide world ,

.
It w as a wild black night of howlin g storm th e

, ,
night in w h ich I was born on th e foaming bosom of the

broad A tlan tic O c ean My fath er w as a s ea captai n ;
.
-
my grandfather was a s ea captain ; my great grand - -
fath er had b een a marine N obody could t ell positiv ely

.
what occupation hi s fath er had followed ; but my d ear

moth er us ed t o ass ert that h e had b een a m i dshipman ,
W hos e grandfath er on th e mother s sid e had b een an

, ,
admiral i n th e royal n avy A t an y rat e w e knew that

.
, ,
a s far back as ou r fam ily could be trac ed it h a d be en ,
intim at ely connected w ith th e great watery waste I n .

10 T HE CORAL I SLAND .
d eed this was the cas e on both sid es of the house ; for
my moth er always w ent to sea with my fath er on his
lon g voyages and s o sp ent th e great er part of h er life
,
upon th e wat er .
Thus it was I suppose that I came to in h erit a rov

, ,
i n g disposition S oon aft er I w as born my fath er

.
, ,
being old r etir ed from a s eafaring life purchas ed a

, ,
small cottage i n a s h i n g villag e on th e west coast of

E ngland an d s ettl ed down to sp en d t h e ev en ing of his
,
life on th e shores of that s ea which had for s o many

year s b een his hom e It was not lo n g aft er this that I
.
b ega n to sho w th e roving spirit that dw elt within m e .
For som e tim e past my i n fan t l egs had b een gaini ng

strength so that I cam e to b e dissatis ed with rubbing
,
th e ski n o ff my chubby kn ees by walking on th em and ,
mad e m any attempts to stand up a n d walk lik e a m an ,
all of which attempts how ev er result ed in my sitti n g

.
, ,
down viol ently and in sudd en s urpris e O n e day I took .
ad vantage of my d ear moth er s abs ence to m ak e another
effort ; and to my j oy I actually succe ed ed in r eachi n g

, ,
th e doorstep ov er which I tumbl ed into a pool of muddy

,
wat er th at lay before m y fath er s cottage door Ah

.
,
how vividly I rem emb er t h e horro r of m y poor moth er

wh en sh e found m e sw eltering i n th e mud amon gst a
group of cacklin g d u cks an d the t end erness with which
,
she stripp ed off my drippi n g cloth es and wash ed m y

dirty littl e body ! From this tim e forth my rambl es
b ecame more freq u ent an d as I grew old er m ore dis
, , ,
tant unt il at last I h ad wander ed far and n ear on the

,
shore and i n th e woods around ou r hu m bl e dw elling ,
and did not r est cont ent u n til m y fath er bo u nd m e ap

r en tic e to a coasting vess el and let m e go to s ea
p ,
.
For som e years I was h appy in visiting th e sea ports -

,
a n d i n coasting a long th e s h o r es of my n ativ e lan d My .

T HE CO R AL I SLAND . 11
C hristian nam e w as Ralph and my comrade s a dded t o ,
this th e n am e of R ov er in consequ enc e of th e p as sio n

,
which I alway s evinc ed for t rav ellin g R ov er was n ot .
my real nam e but as I n ever r eceived an y other I cam e

,
at last to answ er t o it as naturally as to my prope r

nam e ; and as it is n ot a bad on e I s ee n o good r eason ,
why I should not introduce mys elf to th e r ead er as

Ralph R over My shipm at es w er e k ind good natur ed
.
,
-
fellows an d th ey and I got on v ery w ell tog eth er

,
.
Th ey did ind eed v ery frequ ently mak e gam e of and

, ,
ban t er me but not u nk in dly ; an d I ov erh eard them

,
som etim es sayin g th at Ralph R ov er was a qu eer old ,

fashion ed fellow This I m u st confess surpris ed m e
.
, ,
much an d I ponder ed th e say in g lon g but could com e

, ,
at no satisfactory conclusion as to that wh erein m y old

fash i on edn ess lay It is tru e I was a q u iet lad an d
.
,
s eldom spok e except wh en spok en to Moreover I .

,
nev er could und erstand th e j ok es of my companions

ev en when th ey w er e explain ed t o m e : which duln ess
in appreh ension occasion ed m e m u ch gri ef how ev er I ,
tri ed to m ak e u p for it by smiling and looking pl eas e d

'
wh en I obs erv ed that th ey w ere lau ghing at som e wit

ti c i s m which I had fail ed to d et ect I was also v ery .
fond of in quiring int o th e n ature of thin gs an d th eir

c aus es and often fell into ts of abstraction w hil e th u s
,
engag e d i n my min d But i n all this I saw n othin g

.
that did not seem t o be exce edingly nat u ral and could ,
by n o m eans u n d erstan d why my comrad es should call

me an old fashion ed fellow

-
.
N ow whil e engage d in th e coasting trad e I f ell i n

, ,
with many s eam en who had trav ell ed to almost ev ery

quart er of t h e glob e ; an d I freely con fess that my h eart
glow ed ard ently within me as th ey recount ed th eir wild
ad entur s
v e i n e
for ign lands th e dreadful storms th ey
12 T HE CORAL I SLAND
had weather ed th e appallin g dangers th ey had escap ed

, ,
th e wond erf u l cr eatur es th ey had s een both on t h e land

and i n th e s ea an d th e int erestin g lan ds and stran ge
,
p eopl e th ey had visited But of all th e places of which

.
th ey told m e non e captivat ed and charm ed my imagina

,
tion so much as th e C oral Islands of t h e S outh ern S eas .
Th ey told m e of thousands of beautiful fertil e islan ds

that had b een formed by a small creature call ed th e
coral ins ect wh er e summ er reign ed n early all th e year
,
round; wh ere th e trees w ere lad en with a constan t

harv est of luxurian t fruit wh ere th e climat e was
almost p erp etual ly delightful y et wh er e strang e to ,
say m en were wild bloodthirsty savages exc epting in

, , ,
thos e favour ed isl es to which th e gosp el of our S aviour

had been convey ed Th es e exciting accounts h ad s o
.
great an e ffect upon my mind that wh en I r each ed th e, ,
a e of ft een
g I resolved ,
to m ak e a voyag e to th e S outh
S eas .
I had no littl e di fcult y at rst in prevailing on my

d ear paren ts to let me go ; b u t wh en I urged on my
fath er that h e would n ev er hav e b eco me a great captai n
had h e r emai n ed in th e coastin g t r ade h e saw th e truth ,
of what I said an d gav e his co n s en t

,
My d ear moth er .
,
s eein g that my fa th er had mad e up his mind n o lon g er ,

offered oppositio n to my wish es But oh Ralph s h e
.
, ,
said on t h e day I bad e h er adi eu com e back soon to

, ,
u s my d ear boy for w e ar e g etti n g ol d n o w R alph an d

, , , ,
may n ot have man y y ears to liv e .
I will not take up my r ead er s time with a minute
account of all that occurr ed before I took my n al l eav e

of my d ear par ents S u fc e it to say that my fath er
.
placed m e und er th e charge of an old m essmate of h i s

o w n a m erchan t captain w h o was on t h e point of sail
, ,
.
i n g t o the S outh S eas in his own ship th e A r r ow My , .

T HE CORAL I SLAND . 13
moth er gave me h er bl essing and a s m all Bibl e and her

last requ est was that I would n ev er forget to read a
,
chapt er ev ery day and say my pray ers which I pr o

,
m i s ed w ith tears in my ey es that I would c ert ainly do

, ,
.
S oon aft erwards I w ent on board th e A r r ow w h ich

,
w as a n e larg e ship and s et sail for th e islands of the

,
P aci c O cean
.
CH A PT ER I I .
Th e dep a t
r ure Th e sea My compa ni on s Some acco u nt of th e wo n derfu l
sig hts we saw on t e gr eat deep
h A dr eadfu l sto m a n d a fr i ghtfu l wr eck
r .
T was a bright beautiful warm day wh en our ship

, ,
spread her canvas to the breez e an d sai led for th e ,
regions of th e south O h h ow my h eart bound ed with

.
,
d elight as I listen ed to the merry chor u s of the sailors ,
while th ey haul ed at th e rop es an d got in the anchor 3

Th e captain shouted ; th e m en ran to obey ; th e nobl e
ship bent over to t h e breeze an d th e s hor e gradually ,
faded from my V iew whil e I stood looking on with a

,
kind of feeling that the whol e was a d elightful dream .
The rst thing that struck m e as b ein g differen t fro m

anythin g I had y et se en during my shor t career on th e
s ea w a s t h e hoisti n g of t h e anchor on d eck a n d lashin g
, ,
it rmly down with r op es as if we had now bid adi eu to

,
th e land for ever an d would r equire its s ervic es no mo r e

, .
Th ere lass c r i ed a broad shouldered j ack tar gi v

, ,
- -
,
ing th e uk e of th e anchor a h earty slap with his ha n d

aft er t h e housing was compl et ed th er e lass tak e a , ,

good n ap n o w for w e shan t ask you to kiss th e mud
,
again for many a lon g day t o com e I

And s o it was That anchor did not kiss th e m u d
.
for man y long days afterwards ; an d wh en at last it

did it was for th e last tim e !
,
Th ere w er e a numb er of boys in th e ship b u t two of ,
th em w ere my sp ecial favourit es Jack Martin was a .

T HE CORAL I S L AND . 15
tall strapping b road should ered youth of eight een with

, ,
-
,
a handsom e good h u moured r m face H e had had a

,
-
, .

good education was clever and h earty and lion lik e in his
,
actions but mild and qui et in disposition Jack was a

,
.
gen eral favourit e and had a p ec u liar fon dness for m e My

,
.
oth er companion was Peterkin C ay H e was littl e quick r .

, ,
funny decid edly mischi evous an d abou t fo u rt een y ears

, ,
old But Pet erkin s mischief was almost always harml ess
.

els e h e could not hav e b een s o much b elov e d as h e was .
Hallo youngst er ! cried Jack Martin giv i n g m e a

, ,
slap on th e shoul der th e day I j oi n ed th e ship

,
com e .
belo w an d I ll show you your b erth You and I ar e to

,

b e m ess mat es an d I th ink w e shal l b e good fri ends for

-
, ,
I lik e t h e look 0 y ou
.
Jack was right H e an d I and Pet erkin afterwards

.
becam e th e best and stanch est fri ends that ever toss ed
togeth er on th e stormy wav es .
I shall say littl e abou t th e rst part of our voyag e .
We had th e usual amount of rough w eath er an d calm ;

also w e saw m an y s tra n ge sh rollin g in th e s ea and I ,
was greatly d elighted on e day by s eei n g a shoal of flyi n g

s h dart ou t of the wat er and skim through th e air
about a foot above th e surface Th ey were pursued by .
dolphi n s which feed on th em an d on e y i n g sh in its

, ,
-
t error fl ew ov er th e ship struck on th e rigging and fell , ,
upon th e d eck Its win gs w ere just n s elon gat ed and

.
,
we found that th ey could n ev er y far at a tim e and ,
nev er mount ed into th e air lik e birds but skimm ed alo n g ,
th e surfac e of th e s ea Jack and I had it for dinn er .

,
and foun d it remarkably good .
Wh en w e approach ed C ap e H orn at th e south ern ex ,
t r em i t y of A m er ica th e w eath er b ecam e v ery cold an d

,
s tormy and th e sailors b egan to t ell stor i e s about t h e

,
furio u s gal es and th e dangers of th a t t erribl e cap e

C ap e H ornsaid on e is th e m ost horribl e h eadland

, ,

I e ver doubled I ve sailed round it twice alrea dy an d
.
,
both times the ship was a m os t b low d ou t o th e wat e r

.

I ve be en ro u nd it o n ce said another an that time
, ,
the sails were split and th e rop es frozen in th e blocks , ,

s o that th ey wouldn t work and we wos all but lost ,
.

A n I ve been round it v es tim es cri ed a third , ,
an ev ery tim e wos wuss than an other th e gales wos so

tree m endon s
-
A n d I ve bee n round it no times at all

cri ed ,
Peter kin with an impud en t wi n k of his ey e an th a t

, ,

tim e I w os b low d insid e out !
N e ve rthel ess w e pass ed th e dr eaded cape without

,
much rough weath er an d in th e cours e of a few w eeks , ,
aft erwards w ere sailing gently before a warm tropical

,
breez e over the P a ci c O cean Thus we proceed ed on .
our voyage som etim es boundi ng merrily b efo r e a fair

,
breez e at oth er tim es oati n g cal m ly on the glassy wave

,
a n d shing for th e curious i n habitants of th e d eep all ,
of which although th e sailors thought littl e o f th em

, ,
w ere strang e and interesting and v ery wond er ful t o m e

, , .
A t last w e cam e amon g th e C oral Islands of t h e

Paci c an d I shall n ev er forget th e d elight w ith which
,

I gazed wh en w e chan c ed to pass on e at th e pure -
,
white daz zl i ng shor es an d th e v er dan t palm trees w h ich

, , ,
look ed br ight and beautiful i n th e su n shine A n d oft en .
did w e three lon g to h e lan d ed on one imagin i n g that ,
w e should c ertai n ly n d p erfect happin ess th ere ! O ur

wish was granted soon er than we expected .
O n e night soon after w e en t ered t h e tropics an awful

, ,
storm burst upon ou r ship Th e rst squ al l of wi n d .
carri ed away tw o of our masts and l eft on ly th e fore ,
mast standing E v en this how ev er was more than

.
, ,
e n ough for w e did n ot dar e t o hoist a rag of sail on it

,
.
tone of h i s voice th at h e had lit tle hop e ; an d ind eed

, ,
wh en I look ed at th e whit e wav es that lash ed th e reef

an d boil ed against th e rocks as if in fury I felt that ,
th ere was but a st ep b etween us an d d eath My h ear t .
san k w i th in m e ; bu t at that mom en t my tho u ghts

turn ed to my b elov ed moth er an d I rem emb ered those ,
words which were among t h e last that sh e said to m e

,
Ralph my dearest child always r em emb er in th e

, ,
hou r of danger to look to y our L ord and S aviou r J esu s

C hr ist H e alon e is both abl e an d willi n g to sav e your
.
body an d your sou l So I felt much co m forted wh en

.
I thought th er eon .
Th e ship was now very near th e rocks Th e m en .
w er e ready with th e boat and the captain b esid e th em ,
giving ord ers wh en a trem en dous wave cam e towards

,
us We three r an towards th e bow to lay hold of our

.
oa r and had barely r each ed it wh en the wave fell

,
on th e deck with a crash lik e thu n d er At th e sam e .
mom ent th e ship struck t h e foremast brok e off clos e to ,
t h e d eck and w ent ov er th e sid e carrying th e boat and ,
m en alo n g with it O u r oar got enta n gled with th e

.
wr eck and Jack s eiz ed an a x e to cut it free but owi n g

, , ,
to th e motio n of th e ship h e miss ed th e cordage an d ,
stru ck th e a x e d eep i n to th e oar An oth er wav e how .

,
ev er wash ed it cl ear of th e w r eck

,
We all s eiz ed hol d .
of it a n d th e n ext i n sta n t w e w er e struggli n g in th e

,
wild s ea Th e last thi n g I saw was t h e boat whirlin g

.
i n the surf an d all the sailors toss ed in to th e foamin g

,
waves Th en I becam e ins en sibl e

. .
O n recov ering from my swoon I fou n d mys elf lying ,
on a bank of soft grass u n d er sh elt er of an ov erhan ging

,
rock with Pet erkin on his kn ees by m y sid e t end erly

, ,
bathing my t em pl es with water a n d en deavourin g to stop ,
th e blood that ow ed fro m a wound i n my foreh ead .

C HA PT ER I I I .
Th e C o al I slan d
r Ou r cog i tat i o ns aft e la n d i n g a n d th e es u lt of t h em
r st r ,
r
We co n cl de th at th e i sla n d i s u n i n h ab i ted
u .
HERE is a stran g e an d
p eculiar s ensatio n ex per i
en c ed i n r ecov ering fro m a stat e of ins ensibility ,
which is almost i n d escribabl e a so r t of dr eamy co n fus ed ,
con scious n ess ; a h alf wakin g h alf sl eeping condition

- -
,
accompan i ed with a feeling of w earin ess which h ow , ,
ev er is by no m ean s disagr eea bl e

,
A s I slowly r ecover ed .
a n d h eard th e voic e of P e t erki n i n qui r i n g wh eth er I f elt
bett er I tho u ght that I must hav e ov ersl ept mys elf and
, ,
shou ld b e s en t to th e mast h ea d for b ein g lazy ; but -
b efor e I could l eap up i n h aste th e thought s eem ed to ,
van ish sudd en ly away and I fa n ci ed that I must h av e

,
b een ill Then a balmy breez e fann ed my ch eek an d I

.
,
thought of hom e and th e gar d en at th e back of m y

,
fath er s cottage W 1 th i ts luxu r ian t ow ers an d th e

, ,
sw e et sc en ted hon eysuck le that m y d ear moth er trai n ed

-
so car efully upon th e tr ellis ed porch But t h e r oar in g .
of t h e su r f put th es e d elightful thoughts to ight an d I ,
was back again at s ea watchi n g t h e dolphin s an d th e

,

y i n g sh an d r ee n g topsails off th e wild a n d stormy
,
C ap e Horn Gradually t h e r o ar of th e su r f b ecam e

.
loud e r an d mor e distin ct I thought of b ein g wr eck ed

.
far far away from my n ativ e lan d and slowly opeped

, ,
my ey es to m eet thos e of my compan ion Jack wh o , ,

with a look of intense an xi ety was gazi n g into m y ,
f ac e
.
S p eak to us my d ear Ralph whisp ered Jack t en , ,
der ly . A r e y o u bette r n ow ?
I s m iled an d looked up saying B etter ! why wh at , , ,

do you mean Jack ? I m quit e w ell ,
.

Th en what ar e you shamming for an d fright en i n g ,
u s in thi s way said P eterkin smilin g thro u gh his ,
t ears ; for th e poor boy had be en really und er th e

i m pression th at I was dyin g .
I now rais ed m ys elf on my elbow an d putting my ,
hand to my for eh ead fou n d that it had be en cut ,
p r etty s everely and that I had lost a good d eal of blood

, .
C om e come Ralph said Jack pressing m e g en tly

, , , ,
backward li e down m y boy ; you r e n ot right y et

,

,

.
Wet y our lip s w ith this wat er ; it s cool an d cl ear as
crystal I got it from a spring clos e at hand Th ere

. .

now don t s ay a word hold your tongu e said h e
,

, , ,
s eeing m e about to sp eak I ll t ell you all about it .

but you must n ot utt er a syllabl e till you h av e r est ed

w ell
O h ! don t stop h i m f r om sp eakin g Jack said

, ,
P et erkin who n ow that his fears for my safety w ere

, ,
remov ed busied hims elf in er ectin g a sh elter of bro k en

,
branch es i n order to prot ect m e from th e win d ; which ,
how ever was almost u nn e cessary for th e rock b esid e

, ,
which I had b een laid compl et ely brok e th e forc e of

L et him sp eak Jack ; it s a com fort t o h ear

t h e gal e .
,
that h e s al i v e after lying there stiff an d white and

sulky for a whol e hour j ust lik e an Egyptian m ummy ,

.
N e v er saw su ch a fellow as y ou ar e Ralph ; alway s u p ,
to mischief You ve almost knock ed out all my t eeth

.

an d mor e than half ch ok ed m e and n ow y ou go sh am ,

m i n g d ead It s v er y wick ed of y ou in d eed it is

.
,
T HE CORAL I SLAND . 2 1
Whil e P et erkin r an on i n thi s styl e my faculti es ,
b ecam e quit e cl ear again and I b egan to u n d erstand ,
my position What do you m ean by sayi n g I h alf

.

chok ed y ou P et erkin ?
,
said I .

What do I m ean ? Is E nglish n ot your m oth er
ton gu e or do y ou wan t m e to r ep eat it in Fr ench by
,
way of making it clearer D on t y ou r em emb er

I rem emb er nothing said I int errupting him aft er , , ,

w e w er e thrown i n to th e s ea .

Hush P et erkin ,
said Jack you re exciti n g Ralph

with your non s en s e I ll explain it to you You r ec ol
.
l ect that aft er th e ship struck w e three sprang ov er th e ,
b ow into t h e s ea : w ell I n otic ed that th e oar struck ,
your h ead an d gav e you that cut on th e brow which ,
nearly stu n n ed you s o that you grasp ed P et erkin roun d

,
t h e n eck without knowi n g appar ently what you w er e

about I n doing s o you push ed th e t el escop e which
.
you clu n g to as if it had b een yo u r life agai n st Peter

ki n s mouth
Push ed it agai n st his m outh 1 in t errupt ed P et erkin ;
say cramm ed it do wn his throat Why th ere s a .
,

distin ct mark of t h e brass r i m on th e back of my gull et

at this mom en t
W ell w ell b e that as it may contin u ed Jack you
, , , ,
cl u n g to him R alph till I feared you really would ch ok e

, ,
him ; but I s aw that h e h ad a good hold of th e oar s o ,
I ex erted myself to th e utmost t o push you towards th e

shore which w e luckily reach ed without much troubl e
, ,

for th e wat er in side t h e r eef is quit e cal m .

But th e cap tai n and crew what of th em ? I i n ,
qu i r ed an xiously .
Jack shook his h ead .
A r e th ey lost
N 0 th ey ar e n ot lost I hop e but I fear th ere is
, , ,
2 2 T HE CORAL I SLAND .
not m u c h chan c e of th eir b ei n g sav ed Th e ship s truck .
at th e v ery tail of th e isla n d on which we ar e cas t .
Wh en th e boat was toss ed in to th e s ea i t fortunat ely

di d not ups et alth ough it shipp ed a good deal of
,
wat er and all th e m en m anaged to scrambl e into it ;

,
but before th ey could get th e oars out th e gal e carri ed

th em past th e point and a way to l eewar d of th e islan d .
After w e lan d e d I s aw th em end eavourin g to pull to

war ds u s but as th ey had on ly one pair of oars out of
th e ei ght that b elong to th e boat and as the wind was ,
blowing righ t i n th eir t eeth th ey gradually lost grou n d ,

.
Th en I s aw th em put abou t an d h oist som e sort of s ail

a blank et I fan cy for it was too small for the boat
, ,

and in half an hour th ey w er e out of sight
- -
.

Poor fellows ! I murmu red sorrowfu lly .
But th e mor e I thi n k about it I ve b ett er hop e of ,

th em continu ed Jack in a mor e ch eerful ton e
, ,
Y ou .
Ralph I ve r ead a grea t d eal about thes e S outh

s ee , ,
S ea Islands an d I kno w that i n many places th ey a r e

,
s catt er e d about i n thousan ds ov er t h e s ea s o th ey re

al most sure to fall in with on e of t h e m b efore lon g .

I m s u re I hop e so said P et erkin earn estly

,
But .
what h as b e com e of th e wr eck Jack ? I saw you ,
clamb eri n g up th e rocks th ere whil e I w as watch in g

R alph D id you say s h e had gon e to pi ec s
. e ?
N o s h e has n ot gon e to pi ec es but s h e has gon e to

, ,

A s I said b efore s h e struck

th e bottom r epli ed Jack ,
.
,
on th e tail of t h e isl an d an d stov e in h er h ow but th e ,
n ext br eak er s w ung h er cl ear and sh e oated away t o ,
leeward Th e poor fellows i n the boat mad e a hard

.
s truggle to r e ach h er but lo n g b efor e th ey cam e n ear

,
h er s h e ll e d an d w en t dow n It w as aft er s h e .

fou n d ered that I saw th em t r yin g to pull to th e island .
Th er e was a lon g s i l en c e af ter Ja ck c eas ed sp eak

i ng ,
and I hav e no doubt that each w as r evolving i n
his min d our extraordin ary positio n For my part I .
,
cann ot s ay t h at my r e ectio n s w ere very agr eeabl e I .
k n ew tha t w e w ere on an islan d for Jack had said so , ,
but wh eth er it was i n habited or not I did not k now .
If i t should b e inhabit ed I f elt cer tai n fro m all I had , ,
h eard of S outh Sea Islan d ers that we should b e roast ed ,
alive and eat en If it sho u ld t u rn ou t to b e u n inhabit ed

.
,

I fa n ci ed that w e should b e starv ed to d eath Oh ,
thought I if th e ship h ad o n ly stuck on th e r ok s w e

,

might h av e don e pr etty w ell for w e could h av e obtain ed ,
provision s fr o m h er an d tools to enabl e u s to build a ,

sh elter ; but n ow alas ! alas ! w e ar e l ost Th es e last
wor ds I uttered alo u d i n my distress .

exclaim ed Jack w hil e a smil e ov er

L ost ! Ralph ?
spread his h ear ty counten anc e S av ed y o u should .

,
hav e said Your cogitations s eem to h av e taken a

.
wron g road an d led y ou to a w r o n g con clusio n

,
.

D o y ou k n ow w hat conclusion I have com e to ?
said P et erki n I hav e mad e up m y mind t h at i t s
.

c pital r s t rat e th e b est th i ng that ev er happ en ed
a
to us an d th e most spl en did pros pect that ever lay

,
b efore three j olly you n g tars VVe ve got an islan d all .

to ours elv es W e ll tak e poss ession i n th e nam e of th e

.

king ; w e ll go an d en t er th e s ervice of its black inhabit

an ts .O f cours e w e ll r is e n atu r ally to th e top of

, ,
affairs Whit e m en alway s do i n savag e cou n tri es

. .
You shall b e kin g Jack R alph prim e min ist er ; an d I , ,
s h all b e

Th e court j est er in terrupt ed Jack ,

.
N o r etort e d P et erkin ; I ll hav e no titl e at all
, .
'
I shall m er ely a cc ept a highly r esponsibl e situatio n

un d er gov ern m en t ; for you s e e Jack I m fo n d of
, ,

havi n g a n en ormous s alary an d n othin g to do .
But suppose th er e ar e no n atives ?
Th en w e ll build a charmin g villa and plant a lovely

gard en roun d it s tuck all full of th e m ost spl en diferous

,
tropical ow ers an d w e ll farm th e land plan t s ow

,

, , ,

r eap eat sl eep and b e merry
, , ,
.
But to b e s erious s aid Jack assuming a grav e , ,
e xpr ession of count enanc e which I obs erv ed always had ,
th e effect of ch ecking P et erki n s disposition to mak e fun

of ev ery thing w e ar e really in rath er an u n comfo r tabl e

,
p osition If this
. is a d es er t island w e shall have to liv e ,
very m u ch lik e th e wild b easts for we h ave not a tool ,

of any kind not ev en a k n if e
,
.

Y es we hav e th a t

,
said P eter k in fumbling in his
, ,
trous ers pock et from which h e drew forth a s mall

,
penknife with only on e blade an d that was brok en ,

.

W ell that s b ett er than nothin g But com e s aid
,

.
,
Jack risin g ; we ar e wasting ou r tim e in ta lki ng in stea d

,
of doi ng Y o u s eem w ell enough to walk now Ralph , .
L et us s ee what w e h av e got in ou r pock ets and th en let ,
us climb s om e hill an d asc ertain w h at sort of island w e

hav e b een cast upon for wh eth er good or bad it s eem s
, ,
lik ely to b e our hom e for som e tim e to com e .

Third A pi ece of whip cord about s i x y ards lo n g Fourth

,
-
.
,

A sailmak er s n eedl e of a small size Fift h A ship s
.
,
t el escop e which I happ en ed to h ave i n my han d at

,
th e tim e the ship str uck an d whic h I had clu n g to ,
rmly all th e tim e I was i n t h e wat er In d eed it was .
with di ffi culty that Jack got it o u t of my grasp wh en I

was ly in g ins en sibl e on th e shor e I can n ot u n derstan d .
why I k ept such a r m hold of this t el escop e Th ey .
sa
y that a drowning m an will cl u tc h at a straw Per .
haps it m ay have b een som e suc h feeli n g in m e for I ,
did n ot k n ow th at it was i n my han d at th e tim e w e

w er e wreck ed H o wever we felt som e pl easure i n
.
,
havin g it with us now although we did n ot s ee that it ,
could be of much u s e to us as th e glass at th e small ,
en d was brok en to pi ec es O ur sixth articl e was a brass .
ring which Jack always wor e on his littl e n ger I .
n ev er und ers tood why h e wor e it for Jack was not vain ,
of his app earanc e an d di d not s eem to car e for o r n am ents

,
of a ny kin d Pet erkin said it was i n m emory of th e gi r l

.

h e l eft b ehind him ! But as h e n ever spok e of this
girl to eith er of u s I am inclin ed to thin k that P et erkin
,
w as eith er j esti n g or mistak en In addition to th es e .
articl es w e had a littl e bit of tind er and th e cloth es on ,
o u r backs . Th es e last w ere as follows :

E ach of us had on a pair of stout canvas trous e rs ,
an d a pair of sailo r s thick sho es Jack wor e a r ed

.
ann el s hirt a blu e j ack et an d a r ed ! ilmarnock bo n n et

, ,

or n ight cap b esid es a pair of worst ed socks an d a cotton
, ,
pock et han dk erchi ef w ith sixteen portraits of L ord

,

N elso n prin t ed on it an d a u n ion jack i n th e m iddl e
, .
Peterkin had on a strip ed an n el shirt which h e wore -
outsid e his trous ers an d b elt ed rou n d his waist aft er

, ,
t h e man n er of a tu n ic an d a round black straw hat .
H e h a d n o jack et h avi n g throw n it o ff j u s t b efore we

,
TH E CORAL I SLAND . 27
w ere cast into th e s ea ; b u t this was not of much cou s e

u en c e as th e climat e of th e island prov ed t o b e ex
q ,
t r em ely mild so much s o ind eed that Jack and I oft en

, , ,
preferr ed to go about without ou r j ack ets P et erkin .
had also a pair of whit e cotton socks an d a blu e hand

k erchief w
,
ith whit e spots all ov er it My own costum e .
consisted of a blu e a n n el shirt a blu e jack et a black , ,
cap an d a pair of worst ed socks b esides th e sho es

, ,
an d can vas trous ers already m en tion ed This was all .
w e had and b esid es th es e thi n gs w e had nothing els e ;

,
b u t wh en w e tho u gh t of t h e dan g er from which w e had

escap ed an d how much w o r s e off we might hav e b een
,
h ad th e s hip st r uck on th e r eef durin g th e nig h t we ,
fel t v ery than kful tha t w e w ere poss ess ed of so much ,
although I must confess w e som etim es wish ed that w e

, ,
had had a littl e more .
Wh il e w e w ere exa minin g th es e things and talking

a bout them Jack sudd en ly start ed and exclaim ed
, ,

Th e oar ! we hav e forgotten th e oar .
What good will that do u s s ai d P et erki n ; th er e s

wood en oug h on th e island to mak e a thou san d oars .

b u t th ere s a bit of hoop

A y lad r epli ed Jack ;
, ,
iron at t h e en d of it an d that may b e of much u s e to u s

, .

Very tru e said I let us go fetch it ; an d w ith
, ,

that w e all three ros e an d hast en ed down to t h e b each .
I still felt a littl e w eak fr om loss of blood s o that my ,
co m pan io n s soo n b egan to l eav e m e b ehin d ; but Jack

p erc eiv ed this an d with h i s usual con sid erate good
, ,
n at u r e
,
turn ed back to h elp m e This was now th e .
rst tim e that I had loo k ed w ell about m e si n c e lan d

ing as th e spot wh ere I had b een laid w as cov ered with
,
thick b u sh es which al m o s t hid th e co u n try from our V iew

,
.
A s w e now em erg ed fr om amon g th es e an d walk ed

dow n t h e san dy b each tog eth er I cas t m y ey es abou t , ,
28 T HE CO R AL I SLAND .
an d truly my h ear t glow ed withi n m e an d m y spirit s

ros e at th e b eautiful prosp ect which I b eh eld on e v ery
sid e Th e gal e had sudd enly di ed away j u st as if it
.
,
had blown furiously till it dash ed ou r ship u pon th e

rocks an d had n othin g more to do aft er acco m plishin g
,
that Th e island on w hich w e stood was hilly an d

.
,
cov ered almost ev erywh er e with th e most b eautiful

an d richly colo u r e d tr ees bush es an d shrubs non e of
-
, , ,
which I kn ew th e nam es of at that tim e except indeed , , ,
th e cocoa nut palms which I r ecogn iz ed at o n c e from

-
,
th e man y pictur es that I had s een of t h em b efor e I l eft

hom e A san dy b each of dazzling whit en es s lin ed th is
.
bright gr een shor e an d u pon it th er e fell a g en tl e rippl e

,
of th e s ea This last astonish ed m e much for I r ec ol

.
,
lected that at hom e th e s ea u s ed t o fall i n h u g e billows

on th e shore long aft er a storm had subsid ed But on .
casting my glan ce ou t to s ea th e caus e b ecam e apparen t .
About a mile distant from th e sh ore I s aw th e great

billows of th e oc ean rollin g lik e a gr een wall and falli n g ,
with a lon g loud roar upon a low coral r eef wh ere th ey

, ,
w ere das h ed into whit e foam an d un g up in clouds of

spray This spray som etim es ew ex ceedin gly high an d
.
,
e v ery h er e a n d th er e a b eautiful rainbow w as form ed
for a mom en t among th e fallin g dr ops We aft erwa r ds .
fou n d th at this coral reef ext en d ed qui te r ound th e

islan d an d for m ed a natural breakwat er to it B eyon d
,
.
this th e s ea ros e and toss e d viol en tly fr om th e effects of

th e storm ; b u t b etw een t h e r eef an d th e shore it was as
calm an d as smooth as a pon d .
My h eart was ll ed with more d elight than I c an expr ess

at sight of s o man y glo r ious obj ects an d my thoughts ,
tu r ned sudd en ly to th e cont emplation of t h e C reator of

th em all I m ention this th e more gladly b ecaus e at
.
,
that tim e I am ash a m ed to say I v ery s eldom thought

, ,
of my C r eator
although I was constantly s u rroun ded
,
by th e most beautiful and wond erful of his work s I .

obs erved from th e expr ession of my companio n s c ou n t e
,
nan c e that h e too d eriv ed much j oy from the spl en did

,

sc en ery which was all the mo r e agre eable to u s after

,
our long voyage on th e salt s ea Th ere the breeze was .
fresh and cold but h ere it was delightfully mild ; an d

,
wh en a puff blew off the land it cam e laden with the ,
most exq u isit e perfum e that c an be imagined Whil e

w e thus gaz ed we w er e startl ed by a loud
,
H uzza !
fro m Peter k in and on looking towards the edge of th e
,
s ea ,
we saw h i m cap ering and j umping about like a
mon k ey and ev er an d anon tugging with all his might
,
at somethin g that lay upon th e shor e .
What an odd fello w he is to be sure ! said Jack , ,
taking me by th e arm and hurrying forward ; co m e ,

let us hast en to s ee what it is .
Here it is boys h urrah ! com e along

,
Just what we
,
.

want cried Pet erkin as w e drew n ear still tu gging
, , ,
with all his pow er First rat e ; j ust th e very ticket

.
I need s carcely say to my r ead ers t h at m y com panion

Pet erkin was in th e habit of u si n g very r emarkabl e an d
p eculiar phrases A n d I am free to confess that I did
. .
not well und rstand t e m eaning of som e of th em s u ch

e h ,
for instanc e as th e very tick et ;

,

but I think it my
duty t o recoun t everythin g r elating to my adv en tur es
with a strict r egard to tr u thfulness i n as far as my
m emory s erves m e ; so I writ e as n early as possibl e the , ,
exact words that my compan io n s spok e I often as k ed .

Peterkin to explain what h e m eant by ticket but h e ,
al w ays answ ered m e by goin g into t s of laught er .
H o w ev er by obs ervi n g t h e occasions on which h e us ed

,
it I cam e to unders tand that it m ean t to show that

,
so m ething was remarkably good or fortunate .

O n comi n g up w e fou n d th at Pet erk in w as vainly

endea vourin g to pull the a x e ou t of th e oar in to which , ,
it will b e rem embered Jack struck it whil e en d eavour ,
ing to cut away the cordage among which it had b eco me

entangl ed at th e h ow of t h e s hip Fortu n at ely for us .
the a x e h ad r emained fast i n th e oar and ev en now all ,

Peterkin s strength could not dr aw it ou t of th e cut .

Ah ! that is capital in d eed cri ed Jack at the same , ,
time giving th e a x e a wrench that pluck ed i t out of the

tough wood How fortu n at e this is ! It w ill b e of

more v alu e to us than a hu n dred knives and th e edg e ,

is q uite n ew an d sharp .

I ll an sw er for the tough n ess of t h e h an dl e at any

rate cri ed Pet erkin ; my arm s ar e n early pull ed out of

,
the sock et s But s ee h ere our luck is great Th ere is

.
,
.

iron on th e blad e H e point ed to a pi ec e of hoop iron
.
as he spok e which had b een nail ed round th e blad e of

,
th e oar to prev ent it from splittin g .
This also w as a fortunate discovery Jack w ent dow n .
on his k n ees an d with th e edg e of th e ax e b egan care

,
fully to forc e out the nails But as th ey w ere rmly .
xed in an d th e op eratio n blunt ed our ax e we carri ed

, ,
the oar up with us to th e plac e w h er e w e h ad l eft th e

r est of ou r things in t en din g to b u rn th e wood away
,
from th e iron at a more con v en i ent ti m e .

N ow lads said Jack aft er w e h ad laid it on th e
, , ,
ston e which contain ed ou r littl e all I pr opos e th at w e ,
sho u ld go to th e tail of th e islan d wh er e th e ship struck , ,
which is on ly a quarter of a mil e off and s ee if an ythi n g ,
els e has b een thrown ashor e I do n t expect a n ythi n g

.
,
but it is w ell to s ee Wh en w e g et back h ere it will be

.
tim e to hav e our supp er an d prepare our b eds .
Agreed ! cri ed P ete rkin and I togeth er as in deed , , ,
we wo u ld h av e agr eed to an y proposal that Jac k ma de

for b esid es his b eing old er and much stronger an d tall er

than eith er of us he w as a v ery cl ever fellow an d I
, ,
think w ould hav e induced p eopl e much older than him

s elf to choos e him for th eir l eader esp ecially if th ey ,
r equir ed to b e led on a bold en t erpris e .
N ow as w e hast en ed along th e whit e beach which

, ,
shon e so brightly i n th e rays of th e s ettin g sun that ou r

ey es w er e quit e da zzl e d b its glar e it sudd enly c am e
y ,
into Pet erkin s h ead that we had nothing to eat except

t h e wild b erri es which gr ew i n profusion at our fe et .
What shall w e do Jack ? said h e with a rueful

, ,

look p er haps th ey may b e poisonous !

N 0 fear repli ed Jack con dently
,
I have obs erv ed
that a few of th em ar e not u nlik e som e of th e berri es
that gro w wild on ou r o wn nativ e hills B esides I s aw .
,
on e or t w o stran ge birds eating th em just a fe w minut es
ago an d what won t kill th e birds won t kill us But

,

.

look up th ere Pet erkin contin u ed Jack pointin g to th e
, , ,
branch ed h ead of a cocoa nut palm Th er e are nuts for

-
.

us i n all stag es .
S o th er e ar e ! cr i ed P et erki n who b ei ng of a v ery , ,
unobs er vant nature had b een too much tak en up with

,
oth er th i n gs to n otice anything s o high abov e his h ead

as t h e fruit of a pal m tr ee But what ev er faults my .
young comrad e had he could not be blam ed for wan t of

,
a ctivity o r a n im al spi r its I n deed t h e n uts had scarcely

.
,
b een poi n t ed ou t to him wh en h e bounded u p th e tall

s t em of t h e t r ee lik e a sq u i r r el an d i n a few minut es ,
return ed with three nuts each as large as a man s s t ,

.

Y ou had b ett er k eep th em till w e return s a id Jack ,

L et u s n ish ou r wor k b efor e eati n g .
S o b e it captai n go ah ead c r i ed Pet er ki n thr u sting

, , ,
th e n uts into his trous ers pock et I n fact I do n t

.
want to eat just n ow but I would give a good d eal for

,
32 T HE CORAL I SLAN D .
a dri n k O h th at I could n d a spring ! but I don t s ee

.

t h e small est sig n of on e h er eabouts I say Jack h ow .

, ,
do es it happ en that you s eem to b e up to ev erything ?

You h av e told u s th e nam es of half a doz en trees alr eady ,
an d t o u sa that you w e r e n ev er i n th e S outh S ea s

y e
y y

b efore .
I m not up to ever ythi n g P et erki n as you ll n d ou t

, ,

er e long r epli ed Jack with a smil e ;
,
but I hav e b een
,
a great r ead er of books of trav el and adv entur e all my

life and that has put m e up to a good man y things th at
,

o u ar e p erhaps not acqu aint ed with
y , , .
0 Jac k that s all h umbug

,
If y ou b egin to lay .
ev erythi n g t o th e cr edit of books

I ll quit e los e my ,
O pinion of you cri ed P et erkin with a look o f con t em pt

, ,
.
I ve s een a lot 0 f ellows th at w er e a lways poring ov er

books an d wh en th ey cam e to try to do an y thing th ey

, ,
w ere n o b ett er than baboons

Y ou ar e quit e right r etort ed Jack ; an d I hav e ,
s een a lot of fellows who n ev er looked in to books at all ,
who kn ew n othing about an y thing exc ept th e thi n gs

th ey had actual ly s een an d v ery littl e th ey kn ew ev en ,
about th es e I n d eed som e w er e so ignoran t that th ey

.
,
did n ot k n ow that cocoa nuts gr ew on cocoa nut trees ! -
I could n ot r efrain from laughi n g at th is r ebuk e for ,
th er e w as much truth in it as to P et erkin s ignoranc e ,

.

Humph ! mayb e you re r ight answ ere d P et erkin ;

but I woul dn ot giv e tu ppen ce for a m an of books if ,
h e had n othin g els e i n him .

N eith er would I said Jack ; but that s no r eason

w h y you s h ould r u n books dow n or think l ess of m e for ,
having r ead th em S uppos e now P et erk in that you .

, ,
wan ted to b uild a ship an d I w er e to give you a lon g ,
an d particular accou n t o f t h e way to do it would n ot ,
that b e v ery u s efu l

th e b est fellow I ev er m et in my life O n lv ta ste .

that ! said h e turn in g to me and holdin g th e nut to
,
my mouth I imm ediately drank an d certain ly I was

.
,
much surpris ed at th e d elightful liquid that ow ed copi

o u sl down m throat It was extr em ely cool an d had
y y .
,
a swe et tast e min gl ed with acid ; i n fac t it was th e

, ,
lik est thi n g to l emonade I ev er tast ed and w as mo s t ,
grat eful and r efreshing I hand ed th e n u t to Jack wh o

.
, ,
aft er tasting it s aid N ow P et erkin y ou unb eli ev er I

, , , , ,
n ev er saw or tast ed a cocoa nut i n my lif e b efor e exc ept ,
th os e sold i n shops at hom e ; but I onc e read that th e

green nuts con tai n that stu ff and y ou s ee it i s tru e ,

And p r ay asked Pet erki n
,
what sor t of stu ff ,

do es th e rip e u t contai
n n ?

A hollow k er n el answ er ed J ack ,
with a liquid ,
lik e milk in i t ; but it does n ot satisfy thirs t so w ell

as h u n g er It i s v ery wholesom e food I beli eve
.
,
.
M eat an d drink on th e sam e tr ee ! c r i ed Peterkin ;

w ashi n g i n th e s ea lo dging on the ground,
an d all ,
-
for nothing ! My d ear boys w e re set u p for life ; it ,

must be the anci en t Paradise hurrah an d P et er ki n ,

-
toss ed his s traw h at i n th e ai r an d r an alon g th e b each ,
hallooing lik e a madman w ith delight .
We aft er wards foun d ho wev er th at th es e lov ely , ,
isl an ds w ere v ery u n lik e Paradis e in m an y thin gs But .
more of th is i n its prop er place .
We had now com e to th e poin t of rocks on which th e

ship had struck but did n ot n d a si n gl e articl e alth ough
, ,
w e s ear ch ed car efully amo n g th e cor al rocks wh ich at ,
this plac e jutt ed out so far as n early to join the reef

that encircl ed the islan d Just as we were abou t t o.
r eturn how ev er w e saw som ething black oatin g i n a

, ,
littl e cov e th at had escap ed our obs ervation R un nin g .
for ward w e dr ew it from t h e wat er an d foun d it to be

,
.
T HE CO RA L I SLAND . 35
a long thick l eath er boot such as sh erm en a t hom e

,
w ear ; an d a few pac es farth er on w e picked u p its

fellow We at on ce recogn iz ed th es e as havi n g b elonged
.
to ou r captain for h e had worn th em duri n g th e w hol e

,
of th e stor m in order to guard his l egs from th e wav es

,
a n d spray that co n sta n tly wash ed ov er our d ecks My .
rst thought on s eeing th em was that ou r d ear capta i n

had b een drowned ; but Jack s oon put my m in d m ore at
r est on that pom t by sayi n g th at if th e captain had
,
b een d r own ed with th e boots on h e would c ertain ly ,
h av e b een wash e d ashor e along with th em an d that h e ,
had no doubt what ev er h e had kick ed th em off wh ile i n

t h e s ea that h e might swim mor e easily
,
.
P et erkin imm ediately pu t th em on but th ey w er e s o ,
large t hat as Jack said th ey would hav e do n e for boots

, , ,
trous ers an d v est too I also tri ed th em b u t although

,
.
,
I was long en ough in th e l egs for th em th ey w ere much ,
too large in th e f eet for m e : s o we hand ed th em to Jack ,
who w as a n xious to mak e m e k eep th em ; b u t as th ey

fi tted his larg e li m bs a n d f eet as if th ey had b een m ade
for him I would n ot h ea r of i t s o h e con s en t ed at last
, ,
to use th em I may r emark how ever that Jack di d

.
, ,
n ot u s e th em oft en as th ey wer e e x tr em ely h eavy

, .
It was b egin n i n g to gro w dark wh en w e return ed to

ou r en campm en t ; so w e put off our visit to t h e top of a
hil l till n ext day an d employed th e light tha t y et r e

,

m ain ed to us i n c u tti n g do w n a quan ti ty of b ough s an d

th e b r oad l eav es of a tr ee of w h ich no n e of us k n e w t h e
n ame . With th es e w e er ect ed a sort of r ustic bo wer i n ,
which w e m ea n t to pass th e night Th ere was n o ab s o .
lu te n ec ess i ty for this b ecaus e th e air of our island w as

,
s o g en ial an d ba lmy that w e could have sl ept quit e w ell
without any sh elter ; b u t we w er e s o little us ed to sl eep

ing i n th e op en air that w e did n ot quit e relis h th e id ea
,
of lying down without an y covering over us ; besides ,
ou r bow e r would sh elt er us from the nigh t d ews or rain -
i f an y should happen to fall Having strew ed the oor .
with l eaves and dry grass we bethought our selv es of ,
supp er .
But it n ow occurred to us for the rst time that w e , ,
had n o means of making a r e .

N ow there s a x
,
what shall we do sai d P et er
-
k i n while we both t u rn ed our eyes to Jack to whom w e

, ,
always look ed in ou r di fculti es Jack seemed n ot a .
littl e p erplexed .
Th ere are in ts en ough no dou bt on th e b each , , ,
s ai d h e but th ey are of no use at all without a st eel

, .
How ev er w e must try

,
S o sayin g h e went to th e
.
,
b each an d soon return ed w ith tw o i n ts O n on e of

,
.
th es e h e placed the tind er an d end eavour ed to ign it e it ; ,
but it was with great difculty that a very sm all spark

was struck ou t of the i n ts an d the tind er b eing a bad , , ,
h ard pi ece would not catch ,

H e then tri ed th e bit of .
hoop iron which would not strike r e at all ; and after

,
that the back of the axe with n o better su ccess D ur ing,

.
all th ese tr ial s Pet erkin sat with his h ands in his pock ets ,
gazin g with a most m elan choly visag e at ou r comrade ,
his fac e growing longer an d more miserabl e at each s u c

c es si v e failur e .

O h d ear I he sigh ed ; I would n ot care a button for
th e cooking of our victuals p erhaps th ey don t n eed it
but it s so dismal to eat on e s supp er in th e dark an d

,

w e hav e had s u ch a capital day that it s a pity to nish ,

off in this gl u m styl e O h I hav e it ! h e cri ed starting
.
, ,
up : t h e spy glass th e big glass at the en d is a bu r n

- h
i n g glass l
-
You forget that w e hav e n o sun said I ,

.
Pet erkin was silent I n his sudd en r ecoll ecti on of

.
th e tel esc ope he had quite overlook ed the absence of th e

su n .

A h boys I ve got it now
, ,
xclaim ed Jack risin g ! e ,
and cuttin g a branch from a n eigh bouring bush which ,
he stripp ed of i ts l eav es I r ecoll ec t s eeing this don e

once at hom e H and me th e bit of whip cord

. With -
.
t h e cord and branch Jack soon form ed a bow Th en h e .
cut a pi ece about thr ee inch es long off t h e en d of a d ead

, ,
branch which h e poin t ed at th e t wo ends Round this

, .
h e pass ed th e cord of t h e b ow an d plac ed on e en d agains t ,
his ch es t which w as prot ect ed from i ts point by a chip

,
of wood ; t h e other point h e plac ed agai n st th e bit of

-
tind er an d th en b egan to s aw vigorously with the b ow

, ,
Just as a blacksmith do es with his drill whil e boring a

hol e in a pi ec e of iron I n a few s econds th e tin der
.
b egan to sm ok e ; in l ess than a minut e i t caught r e ;

and in l ess than a quar ter of an hour w e were drinkin g
ou r lemonad e and eating cocoa nuts ro u nd a r e that
would have roast ed an entire sh eep while th e s m ok e , ,
am es and sparks ew u p among th e broad l eav es of

,
th e ov erhanging palm trees and ca st a warm glo w upon ,
ou r l eafy bow er .
That night the starry sk y look ed down through th e

gently rustlin g trees upon our sl u mb ers and the dis tant
-
,
roaring of th e surf u pon th e coral reef was ou r lullaby .

C HAPT ER V .
Mom m y , cog i tati o ns con nected th er ewi th We l uxu ma te i n th e sea tr y o r

an d ,
u
di mn g power s an d make en chan t i n g exc u r si o n s a mo n g th e co al g r ov es a t

,
r
th e bottom of th e oc ea n Th e wo nd er s of th e d eep enl a r ged up o n .
HAT a j oyful thing it is to awak en a fresh ,

on
glorious mor n ing an d n d the r ising su n starin g

,
into your fac e w ith dazzli n g brilliancy ! to s ee the birds

twitt ering in the bush es an d to h ear th e m urmu r ing of
,
a rill or th e soft hissi n g ripples as they fal l upon the

,
s ea shore !
-
At any tim e and in any place such sights
and sounds are most charmin g but more esp ecially are,
th ey s o wh en on e awak ens to them for th e rst tim e in

, ,
a novel and romantic situation with the soft sw eet ai r

,
of a tropical climat e mingling with the fr esh sm ell of
th e s ea a n d stirring th e strang e leav es that utt er over

,
h ead and aroun d on e or r u f i n g th e plumage of th e

,
stranger birds that y in quiringly around as if to de ,
m a n d what busin ess w e hav e to intrud e uni n vited on

th eir domains Wh en I awok e on the mor n in g after the
.
shipwr eck I found mys elf in this most d elightful condi

,
tion ; an d as I lay on my back upon my b ed of leaves ,
gazin g up th rough th e bran ch es of th e cocoa nut trees -
into t h e cl ear blu e s k y and watched the few eecy clouds

,
that pass ed slowly across it m y h eart expan d ed more

,
and mor e w ith an exulting gladness the lik e of which I ,
had n ev er felt before Whi le I meditat ed my tho u ghts

.
,
a gai n t u rned to th e g r e a t and kind Creator of this

be au tiful world as they had done on th e previou s day
, ,
when I rst behel d the s ea and the coral reef with th e

.
mighty wa ves dashing over it into the calm waters of

th e l agoon .
W h ile th us meditating I n aturally bethough t me of ,
my Bible for I had fa ithfully k ept the promis e which I

, ,
gave a t p arting to my beloved mother that I w ould r ead ,
i t every mo r nin g ; and it was with a fe eling of dismay

tha t I re memb ered I had l eft it in th e ship I was .
m uch troubled about this H owever I consol ed myself

.
,
with reecting tha t I could ke ep th e s econd part of my

promis e to h er namely that I should n ev er omit to s ay
,
my prayers S o I rose qui etly l est I s hou ld disturb my

.
,
co m panions wh o were still asleep and stepped as ide in to

, ,
th e bu she s for this purpos e .
O n m y r etu rn I found th em s till slu mb ering so I agai n ,
l ay down to thin k over our situation Just at that .
m oment I was attracted by th e sight of a ver y s mall

parrot which J ack a fter war ds told me w a s called a
,
paro quet It was s eat ed on a twig th at o ver hung

.
Peter k in s he a d and I w a s sp eedily lost in a dmi r ation

of i ts bright gre en plumage which was mingl ed with ,
oth er gay colou rs While I looked I observed th a t t h e

.
bi r d tu r n ed its h e a d slowly fro m sid e t o si de and look ed

'
do wnwards rst with the on e ey e and th en with t h e

,
oth er O n glancing downwards I observ ed that Peter

.

kin s mouth was wide op en and that this remarkable ,
bir d was looking in to it Pet erkin u sed to say th at I

.
h ad n ot an a tom of fun in my composition and th at I ,
never could u nderstand a j ok e In r egard to th e latt er .

,
p erhaps h e was r ight ; y et I think that wh en th ey were ,
expl ai ned t o m e I understood j ok es as well as most

,
peopl e : but in regard to the former h e mus t certainly

hav e b een wron g for this bird s eemed to m e to b e

,
e xtr em ely fu nn y and I could not h elp thinkin g that if ,
it should happ en to fain t or slip i ts foot and fall off the

, ,
twig into P eterkin s mouth h e would p erhaps think it

funny t oo ! S udd enly th e paroqu et b en t down i ts h ead

an d utt ered a loud scr ea m i n his fac e This awoke h i m .
,
and with a cry of surprise h e started up while the

, , ,
foolish bird ew precipitately away .

O h you monst er ! cri ed P et erkin shaking h i s s t ,
at th e bird Th en h e yawn ed and rubb ed his ey es and

.
, ,
ask ed what o clock it was

.
I smil ed at this qu estion and an sw ered th at as our , ,
watch es w ere at th e bottom of th e sea I could n ot tell , ,
but it w as a little past sunrise .
P eterkin n ow b egan to rem ember wher e we w er e .
A s he looked u p in to the br ight s k y and snu ffe d th e ,
scent ed air h i s ey es glist ened with delight an d h e

, ,

u tt er ed a faint Hurrah ! an d yawn ed again Th en .
h e gazed slow ly r ound til l obs erving th e calm s ea

, ,
through an op enin g in th e bush es he star ted sudd en ly ,
up as i f h e had r eceiv ed an e lectric shock utt ered a ,
v eh em ent shout u n g off h i s garm en ts and rushin g

, , ,
ov er th e whit e san ds plunged in to th e wat er Th e c r y

,
.
awok e Jack who ros e on his elbow w ith a look of grav e

,
surpris e ; but this was follow ed by a qui et smil e of

int elligen ce on s eein g P eterkin in the wat er With an .
en ergy that h e o n ly gav e way to i n mom ents of e xcit e
m en t Jack bou n d ed to his feet threw off h i s cloth es

, , ,
shook back his hair and with a lion lik e spring dash ed
, ,
-
,
ov er th e sa n ds and plunged i n to t h e s ea with such forc e

as quite to env elop P et erkin in a show er of spray .
Jac k was a remarkably good swimm er and div er s o ,
that after his plu n g e w e saw n o sign of him for n ear l y

a m i n ut e ; aft er which h e sudd en ly em er ged w ith a cry ,
titi es of s ea we ed of the rich est h u es imagin able and of

-
,
th e most grac eful forms ; whil e innum erable shes

blu e r ed yello w gre en an d s tr i ped spor ted in and ou t
, , , ,

amon gst th e ower beds of this s ubmarine ga r den and did -

,
not app ear to b e at all afraid of ou r approachin g the m .
O n dartin g to the surfac e for breath after ou r rs t ,
d i ve Jack and I ros e clos e to each other

, .

D i d y ou ev er in you r life R alph see any thing s o , ,
lovely ? sai d Jack as h e ung th e spray from h i s h air

,
.

N e ver I repli ed It app ears to m e like fairy
,
.

realms I can scarcely b eli ev e that we are n ot d reaming

. .

D reaming ! c r i ed Jack ; do you k no w R alph I m

, ,
half t empted to think that we really are dr eamin g .
But if s o I am resolv ed t o mak e th e most of it and

, ,
dream anoth er dive s o h ere goes down again m y boy ! ,

-
,
We took th e secon d div e togeth er and k ept b esid e ,
each oth er whil e u n d er wat er an d I was gr eatly su r

'
pris ed to n d th at we could k eep down m u ch longer

than I ev er r ecoll ect havin g don e in ou r own s eas at
ho m e I b eli eve that this was owing to th e h eat of th e
.
wat er which was so warm that w e afterwar ds fou n d w e

,
could r emain in it for two and three hou r s at a tim e

without feeli n g an y u n pl easant effects such as w e us ed t o
e xp eri enc e i n t h e s ea at ho m e Wh en Jack reach ed th e .
bottom h e grasp ed th e coral stems an d crept along on

, ,
h i s hands and kn ees p eeping u n d er t h e s ea w eed an d ,

-
amon g th e rocks I obs erv ed h i m also pick up on e or.
t w o larg e oyst ers and r eta in th em i n h i s g r asp as if h e

, ,
m ea n t to tak e th em u p with h i m s o I also gath ered a ,
few .S udd enly he mad e a grasp at a sh w ith blu e an d

y ellow strip es on its back and actually touched its tail , ,
but did n ot catch it A t this h e tu rned towar ds m e an d .
attempted to s mil e ; but n o sooner had h e done s o than

he sprang lik e an arrow to the surface wh er e on follow , ,
in g him I fou n d him gaspin g an d coughing and spitti n g

, ,
water from his mouth I n a few minut es h e r ecov er ed .

,
an d w e both tu r n ed to swim ashor e .
I d eclar e Ralph said h e that I actually tri ed to

, , ,
lau gh under wat er .

So I sa w I r epli ed an d I obs erv ed that you v e ry
,
nea r ly caught that sh by th e tail It would hav e don e .
capitally for breakfast if you had .

Breakfast en ough h er e said h e holding u p th e , ,
oysters as w e land ed and r an u p th e b each

,
H allo .
,
P eterkin ! h ere you ar e boy S plit op en th es e fellows ,

.

whi le Ralph an d I put on our cloth es Th ey ll agr ee .
with th e cocoa n u t s exc ell en tly I hav e n o doubt ,

.
Peterkin who was already d r ess ed took th e oyster s

, , ,
an d O pen ed th em with t h e edg e of our a x e exc laimi n g , ,
N ow that i s capital
,
Th ere s n othing I m s o fond of .

.
Ah ! that s lucky r emark ed Jack I ll b e abl e to

,
.

ke ep y ou in good order n o w Master P eterki n Y ou ,

.
k n ow you can t div e an y b etter than a cat S o sir

.
, ,
wh en ev er y ou b ehav e ill you shall hav e no oysters for ,
breakfast .

I m v ery glad that ou r prosp ect of breakfas t is s o

good said I for I m v ery hu n gry
, ,

.
H ere th en stop your mouth with that R alph s aid

, , , ,
Pet erkin hol ding a larg e oyster to my lips I op en ed

,
.
my mouth and swallow ed it in silen ce an d r eally it was ,
r emarkably goo d .
We n o w s et ours elv es ear n estly abou t ou r preparatio n s

for sp en din g th e day We had no di fculty with th e .
r e this morni n g as our burn i n g glass was an admirable

,
-
on e ; an d whil e w e roast ed a few oyst ers an d at e ou r
c ocoa n uts w e h eld a lon g animat ed conv ersation about o u r

, ,
plans for th e future What those pla n s w er e and how .

,
w e carri ed th em in to effect th e r ead er sh all s ee h er eaft er , .

CHA PT ER VI .
An x s i on i n to th e i n ter i o r i n wh i ch we make ma ny val u able an d i n ter est i ng

e cu r ,
di scov es
r e i W e g et a d r eadfu l fr i ght Th e b ead fr u i t t ec Wo n derfu l
r - r
p ec u l i a r i ty o o r
f some f th e fr u i t t ees S ig ns of fo mer i nhabi tan ts
- r .
UR rst care aft er breakfast was to place the few

, ,
articles w e poss ess ed in the crevice of a rock at

the farth er end of a small cav e which we discovered
near ou r encamp m ent This cave w e hoped might b e
.
, ,
us eful to us afterwar ds as a sto r e house Th en w e -

.
ou t two l a rge cl u bs of
f a speci es of very h a rd tree which
grew n ear at hand O n e of th ese was given to Peter
.
kin th e other to m e and Jack a rm ed hims elf with th e

, ,
axe We took th ese precautions b ecause we purpos ed

.
t o mak e an excursion t o th e top of th e moun tains of

the in t erior in ord er to obtain a b etter vi ew of ou r
,
island . O f cou r s e we kn ew not what dang ers might

b efall us by the way s o thought it b est to b e pr epared
, .
Havin g compl et ed our arrangem ents and carefully

e xtinguish e d our r e w e s alli ed forth and walk ed a
,
s hort distanc e along the s ea beach till we cam e t o th e

-
,
entranc e of a vall ey th r ough which owed t h e rivul et

,
b efore m entioned H er e w e turned ou r backs on th e

. .
sea and struck into th e interior .
The prosp ect that burst upon ou r view on en tering

t h e valley was truly spl en did O n eith er sid e of us
.
th ere w as a gen t le rise in th e lan d which thus form ed ,

two ridges about a mile ap art on each side of the

valley Th es e ridges
. which as wel l as the low -
,
grounds b et ween th em w ere cov ered with tr ees an d

,

sh r ubs of the most lu xuriant kind continued to rec ede
inland for about t wo miles when th ey j oined th e foot ,
of a small mountain This hill ros e rath er abruptly

.
fro m the head of th e vall ey and was likewise entir ely ,
cov ered ev en to th e top with trees except on on e parti ,
on lar spot near t h e l eft should er wh er e was a ba r e and ,
rocky plac e of a brok en and sa vag e character Beyond .
th i s hill we could not s ee and we therefore directed our

,
course up the banks of the rivul et towards the foot of
it int ending to climb to th e top should tha t b e possibl e

, , ,
as i n d eed we had no doubt it was

, , .
Jack b eing th e wis est and boldest among us took ,
th e lead carrying th e axe on his shoulder

, Peterkin .
,
with h i s enormous club ca me second as h e said h e , ,
should lik e to be in a position to defend me if any

danger should threaten I brought up the rear but
.
, ,
h aving b een mor e t aken up with the wond er f u l and

curious t hings I s aw at starting than with thoughts of
possible dang er I had v ery foolishly l eft my cl u b behind
,
me .A lthough as I have said t h e trees and bushes

, ,
w ere v er y luxuriant they w ere n ot so thickly crowd ed

,
togeth er as t o h ind er ou r progre s s among them We .
w ere abl e to win d i n and out an d to follow th e ban ks of ,
th e str eam quit e easily a ltho u gh it is tru e t h e height

, , ,
a n d thickn ess of t h e foliag e p r e v en t ed u s from s eeing
far ah ead But som etim es a j utting out rock on th e

.
-
hillsid es afforded us a position wh en c e w e could enj oy

th e romantic view and mark ou r progress towards t h e
foot of th e hill I w as particularly struck durin g th e
.
,
walk with th e richness of th e undergrowth in most

,
plac es and recogniz ed many b erri es an d pla n ts that

,
r esembl ed tho s e of my native la n d especially a tall , ,
el egantly form ed fe r n which emitt ed an agreeabl e per

-
,
~
fum e Th er e w ere s everal kinds of ow ers too but I

.
, ,
did n ot see so man y of t h ese as I should h av e exp ected

in such a climat e We also s aw a great variety of
.
small birds of bright plumag e and m any paroqu ets ,
similar to the on e that awok e P et erki n s o rud ely i n

the mornin g .
Thus w e advanc ed to th e foot of th e hill witho u t

encount er ing an thing to alarm us exc ept i n d e ed onc e
y , , , ,
w h en we w ere passi n g close und er a par t of th e hill

which was hidd en from our v i ew by th e broad leaves
of the banan a trees which gr ew i n gr eat luxu r ianc e i n
,
that part Jack was j ust preparin g to force his way

.
through this thick et wh en w e w er e star tl ed and arrested

,
by a strange patt ering or r umbling sound which app eared

to us quite different from an y of th e sounds w e h ad
h ear d durin g th e previous part of our walk .

H allo cried P et erkin stoppin g sh ort an d graspi ng
,

his club with both hands wh at s that ,
N eith er of us r epli ed ; but Jack s eized his a x e i n his

r ig h t hand whil e with th e oth er h e push ed asid e t h e
,
broad l eav es and en d eavoured to p eer amongst th em .

I can s ee n othi n g h e said aft er a sho r t paus e
, ,
.
I think i t
Again the rumblin g sound cam e loud er than b efore , ,
and we all spran g back an d stood on th e d efen sive .
For mys elf h aving forgott en my club an d n ot havin g

, ,
tak en th e pr ecaution to cut an oth er I button ed my ,
j ack et do u bl ed my sts an d threw m ys elf into a boxi n g

, ,
attitud e I must say howev er that I felt som ew h at

.
, ,
uneasy ; an d my compan ions aft erwards con fess ed th at

th eir tho u ghts at this mom ent h ad b een i n stan tly ll ed
with all th ey h ad ev er h eard or r ead of wild b easts an d
T HE CORAL I SLA N D . 47
s avages tort uri n gs at the stake ro astings ali ve an d

, , .
such lik e horribl e things S uddenly th e patt er i n g n ois e

.
increased with t enfold violence It was followed by .
a fearful cras h amon g th e bush es which was r apidly ,
rep eat ed as if some gigan tic animal w er e bounding

,
to war ds u s . I n another mom en t an enormou s rock

cam e crashing through th e shrubb ery follo we d by a ,
clo u d of dust and small stones an d ew close p a st the ,
spot wh er e we stood carrying bush es and you ng tre es

,
along with it .
Pooh ! is that all ? exclaim ed P et erki n wiping th e ,
p erspiratio n off his forehead Why I thou ght it was

.
,
all the wild m en and b easts in the S outh S ea Islan ds

galloping on in on e grand charge to sw eep u s off th e
face of th e earth inst ead of a m ere stone tumbling do wn
,
th e m o untain sid e .
N everth el ess r emark ed Jack if th at same ston e

, ,

had hit any of u s it wo u ld hav e r endered the ch ar g e

,

u sp eak of quite un n ecessary P et erkin
y o ,
.
This was tru e an d I felt v ery th ankful for ou r

,
e s cape
. O n ex am ining th e spot more narrowly we ,
foun d that i t lay clos e to the foot of a v ery rugged

r ecipice fro m which stones of various s izes w ere always
p ,
tumbli n g at inter vals I n d eed th e num erous fragments

.
lying s cattered all around m i ght have s u ggest ed th e

caus e of th e sou n d had w e n ot b een too su dd en ly
,
a larmed to think of anythi n g .
We n ow resum ed ou r j ou rn ey resolvin g that in ou r , ,
futu re ex cursions in to th e int erior w e would b e careful ,
t o avoid this dang erous precipic e .
S oon aft erwards w e arriv ed at t h e foot of th e hill ,
a n d pr epar e d to asc en d it H ere Jack mad e a di s

.
c o ver
y which caus ed us all v ery gr eat j oy This was .
a tree of a rem arkably b eautiful app earanc e which ,

48 THE CORAL I SLAND .
J ack con d ently d eclar ed to be th e c el ebrat ed brea d

fruit tr ee .

Is it c el ebrated ? inquir ed Pet erkin with a loo k of ,
great simplicity .

It is repli ed Jack
,
.

That s odd n ow rej oin ed Pet erkin

,
I n ever h eard,

of it b efor e .
Th en it s n ot so c el ebrated as I tho u ght it was

return ed Jack quietly squ eezing Pet erkin s hat ov er

,

his eye s ; but list en you ignorant boobie ! an d h ear ,
of it now .
Pet erkin r eadjusted h i s hat an d w as soon list enin g ,
with as m uch int erest as m y s elf whil e Jack told us ,
that this tr ee is on e of the most valuabl e in th e island s

of th e s outh that it b ears two sometim es three crops , ,
of fruit in t h e y ear ; t h at t h e fruit is v ery like W h eat en
br ead in app earanc e and that it con stitut es th e prin cipal ,
food of many of th e islan d ers .
S o said P et erkin
,
we s eem to have ev er ythin g ,

r eady prepared to ou r han ds in this wond erful islan d

.
l emon ad e r eady bottled in nuts an d loaf bread grow in g ,

-
on t h e tr ees
P et erkin as u sual was j estin g ; n ev er th eless it i s a

, ,
curious fact that h e spok e almost th e lit eral tr uth .
More ov er co ti u ed J ck
n n a ,

e
t e br ad fru it tr ee
h ,

affords a capital gum which s erv es th e n ativ es for ,
pitchin g th eir cano es ; t h e bar k of th e youn g bran ch es

is m ad e by th em i n to cloth ; an d of th e w ood which ,
i s durabl e an d of a good colour th ey b uild th eir ho u ses ,

.
S o y ou see la ds t hat w e hav e n o lack of m at erial h ere

, ,
t o mak e u s co m for t abl e if w e a r e o n ly cl ev er enough ,
to u se it .

B u t ar e
y ou sure that that s it ? ask ed P et erkin .

! ui t e s u r e ,
replied Jack ; for I w as particularly
br anch ed off into a b eautiful an d umbrageous head We .
notic ed that th e fruit hung in clusters of twos and threes

on the branch es ; but as w e w er e anxious to et t o t h e
g
top of t h e hill w e r efr ain ed from att emptin g to p luck
,
an y at that time .
O ur hearts w ere n ow v ery much ch eered by ou r good

fortune and it was with light an d active steps that we
,
clamb ered up t h e st eep sides of the hill O n r eaching .
th e summit a n ew and if pos s ibl e a g rand er prospect

,
m et ou r gaze We found that this was n ot th e high est

.
part of th e isl an d b u t t h at an oth er hill lay b ey on d

, ,
with a wid e val ley b etw een it an d t h e on e on which w e

stood This vall ey li k e th e rst was also full of rich
.
,
tr ees some dark an d some light gre en som e h eavy and

, ,
thick i n foliage an d oth ers light feath er y an d grac eful

, , , ,
whil e th e b eautiful blossoms on many of th em thre w a

s ort of rai n bow ti n t ov er all a n d gav e to th e vall ey th e ,
a pp earan c e of a gard en of ow e rs Among th es e we .
recognize d ma n y of th e bread fruit trees laden with -

,
yello w fruit and also a g reat many cocoa n u t palms

,
.
A fter gazin g ou r ll w e push ed down th e hillside ,
cr oss ed th e v all ey an d soon b eg an to asc end th e s econd

,
moun tai n It was cloth ed w ith trees n early to th e top

.
,
b u t th e summit was bare and i n som e plac e s brok en , .
Whil e on our way up we ca m e to an obj ect which

ll ed us with m u ch i n t erest This was th e s t ump of a .
tr ee that had e vid en tly b een cut down with an ax e !

S o th en we w ere n ot th e rst wh o had vi ew ed this
, ,
b eautiful isl e Th e hand of man had b een at work

.
th er e b efor e us It now b egan t o recur to u s again

.
th at p er hap s th e island was in habited although w e had ,
n ot seen an y trac es of m an u n til now ; b u t a s e con d

lanc e at t h e s tump con vi n c e d u s that w e h a d n ot mo r e
g
r eason to thin k s o n ow than form erly ; for th e s urfac e
of the wood was quit e decayed an d partly cov ered with ,
fun gus and green matt er so that it must have b een ou t

,
many years ago .

Perhaps said P eterkin
,
som e ship or oth er has
,
touch ed h ere long ago for wood an d only tak en on e ,
tr ee .
We did not thin k this lik ely how ever b ecaus e i n , , ,
such circumstances th e crew of a ship would cut wood

,
o f small siz e and n ear th e shor e wh ereas thi s was a

, ,
large tr ee and stood near the t 0 p of th e mount ain In .
fact it was th e high est larg e tree on the mou n tain all
, ,
above it being wood of v ery rec en t gro wth .

I can t und erstan d it said Jack scratching th e

, ,
s urfac e of t h e stum p with his a x e

I can o nl y s uppos e .
that the savages hav e b een h er e and cu t it for som e

p u rpo s e know n only to th emselves But hallo ! what .
,

ha ve we her e ?
A s h e spok e Jac k began careful ly t o scrap e away th e
,
moss and fungus from th e stump and soon laid bare ,
three distinct traces of m ar ks as if som e ins cr iption or ,
in itials h ad b een cut th ereon But alth o u gh th e trac es .
w ere distinct b eyon d all doubt th e exac t form of the

, ,
l ett ers could n ot b e mad e ou t Jac k thought th ey looked .
lik e J S but We could not b e certain

. .
,
Th ey had .
apparently b een car eles sly cut and long e x posure to ,
th e w eath er had s o brok en th em up that w e could n ot

mak e ou t what th ey w ere We w er e exc eedin gly per .
p l e x ed at this di s cov er y and stay e d a,

lon g ti m e a t t h e
plac e conj ectu r ing wha t th es e m ar ks could h ave been ,
but witho u t avail ; s o as the day was advancing w e

, ,
l eft it an d quickly reach ed the top of th e m oun tain .
We found this to b e th e high es t point of th e is land ,
an d fr om it we saw ou r kin gdom l in it w e lik

y g as e r e , ,
a ma aro u n d us A s I hav e al ways tho u ght it i m os

p .
p

sibl e to get a thi n g prop erly into on e s und erstandin g
without compreh ending it I sh all b eg t h e read er s
,

pati en ce for a little whil e I d escrib e our island thus , ,
shortly
It consist ed of two mountain s : th e on e w e gu ess ed
at 5 0 0 feet ; th e oth er on whic h we stood at
, ,
B etw een thes e lay a rich b eautiful vall ey as already ,
said This vall ey cross ed th e island from on e en d to

.
th e other b eing high in th e middl e and sloping on each

,
side towards th e s ea Th e larg e m ountain slop ed on

.
,
th e sid e farth est from w h ere w e had be en w reck ed ,
gradually towards th e s ea ; but altho u gh wh en vi ew ed ,
at a glance it had thus a regular slopin g app earan ce a

, ,
m or e careful obs ervation show ed that it w as b rok en u p

into a multit u de of v ery small vales or rath er d ells an d
,
gl ens intermingl ed w ith littl e rugged spots an d small

,
bu t abru pt pr ecipic es h er e and th er e with r ivul ets ,
t u mbling ov er th eir edges an d wand ering down th e

slop es in littl e whit e streams som etim es glisteni n g
,
among th e broad l eav es of th e bread fruit an d cocoa -
nut trees or hidi ng altogeth er b en eath th e rich u nd er

,
wood . At th e bas e of this mo u ntain lay a n arrow

bright green plain or m eadow w hich t ermin at ed abru ptly
,
at th e shore O n th e oth e r sid e of th e isl an d wh en ce

.
,
w e h ad com e stood th e small er hill at th e foot of which

, ,
div erg ed three vall eys ; on e b ein g that which w e had

asc en ded with a small er val e on each sid e of it and
, ,
s eparat ed from it by th e two ridges b efor e m en tion ed .
I n thes e small er vall eys th ere w er e n o str eams but they ,
w ere cloth ed with th e sam e luxuriant v eg etation .
Th e diam et er of th e islan d se em ed to be about t en

miles and as it was almost circular i n form its circum
, ,
f erenc e must hav e b een thirty mil es p erhaps a littl e

more if allowanc e b e mad e for th e n um er ou s bays an d
,
ind entations of the sho r e Th e entire island was belt ed

.
by a b each of pure white san d on which lav ed th e ,
gentle rippl es of the lagoon We now also obs erv ed.
that th e coral reef compl etely encircl ed the is land ; but

it varied its distance from it h ere and there in some ,
plac es b ein g a mil e fro m th e b each in oth ers a few ,
hundred yards but the average distance was half a mile

;
,
- -
.
Th e re ef lay v ery low and the spray of the surf broke

,
q u ite over it in many places This sur f nev er c eased .
its roar for however calm th e w eather might b e th ere

, ,
is always a gentle swaying motion in the great Paci c ,
which al though scarce noticeable out at s ea reach es the

, ,
shore at last in a huge billow Th e wat er with in the .
lagoon as b efore said was p erfectly still Th er e w ere

, ,
.
three narrow op enings in the reef : on e opposite each

en d of t h e vall ey which I have descr ibed as crossing
the island ; th e oth er opposit e our own valley which w e ,
aft erwards na m ed the Valley of th e Wr eck A t each of .
these open ings th e reef rose i n to t wo small gre en isl ets ,
covered with bushes and having on e or two cocoa nut -
palms on each Thes e isl ets w ere very singu lar and
.
,
a ppeared as if planted ex p es sly for th e purpose of

marking th e channel into th e lagoon O u r captai n was .
making for on e of these openi n gs the day w e wer e

Wrecked an d would have reach ed it too I doubt not
, , ,
had not th e r u dd er b een tor n away Within th e lagoon .
w ere s everal p r etty, low coral islands j ust Opposit e ou r .
encampm en t ; an d i m m e diat ely b eyo n d th ese out at sea , ,
lay about a dozen oth er islan ds at v ar ious distan c es , ,
fro m half amil e to ten mil es all of th em as far as we

-
,
could discern small er than ou r s an d apparently u n in

,
habit ed Th ey s eem ed to b e low coral islan ds rais ed but

.
,
little abov e th e s ea yet covered with cocoa nut trees

,
-
.
All this w e not ed and a great deal more whil e w e

, ,
s a t on th e
top of t h e mou n tain Af ter w e had s atis ed
.
ours elv es w e pr epar ed to return ; but h er e again w e

discovered traces of th e pres ence of m an Th es e w er e
.
a pol e or sta ff and on e or two pi ec es of wood which had
been squar ed wit h an ax e All of th es e w ere how e v er

.
, ,
v ery much d ecay ed and th ey had evid ently not b een

,
touch ed for m an y years .
Fu ll of th es e discov eri es w e returned to our encamp

m ent O n t h e way w e fell i n with th e traces of som e
.
fou r footed an i m al but wh eth er old or of rec ent date

-
,
none of us w er e abl e to g u ess This also t end ed to.
rais e our hop es of obtai n in g som e animal food on th e

island s o w e r each ed hom e in good spirits quite pr e
, ,
par ed for s u pp er and high ly satis ed with our excursion

,
.
A ft er much discussion i n which P eterkin took th e

,
l ead we cam e to th e con clusion that th e island was

,
u n in h abited an d w ent to b ed
,
.
C H A PT ER V I I .
J ack s i ngenu i ty We g et i n to d ifcu lt i es abou t sh i ng a n d g et ou t of th em by a

m ethod wh i ch g i ves u s a c old bath H o i bl e en co u n t er wi th a sha r k

rr .
OR s everal days aft er xc u rsion r elat ed in t h e

th e e
last chapter w e did not w and er far fr om ou r en

c am m en t but gav e ours elv es up to forming plans for
p ,
the future and making ou r pres en t abod e comfortable .
Th ere w ere v arious cau s es that induc ed this state of

co mparati ve inactio n I n th e rst place although ev ery
.
,
thing around u s was s o delightful an d w e could without ,
di f culty obtain all that w e r equired for ou r bodily com

fort w e did n ot quite lik e th e id ea of s ettling down here
,
for th e r es t of ou r liv es far away from ou r fri en ds and

,
ou r nativ e lan d To s et en e eti cally about pr eparations

.
for a p erman ent resid en c e s eeled so lik e making u p ou r

minds to s ayi n g adi eu to hom e an d fri ends for ev er that ,
we tacitly s hrank from it and put off our pr eparation s

, ,
for on e r eason and anoth er as lo n g a s w e could ,

Th en .
th ere was a littl e un c ertainty still as to th er e b eing

n atives on t h e island and w e ent ertain ed a kind of faint
,
hop e that a ship might c om e and tak e u s off But as .
day aft er day pass ed and n eith er savag es nor sh ips ap

,
ear ed w e gav e up all hop e of an early d eli veran ce and

p , ,
s et dilig ently to w or k at ou r hom est ead .
D uri ng thi s tim e howev er w e had not be en altog eth e r

, ,
idl e We made s ev eral exp erim en ts i n cooki n g th e

.
o
A of which did not improv e it Th en we
f ur goods an d took up o u r ab ode in th e cav e
.
,
,
n d the chan ge so bad that w e r eturn ed gladly to

-
bow er B esides this w e bath ed v ery fr equ en tly
.
, ,
and talk ed a great deal ; at l east Jack and P eterkin di d ,
I list en ed Among oth er us eful thin gs Jack wh o

.
, ,
was ev er th e most active and dilig en t c onv erted about ,
thre e inch es of the hoop iron into an ex cell en t kn ife -

.
First h e b eat it quite at with th e ax e Th en h e m ad e .
a rude handl e an d ti ed th e hoop 1 r on to it with ou r

,
-
pi ec e of whip cord and ground it t o an edge on a pi ece

-
,
of sandston e When it was n ish ed h e used it t o shap e

.
a better han dl e to which he xed it with a strip of his

,
cotton handk erchi ef in which Op eration h e h ad as ,
P eterki n point ed ou t torn off on e of L ord N elson s n os es

,

.
H ow ev er the w h ip cord thus s et free was u sed by

,
-
, ,
P eterki n as a s h i n g line H e m erely ti ed a pi ece of

-
.
oyster to th e en d of it This th e s h were allow ed to .
swallo w an d then th ey were pull ed quickly ashore

,
.
But as th e lin e was v ery short an d w e had no boat the ,
sh we caught w ere exc eedingly small .
O n e day P et erkin cam e u p from th e beach w h er e h e ,
had be en an gling an d said in a v ery cross ton e I ll

, ,

t el l y ou what Jack I m not going to b e h u mbugged

, ,

with catching such cont emptib le thin gs an y longer I .
want y ou to swi m ou t with me on your back an d let ,
m e sh in d eep wat er !
D ear m e P eterkin ! repli ed Jack
,

I had n o id ea ,
you w ere taking th e thi n g s o much to h eart els e I wo u ld ,
hav e got y ou out of that difculty long ago L et m e .
s ee
,

and Jack look ed down at a piece of timb er on
which h e had b een labourin g with a p eculiar gaze of ,
abstr action w h ich h e always assum ed wh en tryi n g t o

,
invent or discover anythin g .

58 T HE CO R A L I S LAN D .
th en att empt ed to embark This was easy enough to .
do ; but aft er s eating ours el ves astrid e t h e log it was ,
with th e utmost di f culty we k ept it from rollin g rou n d

and plun ging u s into th e wat er N ot that w e minded .
that much ; but w e preferr ed if possibl e to s h in dry , ,
clot h es To b e s u re our trous ers w er e nec essarily w et

.
, ,
as ou r l egs w ere dan gling i n th e wat er on each sid e of
th e log ; b u t as th ey could b e easil y dri ed w e did n ot ,
care Aft er half an hour s p r actic e w e b ecam e exp ert

.
- -

enough to k eep our balan c e pr etty st ea dily Th en P ete r .
kin laid down his paddl e an d h avin g bait ed his line with ,
a whol e oyst er dropp ed it into d eep w at er

, .
N ow th en Jack said h e b e cau tious ; st eer cl ear

, , ,

0

that s ea w eed Th ere ! that s it ; g ently now gen tly
-
.
,
.
I s ee a fello w at l east a foot lo n g down th er e comin g to ,
h a ! that s it ! O h both er ! h e s O ff

D id h e bit e ? said Jack urgin g the log on wards a ,
littl e with his paddl e .
Bit e ? ay ! H e took it into h i s mouth b u t th e ,
mom en t I began to haul h e open ed h i s j aws and let i t

ou t again .
L et him s w allow it n ex t tim e said Jack laugh i ng , ,

at th e m elan choly expression of Pet erkin s visage .

Th er e h e s again cri ed P et erkin his ey es ashi n g

, ,
with excit em en t L ook out N ow t n ! N

h
. e 0 ! Y es ! '
N 0 ! Why th e brut e won t swallow it I

Try to haul h i m up by th e mouth th en cri ed Jack , ,
.
D o it g en tly .
A h eavy sigh and a look of blank d espair show ed th at

poor Pet erkin had tri ed and fail ed again .
N ev er mind lad said Jack in a voic e of sy m pathy

, , ,
we ll move on and offer it to som e oth er sh

,
S o s ay .
ing Jac k plied h i s p addle ; b u t scarc ely had h e m ov ed

,
from th e spot wh en a sh with an enormous h ead and

,
a littl e body darted from u n der a rock and s wallowed

th e bait at onc e .

Got him this tim e that s a fact ! cried P eterkin ,
haulin g i n th e li n e H e s swallow ed th e bait right

.
down to his tail I declare O h what a thump er !

,
.
A s th e s h cam e struggling to th e surfac e w e l ean ed ,
forward to s ee it and ov erbalan c ed th e log Pet er kin

,
.
thr ew his arms rou n d th e sh s n eck an d in an oth er
instant w e w ere all ound ering in th e wat er !

A shout of laught er burst from us as w e ros e to the
surfac e lik e three drown ed rats an d s eized hold of the ,
log. We soon recov ered our position and s at more ,
warily w h il e P et erki n s ecur ed th e sh which had w ell

, ,
n igh escap ed i n t h e midst of our struggl e s It w as .
littl e worth havin g how ev er ; but as P et erkin remarked

, , ,
it was b et ter than th e smouts h e had b een catc h in g for

t h e l ast two or thr ee days ; so w e laid it on th e log
b efore us and havi n g r e bait ed th e lin e dropp ed it i n
,
-
,
agai n for an oth er .
N o w whil e w e w er e thus i n ten t upo n our spo r t ou r

, ,
att en tion was sudd en ly attract ed by a rippl e on th e s ea ,
j ust a fe w yards away fro m us P et e rkin shout e d to us .
to paddl e in that dir ection as h e thought it was a big ,
sh and w e might hav e a chan c e of catching it

,
B ut .
Jack inst ead of complyin g said i n a d eep earn est ton e

, , , ,
of voice which I n ev er b efor e h eard h i m u s e

, ,
Haul up your lin e P et erkin ; s eize your paddl e ; ,

quick it s a shark !
Th e horror wi t h which w e h eard this may w ell b e

i m agin ed for it must b e rem emb er ed tha t o u r l egs w ere
,
han gi n g dow n i n th e w at er an d w e could not v enture ,
to pull th em up without ups ettin g th e log P et erki n .
instan tly h aul ed up th e lin e an d graspin g his paddle , ,
e x er t ed hims elf to th e utmost whil e w e also d i d our b est ,

to mak e for shor e But w e w ere a good way off an d

.
,
th e log b eing as I have b efore sai d v ery h eavy mov ed

, , ,
but slowly throu gh th e water We n ow saw th e shark .
quit e distinctly swimmin g round and round us its sharp ,
n ev ery n ow and th en protruding above th e wat er .
Fr om its active and unst eady motions Jack knew it w as ,
making up its mind to attack us s o he u rged us v eh e ,
m en tly to pa ddle for our liv es whil e he hims elf s et us ,
th e e x ampl e . S ud denly h e shou ted L ook out ! th ere ,

h e com es ! and in a s econd we s aw the monstrous s h
div e clos e u n der us an d turn half over on h i s sid e
,
B ut .
we all mad e a great commotion with ou r paddl es which ,
n o doubt frighten ed it away for that time as w e s aw i t ,
i m m ediately after circling round us as before .
Throw th e sh to him cri ed Jack in a quick sup

, , ,

press ed voice ; we ll mak e th e shor e in time y et if w e

can k eep him off for a few minut es .
P et erkin stopp ed on e in stan t to ob ey th e command ,
and th en pli ed his paddl e again with all his might N o .
s oo n er had th e sh fallen on th e wat er th an we obs erv ed
th e shark to sink In anoth er second we saw its white

.
breast rising ; for sharks al ways turn ov er on th eir sides

wh en abou t to s eiz e th eir prey th eir mouth s b ein g n o t ,
at th e point of th eir h eads lik e thos e of oth er sh b u t , ,
as it w ere under th eir chin s In a n oth er mom ent his

,
.
sn out ros e abov e the wat er ; his wid e j aws arm ed with ,
a t er ri c double row of t eeth app ear ed Th e d ead sh,

.
was en gulfed and th e shark san k ou t of sight But

,
.
Jack was m istaken in supposing that it would b e satis

ed . In a very few mi n ut es it returned to u s and its ,
quick motions led us to fear that it woul dattack us at once .

S top paddling cri ed Jack sudd enly
,
I s ee it comin g .
up beh in d us N ow ob ey my ord ers qu i ckly O ur liv es

.
, .
may d ep end on it Ralph Peterkin do your b est to

.
, ,
ba lan ce th e log t look ou t for the shark D on t

. D on .

glance b ehind y ou D o nothing but balance the log
. .
Peterkin and I instantly did as we were ord ered b eing ,
only t oo glad to do an ything that afforded us a chan ce

or a hop e of escap e for w e had implicit c ondence i n
,
Jack s courag e an d wisdom For a few s econ ds that

.
,
s eemed long minutes to my mind w e sat thus silently ; ,
but I could n ot resist glancing backwar d d espite the ,
orders to th e con trary O n doin g so I saw Jack sitti n g

.
,
rigid lik e a statu e with his paddle rais ed his lips com
, ,
pr essed and his eyebrows b ent ov er his eyes which

, ,
glared savagely fro m ben eath th e m down into th e water .
I also s aw th e shark to my horror quite close un d er

, ,
th e log in the act of darti n g towards Jack s foot

, I .
could scarce suppress a cry on b eholding this In an .

~
oth er moment the shark rose Jack drew his leg .
suddenly fro m the wat er and th r e w i t over the log ,

.
Th e mon ster s snout rubb ed against th e log as it pass ed

a n d rev eal ed i ts hideo u s j aws i n to which Jack instan tly ,
plun ged th e paddl e and thrus t it down its throat S o

,
.
violent was this act that Jack ros e to his feet in per
forming it ; th e log was thereby roll ed compl et ely ov er ,
an d we w ere onc e mor e plung ed into th e wat er We all .
rose spluttering an d gasping i n a mom ent

, ,
.

N ow then strike out for s ho r e cri ed Jack
, ,
Here , .
P et erkin catch h old of my collar an dkick ou t with a will

, , .
P et erkin did as he was desir ed an d Jack struck out ,
with suc h forc e that h e cut through th e water lik e a

boat ; while I b eing free from all en c u mbrance suc
, ,
c eeded i n k eeping u with him A s we had by this

p .
time drawn pretty n ear to th e shore a fe w minut es ,
m ore su f c ed to carry us in to shallow wat er ; an d ,
n ally w e land ed in safety though v ery m uch exhau st ed

, ,
.
a n d n ot a littl e fright en ed by our terribl e adv en ture .

CHA PT ER VII I .
Th e beau t i es of th e bottom of th e sea t emp t Peter k i n to di veH w h e di d i t o
Mo e di fc u lt i es ove co me Th e Wat er G a r den Cu r i ou s c r eat r es of th s a

r r u e e
-
Th e t an k Candl es mi ss ed ve y mu ch a n d th e ca n dle n u t t ee di sco er ed
r ,
- r r
Wo n derfu l acco u n t of Pete ki n s st voyage Cloth fou n d g o wi n g on a

r

r r
tr ee A plan p r oj ected an d a m s p ep ar ed for offence a n d defence A

r r

,
d eadfu l cr y
r .
UR
ncounter with th e shark was th e r st great
e
danger that had befall en us sinc e lan di n g on

this islan d and we felt v ery s eriously affect ed by it
, ,
e sp ecially wh en w e consid er ed that w e had so oft en u n
wittingly incurred th e sam e dang h

er b efore whil e bathi n g .
We w ere n ow forced to tak e to shing again i n th e

shallow wat er until we should succeed in co n structin g
,
a raft What troubled us most how ever was th at w e

.
, , ,
w ere comp ell ed to for ego our morn i n g swimmin g excur

sion s We did i n d eed co n ti n u e to enj oy our bath e i n
.
, ,
t h e shallow wat er b u t Jack an d I found that on e great

,
sourc e of ou r enj oym ent was gone wh en w e could n o ,
l o n g er div e down amo n g th e b eautiful coral grov es at

t h e bottom of t h e lagoo n We had com e to b e so fon d .
of t h is exer c ise and to tak e such an int erest in watching

,
t h e formation s of coral an d th e gambols of th e man y

beautiful sh amongst th e forests of r ed and green s ea
w eeds that w e h ad b ecom e quite familiar w ith th e
,
appearan c e of th e sh an d th e localiti es that th ey ch i ey

hau n t ed We had also b ecom e exp ert div ers But w e
. .
made it a rule nev er to stay long u nder wat er at a time

. .
Jack told m e th at to do so oft en was bad for the lungs ,
and instead of affording us enj oy ment would er e long

, ,
do us a s erious inj ury S o w e n ev er stay ed at th e

;
.
bottom as lon g as w e might hav e don e but cam e up ,
fr equ en tly to th e top for fr es h ai r an d div ed down ,
again im mediat ely S om eti m es wh en Jack happ ened to

.
,
b e i n a humorous fram e h e would s eat hims elf at t h e ,
botto m of the sea on on e of th e brain corals as if h e -

,
were s eat ed on a larg e p addock stool an d th en mak e -

,
fac es at m e i n ord e r if possibl e to mak e m e laugh

, , ,
und er wat er At rst wh en h e took m e un awar es h e

.
, ,
n ear ly succeeded and I had to shoot to th e surface in

,
ord er to laugh ; but aft erwards I beca m e aware of his

intention s and b eing naturally of a grav e disposition I
, ,
had no difculty in r estrai n ing mys elf I us ed oft en to .
wond er h ow poor P et erkin would hav e lik ed to b e with

us ; and h e so m etim es expr ess ed much regret at b eing
u n abl e to j oin u s I us ed to do my best to gratify him
.
,
poor fello w by relatin g all th e won d ers that w e s aw ;

,
but this inst ead of s atisfying s eem ed on ly to wh et his

, ,
curio s ity th e more so on e day w e prevail ed on him t o

,
try to go down with us But altho u gh a brav e boy in .
e very oth er way P et erkin was very nervous in th e

,
water an d it was w ith di i cu lty w e got him to cons ent

,
t o b e tak en dow n for h e could n ev er hav e man ag ed to

,
p us h h ims elf do wn to th e bottom wi thout assistan ce .
But no sooner had w e pul led him do wn a yard or s o i n to

th e d eep cl ea r w at er than h e b egan to struggl e an d k ick
,
viol ently ; s o w e were forced to let him go wh en h e ros e ,
ou t of t h e wat er like a cork gav e a loud gasp an d a ,
frightful roar an d s tr u ck ou t for th e lan d with th e

,
utmos t pos sibl e h aste .
N ow all thi s p leasu r e w e w ere to forego an d wh en ,

64 T HE CORAL I SLAND
we thought th ereon Jack and I felt v ery much depress ed

,
in ou r spirits I could s ee also that Pet erkin gri ev ed

.
, ,
and sympathized with us for wh en talking about this ,
matt er h e refrain ed from j es tin g and bant eri n g u s

upon it .
A s how ever a man s di fculties usually s et him upon

, ,
d evisin g m ethods to o vercom e th em wh ereby h e oft en ,
discov ers b etter thin gs than those he may hav e lost s o ,
this ou r di fculty in duc ed us to thin k of s earchi n g for a

large pool amon g th e rocks wher e th e wat er should b e ,
d eep en ough for diving y et so surrou n ded by rocks as to

,
prev en t sharks from g etting at us A n d such a pool w e .
aft erwards fou n d which prov ed to b e v ery much b ett er

,
than our most sanguine hop es anticipat ed It was situ .
at ed not more than ten minut es walk from our ca m p
and was in the form of a s mall de ep bay or basin th e ,
e n trance to which besid es b ein g narrow was s o shallo w

, ,
that no sh s o large as a shark could get in at l east ,
n ot u nl ess h e should be a re m arkably thin on e .
In sid e of this basi n which we call ed ou r Water ,
Gard en th e coral formatio n s w ere m u ch more won d erful

, ,
an d the s ea we ed plants far mor e lov ely an d v ivi d

-
ly
coloured than i n th e lagoon its elf A n d th e water was
,
.
s o cl ear an d still that although v e ry deep y ou could

, , ,
s ee th e mi n ut est obj ect at th e bottom B esides this .

,
th ere was a l edg e of rock which ov erh u n g th e basin at

its deep est part fro m which w e could div e pl easan tly
, ,
an d wh er e o n P et erki n could sit an d s ee n ot o n ly all t h e
wo n d ers I had descr ib ed to him but also see Jack and ,
m e cr eepi n g amo n gst t h e mar i n e shrubb ery at t h e

,

bottom lik e as h e expr ess ed i t two great whit e
s ea mo n st er s
-
D u r in g th es e excursion s of ours t o th e
.
bottom of the s ea w e b egan to g et an in sight into th e

,
m an n ers an d customs of i t s i n habita n ts a n d to mak e ,

N ot that w e w er e in any d egree dissatis ed with it on
th e co n t r ary w e en t ertain ed quit e a hom e

,
feelin g to ou r
bow er an d its n ei ghbourhood but if a bett er place did

exist th er e was n o r eason why w e sho u ld not make use
,
o f it . At an y rat e it would b e well t o know of its ,
exist en c e .
We had m u ch earn est talk over this matter But .
Jack pr opose d that before u n d ertaki n g such an excur ,
sion w e sho u ld supply ourselves with good d efen sive

,
arms ; for as we in t end ed n ot only to go roun d all the

shor e but to asc en d most of th e vall eys b efore r eturn
, ,
ing home w e sh ould be lik ely to m eet i n with h e would

, ,
n ot say da n g er s but at l east with ev erything that e x

,
i st ed on th e islan d what e v er that m l gh t b e , .

B esi des said Jack it won t do for u s to liv e on
, ,

c ocoa n u ts and oyst er s always N o doubt th ey ar e v er y .
exc ell en t in th eir way but I thi n k a littl e animal food ,
now an d th en would b e agr eeabl e as w ell as good for

us a n d as th er e ar e ma n y small bi r ds amon g t h e tr ees ,
som e of which ar e probably v ery good to eat I thi n k it ,
would b e a capital plan to mak e bo w s an d ar rows with ,
which w e co u ld easily k n ock th em over .
First rate cri ed P et erki n

-
You will mak e th e .
bows Jack an d I ll try my han d at th e arrows Th e

, ,

.
fact is I m q uite tir ed of throwi n g sto n es at t h e birds

,

.
I b egan th e v er y day w e lan d ed I think an d hav e , ,
p ers ev er ed u p t o th e p r es ent t im e but I ve n ever hit ,

an ythi n g et
y .
Y ou forg et said I you h i t m e on e day on th e

, ,
Ah tru erepli ed P et erkin and a pr ecious s hin dy

, , ,
you kick ed up i n con s equ enc e But you w ere at l east .
four yards away from th e impud ent paroqu et I aimed

at ; s o you s ee w hat a hor ribly bad shot I am .
But said I Jack you cannot m ake three bows

, ,

,
an d arrows before t o mor row and would it n ot be a -

,
pity to waste time n ow that we have mad e up our ,
mi n ds to go on t h is exp edition ? S uppos e that you

mak e one b ow and ar row for yours elf and w e can tak e ,
ou r clubs
That s tru e Ralph Th e day i s pr etty far advanced

,
.
,
and I doubt if I can mak e ev en on e b ow b efore dark .
To be sur e I might work by r e light aft er t h e su n

,
-
,

go es down .
We had up to this time b een in th e habit of goin g

, ,
to bed with the s u n as w e had no pressi n g call to work ,
0

nights ; and ind eed our work duri n g th e day was
, ,
usually hard e n ough what b etw een shing an d i m ,
proving our bow er and divin g i n th e Wat er Gard en and

,

rambli n g i n th e woo ds ; s o that wh en night cam e w e , ,
w er e usually v ery glad to r etir e to our b eds But n ow .
that w e had a d esir e to work at night w e felt a wish ,
for can dl es .
Won t a good blazin g r e giv e you light eno u gh

i n quired P et erkin .

Y es r epli ed Jack
,
quit e enough ; but th en it will ,
giv e us a great d eal mor e than en o u gh of h eat in this

war m climat e of ours .

Tru e said P eterkin ; I forg ot that It would .
r oast u s.
W ell as you r e always doin g that at an y r at e r e

,
.
mark ed Jack w e could scarcely call it a change But

,
.
t h e fact is I ve b een thi n kin g ov er this subj ect b efo

Th er e is a c ertai n n u t grow i n g in th es e i s lan ds which is

call ed th e can dl e n u t b ecaus e th e n ati ves u s e it in st ead
-
,
of can dl es a n d I k n ow all about it and how to p r epare

, ,
it for burn ing

Th en why do n t you do i t int errupt ed P eterkin

Why hav e vou k ept u s i n th e dark s o long y ou vil e ,
philosoph er

B ecaus e said Jack I hav e not s een th e tr ee y et
, , ,
a n d I m not sur e that I should k n ow e ith er t h e tr ee

or th e nuts if I di d see th em Y ou s ee I forg et t h e .

,

d escription .
A h ! that s j ust th e w ay with m e said P et erk i n

, ,
with a deep sigh I n ev er could k eep in m y min d

.
for half an hour t h e few d escription s I ev er att empt ed

- -
to r em emb er Th e v ery rst voyage I ev er m ade was

.
caus ed by my mistakin g a d escription or forgetti n g it *
, ,
w hich is th e sam e thi n g A n d a horrible v oyag e it w a s . .
I had to ght with th e captain t h e w hol e way ou t an d ,
m ad e t h e hom eward vo y age by swimming

C om e P et erk i n said I
,
you can t g et ev en m e t o
, ,

b eli ev e that .

P erhaps n ot but it s tru e n otwithstandi n g r eturn ed
,

P et er kin pret en ding to b e hurt at my doubti n g his w o r d

,
.
L et us h ear how it happ en ed s aid Jack w hil e a , ,
good n at u r ed smil e ov erspr ead his face .

W ell you must k n ow b egan P et erkin th at th e
, , ,

v er y da y b e fo r e I w en t to s ea I was g r e atly t ak en u p ,
w ith a gam e at hock ey which I w a s playin g w ith m y ,
old school fellows for t h e last tim e b efo r e l ea v i n g th em

-
.
You s ee I was you n g th en R alph P et er ki n gaz ed i n ,

.
,
a n abst r a ct ed a n d m ela n choly man n e r out to s ea W el l ,

.
,
i n th e midst of th e gam e m y u n cl e who had tak en all , ,
t h e both er an d t r oubl e of g etti n g m e bo u n d pr e n tic e

an d r igg ed out cam e an d took m e asid e and told m e

, ,
that h e was call ed su dd en ly away from hom e and would ,
n ot b e abl e to s ee m e aboard as h e had i n t en d ed H ow ,

.
ev er said h e th e captain knows you ar e comi n g s o

, , ,
that s n ot of much co n s equ en c e ; but a s you ll hav e to

n d t h e ship yours elf you must r em emb er h er nam e ,

and d escription D ye hear boy ? . I c ertainly did

h ear b u t I m afraid I did n ot u n d erstand for m y mind

,

was so tak en up with the gam e which I s aw my side ,
was losing that I b egan to gr ow i mpati en t and the

, ,
mo m ent my u n cl e nish ed his description of the ship ,
a n d ba de m e good b e I bolt e d back to my ga m e with

y
-
, ,
o n ly a confu s ed id ea of three masts and a gre en painted ,

-
ta ffer el an d a gilt gu r e h ead of H ercul es with his clu b

,
-
at the bow N ext day I was so much cast down with

.
e v er ybody saying good bye an d a lot 0 m y female -

,

fri en ds cr y i n horribly o ver m e th at I did n ot start for

t h e ha r bo u r wh er e the ship was lying a mo n g a thousand

,
o th ers ti ll it was almost too lat e SO I had to run the

,
.
w h ol e way Wh en I reach ed the pi er th ere w er e s o

.
,
m any masts an d s o mu ch con f u sion that I f elt quit e

, ,
h u m bleb u m bled i n my faculti es N ow said I to mys elf

.
, ,
P et erki n yo u r e i n a x
,
Th en I fanci ed I s aw a gil t .

g u r e h ead and thr ee masts b elon ging to a ship j us t

-
,
a b o u t to start ; so I dar ted on bo ard b u t spe edily ,
j u m p ed on shor e again when I found that t wo of th e ,
mas ts b elon ged to anoth er vess el an d th e gu r e head to ,

-
a third ! A t last I caught sight of what I mad e sure

i
was t a n e larg e vessel just casting off h er moorings .
Th e tafferel was green

Three masts y es that must b e .
,
it and the gilt g u r e h ead of Hercul es To b e s u r e it -

.
,
h a d a three pro n ge d pitchfork i n its han d i n st ead of a

-
club ; but th at might b e m y u n cl e s mistak e or p erhaps
H ercul es som et im es vari ed his w eapons C ast off !

.
roared a voice fro m th e quarter d eck H old on cried -

.
I rus hin g fran ticly through th e crowd

,
H old on ! hold .
on !

rep ea ted som e of th e bystan d ers whil e th e m en at ,
t h e rop es d elay ed for a min ut e This t h rew th e captain .
into a frightful r ag e ; for som e of his fri ends had co m e

down t o s ee h i m off and having his orders contradicted,
70 TH E CO R AL I SLAND .
so atly was too much for him H owever th e d elay .

,
was sufci en t I took a race and a good l eap ; th e rop es

.
were cast off ; t h e st eam tu g gav e a pu ff an d we started -

,
.
S udd en ly th e captain walks u p to m e : Wh er e did y ou

com e from you scamp and what do you want h ere
,
?
,
Pl ease si r said I touchin g my cap I m your new

, ,

, ,

pren tic e come aboard .

N ew pre n tic e ! said h e stampi n g I ve got n o n ew

pren tic e My boy s are all aboard already This is a

. .
trick y ou young blackguard You v e r u n a way y ou

,
.

hav e ; and th e captain stamped about the d eck and

s wore dreadfully ; for you s ee th e tho u gh t of havi n g to , ,
s top th e s hip and lower a boat an d los e half an hour all - -

,
for th e sake of s ending a sm all boy ashore s eem ed to ,
mak e him very an gry B esides it was b lowi n fresh .

,

o u tside the harbour so that to h av e let the st eamer ,
alongsid e to put m e into it was n o easy j ob Just .
as w e were pas sing th e pi erh ead w h ere s ev eral boats ,
w ere rowin g into the harbour th e captain cam e u p ,
to m e .

You ve r u n away y ou blackgu ard he said giving

, ,

m e a box on th e ear .
N o I hav en t said I angrily ; for the box was b y

, ,
no m eans a light on e .
Hark ee boy can you swim

, ,
Y es said I

,
.
Th en do i t ; and s eizin g me by my tr ous ers and

the n ap e of my n eck he t oss ed m e over th e sid e into ,
the s ea Th e fellows in th e boats at the end of th e

.
pier backe d th eir oars on se eing this ; bu t obs erving

that I could swi m th ey allow ed m e to make th e best of ,

my way to t h e pierhead So you s ee Ralph that I .
, ,

really did swim my rst hom eward voyage .
Jack laugh ed and patted P eterkin on the sho u lder

, .
But tell us about th e candle n u t tree s aid I ; y ou -

,
were talki n g about it .

Very tr u e said Jack but I fear I can remember little
, ,

abo u t i t I b eliev e t h e nut is about th e siz e of a walnut

.
and I think that t h e l eav es ar e whit e b u t I am not sure ,

.

Eh ! ha ! h u m ! exclaim ed P et er kin I saw a tree ,
answ ering to that descriptio n this v ery day .
D id y ou ? cri ed Jack Is it far from this ? .
N o not half a mi le
,
- -
.
Th en l ead m e to it s aid Jack s eizing his a x e , ,

.
I n a few mi n ut es w e wer e all thr ee p u shi n g thro ugh

the und erwoo d of th e forest h ead ed by P eterki n ,
.
We soon ca me to th e tre e i n qu estion which aft er , ,
Jac k had closely ex amin ed it we concluded m u st b e th e ,
candl e nut tree Its l eaves were of a beautiful silvery

-
.
whi te an d formed a n e contrast to the dark gr een

,
-
foli age of th e surrounding tre es We immediat ely lled .
ou r pockets wit h th e nuts aft er which Jack said , ,
N ow P et erki n climb that cocoa nut tr ee and cut

, ,
-
m e on e of th e long branch es .
T h is was soon do n e b u t it cost som e trouble for the , ,
s t em was v ery high and as P et erki n us u ally pull ed n uts

,
from th e younger tr ees h e was not much accustom ed to ,
climbing th e high ones Th e l eaf or branch was a very .
l arg e on e and we w ere surpris ed at its siz e and strength

,
.
Vi ew ed fro m a littl e distan c e th e cocoa n u t tr ee s eem s ,

-
to b e a tall straigh t st em without a si n gl e branch

, ,
e xc ept at th e top wh er e th ere is a t u ft of f eathery

,
lookin g l eav es th at s eem to wav e lik e soft plum es in

,
th e win d But wh en we s aw on e of th es e l eav es or

.
branch es at our feet w e fou n d it to b e a s trong stalk

, ,
about ft een feet long with a n umb er of narrow point ed , ,
l ea ets ranged altern at ely on each sid e But what s eem ed .
t o us the most wonderful thing about it w as a cu r ious

72 T HE CORAL I S LAND .
substance res embli n g cloth which was wrapp ed round ,
t h e thick en d of th e stalk wh er e it had b een cut from th e

,
t r ee Peterk in told u s that h e had t h e greates t di f culty

.
-
in s eparati n g t h e bran ch from th e st em on accou n t of

this substanc e as it was wrapp ed quit e rou n d the tree
, ,
and h e obs erv ed rou n d all th e oth er branch es thus

, , ,
formin g a stron g support to th e larg e l eav es whil e

e xpos ed to high winds Wh en I call this s ubstanc e
.
cloth I do n ot exaggerat e I n d e ed with r egard to all .

,
th e thin gs I saw du r i n g my e v en tful car eer i n t h e S outh

S eas I hav e b een ex c eedi n gly car ef u l n ot to exagg erat e
, ,
or in any way to misl ead or d ec eiv e m r ead ers This

y .
cloth I s ay was r emark ably lik e to coar se brown cotto n

, ,
cloth It had a s eam or bre down th e c en tr e of it

.
,
from which div erged oth er bres about th e siz e of a ,
bristl e Th ere w ere two layers of th es e br es v ery

.
,
long an d tough th e on e lay er crossi n g th e oth e r obliqu ely

, ,
and th e whol e was c em en t ed togeth er with a still n er

brous an d adh esiv e substanc e Wh en w e r egard ed it .
attentiv ely w e could w ith difculty b eli ev e that it had

,
n ot b een wov en by huma n ha n ds This rem a r kabl e .
pi ec e of cloth w e str ipp ed carefully off an d fou n d it to ,
b e abov e t w o feet lo n g by a foot broad an d w e carr i ed ,
it hom e with us as a gr eat p r ize .
Jack n ow took on e of th e l eaets an d cutti n g out , ,
th e c en tr al spi n e or stalk h u r r i e d back with it to o u r

,
camp Havi n g made a small r e h e bak ed th e n uts

.
,
s lightly a n d th en p ee l e d off t h e husks

,
A fter this h e .
wish ed to bore a hol e i n th em which n ot havin g any ,
thi n g b ett er a t han d at th e tim e h e d1 d with th e poi n t ,
of our us el ess p encil cas e Th en h e strun g th em on th e

-
.
cocoa n u t spin e an d on puttin g a light to th e topmost

-
,
n u t w e fou n d to our j oy that it burn e d with a cl ear

, ,
b eautiful am e ; upon s eein g which P et er ki n spran g up ,

74 TH E CORAL I SLAND .
P et erkin wh o had dra wn th e en d of a lon g pol e int o

,
th e t ent and was end eavouring to t a s mall pi ece of

,
th e hoop iron to th e en d of it
-
.
I m goi n g to en list into t h e La n c ers

answered ,
Pet erkin Y ou s ee Jack I n d t h e clu b ra th er an

.
, ,
u n wi eldy instrum en t for my d elicately form ed muscl es -

,
an d I att er mys elf I shall do mor e ex ecution with a

Sp ear .
Well if l en gth co n stitut es pow er s aid Jack yo u l l

, ,

certain ly b e i n vinci bl e .
Th e pol e which P et erk in had cut was full tw elve f eet

lo n g b ei n g a v ery str on g but light an d tough yo u ng
,
tr ee which m erely r equired thinning at th e butt to b e a

,
s ervic eabl e w eapon .

That s a v ery good id ea said I ,
.

Which this ? inquir ed Pet erkin pointi n g to the ,
sp ear .
Y es I r epli ed
,
.

Humph I said he ; you d n d it a pretty tough

an d matt er of fact id ea if you had it stuck through
-
your gizzard old boy ,
I m ean th e idea of making it is a good on e said ,
I laugh in g A n d n ow I thi n k of it I ll chan g e my

.
, , ,
p lan too I don t thin k much of a club s o I ll mak e

.

m e a slin g out of this pi ec e of cloth I u s ed to b e v ery .
fo n d of slingi n g ev er sin c e I read of D avid slay ing

,
Goliath th e Philisti n e and I was on ce thought to b e ,
exp er t at it .
S o I s et to work to manufacture a sling F or a lo n g .
tim e w e all work ed very busily withou t s peaking A t .
l en gth P et er ki n look ed u p I say Jack I m sorry to .

, ,

say I mus t apply to y ou for an oth er strip of your hand

k erchi ef to t i e on this rascally h ead with
,
It s pr etty .

w ell torn at an y rat e so y ou won t miss it , .
T HE C O R AL I SLA N D . 75
Ja ck p r oceeded to comply with this request when ,
Peterkin su ddenly lai d his hand on his ar m and arrest ed

him .

H ist man said he b e tend er ; y ou sho u ld n ev er
, , ,
b e n eedl essly cruel if y ou c an h elp it D o try to shav e .
past L ord N elson s mouth without tearing it if possibl e !

Than ks There are plenty more handkerchiefs on the

.

cocoa nut trees-
.
Poor P eterkin ! with what pleasant feelings I recall

an d r eco r d h i s j ests and humorous saying s now
Whil e w e were thus e n gaged we were startled by a ,
distant but most strange an d horrible cry It s eem ed .
to com e fro m th e s ea but was s o far away that w e ,
could not clearly distinguish its pr ecise direction R ush .
i ng ou t Of ou r bower w e has ten ed do wn to th e b each ,
and stayed to listen Again i t cam e quite loud and

.
distin ct on the nigh t air a prolonged hideous cry

.
,
-
, ,
s om eth i n g li k e th e braying of an as s The moon h ad .
ris en and we could see th e islands i n and beyond th e

,
lagoon quit e pl ainly b u t th ere was n o obj ect visibl e to

,
account for such J c r y A strong gust of wind was

r .
blowin g from the point wh ence th e sound came b u t this ,
died away whil e we were gazing ou t t o sea .

What can it be ? s aid P et erkin in a low wh i s ,
p e,
r whi le we all involuntarily crept closer t o e a ch
oth er .

D o you k no w said Jack I have heard that m y s
, ,
t er i ou s sound twic e b efore but nev er so loud as to night ,

-
.
Indeed it was s o faint that I thought I m u st have

m erely fa n ci ed it so as I did not wish to alarm y ou
, , ,

I s aid n othin g about i t .
We list en ed for a long tim e for the sound agai n but ,
a s it did n ot come w e r eturn ed t o the bo wer and ,
r e s u m e d our work .
76 TH E CORAL I SLAND .
V ery strange said Pet erki n quit e grav ely

,
Do ,
.
you b eli ev e in ghosts Ralph ,
N o I an sw er ed I do not
, N ev erth el ess I must ,

.
co n fess that stran g e u n accou n tabl e sou n ds such as w e , ,

ha v e j ust h eard mak e m e feel a littl e u n easy .

What say you to it Jack ? ,
I n eith er b eli ev e i n ghosts nor feel u n easy h e r e ,
pli ed . I n ev er s aw a ghost mys elf an d I n ev er met

,
w ith an y on e who had ; and I hav e g en eral ly found that

str ange and u n accou n tabl e thi n gs hav e almost always
b een accounted for an d found to b e quite simpl e on clos e
, ,
exami n atio n I c ertainly can t imagin e what tha t sou n d

.

is ; but I m quit e sure I shall fi n d out b efore long an d

if it s a ghost I l I ll

l
Eat it cri ed P eterkin

,
.
Yes I ll eat it N ow th en my bow an d t w o

, , ,
arrows a r e n ish ed ; s o if you re ready we had b ett er

tu r n i n .
By this tim e P et erki n h a d thin n ed down his sp ear

an d ti e d an i r o n poi n t v ery cl ev erly to t h e en d of it I
had form ed a sling th e lin es of which w ere compos ed ,
of thi n s trips of th e cocoa n u t cloth plait ed ; an d Jack -

,
had mad e a stout bow n early ve feet lo n g with two , ,
a r r ows feath ered with t w o or thr ee lar g e plum es which

,
som e bird had dropp ed Th ey h ad no barbs but Jack said .

,
that i f a r rows w ere w ell feath er ed th ey did n ot requir e

iron poin ts but would y quite w ell if m erely sharp en ed
,
a t th e poi n t ; which I did n ot k n ow b efor e .
A feather ed arrow without a barb said h e is a , ,

good w eapon but a barb ed arrow w ithout feath ers is

,
utt erly us el ess .
Th e str in g of th e b ow was form ed of our pi ec e o f

w hip c ord part of which as h e did n ot lik e to cut it w as

-
, , ,
r oll e d r ou n d t h e bow .
Alt hough thus pr ep ar ed for a start on th e morrow ,
we thought it wis e to ex ercise ours elv es a littl e i n th e

u s e of our w eapo n s b efor e st arti n g so we sp ent t h e ,
whol e of th e n e xt day i n practisi n g And it was w el l .
w e did so for w e fo u n d that our a r ms w er e v ery imp er

,
feet and that w e w er e far from p erfect i n th e u s e of

,
th em First Jack fou n d tha t th e b ow was m uch too

.
,
stron g an d h e had to thin it Also t h e sp ear was much

, .
too h eavy an d s o h ad to b e r educed in thick n ess

, ,
a lt h ough n othing would i n du c e P et erkin to hav e it

shorten ed My sli n g ans wered v ery w el l bu t I h ad
.
,
fall en s o much o u t of practic e that m y rst ston e

k n ock ed off P eterki n s hat an d narrowly miss ed makin g

a s econd Goliath of him H ow ev er aft er havi ng sp en t

.
,
th e whol e day i n diligen t practic e w e b egan to n d ,
so m e of our form er exp ertn es s r eturn in g at l east Jack

a n d I di d A S fo r P et erki n b ein g n atu r ally a n eat
.
,
han d ed boy h e soon han dl ed h i s sp ear w ell an d could

, ,
r u n full tilt at a cocoa n u t a n d hit it wit h g r eat pr eci

,
s ion o n c e out of e v e r y v e ti m es .
But I f eel satis ed that w e ow ed much of our rapid

s u cc ess to th e u n aggi n g en er gy of Jack who in sist ed ,
that S in c e w e h ad m a de h i m captai n w e should ob ey

, ,
h i m ; a n d h e k ept u s at work f r o m mo r n i n g till n igh t ,
er s ev e r m l at t h sa m e thi n g P t rki n w ish e d v ery

p g y e ,
e e .
m uc h to r u n about an d stick h i s s p ear i n to e v er ythi n g

h e pass ed ; b u t Jack put up a coco a n u t and would n ot ,
let h i m l eav e off r u n n i n g at th at for a mo m en t exc ept ,
wh en h e wan t ed to r est We laugh ed at Jack for this

.
,
but w e w ere both con vin ced that it di d u s much good .
That n ight w e examin e d a n d r epaired o u r ar ms er e

w e lay dow n t o r est although w e w er e much fatig u e d
, ,
i n ord er that w e mig h t b e i n r eadi n ess to s et out on o u r

e xpeditio n at daylight on th e followi n g mo r n i n g .
C HA PT ER IX .
Pr epa r e for a j ou r ney r o und th e i slan d Sagac i ou s

r e ecti on s- Myst er i o u s
appea r an ces a nd star tli n g occ u r r en c es .
CA RC EL Y had th e s u n shot its rst ray across th e

bosom of the broad Paci c when Jack sp r ang to ,
his feet and h allooing i n Peterkin s ear to awak en him

, ,

r an do wn the b each to tak e h i s custo m ary d i p i n th e

s ea
. We did not as was ou r wont bath e that m orni n g
, ,
in our Water Garden but i n ord er to sav e tim e r e , , ,
fr esh ed ours elv es i n th e shallo w wat er just oppos ite t h e

bow er O ur breakfast was also d espatch ed without loss
.
of tim e and in l ess than an hour aft erwards all ou r

,
preparation s for th e journ ey w ere compl et ed .
In addition to his ordi n ary dress Jack ti ed a b elt ,
of cocoa n u t cloth round h i s waist i n to which h e th r ust

-
,
th e a x e I w as also a dvis ed to put on a b elt an d carr y

.
a short cu dg el or bludg eon i n it ; for as Jack t r uly ,
r emar k ed th e sling would b e of littl e u s e if w e should

,
chanc e to com e to clos e quar t er s with an y wild an im al .
A s for P et erkin notwithstan din g that h e carri ed such a

,
lon g an d I must add fr ightful lookin g sp ear ov er his

, ,
-
should er we could not prevail on him to l eave his club

,

b ehi n d ; for said h e a sp ear at clos e quarters is n ot
, ,

worth a butto n I must say that it s eemed to m e
.
that th e club was to u s e his own styl e of language n ot

, ,
worth a button hol e ; for it was all knotted o ver at th e

-
h ead s om ethin g lik e th e club which I rem emb er to hav e

,
obs rv ed in picture book s of Jack th e Giant ! ille r

e -
,
besid es b eing so h eavy that h e r equired to grasp it with

both han ds in ord er t o wi eld it at all H owev er he .
,
took it with him an d i n this manner we s et ou t u pon

,
o u r trav els .
We did not con sid er it n ecessary to carry any food

with us as we knew that wh erever w e w ent w e should
,
be certai n to fall i n with cocoa nut trees ; having which -

,
we w er e amply supp li ed as P et erki n said with m eat , ,
and drink and pock et ha n dk erchi efs ! I took th e pr ecau

-
tion how ev er to put th e burn in g glass into my pocket

, ,
-
,
lest w e should wan t r e .
Th e morn i n g was exc eedi n gly lov ely It was on e of .
that v ery still an d p eaceful sort which mad e th e few

n oises that w e h eard s eem to b e
qu i et nois es I know .
no oth er way of e xpr essing this id ea N ois es which .

,
s o far fro m i n t errupti n g t h e u n iv er sal tra n quillity of
earth s ea and sky

, ,
rath er t en ded to r ev eal to u s how
,
qui et th e world round u s really was S u ch sou n ds as I .
r efe r to w ere th e p eculia r ly m elan choly y et it s eem ed

, ,
to m e ch eerful plain t of s ea birds oatin g on th e

,
-
glassy wat er or s ailin g i n t h e sky also th e subdu ed ,
twitterin g of littl e birds amo n g th e bush es th e fain t ,
rippl es on t h e b each an d th e sol em n boom of th e su r f

,
upon t h e distan t coral r eef We felt ver y glad in our .
h eart s as w e walk e d alo n g th e san d s sid e by sid e F or .
my par t I felt so d eeply ov erj oy ed that I was surpris ed

,
at my ow n s ensation s an d fell i n to a r ev eri e upon th e

,
caus es of happin ess I cam e to th e co n clusion that a

.
stat e of p r ofoun d p eace an d repos e both i n regar d to ,
outwar d obj e cts an d within th e soul is th e happi est ,
co n dition i n wh i c h m an c an b e placed ; for although I

had many a tim e b een most j oyful an d happy wh en

engag ed i n bustli n en erg etic activ e p u rsuits or amu s e
g , ,
m ents I n ev er fou n d that such j oy or satisfaction was

,
s o d eep or so pl easa n t to r e ect upo n as that which I
n ow exp eri en c ed And I was th e more con rm ed in

.
this O pinion wh en I obs erv ed an d i n deed wa s told by ,

hims elf that Pet erki n s happin ess was also v ery gr eat :
,
y et h e did n ot expr ess this by danci n g as w as his won t ,
n or did h e gi v e so much as a singl e shout but walk e d ,
q uietly b etw een us with his e e spa r kling an d a j oyful

y ,
smil e u pon his coun t en an c e My r ead er mu s t n ot s u p .
pos e that I thou ght all this i n th e cl ear an d m eth odi

cal mann er i n which I hav e set i t dow n h er e Th es e .
t ho u ghts di d i n d eed pass through my mi n d but th ey did ,
so in a v ery con fus ed an d ind e n it e m an n er for I was ,
you ng at tha t tim e an d n ot much giv en to d eep r eec

,
tions N eith er did I consid er th at th e p eace wh er eof

.
I writ is e n ot to b e fou n d i this world

n at l east i n its
p erfectio n although I have Sin c e l earn ed that by religion

,
a m an may attai n to a v ery gr eat d egree of it .
I hav e said th at P et erkin walk ed alo n g th e san ds

b etw een u s We had two ways of walki n g tog eth er
.
about our isla n d Wh en w e trav ell ed thro u gh t h e

.
w oods w e a lways did s o i n si n gl e le as by this m ethod

, ,
w e advan c e d with great e r facility t h e on e tr eadin g i n ,
t h e oth er s footst eps I n suc h c as es Jack always took

.
t h e l ead P et er ki n follow ed a n d I brought u p t h e r ear

, , .
B u t wh en w e t r av ell e d alo n g th e s a n ds w hich e x ten d ed ,
almost i n an u n brok en lin e o f glist en in g w hit e r ou n d

t h e isla n d w e march e d abr east as w e fou n d this m ethod
, ,
mo r e sociabl e and ev ery way mor e pl easant

,
Jack .
,
b ein g th e tall est walk ed n ext th e s ea an d P et erkin

, ,
m arch ed b etw een us as b y this arran g em en t eith er of

,
u s could talk to h i m or h e to us whil e if Jack an d I ,
h app en ed to wish to co n v ers e tog eth er w e could c on ,
v en i e n tl do s o ov er P et erki n s h ead P t r kin u s ed t o

y e e .
82 T HE CORAL I SLA N D .
fty y ar ds i n land Th e
rocks at th e plac e wer e ru gg ed
. .
an d th ey st r etch ed across th e sandy b each in to the s ea .
Scarc e had w e c ea s ed expr essing ou r surpris e at this

sight wh en anoth er column ew u pwards for a few
,
se con ds n ot far from th e spot where th e rst had b een

,
s een and disapp eared ; and so at lon g irregu lar int er

, , ,
vals thes e strang e sights r ecurred

, We w ere now quite .
s ur e that th e col u m n s w er e wat er y or compos ed of spray ,
but what caus ed th em w e co u ld not gu ess so w e det er ,
min ed to go an d s ee .
In a few mi n ut es w e gain ed th e spot which w as v ery ,
r ugg ed an d pr ecipito u s and mor eov er q uit e damp with , , ,
th e fal li n g of th e spray We had much ado to pass .
ov er dr y shod Th e gro u n d also was full of hol es h ere

-
.
and th ere N ow whil e w e stood anxiously waiting for

.
,
th e r eapp earanc e of th es e wat erspo u ts w e h eard a low , ,
rumbli n g sound n ear us which quickly incr eased to a ,
gu r gli n g and hissin g n oise a n d a mom ent aft erwards a ,
thick spout of w at er burs t upwa r ds from a hol e i n th e

rock an d spouted i n to th e ai r with much viol enc e and so
, ,
clos e to wh ere Jack and I w ere stan din g that it n ear ly

touch ed u s We sp r an g asid e but not b efore a clo u d of
.
,
s pray d esc en d ed an d dren ch ed us both to th e ski n

,
.
P et erki n who was standin g farth er o ff escap ed with

, ,
a few drops an d burst in to an u n co n trollabl e t of

,
laught er on b eholdin g our mis erabl e plight .
Mind your ey e ! h e shouted eag er ly th er e go es

,

an oth er ! Th e wo r d s w er e scarc ely out of his mouth
wh en th ere c am e up a spo u t from anoth er hol e w h ich ,
s erv e d us exactly i n t h e sam e ma n n er as b efor e .
P et erkin n ow sh r i ek ed wi th lau ght er ; but his m erri

m en t was abr u ptly put a stop to by th e gurglin g n ois e
occurring clo se to wh er e h e s tood .
Wh er e ll it spout this tim e I wonder ? h e said

, ,
TH E CORAL I SLAND .
83
looking about with som e anxi ety and preparin g to r u n

,
.
S udd enly th ere cam e a loud hiss or snort ; a erce spout

of wat er bu r st up b etw een P et erki n s l egs bl ew him off
his feet env elop ed h i m in its S pray an d hurl ed h i m to

, ,
t h e ground H e fell with so m uch viol en ce that we

.
feared h e must hav e brok en som e of his bones and ran ,
anxiously to his assistan c e ; b u t fortunat ely he h ad

fall en on a clump of tan gl ed h erbag e in which he lay ,
sprawling in a most d eplorabl e con dition .
It was n ow our turn t o laugh ; but as w e w ere not

et quit e sur e that h e wa s u nhurt and as we kn ew n o t
y ,
wh en or wh ere th e n ext spout might aris e w e assisted ,
him h astily to j ump up and hurry from th e spot .
I may h er e add that altho u gh I am quit e cer tain th at

,
th e spout of wat er was v ery strong and that it bl ew ,
Pet erkin compl et ely off his l egs I a m not quit e c ertai n
of th e exact h eight to w
,
hich a lift ed him b ei n g som e ,
what star tl ed by th e ev ent and blind ed partially by th e

,
s pray so that my pow er of obs ervatio n was som e what

,
impair ed for t h e mom en t .
What s to b e don e n ow

? ask ed Pe terki n ru efull y .
Mak e a r e lad and dry ours elv es repli ed Jack

, , , .

A n d h er e is material r eady to ou r han d said I , ,
picking up a dried bran ch of a tree as w e hu r ri ed u p to ,
t h e woods .
I n about a n h ou r aft er this mishap our cloth es w er e

again dri ed Whil e th ey w e re han ging up b efo r e th e
.
r e we walk ed down t o th e b each an d soo n obs erv ed

, ,
that these curio u s spouts took place im m ediat ely aft er

th e fall of a hug e wav e n ev er be for e it ; a n d moreov er
, , ,
that t h e spouts did n ot tak e plac e exc epti n g wh en th e

billo w was an extrem ely lar ge on e F r om this w e c on .
clud ed that th er e must b e a subt erraneous chan n el in

th e rock int o whi ch th e wat er w as driven b y th e larger
wav es and ndi n g no way of escap e exc ept through

,
th es e small hol es w as thus forc ed up viol ently thro u gh

,
th em At an y rat e w e could not con c eiv e an y oth er

.
,
r eason for th es e strang e wat erspo u ts and as this s eem ed ,
a v ery simpl e and pro b abl e on e w e forthwith adopt ed it ,

.

I say Ralph what s that i n th e wat er ? is it a shark ?
, ,

s aid Jack j ust as w e w ere about to quit th e place

, .
I im m ediately ran to th e ov erh angin g l edge of r ock fr om ,
which h e was looking down into th e s ea and bent ov er it ,

.
T h ere I saw a v ery fai n t pal e obj ect of a green ish colour ,
which s eem ed to mov e slightly whil e I look ed at it .

It s lik e a s h of som e sort said I ,
.
H allo P eterkin ,
cri ed Jack fetch your sp ear , ,

h ere s work for it .
But wh en w e tr i ed to reach th e obj ect th e sp ear ,
prov ed to b e too Sho r t .

Th er e n ow said Peterkin with a sn eer y ou w er e
, , ,
alway s t elling m e i t was too long .
Jac k n o w d r ov e th e sp ear forcibly towards th e obj ect ,
a n d let go his hold ; but although it s eem ed to b e w ell
aim ed h e must hav e miss ed for t h e handl e soon ros e

, ,
agai n ; an d wh en th e sp ear was draw n up th ere was th e ,
p al e green obj ect i n exactly th e sam e spo t slowly mov ,
i n g its t ail .
V ery odd said Jack ,

.
But alt h ough it was u n doubt edly v ery odd an d ,
although Jack an d all of us plun ged t h e sp ear at it r e

eatedly w e could n eith er hit it n or driv e it a way so
p , ,
w e w er e comp ell ed to co n tin u e ou r j ou r n ey without dis

cov erin g what i t w as I was v ery much p erpl ex ed at .
this stra n ge app earanc e in th e wat er an d could not get ,
it o u t of my m in d for a long tim e afterwards H ow .
e v er I qui et e d mys elf by r esolvi n g that I would pay a

,
visit to it again at som e m ore con v eni ent s easo n .

CHAPT ER X

Make d i scover y of man y excellen t r oots a n d fr u i ts Th e r eso u r ces of th e Cor al
I sla n d gr adu ally u nfolded Th e ba n ya n tr eeA n oth er t r ee wh i c h i s su p
po r t ed by n at u r al p la n ks Wat er fo wl f
-
o u n d A y er y r em a r kabl e di sco u
er y , a nd a y er y pecu li ar mu r der We lu xu r i at e on th e fat f th e lan d

o .
URxamination of th e littl e valley prov ed to b e

e
altogeth er most satisfactory We found i n it not .
o n ly similar tre es to thos e we had already seen in ou r

own v all ey but also on e or two others of a differ ent
,
s p eci es .We had also th e satisfaction of discov ering a

p eculiar v egetabl e which Jack co n clu ded must c ertainly
,
b e that of which he had r ead as being very commo n

among th e S outh Sea islanders and which was nam ed ,
ta r o . Also we found a large supply of yarns and an ,
oth er root like a potato in app earan c e A s th es e w ere all .
quit e n ew to u s we r egard ed our lot as a most fortunate

,
on e in b ei n g thus cast on a n islan d which was s o proli c

,
an d so w ell store d with all th e n ec essari es of life L on g .
aft erwards w e found out that this island of ours was n o

b ett er in th es e resp ects than thousands of oth er islan ds
i n th os e s eas Indeed man y of th em w ere much rich er
.
,
and mor e produ ctiv e ; but that did not r ender us th e

less grat eful for our pres ent good fortun e We each put .
on e of th es e roots i n our pock e t i n t endin g to use th e m

,
for ou r supp er ; of which more h er eaft er We also s aw .
man y b eautif u l birds h ere and traces of some fo ur footed

,
-
anim al again M eanwhil e th e sun began to d escen d s o

.
,
86 T HE CO R AL I SL A ND .
we r eturn ed to th e shor e an d push ed on round th e ,
spo u tin g rocks into th e n ext vall ey This was that .
vall ey of which I h av e spok en as r u nni n g across th e

entire island It was by far th e largest an d mos t b eau
.
tiful that we had y et look ed upon H er e w er e trees of .
e v ery shap e an d siz e an d h u e w h ich it is possible to c on
c ei ve of many of whic h w e had not s e en in t h e other

,
vall eys ; for th e stream i n this vall ey b ein g larger an d

, ,
th e moul d much rich er than i n t h e Vall ey of th e Wr eck ,
it was cloth ed with a more luxuriant growth of tr ees

and plants S om e tr ees w ere dark glossy green oth ers
.
,
of a rich and warm h u e con trasti n g w el l with thos e of ,
a pal e light gre en which w er e ev erywh ere abun dan t

,
.
A mong th es e we recogniz ed th e broad dark heads of

th e bread fr uit with its gold en fruit ; th e pur e silv ery
-
, ,
foliag e of th e candl e nut an d s ev eral sp eci es which bore

-
,
a strong r es em blan c e to th e pi n e ; whil e h ere and th ere ,
in groups an d i n si n gl e tr ees ros e th e tall for ms of th e ,
cocoa nut palms spreadi n g abroad and wavi n g th eir

-
, ,
graceful plum es high abov e all th e r est as if th ey w er e ,
a sup er ior rac e of stately gian ts k eepi n g guar d ov er

th es e luxurian t forests O h it w as a most en chan ti n g .
,
sc en e and I than k ed God for havi n g creat ed such de

,
lightf u l spots for th e u s e of m an .
N ow whil e w e w ere gazi n g aroun d us i n sil en t

,
admiration J ack uttered an exclamatio n of surpris e an d

, ,
poi n ti n g to an obj ect a littl e to on e sid e of us said , ,
That s a ban yan tree

.
And what s a banyan tr ee ? inquir ed P et erkin as

we walk e d towards it .
A v ery c u rious on e as you shall s ee pres en tly , ,
replied Jack It is call ed th e a oa h ere if I r eco ll ect

,
rightly and h as a wond erful p eculiarity about it What

,
.
an enormou s on e it i s to b e sur e ,
T HE CORAL I SL AND . 87

It! epeated P eterkin why th ere are dozen s of
r ,
banyans h er e ! What do you m ean by talki n g b ad

grammar ? Is your philosophy d es ertin g y ou Jack ? ,
Th ere is but on e tree h er e of this kind retu r ned ,

Jack as y ou will p er c eiv e if y ou will examin e it
,

.
And sur e en o u gh w e did n d that wh at w e had s u p

, ,
pos ed was a forest of trees was in r eality o n ly on e I ts .
bark was of a light colour and had a shi n in g ap pearanc e , ,
th e l eav es b eing lanc e sh ap ed small and of a b eautiful -

, ,
ea gr een But th wond erful thi n g about it w as that

p
-
e .
,
t h e branch es which gr ew ou t from th e st em hor izontally

, ,
s en t down long shoots or bres to t h e ground which , ,
taking root had th ems elv es b ecom e trees and were

, ,
covered with bark lik e th e tree its elf Man y of these .
bres had d es c end ed fr om t h e b r anch es at various di s

tanc es and thus support ed th em on n atural pillars some
, ,
of which w er e s o larg e an d strong th at it w as n ot easy
at rst to distinguish the offsprin g from th e par ent stem .
Th e bres w ere of all siz es and in all stat es of adv ance

men t from th e pillars w e hav e j ust m ention ed to s mall
,
cords which hung down and w ere about t o tak e root ,
and thin brown threads still far from th e ground which ,
s wayed about with ev ery motion of win d In short .

,
it s eemed to us t hat if th ere w ere only s pace a fford ed,
to i t this singl e tr ee would at l ength cov er t h e w hol e

,
islan d .
S h ortly aft er t his w e cam e u pon an oth er r emarkabl e

tree which as its p eculiar fo r mation aft er wards prov ed
, ,
e x tr em ely us eful to us m er its description It was a ,

.
;
spl endid ch est n ut but its prop er n am e Jack did n ot

,
know H owev er th er e w er e quan titi es of n e nut s

.
,
u pon it som e of which w e put i n ou r pock ets

, B u t its .
s t em was the wond erful part of it It ros e to about .
twel ve feet withou t a b r anch and was n ot of gr ea t ,

thick n es s : on t h e con trary it was r emarkably sl end er

,
for th e s ize of the tr ee ; but to mak e up for this th er e

, ,
were fou r or ve wond erful proj ections in this s tem ,
which I ca nnot b ett er d escrib e than by a ski n g th e

reader to suppos e that ve planks of two in ch es thick
and three feet broad had b een placed rou n d t h e trun k
of the tree with th eir ed
, g es clos ely x ed to it fro m th e ,
gro u nd up t o th e bran ch es an d th at th es e planks h ad

,
b een covered ov er with th e bark of th e tr ee and incor

or ated with it I n short th ey w er e j ust natural but
p .
,
tress es witho u t which th e st em could not h av e su pport ed

,
its h eavy and u mbrageou s top We found th es e ch es t.
nuts to b e very n um erous Th ey grew chi ey on th e

.
banks of th e str eam and w er e of all siz es

,
.
Whi le w e w er e examining a s mall t r ee of this kind ,
Jac k chipped a pi ece off a buttress with his a x e an d ,
found th e wood to b e r m a n d easily ou t H e th en .
struck th e a x e into it with all his forc e and v ery soon ,
spli t i t off clo s e t o th e tree rst ho wever havin g cut it

, , ,
across transv ers ely abov e an d b elo w By this m eans h e .
satis ed hims elf that w e could n ow obtai n short planks ,
as it w er e all ready saw n of any siz e a n d thick n es s

,
that w e d es ired ; which was a v er y gr eat discovery

ind eed p erhaps th e most importan t w e had y e t mad e
We n o wwen d e d our way back to th e coast in tend
.
,
i n g t o en camp n ear t h e b each as w e foun d that t h e

,
m u s q u i t o es w ere tro u bl es o m e i n t h e for est O n our way .
w e could not h elp admirin g th e birds which ew an d

chirp ed a r ound us Amon g th em w e obs erv ed a pretty
.
kind of paroqu et with a green bo dy a blu e h ead an d a

, , ,
re d u r e
breast ; also a fe w b eautif l tu tl dov es an d s ev eral ,
ocks of wood pig eon s Th e hu es of m any of th es e

-
.

birds w ere extremely vivid bright green blu e an d , ,
scarl et b ein g th e prevailin g ti n ts We made s e veral .

fe et in diam eter with a smooth gray bark ; above this ,
t h e s preadi n g branch es w ere clothed w ith ligh t gr een

l eav es a mid which w ere clust ers of bright y ellow fr uit
, ,
so n u m ero u s as to w eigh down th e boughs w ith th eir

great weight This fruit s eem ed to b e of th e plum
.
sp eci es of an oblon g form and a good d eal larg er than

, ,
th e magnum bonum plum Th e ground at th e foot of .
t h is tree was thickly strewn with th e fall en fruit in th e ,
midst of which lay sl eeping in ev ery possibl e attitud e , ,
a t least tw enty hogs of all ages an d siz es apparently ,
quite s u rfeit ed with a r ecent banqu et .
Jack and I could scarce restrain ou r laught er as we

gaz ed at these coars e fat ill looking an imals whil e th ey , ,
-
lay gr oan in g and snoring heavily amid th e r emains of

th eir supp er .

N ow Ralph said Jack in a low whisp er
, ,
put , ,
a ston e in your sling a good big on e and let y at

tha t fat fello w with his b ack toward y ou I ll try to .

u t an arrow into y on littl e pig

p .
D on t you think w e had b ett er put them up rst

?
I whisp ered ; it s eems cru el to kill th em while asl eep

.
If I wan t ed sp or t Ralph I would c ertain ly s et th em , ,
up but as w e o n ly wan t por k w e ll l et th em li e B esides ,

. .

w e r e not s u re of killi n g th em ; s o r e away

,
.
Thus ad m onish ed I slu n g my ston e with so good aim ,
that i t w ent bang against th e hog s an k as if again s t

t h e h ead of a dru m but it had n o oth er effect than that

of causin g th e animal to star t to its f eet with a frightful ,
yell of surpris e and scamp er aw ay A t the same instant

,
.
Jac k s b ow twanged an d th e a r row pinned the littl e pig

to th e groun d b y th e ear .
I ve miss ed after all

cri ed Jack darting forward
, , ,
with uplift ed ax e whil e th e littl e pig utt ered a loud ,
squ eal tor e th e arro w fro m th e g round an d ran away

,
.
w ith it along with th e whol e drov e into t h e bush es and

, ,
disap peared though w e h eard th em scr eaming long aft er

,
w ards i n th e distan c e .

That s v er y provoki n g n ow said Jack rubbing th e

, , ,
point of his n os e .
Very I repli ed stroki n g my chin

,

,
.
W ell we must m ak e hast e an d r ej oi n Pet erkin said

, ,
Jack It s g etting late A n d without furth er remark

. .
w e thread ed ou r way quickly through the wood s to wards

th e shore .
Wh en w e r each ed it w e found wood laid ou t the , ,
r e light ed and b eginni n g to kindl e u p with oth er sign s ,
of pr eparatio n for o u r encampm ent but P eterkin was ,
nowh ere to b e found We wond ered v er y much at this ; .
but Jack sugg est ed that he might hav e gon e to fetch

water ; s o h e gav e a shout to let him know that we had
arriv ed and s at down upon a rock whil e I thr ew off m y
, ,
j ac k et and s eiz ed th e ax e intending to sp lit up on e or

, ,
t w o bill ets of wood But I h ad scarc e mov ed from th e

.
s pot wh en in th e distanc e w e h eard a most appalling

, ,
shri ek which was follo wed up by a chorus of y ells from

,
th e h ogs and a loud hu r r ah

,
.

I do beli ev e said I that Pet erkin has met with
, ,

th e hogs .

When Greek m eets Gr eek said Jack soliloquizing , , ,
th en com es th e tug of
H ur rah shout ed P eterki n in th e distance .
We turn ed has tily towards th e directio n wh enc e th e

soun d cam e an d soon d escri ed P et er ki n walking alo n g
,
th e b each towards us with a littl e pig trans x ed on th e

en d of his lo n g sp ear !
W ell don e my boy exclaim ed Jack slappi n g h i m

, ,
on t h e should er wh en h e cam e up yo u re th e b es t s hot
amon gst us .
here Jack I cri ed P eterkin as h e dis engag ed

L ook , ,
th e animal fro m his sp ear D o y ou r ecogniz e that .
hol e said h e pointing to th e pig s ear ,

and ar e you
familiar wi th this arro w eh ,
Well I d eclar e said Jack

, .
O f cours e y ou do in ter rupted P eterki n ; but pray ,

, ,
r estrain your d eclarations at this tim e and l et s hav e ,

supper for I m uncommonly hungry I ca n t ell you ; an d

,

,

it s no j ok e to charge a whol e herd of swine with th eir
great grand m oth er bristling like a giant porcupin e at
-
th e h ead of th em
We n ow s et about pr eparin g supper ; an d truly a , ,
good display of viands we m ade wh en all was laid ou t ,
on a at rock i n th e light of the blazing r e Th ere .
was rst of all th e little pig ; th en t h ere w ere th e taro

, ,
root and th e yam and th e potato and s i x plums and

, , , ,
lastly th e wood pigeon To th ese Pet erkin added a bit

,
-
.
o f sugar ca n e which h e had cut from a littl e patch of

-
,
that plant whic h h e had fou n d not long aft er separating

fro m us ; and said h e th e patch was som ewhat in

, ,
a square form which convi n c es me it must have b een

,

planted by m an .
Very li k ely r epli ed Jack Fro m all w e hav e s een

,
.
,
I m inclin ed to think that so m e of th e savages must hav e

dw elt h ere lon g ago .
We found no small di f culty in mak i ng u p ou r min ds

h ow w e w ere to cook the pi g N on e of us had e v er cut .
up on e b efore and we did not know exactly h ow to

,
b egin ; besid es we had n oth ing but th e axe to do it

,
with ou r kn ife havin g been forgott en At las t Jack

,
.
s tart ed up a n d said ,
D on t let us wast e more tim e talkin g about it boys

.
,
H old it up P et erkin Th ere lay th e hind leg on this

-
, .
,
block of wood s o and h e cut i t off with a larg e ,

portion haunch at a sin gl e blo w of th e axe

of th e ,
.

N ow t h e oth er that s it And having t hus cut off
-
.
t h e two hind l egs h e mad e s ev eral d eep gash es i n th em

, ,
thrust a sharp point ed stick th r ough each and stuck

-
,
th em up b efor e th e blaz e to roast Th e wood pigeon .
was th en split op en qu it e at wash ed cl ean in salt , ,
wat er and treat ed i n a similar m ann er Whil e th es e

,
.
w ere cooki n g w e scrap ed a hol e in th e sand an d ash es

,
u n d er th e r e into whic h w e put our v eg etabl es an d

, ,
cov ered th em u p .
Th e taro root was of an oval shap e about t en i n ch es

-
,
lo n g and four or v e thick It was of a mottl ed gr ay .

-
colour an d had a thick rin d W e found it som ewhat

, .
lik e an Irish potato and exceedingly good Th e yam ,

.
was roundish and had a r o u gh brown skin

,
It was .
v ery sw eet an d w ell avoured Th e potato w e w ere .

,
surpris ed to n d was quit e sw eet an d exc eedingly

,
palatabl e as also w ere th e plums and ind eed th e pork

, , ,
and pig eon too wh en w e cam e to tast e th em A ltogeth er

,
.
this was d ecid edly th e m ost lux u rious s u pper w e had

enj oy e d for man y a day ; an d Jack said it was out of
sight b etter than w e ev er got on board ship ; an d

P et erkin said h e fear ed that if w e should r emai n long
on th e island h e would i n fallibly b ecom e a lutton or an
g
epicur e : wh er eat Jack r em ark ed that h e n eed not f ear
that for h e was both al r eady ! A n d s o havin g eat en

, ,
ou r ll not forg etti n g to nish off with a plum w e laid

, ,
ours elv es comfor tably dow n to sl eep upon a cou ch of

bra n ch es und er th e ov erhang in g l edge of a cora l rock
, .
C H APT ER XI .
cts of over eat ng a nd r eect i on s t h er on [l u m ble adv i c e r ega d i n g cold

Effe - i
,
e
r
water Th e h o r r bl e c y acco n t ed for Th e cu r i o u s b i ds call ed p en

i r u r
g ai ns P ccu li a r i ty of th e cocoa n u t p alm ! u esti o n s on th e fo mat i o n of

-
r
co r al i sla nds Myster i o u s footst ep s S tr an ge di scover i es a n d sad si g h ts

. .
H EN awo k e on th e followi n g m orni n g we

we ,
fou n d that th e s u n was alr eady a good way

abov e th e horizon s o I cam e to th e con clusion that a
,
h eavy supp er is n ot conduciv e to early risin g N ev er .
th eless w e fel t remarkably stro n g a n d w ell an d much

, ,
dispos ed to hav e ou r breakfast First ho wev er w e .

, ,
had our customary m ornin g bath e which refresh ed u s ,
greatly .
I hav e often wondered v er y m uch i n after y ears th at

th e inhabi tants of m y ow n d ear lan d did n ot mak e mor e
f r equ en t u s e of this most charming el em ent wat er I , .
m ean in th e way of cold bathin g O f cours e I hav e .

,
p erc ei ved th at it i s not conv en i en t for th em to go into

t h e s ea o r th e ri vers i n win t er as w e us ed to do on th e ,
C oral Island ; but th en I k n ew from exp eri en c e that a

larg e washi n g tub an d a spon g e do form a most pl easant
-
substitut e Th e feelings of fr eshn ess of cl ean liness of

.
, ,
vigour an d extr eme hilarity that al w ays follow ed my

, ,
bath es i n th e s ea an d ev en wh en i n En gland my ab lu
, , ,
tion s in th e wash tu b w er e so d elightful that I would

-
, ,
s oon er hav e gon e without my br eakfast than without my
b ath e in cold wat er My readers will forgive m e for

.
askin g wheth er th ey ar e in the habit of bathi n g thu s

ev ery morning ; and if th ey answ er N o th ey will ,
pardon m e for recomm endi n g th em to b egin at once .
O f late y ears since retirin g fr om th e stirrin g life of

,
adv enture which I hav e led so lon g i n for eign climes I ,
hav e h eard of a syst em called the cold water cur e N ow -

.
,
I do not k now much about th at syst em so I do n ot m ean ,
to uphold it n eith er do I int end to run it dow n Per

,

.
~
h aps in ref er enc e to it I m ay just hin t that there may

, ,
b e too m u ch of a good thin g I know not but of this

.
I am quit e certain that th ere may also be too littl e of a

,
good thing ; and th e gr eat d elight I hav e had in cold

bathi n g duri n g th e cours e of my adv enturous car eer
inclin es m e to thin k that it is b ett er to risk taking too

much than to con t ent on e s s elf with too littl e S u ch is .
my opin ion d erived from much experi enc e ; but I put it

,
b efor e my read ers w ith the utm ost di fden c e an d with

profoun d mo desty k n owing that it may possibly jar
,
with th eir feelings of con d enc e in th eir own ability t o

know and j u dge as t o what i s b est an d tt est in refer
ence t o th eir o wn affairs B u t t o r etu rn from this
.
,
digres sion for which I humbly cra v e forgiv en ess

,
We had n ot advanced on ou r j ourn ey much above a

mile or so and w er e j u st b eginnin g to feel th e pl eas ant
,
glow that u sually accompani es v igorous ex ercise wh en , ,
on tu r n i n g a point t h at r e veal ed to u s a n ew a n d b eau ti
ful cl u ster of islands we w ere suddenly arr est ed by th e

,
appalli n g cry w hich had s o alarm ed u s a few nigh ts

b efore But this tim e w e w ere by no m ean s so much
.
alarm ed as on th e previous occasion becaus e wh ereas at , ,
th at tim e it was n ight now it was day ; an d I have

,
always found t h ou gh I am u n abl e to accou n t for it that

, ,
daylight banish es many of th e f ears that a r e apt to assai l

u s i n t h e dark .
96 T HE CORAL I SL A ND .
On h earing the sound Peterkin insta n tly threw for ,
ward his spear .
N ow what c an it be ? said h e looking round at

, ,
Jack . I tell you what it is : if we ar e to go on b eing

pulled u p in a con stant stat e of horror and a stonishmen t ,
as we have be en for the last w eek the sooner w e re ou t ,

0 this island t h e b ett er notwithstandin g the yam s and ,
le monad e and por k and plums ,

Peterkin s remark was followed by a rep etition of the
cry louder than before
, .
It comes fro m on e of th es e islands said Jack ,

.
I t must b e t h e ghost of a j ackass th en said , ,

Peterkin for I never h eard an ything so like
, .
We all turn ed ou r eyes towar ds th e cluster of islands ,
wh ere on th e largest we obser ved curious obj ects

, ,
moving on the shore .
S oldiers th ey are that s at

cried Peterkin gaz ,
ing at th em in th e utmost amazem ent .

And in truth P et erkin s remark s eemed to me to be
, ,
correc t ; for at th e distanc e fro m which we saw them

, ,
th ey app eared to be an ar my of soldi ers Th er e th ey .
stood rank and le in lin es and in s q uares marching

, , ,
an d counter marchin g with blu e coats an d w h ite tr ous ers ,

.
Whil e w e were looking at th em th e dreadful cry came ,
again o ver t h e wa ter and P et erkin s u ggest ed that it ,
must b e a regi m en t s ent out to m assacre t h e n atives i n

cold blood A t this r emark Jack laugh ed and said
.
,
Why P eterkin th ey a r e p engu ins

, ,

P enguins ? repea ted P eterkin .
A y pengui n s P eterkin p en guins nothing m ore or

, , ,
less than big s ea bir ds as you shall s ee on e of th es e -

,
days wh en w e pay th em a visit i n our boat which

, ,
I mean to set about b u il ding th e mom ent we return t o

ou r b ow er .
was n othing better than loose sand mingled with broken

sh ells and coral rock S o n ear to the s ea too did this
.
, ,
us eful tree grow that in man y places its roots w ere

,
was h ed by the spray from th e break ers Yet w e found .
t h e tre es g r owing thus on th e sands t o be quit e as

luxuri ant a s those growing in th e valleys and th e fru it ,
as good an d refreshing also Besides this I notic ed

.
,
that on the summit of th e high m ountain which w e ,
onc e more ascended at a di fferent poin t from our rst

asc ent w ere found abundanc e of shells an d brok en cora l
,
formations ; which Jack an d I agreed pro ved either that

this island must h ave once b een und er th e sea or that ,
th e s ea m u st once have b een abo ve th e island In oth er .
words that as shells and coral could not possibly climb

,
t o th e mount ain top th ey must have b een wash ed upon

-
,
it whil e the mountain top was on a l evel with th e s ea

-
.
We pond ered this ver y much and we put to ours elv es

the qu estion ,
What rais ed th e island to its pr es ent

h eight above the s ea But to this we could by no

m ean s give to ours elves a satisfactory r eply Ja ck .
thought it might have b een blown up by a volcano ; and

Peterkin said h e tho u ght it must hav e j ump ed u p of its
o w n accord ! We also noticed what had escap ed u s
,
b efor e that th e solid rocks of which th e islan d w as

,
form e d w ere quite di fferent from th e liv e coral rocks on

th e s h or e wh er e t h e won d erf u l littl e i n sects w er e c on
,
t i n u ally worki n g Th ey s eem ed indeed to b e of the

.
, ,
sam e mat erial a s u bstan ce lik e limestone ; but whil e

th e coral rocks w er e quit e full of minute cells in which
th e i n s ects lived the oth er r ocks inland wer e hard an d
,
solid without the app earan ce of c ells at all

,
O ur .
thoughts and conv ersations on this subj ect w ere som e

tim es so profoun d that Pet erkin said we should c er
tai n ly g et drown ed in th em at last even althou gh we ,
were such good divers ! N everth eless we did n ot allow

his pl easan try on this and similar points to deter us
from making ou r notes and observations as we w ent
along .
We found several mor e drov es of hogs in th e woods ,
but abstained fro m killing any of them having more ,
than suf ci ent for ou r present n eces siti es We saw also .
many of their footprints in this n eighbourhood Among .
th es e we also observed th e footprints of a smaller an imal ,
which we examined w ith much care but could form no ,
c ert ain opinion as to th em P eter kin thought th ey w ere

.
thos e of a little dog but Jack an d I thou ght differently

,
.
We becam e very curious on this matter the m ore s o ,
that we observed these footprints to lie scattered about

in on e locality as if the an imal which had mad e th em
,
was wand ering r odn d about in a v ery irregular mann er ,
and without any obj ect in vi ew E arly in the forenoon .
of our third day we obs erved th ese footprints t o b e
much more numerous than ev er an d in on e particular ,
spot th ey di verged off into th e woods in a r egular b eat en

track which was however s o clos ely b eset with bush es
, , ,
that w e pushed through it with difculty We had now .
becom e so anxiou s to n d ou t what ani mal this was and

wh ere it w en t to that we det ermin ed to follow th e
track and if pO SS1ble clear up th e mystery Peterkin
, , .
said I n a ban t erin g to n e that h e w a s s ure it would b e

, ,
cl eared u p as usual in some frightfully simple way and

, , ,
prov e to b e n o myst ery at all

Th e b eaten track s eem ed much t oo large to have b een .
form ed by th e animal its elf and w e concluded that som e

,
larger an imal had mad e it and that the small er on e ,
mad e u s e of it But ev erywh er e th e creeping plants

.
and tangled bush es cr ossed ou r path s o that we forced ,
ou r way along with s ome di fculty S udd enly as we

.
,
cam e upon an op en space w e h eard a faint cry and ob , ,
s erved a black animal standin g in th e track b efore us .

A wild cat I cried Jack tting an arrow to his
-
,
b ow an d discharging it so hastily that he miss ed th e

,
animal an d hit th e earth about half a foot to on e side of

,
it To ou r surpris e th e wild cat did not y but walked

.
-
,
s lowly to wards th e arrow an d snu ffed at it , .

That s the most comical wild cat I ever saw -
cried Jack .

It s a tam e wild cat I think said P eterkin level -
, , ,
ling his spear to make a charge .

S top ! cr ied I lay i n g my hand on his should er ;
,
I do b eli eve th e poor b east is bli n d See it strik es .

,
against th e branch es as it walks alon g It must b e a .
very old on e a n d I hast en ed toward s it .

O nly think s aid P eterkin with a suppress ed lau gh
, ,
of a sup erannuat ed wild cat -
We n ow found th at th e poor cat was not only blind ,
or n early s o but e xtr em ely d eaf as it di d not h ear ou r

, ,
footst eps u n til we were quite close b ehind it Then it .
sprang round and putting u p its back and tail whil e

, ,
t h e black hair stood all on en d utt er e d a hoa r s e m e w ,
and a fu ff
Poor thin g ! said P eter kin gen tly ext en ding his ,
hand an d end eavouring to pat th e cat s h ead

,
Poor
.

pussy ; ch ee ch ee ch ee ; p u ss puss puss ; ch eeti e pussy !
, , , ,
N o soon er did th e cat h ear th es e sounds than all signs

of ang er ed an d adva n ci n g eag er ly to P et erkin
,
it ,
allow ed its elf t o b e strok ed an d rubb ed itself against his ,
legs purring loudly all th e tim e and showin g ev ery

, ,
symptom of th e most extr em e delight .
It s no mor e a wild cat than I am

cri ed Pet erkin
-
,

takin g it in his arms ; it s quite tam e Poor pussy

cheeti e pussy !
102 T HE COR A L I SLAND .
followed for a short spac e th e ban ks of a stream .
S uddenly we cam e to a spot wh er e onc e mus t hav e b een

a rud e bridg e th e ston es of which w ere scatt ered in the
,
stream and thos e on each ban k entir ely cov ered over
,
with moss In sil ent surpris e and exp ectancy w e con

.
tinn ed to advan c e an d a few yards farth er on b eh eld

, , , ,
under the sh elt er of som e br ead fruit trees a small hut -

,
or cottage I cannot hop e to conv ey to my r ead ers a

.
v ery correct id ea of th e feelings that a ffected us on

witn essin g this unexpect ed sight We stood for a lon g .
ti m e in sil en t wond er for th er e was a de ep and most

,
m elan cho ly stilln ess about th e plac e that quit e ov er

pow ered u s ; an d wh en w e did at l en gth sp eak it w as in ,
s u bdu ed whisp ers as if w e w ere surrounded by some

,

awful or sup ernatural in uence E v en Peterkin s voic e .
,
usually so quick and liv ely on all occasions was hush ed ,
n ow for th ere w as a dr earin ess about this sil ent lon ely , ,
u ninhabit ed cottag e s o s tr ang e in its app earanc e s o far ,
away from th e usual dw elli n gs of man s o old decay ed , , ,

and d es ert ed in i ts asp ect that fell u pon ou r spirits
lik e a thick cloud and blott ed ou t as with a pall th e
,
ch eerful suns h in e that had lled us s ince t h e comm enc e

m en t of our tour rou n d th e islan d .
Th e hut or cottag e was rud e an d simpl e i n its c on

struction It was n ot more than tw elv e feet long by
.
t en feet broad an d about s ev en or eight feet high

,
It .
had on e windo w or rath er a small fram e i n which a

,
windo w might p erhaps o n c e h av e b een but which was ,
n ow empty Th e door was exce edingly low and forme d

.
,
of r ough boards and th e roof was cov er ed with broad

,
cocoa nut an d plantain l eaves But ev ery part of it was

-
.
i n a stat e of th e utmost d ecay Moss and green matter .
g r ew in spots all ov er it Th e wood work was quite .

-
p erforat ed with hol es ; the roof h a d n early fall en in an d ,

appear ed to be pr ev ented from doing s o altog eth er by

th e thick matting of creeping plan ts and the int erlaced -
br anches which y ears of negl ect had allowed to c over it

almost entirely ; while the thick l u xuriant branches of ,
th e bread frui t and other tre es spread abov e it and ung

-
,
a d eep sombre shado w over t h e spot as if t o guard it

, ,
from the h eat an d th e light of day We convers ed long .
an d i n w hisp ers about t his s trange habitation er e we
v entured to approach it and wh en at l ength we did so ,
it was at l east on my part with feelings of awe

, ,
.
At rst Jack end eavoured to pe ep in at the windo w ,
bu t fro m th e deep shadow of th e tre es alr eady m entioned ,
and the gloo m within he could n ot clearly discern ,
obj ects ; s o we lift ed the latch and pushed op en the

door . We observ ed that th e latch was made of iron ,
and almost eaten away with r ust In th e like condition .
w ere also th e hing es which cr eaked as the door s wung

,
back O n enterin g w e stood still and gazed around u s

.
, ,
w hile w e w ere much i m pressed w ith th e dreary stil lness

of the room But what we s aw th er e surpr is ed and
.
shock ed us not a littl e Th ere was n o furniture in the

.
apar tment save a littl e wooden stool and an iron pot the ,
latt er almost eaten thro ugh with rust In th e corner .
farth est from the door was a low beds tead on which lay ,
two skeletons emb edd ed in a little h eap of dry dust

, .
With b eatin g h earts we w ent forward t o ex a mi ne th em .
O n e was th e sk el eton of a man th e oth er that of a dog , ,
which was extend ed c los e b esid e th at of the m an with ,
its h ead restin g on his bosom .
N ow w e w ere v ery much conc ern ed about this dis

c over y an d could scarc e r efrai n fro m t ears on b eholdi n g
,
th es e sad r emains Aft er s ome time we b egan to talk

.
,
a bout what w e had s een and to exami n e in an d a round

,
th e hut in order to dis cov er s ome c lu e to the nam e or

,
1 04 T HE CORAL I S LAND .
history of this poor m an wh o had thus di ed in solitu de

, ,
w ith non e to mourn his loss sav e his cat an d his faithful
w
dog But e found nothin g n eith er a book nor a scrap
.
of pap er We found how ever th e d ecayed remnants of

.
, ,
what app ear ed to hav e b een clothing and an old ax e ,

.
But non e of the s e things bor e mar ks of an y kind ; and ,
i n deed th ey w ere s o much d ecay ed as to convince u s

,
that th ey had lain in th e con dition i n which w e found

th em for man y y ears .
This discov ery n ow account ed to us for th e tree stump -
at th e top of the mou ntain with th e in itials cut on it

also for th e patch of sugar can e and oth er traces of man
-
which we had m et with in th e cours e of our rambl es

o ver th e islan d A n d we w ere m u ch sadd en ed by th e
.
re ection that th e lot of this poor wand er er might

possibly b e our o w n after many y ears r esid enc e on th e
,

island u nl ess w e should b e rescu ed by th e visit of som e

,
vess el or th e ar rival of nativ es H avin g no clu e w hat.
ev er to account for th e pres enc e of this poor human

b ei n g in such a lonely spot we fell t o conj ect u ring what
,
could hav e brought him th er e I was in c lin ed to think

.
that h e must hav e b een a shipwreck ed sailor whos e ,
v ess el had b een los t h er e an d all t h e cre w b een drow n e d

,
e xc ept hims elf a n d his dog an d cat But Jack thought.
it mor e lik ely that h e had r u n away from his v ess el a n d ,
had tak en th e dog an d cat to k e ep h i m compan y We .
w er e also much occupi ed i n our mi n ds with th e won d er

ful di ffer en c e b etw een th e cat an d th e dog For h er e w e .
s aw that whil e th e on e p erish e d lik e a lovi n g fri end by
its m ast er s sid e with its h ead resti n g on h i s bosom th e

, ,
oth er had sought to sustain its elf by prowlin g abroad in

th e fo r est an d had liv ed i n solitud e to a good ol d age
,
.
H ow ev er w e did n ot con clud e fro m this that th e cat was

,
d estitut e of a ffection for w e could n ot forget its emotions

,
poor recluse and h i s dog Th en we l eft th e spot having

.
,
brought away th e iron pot the pistol and t h e old a x e as

, , ,
they might b e of much use to u s hereafter .
D uring th e r est of this day w e pursued our journ ey ,
an d examined th e oth er end of the larg e vall ey which ,
we found to b e s o much alik e to the parts already

described that I s hall not recount the particulars of
,
what we saw i n this place I may how ever remark

.
, ,
that we did n ot quite r ecov er ou r former ch eerful spirits

until we arrived at our bow er which w e did lat e i n th e
,
ev ening and fou n d e v erythi n g j ust in th e sa m e condition

,
as we had l eft it thr ee days b efore .

CHA PT ER XII .
S o me th i n g wr o ng wi th th e ta n kJ ack s wi sdo m a nd P et er k i n s i mp e t i n en c e

r

Won derfu l b ehav i o u r of a c r a b G ood wi sh es for thos e who dwell far fr o m
th e s ea J ac k commen c es to bu i ld a l i ttle boat
-
.
E S T i s swe et as well for the body as for th e m ind .
D u ring
my long exp erienc e amid the vicissitudes ,
of a ch equ er ed life I hav e fou n d that p erio ds of pr o

,
found rest at certain inter vals in addition to th e ordin ary

,
hou r s of repose are n ecessary t o the w ell b ein g of m an

,
-
.
A nd the nature as w ell as the pe r iod of this res t varies ,
accordin g to th e di fferent temp eram en ts of individu als an d ,
the p eculiar circumstances in which th ey m ay chanc e to

be placed To those wh o work with t h eir m inds bodily
.
,
labour is rest To thos e w h o labour w ith th e body deep

.
,
sl eep is r est To th e downcast th e w eary and t h e

.
, ,
sorrowful j oy and p eace are rest N ay furth er I think

,
.
, ,
that to th e gay th e frivolous th e r eckl es s wh en sat ed

, , ,
with pl easures that can n ot last e v en so r row pr oves to ,
b e r est of a ki n d although p er chanc e it w ere b ett er

, , ,
that I sh ould call it reli ef than r est Th ere is indeed .

, ,
but on e class of m en to whom rest i s d eni ed th ere i s

n o r est t o th e wick ed At this I do but hin t h ow ever
.
, ,
as I tr eat n ot of that r est which is spiritual but more , ,
particularly of that which appli es t o th e m i n d an d to

,
th e body .
O f this rest we stood m uch in ne ed on our return

h om e ,
and we
found it exceedingly sweet wh en w e i n
du lg ed i n it aft er completi n g th e j ourn ey j ust r elat ed .
I t had not ind eed b een a v ery long journ ey n ever th e

, , ,
le ss w e had purs u ed i t s o diligen tly that o u r fram es

wer e not a littl e prostrated O ur minds w er e also
.
v ery much exhaust ed in cons equ ence of the many s u r

pris es fr eq u ent alarms an d much profound thought to
, ,
which they had b een subj ect ed ; s o that wh en w e lay

d own on th e n igh t of ou r r eturn u n der th e sh elt er of th e
bower we fell i m m ediately i n to v ery d eep repos e I
,
.
can state this with much c ertain ty for Jack afterwards ,
ad m itted th e fact an d P et erkin although h e stoutly

, ,
d eni ed it I h eard s n oring loudly at least two mi n ut es

,
a fter lying down I n this condition w e r emain ed all

.
night and th e whol e of th e following day without awak

i n g o n c e or s o much as moving our posi tio n s
,
Wh en .
w e did awak e it w as n ea r s uns et an d we w er e all i n ,
such a state of lassitud e that w e m er ely r os e to s wallo w

a mouthful of food A s P et erkin remark ed i n th e
.
,
midst of a yawn w e took br eakfast at t ea tim e an d

,
-
,
then w ent to b ed again wh ere w e lay till th e following

,
forenoon .
A f ter this w e aros e very greatly r efresh ed b u t much ,
alarm ed l est w e had lost cou n t of a day I s ay w e w er e .
much alarm ed on this h ead for w e had carefully k ept ,
coun t of th e days sin c e w e w er e cast u pon our islan d i n ,
order th at w e might rem emb er th e S abbath day which -

,
day w e had hith erto with on e accord k ept as a day of

rest and r efrai n ed fro m all work whatso ev er H ow ev er
,
.
,
on con s id e ri n g th e s ubj ect w e all thr ee en t ertai n ed t h e

,
s am e Opin io n as to h ow lon g w e had s l ept an d s o ou r ,
mi n ds w er e put at ease .
W e n o w hast en e d to o u r Wat er Gard en to enj oy a

bath e and to s ee how did th e an imals which I had
,
incrusted with s altf y ou m u st carry your philos ophy a

little farth er Ralph That wat er has evaporat ed s o

, .
much that it is too salt for anything to live in You .
will require to add fr esh wat er now and then in order ,
to k eep i t at the sam e degree of saltness as th e s ea .
V ery true Jack ; that never s truck me before

, ,
sai d I .

And now I think of it continued Jack it seem s
, , ,
to me that the surest way of arr anging your tank so as

to get i t to keep pure an d in good condition will b e to ,
i m i ta te th e oc ean in it I n fact make it a mi n iatu re .

,
Paci c I don t see h ow you can hope to succeed u nless

.

you do that .

Mos t true s aid I pond eri n g what my companio n
, ,
s a id But I fear that that will b e very difcult .
N ot at all cried Jack rollin g his towel Up into a

, ,
ball an d throwin g it in to th e fac e of Pet erkin who had ,
b een grinning and winkin g at him durin g the last ve

minut es not at all L ook h ere There i s water of . .
a certain saltn es s in th e sea ; w ell ll y our tan k with ,
s ea wat e r
- and ke ep it at that saltness by marking th e
,
h eigh t at which t h e wat er stan ds on th e sides When .
it evaporates a littl e pour in fr esh water from th e brook

,
till it com es up to the mark and th en it will b e right , ,
for th e salt do es not evapor ate with th e water Th en .
th ere s lots of s ea we ed in th e sea ; w ell go and get

-
,
on e or two bits of sea w eed an d put the m into your -

,
t an k . O f cours e th e w eed m ust b e alive and gro w in g ,
t o little stones or y ou c an chip a bit off the r ocks with
th e w eed sticking to it Then if y ou like y ou can throw .

, ,
a li ttl e sand and grav el into your tank and t h e thing s

,

c om pl e t e .
N a y n ot quite said P et erkin w h o had been grav ely

, , ,
att entiv e to this off hand advice n ot

q u it -
e ;
y ou must
rst m ake three littl e men to dive in it before it can b e

said to b e perfect ; and that would b e r ather dif cult I ,
fear for t wo of them wo u ld requir e to be philosophers

,
.
B u t hallo ! wh at s this ? I say R alph look her e

.
, ,
There s on e 0 y our crabs up to som ething u ncom mon

.
It s performing th e m ost remarkabl e op eration for a crab

I ever saw taking off its coat I do believe before

-
, ,
going t o bed .
We h astily stooped over th e t ank and certainly w ere ,
n ot a little amused at the co n duct of on e of the c r abs
which still survived its companions It was on e of th e .
common small crabs like to those tha t are fo u n d runn ing

,
about everywher e on the coasts of E ngland While w e .
gazed at it w e obs erv ed its back to split away from th e

,
lower part of its body and ou t of the gap thus for med ,
came a soft lump which mov ed and writhed unc easingly .
This lump continu ed to increase in siz e u ntil it appe a red

lik e a bunch of crab s legs ; an d indeed such it proved
, ,
in a very few m inut es to b e for th e points of the toes ,
w er e at length extricat ed from the hol e in its back th e ,
legs spre a d out the body followed and the crab walked
, ,
away quite entire ev en to th e poin ts of its nipper claws

,
-
,
l eavin g a p erfectly enti r e sh ell b ehind it so that when , ,
w e looked it see m ed as tho u gh there were two complet e

,
crabs instead of on e .
ell
T e xclaim ed P et erki n dra w i n g a lo n g br eath , ,
I v e h ea r d of a m an jumping out of his skin an d sitt ing

down in his skel eton i n ord er to cool himself but I nev er ,
exp ected to s ee a crab do it !

We were in truth much am azed at this spectacl e
, , ,
and th e more so wh en w e obs erved that t h e n ew crab

was larger than th e crab that it c am e ou t of It was .
also quite soft but by n ext morning i ts skin had hard

,
en ed into a good sh ell We came th u s to know that crabs .

grow in this way and not by th e growing of their sh ells

, ,
as we had al ways thought b efore w e s aw this wond erful

O p er ation .
N ow I consid ered w ell th e advice which Jack had .
giv en m e about preparing my tank and the more I ,
thought of i t th e more I cam e to regard it as v ery s ound

and worthy of being acted on S o I forthwith put his .
plan in execution and found it to answ er excell ently

,
w ell ind eed much beyond my exp ectation ; for I found

,
that after a littl e exp erience had taugh t me the prop er

proportion of s ea we ed and an imals to put into a certain
-
amount of water, th e tank n eeded n o farth er attendanc e ;

and moreo ver I did n ot requir e e ver afterwards to r e
, ,
n ew or change th e sea wat er but only to add a v ery

-
,
littl e fr esh wat er from th e brook now and then as th e , ,
oth er evapor ated I th er efor e con cluded that if I had

.
been sudd enly conveyed along with my tank into som e

, ,
r egion where th er e was n o salt s ea at all my little s ea ,
and my s ea sh would hav e con tinu ed to thriv e and to

-
prosp er notwithstanding This made me greatly to de.
si r e that those p eopl e i n th e world wh o live far in land

migh t know of my wond erful tank and by havin g , ,
materials like to thos e of which it was m ad e conv eyed

to th em thus be enabl ed to watch th e habit s of thos e
,
most myster ious animals that reside in th e s ea an d ,
examin e with their ow n ey es t h e wonders of t h e gr eat
dee
Fbmany days af ter th 1 s whil e P eterkin and Jack
r
w ere busily e mployed i n b u l ldi ng a littl e boat ou t of

the curious natural planks of th e chestnut tree I sp ent ,
much of m y tim e in examining wi th th e burning glass -
th e m ar vello u s O p eratio n s that w ere constantly going on

in my tank H ere I s aw thos e anemon es which cling
. ,
lik e littl e red yello w and g re en blobs of j elly to th e

, , ,
CHA PT ER XIII .
N otable d i scover y a t th e sp o u ti ng cl is Th e myster i o u s g r een m on s t er expla i n ed

We a r e th r o wn i n to u n u tt er abl e t er r o r by th e i d ea th at J ack i s d r o wn ed
Th e D i a m on d Ca v e .
O M E Jack
cri ed P et erkin on e mor n ing abo u t
, , ,
thr ee weeks after ou r return from ou r long

excursion l et s b e j olly to day and do som ething vigor
,
-
,
ous I m qu ite tired of hammering an d b am m er i n g

.

h ewing an d scr ewing cutting and butti n g at that little , ,

boat of ours that se ems as hard to build as N oah s ark
,
.
L et us go on an excursion to the mountain top or have -

,
a hunt after th e wild ducks or make a dash at the pigs ,

.

n
I m quite at at as bad gi ger b eer at as a pan -
cak e ; i n fact I want so m ethin g to rous e m e to tos s m e

,
as it w er e E h ! w h at do you to it ?
\
u
p , s a.
y

V ell answ er ed Jack th r owing down th e a x e with
, ,
which h e was just about to p r oceed towards the boat ,
if that s what you wan t I would recomm end y ou to

m ak e an excursion to th e wat erspouts Th e last on e we .
h ad to do with toss ed you up a conside r abl e h eight ; per

haps the n ext will s end you higher who knows if yo u re , ,

at all r easonabl e or moderat e i n your exp ectations !

Jack my d ear b oy said Peterkin gravely y ou ar e

, , ,

really b ecomin g too fond of j estin g It s a thing I don t .

at all appr ov e of and if you do n t give it u p I fear that
, , ,
for ou r mutu al good we shall have to part ,

.
!
then Pet erk in r eplied Jack with a s mile

hV ell , , , ,
what would y ou hav e

H av e ? said P et erkin ; I would h a ve n othi n g I .
did n t s ay I want ed to h a ve 1 said that I want ed to do

.

B y the b y -
,

said I int errupti n g th eir conv ersation
, ,
I am remin ded by this that w e have not y et discovered

the nature of y on curio u s appear ance t h at w e s aw n ear

the wat er spou ts on ou r j ourn ey round th e islan d Per
,
.

h aps it would be w el l to go for that purpos e .
H u m ph ej aculated P et erkin I know the nat u re ,
of it w ell enough .
What was it ? said I .

It was of a m ys ter i ou s nature to be sure ! said he ,
with a wave of his han d w h il e h e rose fro m the log ,
on which h e had be en sitting an d buckle d on his b elt ,
into which h e thrust h i s en ormous club .
, ,

W el l th en let u s away to th e wat er spouts cried ,
Jack goi n g u p to the bow er for his bow and arrows ;

,

and bri n g your sp ear P et erkin It may b e us eful , . .
We now having mad e up ou r m inds to examine int o

,
this matt er salli ed forth eagerly in th e direction of th e

,
water spout r ocks which as I have before mention ed

-
, , ,
w ere not far from ou r pr es ent plac e of abod e O n arriving .
th ere we h ast en ed do w n to th e edg e of the rocks an d

gaz ed ov er in to th e sea wh er e w e obs erved th e pale green
,
-
obj ect still distinctly vi s ibl e movin g i ts tail slowly to an d ,

.
fro in th e water .
Most remarkabl e ! said Ja ck .

E xc eedin gly curious ! said I .

B eats e ver ythin g ! said P et erkin .

N ow Jack h e add ed
, , y ou mad e such a poor gu r e ,
i n your last att empt to stick to that obj ect that I would ,
advis e y ou to let me try it If it has g ot a h eart at all .

,
I ll engage to s en d my sp ear right through the cor e of

it ; if it hasn t got a hear t I ll send it through th e spot

where i ts h eart ought to b e .

Fire away th en my boy rep li ed Jack with a , ,
laugh .
P et erkin immediat ely took the sp ear pois ed it for a ,
second or two above his h ead th en dart ed it lik e an arrow ,
in to th e s ea D own i t w en t straight into th e c en tr e of

.
th e gr een obj ect pass ed quit e through i t and cam e up

, ,
imm ediat ely aft erwards p u re an d u nsulli ed whil e th e , ,
mysterious t ail mov ed qui etly as b efore !

N ow said P et erkin gravely that brut e is a h eart
, ,

l ess monster ; I ll hav e nothing mor e to do wi t h it

.

I m pr etty sur e n ow said Jack that it is m erely

, ,

a phosphoric light ; but I must s ay I m puzzl ed at i ts

stayi n g al ways i n that exact spot .
I also w as much puzzl ed an d incli n ed to think with ,
Jack that it must b e phosphoric light of which lu m i n ,
ou s app earanc e w e had s een much wh i l e on ou r voyag e

to th es e s eas But said I th er e is n othing to hind er
.

, ,
us fro m diving do wn to it now that w e ar e s u re i t is ,

not a shar k .

Tru e r et u rn ed Jack Strippin g off his cloth es ; I ll
, ,

do n R alph as I m b ett er at divi n g th an you ar e

g o w , ,
.

N ow th en P et erki n ou t o th e road ! Jack st epp ed
-
, ,
for ward j oi n ed his han ds abov e his h ead b en t ov er th e

, ,
rocks an d plun ged i n to th e s ea F or a s eco n d or t w o

,
.
th e spray caus ed by his div e hid h i m f r o m vi ew ; t h en

t h e wat er b ecam e S till an d w e s a w h i m swimmin g far ,
dow n in th e midst of th e gr een obj ect S udd en ly h e .
sank b elow it an d vanish ed altog eth er from our Sight !

,
We gaz ed an xiously dow n at th e spot wh er e h e h ad

disapp eared for n early a min u t e e xp ectin g e very mom en t ,
to s ee him ris e again for b r eath ; but f u lly a mi n ut e

ass ed an d still h e did not r eapp ear Two mi n ut es
p ,
.
fac u lti es . It was

th er efore with a feeling ak i n to sup er
s t i ti ou s awe that I h eld down m ha n d and assist ed him
y
t o clamb er up the ste ep rocks But no s u ch feeling .
a ffect ed Pet erkin N o soon er did Jack gain th e rocks

.
and seat hims elf on on e pa n ting for br eath than he , ,
threw his arms round his neck and burst into a ood
of t ears O Jack Jack I said h e wh ere w ere y ou
.
, ,

What k ept you so lon g ?
A fter a few mo m ents P et erkin becam e composed

en ough to s i t S till and list en to Jack s explanation ,
althou gh he could n ot r estrain hims elf fro m att emptin g

t o win k ev ery two minutes at m e in ord er t o expr ess ,
his j oy at Jack s safety I s ay h e attemp ted to win k

.
but I a m bound to a dd that h e did n ot succ eed for his ,
eyes w er e s o m u ch s woll en wit h w eepi n g that his fr o ,
qu ent att empts only r esulted in a s eri es of viol ent an d

altog eth er idiotical contortions of th e fac e that w ere v ery ,
far from expr essing what h e intend ed H o w ev er I kn ew .

,
what th e poor fello w m eant by it s o I smil ed to him i n ,
r eturn an d end eavoured to mak e b eli ev e that h e was

,
win king .
N ow lads ,
said Jack wh en w e were compos ed
, ,
en ough to li s t en to him yon r een obj ect is not a shark ;

g
, g
it is a str eam of ligh t issu i ng from a cav e in th e rocks tT

.
Just aft er I mad e m y di ve I obs erved that this light ,
cam e from th e sid e of th e rock abov e w hich w e ar e n ow

s itti n g ; s o I str u ck out for it an d s aw an op eni n g into ,
som e place or oth er that app eared to b e lumi n ous within .
F or on e instant I paused to think wh eth er I ough t to

v entur e Th en I ma de up my mind and dash ed into it
.
,
.
For you s ee P eterkin although I tak e so m e tim e to t ell

'
, ,
this it happ en ed i n th e spac e of a few s eco n ds s o that I

, ,
kn ew I had wind en ough i n m e to s erv e to bring m e out

o th e hol e and u p to t h e surfac e agai n Well I was j ust

.
,
TH E CO R AL I SLAND . 119
on the point of turni n g

for I began to feel a little u n

co m fortabl e i h such a place wh en it seemed to m e as
if th ere w as a faint light right above me I dart ed u p .
wards and found my head out of wat er This r eli ev ed

,
.
m e gr ea tly for I now felt that I could take in air enough

,
to en a bl e m e to retur n the w ay I came Th en it all at .
once occ u r r ed to m e that I might not b e abl e to n d th e

way out again ; but on glanci n g downwards my mind
, ,
was put quite at r est by s eei n g th e gre en light below m e

str eaming into th e cav e j ust like the light that we had ,
s een str ea m ing out of it only what I n ow saw was much ,
br ight er .
A t rst I could scarc ely s ee anything as I gaz ed

around m e it was s o dar k ; but gradually my ey es b e
,
cam e accustomed to it and I fou n d that I was in a h u g e

,
cav e part of th e walls of which I obs erv ed on each sid e

,
of m e Th e ceiling just abov e me was also vi sibl e and

.
,
I fan ci ed that I could perceiv e b eautiful glitterin g obj ects

th er e ; but the farther end of th e cav e was shr oud ed in
dark n ess While I w as lookin g around me in gr eat won
.
der it cam e into my h ead that you tw o would think I was

,
drown ed ; so I plunged down through th e passage again

in a g r eat hu rry ros e to th e surface and h er e I am !
, ,

Wh en Jack conclud ed his r ecital of what h e had s een

in this r emar kabl e cav e I could not r est satis ed till I ,
had div ed down to s ee it ; w hich I did but foun d it s o ,
dark as Jack h ad said that I could scarc ely s ee an y

, ,
thin g Wh en I r etur n ed w e had a long con v ersation

.
,
abo u t it dur ing which I obs erv e d that P eterkin had a

,
most lu gubrious expression on his countenance .
What s the m att er Pet erkin

said I , .

Th e matt er ? h e r epli e d It s all v ery w ell for
.
you two to b e talking away lik e m ermaids about th e

won der s of this cave but you know I must b e con t en t
,
T HE CORAL I SLAND .
to h ear about 1 t whil e yo u ar e enj oying yours elv es down

th ere lik e mad dolphins It s really too bad .

I m v ery sorry for you Pet erkin in d eed I am said

, , ,
Jack but we cannot h elp you If y ou would only

,

.
l earn to div e
L earn to y y ou might as well say ! ,
r etort ed
Pet erkin in a v ery sulky tone

,
.

If you would only con sent to k eep still said I we , ,

would take y ou down with u s in ten s econds .

H um ! retu rn ed P et erkin s u ppos e a salamand er

was to propose to you only to k eep s till and h e wo u ld ,
carry you through a blazing r e in a few seconds what ,
would y ou s ay ?
We both lau ghed and shook our heads for i t was ,
e vid ent that nothing was to b e mad e of P eterkin i n th e
water But we could not r est satis ed till w e h ad s een

.
more of this cav e ; s o aft er further consultation Jack , ,
a n d 1 d et ermin ed to try if w e could tak e dow n a torch
with us and s et r e to it i n th e cavern This w e found

,
.
to b e an undertaking of n o small di fculty but w e ,
accomplished it at last by t h e following means Fi r s t ,
w e mad e a torch of a v ery in ammabl e natur e ou t of t h e

bark of a c ertain tree w h ich w e c u t into strips an d , , ,
after twisting c em ented tog eth er with a kind of resi n or

,
gum which we also obtai n ed fr om anoth er tree ; n eith er

,
of which trees how ev er w as k nown by n am e to Jack

, ,
.
This wh en p r epar ed w e w rapp ed up in a great n umb er

, ,
of pli es of cocoa n u t cloth s o that we w ere con d en t it

-
,
could not get wet durin g th e s h or t tim e it should b e

u n der water Then we took a small pi ece of th e tin der
.
,
w h ich we had carefully treasure d up l est we should r e

quire i t as b efor e said wh en th e s u n shou ld fail u s ;
, ,
also w e roll ed u p som e dr y grass an d a few chips which

, , ,
wi th a littl e bow and d r ill lik e t h os e d escrib ed b efor e , ,

12 2 TH E CO R AL I SL A N D .
the torch This w e accom plish ed without di f c u lty in a

.
few mi n utes ; an d n o soo n er did it ar e up than w e

w ere str u ck du mb with th e w o n d erful obj ects that w ere
r ev eal ed to our gaze Th e roof of th e cav ern j ust a bo ve
.
us s eem ed to b e about ten feet high but gr ew high er as ,
it r ec ed ed into th e distance until it was lost i n dar kn ess

,
.
It s eemed to b e mad e of coral and was support ed by ,
massiv e col u mn s of th e sam e mat erial Imm ens e icicl es .
( as they app ear ed to u s

! hu n g from it i n vario u s plac es .
Th es e how ev er w ere for m ed n ot of i c e b u t of a sp eci es

, , , ,
of lim eston e ,
w h ich s eem ed to ow in a liquid form
to wards th e point of each wh er e it b ecam e solid A
,
.
good man y drops fell ho w ever to th e r ock b elow and

, , ,
th es e form ed littl e co n es w h ich ros e to m eet th e points

,
abov e S om e of th em h ad already m et and thus w e

.
,
s aw h ow the pillars w ere form ed which at rs t s eem ed ,
to us as if th ey had b een placed th er e by some huma n

archit ect to suppor t th e roof A s we advanced farth er .
in w e s aw that th e oor was compos ed of th e s am e

,
m at erial as th e pillars ; a n d it pres en t ed t h e curious

app eara n c e of rippl es such as ar e form ed on wat er w h en
,
g en tly ru ffled by t h e win d Th er e w er e s everal op en in gs

.
on eith er ha n d in t h e wal ls that s eem ed to l ead in to

,
oth er cavern s ; but th es e w e did n ot explor e at this tim e .
We also obs erved that th e c eilin g w as curiously mark ed

in man y places as if it w er e th e fr etwo r k of a n obl e
,
cath edral ; an d th e walls as w ell as th e roof Sparkl ed in

, ,
th e light of o u r torch an d threw back gleam s a n d ash es

, ,
as if th ey w ere cov ered with pr eciou s s to n es Although .
we proc eed ed far in to this cavern w e did not com e to ,
t h e en d of it ; a n d w e w er e oblig ed to r eturn m ore

sp eedily than we would oth erwis e hav e don e as our ,
to r ch was n early exp en d ed We did n ot obs erv e any

.
op en i n gs i n th e roof or any i n dication s of places wh ere

,
T HE CORAL I S LAND . 12 3
by light might enter ; but ne ar th e e n trance to th e

cavern stood an immens e mass of pur e w hit e coral rock ,
which caught and threw back th e littl e ligh t that found

an en trance t h rough th e cav e s m outh and thus produc ed

, ,
w e conj ectur ed th e pal e gr een obj ect which had rst at

,
-
tracted ou r attention We conclud ed also that the r e

.
, ,
ec ti ng pow er of this rock was that which gav e forth the

di m light that faintly illu m in ed th e rst part of th e c ave .
B efor e divin g through th e passage again w e ex ti n

u i sh ed th e small pi ec e of our torch that r emai ned and
g ,
l eft it in a dr y spot ; con c ei ving that w e might possibly

stand in n eed of it if at an y futu r e tim e w e shoul d
,
chance to w et ou r torch w hil e div i n g i n to th e cav ern .
A s w e stood for a few minut es aft er it was ou t waiting ,
till ou r ey es b ecam e accustom ed t o th e gloom w e could ,
n ot h elp r emarking th e d eep i n t ens e stilln ess and t h e

,
u nutt erabl e gloom of all a r ou n d us ; an d as I tho u ght ,
of t h e stu p endous dom e abov e an d th e countl es s g em s

,
that had sparkl ed in the torchligh t a few minutes

b efore it came in to m y mind to consid er how stran g e it
,
is that God should mak e such wo n derful and ex qu isit ely

b eautiful works n ev er t o b e s een at all exc ept ind eed , , ,
by chance visitors such as ours elves .
I aft erwards found that th ere w ere many su ch cav erns

a mong th e islands of th e S outh S ea s som e of th em larg er ,
an d mor e b eautiful than th e on e I hav e j ust d escrib ed .

N ow R alph ar e y ou r eady ?
, , said J ack in a low ,
voice that s eem ed to echo up i n to th e dom e above

, .

! uit e r eady .
C om e along th en said h e ; and plungin g off t h e

, ,
l edge of th e rock into th e wat er w e div ed throu gh th e,
n arrow entranc e In a few s econ ds w e w ere pan ti n g on

.
th e r ock s abov e and r ec eiving th e co n gratulations of ou r

,
fri en d P eterkin .
CHA PT ER XIV .
S tr a n g e p ecu l i a r i ty of th e ti d es
A
lso of th e t wi lig ht Peter k i n s r emar ka bl e

co d ct
n u i n e m r i n
b ac g a l i ttle p i g an d k i ll i ng a big sow Sag e r ema r ks on
j sti ng A lso on l ov e
e .
T was quit e a r eli ef to us to br eath e th e pure ai r an d

to enj oy th e glad s u n sh in e after our lo n g r ambl e
i n th e D iamo n d C av e as w e nam ed it ; for although w e
,
did not stay mor e than half an hou r away it s eem ed to

- -
,
u s much long er Whil e we w ere dr essin g and duri n g

.
,
our walk hom e w e did our b est to satisfy th e c u riosity

,
of poor P et erkin who s eem ed to r egret with li vely

, ,
si n c erity his inability to div e

, .
Th ere was no h elp for it how ev er s o w e condol ed, ,
with him as w e best could H ad th er e b een an y great

.
r is e o r fall in th e tid e of th es e s eas w e might per ,
h aps hav e fou n d it possibl e to tak e him down with us

at low water ; but as th e tid e n ev er ros e or fell more
tha n eighteen i n ch es or two feet this was impos s ibl e ,
.
This p eculia r ity of th e tid e its slight r is e an d fall

had n ot attract ed our obs ervatio n till s om e ti m e aft er ou r
r esid enc e on th e island N eith er had w e obs er ved anoth er
.
curious circumstanc e un til w e had b een som e tim e th ere .
This w as th e fact that th e tid e rose a n dfell w i th con stant

r eg u larity i n st ead of b ei n g a f
,
fect ed by t h e chan g es of th e
moon as i n our o wn cou n try a n d as it is in most oth er
,

pa rts of th e world at l east i n all thos e parts with
world in many ways particularly in the way of cleans

,
ing th e shores of the lan d and carrying off th e lth that

,
was constantly poured into th e sea t h er efrom ; which ,
P et erki n sugg ested was r emark ably ti dy of it t o do

,
.
Poor P eterki n could n ev er let slip an opportunity to j ok e ,
how ever inoppor tun e it might be : w hich at rst we

foun d rath er a disagreeabl e prop ensity as it often i n ,
t er r u pt ed the ow of v ery agr eeabl e co n v ersation and ,
ind eed I cannot too stro n gly r ecord my disapprobation

,
of this t end e cy in g en eral

n b u t w e b ecam e so used t o
it at last th at w e found it no i n t erruption what ev er ;
inde ed stran ge to say we cam e to feel that it was a
, ,
n ec essary part of our enj oym ent ( such is th e forc e of

habit ! an d found the sudden outbursts of mir th r esult
, ,
ing from h i s hu m orous disposition quit e natural and r e ,
fr eshin g to us i n th e midst of ou r mor e serious con v er

s ati on s But I must not misrepr es ent P et erkin We
. .
oft en found to our surpris e that h e knew man y things

, ,
which we did not ; and I also obs erv ed that thos e things
which h e l earn ed from exp eri enc e w ere n ev er forgott en .
From all th es e things I cam e at l ength to u nderstan d that

thin gs v ery opposite an d dissimilar i n th em s elv es w h en ,
un it ed do mak e an agreeabl e whol e ; as for exampl e

, , ,
w e thr e e on this ou r island although most u n lik e i n ,
many thi n gs wh en u n it ed made a trio s o harmon iou s

, ,
that I qu estion if th er e ev er m et b efor e such an agree

abl e triumvirat e Th er e was in d eed no note of discord
.
, ,
what ev er in th e s ymph o n y w e played tog eth er on that

sw eet C or al Islan d ; and I am n ow p ersuaded that thi s
was owin g to ou r havin g b een all tun ed to th e sam e k ey ,
nam ely that of love

,
! Y es w e lov ed on e anoth er with
,
much ferv ency whil e w e li ved on that island ; and for ,
the matter of that w e lov e each oth er still

,
.
A nd whil e I am on th is subj ect or rath er the subj ect ,

TH E CORAL I SLAND . 12 7
that just preced ed nam ely th e tides I m ay h ere

it ,
rem ark on anoth er curious natu r al phenomenon We .
found that there was little or n o twilight in this island .
We had a distinct r em embran c e of the charming long

twilight at hom e which som e people thi n k the most
,
delightful part of th e day though for my part I have ,
always preferred su n rise and when we rst landed we ,
used to sit down on som e rocky point or eminence at ,
th e clos e of ou r day s work to enj oy the even ing breeze ;

but n o soon er had th e su n su n k b elow the horizon than

all b ecam e sudd en ly dark This rendered it n ecessary .
that w e should watch th e sun wh en w e happened to b e '
ou t hu n ting ; for to b e sudd enly left i n t h e dark whil e
in th e woods was v ery perpl exing as although th e stars , ,
shon e with great b eauty and brilliancy th ey could n ot ,
pi erc e thro u gh th e thick u mbr ag eous boughs that inter

lac ed above ou r h eads .
But to r etu rn : after havin g told all we co uld to

in about th e D iamond C ave u nder S pouting C li ff ,
n a m ed th e locality w e w ere w en di n g ou r way

,
ards wh en a grunt and a squeal w er e

,
down by th e land br eeze to our ears -

.

hat s th e tick e t ! was P eterkin s remarkabl e ex

tion as h e started convulsiv ely and levell ed his

, ,

Hist cri ed Jack ; th es e ar e you r fri en ds P et er
!

,
kin Th ey must hav e com e ov er e xpressly to pay y ou

.
a fri en dly visit for it is the rst time we have s een th em

,

on this sid e th e isla n d .

C om e along I cri ed P et er kin hurryi n g towards th e ,
wood whil e Jac k an d I follow ed smilin g at h i s i m

, ,
pati en c e.
Anoth er grunt an d half a dozen squ eals much loud er - -

,
th an b efore cam e down th e valley At this time w e

, .
w ere j ust opposit e the small val e which lay b etw ee n th e

Vall ey of the Wreck and S pouting C li ff .

I say Peterkin cried Jack in a hoarse whisper
, , , .

Well what is t
,
?
S tay a bit m an Th ese grunt ers ar e j ust up th er e

,
.
on th e hill sid e If y ou go an d stan d wi th R alph in the

-
.
lee of y on cli ff I ll cut round b ehin d and driv e th em

,

through t h e gorge s o that you ll hav e a b ett er chance ,
of picki n g out a good on e N ow min d you pitch into a .

,

fat young pig P et erkin added Jack as h e spran g i n to
, , ,
the bush es .

Wo n t I j ust ! said P eterkin licki n g his lips as w e
, , ,
took ou r station b esid e th e cli ff I feel quit e a t end er .
affection for youn g pigs in my h ear t Pe r haps it would .
be mor e correct to s a y in my s

Th ere th ey com e ! cri ed I as a t erri c y ell from
Jack s en t the whol e h erd s cr ea m m g down the hill N o w .
Peterkin b eing u n abl e to hold back cr ept a short way

, ,
up a v er y steep grassy moun d in order to get a b ett er ,
vi ew of th e hogs b efore th ey cam e up ; and j ust as h e

r aised his h ead above its summi t t wo littl e pigs w h ich , ,
had outrun th eir companion s rush ed ov er th e top with ,
th e utm ost pr ecipitation O n e of t h es e bru sh ed clos e .
past Peterkin s ear ; th e oth er u nable to ar r est i ts h ead

lon g ight w ent as P et er kin h ims elf aft erwar ds ex

,
press ed it bash in to his arms with a sudd en squ eal

, ,
which w a s caus ed mor e by th e forc e of th e blow tha n

t h e will of th e an imal and both of th em roll ed viol ently ,
down to th e foot of the mound N o sooner was thi s .
reached tha n the little pig recov ered its feet toss ed u p ,
i t s tail an d ed sh ri eki n g from th e spot

,
But I slu n g a .
large ston e after it which b ein g fortu n at ely w ell aime d , , ,
hit it b ehin d th e ear and fell ed it to th e earth , .

C apital R alph ! that s your sort ! cried P et erkin
, ,
My present shoes h ave c ertai n ly nothing t o do with

her replied Pet erkin
, n ev ertheless sh e will have a
good d eal to do with my future shoes The fact is .
,
wh en I s aw y ou oor that pig s o neatly Ralph it str u ck, ,
me that there was little u se i n killing another Th en I .
r em emb er ed all at once that I had long wanted some l eath er

or tough substance to mak e sho es of and this old grand
,
moth er s eemed s o tough t h at I j u st m a d e up my mind

to stick h er and y ou s ee I v e don e it !

That you c ertainly hav e Pet erkin said Ja ck as he

, , ,
was examining th e trans x ed animal .
We n ow considered how w e w ere to carry ou r game

home for although the distanc e was short the hog was
, , ,
very h eavy A t l ength w e hit on the plan of tying i ts

.
four feet together an d passi ng th e sp ear handle b et we en

,
th em Jack took one end on his should er I too k the

.
,
oth er on mine , and Pet erki n carried the s mall pig .
Thus we retu r ned i n triumph to our bower lad en as , ,
Pet erkin r emark ed with th e glorious spoils of a n oble

,
hunt A s he after wards spok e in similarly glowin g

.
t er ms in reference to th e supp er that followed th er e is ,
e very r eason to b eli ev e that w e r etired that night t o ou r
l eafy b eds i n a high state of satisfaction .

C HA PT ER XV .
B oat bu i ld i ng extr aor di n ar y P eter k i n t r i es h i s han d at cooker y a n d fa i ls

- ~
n i
most s i gn ally Th e b oa t sh ed Cu r i o u s con ver sat i o n wi th th e cat and .
other matter s .
OR many days aft er this Jack app li ed himself with

unremitting assiduity to th e constructi on of ou r
boat which at l en gth began to look s omewhat like on e
, .
B u t thos e only who h ave had th e thing to do can enter

tain a right id ea of the di fculty involved in s u ch an
u nd ertaking with no oth er impl ements than an axe a
, ,

b i t of hoop iron a sail n eedle and a brok en pen knife
-
, ,
-
.
But Jack did it H e was of that disposition which wi ll

.
not b e conqu ered Wh en h e b eli eved hims elf to b e act

.
i n g rightly h e ov ercam e all obstacl es

,
I have seen Jack .
wh en doubtful wh eth er what h e was about to do were

right or wrong as timid and vacillatin g as a littl e girl
,
and I honou r him for it !

A s this boat was a curiosity i n its way a few words
.
,
h ere relative to the mann er of its con struction may n ot

b e amiss .
I hav e already m ention ed the chestnu t tr ee with its

wond erful buttr esses or planks T h is tr ee th en fur .
, ,
n i s h ed us with th e chi ef part of ou r mat erial First of .
all Jack sought ou t a limb of a tree of such a form and

,
size as whil e it Should form th e ke el a b end at eith er

, ,
end should form th e s t em and stern posts S uch a piece .

,
ho wever w as n ot easy to obtain ; but at last h e procured

,
it by rooting up a smal l tre e which had a branch grow

,
ing at the prop er angl e about ten feet u p its st em with ,
t wo strong roots g r owing in such a form as enabl ed him

to mak e a at st ern ed boat This placed h e proc u red
-
.
,
th r ee bran ching roots of suitabl e size which h e tted to ,
th e k eel at equal distanc es thus forming three strong ,
ribs N ow th e squaring and shaping of th ese and the

.
,
c u tting of th e grooves in th e ke el was an easy enough ,
m att er as i t was all work for th e ax e in th e u s e of

, ,
which Jack was b eco m e wond erfully expert ; but it was

quit e a di ffer ent a ffair w h en h e came to nailing th e ribs
to the k eel for we had n o instrument capable of bori n g
,
a larg e hol e and no nails to fasten them w ith

, We .
were ind eed m u ch p erplex ed here ; but Jack at len gth

, ,
de vised an instrum ent that served very well H e took .
th e re m aind er of our hoop iron and b eat it into th e fo r m -
of a pip e or cy lind er about as thick as a man s n ger ,

.
This h e did by m eans of ou r ax e and the old rusty a x e

w e had fou n d at th e hous e of th e poor m an at th e oth er
side of t h e island This wh en made red hot bored .
, ,
slowly through th e timb ers ; an d th e b ett er to r etain th e ,
h eat Jack shut up on e en d of it and ll ed i t with sand

,
.
Tru e t h e w ork was v ery slowly don e but it matt er ed

, ,
n o t w e had littl e els e to do

,
Two hol es w ere bor ed i n .
each timb er about an inch and a half a art an d also

, p ,
dow n i n to th e k eel but not quit e through ,

Into th es e .
w ere plac ed stout p egs made of a tree call ed iro n wood ; -
an d wh en th ey w er e hammer ed wel l hom e th e ti mber s

, ,
w er e as r m ly x ed as if th ey h ad b een n ail ed with iron .
Th e gu n wal es which w er e v ery stout w ere x ed in a

, ,
similar mann er But b es id es th e wooden n ails th ey

.
, ,
w er e rmly lash ed to the st em an d st er n pos t s and rib s

b y m ean s of a sp eci es of co r d ag e wh i ch w e h ad contr iv ed
tree with which wh en boil ed i n our old 1 r on pot we

, , ,
paid the whol e of the in sid e of the boat an d whil e it , ,
was y et hot placed large pi eces of cocoa nut cloth on it

,
-
,
and th en gav e it anoth er coat abov e that Thus th e i n .
t er i or was cov er ed with a tough wat er tight mat erial ; -
while th e ext erior b eing uncov er ed and s o expos ed to th e

,
sw elling action of the wat er was w e hop ed lik ely to , , ,
k eep the boat quit e dry I may add that ou r hop es .
w ere not disappoi n t ed .
Whi le Jack was thus engaged P et erkin an dI som e ,
tim es assisted him ; but as ou r assistanc e was not much

required we more frequ ently went a huntin g on the ex
,
-
t ensiv e mud ats at th e entranc e of th e lon g val ley which

-
lay n earest to our bo wer H ere w e fou n d large ocks

.
of d u cks of various kinds som e of th em b earing s o much

,
res emblance to the wild ducks of ou r own country that 1

thin k th ey mus t have b een th e sam e O n th es e occasions .
w e took th e bow an d th e sling with both of which w e ,
w ere often successful though I must con fess that I was

,
the least so O ur supp ers w ere thus pl eas antly varied

.
,
and sometim es w e had such a profusion spread ou t b efore

us that w e frequ ently knew not with which of th e
dainti es to b egin .
I must also add that the poor old cat which w e

h ad brought hom e had always a lib eral share of our
good thin gs an d so w ell was it look ed aft er es peci
, ,
ally by P et erkin that it r ecov ered much of its form er

,
strength and s eem ed to improv e in sight as w ell as

,
hearing .
Th e larg e at ston e or rock of co r al w h ich stood j ust

, ,
in front of th e entran ce to ou r bow er was ou r tabl e ,

.
O n this rock w e had spr ead ou t th e few articl es we pos

s ess ed th e day w e w er e shipwreck ed ; and on th e sa me
rock durin g man y a day afterwards w e spread ou t th e
.
,
T HE CORAL I SLA N D . 1 35
bou n tiful supply with which we had been blessed on ou r

C oral Island S ometimes w e s at down at this tabl e to
.

a fea st consisting of h ot rolls as P eterkin call ed the
newly ba k ed bread fruit a roast pig roast duck boil ed
- -
, ,
and roasted yams cocoa nuts taro and sw eet potato es ;

,
-
, ,
which w e follow ed u p with a d ess er t of plums appl es , ,

and plantains th e last b eing a large siz ed and delight -
fu l fruit which gr ew on a large shrub or tree n ot mor e

,
th an tw elv e feet high with light green l eav es of enor ,

-
mous l en gth an d br eadth Thes e luxurious feasts wer e .
u s u ally wash ed do w n with cocoa nut l emonade -

.
O ccasionally Peterk in tried to d evise some n ew dish

a conglom erate as h e used to say ; but thes e gen er
,
ally turn ed out such atrocious compounds that he was

ultimately induced to giv e u p his att empts in extr e m e

disgust not forg etting how ev er to point out to Jack , ,
that his failur e w as a dir ect contradiction to th e prov erb

which h e Jack was constantly thrusting down his throat
, ,

nam ely tha ,

wh ere there s a will th ere s a way
.
For h e had a great will to becom e a c ook but could by ,
n o means n d a way t o accomplish that en d .
O n e day whil e P et erkin an d I w er e s eated b eside ou r

,
tabl e on which dinn er was s pread Jack cam e u p from ,
the b each and in ging down his ax e exclaim ed

, , , ,
Th ere lads the boat s nish ed at last ! s o we ve

, ,

n othi n g to do n ow but shap e two pair of oars and th en ,

w e may put to s ea as soon as w e lik e .
This pi ec e of n ews thr ew us i n to a stat e of great j oy ;

for although w e w er e awar e that th e boat had b een
gradually g etting n ear its compl etion it had tak en s o ,
long that we did n ot exp ect it to b e quite r eady for at

l east two or three w eeks But Jack had wrought hard .
and said nothing in ord er to surpris e us , .

My d ear fellow cri ed P eterkin you re a per
, ,

fe et trump But why did y ou n ot t ell u s it was s o

.
n early ready ? Won t w e have a jolly sail to morrow

-
.
eh
D on t talk so m uch P et erkin said Jack

and pray , , , ,
h and me a bit of that pig .

C er tainly my d ear cr i ed Peterkin s eizin g the axe
, , ,
.
What part will you hav e a leg or a wing or a pi ece

?
, ,
of the breast which -
A hind leg if you pl ease answer ed Jack ; and

, , ,
pray b e s o good as to include the tail

, .

With all my h eart said P eterkin exchangin g th e , ,
ax e for his hoop iron knife with which he cut off the
-
,
desired portion I m only too glad my d ear b oy to

, ,
see that your app etit e is s o wholesal e and th er e s n o

chanc e what ev er of its dwin dling down into r e tail agai n -

,

at l east in s o far as this pig is concern ed Ralph lad .
, ,
why don t y ou la u gh eh ? h e add ed turning sudd en ly

, ,
to me with a s ev er e look of inquiry .

L augh ! said I what at P et er kin ? Why should ,
I laugh
Both Jack and Peterkin answ ered this inquiry by
themselv es laughing so immod erat ely that I was i n duced
to b eli ev e I had miss ed noticing some good j ok e so I ,
b egged that it might b e explain ed to m e ; but as this

only produc ed r ep eat ed roars of laughter I smil ed an d ,
h elp ed myself to a n oth er slic e of plan tain .
Well but continu ed P et erkin I was talkin g of a

, , ,
sail to morr ow C an t we have on e Jack

-
.

N o r eplied Jack we can t hav e a sail but I hop e
, , ,
we shall hav e a row as I int end to work hard at th e ,
o a rs this afternoo n and if we can t get th em nish ed by

, ,

suns et w e ll light ou r candl e n uts and turn th em ou t of

,

-
,

han ds b efore w e turn i n to b ed .

Very good said P et erkin tossi n g a lump of pork to
, ,
four inch es from it his hands b eing th rust into his ,
b reech es pock ets .

C at said P et erkin turning his head a little on on e
, ,

sid e I lo e y ou
,
v l
Th ere was a paus e as if Peterkin await ed a r eply to ,
this a ffectio n ate d eclaration But th e cat said nothi n g . .
D o y ou h ear m e cri ed Pet erkin sharply I lov e .

you I do D o n t you love m e .

To this touching app eal th e cat said Mew fai n tly .
Ah ! that s right You re a j olly old r ascal Why

. .

did y ou n ot sp eak at onc e eh ? an d P eterkin put for ,
ward his mouth and kiss ed th e cat on th e nos e !

Y es co n tinu ed P eterki n aft er a paus e
,
I lov e y ou , ,
.
D yo n think I d s ay s o if I didn t you black villain ? I

lov e y ou b ecaus e I ve got to tak e car e of you an d to look

aft er y ou and t o thin k about y ou and to s ee that you

, ,
don t di e
Mew me a w said the cat

,
- -
.

Very good continu ed Peterkin ; quit e true I hav e
, ,
n o doubt ; but you v e no right to interrupt m e s i r
,
.
H old your tongu e t i ll I have don e speakin g Moreov er .

,
cat I lov e you b ecaus e y ou cam e to m e th e rst tim e

,
v r m and didn t s eem to b e afraid an d ap

y ou e e s a w e , ,

ear ed to b e fo n d of m e though y ou didn t know that
p ,
I wasn t going to kill y ou N ow th at was brav e that

.
,
was bold and v ery j olly old boy and I lov e y ou for it
, , ,
I do !
Again th ere was a pause of a few minut es during which ,
t h e cat looked placid and P et erkin dropp ed his ey es upon ,
its to es as if in cont emplation S udd enly h e look ed u p . .
Well eat what ar e y ou thinking about n ow ? won t

, ,

sp eak eh ? N ow tell m e don t y ou think i t s a m on
, ,
strous sham e that th es e two scoundr els Jack and R alph , ,

s hould k eep us waiting for our supp er s o long ?
T HE CO R AL I SLA N D . 1 39
Here th e
cat arose put up its back and stretch ed
,
its elf yawned slightly and licked th e point of P et erkin s

, ,

n os e !
Just so old boy ; you re a cl ev er fellow I r eally do

,

.

b eli ev e th e brute und erstands m e ! said P et erkin whil e ,
a broad grin overspread h i s fac e as he drew back an d

surv ey ed the cat .
A t this point Jack burst into a loud t of laught er .
Th e cat utter ed an angry fu ff and ed whil e P eterkin ,
sprang up and excl aim ed ,
Bad luck to y ou Jack you v e n early made th e hear t

,

jump ou t of my body you hav e , .
P erhaps I hav e repli ed Jack laughing as we en t ered

, , ,
the bow er b u t as I don t int en d to k eep y ou or th e cat

,

any longer from your supp er I hop e that you ll both for ,

giv e m e .
P et erkin en d eavoured to turn this affair off with a

laugh b u t I obs erved that h e blush ed v ery d eeply at the
,
tim e w e discov ered ours elves and h e di d n ot s eem to ,
r elish any allusion t o th e subject after wards ; s o w e r e

f fr ai n ed from r emarking on it ev er aft er though it tickl ed ,
us not a littl e at th e tim e .
Aft er supp er w e retired to r est and to dream of w on

der fu l adv entures in ou r li ttl e bo at and distant voyag es
upon the s ea .
CHA PT ER XVI .
Th e boat la u n ch ed We v i s i t th e co r al r eef Th e gr eat b ea ker that n ever go es r

do wn Co al i nsects Th e wa y i n wh i ch cor al i slan ds ar e made Th e boat s
r

r
sa il We tax ou i n gen u i ty to fo m sh hooks S ome of th e fish we sa w
r - .
A n d a mon st ou s wh a le Wo n d er fu l showe of li ttl e sh

r Water sp o u ts r -
.
T was a bright cl ear b eautiful morning wh en w e , ,
rst launch ed our littl e boat and r ow ed ou t upon

th e placid wat ers of the lagoon N ot a br ea th of wind .
rufed th e surfac e of th e de ep N ot a cloud spott ed the .
d eep blue s k y N ot a soun d that was discordant brok e

.
the stilln ess of th e morning although there w ere m any ,
sounds sw eet ti n y and m elodious that min gl ed in th e

, , , ,
u ni v ersal harmony of natur e Th e s u n was j ust risi n g .
fro m th e Paci c s ampl e bosom and tipping th e mountain

tops with a r ed glo w Th e s ea w as shin i n g lik e a sh eet.
of lass et h eavi n g with th e long deep sw ell that all th e

g y , ,
world rou n d in dicates th e life of ocean ; a n d th e bright

,
s ea w eeds an d th e brilliant corals sho n e in th e d epths of

-
that p ellucid water as w e row ed over it lik e rar e an d, ,
pr ecious gems O h ! it w as a sight tt ed to stir th e soul

.
of man to its profound est d epths an d if h e own ed a h eart , ,
at all to lift that h eart in adoration and gratitu de to the

,
great C reator of this magni cent and glorious univ erse .
A t rst in th e strength of ou r d elight w e row ed

, ,
hith er and thith er without aim or obj ect But after .
t h e efferv e sc enc e of ou r spirits was abat ed w e b egan t o ,
look about us an d to co n sid er what w e should do .

T HE CORAL I SLA

I vot e that w e row to th e r eef cried ,
A n d I vot e that w e visit th e islan ds w i

t
lagoon said I,
.
A n d I vot e w e do both cri ed Jack s o pull aw a

, y

boys .
A s I hav e already said , w e had mad e four oars but ,
our boat was so small that only two w er e n ecessary .
Th e extra pair w ere r es erv ed in cas e an y accid ent should

happ en to th e others It was th er efor e only n eedful
.
that two of us should r ow while th e third st eered by , ,
m eans of an oar and r eli ev ed th e rowers occasion ally

, .
First w e land ed on on e of t h e small islan ds and r an all

over it but saw nothing wo r thy of particular n otice Then
, .
we lan d ed on a larger islan d on which w ere growing a ,
few cocoa nut tr ees -

N ot having eat en anythi n g that
.
m orning we gath er ed a few of th e nuts and br eakfast ed

, .
Aft er this w e pulled straight ou t to s ea and lan ded on

the coral r eef .
This was ind eed a nov el and inter esti n g sight to u s .
we had now b een so long on shore that w e had almost

forgott en th e app earanc e of breakers for th er e w er e ,
non e withi n th e lagoon ; but now as w e stood b esi de ,
th e foam cr est e d billow of th e op en sea all th e enthusiasm

-
,
of th e sailor was awak en ed in our breasts and as w e ,
gaz ed on th e w id espread r uin of that sin gl e magni c en t

br eak er that burst in thund er at ou r feet w e forgot the ,
C oral Island b ehind us ; w e for got ou r bow er an d t h e

calm r epos e of th e sc ent ed woods ; we fo r got all th at

had pass ed during th e last few month s and rem embered ,
nothi n g but th e storms th e calms th e fresh breez es and

, ,
th e surgi n g bil lows of th e op en s ea .
This huge c easel ess break er to which I hav e s o often

, ,
allud ed was a much larg er an d more sublim e obj ect than

,
w e h ad at all imagin e d it to b e It ros e many yar ds .

E CORAL I SLAND .
of th e s ea and could b e s een app r oaching

v el ,
i s tan c e from th e reef S lowly and m aj estically .
e on acquiring great er volum e and v elocity as it

,
n eed until it assum ed th e form of a cl ear wat ery

,
arch which sparkl ed in th e bright su n

,
O n it cam e .

with r esistl ess and sol emn maj esty th e upp er edge
lipp ed gen tly ov er an d it fell with a r ear that s eem ed
,
as though th e h eart of O c ean w er e brok en i n th e crash

of tumultuous wat er whil e th e foam clad coral reef
,
-
app eared to trembl e ben eath th e mighty shock !

We gaz ed long an d won d er i n gly at this g r eat sight ,
and it was wit h di f culty w e could t ear ourselv es away

from it As I have o n ce b efore m en tion ed this wave
.
,
brok e i n many plac es over th e r eef and scattered some

of i ts spray into th e lagoon but in most plac es th e r eef ,
was sufci ently broad and el evat ed to receive and check

its entire force In many places th e coral rocks w er e
.

co v er ed with v egetation th e b eginn i n g as it app eared ,
to us of f u tur e islan ds
, Thus on this r eef w e cam e to
.
, ,
p ercei ve how most of the small islan ds of thos e s eas are

form ed O n on e part we saw th e spray of th e break er
.
washin g ov er th e rocks and millions of little activ e , , ,
busy cr eatures con tin uing th e work of building up this

li ving rampart A t an other plac e which was j ust a
.
,
littl e too high for the waves to wash ov er it the coral ,
i ns ects w ere all d ead ; for w e found that they n ev er did

th eir work abov e water Th ey had faithfully compl et ed .
the mighty work which th eir C reator had giv en th em to

do and th ey w ere n ow all d ead Again in oth er spots
, .
,
the ceasel ess lashin g of th e s ea had brok en th e dead

coral in pi ec es and cast it up in th e form of sand
, .
Here s ea birds had alight ed littl e piec es of s ea w eed and

-
,
-
stray bits of wood had be en wash ed up s eeds of plants ,
had been carri ed by th e win d and a few lov ely blades ,

of bright green had already sprung up which wh er , ,
th ey di ed would increas e th e size and fertility of th ese

,
em eralds of O c ean At oth er places th ese isl ets had

.
grown apace and w ere Shad ed by on e or two cocoa n u t

,
-
trees which grew lit erally i n the sand and were con
, , , ,
stan tly wash ed by the ocean spray yet as I hav e b efor e ,
remark ed th eir fruit was most r efreshing and sw eet to

,
ou r tast e .
Again at this tim e Jack and I pond ered the formation

of th e large coral islands We could n ow u nd erstand .
h ow th e low on es were form ed ; but th e larger isl an ds

cost us much con sideration y et we could arrive at no ,
certain conclusion on the subj ect .
Havin g satis ed ou r curiosity and enj oyed ours elves

during the whol e day in ou r littl e boat we return ed , , ,
somewhat wearied and withal rath er hungry to ou r

, , , ,
bower .
N ow said Jack
,
as ou r boat answ ers s o w ell we
, ,

will get a m ast and sail made immediat ely .

So w e will cri ed Pet erkin as w e all assist ed to
, ,
drag th e bo a t above high wat er mark ;

we ll light ou r -
candle an d s et about it this very night H urrah my .

,
boys pull away !

,
A s w e dragged ou r boat w e observed that she grated ,
h eavily on her k eel and as the san ds were in this ,
place mingl ed with brok en coral rocks we saw portions ,
of the wood being scraped off
Hallo ! cri ed Jack on se eing this ; that won t ,

do O ur k eel will be worn off in n o time at this rate .

So it will said I pond erin g deeply as t o h ow this
, ,
m ight be prevented But I am n ot of a m echanical

.
turn naturally s o I could conceive no remedy sav e that

,
of p u tti n g a plate of iron on th e k eel ; but as we had n o
iron I knew n ot What was t o be don e

,
It seems to .
me Jack I add ed that it is impossibl e to prev ent th e

!
, , ,
d
k eel b em g worn off thus .
Impossible cri ed Pet er kin My d ear Ralph you .

,

ar e mistak en ; th ere is nothing s o easy
H ow I inquir ed in som e surpris e , .
Why by n ot usi n g th e boat at all I r epli ed

,
Peterkin .
H old you r impu d en t tongu e P et erkin said Jack , , ,
as h e should ered th e ear s ; com e alon g with m e an d I ll
giv e you work to do In th e rst place you will go .

,
a n d coll ect
cocoa n u t br e an d s et to wor k to mak e ,
sewing twine with i t

Pl eas e captain int errupted P et erkin I ve got lots
, , ,
of it mad e already mor e than enough as a littl e fri en d ,
of min e used t o b e in th e habit of saying every day aft er
dinner .

Very w ell contin ued Jack ,
th en you ll h elp Ralph
to coll ect cocoa nut cloth and cut it i n to shap e after
-
, ,
which w e ll mak e a sail of it I ll s ee to g etting th e

.

mast and th e g earin g so l et s to work
.
And to work w e w en t right busily so that i n thr ee ,
days from that tim e w e had s et up a mast and sail with ,
t h e n ec essary riggin g i n ou r littl e boat Th e sail was

,
.
n ot indeed v ery handsom e t o look at as it was form ed

, , ,
of a n umber of oblong patch es of cloth ; but w e had ;
s ew ed it w ell by m eans of our sail n eedl e so that it was -

,
strong which w as th e chi ef point Jack had also ov er

,
.
com e the di fculty about th e k eel by pinning to it a ,
fa ls e ke el This was. a pi ec e of tough wood of t h e ,
same length and width as th e real ke el and about ve ,
inch es deep H e m ad e it of this depth b ecause th e h eat

.
w ould b e th ereby r end ered not on ly much more safe ,
but more abl e to b eat against th e win d ; which in a s ea ,
W h er e the trad e winds blow s o long and so st eadily in

-
T HE CORAL I SL A N S.
on e direction was a matt er of great imp\

\
,
pi ece of wood was p egged v ery rmly to tr

w e n ow launch ed ou r boat with th e s ati s faq
k nowing that wh en th e fals e k eel s h ould be scram
w e could easily put on anoth er ; wh er eas should tn , .
r eal k eel have b een scrap ed away w e c ould n ot have ,
ren ew ed it without takin g ou r boat to pi ec es which ,
Pet erkin said mad e his marrow quak e to think u pon .
The m ast and sail an swered exc ell ently an d we n ow ,
sailed about in th e lagoon with great d elight and ex amined ,
with mu ch interest th e app earan ce of ou r island from a

distance Also we gazed into the d epths of the water
.
, ,
an d watched for hours the gambols of the curious an d
bright coloured sh among th e corals and s ea weed

- -
.
Peterkin also made a sh i n g line and Jack constructed

-
,
a numb er of hooks som e of which w ere very goo d others

, ,
r emarkably bad S om e of these hook s were mad e of

.
iron wood which did pretty w ell the w ood being ex

-
, ,
t r emely hard and Jack made th em v ery thick and larg e

, .
Fish th ere ar e not partic u lar S om e of the cr ooked

.
bon es in sh heads also an swer ed for this purpos e pretty

-
w ell B u t that which form ed ou r best and m ost s ervice

.
abl e hook was th e brass n ger ring belonging to Jack -

.
It gav e him not a little troubl e to m an ufacture it .
First h e cut it with th e axe then twist ed it into th e

~
,
form of a hook The barb took him s ev eral hours to

.
cut H e did it by m ean s of constan t sawin g with the

.
broken pen knife A s for the point an hour s r ub bing

-
.
,

on a pi ec e of sandston e mad e an excell ent on e .
It would b e a matt er of much time and labour to

describ e th e app earanc e of the multitud es of sh that
w ere day after day drawn into ou r b eat by m eans of
the brass hook .

Peterkin always cau ght th em for we
observed that he derived m uch pl easure from shing
10
E CORAL I SLAND .
I found ampl e amus em ent in looking on ,
own at t h e coral grov es and in baiti n g ,
A mong th e sh that w e s aw but did not ,
porpoises and sword sh whal es an d sharks -

, .
es cam e frequ ently into ou r lagoon in shoals ,
and amus ed us not a littl e by th eir bold l eaps i n to the

air and th eir playful gambols in th e s ea Th e sword .
s h w ere wond erful cr eatures ; som e of th em appar ently

t en feet i n l en gth with an ivory spear six or eight f eet
,
long proj ecti n g from th eir nos es We oft en saw th em .
dar ting aft er oth er sh an d n o doubt th ey som etim es

,
kill ed th em with their ivory Swords Jack rem embered .
having h eard once of a sword sh attacking a ship -
which s eem ed strang e indeed ; but as they are oft en in ,
th e habit of attacking whales perhaps it m istook th e ,
ship for on e This sword sh ran against the vessel

.
-
with such forc e that it drove its sword quite through

the thick planks and wh en the ship arriv ed in h arbour
, ,
long afterwards th e sword was fo u nd still sticki n g in it 1

,
S harks did not oft en app ear but w e took care nev er ,
agai n to bath e i n d eep wat er without l eavin g on e of ou r

nu m ber i n th e boat to giv e us warning if h e Should s ee ,
a shark approachi n g A s for th e whal es they n ev er

.
,
cam e into ou r lagoon but w e frequ ently s aw them

,
spouting i n th e d eep wat er b eyon d th e reef I shall .
n ever forg et my surpris e th e rst day I saw on e of th ese

hug e monst ers clos e to m e We had b een ramblin g
.
about on th e r eef during th e morning and were about ,
to r e em bar k in ou r littl e boat to return hom e wh en a

-
, ,
loud blowing sound caused us to wheel rapidly rou n d
We w ere j ust i n tim e to s ee a show er of spray falling and ,
t h e u k es or tail of som e monstrous sh disapp ear in the

s ea a fe w hundre d yards off We wait ed som e time to s ee
.
if he would rise again As we stood th e s ea seemed t o

.
,
sh might p erhaps hav e b een carri ed up i n a wat er ~
spout and so s ent down again i n a show er of rain

, .
But w e could not b e c ertain as to t h is point yet we ,
thought it lik ely .
D u r ing th es e d elightful shi n g and boati n g excursion s

w e caugh t a good man y eels which w e found to b e very
,
good t o eat We also found turtl es among th e coral

.
r ocks an d mad e exc ell en t soup i n our iro n k ettl e

, Mor e
.
o v er w e discov er e d many shrimps a n d prawns s o that

, ,
w e had no lack of vari ety in our food ; and i n d eed w e

, ,
n ev er pass ed a w eek without makin g som e n ew an d
int er estin g discovery of som e sor t or oth er either on the

,
lan d or i n th e s ea .
C HAPT ER XVII .
A m st
on er wa ve a nd con seq u en ces T h e boat lost
i ts -
a nd fo u nd Peter ki n s

t er r i ble acc i den t Supp li es of food for a voyage i n th e boat We vi si t

u I ,

Peng n slan d an d ar e amazed b eyon d mea su r e A ccou n t of th e pengu i ns
i .
NE day lon g after ou r littl e boat was nish ed

,
n ot ,
we were sittin g on th e rocks at S poutin g C li ff ,
and talking of an excursion which w e intended to m ak e

to P enguin Island th e n ext day .

Y ou s ee said P et erkin
, it might be all very well ,

for a stupid fellow lik e m e to r emain h ere and leav e

t h e penguins alone but it would b e q u it e inconsist ent
,
with your characters as philosoph ers t o remain an y

longer in ign oran c e of th e habits an d customs of th es e
birds s o th e soon er we go th e better .

Very true said I ; there i s nothing I des ire s o
,
much as t o hav e a closer inspec tion of them .

And I think s aid Jack that you had better
, ,
remai n at hom e Peterkin to take car e of th e cat ; for

, ,

I m sure the hogs will b e at it i n your abs enc e ou t of ,
reven ge for y our kil l in g th eir great grandmoth er so -

r eckl essly .
S tay at hom e ! cri ed P et erkin My d ear fellow .

,
you would certainly lose y our way or get ups et if I , ,

w ere n ot th ere to tak e car e of you .

Ah tru e said Jack grav ely ; that did n ot occur
, ,
t o m e ; n o doubt y ou must go O ur boat does r equire .

1 50 T HE CO R AL I SLA N D .
a good deal of ballast ; and all that y ou say Peterkin , ,
carri es s o much weight with it that we won t need ,

stones if you go .
N ow W hile my companions wer e talking a notabl e

, ,
ev ent occurred which as it is not generally known I

, , ,
shall be particular in r ecording here .
While we wer e talking as I hav e said w e noticed , ,
a dark line like a low cloud or fog bank on the s ea

,
-
,
ward horizon Th e day was a n e on e though cloudy

.
, ,
and a gentle breez e was blo wing but the s ea was n ot ,
rougher or the breaker on the reef high er than usual .
A t rst we thought that this look ed like a thund er

cloud and as we h a d had a good deal of broken
,
weather of late accompanie d by occasional peals of

,
thunder w e suppos ed that a storm mu st b e approach

,
ing. G radually ho wever this lin e seem ed to draw

, ,
n earer without spreading up over the sk y as woul d ,
certainly have been the cas e if it had be en a storm

cloud S till near er it cam e and soon we saw that it
.
,
was moving s wiftly towards the island ; but there was

n o sound till it reached the islands ou t at sea A s it .
passed th ese islands we obs erv ed with n o littl e an xi ety

, , ,
that a cloud of white foam encircl ed th em an d b u rst in ,
spray into the air : it was accompan i ed by a loud roar .
This led us to conj ecture that th e approaching obj ect

was an enormous wave of the sea ; but we had no id ea
h ow larg e it was till it cam e n ear t o ours elv es Wh en .
it approach ed th e outer reef how ev er we w ere aw e , ,
struck with its unusual magnitud e ; and we sprang to

ou r feet and clamb ered hastily u p to the high est point
,
of th e precipice under an i n den abl e feeling of fear

,
.
I hav e said b efor e that the r eef O pposite S pouting

C li ff was v ery n ear t o th e shore whil e just i n front of , ,
th e bow er it was at a consid er abl e distan c e ou t to s ea

,
.
1 52 T HE CO R AL I SLAND .
almost blocked u p by the torn u p bushes and tangled -
heaps of s ea weed Ha ving satis ed ourselv es as to the

-
.
bo wer we hurried to th e spot wher e th e boat had been

,
left ; but n o boat was th er e The spot on which it had .
stood was v a cant and n o sign of it could we s ee on

,
looking around us .
It may have been wash ed up into the woods said ,
Ja ck hu r rying up th e beach as h e spoke S till no boat

, .
was to b e s ee n and we w er e about to giv e ours elves

,
o ver to despai r when P eterkin called to Jack and

,
s aid ,
Jack my friend y ou w ere once s o exceedin gly

, ,
s agacious and wise as to mak e me acquainted with t h e
fact that cocoa nuts grow upon trees ; will y ou n ow be

s o good as to inform m e what sort of fruit that is
growing on the top of yond er bush ? for I con fess to

being ign orant or at l east doubtful on the point
, , ,
.
We look ed tow ards th e bush indicated and there to , ,
ou r s urpris e beheld ou r littl e boat snugly nes tled among

,
the l eaves We were very much ov erj oy ed at this for

.
,
we would have s uffered any los s rath er than th e loss of

ou r boat We found that th e wave had actually borne
.
t h e boat on its cr est from th e b each into th e woods and ,
there launched it into th e heart of this bush ; which

was extrem ely fortu nat e for b ad it been toss ed against ,
a rock o r a tr ee it would hav e b een d ash ed to pi eces

, ,
whereas it had n ot receive d th e small est i njury It .
was n o easy matter how ev er to get it ou t of th e bush , ,
and down to the sea agai n This cost u s two days of .
hard labour to accomplish .
We had also much ado to clear away th e rubbish

from b efore the bow er and sp ent n ear ly a w eek in ,
constan t labour er e we got th e neighbourhood to look

as c l ean and orderly as b efore for the uprooted bush es
and sea weed that lay on the b each formed a m ore

-
dreadfully confused looking mass than on e wh o had n ot

-
:
s e en th e place aft er the inundation coul d conc eive .
B efor e l eavi n g th e subj ect I may me n tion for th e ,
sak e of thos e w h o inter est th em s elv es in th e cu rious

natural ph enom ena of ou r world that this gigantic wav e
,
occurs r egularly on som e of t h e islands of the Paci c

once and sometim es tw ic e in th e y ear I h eard this .
stated by th e mission ari es durin g my car eer in thos e

s eas
. Th ey could not t ell m e wh eth er it visited all of
the islands but I was c ertainly assur ed th at it occu r r ed
,
p eriodically in some of th em .
A fter we had got our hom e put to rights and cl ear ed

of th e debr i s of th e inundation we again turn ed ou r
,
thoughts t o paying th e p enguins a visit The boat was .
th er efore overhaul ed and a few repairs don e Then w e .
prepared a supply of provisions for we intended to b e

,
absent at l east a night or two p erhaps longer ,

This .
took u s som e tim e to do for while Jack w as busy with

,
the boat P eterkin was s ent into the woods to spear a

,
h og or two and had to search lon g so m etimes er e h e

, , ,
found th em P et erkin was usually s ent on this erran d

.
wh en w e wanted a pork chop (which was n ot s eldom ! ,
b ecause h e w as s o ac tiv e and could r u n s o wonderfully

fast that h e found n o di i cu lty in overtaking the hogs ;
b u t b ei n g dreadfully r eckl ess h e almost invariably
,
tumbled over stumps an d S ton es in th e cou r s e of his

wild chas e and s eldo m r eturn ed hom e without havi n g
,
knock e d th e skin off his shin s O n c e in d eed a more

.
, ,
s erious accid ent happ en e d t o him H e had b een ou t

.
all morn ing alone an d did n ot r eturn at th e usual tim e

,
to dinn er . We wond ered at this for P et erkin was ,
always v ery p u nctu al at th e din n er hour A s su pper .
tim e drew near w e began t o be anxious about him and ,

at length salli ed for th to s earch th e woods F or a long .
tim e we sought in vain but a little b efore dark we ,
cam e u pon th e tracks of th e hogs which we follow ed ,
up until we came to th e brow of a rath er steep bank or

pr ecipice L ooking over this we beheld P eterkin ly ing
.
in a state of ins ensibility at the foot with his che ek ,
resting on the snout of a little pig which was pinned to ,
t h e ear th by t h e spe a r We were dreadfully alarm ed

.
,
but hastened to bathe his forehead with water an d h a d ,
s e en the satisfaction of seeing him revive After we .
had carried h i m ho me h e r elated to u s h ow the th ing

had happened .
You must know s aid h e I walk ed abou t all the

, ,

forenoon till I was as tired as an old donk ey without

, ,
se eing a single grunter n ot s o m uch as a track of on e ;

,
but as I was d et er mined n ot to ret urn empty h anded I -

,
resolved to go without my dinner and ,
Wh a t ! exclai med Jack did you r ea lly resolve to ,

do that
N ow Jack hold your tongue
, ,
return ed Peterkin ,
.
I say that I resolved to forego my dinner and to push

to th e h ead of the s mall vall ey where I felt pretty s u re ,
of discov ering th e hogs I soon found that I was on th e

.
right scent for I had scarcely walked half a mil e in t h e

,
- -
direction of th e small plum tree we found th ere th e oth er

H o h o said I

day w h en a s qu eak fell on my ear
,
.
, , ,
th ere you go my boys ,

and I hurr i ed up the gl en .
I soon started them and singling ou t a fat pig ran til t

, ,
at h i m In a few seconds I was u p with him an d stuck

.
,
my spear right through his dumpy body Just as I did .
s o I s aw that we were on th e edge of a precipice wh eth er

, ,
high or low I knew n ot ; but I had be en run ning at such

a pace th a t I could n ot stop s o the pig and I gav e a ,
ho wl in conc ert and went plunging over togeth er I .

It was a very calm sunny morning wh en w e launch ed

forth and rowed over the lagoon towards the o u tlet in
th e r eef and pass ed b etw een t h e t wo gr een isl ets that
,
guard ed th e entranc e We exp eri enced som e di fculty and

.
n o little d ang er in passing th e surf of th e br eak er an d ,
shipp ed a good deal of wat er in th e att empt ; but onc e ,
past the billo w we found o u rs elves oating placidly on

,
th e long oily sw ell that rose and fell slowly as it roll ed

ov er th e wid e ocean .
Penguin Island lay on the oth er side of o ur own island ,
at about a mil e b eyon d the outer re ef and w e calculated ,
that it must b e at l east tw en ty mil es distant by th e way

we should hav e to go We might inde ed hav e s h orten ed
.
, ,
th e way by coasting round ou r islan d insid e of th e lagoon ,
and going out at the passage in th e r eef n early opposit e

to P enguin Island ; but w e pr eferred to go by th e op en
s ea r s t b ecaus e it was more adv enturous and s econdly
, , , ,
because we should hav e th e pl easure of again feeling the

motion of the d eep which we all loved v ery much n ot
, ,
being liabl e to s ea sickn ess -

.
I wish w e had a breez e said Jack , .

S o do I cri ed P et erkin resting on his oar and
, ,
wiping his h eated brow ; pulling is hard work O h .
dear if we co u ld only catch a hundred or two of th es e

,
gulls ti e th em to th e boat with long strings and make

,

th em y as w e want t h em h ow capital it would b e ! ,
O r bore a hol e through a shark s tail and reev e a

rop e through it eh ? r emark ed Jack ,
B u t I say it .
, ,
s eems that my wish i s going to be grant ed for h ere ,
comes a b r eeze S hip y o u r ear P et er kin Up with th e

.
,
.
mast Ralph ; I ll s ee to th e sail Mind your h el m ; loo k

,

.
out for squalls !

This last sp eech w as caus ed by th e sudd en app earance
of a da r k bl u e line on t h e horizon which in an inc r edibly
-
, ,
T HE CO R AL I SLAND . 1 57
short sp ace of ti m e swept down on u s l ashing up th e

, ,
s ea in whit e foam as it went We presented the stern .
of the boat t o its rst violence and in a few s econ ds it , , ,
mod erat ed into a st eady bre ez e to which we spread ou r ,
sail and ew merrily over th e waves A lthough th e .
bre eze died away soon afterwards it had be en so sti ff ,
while it last ed that we w ere carri ed over th e great er

part of ou r way before it fell calm again ; s o that when ,
th e appin g of the sail against the mast told u s that it

was tim e to resu me the ear s we were n ot much more ,
than a mil e from P enguin Island .

Ther e go the soldi ers ! cr ied P eter kin as we came ,
in sight of it ; h ow spru ce their white trous ers look

this morning ! I wonder if th ey will r eceive us kindly .

D y ou think they are hospitabl e Jack ,
D on t talk Pet erkin but pull away and y ou shal l

, , ,

see shortly .
A s we dr ew n e a r t o the island we were m uch am u s ed

by the m anoeuvres and appearance of th ese strange bird s .
Th ey se em ed to be of different speci es for some had ,
crests on th eir heads w h il e oth ers had non e and whil e ,
some were about the size of a goose oth ers appeared

nearly as l arge as a swan We also s aw a huge albatros s

.
soaring abov e the h eads of the p engu ins It was .
followed and surround ed by num erous ocks of s ea

gulls H av ing approached to within a few y ards of
.
th e island which was a low r ock with n o oth er vegeta

, ,
tion on it than a few bush es we lay on ou r oars and ,
gaz ed at th e birds with s u rprise an d pl easure they ,
retu r ning ou r gaze with int erest We now s aw that .
th eir soldier like appearance w as owing to th e stiff erect

-
,
man n er in which th ey sat on their short l egs bolt

u pright as Peterkin express ed it
, They b ad black .
h eads long sharp b eaks whit e breasts and bluish back s

, , ,
Th eir wings we r e s o short that th ey look ed more lik e

t h e n s of a s h and indeed w e s een s aw that th ey
, , ,
used th em for th e purpose of swimming und er wat er .
There w ere no quills on these wings but a sort of scaly ,
feath ers ; which also thickly cov ered th eir bodi es Th eir .
l egs w ere short and plac ed so far back that the birds
, ,
whil e on land w ere obliged to stand quite upright in

,
order to k eep th eir balance ; but in the wat er they

oat ed lik e other wat er fo wl A t rst we w ere s o
-
.
stunned with th e clamour which th ey and oth er sea

birds k ept u p around us that we kn ew n ot which way
,

to look for th ey cov ered th e rocks in thousands ; but ,
as w e continu ed to gaze w e obs erv ed s ev eral quadrup eds

,
( as w e thought ! walking in th e midst of t h e p enguins .

Pull in a bit cri ed Pet erkin and l et s s ee what
, ,
thes e are They m ust be fond of noisy company to

.
,
consort with such cr eatures .
To ou r surpris e w e found that th es e w er e n o oth er

than penguins which had gon e down on all fours and ,
were crawling among th e bush es on th eir feet and wings ,
ust lik quadrup ds S udd en ly on e big old bird that

j e e .
,
had b een sittin g on a point v ery n ear to u s gazing i n ,
mute astonishm ent b ecam e alarm ed an d sc u ttlin g dow n

, ,
th e rocks plump ed or fell rath er than ran i n to th e s ea

, , ,
.
I t div ed i n a mom en t an d a few s eco n ds aft erwards

, , ,
came ou t of the wat er far ah ead with such a spring , ,
an d such a div e back into th e s ea again that w e could ,
scarcely b eli eve it was not a s h that had l eap ed i n

sPor t .
That b eats ev eryth ing said P eterkin r ubbing his , ,
nose and screwing up his fac e with an expression of

,
exasp erat ed amazem en t I v e h eard of a thing b eing

.
n eith er sh esh n or fowl but I n ev er did exp ect to

, , ,

live to s ee a brut e that was all three togeth er at onc e
nal deception I ever saw That r ascally old lady p enguin

has j ust pitch ed h er young on e into the sea and th ere s ,

another about to follow h er exampl e .
This ind eed se em ed to b e the cas e for on th e top of a

,
s teep r ock close to the edge of the s ea we observed an
ol d penguin end eavouring to entic e h er young on e into
the wat er ; but th e youn g on e seem ed v ery unwilling to

go and notwithstan ding th e enticem ents of its moth er
, , ,
mov ed v ery slowly towards her A t last sh e w ent .
gently b ehind th e yo ung bird and pushed it a littl e

towards th e water but with great t enderness as m u ch as
, ,
D on t b e afraid darling ; I won t hu r t y ou my

t o say, , ,
et but n o soon er did sh e et it to the edg e of th e rock

p g ,
w here it stood looking p ensively down at th e s ea than ,
s h e gave it a sudd en and viol ent p u sh sending it h eadlon

, g
down th e slope into the wat er wh ere its moth er l eft it to
,
scrambl e ashore as it best could We obs er ved many.
of them employed in doing this and we cam e t o the con

,
c l u s i on that this is the way in which old p engu ins te ach
their children to swim .
S carcely had w e nish ed making ou r r emarks on this ,
when we w ere startled by about a doz en of th e old birds

hopping in th e most cl u msy and ludicrous man n er towards
the s ea The b each h ere was a slopi n g rock and wh en
.
,
th ey cam e to it som e of th em succeeded i n hopping down

in safety but oth ers lost their balance and roll ed an d
, ,
scra mbl ed down th e slop e in th e most h elpl ess man n er .
The instan t th ey reach ed th e wat er how ever th ey s eem ed

, ,
t o be in their proper elem ent . Th ey dived an d bo u nd ed

ou t of it and into it agai n with th e utmo s t agility ; and
s o diving and bou n ding and sputt ering

,
for they could

not y they w en t rapidly ou t to s ea .
O n s eei n g this P et erkin tur ned with a gr ave face to

us and said It s my opi nion tha t thes e bir ds ar e all
,
s tark stari n g mad an d that this is an enchant ed island

, ,
.
1 th er efor e propos e that w e should eith er put about ship

and y in t error from th e spot or land valorously on th e ,

is land and s ell o u r lives as d early as we can
,
.

I v ot e for landing ; s o pull i n lads said Jack giving , , ,
a s trok e with h i s oar that mad e th e boat spin In a few .
s econd s w e ran th e boat into a littl e creek w h ere we ,
made h er fast to a proj ecting pi ec e of coral and run nin g ,
up th e b each ent ered th e ranks of th e p en guins arm ed

,
with ou r cudgels and ou r spear We w ere gr eatly sur .
pris ed to n d that in stead of attacking us or showing

,
s igns of f ear at ou r app r oach thes e curious bi r ds did n ot

,
move from th eir plac es until we laid hands on th em an d ,
m erely tu r n ed th eir ey es on us in sol emn stupid wond er ,
as w e pass ed Th ere was on e old penguin howev er that

.
'
, ,
began to walk slowly to wards th e s ea and P eterk in took ,
it into his h ead that h e would try to int errupt its pr o

gress s o he ran betw een it and th e sea and brandished
,
his cudgel in its fac e B u t this prov ed to b e a resolut e

.
old bird It would not r etreat ; nay more it would n ot

.
, ,
c ease to advanc e but battl ed with P eterkin bravely and

,
drove him before it until it r each ed th e s ea

.
Had .
P et erkin us ed his club h e could easily h av e fell ed it n o ,
doubt ; but as h e had n o wish to do s o cru el an act

merely ou t of sport h e let th e bird escap e
, .
lV e sp en t fully thre e hours on this isla n d in watching

th e h abits of th es e curious bi r ds and wh en w e n ally ,
l eft th em w e all three con clud ed after much consulta

, ,
tion that th ey w ere th e most won d erful creatures w e

,
had e ver s een ; and furth er w e thought it probabl e that

,
th ey w ere th e most wonderful cr eatur es m t h e world !

CHAPT ER XVII I .
An awfu l sto m a n d i ts co n seq u en ces N a o w escap eA ock pr oves a su e

r rr r r
fo n
u dat i o n
A ea
f f r u l n i g h t a n d a b i ght
r m o r n i n g
Deli ver an ce fr om
da ng er .
T was ev ening b efore we left the islan d of th e pen

u ins A s w had mad u r minds to encamp
g e
. e u
p o
for the night on a small islan d wh er eon gr ew a few ,
cocoa nut trees which was about t wo miles off w e lay

-
, ,
to ou r oars with some energy But a danger was i n .
s tore for us which w e had not a n ticipat ed Th e w ind .

,
which had carri ed us so quickly to P enguin Islan d ,
fresh en ed as evening drew o n to a sti ff breez e an d ,
b efore we had ma de half th e distance to th e small

islan d it b ecam e a regular gal e Although it was n ot
,
.
so directly agai n st us as t o prev en t our rowi n g i n th e

course w e wish ed to go y et it ch eck ed us v er y much :
,
an d although th e forc e of t h e s ea was som ewhat b r ok en
by th e islan d th e wav es soon b egan to rise an d to r oll

, ,
th eir br ok en cr ests against ou r small craft so that s h e ,
b egan to tak e i n wat er an d w e h a d much ado to k eep

,
o u rs elves aoat At last th e wind and s ea togeth er b e

.
c am e so viol ent t h at w e fou n d it impossibl e to mak e t h e

island s o Jack sudd enly put th e h ead of th e boat rou n d
,
and ord ered P eterkin an d m e to hoist a corner of t h e

s ail i n t en ding to run back to P en guin Island
,
.
We shall at l east h ave th e sh elter of th e bush es h e ,

we saw nothing in th e direction w hith er th e wind was

blowing us save th e r aging billows of th e s ea ; an d i n ,
d eed w e trem bl ed as w e gaz ed ar oun d u s for w e w er e

, ,
n ow beyo n d th e sh elter of th e islands and it s eemed as ,
though any of th e huge billows which curl ed ov er in ,
mass es of foam might swallow us up in a mom en t Th e

, .
wate r also b egan to wash i n over ou r sides an d I had

, , ,
to k eep constantly bailing for Jack could not quit th e ,
h el m nor P eterkin th e sail for an in stant without en

dangering ou r liv es In t h e midst of this distress Jack
.
uttered an exclamation of hop e an d poin ted towards a ,
low islan d or rock which lay directly ah ead It h ad .
b een hith erto unobs erved owing to the dark clouds that ,
obscured the sky and th e blinding spray that seemed to

ll th e whol e atmosph ere .
A s w e n ear ed thi s r ock w e observ ed that it was quite

destitut e of trees and v erdure and s o low that th e s ea ,
brok e complet ely ov er it I n fact it was nothin g more .
than th e summit of on e of th e coral formations which ,
ros e o n ly a few feet abov e th e l ev el of th e water an d ,
was i n stormy w ea th er all but invisibl e O ver this

, ,
.
islan d th e wav es w ere breaki n g in th e utmost fury and ,
ou r h earts san k within us as w e saw that th ere w a s n ot
a spot wh ere w e could th r ust our littl e boat without its

b ein g dash ed to pi eces .
S ho w a littl e bit more sail cri ed Jack as w e sw ept , ,
pas t th e w eather side of th e rock with fearful sp eed .

A y ay an sw ered P et erkin hoisting about a foot
, , ,
m ore of our sail .
L ittl e though th e addition was it caus ed th e boat to ,
li e over an d creak s o loudly as w e cl eft th e foaming ,
waves that I exp ected to b e ups et e v ery in stan t ; and I

,
bla m ed Jack in my h ea r t for his r ashn ess But I did .
h i m inj ustic e for although durin g two s econds th e water

,
0
rush ed i h board in a torr ent h e succee ded in steering

-
,
us sharply round to the le eward sid e of th e r ock wh ere ,
t h e wat er w as comp ar a tively c alm and the force of th e

breez e brok en .

O ut your oar s n ow lads ! that s well done ,
Give .

way ! We obeyed instantly The oars s plashed into .
t h e wav es together O ne good h earty p ull and w e w er e

.
,
oating in a comp aratively calm cr eek that was so narrow

as to b e barely able to admit ou r boat Here w e w ere .
in p erfect safety and as we l eap ed on shore an d fasten ed

,
ou r cabl e to the rocks I th ank ed God in m heart f

,y or
ou r deliv erance from s o gr eat danger But althou gh I .
have s aid we were n ow in safety I suspect that few of ,
my read ers would hav e envi ed ou r position It i s true .
we had no lack of food but w e were drenched to th e ,
skin ; th e s ea was foami n g round u s and the spray yin g

over ou r h eads s o that we were com plete ly env elop ed as
, ,
it wer e in wat er ; the spot on which we had landed was

,
n ot mor e than twelve yards in diameter and fro m this ,
spot w e could not mov e without th e risk of bein g swept

away by the storm At th e upp er en d of the cre ek was
.
a small hollow or cave in the r ock which sheltered us ,
from th e fury of the winds and wav es ; and as th e rock

ext ended in a s ort of ledge ov er ou r he ads it prevent ed ,
the spray from falling upon us .
Why said Peterkin b egi n nin g to feel ch eery again

, , ,
it s eems to me that we hav e got in to a mermaid s cave

,
for th ere is n othing but wat er all round us ; and as for

earth or sky th ey ar e things of t h e past
, .
P eterkin s idea was n ot inappropriate for what with

th e s ea roarin g i n whit e foam up to our v ery f eet and ,
the spray ying i n white sh eets continually over ou r

h eads and the water drippin g h eavily from th e ledge
,
above lik e a curtain in front of our cave it did s eem ,

a
to us v ery much mor e lik e b ei n g b elo w than above
W at er .
N ow boys cri ed Jack b estir yourselves an d let s

, , , ,

r e e
mak ou s lv s comfortabl e Toss out our provisio n s
e ,
P eterkin ; an d h er e Ralph l end a hand to haul u p t h e , ,

boat L ook sharp
. .
A y ay capt ain we cried as w e hasten ed to ob ey

, , , , ,
much ch eered by the hearty mann er of ou r comrad e .
Fort u nat ely the cav e although n ot v ery d eep was , ,
quite dry s o that we succeed ed in makin g ourselv es

,
much more comfortabl e than could hav e b een exp ected .
We landed ou r provisions wrung th e water ou t of ou r ,
garm ents spread ou r sail below us for a carp et and

, ,
after having eat en a h earty m eal b egan to feel quite ,
ch eerful But as night drew on ou r Spirits sank again

.
,
for with the daylight all evid ence of ou r s ecurity vanish ed

away We could n o longer s ee th e r m r ock on which
.
we lay while we w er e stunned with th e viol en c e of th e

,
tem p est tha t raged around us Th e night grew pitchy .
dark as it advanced so that w e co u ld not s ee ou r hands ,
wh en we held th em up before our ey es and were obliged ,
t o feel each oth er occasionally t o mak e sur e that w e wer e

safe for th e storm at last b ecam e s o terribl e that it was
,
di fcult to m ak e ou r voices audibl e A slight variation .
o f th e wi n d as w e suppos ed caus e d a few drops of spray

, ,
ev er and anon to blow in to ou r faces ; and th e eddy of

t h e s ea in its m a d boilin g wash ed u p i n to ou r littl e
, ,
creek until it reached ou r feet an d threat en ed t o t ear

away ou r boat In order to pr ev ent this latt er calamity
.
,
w e ha u l ed the boat farther up and h eld th e cable in ou r

hands O ccasion al ash es of light n ing shon e with a
.
ghastly glar e through th e wat ery curtains around us ,
and l en t addition al horror to th e scen e Y et w e longed .
for thos e dismal as h es for they were l es s appalling than ,

who s eemed to ent ertain quit e an affection for th e

p enguins .
Although the br eez e was pretty fresh for s ev eral

hours w e did n ot reach th e outer reef of ou r island
,
till m gh tfall and before we had sail ed more than a

,
hundr ed yards into th e lagoon the wind di ed away ,
altogeth er s o that we had to take to ou r ear s again It

, .
was lat e and th e moon and stars w ere shining b r ightly

, ,
wh en we ar rived opposit e th e bow er and l eap ed upon the

strand S o glad w ere we to b e safe back again on ou r
.
b eloved island that we scarcely took time t o drag the

,
boat a sho r t way up th e b each and th en ran up to see

,
that all w as right at the bow er I must confess h ow .

,
ev er that my j oy was mingl ed with a vagu e sort of fear

,
l est our hom e h ad b een visited an d d estroyed during ou r

abs ence ; but on r eaching it w e found ev erything just as
i t had b een l eft and th e poor black cat curl e d up sound
, ,
asl eep on the coral tabl e in front of our humble dw elling

,
.
CHAPT ER XI X .
ho ak
S em in
g Th e even ten o r of ou way su ddenl y i n t er r up t ed A n u n exp ected
r
v i si t a nd a n appalli ng battle We all beco me wa r r i or s an d J ack pr oves

,
h i ms elf to be a h er o .
OR m any months after this we continued to liv e

on ou r island in uninterru pted harmony an d
h appiness S o metimes we w ent ou t a s h i n g in the
.
-
lagoon and so metimes went

, hunti n g i n the woods
a -
,
or ascended to the mountain top by way of vari ety -

, ,
although Pet erkin always assert ed that we went for the

purpose of hailing any ship that might chance to heave
in sight But I am c ertain that none of us wished to
.
be delivered from ou r captivity for we were extrem ely ,
happy and P eterkin u sed t o say that as we were v ery

,
youn g we should n ot feel th e loss of a y ear or two .
Pet er kin a s I have said b efore was thirt een years of

, ,
age Jack eighteen and I fteen But Jack was v ery

, ,
.
tall strong and manly for his age and might easily have
, , ,
be en mistaken for t wenty .
The climat e was s o beautiful that it seemed to b e a

perpetual summer and as many of th e fruit tr ees c on
,
-
tinn ed to b ear fr uit and blosso m all the y ear round we ,
nev er want ed for a pl entiful supply of food The hogs .

,
t oo s eemed rath er t o incr ease than diminish although

, ,
Peterkin was very frequ ent in his a ttack s on th em w ith

his s p ear If at any tim e w e failed i n nding a drove
.
,
TH E C O R A L I SLAND . 1 71
us as much pl eas u re a s ever ; and Peter kin began to be

a littl e more expert in the water fr om constant pr a ctice .
As for Jack and m e we began to fe el as if wat er w er e ,
ou r nativ e elem ent and r ev ell ed in it with s o much c on

,
den c e and comfort that P eterkin s aid h e fear ed we

would turn into sh som e day and swim off an d l ea ve ,
h i m ; adding that he had b een for a long time obse r vi n g

that Jack was becoming more and more like a shark
every day Wh ereu pon Jack remark ed th at if h e
.
,
P eterkin w ere changed into a sh h e would c ertainly

, ,
tu rn into nothin g bett er or bigger than a shri m p Poor .
Peterkin did not envy us ou r d eligh tful exc u rsions u nd er

Water except ind eed when Jack would dive down t o
, , ,
th e bottom of th e Wat er G ar d en s i t down on a r ock ,
an d look u
p and m ake fac e s at him P eterkin did fe el .
envio u s th en and oft en said h e wo u ld giv e anyth ing t o

,
be able to do that I was much a mus ed when P eterkin

.
said this ; for if he could only hav e s e en his own face

when h e happened to take a s hort dive h e would have ,
s een that Jack s was far s u rpass ed by it : th e great

di fference being how ever that Ja ck m a de fa ces on pur

, ,

pos e Pet erkin couldn t h elp i t '
N ow whil e w e w ere engag ed with thes e occupations

,
an d amus em ents an event occurr ed on e day which was

,
as un expect ed as it was exceedingly alarming and v ery

horr ibl e .
Jack and I w ere sitting as w e w er e often wont to do , ,
on th e rocks at S pouting C li ff a n d P et erkin was wri n g ,
i n g th e water from his garm ents having recently fall en ,

by accid ent into th e s ea a thing h e was constantly

doing wh en ou r attention was sudd enly a rrested by
m
two obj ects which app eared on th e horizon .
What ar e y on thi n k you ? I said addressin g Jack

, ,
.
I can t imagin e a n swer ed h e

I ve notic ed th em

.
,
1 72 T HE C O RA L I SLAND .
for som e ti me a nd fanci ed they w ere black s ea gulls

,
-
,
b u t the mor e I look at them the more I feel convinced

they ar e much l a rger than gulls .
Th ey se em to be coming towards us said I , .

Hallo ! what s wrong ? inquired Pet erkin co ming up , .
Look th ere said Jack , .

Whales ! cri ed Peterkin shading his eyes with his ,
h and . No eh com they be boats Jack

-
,
O u r h earts beat with excitement at th e v ery thought

of s eeing hu m an faces again .
I thin k y ou are abo u t right Pet erkin But they ,

.
s ee m t o me to move strang ely for boats

said Jack in a , ,
low ton e as if h e wer e talking to hims elf

, .
I notic ed that a shad e of anxiety crossed Jack s coun

t en an c e as h e gazed long and int ently at the tw o obj ects ,
which were n ow nearing us fast At last h e sprang to .

his fe et . They are canoes Ralph ! wheth er w a r canoes ,
-
or not I cannot t ell ; but this I know that all the nati ves ,
of the S outh S ea Islands are erce cannibals and th ey ,
have little r esp ect for strangers We must hid e if th ey .

land h ere which I earn estly hop e they will not do
,
.
I was gr eatly alarm ed at Jack s sp eech but I confess

I thought l ess of what h e said than of the earn est ,
anxious man n er in which h e said it and it was with ,
v ery u n comfortabl e feelings that P eterkin and I follo we d

him quickly into th e woods .

H ow unfortu n at e said I as w e gai n ed the shelt er

, ,

of the bush es that w e hav e forgotten ou r arms l
,
It matters n ot said Jack ; her e are club s enough

,

a n d to spare A s h e spoke h e laid his hand on a
.
,

bundl e of stout pole s of various siz es which P et erkin s ,
e v er busy han d
-
s had form ed during our frequ ent visits
to t h e cli ff for no oth er purpos e apparently than tha t
, , ,
of having s om ethin g to do .
no sign of fear or hesitation was notice able O n th ey .

cam e lik e a wild charger received but reck ed not
of a shower of stones Th e canoe struck and with a .
,
yell that s ee m ed to issu e from the throats of incarnate

ends they leaped into the w ater and drove th eir
, ,
enemi es up the beach .
The battle th at immediat ely ensued was fr ightfu l to

b ehold Most of the men wi elded clubs of enormous
.
siz e and curious shapes with which they dash ed ou t ,

each oth er s brains A s they were almost entirely .
nak ed and had to bound stoop leap and run in th eir

, , , ,
t erribl e hand to hand en counters they looked mor e lik e

- -
,
dem ons than human b eings I felt my h eart grow .
sic k at the sight of this bloody battl e an d would fain ,
hav e turned away bu t a speci es of fascination se em ed,
to hold me down and glue my eyes upon th e com

b atan ts I obser ved that th e attacking party was led
.
by a m ost e x traordinary b ein g wh o from h i s size and , ,
p eculiarity I conclud ed was a chief

,
H is h air was .
f r izzed ou t t o an enormous ext ent s o that it res embl ed ,
a large turb an It was of a light y ello w h u e which

.
-
,
surpris ed m e much for th e man s body was as black as ,

coal an d I felt convinced that th e hair must hav e b een

,
dy ed . H e was tattoo ed fro m h ead to foot ; an d his

fac e b esid es being tattoo ed was b esm eared with r ed
, ,
paint an d str eak ed with white Altogether with his

,
.
,
y ellow turban lik e hair his H erc u l ean black fram e his
-
, ,
glitt eri n g ey es and white t eeth h e s eemed th e most ,
terr i bl e monster I ev er b eh eld H e was v ery activ e .
i n t h e ght and had already kill ed four men

,
.
S udd enly the yellow hair ed chief was attack ed by a -
m an quite as strong and larg e as himself H e ourish e d .
a h eavy club s omething like an eagle s b eak at th e
poi n t F or a second or two these giants eyed each

.
other w arily moving round and round as if to catch

, ,
each other at a disadvantage ; but s eeing th at nothing
was to be gained by this cau tion and that the loss of ,
tim e might effectually turn th e tide of battle eith er way ,
th ey apparently made up th eir m inds to attack at th e

same instant for with a wild sho u t an d simu ltaneou s
, ,
spring they swung th eir he a vy clu bs which met with a

, ,
loud r eport S uddenly the y ellow haired savage trippe d

.
-
,
his enemy sprang for ward the pond ero u s club was ,
s wung b u t it did n ot desc end for at that m oment th e

, ,
savage was felled to the ground by a stone from the

h and of on e wh o had witn ess ed his chi ef s danger This .
was the t u rning poin t in the battle-

T he savages wh o .
landed rst t u rned an d ed towar ds the b u sh on s eeing ,
th e fall of their chi ef But n ot on e escaped . They .
w ere all overtaken and felled to the earth I s aw .

,
however that they w ere n ot all killed Indeed their

, ,
enemies n ow that th ey were c onq u ered s eemed an xiou s

, ,
t o take th em alive ; and th ey s ucc ee ded in securing

ft een whom they bound hand an d foot with cords
, ,
and carry in g them u p in to the woods laid th em dow n ,
among the bush es H ere they left th em for what pur

.
,
pos e I knew not and return ed to the scene of the lat e

,
battl e where the remn ant of the party were bathing

,
th eir wounds .
O ut of th e forty blacks that co mpos ed th e attacking

party only tw enty eight remain ed aliv e two of wh om
,
-
,
w ere s ent i n to th e bush to hunt for the wom en and .
children O f the oth er party as I have sa id only

.
, ,
fteen surviv ed and th ese w ere lying bound and h elp

,
l ess ou th e grass .
Jack and Peterkin and I n ow look ed at each oth er ,
and whisp ered ou r fears that the savages m ight clamb er

up the rocks to s earch for fresh wat er and s o discov er ,
1 76 TH E CORAL I SLAND .
ou r plac e of
concealm ent ; but w e w ere so m uch i n ~
t er es t ed in watching th eir mo vem ents that w e agreed

t r emain wh er e w e w er e
o and ind eed w e co u ld not, , ,
easily ha ve ris en without exposing o u rs elv es to detec

tion O n e of th e savages now w en t up to th e wood
.
,
and soon returned with a bundl e of rewood and we ,
wer e n ot a little surpris ed to see him s et r e to it by

the v ery sam e m eans us ed by Jack th e tim e we mad e
ou r rst r e nam ely with t h e bow and drill ,
Wh en .
th e r e was kindl ed two of th e par ty w ent again to th e

,
woods and return ed with on e of the bo u nd men A .
dr eadful feeling of horror cr ept ov er my h eart as th e

thought ash ed upon m e that th ey w er e goi n g to burn
th eir enemi es A s th ey bore h i m to th e r e my feelings
.
almost ov erpow er ed m e I gasp ed for br eath and .

,
s eizing my club end ea voured to spring t o my feet ; but

,
Jack s pow erful ar m pi n n ed m e to th e earth N ext m o

.
m ent on e of th e savages rais ed his clu b and fractured th e ,
wr etch ed creatur e s skull H e m u st hav e di ed instantly ;

.
and strange though it m ay s eem I confess t o a feeling ,
of reli ef wh en th e d eed was do n e b ecaus e I n ow k n ew ,
that the poor sa vage co u ld n ot be burned aliv e S carcely .
had his limbs c eas ed to quiv er wh en th e mon st ers cut

slices of esh fro m his body and after roasting th em , ,
slightly o ver th e r e d evoured th em ,

.
S udden ly th er e aros e a c r y from th e woods and in a ,
few s eco n ds th e two s avag es hast en ed towards th e r e

draggin g th e th r ee wom en an d th eir two infan ts alon g
with th em O n e of those women was much younger
.
than h er companions and w e w ere struck with t h e ,
mod esty of h er d em ean our an d the gentl e expression of

h er fac e which although sh e had th e atti s h nose and
, ,
thick lips of th e oth ers was of a light brown colour ,

-
,
an d we conj e c tur ed that s h e must be of a di ffer ent rac e .

savage a few minut es b efor e advanced towards th e girl

w ith his h eavy club Jack utt ered a yell that rang
.
lik e a death shri ek among the rocks With on e bound he

-
.
l eap ed o ver a p r ecipice full ft een feet high and b efore ,
th e savag es had recovered from th eir surpris e w as in ,
th e midst of th em ; while P eterkin and I dash ed through

th e bush es towards th e prisoners With on e blow of his
.
sta ff Jack fell ed the man with th e club th en turn ing ,
round with a look of fu r y h e rush ed u pon th e big chi ef

,
with th e yellow hair Had th e blow which Jack aim ed

.
at his h ead tak en effect th e huge savage would have

,
n e ed ed n o s econ d strok e ; but h e was agil e as a cat and ,
avoid ed it by springin g to on e sid e whil e at the same , ,
tim e he swung his pond erous club at th e h ead of his

,
foe . It was now Jack s turn to l eap aside and w ell

was it for him that th e rst outburst of his blind fury

was o ver els e h e had b eco me an easy prey to his
,
gigantic antagonist ; but Jack was cool now He .
dart ed his blows rapidly and w ell and th e sup er iority ,
o f his light w eapon was strikingly prov ed in this com
bat ; for while he could easily evade th e blows of th e

chi ef s h eavy club th e chi ef could not s o easily evad e

thos e of his light on e N ev er th el ess so quick was h e

.
, ,
an d so frightfully did he ing about th e mighty w eapon ,
that although Jack struck him almost ev ery blow th e ,
strok es had to b e d eliv ered so quickly that th ey want e d

force to b e v er y effectual .
It was lucky for Jack that th e other savages con

s i der ed th e succ ess of th eir ch i ef in this encount er to b e
so certain that th ey r efrain ed fro m in t erfering H ad .
th ey doubted it th ey would have probably end ed the

,
matter at once by felling him But they content ed

.
th ems elves with awaiting th e is s u e .
Th e forc e which th e chi ef exp end ed in wi elding his

TH E COR A L I SLAND . 1 79
c lub n ow began to be apparent H is move ments became .
slower h i s breath hissed through his clinch ed t eeth an d

, ,
the surprised savages drew nearer in order to ren der

assistance Jack obser ved this movement
. H e felt .
that his fat e was seal ed an d r esolved to cast his life

,

upon the next blow The chi ef s club was again about
.
to descen d on his head H e might h a v e evaded it

.
easily but instead of doing s o he sudd enly shorten ed

, ,
his gr asp of his own club r ush ed in under the blow , ,
s truck h i s adversary right b etw een the eyes w ith all his
force and fell to the e arth cr ush ed ben eath the sense
, ,
l ess body of the chief A doz en clubs ew high in

.
air r eady to descend on th e h ead of Jack ; but th ey

,
hesitated a mom ent for th e massive body of the chief

,
complet ely cov ered him That m oment sav ed his life
. .
E re the savag es co u ld tear th e chi ef s body away se ven

of th eir numb er f ell prostrat e b en eath the clubs of the
p r isoners whom P et erkin and I had s et free and two ,
others fell under ou r own han d We c ould never have .
accomplish ed this had n ot ou r en emies been s o en grossed

with the ght b etween Ja ck an d their chief th at they
had failed t o obs erve u s u ntil we were upon them .
Th ey still outn umbered ou r par ty by three ; but we

w ere ushed with victory while they were tak en by ,
s u r prise and dispirited by th e fall of their ch i ef More .
o ver ,
th ey w ere aw e struck by th e s w eepin g fur y of
-
Jack wh o s eem ed to have lost his s enses altog eth er and

, ,
h ad n o soon er s haken hims elf fr ee of the chi ef s body

th an he r ush ed i n to th e midst of them and in thr ee ,
blows equaliz ed ou r num bers Pet erkin an d I ew to .
th e rescue th e savages follow ed us an d in l ess t han ten

,
minutes th e whol e of ou r opponents wer e kn oc ked

down or m ade prisoner s boun d hand an d foot an d , ,
exten ded sid e by sid e u pon the s ea-shore .

CHAPT ER XX .
I t cou s e wi th th e savages Can ni bal i sm pr even ted Th e slai n a r e b u r i ed

n er r
a n d th e s u r vi vor s d epa r t l eav i n g u s aga i n alo n e on ou

, Co r al I sla n d
r .
FT ER the battl e was ov er th e savages crowd ed ,
roun d us and gazed at us i n surpris e while they ,
c ontinu ed to pour upon us a ood of qu estions which , ,
being wholly u nintelligibl e of course we could n ot

,
answ er H ow ev er by way of putting an en d to it

.
, ,
Jack took the chief ( who had recovere d from th e effects

of his wo u nd ! by th e h and and shook it warmly No .
sooner did the blacks s ee that this was m eant to express

good will than th ey shook han ds with us all rou n d
-
.
A fter this c er emony was gone through Jack went u p

to th e girl wh o had n ev er onc e moved from th e rock
,
wh ere s h e had b een l eft but had contin u ed an eager

,
sp ectator of all that had pass ed H e mad e signs to h er .
to follo w h i m an d th en taking th e chi ef by th e hand

, , ,
was about to con duct him to th e bow er wh en h i s ey e ,
fell on the poor in fan t which had b een thrown into th e

s ea and was still lyi n g on th e shor e D r opping the .
chief s hand h e hasten ed towards it and to his great

j oy found it to b e still aliv e We also found that the

.
mother was b egin nin g to recover slowly .

Her e get ou t o th e way said Jack pushing u s

, , ,
aside as w e stoop ed ov er the poor woman and end e a

,

vou r ed t o r estor e her ; I ll soon bring h er roun d

So .
you s eem tol erably at hom e anyhow Bah ! might as ,

.

w ell sp eak to th e cat as to you bett er in fact for it , ,

u n d erstands m e and you don t ,

.
This r emark was call ed forth by th e sight of on e of

th e eld erly f emal es who had s eat ed h ers elf on th e rock
,
in front of th e bow er and having placed h er child at , ,
h er feet was busily engaged in d e vo u ring th e r emains

,
of a roast pig .
By this time th e nativ es outsid e w er e all astir and ,
breakfast in an advanc ed state of preparation D uring .
th e cours e of it w e made s u ndry att empts t o conv ers e

with th e nativ es by signs b u t without effect A t last , .
w e hit upon a plan of discovering th eir n ames Jack .
point ed to his breast and said Jack v ery distinctly ;

then h e pointed to P eterkin and to m e rep eating o u r ,
nam es at th e sam e tim e Th en h e poin t ed to hims elf .
again and said Jack and laying h is nger on th e

, ,
breast of th e chi ef look ed inqui r ingly i n to his fac e

,
.
Th e chi ef instan tly understood him and sai c Tar ar o ,
twic e distin ctly Jack rep eat ed it after him and th e

.
,

chi ef nodding his h ead appro vin gly s ai c
,
C huck ,

.
O n h ear in g w hich P et er kin e xplod ed with laught er ;

but Jack turned an d with a fr own rebuk ed him saying
, , ,
I mus t look e v en more in dign an tly at you than I feel ,
P et erkin y o u rascal for th es e fellows don t lik e to b e

, ,

laugh ed at Th en turn ing towards th e youngest of
.
th e wom en wh o was s eat ed at th e door of th e bow er

, ,

h e poi n t ed t o h er ; wh er eupon th e chi ef said A vat ea , ,
and poi n tin g towards th e s u n rais ed his n ger slowly ,
towards th e z enith where it remained s t eadily for a,
minut e or two .
What can that m ean I won der said Jack looking , ,
puzzl ed .
P erhaps said Peterkin th e chi ef m eans she is an

, ,

angel com e down to stay h ere for a while If s o she s .
,
an uncommonly black on e
We did n ot feel qu it e satised w ith this explanation ,

s o Jack w ent up to h er and said A vatea Th e

.
,
woman smiled sadly and nodd ed h er head at the same

, ,
tim e pointing to her breast and then t o th e s u n in th e ,
sam e manner as the chi ef had done We were much .
puzzl ed to know what this could signify but as th ere ,
was n o way of solving ou r difculty we w ere oblig ed

t o r est co n tent .
Jack n ow mad e signs to the nativ es to follow him ,
and takin g u p his axe he led th em to the place wher e

,
th e battl e had b een fought H ere we found th e .
prison er s wh o had pass ed th e nigh t on th e b each

, ,
having b een totally forgott en by us as ou r minds had ,
b een full of ou r gu ests and wer e ultimat ely ov ercome

,
by sleep Th ey did n ot se em the wors e for their ex

.
osu r e how ever as w e judged by th e hear ty app etite

p , ,
with which th ey d evour ed the br eakfast that was soon

after giv en t o th em Jack th en b egan to dig a hol e in
.
th e sand and aft er working a few s econds he point ed

, ,
t o it and t o th e d ead bodi es that lay exposed on th e

b each . Th e natives imm ediat ely p erc eiv ed what he
want ed and r unnin g for th eir paddl es du g a hole in
, ,
th e cours e of half an hour that was quite large enough

- -
t o con tain all t h e bodi es of th e slai n Wh en it was .
n ish ed th ey toss ed th eir d ead en emi es into it with s o

much indifference that w e felt assured th ey would not
have put th ems elves to this troubl e had w e n ot ask ed
th em t o do so Th e body of th e y ellow haired chi ef
.
-
was th e last thrown in This wretch ed m an would

.
have recov ered from th e blow with which Jack fell ed

him and inde ed h e did endeavour to ris e durin g th e
,
on lee that follow ed h i s fall ; but on e of his enemies

,
happ en i n g to n otic e th e action d ealt him a blow with ,
his club that killed him on th e spot .
Whil e th ey w ere about to thro w th e sand ov er this

chi ef on e of th e savages stooped ov er him and with
, ,
a k n if e mad e apparently of ston e cut a large slic e of

, ,
esh from h i s thigh We knew at once that he int end ed

.
to mak e u se of this for food and could not r epress a ,
cry of horror an d disgust .
C om e com e y ou blackguard !
, , cri ed Jack starti n g ,
up and s eizing the man by th e arm pitch that into ,

th e hol e D o you h ear ?
.
Th e savag e of cours e did not und erstand th e c om

, ,
man d but h e p erfectly und er stood th e look of disgust

,
with which Jack r egard ed th e es h an d his erc e gaze ,
as h e pointed towards th e hol e N ever th el ess h e di d .
n ot ob ey Jack i n s tan tlv turn ed t o Tar ar o an d made

.
s igns t o h i m to en forc e ob edi en c e Th e chi ef s eem ed .
to u n d erstand th e app eal for h e stepped forward rais ed , ,
his club an d was on th e point of dash in g ou t th e brai n s

,
of his o ffen ding subj ect wh en Jack sprang forward an d ,
cau ght his uplift ed arm .

S top h e shout ed
,
you blockh ead ! I don t wan t
,

you to kill th e m an H e th en poi n t ed agai n to th e
.
es h an d to th e hol e Th e c hi ef ut tered a few words

.
,
which had th e desired effect ; for th e m an thr ew th e

esh i n to th e hol e which was imm ediately ll ed up
,
.
This m an was of a moros e sulky disposition an d durin g , ,
all th e tim e h e r emain ed on th e islan d r egard ed us , ,
esp ecially Jack with a scowling visag e

,
H is nam e w e .
,
found was Mab in e

,
.
Th e n ext three or four days w er e sp en t by th e savages

i n m en di n g th eir cano e which had b een damag ed by th e
,
viol en t shock it had sustai n ed on strikin g th e shor e .
This can o e was a v ery c u rious stru ctur e It was about .

th e b each B ein g u n abl e to sp eak t o th e savages we

.
,
went through t h e c er emony of shaki n g han ds a nd ,
e xpect ed th ey would depart ; but b efore doing s o ,
Tar ar o w ent up to Jack and rubb ed nos es with him ,
aft er which h e did th e sam e with P et erkin and m e !
S eeing that this was th eir mode of salutation we det er ,
m i n ed to conform to th eir custom s o w e rubb ed nos es ,
h eartily with th e whol e party wom en and all ! The

,
only disagreeabl e part of th e proc ess was wh en we

cam e to rub nos es with Mab in e and P eterkin after ,
wards s aid that wh en h e saw his w olsh eyes glarin g

s o clos e to his fac e h e f elt much mor e inclin ed t o ba n g
,
than to r u b his nos e A vatea was th e last to tak e

.
l eave of us and w e exp eri en c ed a feelin g of r eal so rrow

,
wh en sh e approach ed to bid us farew ell B esid es h er .
mod est air an d gen tl e mann ers s h e was th e only on e

,
of th e party w h o exhibited th e small est sign of regret

at parting from us Going up to Jack s h e put ou t h er
.
,
at littl e nos e to b e rubb ed and th ereafter paid th e

,
sam e complim ent to P eterkin an d m e .
An hour lat er the cano e was ou t of sight and w e , ,
with an i n de n ab le feelin g of sad n ess cr eepin g rou n d

o u r h earts w er e s eat e d in sil enc e b en eath th e shadow
,
of ou r bow er m editatin g on th e wond erful ev en ts of

,
t h e last few days .

C HA PT ER XXI .
e
Sagaci ous an d mor al r emar ks i n r eg ar d to li f A sai l l An u n ew
p ected salu te
-
Th e en d of th e black cat t
A er r i bl e di v eAn i n ca u ti ou s pr oceedi ng an d
a fr i gh tfu l catas tr op h e
.
IF E is a strange compound Peterkin u sed to say .

of it that it be a t a druggist s shop all to sticks
for whereas th e r st is a compound of good and bad ,
the other is a horrible compound of all that i s u tterly

detestable A n d indeed the mor e I consid er it the more
.
I am struck with the strange mixture of good and evil

th at exists n ot only in the material earth but in ou r
own natures In ou r own C oral Island we h ad ex per i
.
en c ed e very variety of good that a bountiful C r eator
could heap on u s Yet on the n ight of th e storm we

.
had seen h ow almost in ou r case and altogether n o

, ,

do u bt in the case of others l ess fortunat e all this good
,
might b e swept away for ev er We h ad se en the rich

.
fr uit tr e es waving i n the soft air th e t end er herbs s hoot

-
,
ing upwards und er the benign inuence of th e bright

su n ; and the next day we had seen these good and
beautiful trees and plants uprooted by th e hurrican e ,
c ru shed an d hurl ed to th e ground in d estr u ctive devas
tati on . We had lived for many months in a clime for

the most par t s o b eautiful that w e had often w ond ered
,
wh ether Adam an d E ve had found E d en more sweet ;

a nd we had se en the quiet solitudes of ou r paradise
su dd enly brok en in upon by ferocious savages and the ,
white sands stain ed with blood and strew ed with lifel ess
for ms ; y et among thes e cannibals w e had se en many
symptoms of a kindly natu re I pondered th es e things
.
much and while I consid ered th em th er e recu rred t o

,
my me m ory thos e w ords which I had r ea d in my Bible ,
-
th e works of God ar e wond erful and h i s ways p as t ,
nding ou t .
A fter these poor savages had left us we used to hold ,
long and frequ en t conversations about th em and I ,

noticed that Peterkin s manner was now much altered .
H e did not inde ed j est less h eartily than b efore but

, , ,
h e did so l ess frequ ently and often th er e was a ton e

,
of d eep seriousness in his mann er if not in his words , ,
which made him s ee m to Jack and m e as i f h e had

grown two years older within a few days B u t ind eed .
I was n ot s u rpr ised at this wh en I reected on th e

,
awful realities which we had witness ed so lat ely We .
could by n o m eans shake off a t endency to gloo m for

several weeks afterwards ; but as tim e wore away ou r
usual good spirits return ed somewhat and we b egan to ,
think of th e visit of th e savages with feelings akin to

thos e with which w e r ecall a terribl e dream .
O n e day w e were all enj oyi n g ours elv es i n the Wat er

Gard en preparatory to goin g on a shin g excursion ;
,
for P eterki n had k ept us in such constan t supply of

hogs that w e had b ecom e quite tired of pork and d esired ,
a chan ge Peterkin was su n n i n g hims elf on th e l edge

.
of rock while we were creeping among th e rocks b elow

, .
Happ ening to look up I obs erv ed P eterkin c utti n g t h e

,
most extraordinary cap ers and maki n g violent gesticula

tions for us to come u p ; s o I gav e Jack a push and ros e
i mm ediately .

A sail ! a sail Ralp h look ; Jack away on t h e
,
b lank ama zem ent the wor d pirate escaped ou r lip s

,
si multan eously .
What is to be done ? cried Peterkin as we observed ,
a boat shoot from the v essel s sid e and make for th e

entranc e of the reef If th ey take u s off the island it

.
,
will eith er be t o throw us ov erboard for sport or to make ,

pirat es of u s .
I did n ot reply but looked at Jack as being ou r only

, ,
r es ou r ce in this emergency H e stood with folded arms .

,
and his eyes xed with a grav e anxiou s expression on ,

the ground There is but on e hope said he turning
.
, ,
w ith a sad expression of countenanc e to Peterkin ; per

haps after all we may n ot have to resor t to it If

, ,
.
these villains a re anxious to take us they will soon ,

o verrun the whole island But co me follow me .
,
.
S topping abruptly in h i s spe ech Jack bounded into ,
th e woods and led us by a circuitous route to S pout i ng

,
C li ff Here he h a lted an d advancing cau tiou sly to th e

.
, ,
r ocks glanced over th eir edge We were soon by his

,
.
sid e and saw the boat which was crowded with ar m ed

, ,
m en j ust touching the shore

,
In an instant the crew .
landed formed line and ru sh ed up to ou r bower

, ,
.
I n a few s econds we saw th em hurrying back to th e

boat on e of them swinging th e poor cat round his head
,
by th e tail O n r eaching th e water s edge h e toss ed it

.

far in to the s ea and joined his c ompanions wh o app eared

, ,
to b e holding a hasty cou n cil .
Y ou see what w e may expect said Jack bitt erly ,
Th e man wh o will wantonl y kill a poor brute for spor t

will thin k little of murdering a fellow creat u re N ow -
.
,

boys w e hav e but on e chance l eft th e D iamond C ave
,
.

Th e D iamond C av e ! cri ed Peterkin ; th en my
chance I S a poor on e for I could not dive into it if all ,

th e pirat es on the Paci c were at my heels
T HE CORAL I S LAND . 1 91
N ay but said I we w ill take y ou down Peter kin

, , , , ,

if y ou will only tr ust us .
A s I spok e we observed the pirates scatter ov er the

,
b each and radiat e as if from a c entre towards th e

, , ,
woods and along shore .

N ow P et erkin said Jack in a sol emn ton e
, y ou , , ,
must mak e up your m ind to do it or we must mak e up ,
ou r m i nds to die in your company .

O Jack my d ear fri end cri ed Peterkin turning
, , ,
pal e l eav e m e ; I don t b eli ev e th ey ll think it worth

,

whil e to kill m e Go y ou and R alph an d dive into th e .

, ,

cav e .
That will n ot I answered Jack qui etly while h e , ,
pick ed up a stout cudgel fr om th e ground So n ow .

,
Ralph we must prepar e t o m eet th es e fellows

,
Th eir .
motto is N o quarter If we can manage to oor thos e

,
.

coming in this direction we may escape into the wood s ,
for a while .
Ther e are ve of th em said I we have no ,

'

chance .
C ome th en cried P et er kin star ting up and grasp

, , , ,

i n g Jack convulsiv ely by th e arm let u s div e I will go , .
Thos e wh o ar e not n aturally expert in the wat er

know w ell th e feelings of horror that ov erwh el m th em ,
wh en in it at the bare id ea of being h eld down even

,
for a few seconds that spasmodic involuntary r ecoil ,
from compulsory imm ersion which has n o c on n ectio n

whatev er with cowardice ; an d th ey will und erstand th e
amount of resolution that it r equ ir ed in P eterkin to
allow hims elf to b e dragg ed down to a d epth of t en
feet and th en through a narro w tunn el into an almost
, , ,
pitch dark cav ern But th ere was n o altern ativ e Th e

-
. .
pirat es had already caught sight of u s and w ere now ,
within a short distanc e of th e rock s .

Jack and I seiz ed P et erkin by th e arms .

N ow ke ep quite still n o struggling said Jack
, or, , ,
we ar e lost .
Peterkin m a de n o reply b u t th e stern gravity of his ,
marbl e features and th e tension of his muscl es satis ed

, ,
us that h e had fully made up his mind to g o through

with it Just as th e pirat es gain ed the foot of the rocks
.
,
which hid us for a mom en t from their vie w we b en t ,
ov er th e s ea an d plung ed down togeth er head foremost

, .
Pet erk in b ehav ed lik e a h ero H e oat ed passiv ely b e .
tw een u s lik e a log of wood and we passed th e tunnel ,
an d ros e into th e cav e in a short er space of time than I
h ad ev er don e it before .
P eterkin drew a long deep breath on reachin g th e ,
surfac e and in a few s econds w e w ere all stan di n g on

,

t h e l edg e of rock in safety Jack n ow s earch ed for th e .
tind er and torch which always lay in th e cav e He .
soo n found th em and lighting the torch r ev eal ed to

, ,
Peterkin s wond ering gaze th e marv els of th e p lac e

.
But we w er e too wet to waste m u ch tim e i n looki n g

about us O u r rst care was to tak e off ou r cloth es
.
and wring th em as dry as w e could This don e w e .

,
proceed ed to exami n e into th e state of our lard er for as

Jack truly rem
, ,
ark ed th er e was no k n owin g how long

,
t h e pirat es might r emain on th e island .

Perhaps said P eterki n th ey may take i t in to th eir
, ,
h eads to stop h er e altog eth er and so w e s hall b e buri e d ,
aliv e i n this plac e .
D on t y ou thin k P et erkin that it s th e nearest

, ,

thing to b eing drown ed aliv e that y ou ev er felt ? said
Jack with a smil e
,
But I ve no fear of that Th es e
.

.
villai n s n ev er stay lon g on shore Th e s ea is th eir .
h om e s o y ou may d ep end upo n i t that th ey wo n t stay

,
more than a day or two at th e furth est .

late We saw by the faint light that it was day but

.
,
could n ot gu ess at the hour ; s o Jack propos ed that he

should dive ou t an d reconnoitre .

N o Jack said I ; do y ou rest h ere

, ,
You v e had .
enoug h t o do duri n g th e last few days R est yours elf .
n ow and tak e care of P et erkin whil e I go ou t to s ee

, ,
what th e pirat es ar e about I ll b e very careful not t o

.

expose mys elf and I ll bring y ou word again in a short
,

tim e .

Very well Ralph answ ered Jack : please yourself
, , ,
but don t b e lo n g ; and if you ll tak e my advice you ll

go in your cloth es for I would lik e to hav e som e fresh

,
cocoa nuts and climbin g trees w ithout clothes is u n

,

comfortabl e to say the l east of it
,
.

The pirat es will b e sure t o k eep a sharp look ou t -

said Pet erkin s o pray b e car eful
, , ,
.
N o fear said I ; good by e , .

Good b y e answ ered my comrad es
-
, .
A n d whil e the words w er e y et soundi n g in my ears ,
I plu n ged into th e wat er and in a few s econds found ,
mys elf in th e op en air O n risin g I was careful to .

,
com e up gen tly an d to br eath e softly wh il e I k ept clos e ,
i n b esid e th e rocks ; but as I obs erv ed no on e n ear m e ,
I crept slo w ly out a n d asc en d ed th e cliff a st ep at a

,
tim e till I obtain ed a full vi ew of th e shore N o pirates

,
.

w ere to b e s een ev en th eir boat was gon e ; but as it
was possibl e th ey might have hidd en th emselv es I did ,
n ot v entur e too boldly forward Th en it occurr ed to m e .
t o look ou t to sea when to m y surprise I saw the pirate

, , ,
schoo n er sailing away almost hull down on the horizon !
O n s eein g this I utt ered a shout of j oy Th en m y rst .
impuls e was t o div e back to tell my companion s th e

ood n e ws ; but I ch eck ed m ys elf and r a n t o th e t op
g ,
o f th e cli ff i n ord er to mak e sure that th e vess el I saw

,
was indeed th e pirat e schoon er I looked lon g an d

.
a n xiously at h er and giving v ent to a d eep sigh of

,
r eli ef said aloud

, ,

Yes th er e s h e go es ; th e villains
,

hav e b een balk ed of th eir prey this tim e at l east
.

N ot s o sure of that ! said a d eep voic e at my sid e ,
w hil e at th e sam e mom en t a h eavy hand grasp ed my

should er an d held it as if in a vice
, .
CHAPT ER XXII .
I fall i n to th e han ds of p i at es H ow th ey tr eat ed m e a n d what I sa i d to th em

r -
,
Th e r esu lt of th e whole end i ng i n a melan choly s ep ar at i o n a n d i n a m ost

u n exp ected gift .
Y heart s eem ed to leap i n to my throat at th e

words ; and turning round I b eh eld a m an of ,
imm en s e stature and erce asp ect regardin g m e with a

smil e of cont empt H e was a white man that is to
.
say h e was a man of E urop ean blood though his face

, , ,
fro m long exposure to th e w eath er was d eeply bronzed ,
H is dress was that of a common s eaman except that h e ,
had on a Greek skull cap and wore a broad shawl of -

,
th e rich est silk round his waist In this shawl w ere .
plac ed tw o pairs of pistols an d a h eavy cutlass H e .
wore a b ear d an d moustach e w h ich lik e th e locks on , ,
h i s h ead w ere short curly a n d spri n kl ed with gray

, , ,
hai r s .
S o you n gst er h e said with a sardon ic smil e whil e

, , , ,
I felt his grasp tighten on my should er th e villa i n s ,
hav e b een balk ed of th eir prey hav e th ey 7 We shall ,
s ee w e shall s ee
,
N ow you wh elp look yon d er
. As
, ,
.
h e spok e th e pirat e utt er ed a shrill whistl e

,
In a .
s econd or two it was answ ered an d th e pirat e bo at ,
row ed rou n d th e poi n t at th e Water Gard en and cam e ,
rapidly towards us N ow go mak e a r e on that

.
, ,
poin t ; an d hark ee youn gst er if you t r y to r u n away

, , ,
If you mean my compan ions said I i n a low voice , , ,

I won t t ell y o u

.
A loud laugh burst from th e cre w at this answer .
The pirat e captain look e d at m e in surpris e Th en .
drawing a pistol from h i s b elt he cock ed it and said , ,
N ow you n gst er list en t o m e I ve no tim e to waste
, ,
.
h ere If y ou don t tell m e all you know I ll blow your

.

brains ou t ! Where are your comrades ?
For an instant I h esitat ed n ot knowing what to do ,
i n this extr emity S udd en ly a thought occurr ed to me

. .

Villain said I shakin g my cl en ch ed s t in his fac e
, , ,
!
to blo w m y brains ou t would make short work of m e ,
and be soon over ; d eath by drowning is as sure and ,
the agony prolon ged : y et I tell you to your fac e if you , ,
w er e to toss m e ov er yond er cli ff in to th e s ea I would ,
not t el l you wh ere my compa n ions ar e and I dare you ,
to try me !
The pirate captain grew white with rag e a s I spok e .
S ay you s o cri ed h e utteri n g a erc e oath ,

H ere .
,
lads tak e him by the le s an d h eave h i m i n quick

,
g
The m en who w er e utterly sil enced with surprise at

,
my audacity advanc ed and s eiz ed m e an d as th ey carri ed

, ,
me towards th e cli ff I co n gratulat ed mys elf not a littl e

,
on th e succ ess of my sch em e for I k n e w that o n c e i n ,
the wat er I should b e safe an d could r ej oi n Jack an d ,
P et erkin in th e cave But my h op es w ere sudd en ly.
blast ed by th e captain c r yin g o u t H old on lads hold , , ,
on ! W e ll giv e h i m a taste of th e thumb screws b efore

-
thro wing him to the sharks Away with him into the .
boat L oo k aliv e ! th e breez e is fresh eni n g

. .
The m en i n stantly rais e d me should er high and ,
hu r ryin g down th e rocks toss ed m e in to th e bottom of ,
th e boat wh er e I lay for som e tim e stu n n e d with th e

,
viol en c e of my fall .
T HE CORAL I SLAN D . 1 99
O n recovering su fciently to r aise my s elf my elbow on ,
I perceived th at we were already outside th e coral reef ,
and clos e alo ngside th e schooner whic h was of small size ,
and clipper b u ilt I had on ly tim e t o observ e thi s much

. ,
when I received a sev ere k ick on the side from on e of

the men wh o or dered m e in a rou gh voice to j um p
, , ,
aboard Rising hastily I cla m ber ed up the side In a

.
,
.

few minutes the boat w as hois ted on deck t h e vessel s ,
head put close to the wind and th e C or al Island dropped ,
slowly astern as we b eat up against a head s ea .
Imm ediately aft er coming aboard the crew w ere ,
t oo busily engag ed in wo r king th e ship and getting in

th e boat t o att end to m e s o I r emain ed l eaning against
,
the b u l warks clos e to th e gang way watchi n g th eir ,
operations I was surprised to n d that there w ere n o

.
guns or car ronad es of any kind in the vessel which had ,
more of th e app earanc e of a fast saili n g trader than a -
pi r ate But I w as struck with th e neatness of e very

.
thing The brass w or k of th e binnacle and about the

.
till er as w ell as th e copp er b elayin g pins w ere as

,
-
,
brightly polished as if th ey h ad j ust come from the

foundry The d ecks w ere pur e white and smooth
.
,
.
Th e masts w ere cl ean scrap ed and varnish ed exc ept at

-
,

th e cross tre es and truck which w ere pai n t ed black ,
.
The standin g and running r igging was in th e most

p er f ect ord er an d th e s ails white as sno w In short
, .
,
ev erythin g from th e singl e n arrow r ed stripe on h er

,
low black hull to t h e truck s on h er tap eri n g masts ,
evinced an amount of car e and stri ct disciplin e that

would hav e don e cr edit to a ship of the R oy al N avy .
Th ere was nothing lumb ering or uns eemly about the

v ess el excepti n g p erhaps a boat which lay on the
, , , ,
d eck with its k eel up b etw een th e fore and main masts .
It s eem ed disproportionat ely larg e for th e schoon er ;

but when I saw that th e crew a mounted t o be t ween

thir ty and forty men I concluded that this boat was
,
held in r eserve in cas e of any accident comp elling th e

crew to desert the vess el .
A s I h a ve before said the costu mes of the m en were

,
s i m ilar to that of the captai n B u t in head g ear they .
differed n ot only from him but from each other so m e ,
wearing the ordinary straw hat of the merchant s ervic e ,
whil e others wore cloth caps and red worsted n ight

caps I obser ved that all their arms were s ent below ;
.
th e captain only retaining h i s cutlass and a si n gle pistol

i n th e folds of his shawl A lthough the captain was
.
the tallest a nd most po werful man in the ship h e did ,
n ot s tr i k ingly excel many of his men in this r esp ect ,
and th e only di fferenc e that an ordinary observ er would

have noticed was a certain d egree of op en candour ,
straightforward daring in th e bold ferocious expression

, ,
of his face which rend er ed him less repulsive than his

,
low br ow e d associates but did not by any means i n duc e

-
,
th e beli ef that h e was a h ero This look was h ow .

,
ever th e indication of that spirit which gave h i m t h e

,
r e eminence among th e crew of d esperado es who call e d

p
-
him captain H e was a lion lik e villain ; totally devoid

.
-
o f p erso n al fear and utterly r eckl ess of cons eq u en c es

, ,
and th erefor e a t error to his m en who individually ,
hat ed him but unit edly felt it to b e to th eir advan tage

,
t o hav e him at th eir head .
But my thoughts soo n r ev ert ed to th e d ear com

panion s who m I had l eft on shore and as I turned ,
towards th e C oral Island which was n ow far aw ay to ,
le eward I sighed deeply and th e tears rolled s lowly

, ,
down my che eks as I thought that I might n ev er s ee

the m more .
So y ou r e blubbering ar e y ou y ou obstin ate whelp

, ,
N ow continu ed I I threw that keg into the s ea

, ,
becaus e the wind and w a ves will car ry it to my friends

on th e C ora l Island wh o happen to hav e a pistol but ,
n o powder I hope that it will reach the m soon ; and

.
my only regret is that th e k eg was not a bigger on e .
Moreover pirate y ou said j us t n ow that y ou thought I

, ,
was made of bett er stu ff I don t k n o w what s tu ff I

am made of I n ever thought much about that subj ect
but I m quit e certain of this that I am m ade of such

s tuff as the lik e of y ou shall n ever tame though y ou ,
should do you r w orst .
To my surpris e th e captain instea d of y ing into a ,
rag e smiled and thrusting his hand into the voluminous

, ,
shawl that encircled his waist turn ed on his h eel and ,
walked aft while I went b elow , .
Here instead of being rudely handled as I had ex

, ,
ected the m en received me with a shout of laught er

p , ,
and on e of th em patting me on th e back said Wel l , , ,
done lad ! you re a brick and I hav e n o doubt will

,

turn ou t a rare cove Bloody Bill th ere was just such .
a fellow as you ar e and h e s n ow the biggest cut throat ,

-

o f u s all .
Tak e a can of be er lad cri ed an oth er and wet , , ,
your whistle aft er that sp eech 0 yo u r n to th e captain

.
If an y on e 0 us had m ad e it youn gster h e would hav e

, ,

had n o whistl e to w et by this tim e .

S top your clapp er Jack vociferated a th ird , ,
.
D o n t you s ee h e s

G iv e the boy a ju n k o meat

.
a m os t goin to kick the buck et ?

A n d n o wonder said th e rst speaker w ith an , ,
oath after th e tumble you gav e him into th e boat I

,
.

gu ess it would hav e brok e you r neck if you had got it .
I did inde ed feel som ewhat faint which was owing , ,
do u btl ess to th e co mbin ed effects of i ll usag e and

,
-
hung er ; for it will b e r ecoll ected that I had dived ou t

of the cav e that mo r ning b efor e br eakfast and it w as ,
now n ear m i d day I th er efore gladly accept ed a plate

-
.
of boil ed pork and a yam which w er e hand e d t o m e by ,
on e of the m en fro m t h e locker on which som e of t h e
crew w ere seated eating th eir dinn er But I must add .
that th e zest with which I ate my meal was much

abat ed in cons equ enc e of th e frightful oaths and the
terribl e languag e that ow ed from th e lip s of th ese god
less m en ev en in th e midst of th eir hilar ity and good
,
~
humour Th e man wh o had b een alluded to as Bloody

.
Bill was s eated near m e and I could not h elp wond er ,
ing at th e moody sil enc e h e maintained among his com

rad es H e did in d eed reply to th ei r questions in a
.
car el ess off hand ton e but he n ev er v olun te ered a r e

,
-
,
mark Th e only di ffer enc e betw een him and the others
.
was his taciturnity and his siz e for h e was near ly i f , ,
n ot quit e as large a m an as th e captai n

,
.
D uri n g the r emaind er of th e afternoon I was l eft t o

my own re ections which were anythi n g but agreeabl e ;
,
for I could not banish from my mind t h e threat about

the thumb scr ews of the nature and u s e of which I h ad
-
,
a vagu e but t erribl e conception I was still m editati n g .
on my unhappy fate wh en just aft er n ightfall on e of

, , ,
t h e watch on d eck call ed dow n th e hatchway ,
H allo th ere ! on e 0 you tumbl e up an d light t h e

cabi n lamp and s en d that bov aft to th e captain sh arp l

,

N ow th en do y ou h ear youngst er
, th e captain ,
wants y ou L ook aliv e said Bloody Bill ra ising his

.
, ,
hug e fram e from th e lock er on which h e had b een asl eep

for t h e last two hours H e spran g u p t h e ladder an d I
.
,
instan tly follow ed him an d going aft was shown into th e,
cabin by on e of the m en w h o clos ed th e door after me , .
A smal l silver lamp which hung from a beam threw

2 04 T HE CORAL I SLAND
a dim soft light o ver th e cabin which was a small ,
apa r tment and co mfor tably but plai n ly furnish ed

, .
S eat e d on a camp stool at the tabl e and busily engaged

-
,
in examining a chart of the Paci c was the captain , ,
wh o looked up as I entered and in a quiet voice bad e ,
me be seated while h e thr ew down his p encil an d r isi n g

, ,
fr o m the table stretched himself on a sofa at th e upp er

,
en d of the cabi n .
Boy said he looking m e f u ll in th e face W hat is

, , ,
your na me
Ralph Rover I replied ,
.
Where did you com e fro m and h ow came y ou to b e ,
on that island ? H ow m any compani ons had you on it ?

Answ er me n ow and m ind you tel l no lie s
, , .

I never t ell lies said I rmly , .
The captain received this reply with a c old sarcastic ,
sm il e and bade me ans wer his questions

, .
I then told h i m the history of mys elf an d my com

panions from the time we sail ed till the day of his
visit to th e island taking care how ev er to make n o , , ,
m ention of the D iamond C a ve A fter I h a d conclud ed .

,
h e was sil ent for a few m inutes ; then looki n g up h e ,

said Boy I believe y ou
, , .
I was s u rprised at this r emark for I could not imagi n e ,
wh y h e shoul d not b eliev e me H ow ev er I mad e no r eply .

,
.

And what continued the captain
,
makes you think ,
that this schooner is a pir ate

The black ag said I showed m e what y ou ar e ;
, ,
an d if any further proof w ere wanting I hav e had it in ,

the brutal tre atment I have received at your hands .
The captain frowned as I spoke b u t subduing his ,
a nger he con tinu ed Boy y ou are too bold I admit , ,

.
that we treated y ou roughly but that was b ecause y ou ,
mad e us los e time and gav e us a good d eal of trouble A s .

C HA PT ER XXIII .
B loody ll
B i D
ar k su r mi ses A st r an ge sa i l an d a str a nge cr ew a n d a st i ll
, ,
str an ger ca go
r N e n o i
w r easo s f r fa vo u r i n g m ss i on a r i es A mu r der o u s
ma ssacr e , an d tho ughts th er eo n .
H REE w eeks aft er the conversation n arrated in the

last chapt er I was standing on the quart er deck
,
-
of th e schooner watching th e gambols of a shoa l of por
ois es that s wam round us It was a dead cal m on e

p
-
.
of thos e still hot s weltering days s o common in th e

, ,
Paci c wh en nature se ems to have gon e to sl eep and th e

, ,
only thin g in water or in air that proves h er still alive

is h er long d eep br eathing in th e sw ell of th e mighty
,
s ea . N o cloud oat ed in th e d eep blu e above n o rippl e ,
brok e th e r e ect ed blu e b elo w Th e s u n shon e erc ely .
in th e sky and a ball of r e blaz ed w ith al most equ al

,
po wer fro m ou t th e bosom of th e wat er S o intens ely .
still was it an d s o p erfectly transpar en t was th e surfac e

,
of th e d eep that had it not b een for the long sw ell

,
already allud ed t o w e might hav e b eli ev ed t h e surround

,
i n g univ ers e to b e a hug e blu e liquid ball an d ou r littl e ,
ship the on e solitary mat erial sp eck in all creation oat ,
i n g in th e midst Of it .
N o sound brok e on ou r ears sav e th e soft pu ff now

and th en of a porpois e th e slow creak of th e masts as ,
w e s w ay ed g en tly on t h e sw ell th e patter of th e re ef ,
oints an d th e occasional ap of th e hanging sail s A n

p ,
.
awning covered the fore and after parts of th e s choon er ,
under which th e m en composing the watch on deck

loll ed in sl eepy indolence ov ercom e with excessiv e h eat ,
.
Bloody Bi ll as the m en invariably call ed him was stand

, ,
ing at th e till er ; but his pos t for th e p r es ent was a sine

cu r e an d h e whil ed away th e tim e by alt ernat ely gazing
,
in dreamy abstraction at th e compass in th e binn acle ,
and by walking to th e taffrail in ord er to spit into the

s ea
. In on e of th es e turn s h e cam e n ear to wh ere I
w as standin g and l eaning ov er the side look ed lon g and
, ,
earn estly down into th e blue w av e .
This man although h e was always taciturn and O ft en

,
surly was th e o n ly human b ei n g on board w ith whom

,
I had th e slight est desi r e t o b ecome bett er acquainted .
The oth er m en s eei ng t h at I did not r elish th eir com

,
pany and kno wing that I was a pr oteg e of th e captain

, ,
tr eat ed m e w ith total in di fferenc e Bloody Bill it is .

,
tru e did the sam e ; but a s this was his conduct to every
,
on e els e it was not p eculiar in r ef erenc e to m e

,
O n c e or .
twice I tri ed to draw him into conversation but h e al ,

~
ways tur n ed away after a few cold m onosyllabl es A s h e .
now l ean ed over th e taffrail clos e b esid e m e I said to him , ,

Bill why is it that you ar e s o gloomy ? Wh y do
,

you n ev er sp eak to any on e ?
Bill smiled slightly as h e r epli ed Why I s pose i t s ,
'
b ecaus e I hain t g ot n othi n to s ay !

That s stran ge said I musingly ; y ou look lik e a
, ,
man that could thi nk an d such m en can usually sp eak , .

S O th ey c an you n gst er r ej oi n ed
, Bill som ewhat , ,
s t er n ly ; an d I could sp eak too if I had a mind to but ,
what s th e u s e 0 s peak i n h ere ? Th e m en only op en

th eir mouth s to curs e and sw ear an th ey se em to n d ,

it en ter tain i n ; but I do n t s o I hold my tongu e

, .
Well Bill that s tru e and I would r ath er n ot h ear

, ,

,
you sp eak at all than h ear y ou sp eak lik e th e other men ;

but I don t sw ear Bill so y ou might talk to m e som e

, ,
tim es I think Besid es I m w eary of sp en ding day aft er

,
.
,

day in this way witho u t a single soul to s ay a pl easant

,
word to I ve b een us ed to fri endly conv ersation Bill

.

, ,
and I really would tak e it kind if you woul d talk with

me a littl e n ow and th en .
Bill look ed at m e in surpris e and I thought I observ ed ,
a sad expression pass across his sun burn ed face -

.

A n wh ere hav e y ou be en us ed to fri endly c onv ersa
tion said Bill looking down again into th e s ea ; ,

on that C o al Island I tak e it
r ?
,

Y es ind eed
,
said I en ergetically I have spent
,
.
many of t h e happi est months i n my life on that C oral

Island and without waiting to b e furth er qu estion ed ,
I launch ed ou t into a glowing accoun t of th e happy life

that Jack and P eterkin and I had sp ent togeth er an d ,
relat ed minutely ev ery circumstanc e that b efell u s whil e

on th e island .
Boy boy said Bill in a voice s o d eep that it startle d

, , ,

me this is n o plac e for y ou .
That s tru e s aid I

I am of littl e u s e on boar d
, .
,

and I don t lik e my comrad es ; but I can t h elp it and

at an y rat e I hop e to b e free again soon .

Fr ee ? said Bill looking at m e i n s u rpris e ,
.

Y es free r eturn ed I :
,
th e captain said h e would
,

put m e ashor e aft er this trip was ov er .

Th i s tr i p Hark ee boy said Bill low eri ng his

, , ,
voic e what said th e captain to you th e day y ou cam e

,

aboard
H e said that h e was a trad er in san dal wood an d -
,
n o pirat e an d told m e that if I would j oi n him for

,
this trip h e would giv e m e a good shar e of th e pro ts or

put m e on shor e i n som e civiliz ed island if I chos e .
2 10 T HE CORAL I SL A ND .
and sho wed us her stern A s the breeze h ad m od erat ed .
a littl e ou r top sails w ere again shaken ou t and it soon

,
-
,
e e
b cam vid ent d espite th e prov erb A stern chas e is a
e ,
lo g
n o n e that we doubl ed h er speed and would ov er
haul h er speedily Wh en within a mile we hoist ed
.
British colo u rs but receivi n g no acknowle dgm en t th e

, ,
captain ordered a shot to b e red across her bows In .
a moment to my surpris e a large portion of the bottom

, ,
of th e boat amidships was r emov ed and in the hole thus ,
expos ed appeared an imm ens e brass g u n It work ed on .
a swiv el and was el evated by m eans of machin ery It

, .
was quickly load ed and red Th e h eavy ball struck .
th e wat er a fe w yards ahead of the chase and rico ,
c h etti n g into the air plung e d into the s ea a m il e b e

,
yon d it .
This produced the d esired effect The strange v ess el .
back ed her top sails and hov e to while we range d u p

-
,
and lay to about a hundr ed yards off .
L ower the boat cri ed t h e captain ,

.
I n a s econd th e boat was lowered and mann ed by a

part of the cre w who w ere all armed with cutlass es an d
,
pistols As th e captain pass ed m e to g et i n to it h e said

.
, ,

J u mp into the stern sh eets Ralph ; I may wan t y ou , .
I ob eyed and i n t en minut es more w e w ere stan din g on

,
th e stran ger s d eck We w ere all much surpris ed at th e

.
sight that m et ou r eyes In st ead of a crew of such sailors

.
as w e w ere accustom ed to s ee th ere w ere on ly fteen ,
blacks stan ding on th e quart er d eck an dr egardin g us with

,
-
looks of undisguised alarm Th ey w ere totally unar m ed .

,
and most of th em uncloth ed ; on e or t wo h ow e ver wore , ,
portion s of E urop ean attire O n e h ad on a pair of duck .
trous ers which w ere much t oo large for h i m an d stu ck ,
ou t i n a most ungainly man n er A n other wore nothing but .
th e commo n scan ty nativ e garm en t round th e loi n s and a

T HE CO R AL I SLAND . 2 11
black beaver hat But the most ludicrou s personage O f

.
all and on e who seemed to b e chief was a tall m iddle

, ,
aged man of a mild simple expression O f cou n ten ance

, , ,

who wore a wh i t e cotton shirt a sw allow tailed coat , ,
and a straw hat while his black braw n y l egs were ,
totally uncover ed b elow the kn ees .

Where s th e commander of this ship inqu ir ed ou r
captain steppin g up to this individu al
,
.

I is capin he answer ed taking off his straw h a t
, ,
and m aking a low bow .
You said our captain in surprise Where do you ,

.
com e from and where are you bound ? What cargo have
,

ou aboard ?
y
We is com e answered the m an with the swallow
,
tail from A itutaki ; we was go for Rarotonga We is

,
.
nativ e m i s s n ar y ship ; ou r nam e is de Oli r e B r an ch ;

an o u r cargo is t w o tons cocoa nuts seventy pigs twenty -
, ,

cats and de Gosp l
,

.
This announcemen t was received by the crew of ou r

v ess el with a shout of lau ght er which h ow ever was , , ,
p eremptorily ch eck ed by the captain whose expression ,
instan tly changed from on e of s ev erity to that of frank

urbanity as h e advanced towards the missionary and
shook him war mly by th e han d .
I am v ery glad to hav e fall en in with y ou said he , ,
an d I wish you much succ ess i n your missio n ary labours .
Pray tak e m e to your cabin as I wish to co n v ers e with ,
ou privat ely
y .
Th e missionary imm ediat ely took him by th e hand ,
a n d as h e led h i m away I h eard him sayin g Me most ,
glad to n d you trad er ; w e t ought y ou b e pirate You

.

v ery lik e on e bout th e masts
.
What conversation th e captain had with this man I

never h eard but h e cam e on d eck again i n a quart er of
,
an hour and shaki n g hands cordially with the mis

,
s i on ar y ord ered us into ou r boat and r eturned to the

,
schoon er which was im m ediately put b efor e th e wind

, .
In a few min u tes the Oli ve B r a n ch was l eft far b e

hind u s .
That afternoon as I was down below at dinner I , ,
heard the men talking about this curious ship .

I wond er said on e why ou r captain look ed s o

, ,
sweet on y on swallow tailed supercargo 0 pigs and -

Gosp els If it had b een an O rdinary trader n ow h e

.
, ,
would have taken as many 0 th e pigs as h e required an d

sent the ship with all on boar d to the bottom .
Why D ick y ou m u st be n ew to th ese se as if y ou

, ,

don t know that cried anoth er The captain car es as
, .
much for th e gospel as y ou do (an that s precious littl e!
b u t he know s and ev erybody k n ows that the only plac e

, ,
among th e southern islands wher e a ship c an put in and

et what she w ants in comfort is wh ere the gosp el has
g

been sent to Th er e are hundreds o islands at this
.
,
bl essed mom ent wh ere y ou m ight as w ell j u m p straight

,
into a shark s maw as land witho u t a band 0 thirty com

r ad es arm ed to the t eeth t o back you .

A y said a man with a deep scar ov er his r ight ey e
, ,
D ick s n ew to th e work But if th e captain tak es u s

.
for a cargo O san dal wood to th e F eej ees h e ll g et a taste

-
,

0

th es e blac k gentry in th eir nativ e condition For my .

par t I don t know an d I do n t car e what th e gosp el do es
,

to th em but I k n ow that wh en an y 0 t h e islands
,
chan ce to get it trad e go es all smooth an d easy ; but ,
wh ere th ey ha nt got it B eelzebub hims elf could hardly

d esir e b etter company .
W ell you ought to b e a good j u dg e cri ed anoth er

, , ,
laughi n g for you ve nev er k ept an y co m pan y but th e

,

worst all your life !
2 14: T HE CORAL I SLAND .

tain s remarks w ere a bloody and d eceitful tribe at this
,
group but we were also exposed to much risk fro m the

,
m u ltit u d es of coral r e efs that ros e up in th e chann els

b et we en the islands some of th em j ust abov e the s u rfac e
, ,
oth ers a few feet b elow it O ur pr ecautions against th e

.
s avages I found w ere ind eed necessary .
O ne day we wer e becalm ed among a group of small

islands m ost of which appeared to b e uninhabited A s w e
, .
w ere in want of fresh water the captain s en t the boat ,
ashore to bring off a cask or two B u t we w er e mistaken .
in thinking th ere were n o n atives ; for scarc ely had w e

d r a wn near to th e shore when a ban d of nak ed black s
r u shed ou t O f th e bush an d assembl ed on the b each ,
brandishing th eir clubs and sp ears in a thr eat ening

m an n er O ur m en w ere well armed but refrain ed fro m
.
,
sho wing any signs of hostility and rowed nearer in ,
ord er to convers e with th e nativ es ; and I n ow fou n d

that more than on e of th e cr ew could imp erfectly sp eak
dialects of the la nguage p eculiar to the S outh S ea isl
and ers When within forty yards of th e shor e w e
.
,
c eased rowing and the rst mate stood up to address the

,
m ultit u d e ; but i n stead of answ eri n g us th ey r epli ed ,
with a sho wer of stones som e of which c u t the m en ,
s ev erely Inst antly our musk ets w ere l ev ell ed and a

.
,
voll ey was about to be r ed wh en the captai n hail ed ,
us in a lo u d voic e from th e schooner which lay n ot more ,
than ve or s i x hundred yards off th e shore .

D on t r e ! h e shouted angrily

Pull off to the poi n t .

ahead of y ou .
The m en look ed surpris ed at this order and utt ered ,
d eep curs es as th ey pr epared to O b ey for th eir wrath ,
was rous ed and th ey burn ed for revenge Three or four .
of the m h esitated and s eem ed dispos ed t o mutiny

,
.

D on t dis tress yo u rs elves lads said th e mate whil e

, , ,
T HE CORAL I SL A N~D . 2 15
a bitt er smile curled his lip O bey orde r s The. .
captain s not the m an to take an insult tamely If

.
L ong Tom does not speak pr es ently I ll gi ve myself to

the sharks .
The men smil ed signi cantly as they p u ll ed from the

shore which was n ow crowd ed with a dense mass of
,
savages amounting pr obably to ve or s i x hundred

,
.
We had n ot rowed off above a co uple of hundr ed yards

when a loud r oar th u nd ered over the s ea and th e big ,
brass gu n sent a withering shower of grape point blank -
into the midst of the living mass thro u gh w hich a wide ,
lane was ou t while a y ell the like of which I could n ot

, ,
h ave i magined burst fro m the m iserable survivors a s

,
they ed to th e woods A mongst the heaps of dead that

.
lay on th e sand just wh ere they h a d fallen I could dis ,
ti n gu i sh mutilat ed forms writh i n g in agony while ev er ,
and anon on e an d another rose convulsively from ou t the

mass endeavoured to stagger towards the w ood and ere
, ,
th ey had tak en a few st eps fell and wallowed on the,
bloody sand My blood curdl ed w ithin me as I witn essed

.
this frightful and wanton slau ghter ; bu t I h a d little

time to think for the captain s deep voice cam e agai n
,

over the water tow a rds us : Pull ashore lads and ll

, ,

yo u r water casks -
The m en ob eyed in s il enc e and it
.
,
see med to me as if even th eir hard he arts were shocked .
by the rut h less deed O n gainin g th e mouth O f the

.
rivulet at which we intend ed to take in wat er w e found ,
it owi n g with blood for th e gr eater part of those wh o

,
were slain had b een standing on th e banks of the stream ,
a short way above its mouth Many of th e w r etched .
creatures had fallen into it and w e found on e body , ,
which had b een carri ed down jamm ed betw een two ,
rocks with th e staring eyeballs t u rned towards us

, ,
an d his black hair waving in th e ripples of th e blood

red s t rea m N O on e dared to O ppos e ou r l andin g n ow

. .
s o we ca rri ed our casks t o a pool abov e th e murd er ed
group and having ll ed th em r eturn ed on board F o r

, , .
t u n ately a bre ez e spran g up soon aft er wards and carri ed

us away from th e dreadful spot ; but it co u ld n ot waft
me away from the memory of what I had s een .

And this thought I gazin g in horror at the captain
, ,
.
wh o with a quiet look of indi fferenc e l ean ed upo n th e

, ,
taffrail smoki n g a ciga r and co n templating the ferti le

gre en islets as they passed like a lov ely picture b efore
o u r ey es this is th e man who favours the missionari es
b ecause th ey ar e u s eful to h i m an d can tam e th e savages
b ette r than an y on e els e can do it ! Th en I won d ered
in my m ind wheth er it w ere po ssibl e for an y missionary
to tame h i m
2 18 TH E CO R AL I SLAND .

H ow s o, Bill ? said I ; wo u ld the nativ es n ot
r eceiv e me
That th ey would lad ; b u t they woul d eat you too ,
.
E at me ! said I in surprise ; I thought t h e S outh ,

S ea island ers n ever ate anybody exc ept their en emi es .
Humph ej aculated Bill I s pose twas yer

.
tend er heart ed fri ends in E ngland that p u t that notion

-

into your head There s a s et 0 soft h ear ted folk at .
-

hom e that I knows on who don t lik e to hav e their
feeli n s rufed and when y ou tell th em anything they

,

don t lik e that shocks th em as they call i t n o matter ,
h ow tr u e i t b e th ey stop th eir ears and cry ou t O h

,

,

that is too horribl e ! We can t believe that l An they

say truth Th ey can t b eli eve it caus e they won t b e
.

liev e it N ow I believe th ere s thousands O th e people

.
,

i n E n gland wh o are sich born dr i velli n won t beli evers

-
that th ey think the black fellows h ereaway at th e worst

eat an enemy only n ow an then out 0 spite ; whereas
I kn ow for certain and man y captains of th e British ,
and A merican n avies kno w as w ell as me that th e ,
Fe ej ee island ers eat not only their enemies but on e

anoth er ; and th ey do it n ot for spit e but for pl easure ,
.
It s a fa ct that they prefer h u man esh to any oth er

.
B u t th ey don t like whit e men s esh s o w ell as black

they say it mak es th e m sick .
Wh y Bill said I you told m e j u st n ow that th ey

, ,

,

would eat m e if th ey caug h t m e .
I ve only

SO I di d an d so I think th ey would .

heard some 0 them say th ey don t like white men s o
well as black ; but if th ey was hungry th ey wouldn t

be particular Anyhow I m s u re th ey would kill y ou
.
,
.
Yo u s ee Ralph I ve b een a good whil e in th em parts

, , ,
and I ve visited the di fferent groups of islands oft en times

as a tr ad er A n d thorough goin blackguards some 0
.
-
th em trad ers are ; n o better than pira tes I can tell y ou ,

.
O n e captai n that I sail ed with was not a chip b etter

than the on e we re w ith n ow H e was trading w ith a

.
fri endly chief one day aboard his vess el Th e chi ef had ,
.
s wum off to us with th e t h ings for trad e ti ed atop of
his h ead for them chaps ar e like otters in the w a ter

,
.
Well th e chief was hard on th e c aptain an d wou ld n ot

, ,

part with som e 0 his things When th eir bar gai n i n
.
was ov er they shook hands and th e chi ef j u mped over ,
board to swim ashore ; b u t b efore he got for ty yards

from th e ship the captain seized a musk et and shot him
d ead H e then h ov e up anchor and put to s ea and a s
.
,
we sail ed along shore he dropp ed si x black fello ws with ,
his rie r em ar k i n that that would s poil the trade for

,

the n ext comers But as I was sayin I m up t o the
.
, ,

ways 0 th ese fello w s O ne O the laws 0 the country .
is that ev ery shipwr ecked p erson who happ ens to be

,
cast ashore be he d ead or aliv e is doom ed to b e r oasted

, ,
and eaten There was a small tr adi n schoon er w r eck ed

.

off on e of th ese islan ds wh en we wer e lyin th ere in
harbour during a storm Th e cre w was lost all but .

,
thre e m en wh o swam ashore Th e mom ent they lan d ed

, .
th ey w ere s eiz ed by the nativ es and carried u p into the

w oods We k ne w pr etty well what th eir fate would be
.
,
but we could not h elp them for our crew was small and , ,
if w e had gon e ashor e th ey would lik ely have kill e d us

all We n ever s aw the thre e m en again ; but we h ear d
.
frightful y elling and dancing and m erry making that -
n ight ; and on e of th e natives wh o cam e aboard t o trad e ,
with u s n ext day told u s that th e lon g pi gs as h e call ed

, ,
th e m en had b een roast ed an d eat en and th eir bones

, ,
w ere to b e conv er t ed i n to sail n eedl es H e also said -

.
that whit e m en w ere bad to ea t and that most 0 th e ,

p eopl e on shor e w ere s ick .
20 T HE CORAL I S LAND .
I was v ery much shock e d and cast dow n i n my min d

at this t erribl e acco u n t of th e nativ es and ask ed Bill ,
what h e wo u ld advis e m e to do L ooking round th e .
d eck to mak e sure that we w ere n ot ov erh eard h e ,
low ered his voi c e and said Th ere ar e two or thr ee,

ways that w e might escap e Ralph but n on e 0 th em s , ,

easy . If th e captain would onl y sail for some 0 th e
islands n ear Tahiti we might run away there w ell

,
enough because th e natives ar e all C hristians ; an we

,

n d that wher ev e r th e savag es tak e up with C h r istianity

th ey al ways give ov er th eir bloody ways and are s afe ,

to be trust ed I n ev er cared for Christianity mys elf
.
,
h e co n tin u ed in a soliloquizin g voic e
,
and I don t w ell ,
k n ow w h at it means ; but a man with half an ey e can

s ee what it do es for th es e black critt ers H o wever th e .
,
captain always k eeps a sharp look ou t after us wh en we -
et to th es e islan ds for h e half susp ects that on e or t w o

g ,
u s ar e tired of his co m pany Th en we might manage

0 .

to cut th e boat adrift som e n e n ight wh en it s our
watch on d eck an d cl ear off b efore th ey discovered that
,

we w ere gon e But w e would r u n th e risk 0 b ein

.

caught by th e blacks I wouldn t lik e to try that plan
.
.

But you and I will thin k ov er it Ralph an d s ee what s , ,
to b e do n e I n th e m eantim e it s ou r watch b elow s o

.

I ll go and turn in

.
Bill th en bad e m e good n igh t an d w ent b elow whil e

-
, ,
a comrade took his plac e at th e h elm ; but feeli n g n o

d esire to enter in to conv ersation with him I walk ed aft , ,
and l eaning ov er th e st ern look ed down into the phos ,
h or es c en t wav es that gurgl ed around th e rudd er and

p ,

strea m ed ou t lik e a a me of ~bl u e light in th e v ess el s
wak e My thoughts w ere v ery s ad and I could scarc e
.
,
refrai n from t ears as I contrasted my pres ent wretch ed

pos itio n with th e happy p eaceful tim e I had sp en t on th e
,
2 2 2 T HE CORAL I SLAND .
behi n d us ; but during th e greater part of th e night we

could s ee its lurid glar e and h ear its distant th u n der .
Th e sho wer did n ot c eas e to fall for s ev eral hou r s an d ,
w e must hav e sail ed und er it for n early forty mil es ,
p erhaps farth er Wh en w e em erged f r o m th e cloud ou r

.
,
d ecks and ev ery part of t h e riggi n g w er e compl et ely

cov er ed with a thic k coat of ash es I was much in t er .
es t ed in this an d r ecoll e ct ed that Jack had oft en spok en

,
of man y of th e islan ds of th e Paci c as b eing volcano es ,
e ith er acti ve or exti n ct and had said that th e w h ol e,
r egion was mor e or l ess volcan ic and that som e sci enti c ,
m en w er e of opinio n that th e islan ds of th e Paci c w ere

n othi n g mor e or l ess than t h e mo u n tai n tops of a hug e
contin en t which had sunk u n d er th e in u enc e of volcan ic

ag en cy .
Thr ee days aft er passi n g the volcan o w e fo u n d ,
ourselv es a few mil es to win dward of an island of

con sid erabl e siz e an d luxurian t asp ect It consist ed O f .
two mountai n s which se em ed to be n early four thousan d

,
feet high T h ey w ere s eparat ed fro m each oth er by a

.
broad vall ey whose thick growi n g trees asc end ed a con

,
-
s i der ab le dista n c e up th e mountai n sid es ; an d rich l ev el
plai n s or m eadow land s pr ead round th e bas e of th e

,
-
,
mou n tai n s exc ept at th e point imm ediat ely Opposit e th e

,
lar ge vall ey wh ere a riv er s eem ed to carry th e trees as

, ,
it were alo n g with it dow n to t h e whit e san dy shor e

,
.
Th e mou n tai n tops u n lik e thos e of ou r C o r al Islan d

, ,
w ere Shar p n eedl e shap ed an d bar e wh i l e th eir sid es

,
-
, ,
w er e more r u gged and grand in outlin e than anythin g I

had y et s een in thos e s eas Bloody Bill was b esid e m e .
wh en th e island rst hov e in sight .
Ha h e exclaim ed I k n ow t h ati is lan d w ell Th ey

,
.

call it E mo .
Hav e you b een th ere b efore th en I i n quired ,

.
Ay that I hav e Often an d s o has th is schooner

, , ,
.
Tis a famous island for sandal wood We hav e tak en -

.
man y cargo es O ff it already and hav e paid for them too ; ,
for th e savages ar e s o num erous that w e dared n ot try

to tak e it by for ce But ou r captain has tri ed to ch eat
.

them s o oft en that th ey r e b egin n i n not to lik e us
ov ermuch n ow B esid es th e m en b ehav ed ill th e last

.
,
time we w er e here and I wond er th e captain is n ot

,
afraid to venture But h e s afraid 0 nothing ear thly I

.

,

b eli ev e .
We soon ran insid e th e barri er coral r eef and let go -

,
ou r anchor in six fathoms wat er j ust opposite th e m o u th ,
of a s m all creek whos e shor es w ere d ens ely covered with

,
mangrov es and tall umbrageous tre es Th e principal .
village of th e n atives lay about half a mile from this - -
point O r d ering th e boat ou t th e captain j ump ed into

.
,
it and ordered m e to follow him Th e m en fte en in

,
.
,
numb er w ere well armed ; and th e m ate was direct ed

,
t o h av e L ong Tom r eady for e merg enci es .

Give way lads cri ed th e captain
, ,
.
Th e oars fell into th e wat er at th e word th e boat ,
shot from th e schoon er s side and in a few m inutes
r each ed th e shor e H ere contr ary to ou r exp ectation

.
, ,
we were m et with th e utmost cordiality by B omata th e ,
pri n cipal chi ef of th e islan d w h o con ducted u s to h i s ,
hous e an d gav e us m ats to s i t u po n I obs erv ed i n .
passin g that th e natives of whom th er e w er e two or ,
three tho u san d w ere totally u n arm ed

,
.
Aft er a short prelimin ary palav er a f east of bak ed ,
pigs an d various roots was spread b efor e u s ; of which

w e partook sparin gly an d th en proc eed ed to busin ess
, .
Th e captain stat ed his obj ect in visiti n g th e islan d ,
r egrett ed that th ere had b een a slight m isunder standi n g

duri n g th e last visit and hop ed that no ill will was
,
-
bor ne by either party and that a satisfactory trad e

,
would b e accomplish ed .
B omata answer ed that h e had forgott en th ere had

be en any di ffer en ces b etw een th em prot est ed that h e ,
d elight ed to s ee his fri ends again an d assured th em ,
they should hav e every assistance in cutting and em

barking th e wood Th e t erms w er e afterwards agreed
.
on and w e ros e to d epart

,
All this conv ers ation was
.
afterwards explain ed to me by Bill w h o und erstoo d th e ,
lan guag e pr etty w ell .
B omata acco mpan ied us on board an d explai n ed that ,
a great chief from a n other island was th en on a visit to

him and that h e was to be c eremoniously entertain ed
,
on th e following day Aft er b egging to b e allow ed to

.
introduc e him to us and r ec eiving p ermission h e s en t

, ,
his cano e ashore to bring him off At the sam e tim e h e .
gav e ord ers to bring on board his tw o favouri tes a cock ,
a n d a paroqu et Whil e th e cano e was gon e on this

.
er r and I had tim e to r egard th e savage chi ef atten tiv el y

,
.
H e was a man of imm ense siz e with massiv e but b eau ti ,
f u lly mould ed limbs and gure only parts of w hich th e , ,
broad ch est and muscular arms w er e u n cov er ed ; for ,
although th e low er ord ers gen erally wore n o oth er

clothin g than a strip of cloth cal led m a r o rou n d th eir
loins t h e chi ef on par ticular occasion s wrapp ed his per
, , ,
son i n volumin o u s folds of a sp eci es of nativ e cloth mad e

from th e bark O f th e C hi n es e pap er mulb erry Rom at a -
.
wor e a magni cen t black b eard an d moustach e an d his ,
hair was frizzed ou t to such an ext ent that it res embl ed

a larg e turban i n which was stuck a long wood en pin !
,
I afterwards foun d that this pi n s erv ed for scratchi n g

t h e h ead for which purpos e th e n g er s w er e too short
,
without di s arran ging th e hair But Rom ata put hims elf
.
to much greater i n conv en i enc e on accou n t of his hai r for ,

2 2 6 T HE CORAL I SLAND .
w as r ed a s econ d th e top of th e rock was s een to

. In
burst asund er and to fall in fragm ents into th e s ea
, .
Rom ata was so delight ed with th e succ ess of this s h ot ,
that h e pointed to a man wh o was walking on th e shore ,
a n d b eg ed t h e captain t o r e at him evid ently suppos

g ,
i n g that his p ermission was quite su fcient to j ustify th e

captai n in s u ch an act H e was th erefor e surprised and .
,
not a little annoy ed wh en th e captain r efused to r e at,
t h e nativ e and ord ered th e gun t o be hous ed

, .
O f all th e things how e v er that a fford ed matt er of , ,
amus em ent to th es e savages that which pl eas ed Rom ata s ,

vi s itor most was th e ship s pump H e nev er tir ed of

.
e xa m ining it and pumping up th e wat er Ind eed s o .

,
much was he tak en up with this pump that h e could ,
n ot b e p r evailed on to r etu r n on shor e but s ent a cano e ,
to fetch h i s favourit e stool on which h e s eat ed hims elf , ,
and sp ent th e remaind er of th e day in pumpin g the bilge

water ou t of th e ship !
N ext day th e crew w ent ashore to cut sand al wood -
,
whil e th e captain with on e or two m en r emain ed on , ,
board i n ord er to b e ready if n eed b e with th e brass

, , ,
un whic h was u n hous ed an d con spicuously el evat ed

g , ,
with its capacious muzzl e dir ecte d poin t blank at th e ,

-
ch i ef s hous e Th e m en w ere fully ar m ed as usual an d

.
t h e captai n ord er ed m e to go w ith th e m to assi s t i n t h e ,
work I was much pl eas ed with this ord er for it fr eed

.
,
m e f r om th e captain s compan y whic h I could n ot n o w

en dur e a n d it ga v e m e an
,
opportunity of s eei n g th e
nati ves .
As w e wound along in sin gl e le through th e rich

fragrant grov es of ban an a cocoa t bread fruit and
n u ,
-
, ,
oth er tr ees I Obs erv ed th at th er e w ere man y of th e plum

,
and banian trees with which I had b ecom e fam iliar on

,
th e C oral Islan d I n oticed also large quantiti es of taro

.
roots ya ms an d sw eet potatoes growing in enclosures

, ,
.
O n turning into an Op en glad e of the woods we came ,
abr uptly upon a clust er of native hous es Th ey w er e .
built chi ey of bamboos an d w ere thatch ed with th e ,
larg e thick l eav es of the pandanu s ; but m any of the m

had little mor e than a sloping roof and three sid es with
an open front being th e most simple shelter from the
,
weather th at could well be imagin ed Within these .

and arou nd th em wer e groups of n ativ es m en wom en , ,
and children wh o all stood up to gaze at u s as we

m arch ed alon g follow ed by the party of m en whom the
,
ch i ef h ad s ent to escort u s Abou t half a m ile inland .

- -
w e arriv ed at the spot where th e sandal wood gr ew and -
whil e the men s et to work I clambered u p an adj om i ng

hill to observe the country .
Abo u t mid day the chief arrived with several fol

-
lowers on e of who m carried a bak ed pig on a wooden

,
platt er with yarn s and potato es on s everal plantain

,
l eav es which he pres ented to the men who sat down

, ,
und er the shad e of a tr ee to din e The chi ef sat down .
to din e also ; but t o my s ur pris e instead of feedin g ,
himself on e of his wiv es perform ed that o f ce for him

,
I was seated beside Bil l and asked him the r eason ,
of this .
It is b en eath his dignity I b elieve to feed hims elf , , ,
an sw er ed Bill ; but I daresay h e s not par ticular exc ept
,

on gr eat occasions They ve a strange custom amon g
.
th em Ralph which is called ta bu and th ey car ry it to

, , ,
great l engths If a man choos es a particular tree for

.
his god th e fruit 0 that tree is tabu ed to him ; and if

,

h e eats it h e is sur e to be killed by his p eopl e and
, ,
eat en of cours e
,
for ki lling m eans eating h er eaway
, .
Th en you s ee th at great mop 0 hair on th e chi ef s h ead ?

,

Well he h as a lot O barb ers to k eep it i n ord er an d i t s

,

a law that whoev er touch es th e h ead of a livin g chi ef or

the body of a d ead on e his hands ar e tabued ; s o in that
,
w ay th e barbers hands ar e always tabu ed and th ey

daren t u s e the m for th eir liv es but hav e to b e fed lik e

big babies as they are sure enough

, ,

That s O dd Bill B u t look th ere said I pointi n g
,
.
, ,
t o a man whose skin was of a much light er colour than

the gen erality of the natives I ve s een a few of th es e .

light skinn ed fellows among the F eej eean s They se em

-
.

t o m e to be of quite a di ffer ent rac e .

So they ar e answ ered Bill ,
These fellows com e .
fro m th e Tongan Islands which lie a long way to th e ,
eastward T h ey come h ere to build their big war canoes

.
-
and as these take two and sometim es four years to

buil d there s always som e 0 the brown skin s among th e

-
,
bl a ck s ar pen ts 0 these islands

.

By th e way Bill said I your mentioning serp en t s
, , ,
reminds me that I hav e not s een a r eptil e of any ki n d

since I came to this par t of th e world .

N O more th ere are an y said Bill ; if ye exc ept ,

the n iggers th ems elv es th ere s n one on th e islands bu t ,
a lizar d or two an d som e sich harml ess things But I .
n ev er seed an y mys elf If th ere s none on th e lan d .

howev er there s more than enoug h in th e w at er an d

,

that minds m e of a won derful br ut e th ey hav e h er e .

But come I ll sho w it to y ou
,

S o saying Bill aros e .
, ,
an d l eaving t h e men still busy w ith th e bak ed pig ,
l ed m e into th e forest After proce eding a s h ort dis.
tance we cam e upon a small pon d of stagnant wat er .
A native lad had follow ed u s to whom w e call ed an d ,
b eckon ed h i m to com e to us O n Bill sayin g a few .
words to him which I did not und erstan d th e boy

, ,
ad vanced to th e edge of the pond and gave a low , ,
p eculiar whistl e Imm ediat ely th e water b ecame agi

.
t u ti on call ed th e A r eoi and th e p er s ons conn ect ed with

,
that body ar e r eady for any wick edn ess that mortal man
can d evise I n fact th ey stick at nothing ; and on e 0
.

their c u stoms is to murd er th eir infants th e mom ent th ey

are born Th e moth ers agree to it and th e fath ers do
.
,
it. And the mild est ways th ey hav e of murd ering th em

is by sticking th em through th e body w ith sharp s plin
t ers of bamboo strangling th em with th eir thumbs or
, ,
bury ing th em aliv e and stam ping th em t o d eat h whil e

und er th e s od .
I felt sick at h ear t whil e my co mpan ion r ecit ed th ese

h or r ors .
But i t s a curious fact he continued after a paus e

, , ,
during which w e walk ed in sil en ce towards th e spot

wher e w e had l eft ou r comrad es it s a c u rious fact
that wherever th e missionari es get a footi n all th es e
things com e to an en d at onc e an th e savages tak e to ,

doin each oth er good and singin psalms j u st lik e

Methodists .
God bless the missionari es ! said I whil e a feeling ,
of e n thusiasm ll ed my heart s o that I could sp eak with ,
difculty God bl ess and p r osp er th e m issionari es till

.

t h ey get a foo tin g in ev ery island of th e s ea !

I would s ay A m en to that pray er R alph if I could , , ,
said Bill i n a d eep sad voice ; but it would b e a m ere

, ,

mock ery for a m an to ask a bl essing for oth ers w h o

dar e n ot ask on e for hims elf But R alph h e conti n u ed .
, , ,
I ve not told you half 0 th e abomination s I hav e s een

durin my life in these seas If we pull lo n g togeth er

.
,
lad I ll t ell y ou more ; and if tim es have n ot chan ged

,

v ery much sinc e I was h er e last it s lik e th at you l l ,

h av e a chan c e O s eeing a little for y ours elf befor e long

.
CHA PT ER XXV .
Th e sa ndal wood
-
p a r ty
N ati ve ch i ldr en s ga mes so mewhat su rp i si ng

r
Desp e ate a mu s emen ts s dden ly a n d fatally br o u gh t to a closeA n old

r u
fr i en d r ecog n i zed N ews

B o ma l a s

m

d co
a n d u ct .
E XT day the wood cutting party went ashore

-
again and I accompani ed th em as b efore D ur

,
.
ing th e din n er hour I wan dered into t h e w oo ds alon e

-
,
b eing disinclin ed for food that day I had not r ambl ed .
far wh en I found mys elf un exp ect edly on th e s ea shore -

,
having cross ed a narro w n eck of land which s ep arat ed

th e nati ve villag e from a lar g e bay H ere I found a .

par ty of th e isl and ers busy with on e of th eir war cano es ,
which was almost ready for launchin g I stoo d for a .
long tim e watching this party with great int erest and ,
O bser v ed that th ey fas ten ed th e timb ers and plan k s t o

each oth er v ery much in t h e sam e way in which I had
seen Jack fasten thos e of ou r littl e boat But w h at .
surpris ed m e most was its 1 mm en se l en gth w hich I ,
m easured v ery car efully an d found to b e a hu n dr ed

,
feet long ; and it was s o capacious that it could have

held three h u n dr ed m en It had th e unwi eldy out
.
r igg er a n d enormously high stern posts which I had -
remark ed on th e cano e that cam e to us whil e I was

on t h e C oral Islan d O bserving som e boys playi n g at
.
gam es a short way along the beach I r esolv e d to g o ,
an d watch th e m ; but as I tur n ed from the natives w h o

w ere engaged so busily and ch eerfully at th eir work I ,
littl e tho u ght of th e t er ribl e ev ent that hung on th e

compl etion of that war cano e -
.
A dvancing towar ds the children wh o w er e s o num er ,
ou s that I b egan to think this must b e t h e g en eral play
ground O f th e village I s at down on a grassy bank und er

,
t h e shad e of a plantain tre e to watch th em And a

-
.
happier or more noisy crew I hav e n ever s een The r e .
wer e at l east two hu n dred of them both boys and girls , ,
all of whom w ere clad in n o oth er gar ments than th eir

own glossy little black skins exc ept th e maro o r strip , ,
O f cloth round th e loins of the boys and a v ery shor t ,
p etticoat or kilt on th e girls Th ey did not all play .
at th e sam e gam e but amus ed th emselv es in different

,
groups .
O n e h an d was busily engag ed in a game exactly simi

lar to ou r blind man s bu ff Another set w ere wal k i n g

.
on stilts which rais ed th e children thr ee f eet from th e

,
gr ound Th ey wer e very expert at this amus em ent and

.
,
s eldom tumbl ed In anoth er place I Obs erv ed a group

. .
of girls standing tog eth er and appar ently enj oyi n g th em

,
s elv es v ery much ; so I w ent up to s ee what th ey w ere

doin g and found that th ey w ere op en ing th eir ey elids
,
with th eir ngers till th eir eyes app ear ed of an enormou s

siz e an d th en thrusting pi ec es of straw b etw een th e
,
upp er and low er lids across th e ey eball t o k eep th em

, ,
i n that position ! This s eem ed to me I must confess a , ,
v ery foolish as w ell as dan g erous amusem ent N ev er .
t h eles s th e children se em ed to b e gr eatly d elight ed with

t h e hid eous fac es th ey mad e I pond er ed this subj ect a .
good d eal and thought that if littl e children knew h ow

,
silly th ey s eem to grow n u p p eopl e wh en th ey mak e -
faces th ey w ould n ot b e so fond of doing it I n anoth er

,
.
plac e w ere a nu m b er of boy s en gaged in yi n g kit es ,

2 34: T HE CORAL I SLAND .
I suppos e it was i n honou r of th ei r gu est that t his

gra n d swi m m ing match was got up for B omata cam e -
,
a n d told t h e captain that th ey were going to engag e i n
it an d b egged h i m to co m e and s ee
,
.
What sort of amus em ent i s this surf swimming ? I -
i nquired of Bill as w e walk ed togeth er to a par t of th e,
shore on which s ev eral th ousands of t h e n ativ es w er e

ass embled .

It s a v ery favourite lark with th es e x tr or n ar y

critter s r epli ed Bill giving a tur n to th e quid of tobacco

, ,
that invariably bulg ed ou t of h i s left ch eek Ye s ee .

,
Ralph the m fellows tak e to th e wat er as soon a m os t as

,

th ey can walk an long b efor e th ey c an do that an ything
,
resp ectably so that th ey ar e as much at hom e i n th e

,
s ea as on th e land Well y e s ee I spos e th ey fo u n d .

, ,

s wi m min for mil es out to s ea and divin

fathoms d eep , ,
wasn t exciting enough s o t h ey inv ent ed this gam e 0

swimmi n on th e surf E ach m an and boy as you s ee

.
, ,
has got a short board or pl ank with which h e swims ,
out for a mil e or mor e to s ea an d th en g ettin on th e

, ,
top 0 yon th u n der i n break er th ey com e to shore on th e

t o p of it y elli n and s c r eec h i n lik e en ds It s a marv el

.
,
to m e that th ey re not dash e d to shiv ers on th e coral
r eef for sure an sartin am I that if a n y 0 us tri ed it

,

we wouldn t b e worth th e uk e of a brok en anch or aft er

th e wav e fell But th ere th ey go ! .
A s h e spok e s ev er al hundr eds of th e nativ es amongst

, ,
who m w e w ere now stan ding utter ed a loud y ell rush ed , ,
do wn th e b each plu n ged into th e surf and w ere carr i ed

, ,
O ff by th e s eeth ing foam of th e r etr eati n g wav e .
A t t h e point wh er e w e stood th e en circling coral reef ,
j oi n ed th e shore so th at th e magn i c en t br ea k ers which

, ,
a rec en t stiff br eez e had r endered la r ger than usual fell ,
in thund er at th e feet of th e multitud es who lin ed th e

T HE CO R AL I SLAND .
beach . so me tim e th e swimmers continu ed to s trike

F or
ou t to s ea breasting ov er the swell like hundreds of

,
black s eals Th en th ey all tu rn ed and watchin g a n

.
,
approaching billow mounted its whit e crest an d each, ,
layi n g his breast on th e short at board cam e rolling ,
towar ds th e shore careeri n g on th e summit of th e mighty

,
wav e while th ey and th e o n look er s shout ed and y ell ed

,
with ex citeme n t J u st as the m onster wav e curl ed in

.
sol emn m aj esty to in g its bulky l ength u pon th e b each ,
most of the swimm ers slid back into th e trough b eh i h d;

others s lipping O ff their boards s eized them in th eir hands
, , ,
an d plunging through th e wat ery waste swam ou t t o ,
rep eat th e amus em ent ; but a few wh o s eem ed to m e ,
th e most reckl ess con tinu ed th eir car eer until they w ere
,
launch ed upon the beach and env elop ed in th e churning ,
foam and spray O n e of th es e last cam e in on th e cr est

.
of t h e wav e most m anfully and land ed with a viol ent ,
bound almost on th e spot wh er e Bill and I stood I .
s aw by h i s p eculiar head dress that h e was the chief -
whom th e tribe entertained as th eir gu est The s ea .
wat er had r emov ed n early all the paint with which his
face h ad b een cov ered and as h e ros e panti n g t o h i s,
feet I r ecognized to my surprise the features of Tar ar o

, , , ,
m y old fri end of th e C oral Island !

Tar ar o at t h e s ame moment recogniz ed m e an d ,
ad van cing quickly took m e rou n d th e n eck an d r ubbed

,
noses ; w h ich had the effect of transferring a good deal

of th e moist paint from his nose t o m in e Th en r e .
,
c oll ecti n g that this was n ot th e white ma n s m od e of

salu tatio n h e grasp ed me by th e hand and shook i t

,
O len tl
y .

H a llo , Ralph
cri ed Bill i n surpris e
! , ,
that chap
s eems to have tak en a sudd en fancy to you , or h e mu s t

b e an O ld acquaintanc e .

Right Bill I r eplied
, he is i n d eed an old acquaint
,
a nc e and I explai n ed in a few words that he was th e

chi ef whose party Jack and Pet erkin and I had h elped
to save .
Tar ar o h aving thrown away his surf board entered -

,
into an ani m ated conversation with Bill pointing fr e ,
quently durin g the cou rse of it to me ; wh ereby I con

clud ed he must b e telling him about the memorable
battl e and the part we had tak en in it When he .
paus ed I b egged of Bill to ask h i m abou t the wo m an

,
A vatea for I h ad som e hop e that sh e might have co m e

,

with Tar ar o on this visit And ask him said I wh o .
, ,
s h e is for I a m persuaded s h e is of a di ffer ent race from

,

th e F eej eean s O n the m ention of h er nam e th e chi ef
.
frown ed darkly and s eem ed to speak with much a n ger

,
.

You re righ t Ralph said Bill when th e chief had

, , ,
ceas ed to talk : S h e s not a F eej ee girl b u t a S a m oan

,
.
H ow sh e ev er ca me to this place th e chi ef do es n ot very

clear ly explain but he says she was taken in war an d
, ,
that he got her three years ago an kept her as his ,

daughter ev er since Lucky for h er poor girl els e she d

.
, ,

hav e b een roast ed an d eat en lik e th e r est .
But why do es Tar ar o frown and look so angr y ?
said I .
Becaus e the girl s som ewhat obstinate lik e most O
t h e s ex an won t marry th e man h e wants her to It

.
,
s eems that a chief of some other island came on a visit

to Tar ar o and took a fan cy to h er but she w ouldn t

,

hav e him on n o account bein already in lov e and , ,
engag ed to a young chi ef whom Tar ar o hates and s h e ,
kick ed up a desp erate shindy ; so as he was goi n g on ,
a war exp edition in his canoe h e l eft h er to think

-
,
about it sayin h e d be back in six months or s o w h en

,

h e hop ed sh e wouldn t be s o ob s tr opolou s This h app en ed

.
it had u pon these island ers was to m ake them hurry

with all spe ed ou t of th e s ea l est a similar fate should ,
befall som e of the oth ers ; but so utterly reckl ess w er e

th ey of human life that it did not for a mom ent susp en d
,
t h e progress O f their amus ements It is tru e th e surf.
swimmi n g ended for that ti m e som ewh at abruptly but ,
th ey im mediately proce ed ed with other gam es Bill .
to ld me that shark s do not often attack the surf

s w imm ers being fr ight ened away by the i mmens e
,
numb ers of m en and boys in the water and by th e ,

shouting and spl ashing that they make But said .
,
he such a thing a s you have seen j ust n ow don t
,
!
frighten them m u ch Th ey ll b e a t it again to morrow
.

-
or next day j ust as if th ere wasn t a si ngl e shark

,

b etw een Fe ej ee and N ova Zembla .
After this the nativ es had a s eries of wre stli n g and

boxing matches ; and b eing m en of immen s e size and
muscle they did a good deal of inj ury to each other
, ,
e sp ecially i n boxing in which n ot only the low er ord ers

,
but se veral of the chiefs an d priests engaged E ach .
bout was very qu ickly terminated for they did n ot ,
p r e t en d t o a scienti c k n owl edg e of the art and wast ed ,
n o time in sparring but hit straight ou t at each oth er s

h eads and th eir blows w ere d eliv ered wi th gr eat force

,
.
Frequ ently on e of th e combatants was knock ed dow n

With a single blow ; an d on e gigantic fellow hit his
adversary so s ever ely that h e drove the skin en tir ely
O ff his forehead This feat was hail ed with imm en s e
.
applau se by th e spectator s .
D u ring th es e exhi bitions which w ere very painful to

,
m e though I confess I could n ot refrain fro m b eholdi n g

,
th em I was struck with th e beauty of many of t h e

,
gur es an d d esig ns that w ere tattooed on th e p erson s

of th e chi efs an d pri n cipal m en O n e gur e tha t .
,
se em ed to m e v ery el egant was that of a palm tre e ,
tattoo ed on th e back of a man s leg th e roots risi n g as
, ,
it w ere from und er his h eel th e st em asc ending the

, ,
ten do n of th e ankl e an d th e grac eful h ead bran chin g

,
out upon th e calf I aft erwards l ear n ed that this pr o

.
c ess of tattooi n g i s v ery painful an d tak es long to do , ,
comm en ci n g at the age O f t en and b eing conti n u ed at ,
i n t ervals up to th e age of thirty It is don e by m eans .
of an instrum ent ma de of bon e with a numb er of sharp ,
te eth with which the skin is p u nctur ed Into th ese .
p u nctures a preparation mad e from th e k ern el of the

can dl e nut mix ed with cocoa nut oi l is rubb ed and th e
-
,
-
, ,
mark t h us mad e is ind elibl e Th e op eration is p erform ed

.
by a class of men whos e profession it is and th ey tattoo ,
as m uch at a tim e as th e person on w hom th ey ar e

operati n g can b ear ; which is n ot much th e pain an d ,
i n ammation caus ed by tattooin g b eing v ery great ,
som etim es causi n g d eath S om e of th e chi efs w ere

.
tattoo ed with an orn amental strip e down th e l egs which ,
gav e th em th e app earan ce of b ein g clad in tights ;

oth ers had marks rou n d th e an kl e s an d inst eps which

look ed lik e tight tt in g an d elegant boots Th eir fac es .
were also tattoo ed and th eir br easts w ere v ery profus ely
,
mark ed with e very imagi n abl e sp eci es of d evic e

mu sk ets dogs birds pigs clubs an d cano es in ter

, , , , , ,
m i n gl ed with lozen g es sq u ar es circl es an d oth er a r bi

, , ,
t r ar y gur es .
Th e wom e n w er e not tattoo ed so m uch as th e m en ,
havin g on ly a few marks on th eir feet and arms B u t .
I must s ay h ow ev er obj ectio n abl e this stra n g e practic e

,
m ay b e it n ev erth el ess had this good effect that it took

, ,
away v e r y much from th eir app earan c e of n ak e d n ess .
N ext day whil e w e w ere r eturni n g fr om th e w oods

,
to our schoo n er w e O b s erved B omata rushing about i n

,
th e n eighbourhood O f his hous e apparently mad with ,
passion .
Ah ! said Bill to m e ther e he s at his old tricks

again That s his way wh en h e gets drink Th e

. .
nati ves mak e a sor t of drink 0 th eir own and it m ak es
h i m bad enough ; but wh en h e g ets brandy h e s lik e a

wild tiger The captain I suppos e has giv en him a

.
, ,
bottle as usual to k eep him in good humour Aft er

, ,
-
.
dr i n k i n he usually goes t o sl eep and the p eople k now

it w ell and ke ep ou t of his way for fear th ey should

, ,
wak en him E ven th e babi es ar e tak en ou t of ear shot ;

.
-
for wh en h e s wak ed up he rush es ou t j ust as you s ee

h i m now and sp ear s or clubs th e rst p erson h e m eets
,
.
It s eem ed at th e pres ent tim e how ev er that n o d eadly , ,
w eapon had be en in his way for th e infuriated chi ef ,
was r agin g abou t without on e S udd en ly h e caught .
sight of an un fortunate man w h o was tryin g to con c eal

h ims elf b ehin d a tr ee R ushin g towards him Rom at a .
,
st r uc k h i m a t erribl e blo w on th e h ead which k n ock ed ,
ou t th e poor man s ey e an d also dislocat ed th e chi ef s

ng er . The wr etch ed creatu r e O ffer ed n o r esistanc e ;

he d i d n ot e v en att empt to parry th e blow Indeed .
,
fro m what Bill said I fou n d that h e might con sid er ,
hims elf lucky i n hav i n g escap ed w ith his life which ,
would c ertain ly hav e b een forfeit ed had th e ch i ef b een

poss ess ed of a clu b at th e tim e .
H av e th es e wretch ed creatures n o law amon g th em

s elv es said I which can r estrai n such wick ed n ess ?
, ,
He

N on e r epli ed Bill ,
Th e chi ef s word i s law
.
might kill an d eat a doz en of his own subj ects an y day

for n othi n g m ore than his own pl easure and n obody ,

would tak e th e l east notic e of it .
This ferocious d eed took plac e within sight of ou r

party as w e w end ed ou r way to th e b each but I could ,
CHAPT ER XXVI .
Mi sc h i ef
br ewi ng My blood ade to r u n cold Ev l co n su ltat i on s a n d wi cked
is m -
i
r esolv es B loody B i ll att emp ts to do good a n dfa i ls

,
Th e attack Wh olesa le
mu r der Th e fli ght Th e escap e .
E XT morn i n g I awok e with a f ev er ish brow an d
feeling of d eep d epression at my h eart and

a ,
the more I thought on my u n happy fat e th e mor e ,
w retch ed and mis erabl e did I feel .
I w as sur r o u n d ed on all sid es by hu m an b ein gs of th e

most dreadful charact er to whom th e sh eddin g of bloo d
,
was m ere pastim e O n shore wer e th e nativ es whos e

.
,
p r actices w er e so horribl e that I could not think of th em

witho u t s h udd ering O n board w ere non e but pirat es of
.
t h e black est dy e w h o although n ot cann ibals w er e fo u l

, , ,
murd erers and mor e blam eworthy e ven than th e savages

, ,
i n asmuch as th ey k n ew b etter E ven Bill with whom .

,
I had u n d er th e strang e circumstan c es of m y lot form ed

, ,
a kind of intimacy was so erce i n his n atu r e as to hav e

,
acquir ed th e titl e O f Bloody from his vil e companio n s

.
I felt v ery m u ch ca s t down t h e m or e I con sid ered th e

subj ect an d th e impo s sibility of d eliv ery as it s eem ed to

,
m e at l east for a lon g tim e to c om e

,
A t last in m y .
,
feelin g of u tt er h elpl essn ess I pray ed ferv ently to th e

,
Almighty that h e wou ld d eliv er m e ou t of my mis er able

condition ; and wh en I h ad don e s o I felt som e d egr ee
of comfort .
Wh en th e captai n came on d eck b efore th e h our at ,
which th e m en usually start ed for the woods I b egged ,
of him t o p ermit me t o r emain aboard that day as I di d ,
not feel w ell ; but h e looked at m e angri ly an d ord er ed ,
m e in a surly tone to g et r eady t o g o on shore as u sual

, ,
.
Th e fact was that th e captain had been ou t of hu m our

for some time past B omata an d he had had some .
differ enc es an d high words had passed b etw een th em

, ,
during which th e chi ef had thr eatened to s end a eet of

his war cano es with a thousand men to break up an d
-
, ,
burn th e schoon er ; wh ereupon the captain smil ed s ar

cas ti c ally and going up t o th e chief gaz ed ste r nly in his
,
face whil e h e said I have on ly to rais e m y little n ger

, ,
just n ow and my big gun will blow your whol e village

,
to atoms in ve minut es ! A lthou gh the chi ef was a

bold man h e quailed before the pirat e s glan ce a n d
,

threat and mad e n o reply ; but a bad feeling had be en

,
rais ed and old sores had b een O pen ed

,
.
I had therefore to g o with th e wood cutters th at

, ,
-
day B efore s tartin g how ev er the captain called m e

.
, ,
i n to th e cabin and said , ,
Her e Ralph ; I ve got a mission for y ou lad That

.
, ,
blackguard B om a ta is in th e dumps and n othi n g will ,
mollify him but a gift ; so do y ou go Up to his h ous e

and giv e him these whal e s teeth with my comp lim ents
,
.
Tak e with you on e of th e m en who can sp eak th e

languag e .
I look ed at th e g ift in som e surpris e for it consist ed ,
of s i x whit e whal e s t eeth and tw o of th e s ame dyed

bright r ed which s eem ed to m e v ery paltry th in gs

,
.
H ow ev er I did not dare to h esitat e or ask an y qu es

,
tions ; so gathering th em up I l eft th e cabin an d was , ,
soon on my way t o th e chi ef s house acco m pan i ed by
Bill O n expressing my surpris e at th e gift h e said

.
, ,

They re paltry eno u gh to you or me Ralph b u t , ,
t h ey re consider ed of great valu e by th em chaps Th ey r e

a sort O cash among th em The r ed On es ar e th e most .
p r i zed on e of th em b ein equal to t wen ty O th e whit e

,

one s I suppose th e o n ly r eason for th eir b ein valuabl e

.

i s that th er e ain t many of th em and th ey r e hard to

,

be got .
O n arr iving at th e ho u s e w e found B omata sitting on

a mat i n th e midst O f a numb er of larg e bal es of n ativ e
,
cloth and other articl es which had b een brought to him ,
as pr esents from time t o time b

y inf erior chi efs H e .
receiv ed us rath er haughtily but on Bill explai n in g th e ,
nature of ou r errand h e becam e v ery co n d escen din g an d ,
his eyes glisten ed with satisfaction wh en h e r eceived th e

whale s teeth although h e laid th em aside with an

a ssu m ptio n of kingly indi ffer enc e .

Go said h e with a wav e of th e han d
, ,
go t ell
your captai n that h e may cut wood to day but not -
,
to morrow
-
H e must com e ashor e ; I want to ha ve
.

a palav er with him .
A s we left th e hous e t o r etur n to th e woods Bill ,
s hoo k h i s h ead .
Th ere s mischi ef b r ewi n i n that black rascal s h ead

.

I kno w h i m o Old But what com es h e e
f r ? .
As h e spok e w e h eard th e s oun d of laught er an d

,
shout in g in th e wood an d pr es en tly th ere issu ed from ,
it a band of savages in th e m idst of w hom w ere a ,
n umb er of m en b eari n g burd en s on th eir should ers At .
r st I thought th at thes e burd ens w ere pol es with s om e

thi n g roll ed r oun d th em th e en d of each pol e r estin g on ,
a ma n s should er but on a n ear er approach I saw th at

th ey were human b ei n gs ti ed h an d an d foot an d so , ,
lash ed to th e pol es that tn ey could n o t move I coun ted .
tw en t y of th em as th ey pass ed .
breasts of thes e m en Fo r ward th ey w en t i n r uthl ess

.
indi fference sho u tin g as th ey w ent whil e high abov e

, ,
th ei r voices rang th e dyin g shri eks of th os e w r etch ed

creatures as on e after another th e pon derous cano e
, , ,
pass ed ov er th em bu rst th e ey eballs from th eir s ock ets

, ,
and sent th e life blood gushing from th eir mouths .
O r ead er this i s n o ction

,
I wo u ld not for th e s ak e .
,
of thrillin g ou w ith horror inv ent s o t erribl e a sc en e

y , .
I t was wit n ess ed

It is tru e tr u e as that accurs ed s i n
.
which h as r end ered th e human h eart capabl e of such

diabolical en o r mities !
Wh en i t was o ver I turned round and fell upon th e
grass with a deep groan ; but Bill s eized m e by th e arm ,
and lif ting m e up as if I had be en a child cri ed , ,
C o me along lad ; l et s away !

, ,
and s o S taggerin g
an d st u mbling ov er t h e tangl ed underwood W e ed from ,
th e f atal spot .
D uring th e remaind er of that day I felt as if I w er e

in a horribl e dr eam I scar c e kn ew what was said to
.
m e an d w as mor e than once blam ed by th e m en for

,
idling my tim e At last th e hour t o r eturn aboard

.
cam e We march ed down to th e b each an d I felt

.
,
reli ef for th e rst time w h en my feet res t ed on th e

schooner s d eck

.
In th e c our s e of th e ev en ing I overh eard part of a

conv ersation b etw een th e captain and th e rst mat e ,
which startl ed m e not a littl e Th ey were down in th e .
cabi n an d conv er sed i n an und erto n e ; but th e skylight

,
b eing off I ov erh eard ev ery word that w as said

,
.

I do n t half like it said th e mate

It s eems to
,
.
m e that w e ll only hav e hard gh t i n and n o pay

.

N o pay ! r ep eat e d th e captain i n a voic e of s u p ,
press ed an ger D o y ou call a good cargo all for n o thi n g

.
n o pay
V ery tru e r et urn ed the m at e ; but w e v e got th e

,

cargo aboard Why not cut your cabl e an d tak e Fr ench

.
leav e O th em ? What s the u s e 0 tr y i n to lick th e

blackguards wh en i t ll do us no mann er 0 good

Mate said th e captain in a low voic e y ou talk
, , ,
lik e a fr esh water sailor I can onl y attribute this s h y

-
.

ness to som e strange d elusion ; for surely (his voic e
assum ed a slightly sneering ton e as h e s aid this ! su r ely ,

I am not to suppos e that you hav e b ecom e soft hearted ! -
B esid es you ar e wrong in regard to th e cargo b eing

,
aboard ; th er e s a good quart er O f it lying in th e woods

and that blackguard chief knows it an d won t let m e
tak e it off H e d eed us to do ou r worst yesterday

. .

D e ed us ! di d h e ? cri ed th e mat e wi th a bitter ,

laugh . Poor cont emptibl e thing ,
And y et h e s eems not s o contemptibl e but that you

ar e afraid t o attack him .
Wh o said I was afraid ? growl ed the mate sulkily .
I m as ready as an y man in th e ship But captain .

, ,
what is it that you int e

nd to do ?
I int en d t o mu f e th e sw eeps and r ow th e schoon er

up t o the h ead of th e cre ek th ere from which point w e ,
'
c an command th e pil e of sandal wood with ou r g u n -

.
Th en I shall land with all th e m en except t wo wh o ,
shall tak e care of the schoon er and b e ready with th e

bo at to tak e us O ff W e c an cre ep through th e woods
t o th e h ead O f t h e villag e wh ere th es e cann ibals ar e ,
al w ays dan cin g round th eir supp ers of human esh an d ,
if the carbin es of th e m en ar e load ed with a h eavy

charge of buck shot w e can drop forty or fty at ,
th e rst voll ey Aft er that th e thing will b e eas V

.
en ough Th e savag es will tak e to th e moun tains i n a

.
bo dy and we shall tak e what we requi r e up an chor

, ,
.
a n d away .
To this plan th e mate at len gth agreed A s he l eft .
t h e cabin I heard the captain s ay ,

Give the m en an ext r a glass of grog and do n t ,

forg et the b u ck shot -
.
The r eader may conc eive the horror with which I

h eard this murd erous conv ersation I imm ediately r e .
ated it t o Bill who seem ed much perpl exed about it

p e , .
A t le n gth he said ,

I ll t ell y ou what I ll do Ralph I ll swim ashore
,
.

after dark and x a musk et to a tr ee n ot far from th e

place wh ere we ll have to land and I ll tie a long stri n g ,

to the trigger s o that wh en ou r fellows cross it th ey ll

,

let it off and so alarm th e village in time to pr event an

,
attack but not in time to pr event us gettin back to th e

,

boat SO Master C aptain added Bill with a smile that
.
, , ,
for th e rst time se em ed to me to b e m ingl ed with good

natured ch eerfu lness you ll be balked at least for ,

onc e in your life by Bloody Bill .
After it gre w dark Bill put this resolv e in practic e ,

.
H e slipp ed over t h e sid e with a muske t in his left han d ,
w h ile with his right he swam ashore an d en tered th e

woods H e soon retu rned having accomplish ed his pur
.
,
pose and got on board without b eing s een I b eing the

, ,
o n ly on e on d eck .
Wh en th e hour of midnight approach ed t h e m en w e r e

m ust ered on d eck the cabl e was cut and th e mu f e d
,
s w eeps ot out Th ese sw eeps w ere imm en s ely larg e

g .
oars each requirin g a couple of m en to work it I n

,
.
a few minutes we entered the mouth of the creek ,
which was ind eed the mouth of a small riv er and ,
took about half an hour to ascend it although th e

- -
,
spot wh ere we in tended to land was not more than six

hundred yards from th e mouth b ecause there was a ,
slig ht curr ent against us an d th e mangroves which ,

boat i n that dark sil ent spot awaiti n g t h e issu of t his

, , ,
m urd erous exp editio n I shudd ered as I glanc ed at th e

.
wat er that glid ed past lik e a dark reptil e I look ed .
back at th e schooner but h er hull was j ust barely

,
visibl e whil e h er tap ering masts w ere lost amon g th e

,
tr ees which ov ershadow ed h er H er low er sails w er e

.
s et but s o thick was th e gloom that th ey w er e quit e

,
i n visibl e .
S udd enly I h eard a shot I n a mom en t a thousan d

.
voices rais ed a y ell i n th e village ; agai n th e cry ros e on

th e night air and was follo wed by broken shouts as of
,
scattered parti es of m en boun din g into th e woods Th en .
I h eard anoth er shout loud and clos e at hand It was .
th e voic e of t h e captain cursing th e m an who had red

th e pr ematur e Shot T h en cam e th e order Forward !
.
,
follow ed by a wild hurrah of ou r m en as th ey charged

th e savag es S hots n o w rang i n quick succ ession an d
.
,
at last a loud voll ey startl ed th e echo es of th e woods .
It was follo wed by a multit u d e of wild sh r i eks which ,
w ere imm ediat ely dro wn ed i n an anoth er hurrah

fro m th e m en ; t h e distan ce of t h e soun d provin g that
th ey w ere drivi n g th eir enemi es b efore th em towar ds
th e s ea .
Whil e I was list ening int en tly to th es e sounds which ,
w ere n o w min gl ed in co n fusion I was startl ed by t h e

,
r ustli n g of t h e l eav es n ot far from m e A t rst I .
t hought it was a par ty of savag es who had obs er v e d

t h e schoon er but I was sp eedily und ec ei ved by obs e rvi n g
,
d
a bo y of ativ es apparently sev eral hundreds as far
n ,

as I could g u ess in th e u c er tain light bou n ding through
n
th e woods towards th e sc en e of battl e I s a w at on c e

.
that this was a party wh o had ou t an k ed ou r m en and ,
would sp eedily attack th em i n th e r ear A n d s o it .
t u rn ed ou t ; for i n a short tim e t h e shouts i n creas ed

t enfold a n d among them I though t I hear d a death

,
cry uttered by voices familiar to my ear .
A t l en gth th e tumult of battl e c eas ed and from the ,
cri es of exultation that n ow aros e from th e savages I ,
felt assured that ou r men had b een conqu ered I w as .
imm ediat ely thrown i n to dreadful consternation What

w as I n o w to do ? To b e tak en by the savages was too
horribl e to b e thought of ; to ee to th e m ou n tains was
hop el ess as I s hould s oon b e discovered ; and to tak e the
,
schoon er out of the cr eek without assistance was i m

ossible I r esolved how ev er to mak e t h e att empt a s
p .
, , ,
b eing my only hop e and w as on th e point of pushing ,
off wh en my hand was stay e d and my blood chill ed by

, ,
an appalling s hri ek in which I recogniz ed the voice of

,
one of th e crew It was succe eded by a shout from th e

.
s avag es Th en cam e another an d anoth er shri ek of

.
agony making my ear s to tingl e as I felt convinc ed

, ,
th ey were murdering the pir ate crew in cold blood .
With a bursting h eart and my brain whirlin g as if on

r e I s eized th e boat hook t o push from shore wh en
,
-
,
a man sprang from th e bush es .

S top ! Ralph stop there n ow push O ff he cried
,
-
, , .
and bound ed into th e boat s o viol en tly as n early to

ups et her It was Bill s voice ! In anoth er moment
.

w e wer e on board th e boat mad e fast th e lin e Of th e ,
a n chor cut an d th e sw eeps r u n ou t A t th e rst strok e

, .
of Bill s giant ar m the schoon er was n early pull ed ashore

for in his hast e h e forgot that I could scarc ely mov e t h e

u n wi eldy oar S prin ging t o th e st ern h e lash ed th e
.
,
rudd er in such a position as that whil e it aid ed m e it , ,
acted against him and S O r end er ed th e forc e of ou r

,
strok es n early equal Th e schoon er n ow b egan to glid e

.
quickly down th e creek ; but b efore w e r each ed its

mouth a y ell f r o m a thousand voices on th e ban k told
,
that we were discov ered Instantly a numb er of t h e

.
savages plung ed into th e water and swa m towards us ;

but we w ere making so much way that they co u ld n ot
ov ertak e us O ne how ev er an immensely pow erful m an
.
, , ,
succeeded in laying hold of th e cut rope that hung fr om

th e st ern and c la m ber ed quickly upon d eck
,
Bill caught .
s i ht of him the insta n t his head appeared abov e th e

g
ta ffrail But h e did not c eas e to row and did not app ear
.
,
e v en to notice the savag e until h e was within a yard of
h i m ; th en dropping th e sw eep h e struck him a blow on

,
th e for eh ead with his clench ed s t that felled him t o th e

deck L ifting him up h e hurl ed him overboard an d r e
.
sum ed th e oar B u t now a greater danger await ed u s

.
,
for the savag es had outrun u s on th e bank an d w er e ,
a bo u t t o plunge into th e water ahead of th e schoon er .
I f th ey s u cc eeded in doing so ou r fat e was seal ed F or .
on e moment Bill stood irr esolut e Then drawing a pistol

.
from his belt he sprang to th e brass gun h eld t h e pan of

, ,
his pistol over the touch hol e and red The sho t was
-
.
succeed ed by th e hiss of th e can non s priming th en th e
b laz e and the crashi n g thunder of the monstrous g u n

burst upon t h e savage s with such deafeni ng roar that
it s eem ed as if their v ery mountains had b een r en t
asun der .
This was enough Th e mom ent of surpris e an d h esi

.
tati on caus ed by th e unwo n t ed sound gav e us tim e to

pass th e point ; a gentl e breeze which th e d ens e foliage
,
had hith erto prevent ed us from feeling bulged ou t our ,
sails ; the schooner bent b efore it and th e shouts of th e,
di s appoin ted savages grew fain t er and fai n ter i n th e

dis tan c e as w e were slowly waft ed ou t to sea .
i ng fear of danger past howev er than my faculti es w er e

, ,
utterly relax ed and wh en I felt the cool breezes of th e

Paci c playing around my f ev er ed brow and h eard th e ,

free wav es rippling at the schooner s prow as w e l eft ,
th e hat ed island behind us my s enses forsook m e an d I

, ,
fell i n a swoon upon th e d eck .
F r om this state I was quickly aro u sed by Bill w h o ,
shook m e by the arm saying , ,

Hallo Ralph boy ! rous e up lad ; we re safe now
, , .
Poor th ing ! I b eliev e h e s fai n t ed And raising m e in

his arms he laid me on th e folds of the ga ff top sail - -

,
which lay u pon the deck n ear the till er Her e tak e .
,
a drop 0 this ; it ll do you good my b oy he add ed in

, , ,
a voice of tende r ness which I had n ever heard him u s e

befor e while he held a brandy ask to my lips
,
-
.
I rais ed my ey es grat ef u lly as I swallo wed a mouth ~
fu l n ext moment my h ead sank heavily upon my arm ,
a n d I f ell fast a sleep I sl ept lon g for when I awok e

.
,
th e s u n was a good way abov e the horizon I did not .
move on rst openi n g my eyes as I felt a d elightful ,
s ensation of rest pr evadin g me and my eyes w ere ,
riveted on and char m ed with the gorgeous spl endour of

t h e mighty oc ean that burst upon my sight
,
It was a .
d ead calm th e sea se em ed a sh eet of undu latin g crystal ,
tipp ed and streak ed with th e saffron hu es of sun r is e ,
w h ich had not y et m erged into the glowing h eat of

noon ; and th er e was a d eep calm in the blu e dom e
abov e that was n ot brok en e v en by th e usual utt er of
th e s ea fowl -
H ow long I woul d h a ve lain in cont em
.
lat i on of this peac eful sc ene I know n ot but my mind

:
p ,
was recalled sudd enly an d painfully to the past an d th e

pres ent by the si ght of Bill who was s eated on th e d eck
,
at my fe et with his h ead r eclining as if in sl eep on his , ,
right a r m which rested on th e tiller A s h e s eem ed to

,
.
rest pe ac efully I did n ot m ean t o disturb him but the

, ,
slight nois e I m ade in ra isin g m yself on m y elbow

caus ed h i m t o star t an d look round .
Well Ralph awake at last my b oy ; you hav e sl ept

, , ,

long and soundly h e said turning towards m e , ,
.
O n b eholding his countenan ce I sprang u p in au x

i ety H e was deadly pale an d h i s hair wh ich h u ng in
.
, ,
dishev ell ed locks ov er his face was clott ed with blood ,

.
Blood also stained his hollo w cheeks and cover ed the

front of h i s shirt which with the greater part of h i s, ,
dress was torn an d soiled with m u d

,
.

0 Bill ! said I with d eep a n xiety what is the , ,
m atter with y ou ? You are ill Y ou must have been .

wounded .
E v en s o lad said Bill in a deep soft voice while

, , , ,
b e ext ended his hug e frame on the couch from wh ich I

had j ust ris en I ve got an u gly wound I f ear ; and
.

I ve be en waitin g for y ou to waken to ask y ou to get

,

me a drop 0 brandy and a mouthful o br ead from th e
cabin lock ers You s eemed to sleep s o swe etly Ralph

.
, ,
that I didn t like to disturb y ou

But I don t feel u p to .

much j ust n ow .
I did not wait till he had don e talking b u t ran b elow ,
immediat ely and r etu r ned in a few s econ ds with a

,
bottle of bran dy and s ome brok en biscuit H e s eem ed .
much r efr esh e d aft er eatin g a few m ors els an d dri n kin g
a long draught of water min gl ed with a little of the
spirits Imm ediately afterwards he fell asl eep an d I
.
,
watch ed him anxiously u ntil h e awok e b eing desirous ,
o f knowi n g th e natur e and e x t ent of his wo u n d .
Ha l h e exclaim ed on awaking suddenly aft er a

, ,
slumb er of an hour I m th e b ett er of that n ap R alph ; ,

I fe el t w ic e the man I was and he attem pt ed to rise ,
but sank back again im m ediately with a deep groan

N ay Bill y ou m u st
, move but h e still whil e I
,
n ot ,
loo k at your wound I ll make a comfortabl e bed for .

you here on deck and get you som e breakfast A fter , .

that you shall t ell m e how you got it C h eer up Bill .
, ,
I add ed seeing that he turned h i s h ead away ; yo u ll be

,

all right in a little and I ll be a capital nurse to y ou ,

tho u gh I m n o doctor
.
I then l eft him and lighted a r e in the caboose , .
While it was kindling I went to the steward s pantry ,
and procur ed th e mat erials for a good breakfas t with ,
which in littl e more than half an hour I return ed to

,
- -
,
my compa n ion H e s eemed much better and smil ed

.
,
kindly on me as I s et b efor e h i m a cup of co ffee and a

tray with s everal eggs and som e br ead on it .

N ow th en Bill said I che erfully sittin g down h e
, , ,

sid e him O u th e d eck let s fall to I m v ery hu n gry ,

.

mys elf I can t ell you but I forgot your woun d I
, ,

add ed rising ; let me look at it
,

.
I found that the wo u nd was caus ed by a pistol shot -
in th e chest It di d n ot ble ed m uch an d as it was on

.
,
th e right side I was in hopes that it might not b e

,
v ery serious But Bill shook h i s h ead

. Howe ver .
,
said h e sit down Ralph an d I ll tell y ou all about it

, , ,

.
You s ee after w e l eft th e boat an b egan to push

,

through th e bush es w e w ent straight for th e lin e of my ,
musk et as I had exp ected ; but by som e unlucky chan ce

,
it did n t explod e for I s aw th e lin e torn away by th e

m en s l egs an d h eard th e click 0 the lock ; s o I fancy

th e priming had got damp and didn t catch I was in a

.

gr eat quan dary n ow what to do for I could n t con coct ,
in my mi n d in th e hurry any good r eason for r i n O ff

, ,

m y pi ec e But they say n ec essity s th e moth er of i n

.
v en t i on ; s o j ust as I was givin it up an d c li n ch i n my

t eeth t o h i de th e worst o t an d tak e what shou ld come
,
schoo r which is ou r
ne , at l east no on e has a own
b etter clai m to it than we have and the w orld li es

b efor e us Moreover h er e comes a bre ez e s o we m u st
.
, ,
m ak e up ou r minds which way to st eer .

R alph boy said my companion , it matters not to ,
m e which way w e go I fear that m y time is short . .

n ow G O wh ere y ou will ; I m content

. .

Well th en Bill I think w e had b etter st eer to th e
, ,
C oral Island an d s ee what has b eco m e of my d ear old

,
co m rad es Jack and P eterkin I b eli eve th e island h as

, .
no nam e but the captain once pointed it ou t t o m e on

,
th e chart and I mark ed it aft erwards ; s o as w e know

, ,
pr etty w ell ou r position just now I think I can steer to ,
it T h en as to working the v ess el it is true I can not

.
, ,
hoist th e sails singl e hand ed b u t luckily we have enough -

,
of s ail set alr eady ; and if it shoul d co m e on t o blow a
squall I co u ld at l east drop th e p eaks of th e main and

,
fore sails and cl ew th em up partially without h elp an d

, ,
throw h er h ead close into th e wind s o as to k eep h er all ,
shaking till th e viol ence of the squall is past And if .
w e hav e co n tinu ed light bre ez es I ll rig u p a complica

tion of blocks an d x th em to th e top sail halyards s o -

,
that I shall b e abl e to hoist th e sails without h elp Tis .

tru e I ll r equire half a day to hoist th em but w e don t

- -
,

n eed to m ind that Th en I ll mak e a sort of er ection

.
on d eck to scr een you from th e s u n Bi ll ; and if you ,
can only ma n ag e to sit b esid e th e till er an d st eer for two

hours e very day so as to let m e get a nap I ll engag e to
,
.
,

let y ou off d u ty all th e r est of the tw enty four hours -

.
An d if y ou d on t f eel abl e for st eering I ll lash th e h elm

and h eav e to w h il e I get y ou your breakfasts and

,
dinn ers ; an d so w e ll man ag e famously and soon r each

t h e C o r al Islan d .
Bil l smil ed fain tly as I r an o n in this strain .

And what will y ou do ,

said he ,

if it comes on to

blow a storm ?
This q u estion silenc ed me whil e I con sid er ed what I ,
should do in s u ch a cas e A t length I laid my h and on .
his arm an d said Bill wh en a m an h as done all th at

, , ,

h e ca n do h e ought to leave th e r est to God
,
.

0 R alph said my companion in a faint voice , , ,

looki n g anxiously into my face I wish that I had the ,
feeli n s about God that y ou s eem to have at this hour

.
,
I m dy i n Ralph ; y et I who have brav ed d eath a hun

, ,
dred tim es am afraid to di e I m afraid to enter th e

, .

n ext world S om eth i n g within t ells m e th ere will be

.

a r eckoning when I go th ere But it s all ov er with .
m e R alph

,
I feel that th ere s no chance 0 my b ein
.

sa v edf

D ony that Bill t
said I in d
saeep compas s ion ; , , ,

don t s ay that I m quit e sure th ere s hop e e ven for .

you but I can t r em emb er th e words of th e Bibl e that

,

mak e m e thin k s o Is th ere not a Bible on board .

,
Bill
N o ; t h e last that was in t h e ship b elonged to a
poor boy that was tak en aboard against his will H e .
di ed poor lad I think through ill tr eatm ent and fear

,
-
.
A ft er h e was gon e th e captain found h i s Bibl e and ung

it ov erboar d .
I n ow re ect ed with great sadn es s an d s elf r epr oach ,

-
,
on th e way i n which I had n egl ect ed my Bibl e ; an d it

ash ed acr oss m e that I was actually in th e sight of
God a great er sin n er than this blood stai n ed pirat e for -
,
thought I h e t ells m e that h e n ev er r ead th e Bi bl e and

, ,
was n ev er brought up to care for it ; wh er eas I was

carefully tau ght to r ead it by my own m oth er an d h ad ,
read it daily as lon g as I poss ess ed on e y et to s o littl e ,
purpos e that I could not now call to mind a sin gl e t ext

that would m eet this poor m an s cas e and afford h i m th e

consolation h e so m uch r equir ed I was much distress ed .

,
and tax ed m y m emory for a long tim e At last a t ext .
did ash into my mind and I wond er ed m u ch that I ,
had not thought of it b efor e .
Bill said I in a low voic e

,
B eli ev e on th e L ord
, ,
Jesus C hrist an d thou shalt b e saved

, .

A y Ralph I ve h eard th e missionari es say that b e

, ,
for e now but what good can it do m e

,
? It s not for m e

that ; it s not for th e lik es 0 m e

.
I kn ew not now what to s ay for although I felt sur e ,
that that word was for him as w ell as for m e I could ,
not r em emb er any oth er word wh er eby I could prov e it .
A ft er a shor t paus e Bill rais ed his eyes to min e and ,
said Ralph I ve led a t erribl e life I ve b een a sailor

,

,

.

sin ce I was a boy and I ve gon e fro m bad to wors e ev er ,

sinc e I l eft my fath er s roof I ve b een a pirate thr ee

.

y ears n ow It is tru e I did not choose t h e trad e but I

.
,
was i n v eigl ed aboard this schoon er and k ept h er e by

forc e till I b ecam e r eckl ess and at last j oin ed th em
:
.
S inc e that tim e my han d has be en ste ep ed in human

blood again an d again Your you n g h eart would grow .
cold if I But why sho u ld I go on ? Tis of n o u s e

Ralph my doom is x ed .
Bill said I ,
Though y our sin s b e r ed lik e crimson
, ,
th ey shall b e whit e as snow O n ly b eli eve .

.

O nly b eli ev e cri ed Bill startin g up on h is elbo w , .
I ve h eard m en talk 0 b eli evin g as if it was easy

.
H a ! tis easy enough for a man to point t o a rop e and

say I b eliev e that would b ear my w eight
,

but tis
anoth er thin g for a m an t o catch hold 0 that rop e and
s wi n g hims elf by it ov er t h e e dg e of a pr ecipic e
Th e en erg y with which h e said this an d th e action ,
with which it was acco m pan i ed w er e too much for Bill ,

.
2 62 TH E CORA L I SLAND .
rigging Su dd enly th e wind shift ed a point a h eavy

.
,
s ea struck us on th e b ow an d t h e schoon er was almost ,
laid on h er bea m ends s o that I could scarc ely k eep my

-
,
l egs A t the sa me mom ent Bill lost his hold of th e b e

.
laying pi n which had s erv ed t o st eady him and h e slid

-
,
with stunning viol enc e against th e skylight A s h e lay .
on t h e d eck clos e b esid e m e I could s ee that the shock ,
had rend ered him insensibl e but I did n ot dare to quit ,
t h e till er for an instan t as it r equired all my faculti es

, ,
bodily an d m ental to manage the schoon er ,

F or an .
hour th e blast drove us alon g whil e owing to th e sh arp , ,
ne s s O f th e v ess el s b ow and th e pr ess of canvas s h e

dashed through th e wav es inst ead of breasting ov er

t h em th er eby drenching th e d ecks with water for e and
,
aft At th e en d of that tim e th e squall pass ed away

.
,
an d l eft us rocking on th e bosom of th e agitat ed s ea .
My rst care th e instant I could quit th e h elm was

, ,
to rais e Bill from th e d eck and plac e h i m on t h e couch .
I then r an b elo w for th e brandy bottl e and rubb ed his -
face an d hands with it and en d eav our ed to pour a littl e

,
down his throat But my efforts although I continued

.
,
th em lo n g an d assid u o u sly w ere O f n o avail ; as I let go

,
th e hand which I had b een cha n g it fell h eavily on th e ,
d eck I laid my hand over his h eart and s at for som e

.
,
tim e quit e motion l ess ; but th ere was no utter th ere

th e pirat e was d ead !
CHA PT ER XXVIII .

A lo n e on th e deep N ec ess i ty th e oth e f
m r o i n v en t i onA valu able book di s
cover edN atu r al p h enomen on A br i ght day i n my h i stor y .
T was w ith feelings of awe n ot unmingl ed with fear

, ,
that I now seated mys elf on th e cabin skylight

and gazed upon the rigid features of my late com rade ,
while my m i nd wander ed over his past history and con

t em plat ed with anxiety my present position Alone .
,
in the m idst of the wide Paci c having a most imper,
fec t kno wl edg e of navigation and in a schooner r equ i r

,
ing at least eight men as h er proper crew ! But I will

not tax the read er s patience with a m inute d etail of

my feelings and doings durin g the rst few days that

follo wed the d eath of my companion I will merely .
mention that I tied a cannon ball to his feet and with

-
,
feelings of th e deepest sorrow consigned him to th e

d eep.
For fully a w eek after that a steady breeze blew from

t h e east and as my cou r s e lay west an d by north I
, ,
mad e rapid progress towards my d estination I could .
not tak e an obs ervation which I very much regretted

, ,

as the captain s quadrant was in the cab in ; b u t from
th e day of s etting sail from th e island of th e savag es I
had k ept a d ead r eck oning and as I kn ew pr etty w ell
,
now h ow much l eeway the schooner mad e I hoped to ,
hit th e C oral Island without much difc u lty In this I .

was th e mor e con d ent that I kn ew its positio n on th e

chart (which I u nd erstood was a v ery good on e! an d s o ,
had its correct b eari n gs by compass .
A s th e weath er s eem ed now quit e s ettl ed and n e and ,
as I had got into th e trad e win ds I s et about pr epara -

,
tions for hoisting th e top sails This was a most ardu -

.
ou s task and my rst att empts w er e compl et e failur es

, ,
owing in a gr eat degree to my repreh en sibl e ignoranc e

, ,
of m echan ical forc es Th e rst error I mad e was in .
applying my apparatus of blocks and pull eys to a rop e

which was too w eak so that th e v ery rst h eav e I m ade,
brok e it i n two an d s ent m e staggering again st th e

,
after hatch ov er which I tripp ed and strikin g agai n st

-
, ,
th e main boom tumbl ed down th e companio n ladd er i n to

-
,
-
t h e cabin I was much bruis ed and som ewhat stu n n ed

.
by this untoward accid en t H ow ev er I co n sid ered it .

,
fortu n at e that I was n ot killed I n my n ext att empt I .
made s u re of not comin g by a similar accid ent so I n u ,
r eev ed th e tackling and tted up larger blocks and rop es .
B u t although th e pri n cipl e on which I act ed was quit e

correct th e machin ery was n ow s o m assive an d h eavy
,
that th e m er e friction an d sti ffn ess O f th e thick cordag e

pr event ed m e from moving it at all Afterwar ds how .
,
e v e r I cam e to proportio n thi n gs mor e corre ctly ; but I

,
could n ot avoid r e ectin g at th e tim e h ow much better

it would hav e b een had I l earn ed all this from Obs erva
tion a n d study i n st ead of waitin g till I was forc ed to
,
acquir e it through th e pai n ful an d t edious l esson s of

exp eri en c e .
After th e tackling was prepared an d i n good workin g

order it took m e th e greater part of a day to hoist th e
,
main top sail As I could n ot st eer an d wo r k at this at

-
.
th e sam e tim e I lash ed th e h elm i n such a position that

, ,
with a littl e watchin g now an d th en it k ept t h e schoon er ,

saili n g but I had many of my own opin ions d eriv ed

, ,
from exp eri ence corroborat ed and not a few of th em

, ,
corr ected B esid es th e r eadin g of this charming book

.
,
and the daily routin e O f occupations nothing of par ,
t i c u lar not e happ en ed to me during this voyag e exc ept ,
o n c e wh en on risi n g one night aft er my thr ee hours

, ,

nap whil e it was y et dark I was amazed and a littl e

, ,
alarm ed to n d mys elf oating in what appeared to b e

a s ea Of bl u e r e ! I had often notic ed th e b eautiful
app earanc e of phosphorescent light but this far exceed ed ,
a n ything of th e sort I ev er saw b efore Th e whol e .
s ea app ear ed som ewhat lik e milk and was r emarkably ,
lu m inous .
I ros e in haste and l ettin g down a buck et in to th e

,
s ea
,
brough t som e O f th e wat er on board an d took it
do wn to th e cabin to examine it ; but n o soon er did I
approach th e ligh t than th e strange app earanc e di s ap
ear ed an d wh en I r emov ed th e cabin lamp th e luminous
p ,
light app eared again I was much puzzl ed with this

.
,
and took u p a littl e of th e water i n th e hollo w of m y

hand and th en let it r u n off wh en I found that th e ,
luminous substanc e was l eft b ehin d on my palm I ran .
with it to th e lamp but w h en I got th er e it was gon e I

,
.
found how ev er that wh en I w en t in to th e dark m y han d

, ,
shon e again ; s o I took th e large glass of th e ship s t el e
scop e an d examin e d my han d mi n ut ely wh en I found ,
that th ere w ere on it on e or two sm all patch es of a cl ear ,
transparen t substan ce lik e j elly which w ere s o thin as ,
to b e almost invisible to th e n ak ed ey e Thus I cam e .
to know that th e b eautiful phosphoric light which I ,
had s o often admired b efore was caused by an i mals for , ,
I had n o doubt that th es e w ere of th e sam e kin d as

th e m edus ae or j elly sh which ar e s een in all parts of
-
th e world .
TH E COR AL I SLA N D . 2 67
O n the v en in g of my fou rt eenth day I was aw ak ened

e
o u t of a nap into which I had fall en by a loud cry and ,
starting up I gaz ed around m e I was surpris ed an d .
d elight ed to s ee a large albatross soarin g maj estically

ov er th e ship I imm ediat ely took it into m y h ead that
.
this was th e albatross I had s een at P en guin Islan d 1 .
had of cours e no good r eason for supposin g this but

, , ,
th e id ea occurr ed to m e I know not why and I ch erished

, ,
it and r egarded th e bird with as m uch affection as if h e

,
had b een an old fri end H e k ept me company all that

.
day and l eft m e as n ight fell

,
.
N ext morning as I stood motionl ess and with heavy

,
e es at t h e h elm f or I had n ot sl ept w ell I began t o

y
w eary anxiou sly for daylight and p eer ed to wards the ,
horizon where I thought I obs erv ed something like a

,
black cloud against th e dark sky B eing alway s on th e .
al ert for squalls I ran to th e b ow Th ere could b e n o

,
.
doubt it was a squall and as I listen ed I thought I h ear d

,
the m u rmur of th e coming gal e Instantly I b egan to .
work might and m ain at my cumbrous tackl e for short

en i n
g sail and in t,
h e c ours e of an hour and a half had
h f
t e most o it reduc e d th e top sail yards down on th e -
caps th e top sails cl ew ed u p th e sh eets ha u l ed in th e

,
-
, ,
m ain and fore peaks low er ed and th e y i n g j ib down ,

-
.
Whil e thus engag ed th e dawn advanc ed and I cast an ,
occasion al fur tiv e glan ce ah ead i n th e midst O f m y labour .
But now that thin gs w ere prepared for th e worst I ran ,
forw ard again an d look ed anxiously ov er th e b ow I .
now h eard th e roar of th e wav es distinctly and as a sin gl e ,
ray of th e rising sun gl eam ed ov er th e oc ean I saw

what ! could it b e that I was dr eaming that m a n i
g

c nt break er with its c eas el ess roar l that mountain top
e
y es once more I b ehel d th e C oral Islan d

-
,
CHA PT ER xx1 x .
ct f a can n o n shot A happy r eu ni on f a som ewh at mo i st nat u r e

Th e effe o -
o
t osp cts an d explan ati on s

Re r e A n awfu l d i v e
N ew p la n s Th e last of th e
Co al I sla n d
r .
A L M O S T fell pon th e d eck with th e tumult of

u
min gl ed em otions that ll ed my h eart as I gazed

ard ently to wards my b eautiful islan d It was still m any .
m il es away but su fci ently n ear t o en abl e m e t o trac e

,
distinctly th e w ell rem emb er ed outlin es of th e t w o

-
m ountain s . My rst i mpulse was to utt er an exclama

tion of gratitud e for being carri ed to my form er happy
hom e i n safety ; my s econd to j u m p up clap my hands
, , ,
shout and run up and down th e deck with n o oth er

, ,
O bj ect in vi ew than that of giving v ent to my excit ed

feelin gs . Th en I w ent b elow for th e t el escop e and ,
sp en t n ear ly ten minut es of th e utmost impati en c e i n

vain ly tryi ng to get a focus and i n rubbin g t h e skin
,
n ea r ly Off my ey es b efor e I discovered that havi n g

,
tak en off th e large glass t o examine th e pho sphoric

wat er with I h ad omitt ed to pu t it on again .
After that I look ed up impati ently at th e sails which ,
I n ow regretted h aving low ered so hastily and for a ,
mo m ent th ought of h oistin g the main top sail again ; -
b u t recoll ecting that it would tak e m e full half a day

to accomplish and that at th e present rat e of saili n g
, , ,
t w o hours would b r ing m e to t h e isla n d I imm ediat ely ,
dismiss ed th e idea .
such as had only on ce b efore broke th eir slumbering

echo es !
Effectiv e altho u gh i t was how e ver it was scarc ely , ,
e q u al to t h e bang with which instantly aft er Pet erkin , ,
bound ed from the bow er i n scanty costum e his eyeballs

, ,
startin g fro m his h ead with surpris e an d t error O ne .
gaz e h e ga ve on e yell and th en ed into th e bush es

, ,
lik e a wild cat Th e n ext mom ent Jack went through

.
exactl y th e sa m e p erformanc e th e only di f fer enc e b eing ,

that his mov em ents w ere l ess lik e thos e of Jack i n th e -
box though not l ess vigorous and rapid than thos e of

,
Pet erkin .

Hallo ! I shout ed al m ost mad with j oy
,
what ho ! ,
Pet erki n ! Jack ! hallo ! it s m e !

My shout w as j ust in tim e to arrest them Th ey .
h alt ed and turn ed round and the instan t I r ep eat ed t h e

,
cry I saw that th ey recogniz ed my voic e by both of ,
th em run n ing at full sp eed towards th e b each I could .
n o long er contain mys elf Throwi n g off my j ack et I

.
,
j u mp ed ov erboard at th e sa m e mom en t t h at Jack bound ed

i n to th e s ea I n anoth er mom ent w e m et in d eep wat er
.
,
cl asp ed each oth er round th e n eck an d sank as a m att er , ,
of cour s e to th e bottom
,
We w er e w ell n igh chok ed
' -
,
a n d insta n tly struggl ed to th e su r fac e wh er e P et er ki n ,
was sputteri n g about lik e a woun d ed duck laughin g ,
a n d c r ying by turn s an d chokin g hims elf with salt

,
wa ter !
It would b e impossibl e to conv ey to my r ead er by ,
d escription an ad equate conception of the scene that

,
follow ed my landi n g on the b each as w e stood em br ac ,
i ng each oth er i n discriminat ely in ou r drippi n g garm ents ,
and g ivi n g utteranc e t o incoh er ent rhapsodi es min gl ed ,
with wild shouts It can b e more easily imagin ed than

.
d escrib ed s o I will draw a cu r tain ov er this par t of my

,
h istory and carry th e reader forward over an int erval of

,
three days .
D uring the gr eat er part of that period P et erkin did

nothing but roast pigs taro and br ead fru it and ply m e , ,
-
,
with plan tain s plums potato es and cocoa nuts while I

, , ,
-
,
relat ed to him and Jack th e t erribl e and wond erful

adventures I had gon e through since we last m et .
A ft er I had nish ed th e account they m ad e m e go all ,
over it again ; and wh en I had concluded the second

recital I had to go ov er it again whil e th ey com m ent ed
, ,
upon it piecem eal Th ey wer e much affected by what

.
I told them of th e probabl e fat e of A vatea an d P et erkin ,
could by no m eans brook th e id ea of th e poor girl b ein g

conv er t ed into a lon g pi g ! As for Jack h e clinch ed ,
his t eeth and shook his s t towards th e s ea say in g at

, ,
th e sam e time that h e was sorry h e had n ot brok en

Tar ar o s h ead an d h e o n ly hop ed that on e day he should

b e able to plant his knuckl es on th e bri dg e of that

chi ef s nos e A fter th ey had pump ed m e dry as
,
P et erkin said I b egged t o b e inform ed of what had

,
happ ened to them durin g my lon g abs ence and par ,
ti c u lar ly as to h ow th ey g ot ou t of th e D iamond C ave .

W el l you must k now b egan Jack aft er you had
, , ,
div ed ou t of th e cav e on th e day you w ere tak en away

,
from u s we waited v ery pati en tly for half an hour not

,
- -
,
exp ectin g y ou t o r etur n b efor e t h e en d of that tim e .
Th en w e b egan to upbraid you for stayin g s o lo n g wh en ,
y o u k n e w w e would b e an xious ; but wh e n a n hour

pass ed w e becam e alarm ed an d I r esolv ed at all hazards
, ,
to div e ou t an d s ee what had b ecom e of you altho u gh I

, ,
felt for poor P et erkin b ecaus e as h e truly said If y ou, , ,

n e v er com e back I m shut up h er e for life H ow ev er

.
,
I promised n ot to run an y risk an d h e let m e go 5 which , ,
to s ay truth I thought v ery cou rag eous of h i m

.
I should j u st think it was in terrupt ed Pe terk in , ,
looking at Jack ov er th e edge of a mon strous potato

which h e happ en ed to b e d evourin g at th e time .
m

Well continu ed Jack
, y ou a
y gu ess my c on ,
s ter n ati on wh en you did not an sw er to my halloo At .
rst I i m agin ed that th e pirat es must hav e kill ed you ,
and l eft you in th e bush or thrown you into th e s ea ;

th en it occ u rred to me that this would hav e s erv ed n o
en d of th eirs s o I cam e t o th e conclusion that th ey must
,
hav e carri ed you away with th em A S this thought .
struck m e I obs erv ed th e pirat e schoon er standi n g away

,
to the nor ard al m ost h u ll dow n on th e horizon an d I

, ,
sat down on th e rocks to watch h er as s h e slowly san k

fro m my sight And I t ell y ou Ralph my boy that I
.
, ,
sh ed more t ears that tim e at losing y ou than I h av e

don e I verily b eli ev e all my life b efor e
, ,
Pardon m e Jack for in t err upting said P et erkin ;

, , ,
surely you must b e m istak en in that : you v e oft en
told m e that wh en you w er e a baby you us ed to howl

and roar from mornin g to
H old your ton gu e P et erkin cri ed Jack W ell after
, , .

,
th e schoon er had disapp eared I div ed back i n to th e cav e , ,

much to Pet erki n s r eli ef an d told him what I had s een ,
.
We sat down an d had a lon g talk ov er this matter an d ,
t h en w e agr eed to mak e a r egula r systematic s earch
th r ough th e w oo ds s o as to mak e sur e at l east that y ou

,
h a d n ot b een kill ed B u t now w e thought of th e di f

.

culty of gettin g out of th e cav e without your h elp .
Pet er kin b ecam e dreadfully n ervous wh en h e thought

of this ; an d I must co n fess that I felt som e alarm ,
for of cours e I could n ot h O pe alon e to tak e h i m o u t

, ,
so quickly as w e two tog eth er had brought him i n ; an d

h e hims elf vow ed th at if w e had b een a mom en t long er ,
with h i m t h at tim e h e would ha ve had to tak e a breath

,
Of mind enough to kick as I did I should hav e bu st in
your arms
Well w ell s o b e it resum ed Jack with a smil e ;
, , , ,
but th e u pshot of it w as that w e had to hold anoth er ,
consultation on th e point and I re ally b eli ev e that had , ,
i t n ot b een for a happy thought of min e w e should ha ve ,

b een con s ulti n g th ere y et .

I wish w e had again int errupted Peterkin with a , ,

sigh . I m sure Ralph if I had thought that you were
, ,
co mi n g back again I wo u ld willingly hav e awaited y our ,
r eturn for months rath er than have endured th e m en tal ,

agony which I w en t through ! B u t proceed .

Th e thought was this continu ed Jack that I , ,
sh ould tie Pet e rkin s han ds and f eet with cords an d
the n lash h i m r mly t o a stout pol e abo u t v e f eet

long in ord er to r en d er him quit e pow erless an d k eep
, ,
h i m straight and sti ff You should hav e s een his face .
of horro r R alph wh en I sugg est ed this ; but h e cam e

, ,
t o s ee that it was his o n ly chanc e and told m e to set ,
about it as fast as I could ; for said h e this is n o ,

j ok i n J ack I can t ell you and th e soon er it s don e the

, , ,
b ett er I soon procur ed th e cor dage and a su itabl e

.

pol e with which I r eturn e d to th e cav e an d lash ed him

, ,
as stiff and straight as an Egypti an mummy ; an d to ,
say tr u th h e w as no bad r epres en tation of what an

,
E nglish mum m y would b e if th ere w ere such things , ,
for h e was as whit e as a d ead m an .
N ow said P et erki n i n a tr emulous voice swim

, , ,
with m e as n ear to t h e edg e O f th e hol e as you c an

b efore you dive th en let m e tak e a long breath an d as
, ,

I shan t be abl e to sp eak after I ve tak en it you ll

w atch my fac e an d th e mom en t you s ee m e wi n k

,
div e ! A n d oh he added earnestly pray don t b e

,

,

long !
I promis ed to pay the strict est attention to his

wish es and swam with h i m to th e outl et of th e cav e
,
H er e I paus ed N ow th en said I pull away at th e

.
, ,
wi n d lad
, .

Pet erki n dr ew i n a breath s o lon g that I could n ot

h elp thin king of th e frog in th e fabl e that wan t ed to ,
s w ell its elf as big as th e ox Th en I look ed into his .
fac e earn estly S lap w en t the lid of his right ey e ;

.
down w ent my h ead and up w ent my h eels We shot

, .
thro u gh th e passag e lik e an arro w and ros e to the s u r ,
fac e O f th e op en sea b efore y ou could count twenty .
P et erkin had tak en in such an awful load of win d

that on r eachin g th e fr ee air h e let it ou t with a yell
, ,
loud enough to hav e b een heard a mil e O ff, and then

th e change i n his fe elings was s o sudd en and gr eat ,
that he did n ot wait till w e lan d ed but b egan ti ed up , ,
as h e was to shout and sing for j oy as I supported him

,
with m y l eft arm to th e s hore H ow ev er in the .

,
middl e of a laugh that a hyena might h ave envi ed ,
I let him accidentally slip which exti n guished him in ,
a mom ent .
A fter this happy d eliverance we imm ediately b egan ,
ou r s earch for your d ead body R alph ; and you hav e
n o id ea h ow lowou r h earts san k as we s et O ff da

,
y ,
aft er day to examin e th e vall eys an d mountain sid es

,
with th e utmost care I n about three w e eks w e com

.
let ed th e surv ey of t h e wh ol e island and h a d at l east

p ,
th e satisfaction of k n owin g that y ou had n ot b een

kill ed .But it occurred to us that you might hav e
b een thrown into t h e s ea s o w e examin ed th e san ds
,
a n d th e lagoo n car efully an d aft erwards w en t all round

,
th e out er r eef O n e day whil e w e w ere u pon t h e r eef

.
, .
Pet erki n espi ed a small dark O bj ect lyin g among th e

rock s which s eemed to b e q uit e different from th e
,
surrou n di n g ston es We hasten ed towar ds th e spot

.
,
and fou n d it to b e a small k eg O n k n ockin g out th e .
h ead we disco vered that it was gun po wd er .

It was I w h o s ent y ou that Jack said I with a smil e , , , .
F ork out cri ed Peterkin energetically startin g ,
t o his feet and ext ending his open han d to Jack .
D own with th e mon ey si r else I ll h av e you shut u p

, ,
for life in a d ebtor s prison th e mom ent w e r etu rn to

Englan d
I ll giv e y ou an I O U in th e m ean tim e r et u rn ed

Jack laughi g
,
n s o sit down and b e quiet
,
Th e fact is .
,
Ralph wh en w e discov er ed this k eg of powd er P et erkin

, ,
imm ediat ely took m e a b et of a tho u s and pounds that

ou had so m ething to do with I t and I took him a b et
y
of t en thousan d that you h ad not .

Peterki n was right th en said I explain ing how , ,
th e thi n g had occurred .
W ell w e found it v ery useful continu ed Jack

, , ,
although so m e of it had got a littl e damp ; an d we

furbish ed u p th e old pistol with which P eterkin is a ,
crack shot now But to co tinu e

n .
We did not n d
an oth er v stig of u n t h r e f an d n ally gav e
y e e y o o e e ,
up all hop e of ev er s eeing y ou again After this th e .
islan d b ecam e a dreary place t o u s and w e b egan to ,
lon g for a ship to h eav e i n sight and tak e us O ff But .
n ow that you re back again my d ear f ellow it looks as

, ,
b right and ch eerful as it us ed t o do an d I lov e it as ,
much as ev er .

And now continu ed Jack ,
I hav e a great d esir e ,
to visit som e of th e oth er islands of th e S outh S eas .
H er e w e hav e a r s t rat e schoon er at our disposal so I

-
,

do n t s ee what should hin der us

.
Just th e v ery thin g I was going to propos e cri ed ,

Pet erki n I vote for startin g at on c e
.

.
Wh en all was ready w e paid a far ew ell visit to th e ,
di ffer ent familiar spots wh ere most of ou r tim e had

b een sp ent We ascen d ed th e mountain top and gazed
.
,
for th e last tim e at th e rich gr een foliag e i n t h e vall eys ,
th e white san dy b each th e placid lagoo n and th e barri er , ,
coral reef with its crested break ers Then w e d escend ed .
to S po u ting C liff and look ed down at th e pal e green

,
-
monst er which we had mad e such fruitl ess efforts to

sp ear i n days gone by Fro m this w e h u r ri ed to th e .
Water Garden and took a last dive into its cl ear wat ers
, ,
and a last gambol a m on gst its coral grov es I hurri ed .
ou t b efore my co m panions an d dress ed in hast e in ord er , ,
t o hav e a lon g examinatio n of my tank which P et erki n , ,
in th e fuln ess of his h eart had t en d ed with th e ut m ost ,
care as b ein g a vivid rem embranc er of m e rather than

,
out of lov e for natural history It was in sup erb c on .

dition th e water as cl ear and p ellucid as crystal ; th e
r ed and gr een s ea w ee d of th e mos t brilliant hu es ; th e
-
r ed p u rpl e
,
yello w green an d strip ed an emon es fully
, , ,
expand ed and str etching ou t th eir arms as if to w elcom e

,
and embrace th eir form er mast er th e star sh zooph y t es -

, ,
s ea p en s and oth er i n num erabl e marin e ins ects looki n g

-
,
fresh and b eautiful ; an d th e crabs as P et erkin said , ,
looking as wid e awak e imp ertin en t rampant an d pug , , ,
n ac i ou s as ev er It was i n d eed s o lov ely an d s o i n

.
t er es t i n g that I wo u ld scarc ely allow mys elf to b e tor n

away fro m it .
L as t of all w e return ed to th e bow er an d coll ected

,
th e few articl es w e poss ess ed such as th e ax e th e p en cil , ,
cas e th e brok en t el escop e t h e p enk n ife th e hook mad e

, , ,
from th e brass ring an d th e sail n eedl e with which w e ,

-
,
had land ed on th e island ; also th e lon g boots an d th e

pistol b esid es s ev eral curious artic les of costum e which
,
w e had man ufactur ed fro m tim e to tim e .

Th es e we conv ey ed on board in ou r littl e boat after ,
having carved our names on a chip of iron wood thus : -

,
J A C! MA RTI N ,
RA L PH R OV E R,
PETER! I N G A Y,
which we xed up inside of the bo wer The boat was .
th en hoist ed on board and th e anchor weighed ; which

latt er op eration cost us great labo u r and m u ch tim e as ,
the anchor was s o heavy that w e could n ot m ov e it

without the aid of my compl ex mach inery of blocks and
pull eys A steady breeze was blowi n g off shore wh en
.
w e set sail at a: littl e before su ns et

,
It s wept us quickly
.
past th e r eef an d ou t t o s ea Th e shore grew rapidly

.
more indistinct as th e shad es of eveni n g fell whil e ou r ,
clipp er bark bounded lightly ov er the waves S lowly .
th e mountain top sank on the horizon u ntil it b ecame ,
a m er e sp eck In anoth er mom ent the s u n and th e

.
C oral Island s ank together i n to th e bro a d boso m of th e

Paci c.
CHAPT ER XXX .
Th e v oyage Th e i slan d an d a con s u ltation i n whi ch danger i s scou ted as a

,

thi n g u nwo r thy of co ns i der ati on Rats an d cats Th e n ati v e t each er
A wfu l r evelat i o ns Wo n der fu l effects of Chr i sti ani ty .
UR voyage durin g th e n ext two w eek s was m ost

interestin g and prosp erous Th e br eez e c on .
tinn ed g en erally fair and at all tim es en abl ed us to li e

,
o u r course ; for being as I have said before clipp er

, ,
built the pirat e schoon er could h e very clos e to th e

,
wind an d make littl e l eeway We had n o di i cu lty .
n ow in man agi n g ou r sails for Jack was h eavy and

,
po werful whi le P eterkin w as active as a kitt en S till

,
.
,
ho wever we w ere a v ery i n su i ci en t crew for such a

,
vess el and if an y on e had propos ed to u s to make such

,
a voyage i n it b efor e w e had b een forc ed to go through

so man y hardships from n ec essity w e would hav e tu r n ed ,
away with pity from th e i n dividual making such proposal

as fro m a madman I pon dered this a good deal an d
.
,
at last con clud ed that m en do not k n ow h ow m u ch th ey

a r e capabl e of doin g till th ey try and t h at w e should ,
n ever giv e way to d espair in any undertaking how ev er ,

difcult it m ay s eem always s u pposin g how ev er that , ,
o u r caus e is a good on e an d that we can ask t h e divi n e

,
bl essing on it .
Although th er efore w e could n ow manage ou r sails

, ,
easily w e n ev erth el ess fou n d that my pull eys w ere of

,
Yes said I ; s o Bill gav e m e to un d ersta n d H e

,
.
told m e how ev er that at th e south ern sid e of it th e

, ,
mission ari es had O btain ed a footing amongst an i n s i g

n i c an t trib e A n ativ e teach er had b een s ent th er e by
.
th e W esl eyans wh o had succ eed ed in p ersuading th e

,
chi ef at that part to embrac e Christianity But inst ead .
of that b ei n g of an advantag e to o ent erpris e it

y u r ,
seems th e very r ev ers e ; for th e chi ef Tar ar o i s a d et er

mined h eathen an d p ers ecut es th e C hristian s wh o ar e
,
far too w eak in numb ers to o ffer an y r esistanc e an d
looks with dislik e upon all whit e m en whom h e regards ,

as propagators of th e n ew faith .

Tis a pity said Jack that th e C hristian trib e is

, ,
s o small for w e shall scarc ely b e saf e u nd e r th eir pro

,
t ec ti on I fear ,
If Tar ar o tak es it into his h ead to wish
.
for ou r vess el or to kill ours elv es h e could tak e u s

, ,
from th em by force You s ay that th e native mission .
ary tal k s E n glish

S o I b eli eve .
Th en wh at I propos e is this said Jack

,
We will ,
.

run ro u nd to th e south sid e of th e island an d cast ,
an chor off th e Christian village We ar e too far away .
j ust n ow to hav e b een descri ed by an y of th e savag es ,
s o w e shall et th er e u n obs erv ed an d hav e tim e to

g ,
arrange ou r plan s b efor e th e h eath en trib es kn ow of

our pres en c e B u t i n doing this w e run th e risk of
.
b ei n g captured by th e ill dispos ed trib es and b ein g v ery -

,
ill u s ed if not a
,
Roast ed alive and eat en cri ed P et erki n C om e ,

.
,
ou t with it Jack A ccordin g to your o wn showin g

,
.
,

it s w ell to look th e dang er straight i n th e face !

Well that i s th e worst of it c er tai n ly A r e you
, ,
.
prepar ed th en to tak e your cha c e of that

,
n ,
?
I ve be en pr epared an d had my min d mad e up long

ago, cried Peterkin swagg ering about the deck with ,
his han ds thrust into his breech es pockets Th e fact i s .

,

Jack I don t beli ev e that Tar ar o will be s o ungrat eful
,

a s t o eat us ; and I m quit e sur e that he ll be too happy

t o gran t us w h atev er w e a s k ; s o the soon er we g o i n

and win the better .
Pet erkin was wrong however in his estimat e of , ,
savage gratitude as th e s equ el will show ,

.
The schooner was now put b efore the wind and aft er ,
makin g a lon g run to th e southward we put about an d ,
beat up for the south sid e of Mango where we arrived ,
before s u nset and hov e to off th e coral reef H ere w e

,
.
a wait ed the arrival of a cano e which immediat ely put ,
off on ou r rounding to W h en it arriv ed a m ild looking .

,
-
nativ e of apparently forty y ears of age came on board

, , ,
and taking O ff his straw hat m ad e u s a low bow H e , .
was clad in a r espectable suit of E uropean clothes ; and

t h e rst words h e uttered as h e st epp ed up t o Jack and ,
s hook han ds with him were , ,
Good day gentlemen We ar e happy to see y ou at

, .

Man go ; y ou are heartily w elcome .
A ft er returning his salutation Jack exclaime d You , ,
must b e th e n ative missionar y teacher of whom I hav e

h eard ; ar e you n ot ?
I am I hav e the j oy to b e a servant of the L ord
.
J es u s at this station .

Yo u r e th e very m an I want t o see then repli ed

, ,

Jack ; that s lucky C om e down to th e cabin fri en d .
, ,
and h av e a glass of win e I wish particularly to sp eak .
with you My m en there (pointing to P eterk i n an d

.

m e! will look after your p eopl e .

Than k you said th e t each er as he follow ed Jack
, ,

to th e cabi n ; I do n o t drin k wine or any strong
drin k .
2 84 T HE CORAL I SLA N D .

O h ! then there s lots of water and you can have
,

bisc u it .

N ow pon my word that s cool !
,
said P et erki n ,
h i s m en forsooth ! W ell since w e ar e to b e m en we

, , .
may as w ell co me it as strong over t hese black chaps as

w e c an H allo th ere ! h e cr i ed to the half dozen of
,

-
natives wh o stood upon the d eck gazing in wonder at ,
all th ey s aw here s for y ou ; and he handed the m

,

a tray of brok en biscuit and a can of wat er Th en .
thrusting his hands into his pockets he walk ed up an d ,
down th e deck with an enormous swagger whistling ,
vociferously .
In about half ah hour Jack and th e t each er cam e O n

- -
deck and th e latter biddin g us a ch eerful good ev ening

, ,
-
,
ent er ed his cano e and paddl ed to th e shor e Wh en he .
was gon e Peterkin stepp ed up to Jack and touching

, ,
his cap said , ,
Well captain have you any com munications to mak e

, ,

t o you r m en ?

Y es cri ed Jack :
,
ready about mind th e h elm and ,
cl ew up your tongu e whil e I con the schoon er through ,
th e passag e in th e r eef Th e t each er wh o s eems a r s t .

,
rat e fellow says it s quite d eep and good an chorage

,

,

withi n th e lagoon clos e to th e shore .
Whil e th e v ess el was slowly advancing t o h er anchor

a e
g ,
und er a light bre ez e Jack explain ed to us that ,
A vatea was still on t h e island living amon gst th e ,
h eath en s ; that sh e h ad expr ess ed a strong d esir e t o

j oin th e Christians but Tar ar o would not let her and , ,
k ept h er constantly in clos e conn em en t .
Moreover con tinu ed Jack I n d that sh e b elongs

, ,
to on e of th e S amoan Islands wh er e Christian ity h ad ,
b een introduced lon g b efore h er captu re by th e h eath ens

O f a n eighbo u r i n g island ; and th e v ery day aft er s h e
fro n t tast ef u lly laid ou t and plant ed while th e walks

, ,
w er e cov er ed with black an d whit e p ebbl es .
E very hous e had doors and V en etian wi n dows painted ,
partly with lamp black mad e from th e can dl e nut an d -

,
p artly with r ed ochr e wh ich contrast ed pow erfully with

,
th e dazzling coral li m e that covered th e walls On a .
promin en t position stood a handsom e church which was ,
quit e a curiosity in i ts way It was a hundred feet .
lo n g by f ty broad and was s eat ed throughout to ac

,
com m odat e upwards of two thousand p ersons It had .
s i x larg e folding doors and twelv e windows with Ven e

-
,
tia n blin ds ; an d although a large an d substan tial edi c e ,
it had b een built we w ere told by the t each er in t h e

, ,
spac e O f t wo months ! Th ere w as not a sin gle iron nail

in th e fabric an d th e nati ves had construct ed it chi ey
,
with th eir ston e an d bon e ax es and oth er tools having ,
on ly on e or t w o ax es or tools of E urop ean manufacture .
E v erythi n g around this b eau tiful spot wore an asp ect of

eac e an d ple n ty ; an d as w e dropp e d ou r anchor withi n
p
a ston e s cast of th e substan tial coral w h arf I could not

-
,
avoid con trasting it with th e wretch ed village of E mo ,
wh er e I had witn ess ed s o m an y frightful scen es Wh en .
t h e t each er aft erwards told m e that t h e p eopl e of this

trib e had b ecom e con v erts only a y ear previous to o u r
arrival and that th ey had b een living b efor e that i n t h e
,
practic e of th e most bloody system of idolatry I cou ld ,
n ot r efrai n fr om exclaimi n g What a con vin ci n g proof

,

that Christianity i s of God !
O n landing fr om ou r littl e boat we w er e r ec eiv ed ,
wi th a war m w elcom e by th e t each er and his wife ; th e

latter b ei n g also a nativ e cloth ed i n a s impl e E urop ean
,
g ow n and a straw bo n n et Th e shor e was lin ed with

.
hu n dr eds of n atives whos e p er so n s w er e all mor e or

,
less cloth ed with n ativ e cloth So m e of the men h ad .

on a kind of poncho fo r med of this cloth their legs ,

b eing uncovered ; oth ers wore cl u msily fashion ed trous ers ,
and no u pp er garment exc ept hats m ad e of stra w an d

cloth Many of th e dress es both of wom en and m en
.
, ,
w er e grot esqu e en ough b eing v ery bad imitations of

,
th e E urop ea n garb ; but all wor e a dress of som e sort

or oth er Th ey s eem ed v ery glad to s ee us an d crowd ed
.
,
ro u n d us as th e teach er led th e way to his dw elling ,
wh ere w e w ere entertain ed in th e m ost sumptuous ,
man n er on baked pig and all th e vari eti es of fruits

,
and v eg etabl es that th e island produc ed We w ere .
much annoy ed however by th e rats : th ey s eem ed to

, ,
run about th e hous e lik e dom estic an imals A s w e s at .
at tabl e on e of th em p eep ed up at us ov er th e edge of

,
th e cloth clos e to Pet erkin s elbow w h o oor ed it with

a blowon the snout fr om his knife ex claiming as h e

, ,
di d so ,

I s ay Mis t er T each er why don t y ou s et traps for
, ,
th ese brutes ? S urely y ou are not fond of them

N O r eplied th e t each er with a s m il e ; w e would

, ,
b e glad to g et r i d of th em if we could ; but if we w er e

to trap all the rats on th e island it would occ u py our ,
whol e tim e .
A re th ey th en s o n u m erous ? in quired Jack

, ,
.
Th ey swarm everywh ere Th e poor h eath ens on .
th e no r th side eat th em an d thin k t h em v er y sw ee t ,

.
S O did m y p eopl e form erly ; but th ey do not eat so

m an y now b ecaus e t h e missionary who was last h er e
,
expr ess ed disgust at it Th e poor p eopl e ask ed if it .
w as w ron g to eat rats ; and h e told th em that it was

certain ly not wron g but that t h e p eopl e of E n glan d
,

would b e much disgust ed w ere th ey ask ed to eat rats .
We had not b een an hour i n th e h ous e of this kin d

h ear ted m an wh en w e w ere convin ced of th e tru th of
2 88 T HE CORA L I SLAND .
his stat ement as to their numbers ; for the rats ran

about the oors in dozens and during ou r m eal tw o ,
m en w ere stationed at th e tabl e t o keep th em off

What a pity y ou hav e n o cats ! said Peterkin ,
as h e aimed a blo w at anoth er reckless intruder an d ,
miss ed it .
We would indeed b e glad to h a ve a few r ej oin ed

,
the teach er but they ar e di fcult to b e got Th e hogs

, .
,
w e n d are very good rat killers b u t th ey do not s eem

,
-
,
to b e able to ke ep th e numbers down I hav e heard .
that th ey are better than cats .
A s t h e teacher said th is his good natu red black face

,
-
was wrinkled with a smil e of merriment O bserving .
that I had noticed it h e said ,
I smil ed just n ow wh en I r eme mber ed th e fat e

of t h e rst cat that was taken to R arotonga This is .
on e of the stations of th e L ondon Missionar y S oci ety .
It like our own i s i n fest ed with rats and a cat was

, , ,
brought at last to the island It was a large black on e . .
O n b eing tur ned loose inst ead of being content to stay

,
among men the cat took to the mou ntains an d liv ed in

, ,
a wild state so m etimes paying visits during th e night to

,
t h e hous es of th e nativ es ; som e of whom livi n g at a ,

distan ce from th e s ettl em en t had not h eard of th e cat s
,
ar r ival and w ere dreadfully fright ened in cons equ enc e

, ,
calling it a mon st er of th e d eep and yi n g in t error ,

n h
.

away f r o m it O n e ight t e cat feeling a d esir e for
co m pan y I suppos e took its way to th e hou s e of a chi ef
,
w h o had recently be en conv erted to Christianity an d ,
had b egu n to l earn to read and pray Th e chi ef s wife .

who was sitting awak e at his side whil e he slept beh eld ,
with horror two r es glist en in g in th e doorway an d h eard ,
with surpris e a myst erious voice Almost petri ed with .
fear s h e awoke h er husban d and began to upbraid him

, ,
an d ft een thousand feet Those of the s econd class are

.
of crystalliz ed li m eston e and vary in h eight f r om on e

,
h u ndr ed to ve hundred feet Th e hills on th es e are .
n ot s o wild or brok en as thos e of t h e rst class b u t ,
ar e richly cloth ed with v eg etation and v ery b eautiful ,

.
I hav e n o doubt that th e C oral Island on which you

w ere wr eck ed was on e of this class They are suppos ed .
to hav e b een uph eav ed from th e bottom of th e s ea by

volcanic ag en cy but th ey ar e not th ems elv es volcan i c in
,
th eir n ature n either ar e th ey of coral formation Thos e

,
.
of th e third class are th e low coralli n e islands usually ,
having lagoons of wat er in th eir midst ; th ey ar e v er y

n um erous .

A s to the manner i n which cor al islan ds and r eefs
ar e form ed th er e ar e var ious opinions on this point
,
I .
will giv e you what s eems to me the most probabl e th eory ,
a th eory I may add which is h eld by som e of th e

, ,
good and sci enti c mission ari es It is w ell known that .
th ere is m uch lime in salt wat er ; it is also known that

coral is compos ed of lim e It is suppos ed that th e polyp es
.
,
or coral ins ects hav e t h e pow er of attracti n g this lim e to

,
th eir bodi es ; an d with this material th ey b u ild th eir

littl e c ells or habitation s Th ey choose t h e summit of a
.
volcan o or th e top of a submarin e m oun tai n as a fou n

, ,
datio n on which to buil d for it is foun d that th ey n ev er

work at an y gr eat d epth b elow th e su r fac e O n thi s .
th ey work ; th e polyp es on th e mou n tai n top of cours e , ,
reach th e surface rst th en thos e at th e out er edges

,
r each th e top soon er than the oth er s b etw een th em an d

the c entre thus forming the coral reef surrou n din g th e
,
lagoon of wat er an d th e c entral islan d ; aft er that th e

i n s ects within th e lagoon c eas e work in g Wh en th e sur .
face of th e wat er is r each ed th ese myriads of wond erful,
cr eatur es di e Th en bi r ds v i s i t th e s pot an d s eeds are

.
,
T HE C ORAL I SLAND . 2 91
th us conv eyed thith er which take root and sprin g u p , , ,
and ourish Thus ar e comm enced those coralline isl ets

.
of which y ou have s een s o many in these s eas The .
re efs ro u nd th e larg e islands ar e form ed in a similar

m an n e r Wh en w e con sid er add ed th e mission ary
.
, ,
th e smal ln ess of th e architects us ed by ou r h ea venly
Fath er in ord er to form those lov ely an d innum erabl e

islands w e ar e fi ll ed with m u ch of that feeling which
,
induc ed th e an ci ent k i ng to exclaim H ow man ifold O , ,
L or d ar e thy works ! in wisdom hast thou m ad e them all

,
.
We all h earti ly agreed with the missionar y in this

s enti m ent and felt n ot a littl e gratied to n d that th e
,
opinions which Jack and I had be en led to form from

p ersonal Obs ervation on ou r C oral Island w ere th u s to a
great extent corroborated .
Th e mission ar y also gave u s an accou n t of th e m ann er

in which Christianity had b een introduced among th em .
H e said : When missionari es w ere rst sent h ere thr ee ,
y ears ago a small v ess el brought th em ; and the chi ef

, ,
who i s now d ead pro m is ed to treat w ell th e t wo nativ e

,
teach ers who w er e l eft with th eir wiv es on th e islan d But .
scarc ely had th e boat w h ich lan d ed them return ed to the

ship than th e n ativ es b egan to maltreat th eir gu ests
, ,
taking away all th ey poss ess ed and O ffering th em fur ,
th er viol ence s o that wh en th e boat was s ent in hast e

, ,
to fetch th em away th e cloth es of both m en an d wom en

,
w ere torn n early off th eir backs .
Two y ears after this th e v ess el visit ed th em again ,
an d I b ei n g i n h er
,
volun te er ed to lan d alon e without
, ,
any good s what ev er b eggin g that my wife might b e ,

br ou ght to m e th e followin g y ear that i s th i s year ; ,
and as you s ee s h e is with m e But th e surf was s o

, , .
high that th e boat could not land m e ; s o with nothin g

on b u t m trous rs an d shirt ; and with a fe w cat echism s
y e
and a Bibl e b esid es som e portion s of th e S criptur e trans

,
lat ed into th e Man go ton gu e I sprang into th e s ea and , ,
swam ashore on th e crest of a br eak er I was instan tly .
dragg ed u p the b each by th e nativ es ; who on nding I ,
had nothin g worth having u pon m e let m e alon e I th en ,

.
mad e signs to my fri ends i n th e ship to l eav e m e ; which

th ey did A t rst th e nativ es list en ed to me in sil ence
.
,
but laugh ed at what I said whil e I pr each ed th e gosp el of

ou r bl ess e d S aviour J esus C hrist to th em Aft erwards .
t h ey tr eated m e ill som etim es ; but I p ers ev ered an d ,
continu ed to dw ell amo n g th em and dispute an d exhort , ,
th em to giv e u p th eir sin ful ways of life burn th eir ,
i dols an d com e to J esus

, .
About a month after I land ed I h eard tha t th e ,
chi ef was d ead H e was th e fath er of th e pres ent

.
chi ef who i s now a most consist en t m emb er of th e

,
ch u r ch It is a custom h er e that w h en a chi ef dies

.
his wiv es are str angl ed and buri ed with h i m ! n owi n g .
t his I hast en ed to his hous e to end eavour to pr ev ent

,
such cru elty if possible Wh en I arriv ed I found t w o

.
,
of t h e wiv es had already b een kill ed whil e a n oth er was ,
i n th e act of b e i n g stran gl ed I pl ead ed har d for h er .

,
but it was too lat e ; sh e was alr eady d ead I th en .
entr eated th e son to spar e t h e fourth wife ; and aft er ,
much h esitation my pray er was gran t ed : but i n half an

,
-
hour afterwards this poor woman r ep en t ed of b ein g u n

faithful as sh e t erm ed it to h er husban d an d insist ed
, , ,
on b eing stran gl ed which was accordin gly don e .
All this tim e th e ch i ef s s on was walkin g u p an d

down b efor e his fath er s hous e with a brow black as
t h und er Wh en h e en ter ed I w en t i n with h i m and

.
,
found to my surpris e that his fath er was n ot dead !

, ,
Th e old man was sitting on a mat in a co r n er with an ,
e xpr ession of placid resignation on his fac e .

T HE CORAL I SLA N D .
not a few I hop e wh o ar e true follow ers of th e Lamb

, , ,
h aving b een pluck ed as brands from th e burn ing by

H i m wh o can sav e unto th e uttermos t I will not tell .
y ou mor e of ou r progr ess at this tim e ; but you s ee he ,
said wavi n g his hand around him t h e village and th e

, ,

church did not exist a year ago !
We w ere ind eed much interested i n this account and ,
I co u ld not h elp again in my heart prayi n g God to

prosper those missionary soci eti es that Send such i n
estim abl e bl essings to th ese islands of dark and bloody
idolatry The teach er also added that th e oth er tribes

.
wer e very indignant at this on e for having burn ed its

gods and thr eaten ed to d estroy it altogether but th ey
, ,
had done nothin g y et A n d if th ey should said th e

.
,
t eacher the Lord is on ou r side ; of whom shall we b e

,
afra id
Have th e missionaries many station s in th es e seas
inq u ired Jack .

O h y es .Th e L ondon Missionary S ociety have a
great ma n y in th e Tahiti group and other islands i n ,
that quar ter Th en the W esleyans hav e th e F eej ee

.
I slands all to th ems elv es an d th e A m ericans hav e many

,
st ations i n o th er groups But still my fri end there ar e

.
, ,
hu n dreds of islands h ere th e n ativ es of which have n ev er

h eard of J es u s or th e good word of God or the H oly
, ,
S pirit ; and thous an ds ar e living and dying in th e pr ac

tic e of th ose terribl e sins and bloody murd ers of which

y ou hav e alr e ady h eard I tr u st my . fri ends ,
h e add ed , ,
lookin g earn estly in to ou r faces I tr ust that if y ou

ever return to En gland you will tell your Christian ,
friends that th e horrors which they hear O f i n regard

t o th es e islands ar e li ter a lly tr u e and that wh en th ey ,
ha ve h eard th e worst the h a lf h a s n ot been told th em

,
for th er e are perp etrated h er e foul d eeds of darkn ess O f

T HE CORAL I SLA N D . 2 95
w h ich man may not speak You may also t ell them .
,
h e said looking arou n d wi th a smil e whil e a t ear of

, ,
gratitude trembl ed in his ey e an d rolled do wn his coal

black ch eek t ell th em of th e bl essin gs that th e gospel
has wro u ght h er e !
We assur ed ou r fri end that we would c ertainly n ot
forget his request O n returning towards th e villag e
. ,
a bout noon we remark ed on th e b eautiful whit eness of

,
th e cottag es .
That is owing to th e lim e with which they ar e

plast ered said th e t each er
,
Wh en th e nativ es w ere .
conv ert ed as I have d escrib ed I s et th em to work t o

, ,
build cottag es for th ems elv es and also this handsome ,
church which y ou s ee Wh en th e fram ework and

.
oth er parts O f th e house w ere up I s ent th e p eople t o ,
fetch coral from th e s ea Th ey brought imm ens e quan

.
tities . Th en I mad e them cut wood and piling the ,
coral abov e it s et it on r e ,
.
L ook ! look ! cried the poor p eople in amaz em ent ;

what wond erful p eopl e th e C h r istians ar e ! H e is

roasting ston es We sh all not ne ed taro or bre a d fruit
.
-
an
y mor e ; we may eat ston es
But their surprise was still greater when the coral

was reduced t o a n e soft white powd er Th ey imme .
di at ely set u p a great shout an d mingli n g t h e lim e ,
w ith wat er rubb ed th eir fa c es a n d th e i r bodi es all

ov er with 1 t and ran through th e village scr eaming
,
with d elight Th ey were also much surprised at

.
anoth er thing th ey s aw m e do I wish ed to mak e .
som e hous ehold furnitur e and construct ed a turning ,
lath e to assist me Th e rst thing that I turn ed w as

.
th e leg of a sofa ; which was n o soon er nish ed than

th e chi ef s eiz ed it with wond er and d elight an d r an ,
through th e villag e exhi b iting it to th e p eopl e wh o ,

look ed upo n it with gr eat admi r atio n Th e chi ef th en .

,
tyi n g a string t o it hun g it roun d his n eck as an orn a

,
m ent ! H e afterwards told m e that if he had se en it

b efore h e becam e a C hristian h e wo ul d hav e mad e i t ,
his god !
A s th e t eacher con clud ed this anecdot e we r each ed his
door S aying that h e had busin ess to att end to h e l eft
.
,
us to amus e ours elv es as w e b est could .

N ow lads said Jack turning abruptly towards u s
, , , ,
and buttoni n g up his jack et as h e spok e I m off to see ,

t h e battl e . I ve no particu lar fondn ess for s eei n bloo d

sh ed but I must n d out th e nat u r e 0 th es e fellows and

,

see th eir customs w ith my own ey es s o that I may b e ,
abl e to sp eak of it again if n eed b e authoritativ ely

, ,
.

It s only s i x mil es O ff and we don t r u n much more
,
risk than that of getting a rap with a stray ston e or

an overshot arr ow Will y ou go .
?

To b e sure w e will sai d Peterkin ,
.
If th ey chance to see us we ll cut and r u n for it
add ed Jack .
D ear m e ! cried Peter kin y ou run ! I thought

you would scorn to r u n from any on e .
S O I would if it w er e my duty t o gh t r eturn ed

, ,
Jack coolly ; but as I don t wan t t o ght an d don t
in t end to ght if th ey O ffer to attack us I ll r u n away

,

lik e th e v eri est coward that ev er w en t by th e n am e of

P et erkin S O c om e along
. .
Th eir fac es and bodi es w ere paint ed so as to mak e them

look as frightf u l as possibl e ; an d as th ey brandish ed
th eir massiv e clubs l eap ed s h o u ted y ell ed and dash ed
, , , ,
each oth er to th e gro u nd I thought I had n ev er s een ,
m en look s o lik e d emons b efor e .
We were much s u rpris ed at th e conduct of th e wom en ,
who s eem ed to b e p erfect furi es an d hu n g abo u t th e ,
h eels of th eir husbands in ord er to d efen d th em O ne .
stout yo u ng woman w e s aw whos e husband was hard

press ed and about to b e overcom e : sh e lifted a large
sto n e an d throwin g it at his oppon ent s h ead fell ed him
,

to th e earth But th e battl e did not last long Th e

. .
ban d most distant fro m u s gave way and w er e rout ed ,
l eaving eighteen O f th eir comra des d ead upon th e eld .
Th es e t h e victors brain ed as th ey lay ; and puttin g som e

of th eir brai n s on l eaves wen t off with the m w e w ere

af ter wards inform ed to th eir t empl es t o pres ent th em

, ,
to th eir gods as an earn est of th e h u m an victims wh o .
w ere soon t o b e b r ought th ere .
We hasten ed back to th e Christian vill ag e with feel

ings of the deep est sa dn ess at the sanguin ary con ict
which we had j ust witn ess ed .
N ext day aft er breakfasting with ou r fri end th e

,
t each er w e mad e pr eparations for carryin g out our plan

,
.
At rst th e t each er end eavoured to dissuad e us .

Y o u do not know said h e turn in g to Jack ,
th e , ,
dan ger y o u run i n v en turing amongst th es e ferocious

savag es I feel much pity for poor A vatea ; but you ar e
.
not lik ely to s u cceed in saving h er and y ou may die in ,

th e att empt .

lV ell said Jack quietly
,
I am not afraid to die in ,

a good caus e .
Th e t each er smil ed approvingly at him as h e said

t h is and aft er a littl e further con versation agreed to
,
T HE CORA L I SLAND . 2 99
accompan y us as i n terpreter ; saying that although ,
Tar ar o was unfri endly to him h e had hith erto tr eated

,
him with respect .
We n ow w en t on board th e schoon er having resolv ed ,
t o sail ro u nd the island and drop anchor O pposit e th e

h ea th en villag e We m ann ed h er with nati ves and
.
,
hop ed to overawe th e savages by displaying ou r b r ass

gun to advantage Th e t eacher soon aft er came on
.
board and s etting ou r sails we put to s ea In two hours

,
.
mor e we m ade t h e cli ffs r ev erb erate with th e crash of

th e big gun which we red by way of salute w h ile we
, ,
ran the British ensign up to th e p eak an d cast anchor .
Th e commotion on shore show ed us that we had str uck

t error into the h earts of th e natives ; but s eeing tha t we
did n ot o ffer to mol est th em a cano e at length put O ff
,
and paddl ed cautiously towards us Th e teach er sho wed .
hims elf and explaining that w e were fri ends an d wish ed

,
t o palav er with th e chief d esi r ed th e native to go and

,
tell him to come on board .
We waited long and w ith much impati ence for an

an s wer D uring this tim e th e nativ e t each er con v ers ed
.
with us again and told us many th i ngs concer nin g the

,
success Of th e gosp el among thos e islands and p erceiving

that we w er e by no m eans so much grati ed as we o u ght
to have b een at th e h earing of such good n ews h e pr essed ,
.
us more clos ely in regard to ou r p erson al int erest in r e

li gi on and exhort ed us t o con sid er that ou r souls wer e
,
c ertain ly i n as great dang er as thos e of th e w r etch ed

h eath en whom we piti ed s o much if w e had n ot already,

found salvation i n Jesus Christ N ay furth er h e add ed
.
, , ,
if such b e your u n happy cas e you ar e i n th e s ight

, ,
of God much wors e than th es e savages ( forgiv e m e my

, ,
young fri ends for saying s o! : for they hav e no k n owl edge
, ,
no light and do n ot profess to beli ev e ; whil e y ou on

, ,
th e con trary hav e be en brought up in th e light of th e

,
bl ess ed gosp el and call yours elves C hristian s Th es e

,
.
poor savages are inde ed th e en emies of our L ord ; but

ou if e b e not tru e b eli evers ar e t r aitors !
y , y ,
I m u st confess that my h eart cond emned me whil e

th e t each er spok e in this earn est mann er an d I kn ew ,
n ot what to reply P eterkin too di d n ot s eem to lik e

.
, ,
it and I thought would willingly have escap ed ; but

,
Jack s eem ed d eeply impr ess ed and w ore an anxious ex ,
pression on his naturally grav e count en anc e whil e h e ,
ass ent ed to th e teach er s r emarks and put to him many

earnest qu estions M eanwhil e th e natives who com

.
pos ed our cr ew havi n g n othing particular to do had

, ,
squatted down on t h e d eck and tak en out their littl e

books containing the translated portion s of th e N ew
T estam ent along with hymns and sp elling books and
,
-
,
w ere n ow busily engaged som e vociferatin g th e alphab et

, ,
oth ers l earning pray ers O ff by h eart whil e a few sang ,

hymns all of th em b eing utt erly u nmindful of ou r
pres en c e The t eacher soon j oin ed th em and soon aft er
.
,
wards th ey all en gaged i n a prayer which was after wards

translat ed to u s and proved to b e a p etition for th e
,
succ ess of our und ertaking and for th e con v ersion of th e

h eath en .
Whil e w e w er e thus engag ed a can o e put O ff from

shore and s ev eral savages l eap ed on d eck on e of whom ,
advan c ed to th e t each er an d in form ed h i m that Tar ar o

could n ot com e on board that day b ei n g busy with som e ,
religious c eremoni es b efo r e the gods which could on n o ,
account b e postpon ed H e was also en gag ed with a

.
frien dly chi ef who was about to tak e his d eparture from
th e islan d and th er efore b egg ed that th e t each er an d his
,
fri ends would land and pay a visit to him To this th e .
t each er r etu r n ed an sw er that w e would lan d imm ediat ely .


Very good returned Jack ; th en I ll go alon e for
, ,
I cannot cond emn th eir doings till I hav e s een them .
Jack aros e and we havin g det ermin ed to go also

, , ,
follow ed him through th e banana groves to a risi n g

ground imm ediately b ehind th e village on th e top of ,
which stood th e B u r or t empl e und er th e dark shade

, ,
of a group of iro n wood tr ees A s we went through the

-
.
vi ll age I was again led to con trast th e rude huts and

,
sh eds and th eir almos t nak ed savage lookin g i n habit ,

-
ants with th e natives O f th e C hristian villag e wh o to , ,
use th e teach er s scriptural expression were now clothed

and in t h eir right mind .
A s w e turn ed into a broad path leading towards the

hill we w ere arrested by the shouts of an approaching
,
multitu de in th e rear D rawin g aside into th e bushes

.
,
we await ed th ei r coming up an d as they drew n ear we ,
obser ved that it was a procession of th e n atives m any ,
of who m w er e dancing and g esticulating in the most
frantic mann er Th ey had an exc eedingly hideous asp ect

.
,
o wing to th e black r ed and yellow paints with which

, ,
th eir fac es an d naked bodi es were b edaub ed In th e .
midst of th es e cam e a band O f m en carryi n g three or

four planks on which w er e s eated i n rows upwards of a
,
doz en m en I shudd ered involuntarily as I r ecoll ected

.
th e sacri c e of human victims at th e island of Em o and ,
turned with a look of fear to Jack as I said ,
0 Jack ! I hav e a t erribl e dread th at th ey ar e going

to commit som e of th eir cru el practic es on th es e wr etch ed
men We had b ett er not go to th e t emple We shall
. .
only b e horri ed without b ei n g able to do an y good for ,

I fear th ey ar e going to kill th em .
Jac k s face wore an expression of de ep compassion as

h e said in a low voic e N o fear Ralph th e su fferings

, ,

O f th es e poor fel lows ar e ov er lo n g ago .
I turn ed with a start as h e spok e and glan cin g at the ,
m en w h o w er e n ow quite n ear t o the spot wher e we

,
stood s aw that they were all d ead

,
They w ere ti ed .
rmly with rop es i n a sitting posture on t h e planks an d ,
s eem ed as th ey b en t th eir sightl ess ey eballs an d grinning

,
mouth s ov er th e dancing crew b elow as if th ey w er e ,
laughing in ghastly mock ery at th e utt er i n ability of

th eir en emi es to hurt th em n ow These w e discov ered .
,
aft erwards w ere th e m en who h ad b een slain i n the

,
battl e of th e pr evious day and w er e n ow on th eir w ay ,
t o be rst pr esented to t h e go ds an d th en eat en Be .
hin d thes e came two m en l eading b etw een them a th ird ,
whos e hands w er e pinion ed b ehi n d his back H e walke d .
with a r m st ep and wor e a look of utt er indi fference on

,
his face as th ey led h i m along ; s o th at we concluded he

must be a crimi n al wh o was about to receiv e som e slight
pun is h m ent for his fau lts Th e r ear of th e procession
.
w as brought up by a shouting crowd of wo men and

ch ildren with w h om we min gled and follow ed to the
,
t empl e .
H ere w e arrived in a few m inut es Th e t empl e was .
a tall circular buildi n g op en at on e sid e A rou nd it

, .
w ere strewn h eaps of hu m an bon es and sk ul ls A t a .
tabl e in sid e s at th e pri est an eld erly man with a lo n g,
gray b eard H e was s eated on a stool an d b efor e him

.
,
lay s ev eral k n iv es mad e of wood bon e an d splint ers of

, , ,
bamboo with which h e p erform ed his ofc e of diss ectin g

,
dead bodi es Farth er i n lay a vari ety of articl es that h ad

.
b een d edicated to th e god an d among th em w er e m an y,
sp ears an d clubs I obs erved among th e latt er som e

.
with human t eeth sticking i n th em wh er e t h e V ictims ,
had b een clubb ed i n th eir mouth s .
Before this t empl e th e bodies which w er e paint ed ,
with v er milion an d s oot w ere arranged in a sitting,

posture ; and a man call ed a dan vosa ( orator

, ! a d -
,
van c ed and laying his hands on th eir h eads b egan to

, ,
chid e them appar ently in a low bant erin g ton e What

, , .
h e said we knew not but as h e went on h e wax ed warm

, ,
and at last shouted to th em at the top of his lungs an d ,
nally nished by kicking th e bodi es ov er and ru n ning

away amid the sho u ts and laughter of th e p eopl e who
, ,
n ow r u shed forward S eizing th e bodi es by a leg or an

.
arm or by the hair of th e h ead th ey dragged th em ov er

, ,
stumps and stones and through sloughs until th ey w ere ,
e xhaust ed The bodi es w ere then brought back to th e

.
tem pl e and dissect ed by th e pri est aft er which th ey w er e ,
tak en ou t to be bak ed .
Clos e to the temple a larg e r e was kindl ed i n which ,
ston es were heated r ed hot Wh en r eady th es e w ere .
spread ou t on th e grou n d an d a thick coatin g of l eav es ,

strewn over th em to slack t h e h eat O n this lovo .
,
or oven th e bodi es wer e th en placed cover ed ov er and

, , ,
l eft to bak e .
Th e crowd n ow r an with t errible y ells towards a

n eighbourin g hill O r mo u nd on which we Observ ed th e ,
fram e work of a hous e ly ing r eady to be erected S ick

-
.
with ho r ror y et fascinat ed by c u riosity w e staggered

, ,
after th em m echan ically scar c e k n owi n g wh er e w e w ere ,
goin g or what w e did an d feelin g a sort of impression ,
that all w e saw was a dreadful dream .
Arriv ed at th e plac e w e saw th e multitu de c r owdi n g ,
round a c ertain spot We pr ess ed forward and Obtain ed

.
a sight of what th ey w ere doing A large wooden b ea m .
or post lay on th e ground b esid e th e oth er parts of th e ,
fram e wor k of th e hous e an d close t o the end of it was

-
,
a hol e about s even feet d eep an d upwards of t w o feet

wid e Whil e w e look ed th e m an whom w e had b efore
.
,
O bserv ed with his hands pin io n ed was carri ed i n to t h e

C HA PT ER XXXII .
An cted di scover y a n d a bold

u nexp e , , re ckless d ea n ce wi th , i ts con seq u en ces
P lans of escape , a n d h er o i c r esolv es .
H EN we returned to the shore an d relat ed to

ou r fri end what had pass ed h e was greatly ,
distressed and groaned in spirit ; but w e h ad n ot s at

,
lon g in con v ersation when w e w ere interru pted by th e

,
arrival of Tar ar o on the beach accompani ed by a numb er ,
of follow ers b earing bask ets of v egetabl es and fruits on

th eir heads .
We advanced to m eet h i m and h e expressed thr ough , ,
ou r interpret er much pl easur e in s eeing us

,
.
A n d what is it that my friends wish to say to m e ?
h e inquired .
The t each er explain ed that we cam e to b eg that

A v atea might b e spar ed .
T ell him said Jack that I consider that I h av e a

, ,
right to ask this of him havin g not only saved th e gi r l s

,

life but the liv es of his ow n p eopl e also an d say that I

,
wish h er to b e allowed to follow h er own wish es an d ,

j oin the Christian s .
While this was b eing translated th e chief s brow ,

lowered and w e could s ee plain ly that ou r r equ est m et

,
with n o favourabl e r ec eption H e r epli ed with c on .
s i der ab le en e rgy and at som e l ength

,
.

Wh at says h e ? inquired Jack .
TH E CO RAL I SLAND . 307
I regret to s ay that he w ill n ot listen to the pro

pos a l H e s ays he h a s pledged h i s word to his friend
.
that the girl s h all be sent to him and a dep u ty is even ,

n ow on this island awaiti n g th e ful lment of the pl edge .
Jack h i t his lip in s u ppr ess ed ang er Tell Tar ar o .

,
he exclaimed with ashing ey e that if he does n ot

, ,

grant my demand it will be worse for him S ay I have .
a big gun on board my schooner that will blow his

villag e into the sea if he do es n ot give u p the girl
,
.

N ay my frien d said the teach er gently
, ,
I will ,
n ot tell h i m that ; we must overcom e evil with good

.

What does my friend y s a ? inquired the chi ef wh o ,
s eem ed n ettled by Jack s look s of deance

.

H e is displeased repli ed the t each er
,
Tar ar o turn ed away with a smile of c ontempt an d ,
walked towards th e men wh o carri ed the baskets of

v egetables and wh o had n ow emptied the whole on the
,
beach in an enormous pile .
What ar e they doing there ? I inquired .
I think that th ey are laying ou t a gift which they

int end to present to some on e said th e t eacher , .
A t this moment a coupl e of m en app eared l eading a

young girl betwe en them and going towards the heap ,
of fruits and vegetables placed her on the top of it , .
We start ed with surprise and fear for in t h e youn g ,
femal e b efore us w e re cogniz ed th e S amoan gir l A vatea .
We stood rooted to the earth with s u rp r ise and thick

coming fears .
O my d ear young friend w hisp ered the t each er , ,
i n a voice of deep emotion while h e s eiz ed Jack by th e ,
ar m , sh e is to b e m a de a s acri ce ev en n ow
Is sh e cried Jack with a veh em en t shout s purn

, ,
ing th e teacher asid e an d dash in g over two n atives wh o

,
s tood in his w a whil e h e rushed towards th e hea

y , p ,
sprang up its sid e and s eiz ed A vatea by the arm In

,
.
another mo m ent h e dragg ed h er down placed her back ,
to a large tre e and wrenching a war club from th e hand

,
-
of a native wh o se em ed powerl ess and p etri ed with
surpris e whirl ed it abov e his h ead an d y ell ed rath er

, , ,
than sho u t ed while his face blazed with fury C om e

, ,
on the whol e nation of you an y e lik e it and do your

, , ,

worst !
It s eem ed as though the challen ge had been literally
accepted ; for ev ery savage on th e ground ran pr eci pi
t ately at Jack with club and spear and doubtl ess would ,
sp eedily hav e poured ou t his brav e blood on th e sod had ,
n ot th e teacher r ush ed in between them and raising his , ,
voice to its ut most cried , ,

S tay your han ds warriors ! It is not your part to
,
j udge in this matt er It is for Tar ar o the chi ef to say

.
, ,

wh ether or not th e y oung man shall li ve or di e .
Th e nativ es were arr est ed ; and I know not wh ether

it was the gratify ing acknowl edgment of his sup eriority
thus mad e by th e t each er or som e li n gering feelin g of ,
gratit u d e for Jack s form er aid in time of n eed that

i n u en c ed Tar ar o but h e stepp ed forward and waving

, ,
Th e youn g man s

h i s han d said to his p eopl e
,
D esist ,
.
life is min e .Th en turn i n g to Jack h e said You , ,
have forfeit ed y our lib erty an d life t o m e S u bmit .
yours elf for w e ar e more num erous than th e sand upon

,

t h e shore Y ou ar e but on e ; w h y should y ou di e ?
.

Villain ! exclaim ed Jack passionately I m ay di e ,

,
but assuredly I shall not perish alone I will not s u b .

mit u ntil you promis e that this girl shall not b e inj ur ed .

Y ou a r e very bold r epli ed th e chi ef haughtily
, ,
but v ery foolish Y et I will say that A vat ea shall

.
n ot b e s en t away at l eas t for thr ee days

,
.
Y ou had b ett er accept th es e t erms w h i sp ered th e ,

ght a whol e nation of savages sin gl e hand ed Yes h e -

.
,
s aid with a bitter s mile

, I can ght them b u t I cannot
, ,

conqu er them or sav e A vatea .
Patience my fri end ; your spirit is n ot a good on e

,
j ust n ow You cannot exp ect that blessing which alon e

.
can insure success unl ess y ou ar e more submissive I .

will tell y ou my pl an s if you will listen .

List en ! cried Jack eagerly : of cours e I will my ,
good fello w ; I did not know y ou had any plans O ut .
with the m I only hop e y ou will sho w me h ow I can

.
get th e girl on board of this schoon er and I d up anch or ,

and away in n o tim e B u t proceed with your plan s
. .
Th e teach er smiled sadly

Ah my fri end ! if on e .
,
fatho m of your anchor chain were to rattl e as you dre w

it in a thousand warriors would be standing on your
,
deck N o no t h at could not be don e E v en now your

.
, , .
ship would b e taken from y ou w ere it n ot that Tar ar o

has some fe eling of gratitud e to ward y ou B u t I know .
Tar ar o well H e is a m an of false h ood as all the

.
,
unconv erted savages ar e The chi ef to whom h e has .
promis ed this girl is v ery powerfu l and Tar ar o m u s t ,
fu l l his promise H e has told you that h e would do

.
nothin g to th e girl for three days b u t that is b ecaus e

th e party who are to tak e h er away will n ot be r eady t o
start for three days S till as h e might have mad e you
.
,
a prison er during those three days I say that God has ,

given them to us .

Well but what do y ou propos e to do ? said Jack
,
i mpati ently .
My plan involv es much danger but I s ee n o other , ,
and I think y ou hav e courage to brave it It is this . .
Th ere is an islan d about fty miles to th e south of this ,
the nati ves of which are C hristian s an d hav e b een s o ,

for tw o y ears or more and th e pri n cipal chi ef is A v at ea s
,
lover O nc e there A vat ea would be safe N ow I sug

.
,
.
,
gest that y ou should abandon your schooner D O y ou .
think that y ou can make s o great a s acri ce

Fri end r epli ed Jack wh en I mak e up my mind
, ,
t o go through with a thing of importanc e I can mak e ,
any sacri ce .
Th e t eacher smil ed W ell then the savages could .

, ,
n ot conc eiv e it possibl e that for th e sak e of a girl y ou
would volun tarily los e your n e v essel ther efore as long

as s h e li es h ere th ey think th ey hav e y ou all safe : s o I
suggest that w e get a quantity of stor es conv ey ed to a
sequ est ered part O f th e shore provide a small canoe put , ,
A v at ea on board and yo u th r ee would paddl e t o th e

C hristian island .
Bravo ! cri ed Peterkin springing up and s eizing ,

th e teach er s han d

Missionary you r e a r egular brick
.
, .

I didn t think you h ad so m uch in y ou

.
A s for m e continu ed the teach er ,

I will r emain ,

on board till they discover th at u ar e gon e Th n

y o e .
th ey will as k m e wh er e y ou ar e gon e to and I will ,
r efus e to t ell .
And what ll b e th e result of that ? inquir ed Jack

.

I know n ot P erhaps they will kill m e ; but h e
.
,
added looking at Jack with a p ec u liar smile I too

, , , ,
am not afraid t o di e in a good caus e

But h ow ar e w e t o g et hold of A vat ea i n quir ed
Jack .

I hav e arranged w ith h er t o m eet u s at a par ti en
lar spot t o which I w ill guid e y ou t o night We shall
,
-
.
th en arran ge about it S h e w ill easi ly man age t o elud e

.
h er k eep ers who ar e n ot very str ict in watching h er

, ,
thin ki n g it impossibl e that sh e could escap e from th e

island Ind eed I am sure that such an id ea w ill n ev er
.
,
enter th eir h eads But as I hav e said y ou run great.

, ,
danger Fifty mil es in a small cano e on th e open s ea

.
, ,
is a great voyage to m ake You may mi s s th e island .

,
too in which cas e there i s n o oth er in that dir ection for

,
a hundred mil es or more ; and if you lose your way and

fall among oth er heathens you know the law of Fe ej ee ,
a castaway w h o gains th e shore is doomed to die

-
.

You must count the cost my young fri en d , .

I hav e co u nted it repli ed Jack If A vatea c on
,
.

sents to run th e risk most c ertainly I will ; an d so will

,

my comrad es also B esides add ed Jack looking s eriously
.
, ,

into the t each er s face your Bible ou r Bibl e t ells of
,
O N E w h o d eliv ers thos e who call on him in th e tim e of

trouble ; wh o holds th e win ds in his sts and th e waters ,
in the hollo w of his hand .
We n ow set about a ctive preparations for th e int end ed

voyage ; coll ect ed togeth er such things as we s h ould
require and l aid ou t on th e d ec k provisio n s su fci en t
,
to maintain u s for several w eeks purpos in g to load the ,
cano e with as much as sh e could hold con sist ently with

speed and safety Thes e w e covered with a tarpaulin
.
,
inten ding to con vey them to th e cano e only a few hours

b efore starti n g When night spread h er sabl e curtai n
.
ov er the scen e we pr epar ed to land ; but r st kn eel

,
ing along with the nativ es and the teach er th e latt er ,
implored a bl essing on our en terpris e Th en w e r ow ed .
qui etly to th e shore and follow ed ou r sabl e guid e who ,
led us by a long d etour in ord er to avoid th e villag e to , ,
th e plac e of r end ezvous We had not stood mor e than .
ve minut es u n d er the gloomy shade Of th e thick foliage

when a dark gure glid ed nois el essly up to u s .
Ah ! h ere y ou ar e said Jack as A vatea approach ed

, ,
.

N ow th en t ell her what w e ve come about and do n t
, , ,
wast e tim e .
I und ersta n leetl E nglish said A vat ea in a low voice

.
, ,
CHA PT ER XXXIII .
Th e fl ig h t Th e pu r s u i t Despa i r
an d i ts r es u lts Th e l i o n
b ear ded i n h i s den

agai n A wfu l dan ger th r eatened a nd won der fu lly a ver t ed A t er i c sto r m
- r .
S the tim e for m editat ed ight dr ew n ear we

ou r ,
becam e naturally v ery fearfu l l est ou r purpose

should b e discov ered and we sp ent the whol e of the
,
following day in a state of n ervou s anxi ety We r e .
solved to go ashore and rambl e about th e Vi llag e as if ,
t o O bserv e t h e habits and d w ellings of th e p eopl e as ,
we thought that an air of affect ed indiffer en ce to the

events of th e previous day would b e more likely than
any other co u rs e of conduct to avert suspicion as to ou r
int entions Whil e we w ere thus occupi ed th e teach er
.
,
remained on board with th e Christian nativ es whos e ,
powerful voic es reach ed us e ver and anon as th ey en gag ed

in singing hymns or in prayer .
A t last th e long and t edious day cam e to a clos e th e ,
s u n sank in to the s ea and th e short liv ed twilight of

,
-
thos e regions to which I hav e already r eferred ended

, ,
abruptly i n a dark night Hastily throwin g a few

.
blankets into ou r littl e boat we stepp ed i n to it and

.
, ,
whispering farewell to th e nativ es in th e schooner ,
ro wed gen tly ov er the lagoon takin g car e to keep as ,
n ear to th e b each as possibl e We rowed in th e utmost

.
sil ence and with muffl ed oars s o that had any on e ,
O bs erved us at th e distan c e of a few yards he might ,

have almost ta k en us for a p h an tom bo a t or a shadow -
on the dark water N ot a breath of air was stirr ing ;

.
but fortunately the gentle rippl e of the sea u pon the

shore mingled with the soft roar of the break er on th e
,
distan t re ef effectu ally drown ed the slight plash that

,
we una voidably m a de in th e water by the dipping of

ou r oars .
! uarter of an hour su f c ed t o b r ing us to the ov er

hanging cliff under w h os e black sh a dow ou r littl e can o e
lay with her b ow in th e wat er ready to be launch ed
, ,
and most of her cargo already stowed away A s the .
k e el of ou r little boat grat ed on the sand a hand was ,
laid upon the bow and a dim form was seen ,

.

Ha ! said Peterkin in a w hisper as he stepp ed ,

upon the beach is th at y ou A vatea , ,

Yis it am me was th e reply
, , .
All right ! N O W th en g ently H elp me to shove

,

,
.
off t h e canoe whispered Jack t o the teacher ; and

, ,
d
Peterkin o y ou shove thes e blankets aboa d we may
,
r
want them b efore long A vat ea step into the middl e ; .
,
that s right
.
Is all ready ? whisper ed th e teacher .

N o t quite r eplied Pet erk i n ,
H ere R alph lay .
~
, ,
hold 0 this pair of oars and stow th em away if you

,

can I don t like paddles A fter w e re s afe away I ll
. .

try t o r i g up rollicks for th em .
N ow th en in with y ou and shove off

, ,
.
O ne more earnest sque ez e of t h e kind teac her s h and ,
an d with his whisp er e d bl essing y et sounding in ou r

e ars w e shot like an arrow from th e shore sp ed ov e r
, ,
t h e still wat ers of t h e lagoon an d paddled as swiftly as ,
stron g arms and willi n g h earts could urg e us ov er th e

lo n g s w ell of the open s ea .
A ll that night and t h e whol e of the following day

we pli ed ou r paddles in al most total silence and with

ou t halt save t w ice to r ecruit ou r failing ener gi es with
,
a mouthful of food and a draught of water Jack had .
tak en the bearing of th e island j ust after starting and ,
layin g a small pocket compass before him k ept th e -

,
head of the canoe due south for ou r chanc e of hittin g ,
th e island depended very much on the faithfulness of

our st eersman in keeping ou r tiny bar k exactly and con
s tan tl on its proper course P terkin and I paddl d in
y e e .
th e b ow and A vat ea work ed untiringly in the middl e

, .
A s th e sun s lower li mb dipp ed on the gild ed edg e

of the s ea Jack ceased working thre w down his paddle , ,
and call ed a halt .

Th ere ! he cried h eaving a deep long drawn sigh
, ,
-
,
w e v e put a considerabl e breadth of water betw een us

and th ese black rascals s o n ow we ll have a h earty ,

supp er and a sound sleep .

Hear hear ! cried P eterkin
,
N obly spoken Jack .
,
Hand me a drop wat er Ralph Why girl what s ,

.
, ,

wrong with y ou ? y ou look j ust like a black owl

blinking in the s u nshine .
A vat ea smiled I sleepy s h e said ; and as if t o

.
,
prov e t h e truth of this s h e laid her head on th e edg e

,
of th e cano e and f ell fast asl e ep .
That s uncommon shar p practice said P eterkin

, ,
with a broad grin D o n t you think w e sho u ld awak e

.

h er to make her eat som ething rst ? or perhaps he ,
add ed with a grav e m editativ e look

, ,
perhaps w e ,
might put some food in h er m on th which is s o el egantly ,

op en at the present mom ent and s ee if she d swallow it ,
whil e asl eep If so R alph y ou m ight come round t o

.
, ,
the front h ere and feed h er qui etly whil e Jack an d I ,
ar e t u cki n g into the victuals It woul d be a monstrous .
eco n o m y of tim e .
r emind ed of his re mark a few minutes before in r egard

, ,
to th e sharp practice of A vatea .
My r eaders will have obs erv ed probably by this time , ,
that I am much given to m editation ; they will n ot ,
th erefore b e surprised to l earn that I fell into a d eep

,
rev erie on the subj ect of sl eep which was continued ,
without intermission into th e n ight and prolonged with ,
ou t int erruption into the following m orning But I c an .
not feel assured that I actually sl ept during that tim e ,
although I am tol erably c ertai n that I was not awake .
Thus w e lay like a shadow on the still bosom of t h e

ocean while the night closed in an d all around w as
, ,
calm dark and silent

, ,
.
A thrilling cry of alarm from Peterkin startled us in

th e morn i n g j ust as the gray dawn began t o glimmer in
,
th e east .

What s wrong ? cried Jack starting up

, .
Pet erkin repli ed by pointing with a look of anxious

dread towards the horizon ; and a glanc e su f c ed to
Sho w us that on e of th e larg est siz ed war cano es w as -
approaching us !
With a groan of mingl ed d espair and an ger Jack
s eiz ed his paddl e glance d at th e compass an d i n a
, ,
suppress ed voic e comman d ed us t o giv e way But .
w e did n ot requir e to b e urg ed A lready our four .
pad dl es wer e glancing i n th e water and th e can o e ,
bou n d ed over th e glassy s ea like a dolph in whil e a ,
shout from ou r p u rs u ers told that th ey had Obs erv ed

o u r motions .
I s ee something lik e lan d ahead said Jack in a , ,
hop eful tone It seems impossible that we could hav e

.
mad e th e island y et ; still if it is s o we m ay reach it

, ,
before these fellows c an catch us for ou r ca noe i s light ,
and ou r muscl es ar e fresh .

N0 on e replied ; for to s ay tr uth we felt that in a

, ,
lo n g chas e w e had n o chanc e whateve r with a canoe

w hich h eld nearly a h u ndr ed warriors N ev erthel ess .
,
w e resolv ed t o do ou r utmost to escap e and paddled ,
with a d egree of vigour that k ept us w ell i n advanc e of

ou r p u rsu ers Th e war cano e was s o far b eh ind us that
.
-
it s eem ed but a littl e sp eck on th e s ea and th e shouts , ,
to which th e cr ew occasionally gav e v ent cam e faintly ,
towar ds us on th e morning breez e We ther efore hoped .
that w e should b e abl e t o ke ep in advance for an hour

or tw o wh en w e might p er haps reach th e land ah ead
,
.
But this hop e w as sudd enly crush ed by th e suppos ed

land not long aft er rising up in to th e s k y thus p r oving ,
its elf to b e a fog bank ! -
A bitter feeling of disappointm ent lled each h eart ,
and was expr ess ed on each count en ance as w e b eh eld ,
this t ermination to ou r hop es But w e had littl e time .
to th in k of r egret O ur dan g er was too gr eat an d

.
imminent to p ermit of a moment s relaxation from ou r
ex ertions N O hop e now animat ed our bosoms ; but a

.
feeling of d espair strange to s ay l ent us pow er to work

, , ,
an d n erv ed ou r arms with such en ergy that it w as

s ev eral hours er e th e sa vages ov ertook us Wh en w e .
saw that th ere was indeed no chanc e of escap e and that ,
paddli n g any long er w ould only s erv e to exhaust ou r

stren gth withou t doin g an y good w e turn ed th e si de of
, ,
ou r ca n o e towards th e approachin g en emy and laid do w n ,
ou r paddl es .
S il en tly and with a look O f bitt er d et ermin ation on

,
his face Jack lift ed on e of th e light boat oars that w e

,
-
had brought with us and restin g it on his should er

, ,
stood up in an attitude of bold d e ance P et erkin took .
th e other oar and also stood up but th er e was n o ang er ,
visibl e on h i s count enance Wh en not sparkling with

.
32 0 T HE CORAL I S LAND .
fun it usually wor e a mild s ad expression which was

, , ,
d eep ened on th e pres ent occasio n as h e glan c ed at ,
A vat ea w h o sat with h er fac e resting i n h er han ds

,
upon h er k n ees Without kno wing v ery w ell what I

.
int end ed to do I also aros e and gras ped my paddle with

,
both hands .
O n cam e th e larg e cano e lik e a war hors e of the d eep -

,
with the foa m curling fro m its sharp b ow and th e sp ear ,
h eads of th e savages glancing i n the b eam s of th e risin g

sun Perfect sil en ce was main tain ed on both sid es and
.
,
we could h ear t h e hissing water and s ee the frownin g ,
eyes of the warriors as th ey came rushing on

,
Wh en .
a bout tw enty yards distant ve or s i x of th e savages ,
in th e bow ros e an d laying aside th eir paddles took

, , ,
up their spears Jack an d Pet erkin rais ed th eir oars

.
,
whil e with a feeling of madn ess whirlin g in my brai n

, ,
I grasp ed my paddl e and prepared for th e ons et B u t .
before an y of us could strike a blo w the sharp prow of ,
the war cano e struck us lik e a thund erbolt on t h e S ide

-
,
and hurl ed us into th e s ea !

What occurr ed aft er this I cannot tell for I was ,
n early drowned ; but wh en I r ecov er ed from th e stat e
of ins ensibility into which I had b een thrown I fou n d ,
mys elf str etch ed on my back bound han d a n d foot ,
b etw een Jack and P et erki n i n th e bottom of th e larg e

,
can o e .
In this con dition w e lay th e whol e day d u r i n g which ,
tim e th e savages o n ly r este d on e hour Wh en night .
ca m e th ey r est ed again for anoth er hou r and appear ed

, ,
to sl eep j ust as th ey sat But we w ere n eith er u n bound

.
n o r allow ed to sp eak to each oth er d u ri n g t h e voyag e ,
nor was a mors el of food or a draught of wat er giv en to

us. For food how ev er w e cared littl e ; but w e would
, ,
have gi ven much for a drop O f wat er to cool our parch ed

v iolently by th e collars and dragging us from the b u t ,
of th e chi ef led us th r ough th e wood to th e outskirts

,
of the villag e H ere th ey thrust us into a specie s

.
O f natural cave in a cli ff and havin g barricaded the ,
e n tranc e l eft us in total darkn ess

, .
e e e
A ft r f ling about for some time for ou r l egs w ere
unshackled although ou r wrists w ere still bou nd with
,

thongs w e fo u nd a low l edge of rock runn ing along
on e side of the cavern O n this w e s eated ourselves .
,
an d for a long tim e m aintai n ed unbrok en sil ence .
At last I could r estrain my fe elin gs no longer A l as ! .

dear Jack and P eterkin said I what i s to becom e of , ,
us ? I fear that we ar e doomed to di e .

I kno w not repli ed Jack in a trem ulous voice I
, , ,
kn ow not Ralph I regret deeply the hastiness of my

.
,
violent t emp er which I must confess has been th e chi ef

, , ,
caus e of ou r b ein g brought to this sad condition Per .
haps th e t each er may do som eth ing for u s But I h ave .
littl e hop e .
Ah no ! said Peterkin with a h eavy sigh ; I am ,

s u re h e can t h elp us Tar ar o do esn t care mor e for him

.

than for on e of his dogs .

Truly said I th ere s eems no ch anc e of d eliv eran ce
, , ,
u n l ess th e Almighty puts forth his arm to save us Y et .
I must s ay that I have great hope my comrad es ; for we ,

hav e com e to this dark place by no fault of ours u nl ess

it b e a fault to try to succour a woman in distress .
I was interru pted i n my remarks by a nois e at th e

entrance to the cavern which was caus ed by the removal ,
of the barricad e Imm ediately aft er three m en entered

.
, ,
and taki n g us by th e collars of ou r coats led us away ,
through th e forest A s w e advanc ed we h eard much .

,
s houting and b eating of n ativ e drums i n th e village an d ,
at rst w e thought th at ou r guards w er e conducti n g u s

to the b u t of Tar ar o again But in th is we w er e mis

.
tak en The beating O f drums gradually increas ed and

.
,
soon aft er we observ ed a proc ession of th e natives

coming towards us A t th e h ead of this procession we
.
wer e placed and th en w e all ad vanced togeth er towar ds

,
the templ e wh ere human victims w er e wont to be

s acri c ed !
A thrill of horror r an through my h eart as I recalled

to mind th e awful scen es that I h ad before witn essed
at that dr eadful spot But d eliverance came sudd enly
.
from a qu arter wh ence we little expected it D u r ing .
t h e whol e of that day th ere had been an unusual

degree of heat in the atmosph ere and th e sk y assumed ,
that lurid asp ect which portends a thunderstorm Just .
as we were approachi n g th e horrid temple a growl O f ,
th und er burst overhead a nd h eavy drops of rain b egan

to fall .
Thos e wh o hav e not wi tn ess ed gal es and storms in

tropical regions can for m but a faint conception of the
fearful hurrican e that burst upon th e island of Mango
at thi s ti me B efore w e reach ed the t emple the storm
.
,
burst upon u s with a deafening roar and the natives , ,
who kn ew too w ell th e devastation th at was to follow ,
ed righ t and l eft thr ough the woods i n o r der to sav e

th eir property l eavin g us alone in the m idst of th e
,
howlin g s torm Th e trees arou n d us b en t b efore th e

.
blast lik e will ows and we w ere about to ee i n ord er to

,
s eek sh elt er when the teacher ran toward us w ith a

,
knife in his han d .
Thank th e L or d he said cutting our bo n ds I am

, , ,
in tim e ! N ow s eek th e sh elt er of th e nearest rock

, .
Thi s w e did without a mom en t s h esitation for the
whistli n g wind bu rst ever and anon like thund er claps

, ,
-
among t h e tr ees and t earing th em from th eir roots

.
,
hurl ed th em with viol en ce to th e ground Rain cut .
across th e land in sh eets and lightning play ed lik e ,
forked s erp ents i n th e air whil e high above th e roar ,
of th e hissing temp est th e th u n d er crashed and burst
and roll ed in awful maj esty .
In th e V illage th e sc ene was absolut ely appalling .
R oofs were blown compl etely off th e houses in many

cas es ; and in others th e houses th emselves were l evelle d .
with th e grou n d I n th e midst O f t h is th e natives were

.
darting to and fr o in som e instances saving th eir

,
goo ds but in many oth ers s eekin g to sav e themselves

,
from the stor m of destruction that whirl ed around them .
But t erri c although th e t emp est was on land it was ,
still more trem en dous on th e mighty oc ean Billows .
s pra n g as it were fro m th e great d eep and whil e th eir

, , ,
crests wer e absolutely scattered into white mist th ey ,
fell upon th e b each with a crash that se emed to shake

the solid land But th ey did not en d th ere
. Each .
s ucc essive wave s wept high er and high er on th e b each ,
u ntil th e oc ean lash ed its angry wat ers among th e t r ees
and bush es an d at l ength in a she et O f white curdl ed

, ,
foa m s wept i n to th e village and ups et and carri ed off

, ,
or dash ed i n to wr eck whol e rows of th e n ativ e dw ell

,
i n gs ! It was a sublim e an awful scen e calculat ed i n

, , ,
som e d egree at least to impr es s th e mind of b eholders

,
with th e migh t an d th e maj esty of God .
We foun d sh elt er in a cav e that n ight and all the

n ext day during which time th e storm raged in fury ;
,
but on th e night follo wing it abated somewhat and in ,
th e mornin g w e w en t t o th e vil lag e to s eek for food ,
b eing so famish ed with hun ger that we lost all feeling

of dang er and all wish t o escap e in ou r d esir e to satisfy
th e cravin gs of natu re But n o soon er had we obtain ed

.
food than w e b egan to wish that w e h ad rath er eu

CHAPT ER XXXIV
I mp r i
sonment S i nki ng hop es Un exp ected fr eedom to mo r e than on e ,
an d i n
mor e sen ses than one .
OR a long lo n g month w e remain ed in

,
ou r dark
and dreary prison during which dismal tim e we
,
did n ot see the face of a h uman being exc ept that of ,
the sil ent sava ge who brought us ou r daily food .
There have been one or two seasons in my life during

which I have felt as if the darkness of sorrow and de
solation that crush ed my inmost heart could n ever pass
away until d eat h should mak e me ceas e to feel The .
present was such a s eason .
D uring the rst part of ou r con n ement we felt a

cold chill at our h earts every tim e we h eard a footfall
n ear the cav e dr eading l est it should prove to b e that
-
of ou r ex ec u tion er But as time dragg ed h eavily on

.
we ceas ed t o feel this alarm and began to exp erienc e

,
such a d eep irr epressible longing for freedom that we

, ,
chafed an d fretted i n ou r con nem ent lik e tigers Then .
a f eeling of d espair cam e ov er us and we actually ,
longed for the time when the savages would take u s

forth to die ! But these chan ges took place v ery gradu
ally and w ere m ingl ed som etim es with brighter though ts ;
,
for there were tim es when w e s at in that dark cavern

on ou r l edge of rock and convers ed almost pl eas antly
a bo u t th e past unti l we w ell nigh forgot th e dreary
,
-
present . But we s eldom v entured to touch upon the

fu ture .
A few d ecayed l eaves and boughs form ed ou r b ed ,
and a scanty supply of yams and taro brought to u s ,
onc e a day constitut ed ou r food

-
, .
W ell Ralph how hav e y ou sl ept ? said Jack in a

, , ,
listl ess ton e on rising on e m orn i n g from his hu m bl e

,
Were you much disturb ed by th e wind las t

'
couch .
n ight
NO said I :
,
I dre am ed of hom e all night an d I ,
thought that my moth er smil ed upon m e and bec k oned ,

m e to go to h er ; but I could not for I w as chain ed , .
And I drea med too said P et erkin ; ,

but it was of
,
ou r happy home on t h e C oral Island I tho u ght w e .
were swimmin g in th e Wat er Gard en th en th e savages

gave a y ell and w e w er e immediat ely in th e cav e at
,
S poutin g Cliff which somehow or other ch an ged into

, , ,
this gloomy cav ern and I awok e to n d it tru e .
Pet erkin s ton e was s o m uch altered by th e depres s

ing inu ence of his long imprison m ent that h ad I n ot , ,
known i t was he who spok e I s hould scarc el y hav e r e ,
cogni z ed it s o s ad was it and s o unlik e to th e m erry

, , ,
ch eerful voice w e had b een accustomed t o h ear I .
pond er ed this much and thought of th e t erribl e decline

,
of happi n ess th at may com e on human beings in s o sho r t
a tim e how b r ight th e sunshin e in t h e s k y at one time ,
and in a short space how dark th e ov ersh adowing

cloud I had n o doubt th at th e B i ble would hav e g iv en
m e much lig ht and comfort on this subj ect if I had ,
poss ess ed on e an d I onc e mor e had occasion to r egret

,
d eeply having n egl ected to store my m emory with i ts

con soling truths .
Whil e I m editat ed th us P eterk i n again brok e th e ,
sil enc e of th e cav e by s aying in a m elan choly ton e

, , ,
Oh , I wond er if we shall e v er s ee ou r d ear island

more
H is voic e tre mbled and covering his face with both
,
h ands he bent down his h ead and w ept It was an

, .
u nusual sight for me to see ou r onc e j oyous companion

i n tears and I felt a b urnin g desire to comfort h i m ;
,
b u t alas ! what could I say

,
? I could hold ou t no hope ;
a nd although I essayed twice to speak th e words r e ,
fused to p ass my lips While I hesitated Jack s at .

,
do wn beside him and whisp ered a few words in his ear ;

,
while Peterkin thre w hi mself on his friend s breast and

rested his head on his should er .
Thus we sat for so me time in deep silence S oon .
after we h eard footsteps at the entrance of the cave

, ,
and immediately ou r j ailer entered We were s o m uch .
accustomed to his r egular visits ho wever that we paid , ,
little attention to him expectin g that he would set down

,
ou r meagre fare as usual an d depart

,
But to ou r s u r ,
.
prise instead of doing so h e ad vanc ed toward s us with

, ,
a knife in his hand and going up to Jack he cut the, ,
thongs that bound his w rists t h en h e did the sam e to ,
Peterkin an d me ! For fully ve minutes we stood in

s pe echless amaz em ent with ou r freed hands hanging
,
idly by ou r sides Th e rst thought that r ushed into

.
my mind was that th e tim e had com e to put us to

,
d eath ; and although as I h ave said b efore w e actually

, ,
wish ed for d eath in th e strength of our d espair n ow ,
that we thought it drew r eally n ear I felt all th e natural

love of life revive in my h eart min gl ed with a chill O f ,
horror at the suddenn ess of our call .
But I w as mistak en After cutting our bonds th e .

,
savag e poin t ed to th e cave s m o u th and we march ed
, ,
almost m echanically into th e op en air H ere to ou r

, .
,
surp r is e we found th e t each er standing under a tree

, , ,
kindly feeling They t h en f ell behind and forming a

.
,
sor t of procession conduct ed u s to th e dw elli n g of

,
Tar ar o .
Th e scene that m et our eyes here was on e that I shall

n ev er forget O n a r u d e b ench in front of his house
.
s at the chief A nativ e stood on h i s left hand wh o

.
from his dress seemed to be a teacher O n h i s right .
stood an English gentl eman wh o I at once and righ tly ,
conclud ed was a missionary H e was tall thin and .

, ,
app ar ently pas t fo r ty w ith a bald foreh ead and thin

,
gray hair The expression of his countenance was the

.
most winning I ever saw and his clear gray ey e b eam ed,
with a look that was f r ank fearless lovi n g and truth , , ,
fu l
. I n front of the chi ef was an op en spac e i n th e ,
c entre of which lay a pil e of wooden idols ready to be ,
set on r e ; and around th ese w ere assembl ed thousan ds

of natives who had com e to j oin in or to witn ess the
,
unusual sight A bright smil e overspread th e m ission

.
ary s face as he ad vanced quickly to m eet u s and he

shook us warmly by the hands .
I am o verjoyed to m eet y ou my dear young fri ends , ,
he said My fr i end and y ou r friend th e teach er has

.
, ,
told m e yo u r history ; and I thank ou r Father in h eav en ,
with all my h eart that h e has guid ed me to this island

, ,

and made me the instrum ent of saving y ou .
We thanked th e missionary mos t heartily an d asked ,
h i m i n so m e surp r ise h ow h e had s u cc eeded i n turni n g

the h eart of Tar ar o in our fa vour .
I will tell y ou that at a more con v enient tim e he ,
answ ered ; meanwhil e we must n ot forget th e resp ect

du e to the chi ef H e waits to rec eive y ou
. .
In the conversation that imm ediat ely follow ed b e

t ween us an d Tar ar o th e latt er said that th e light of
,
th e gosp el of J esus C hrist had b een sent to t h e islan d ,

l
and that to it we w ere i nd ebted for ou r freedom .
Moreov er h e told us that we w er e at lib erty to d ep a rt

,
i n ou r schoon er when ever we pleased and that we ,
should be supplied with as much provision as we r e

quired . H e conclud ed by shaking hands with us
war mly and p erformin g th e c eremony of r ubbing nos es
, .
This was inde ed good n ews to us and we could hardly ,
n d words to expr ess ou r gratitude t o th e chief and t o

th e m issionar y .
And what of A vat ea ? inq u ir ed Jack .
Th e m issionary r epli ed by poin ti n g t o a group of

nativ es in th e midst of whom th e girl stood B esid e .
h er was a tall strapping fello w whos e nobl e mien and

, ,
air of sup eriority b espok e h i m a chi ef of n o ordinary

kind .
That youth is h er lover H e came this very morn .
ing in his war cano e to treat with Tar ar o for A vatea

-
.
H e is to b e married in a few days and afterwards r e ,
turns to his island hom e with his bride

That s capital said Jack as h e st epp ed up to the

, ,
savage and gav e him a h earty shak e of th e hand I .

wish y ou j oy my lad ; and you t oo A vatea
, , .
A s Jack spoke A vat ea s lover took him by th e hand

and led him to th e spot wh ere Tar ar o and th e m issionary

stood surrounded by most of th e chief m en of th e trib e
, .
Th e girl h ers elf follow ed a n d stood on h i s l eft han d ,
whil e her lov er stood on his right and commandin g , ,
sil enc e m a de th e following sp eech which was tran slat ed

, ,
by th e missionary :
Young fri en d you hav e s een few years but you r
, ,
h ead is Old Yo u r h eart also is large and v ery brave

. .
I an d A vat ea ar e your debtors an d w e wish in the , ,
midst of this ass embly to acknowl edg e ou r d ebt and to

, ,
sa
y that it is on e which w e can n ev er repay Y ou hav e .
ris k ed your life for on e who was known to y ou only for

a few days But sh e was a woman i n distress and that
.
,
was enough to secure t o h er the aid of a C hristian man .
We who li ve in th es e islan ds of the sea know that the

, ,
true Ch ristians always act thus Their religion is one .
of love and kindn ess We thank G od that s o m any .
Chris tians ha ve b een s ent here ; we hope many more

will come Remember that I and A vatea will think of
.
ou and pray for you and yo u r brave comrad es wh en

y

you are far away .
To this kind spe ech Jack returned a short sailor lik e ,

-
r eply in which he insist ed that he h ad on ly don e for

,
A va tea what he would hav e done for any woman u nd er

the su n But Jack s forte did not lie in sp eech making
.

-
,
s o b e terminated rath er abruptly by s eizing th e chi ef s

hand and shaking it viol ently after which h e made a ,
h asty r etreat .
N ow then Ralph and P eterkin

, said Jack as we
, , ,
mi n gl ed with the crowd it s eems to me that th e obj ect ,

w e came h er e for having b een satisfactorily accomplish ed ,
w e hav e nothing more t o do but get ready for s ea as

fast as we can and hurrah for d ear old E ngland
,

That s my idea pr ecis ely said Pet erkin , ,
ing to wink ; but h e had w ept so much of late poor ,
fellow that h e found it di f cu lt

, How ev er I m not .

,

going away till I s ee th es e f ellows burn their gods .
Pet erkin had his wish for in a few m inut es after ,
wards r e was put to th e pile the roaring am es as ,
c en ded and amid th e acclamations of the ass embl ed

,
thous ands th e fals e gods of Mango were r educed to

ashes !
Th e tim e soon drew n ear wh en we w ere to quit

the islan ds of th e S outh S eas ; and strange though
it may appear we felt de ep r egret at parting with
,
th e na tives of th e island of Mango : for after th ey

em brac ed th e C hristian faith th ey sought by sho wing, ,
us th e u tmost kindn ess to comp ensat e for th e harsh

,
tre a tm ent we had exp eri en ced at their hands ; and

we felt a growing a ffection for th e native t each ers
and the missionary and especially for A vatea and her
,
h usband .
B efore l eaving we had m any lon g and interestin g

conv ersatio n s w ith the m issionary in on e of which he ,
told us that h e had b een maki n g for t h e islan d of Raro

tonga when his nativ e b u ilt sloop was blow n ou t of its
,
-
cours e d u ring a viol ent gal e an d driven to this island

, , .
At rst th e natives refus ed to listen to w hat h e had to

say ; b u t after a w eek s residen ce amon g them Tar ar o

ca me to h i m and said that h e wish ed t o b ecom e a

C hristian and would burn his idols
,
H e proved him .
s elf to b e sin cere for as we hav e s een h e persuaded all

, , ,
his p eopl e to do lik ewise I u se th e w ord persuaded

.
advis edly ; for lik e all th e oth er F eej ee chi efs Tar ar o
, ,
was a d espot an d might have command ed Ob edienc e to

,
his wish es ; b u t h e en t ered so readily in to th e spirit of

th e n ew faith that h e p er c eiv ed at onc e t h e impropri ety
,
of usin g constraint in th e propagation of it H e set th e .
exampl e th er efo r e
,
and t h at exampl e was foll ow ed by
almost ev ery m an of th e tr ib e .
D uring the s h ort tim e that w e r em ain ed at th e island ,
r epairing ou r vess el and g ettin g h er r eady for s ea th e ,
natives had comm enced bu ilding a large an d commodious

church und er th e superint end ence of th e missionary
, ,
an d s ev eral rows of n ew cottages w er e mark ed ou t ; so
that th e pl ac e bid fair to becom e in a few m o n th s as ,

.

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RA L S LA N D

A Tale o f th e Pac ic O c ean

R ob ert ( Mi ch ael JB aIlantg ne

I WA S a boy wh en I wen t through th e won d erful ad

boyish feelin gs stron g upon m e I present my book ,

sp ecially to boys in th e earn est hop e th at th ey may

d erive valuabl e in formatio n much pl easure great pro t

and u n bounded amus em en t from i ts pag es .

One word mor e If th ere is any boy or m an w h o

loves to b e m elancholy and m oros e and wh o can n ot ,

ent er with kindly sympathy into t h e r egions o f fu n .

let m e s eriously advis e him to s h u t m y book an d pu t

it away It i s not m ean t for him

CHA P TER III .

Th e C or al I lan d Ou r r st cogi tati o ns aft er land i ng

di v i n g p o wer s an d make en chan ti n g exc u s i on s a mo n g th e co r al g ov es at

th e bottom of th e ocea n Th e wo n d e s of th e deep en la g ed up o nr 38 r

A n e xcu r s i on i n to th e i n ter i o r i n wh i ch we make ma ny valu able a n d i n t er est i ng

J ack s i n genu i ty We g et i n to diffi c u lt i es ab ou t fi sh i n g a n d g et ou t of th em by a

method wh i ch g i v es u s a cold bath H o r i ble en cou n t er wi th a sh ar k r 55

Th e beau t i es f obottom of th e sea temp t Pet er ki n to di ve H ow h e di d i t

Th e ta nt an dles mi ss ed v er y mu ch a nd th e ca n dl e n u t t r ee d i sco ver ed

Wond erfu l acco u nt of Peter ki n s fi r st voyage Cloth fou n d gr o wi n g on a

t r eeA plan pr oj ected an d a r ms pr ep a r ed for of enee an d d efen c eA

pea r an ces a nd star tli ng occu r r en ces 8

Mak e d i sco ver y of man y excellen t r oots an d fr u i ts

p or ted by n at u r al p lan ks Water fowl fo u n d A v er y ema r kable di scov

er y and a ver y p ecu li ar mu r der

Wonderfu l b ehav i o u r of a cr ab Good w i shes for thos e who dw ell fa r fr om

N otable di sco ver y at th e sp o u ti ng cl isTh e myst er i o u s g r een mo n st er exp la i n ed

We a r e thr own i n to u n u tt er a ble t er r o r by th e i dea tha t J ack i s dr o wn ed

S tr ange p ecu l i ar i ty of th e t i des A lso of th e twi li ght P e

co n du ct i n embr aci ng a l i ttle p i g an d ki lli ng a big sow S ag e r ema r ks on

j est i ng A lso on love 12 4

most si gna llyTh e boat n i sh ed Cu r i o u s c on v er sat i o n wi th th e cat an d ,

oth er matter s . 131

Th e boat lau n ch ed We vi si t th e cor al Th e gr eat

mon ster wa v e co s cs boat lost fo d Peter k i n s

CHAP TER X VIII .

A n awfu l sto r m an d i ts con seq u en ces a r r ow escap e A r ock pr oves a su r e

S ho emaki ng Th e even teno f ou r way su dden ly i nte r up ted n u n expected

vi s i t a nd a n a pp all i ng b a ttl e We all b eco me wa r r i or s an d J ack pr oves ,

an d th e s u r v i vo r s d epa r t l eavi n g u s aga i n alo n e on ou

Th e end of th e black cat t bl

I fa ll i n to th e han ds of p i r ates H ow th ey tr eated me an d what I sa i d to th em

u nexp ected gift 1 96

Th e san dal wood -

Desp er ate a mu semen ts su dden ly an d fatally b r o u ght to a closeA n old

CHA P TER XXV I .

CHAP TER XXV II .

Th e wo u n ded ma n Th e s gu all Tr u e con solat i on

Th e effe ct of a ca n n o n sho t A happy r eu n i on of a som ewhat mo i s t nat u e

Th e voyag e Th e i sla n d a n d a co n s u ltat i o n i n wh i ch da ng er i s sco u ted as a

CHAP TER XXX I .

A str an ge an d bloody battle Th e l on b ear ded i n h i s den F

CHAP TER XXX II .

An cted di scov er y a nd a bold r eckless dean c e

CHAP TER XXX III .

Th e ig h t Th e p u r s i t Despa i a n d i ts r esu lts Th l i on b ea d ed i n h i s den

CHA P TER XXX V .

Th e b eg i n n i ngMy ear ly life and char act er I thi r st for ad ventur e i n fo r ei gn

O VIN G h as always be en and still i s m y ruling , ,

passion th e j oy of my hear t the v ery sunshine