The Wonder Island Boys: Exploring the Island Part 25

It was a grief to all to miss him, as all had learned to appreciate his mischievous tricks, and George had taken a delight in "educating" him.

Probably now, that he had grown to a more mature age, the spirit of the wild life possessed him, and he had taken French leave at the first opportunity.

George missed him more than Harry, because as cooking was one of George's accomplishments, and as honey was the weak spot in Red Angel, the kitchen was an attraction, and the reward for service in the kitchen was this delicious sweet.

Their stock of this was running low. George was not as liberal with honey of late, and after ruminating on the subject of the disappearance, he concluded that Red Angel had cause for "running away."

The next morning while at breakfast, who should appear at the door but Red Angel, his long fingers and palms holding a quant.i.ty of nuts. He evidently saw that the welcome was most enthusiastic on the part of all.

With the utmost gravity he shambled across the floor and deposited the nuts on the table and took his usual place in the most matter-of-fact way, and commenced on the nuts as though it was part of a solemn duty.

George's hand reached out for the honey; Angel saw it, a quizzical look came on his face--a real orang smile--and he forgot about the nuts.

In a spirit of fun George helped himself without offering any. This was too much for the animal, and with a shrewd, calculating look he pushed the nuts over to George.

Did he get any honey after this? George could not resist this appeal; and after Angel got it, and George helped himself to nuts, the Simian approval was very marked. Do you think he reasoned?

Preparations must now be made for "pole-raising day." In the absence of a sufficient amount of rope the last bearskin was cut up into strips, as it was necessary to have nearly a hundred feet, and the bearskin was a much-needed addition to the small quant.i.ty of ramie cord which they had on hand.

The Professor took a keen interest in the proceedings. "We must get a half dozen forked poles of good wood; they should be of different lengths, to support the pole as it goes up. Then, Harry, as we have a pretty tough job before us, I suggest that you make two capstans, something like those you saw on s.h.i.+pboard, around which the two raising ropes can he wound, each to have a crank, and a means for holding the crank at any position."

The preparations occupied the greater part of the day. Several boards, five feet long, were required, and at least a dozen stakes to hold the capstans in position.

Early the following morning the yaks were brought out, yoked up, and the pole and truck hitched on. A luncheon was provided, the flag and all paraphernalia a.s.sembled and loaded, and Red Angel invited to attend the ceremonies.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig. 36. Pole raising._]

Reaching Observation Hill, a spot for the pole was selected, and a hole three feet in diameter and five feet deep was laboriously dug out. It was, indeed, a trying task, with the tools they had, but it was a labor of love. It was more than that to them. They were now making preparations to notify the world that they still lived.

The top of the pole had been provided with a pulley, which was mounted between the crotch, and a guard put over the pulley, so it would prevent the halliards from coming off. When it had been placed in position, with the foot across the hole, the two boards were stood down in the pit so the end of the pole was against them. The halliards were then strung over the pulley and looped down, and the three ropes were attached to the pole, twenty feet from the lower end. Together they raised it up, so that it was about five feet from the ground at the point where the ropes were tied. Two of the ropes were then carried out past the hole, and branched out, and attached to the capstans, while the other was allowed to hang. As the capstans turned, the pole was gradually drawn up, and the Professor stood ready with the forked standards to prevent the flagstaff from falling back. In less than an hour it was erect, and the work of tamping in the dirt and stone around the base was in order, and soon completed.

And now for the flag!

"Tell us, Professor, why the attaching of the flag on the cord, or halliards, is called _bending_ it?"

"The term comes from heraldry, and it originally designated two diagonal lines across the field of an escutcheon. Later on, sailors bent the ends of the flags or ensigns on the halliards, or around the yards, and also called the fastening of a cable to the anchor a bend; a knot is also designated by them as a bend; the form of the s.h.i.+p from the keel to the top of the side is called a bend, as, the mids.h.i.+p bend."

A strong rope had been seamed in the end of the flag, and eyelets worked at intervals, so that the task of attaching it to the halliards was soon performed.

"The raising of the national emblem for the first time in any new country has always been regarded as an event of the greatest importance, as it represents sovereignty and responsibility. On this occasion," said the Professor, as he removed his hat, "let us honor the flag with appropriate ceremonies."

At that moment Red Angel concluded he would also take part, and in an instant was at the pole and scrambled upwardly. When the top was reached he caught sight of the wheel. It moved. Every time he grasped the rope the wheel would turn.

This seriously interrupted the program. The Professor could not help laughing. A moment before he was particularly grave, and the boys had no feelings of mirth; but now this new element in the proceedings added gaiety to the occasion.

"Come down, you rascal! Come down! Do you hear me?" cried George. Red Angel didn't hear. He hung there and smiled; yes, smiled, as he looked down, while playing with the wheel. "We can't put up the flag while he is there." George walked over to the wagon, and took out the honey pot.

Red Angel saw it, but made no motion to come down. The honey pot was held up as an inducement, but there was nothing in the world so fascinating just then as that wheel.

Harry and the Professor laughed at the situation. Just to think of it!

An orang-outan actually preventing a foreign power from hoisting the emblem of possession over his native land! It was too ludicrous for words.

George actually became almost hysterical as he threw himself back on the seat of the wagon and held up the honey pot, while laughing. "What do you think that little scamp has been doing? He has eaten every bit of the honey." That only added another fit of laughter, and when it subsided, and George could recover his voice, he added, "and wasn't this a smart thing to do?" as he held up the vessel.

"What?" asked Harry, momentarily straightening out his face.

"He actually put the lid back after he got through."

But this could not last indefinitely. No one suggested a remedy, if there was one. The United States must take possession in the proper way; hats must come off; the flag must go up slowly, and the band must play the national air;--the music, they had not thought of it before.

"Can you climb the pole, George?" asked the Professor.

"I think so, with the aid of the halliard."

He approached the pole. "Do you hear me, Baby, come down! Come down, I say!"

Red Angel saw George's design, and without saying a word he slowly descended, shambled over to the wagon, and hanging on the side of the box, looked around to the company in the most reproachful manner.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _"Red Angel saw George's design, and without saying a word he slowly descended"_]

The hoisting of the flag was, indeed, a solemn thing, but it had its amusing side, and when, with uncovered heads, the flag went up to the masthead and stopped there, the Professor said: "We should have had music to make it more appropriate, but as we have no band, let us sing 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'"

The boys were both good singers, as the Professor knew. The song was started, but before the first line was finished, they broke down and tears began to come; the Professor, with his hands clasped and head bowed, did not look up, nor was he surprised when they stopped. The boys had a suspicion that even he could not have carried that song a single bar. They were powerless to go on.

When the Professor did look up and gaze on the flag, the boys saw his tears; they were ashamed no longer, and their eyes looked up, too.

In a voice which sounded almost strange to the boys, the Professor said: "We take possession of this land in the name of the United States of America, and give notice that we shall defend the same against all powers."

Then, as the beautiful flag unfurled itself, and threw its waving shadow on the ground that it now protected, they looked down, and there was Red Angel, close beside them, looking up at the flag as though he understood what it meant, and his silence gave consent to the solemn act which transferred his allegiance to a greater power.

As they were about to descend the hill the Professor called them to a halt. "Do you intend to leave the flag at full mast?"

They had entirely forgotten to half mast it. "And now," said Harry, "if they can't see that flag we'll make one big enough next time."

As they went down the hill, they could not help looking back over and over, to admire the flag and the pole, and everything connected with it.

They knew every thread and every piece of it. Somehow it seemed to be a part of them.

There was always a sentimental streak in George. "I can't help thinking that is the most beautiful flag in the world; I suppose other people think the same of their flag. How did flags come to be used by people?"

"The flag is the successor of the banner, which is taken from the Celtic word 'band.' The Bible mentions banners, showing they were used early in scriptural history. The banners of the Romans, used in their warfares, were essentially different from modern flags, colors and ensigns; they were carvings of wood or metal, some of them representing eagles, like the Persian standard described by Xenophon. In the Middle Ages it was a connecting link between the military and the clergy. The crescent and the cross symbols typified the two great contending forces of the world at that time."

Returning to their home, tired with the exertions, they sat in the living room and talked over the events of the day. Somehow, they felt that the day was too sacred to be desecrated with further toil. They congratulated each other at the success in raising the pole, as that was a matter which had given them a great deal of concern.

Ever since the day on which they commenced work on the electric battery the boys deplored the lack of gla.s.s. If they could make that it would be of such immense importance to them in many ways. It would be of great service for their tableware; they could use it for their electric work, which interested them more than any branch to which their time had been given, among the mechanical arts; with that they could make thermometers and testing instruments; and give their house the air of a modern home, because windows could be put in.

"Will it be difficult to make gla.s.s?" asked George.

"It is an exceedingly simple matter to make gla.s.s--that is, to fuse or melt it. The difficult part is the art of making it, either by the blowing process, or by making the flat forms, like window panes and the like. Owing to the simplicity in preparing it, the making of gla.s.s articles was known at a very early date, certainly fifteen hundred years before the beginning of the Christian era. In the first stages only opaque gla.s.s was produced, and it was not until eight hundred years later that the first transparent product was manufactured. Under Pharaoh it was one of the products extensively made and exported to Phonecia and other Mediterranean ports. Five hundred years before Christ, Aristophanes mentions gla.s.s or crystal vessels, but as its value at that time was next to gold it could not have been a common article."

"What is gla.s.s made of?"