The Island Home Part 9

"There appears to be no use in this, comrades," said Browne, at last; "had we not better just let her go upon the reef, and take our chance of being able to get to the sh.o.r.e?"

"O, no!" exclaimed Arthur, earnestly, "that is too desperate."

"We shall be so completely exhausted that we shan't be able to make an effort for our lives, when at last we are carried into the surf,"

answered Browne, "and we must come to that sooner or later."

"I hope not--there is reason to hope not," rejoined Arthur, "but if so, we may as well be exhausted, as fresh; no strength will be of any avail; we shall be crushed and mangled upon the rocks; or if by any possibility some of us should reach the sh.o.r.e, what is to become of our poor, sick Johnny?"

"I will look after him," said Browne, "I will pledge myself that he shan't be lost, unless I am too."

"Let us hold out a few moments yet," implored Arthur; "I will take your oar; you are the only one who has not been relieved."

"No," said Browne, "you had better keep the helm; I can stand it a while longer, and I will pull until we are swept upon the reef; if you all think that the best plan."

It was barely possible that if we should now act as Browne proposed, we might be carried clear off the reef into the lagoon beyond, for we were opposite a sunken patch, upon which there was more water than at other places. Failing of this, the boat would inevitably be dashed to pieces; but still, if not bruised and disabled among the rocks, or carried back by the return waves, we might be able to reach the smooth water inside the reef, when it would be easy to swim ash.o.r.e.

But to most of us, the attempt seemed too desperate to be thought of, except as a last resort; and we preferred to toil at the oars as long as our strength should last in the hope of discovering an inlet. Arthur, on whose skill and judgment we all relied, steered still farther out, and for a while we seemed to make head against the swell and the current.

For full half an hour longer, we kept up this severe struggle, that admitted not of an instant's pause or respite. But then our progress became almost imperceptible, and every stroke was made more feebly and laboriously than the last. I could hardly hold the oar in my stiffened fingers. Still no break was to be seen in the long line of surf which seemed to hem in the island, extending like a white wall, of uniform height, far as the eye could reach, on either hand. I had read of islands, like that of Eimeo, completely encircled by coral reefs, with but a single gateway by which they were accessible. What if this were such an one, and the only entrance, miles from the spot where we were toiling for our lives! The conviction that we must risk the chance of success in an attempt to land upon some ledge of the reef, was forcing itself upon all our minds, when Max, trembling with eagerness, pointed to what appeared to be an opening through the surf, nearly opposite us; there was a narrow s.p.a.ce where the long waves, as they rolled towards the sh.o.r.e, did not seem to encounter the obstacle over which they broke with such violence on both sides of it, and the swell of the ocean met the placid waters of the lagoon, without any intervening barrier.

Through this gap, the sh.o.r.e of the island could be seen, down to the water's edge.

Arthur hastily made a bundle of the mast and gaff, and placing it within Johnny's reach, told him to cling to it, in case of accident. Then, calling upon us to pull steadily, he steered directly for the inlet. As we neared it the noise of the surf became almost deafening: the huge rollers, as they thundered against the perpendicular wall of coral, rising abruptly from the depths of the sea, sent up a column of foam and spray, twelve or fifteen feet into the air. When just within the entrance, the spectacle was grand and appalling. But the danger, real or apparent, was soon over: with a firm hand, and steady eye, Arthur guided the boat along the centre of the narrow pa.s.s, and in a moment we had glided from the scene of fierce commotion without the reef, into one of perfect tranquillity and repose. A dozen strokes seemed to have placed us in a new world. Involuntarily we rested on our oars, and gazed around us in silence.

From the inner edge of the reef, to the broad white beach of the island, a s.p.a.ce of perhaps half a mile, spread the clear expanse of the lagoon, smooth and unruffled as the surface of an inland lake. Half-way between the reef and the sh.o.r.e, were two fairy islets, the one scarcely a foot above the water, and covered with a green mantle of low shrubs; the other, larger and higher, and adorned by a group of graceful young cocoa-nuts.

The island itself was higher, and bolder in its outlines than is usual with those of coral formation, which are generally very low, and without any diversity of surface. Dense groves clothed that portion of it opposite to us, nearly to the beach, giving it at that hour, a somewhat gloomy and forbidding aspect.

As we surveyed this lovely, but silent and desolate landscape, the doubts and apprehensions which we had before experienced began once more to suggest themselves; but they were dissipated by the cheerful voice of Arthur, calling upon us to pull for the sh.o.r.e. He steered for the larger of the two islets, and when, as the boat grated upon the coral tops beside it, we threw down the oars, the strength which had hitherto sustained us, seemed suddenly to fail, and we could scarcely crawl ash.o.r.e. The last scene of effort and danger, had taxed our powers to the uttermost, and now they gave way. I was so feeble, that I could hardly avoid sinking helplessly upon the sand. With one impulse we kneeled down and returned thanks to Him Who had preserved us through all the strange vicissitudes of the last few days. We next began to look round in search of such means of refreshment as the spot might afford.

The cocoa-palms upon the islet, though far from having attained their full growth, (few of them exceeding twelve feet in height), bore abundantly, and we easily procured as much of the fruit as we needed.

Tearing off the outer husk, and punching a hole through the sh.e.l.l, which in the young nut is so soft that this can be done with the finger, we drank off the refres.h.i.+ng liquor with which it is filled; then breaking it open, the half-formed, jelly-like kernel, furnished a species of food most nutritious and agreeable, and probably the best adapted to our half-famished condition.

Hunger and thirst being appeased, our next care was to make some arrangement for pa.s.sing the night more comfortably than could be done in the boat. Selecting a clear s.p.a.ce in the centre of the group of young cocoa-nuts, we proceeded to make a rude tent, by fixing two of the oars upright in the ground,--tying the mast across their tops and throwing the sail over it, the ends being then fastened to the ground at a convenient distance on each side.

Finding that the bare ground would make a rather hard couch, though far less so than we had lately been accustomed to, Morton proposed that we should bring a load of leaves from the neighbouring sh.o.r.e to spread upon it. He and I accordingly rowed over to the mainland, and collected in the grove near the beech, a boatload of the clean dry foliage of the panda.n.u.s and hibiscus, which made excellent elastic beds. Johnny watched our departure as though he considered this an exceedingly rash and adventurous enterprise, and he seemed greatly relieved at our safe return. It was now past midnight, and after hauling the boat well up on the sh.o.r.e, we laid down side by side and were very soon asleep.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

THE EXPLORING EXPEDITION.

EIULO--PEARL-Sh.e.l.l BEACH--A WARLIKE COLONY--AN INVASION REPELLED.

"They linger there while weeks and months go by, And hold their hope, tho' weeks and months are past; And still at morning round the farthest sky, And still at eve, their eager glance is cast, If there they may behold the far-off mast Arise, for which they have not ceased to pray."

For a number of days we remained upon the islet where we had first landed, seldom visiting even the adjacent sh.o.r.e. During this time we subsisted upon cocoa-nuts and a small species of sh.e.l.l-fish, resembling mussels, which we obtained in abundance from the ledges of the neighbouring reef, and which the little native told us, were used as a common article of food among his own people. We had reason to feel grateful that, while we were as feeble and incapable of exertion as we found ourselves for some days, food could be so readily procured. It was also fortunate that during this period the weather continued remarkably fine and mild, with no perceptible variations of temperature; for I have little doubt that in the reduced and exhausted condition in which we then were, and being without any effectual shelter, two or three days of bad weather would have cost some of us our lives. The nights were dry and mild, and no dew seemed to fall upon the islet: thanks to this genial weather, and to abundance of nouris.h.i.+ng food, we began rapidly to recover strength.

Some time pa.s.sed before we thought of making any attempt to penetrate or explore the island. We were, naturally, very reluctant to admit even to ourselves, the probability that our stay upon it was to be of any long duration; and we did not therefore feel as much interest in its character and resources as we should otherwise have done. All our thoughts and hopes ran in one channel. We looked for the coming of a s.h.i.+p to rescue us from our dreary position; and every morning and evening, at least, and generally many times a day, some one of us climbed into the tuft of an inclining palm, to take a careful survey of that portion of the ocean, which could be seen from our side of the island. The thought of acting in any respect as though the lonely spot where we now found ourselves was destined to be our permanent abode, was in fact too painful and repugnant to our feelings to be willingly entertained; we were content therefore, to provide for our daily wants as they arose, without antic.i.p.ating or preparing for the future.

A few days pa.s.sed in this unvaried and monotonous routine, seemed in reality a long period; recent occurrences began to a.s.sume the vagueness of things that had happened years ago. I remember particularly, that, in looking back at the dreadful scenes of the mutiny, and our subsequent sufferings at sea, the whole seemed unreal, and more like a horrible dream, than an actual part of our past experience.

We soon found that this inert and aimless mode of living--this state of pa.s.sive expectation, while awaiting the occurrence of an event which we could do nothing to procure or hasten, was a most miserable one: though our physical strength was in a great measure recruited, there was no increase of cheerfulness. Except when engaged in procuring food, or making our daily surveys of the ocean, (which was all our occupation), we were dispirited and listless.

Arthur perceived the evil of this state of things, and set himself to devising a remedy.

We had been at the island about two weeks, when he proposed, one morning, that we should go over to the mainland and commence a search for water, making an excursion a little way into the interior, if it should prove necessary.

Max objected to this, saying that we had no need of water, since we could, without doubt, obtain cocoa-nut milk as long as we should be obliged to remain upon the island, and that by going into the interior, out of sight of the ocean, we might lose an opportunity of being rescued.

To this, Arthur replied, that the exclusive use of cocoa-nut milk was considered very unwholesome, and was supposed to be the cause of certain dropsical complaints, common among the natives of many of the Pacific islands; that beside; it was by no means certain that a supply of it could be obtained throughout the year. He finally suggested the possibility that our stay on the island might be longer than we antic.i.p.ated, in which case its resources, and the means of subsistence which it afforded, would be matters of great interest to us. In regard to the danger which Max seemed chiefly to fear, he said that we should seldom altogether lose sight of the ocean, but might, on the contrary, obtain a wider view of it from other parts of the island. I warmly seconded Arthur's proposal, for I perceived the probable beneficial effects of effort, or occupation, of almost any kind. Morton also was decidedly in favour of it; and Johnny, who had recovered strength and spirits wonderfully within the last few days, was quite enthusiastic for the excursion. He calculated confidently upon our discovering a creek of fresh water, full of fishes and lobsters, and cited the history of the Swiss family Robinson, in support of the reasonableness of these expectations; declaring that for us part, he could not see why we might not count upon equal good fortune with them. Browne seemed indifferent about the matter. The little native, (whose name, upon Arthur's authority, I shall write "Eiulo," though "Iooloo," comes nearer to the sound, as he himself p.r.o.nounced it), shared in Johnny's delight in prospect of the expedition; indeed, the two had already become the best friends in the world, notwithstanding the difficulty of communicating with one another, and seemed to harmonise in every thing. The excursion was accordingly determined upon, and this being so, there was nothing to prevent our setting out at once.

Morton proposed that, instead of undertaking to penetrate into the interior, we should keep along the sh.o.r.e to the northward, as by that means some idea might be gained of the extent of the island; and since any considerable spring or stream must find its way to the sea, we should also be more likely to discover water, than by pursuing the other course. Along the southern sh.o.r.e, the land was lower and less uneven than in the opposite direction, and held forth a slighter prospect of springs or streams. The difficulty of holding a straight course through the forest, where we should be without any means of ascertaining the points of the compa.s.s, was a consideration of great weight, and Morton's plan was at last adopted, as being upon the whole the best.

The sun was not more than half an hour high, when we pushed off from the sh.o.r.e of the islet, and rowed over towards the mainland. The morning was fine and clear, and either the fresh, bracing sea-air, or the stir and excitement of setting out upon our expedition, had an exhilarating influence, for we gradually became quite cheerful, and even animated; and the faces of my companions began to brighten up with more of the old familiar expression, than I had seen there for many a day.

The merest breath of a breeze just stirred the crisp leaves of the palms upon the neighbouring sh.o.r.e; the tiny wavelets rippled softly upon the snowy, sh.e.l.l-spangled beach, or, out in the lagoon, danced and sparkled in the sunlight; still further out and just beyond the barrier that fenced in this quiet and secluded scene from the open ocean, we could see the huge blue rollers with their foaming crests surging high into the air; and the heavy booming of the surf, as it thundered upon the reef, might be heard for miles around, amid the prevailing silence.

Beyond this again, stretched away to the horizon, the blue, swelling arch of the ocean--a clear, deep, intense blue, contrasting beautifully with the paler blue of the sky, against which it was relieved, and with the emerald expanse of the lagoon.

Browne gazed about him with more interest than I had yet seen him manifest in any thing since we had reached the island. He inhaled the fresh morning air with the appearance of actual relish and enjoyment and at last, to my surprise, (for Max had accused him, not without some reason, of having been the most lugubrious of our party), he began to sing to a brisk and cheerful tune--

"O, happy days of hope and rest Shall dawn on sorrow's dreary night, Though grief may be an evening guest, Yet joy shall come with morning light!

The light of smiles shall beam again, From lids that now o'erflow with tears, And weary hours of woe and pain, Are earnests of serener years."

"Well," said he, as he finished his song, "this may be a desert island, but I will defy any one to gainsay that the morning is delicious, and the scene a right lovely one."

"I am glad you begin to wake up to it," said Morton, "it looks very much as it has at this hour for ten days past."

"No, no," protested Browne, "this bright, clear atmosphere makes a very great difference in the appearance of things: we have had no such mornings as this."

"I wish you could manage to enjoy it," said Max, "without missing every other stroke, and digging me so unmercifully in the back with your oar-handle; if you can't, I must ask you to change seats with me, and let me take the bow-oar."

"How natural and refres.h.i.+ng that sounds!" cried Morton, laughing; "it is a sure token that prospects are brightening, and serious dangers are over, when we find ourselves again in a condition to scold about trifles."

"It isn't such a trifle, to be thumped and mauled with the b.u.t.t of an oar, as I have been all the while Browne was singing, and rhapsodising, and going into ecstasies about the beauty of the morning; which is just such another as we have had ever since we have been here; all the difference being in his feelings, which happen to be a shade or two less doleful than usual, and so cause things to look brighter."

"Perhaps you would have me believe," answered Browne, "that the sun will invariably s.h.i.+ne when I chance to be in good spirits, and that a thunder-storm would be the natural consequence of my having a fit of the blues?"

"I should be sorry if that were the case," replied Max, "as we should then be sure to have a large average of bad weather."

"This excursion reminds me of our school-days," said Arthur; "it almost seems as though we were once more starting off together, on one of our Sat.u.r.day rambles, as we have so often done on fine summer and autumn mornings at home."

"I think I shall never forget those forays through the woods," said Morton, "over hill and hollow, in search of nuts, or berries, or wild-grapes, or meadow-plums--the fis.h.i.+ng and swimming in summer, the snow-balling, and sledding, and skating, in winter! an innocent and happy set of urchins we were then!"

"Really," said Max, laughing, "to hear you one would suppose that we were now a conclave of venerable, grey-haired sages, scarcely able to remember the time when we were children, and so full of wisdom and experience, that we had long ago ceased to be 'innocent and happy.'"

"Without professing to be so wise or experienced, as to be very unhappy on that account," returned Morton, "I suppose I may say that I am old enough, and sufficiently changed since those days, to feel, as I now look back upon them with a sigh, their peculiar happiness, so unlike any thing that after-life affords."