In Search of the Castaways
by
Jules Verne
Part 1 out of 11
This etext was prepared by Judy Boss, Omaha, NE
Note: I have made the following changes to the text:
PAGE LINE ORIGINAL CHANGED TO
5 31 drank drunk
13 22 shores. shores."
13 27 Lady Glenarvan. Lord Glenarvan.
16 29 up ,Halbert." up, Halbert."
25 13 _sang froid_. SANG-FROID.
25 26 maneuvring maneuvering
31 12 unmistakingly unmistakably
34 19 Celedonian Caledonian
36 27 France. France."
40 28 occular ocular
51 38 exceptions exception
52 6 prisoniers, prisonniers,
53 34 reconnoitred reconnoitered
54 38 Corientes Corrientes
56 10 Colts Colt's
63 32 have attempted would have attempted
67 30 Mount Blanc. Mont Blanc.
67 36 Nevados Nevadas
62 38 impassible." impassable."
83 20 returns returned
83 38 Cameans, Camoens,
87 12 Argentile Argentine
96 25 sore of sort of
98 26 had drank had drunk
99 18 Vantana, Ventana,
100 21 drank drunk
102 19 minute's minutes'
103 29 comrades' comrade's
104 21 them. them."
104 24 _rio a ramada_ _rio a ramada_
109 21 time. time."
110 34 wolf wolf;
112 33 never! never!"
113 38 RAMADO, RAMADA,
116 13 drank drunk
116 15 nandou NANDOU
118 30 estancias, ESTANCIAS,
120 28 TOLDERAI, TOLDERIA,
133 28 fugitive fugitives
134 21 tumultous tumultuous
135 21 hilgueros, HILGUEROS,
144 1 thegonie, theogonie,
144 30 Glascow Glasgow
144 36 prisoniers prisonniers
144 39 aplied applied
147 15 sub-species. sub-species."
152 4 aproaching approaching
153 17 mation. mation."
156 36 terra firma. _terra firma_.
159 1 Glenarvan. Glenarvan,
176 40 Mangle's Mangles'
178 16 DEBRIS DEBRIS
180 8 ports port
187 33 Purday-Moore Purdy-Moore
190 5 longtitude longitude
191 37 warning warring
193 10 DENOUEMENT DENOUEMENT
195 19 rectillinear rectilinear
196 31 Pour "Pour
199 20 shipwrecked. shipwrecked
200 33 Britany. Britanny.
202 24 handsbreath. handsbreadth.
205 16 kow know
205 39 37 degrees" 37 degrees."
206 42 Glasglow Glasgow
214 41 ROLE role
218 10 mounteback's mountebank's
219 18 day's days'
222 13 monothremes; monotremes;
223 21 mleancholy melancholy
232 35 Glenarvan, Glenarvan
234 32 able but ible but
243 10 Pomoton?" Pomotou?"
243 37 Britanic Britannic
249 6 McNabb's McNabbs
250 24 midst. mist.
251 40 but "but
253 29 terrestial terrestrial
256 11 his oasis, this oasis,
261 28 continuel continual
268 33 alluvion, alluvium,
271 26 aerial aerial
272 3 wagan, wagon,
272 7 gastralobium, gastrolobium,
272 34 Wimmero." Wimmera."
273 37 _sang _sang-
273 41 wo- woe-
274 40 two "two
280 11 disapepared. disappeared.
281 6 DENOUEMENT DENOUEMENT
281 13 Joye, Joyce,
282 29 It it It is
284 9 sorrrow, sorrow,
284 23 eurus emus
287 35 37 degree 37th degree
288 15 _sang froid_ _sang-froid_
312 29 wretches?" wretches!"
314 24 impassible. impassive.
316 41 fancy. fancy."
326 35 impossisble impossible
327 41 him. him."
335 27 patience. patience."
339 15 1864. 1864."
339 41 Tarankai Taranaki
340 10 Taranak Taranaki
341 15 Taranki Taranaki
347 11 Waikato?" Waikato!"
347 18 buscuit biscuit
348 30 irrefragable irrefragible
348 37 musquito. mosquito.
350 35 Adressing Addressing
352 42 lines of line of
356 41 Tohongo, Tohonga,
357 8 tuers tures
360 24 McNabb's McNabbs'
364 20 orgie orgy
374 5 piron- Piron-
378 36 Ikana-Mani Ika-na-Mani
386 41 soup ,which soup, which
395 10 "moas' "moas"
402 14 exciting excited
418 13 JUIN ,1862 JUIN, 1862
On page 390 I have omitted the following redundant line 40,
which properly begins page 391, as in the original text:
and his wonderful instinct shone out anew in this difficult
In addition, I have made the following changes to the chapter headings
and running heads:
PAGE ORIGINAL CHANGED TO
24 DUNCAN "DUNCAN"
25 DUNCAN "DUNCAN"
27 DUNCAN "DUNCAN"
35 JAQUES JACQUES
37 JAQUES JACQUES
204 BRITANNIA "BRITANNIA"
398 DUNCAN "DUNCAN"
WORKS
of
JULES VERNE
EDITED BY
CHARLES F. HORNE, Ph.D.
CONTENTS
VOLUME FOUR
PAGE
IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS
SOUTH AMERICA . . . . . . 3
AUSTRALIA . . . . . . . 165
NEW ZEALAND . . . . . . . 305
[page intentionally blank]
ILLUSTRATIONS
VOLUME FOUR
INTRODUCTION TO VOLUME FOUR
THE three books gathered under the title "In Search of the Castaways"
occupied much of Verne's attention during the three years following 1865.
The characters used in these books were afterwards reintroduced
in "The Mysterious Island," which was in its turn a sequel
to "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea." Thus this entire set
of books form a united series upon which Verne worked intermittently
during ten years.
"In Search of the Castaways," which has also been published as
"The Children of Captain Grant" and as "A Voyage Around the World,"
is perhaps most interesting in connection with the last of these titles.
It is our author's first distinctly geographical romance.
By an ingenious device he sets before the rescuers a search
which compels their circumnavigation of the globe around
a certain parallel of the southern hemisphere. Thus they cross
in turn through South America, Australia and New Zealand,
besides visiting minor islands.
The three great regions form the sub-titles of the three
books which compose the story. In each region the rescuers
meet with adventures characteristic of the land.
They encounter Indians in America; bushrangers in Australia;
and Maoris in New Zealand. The passage of the searching party
gives ground,--one is almost tempted to say, excuse,--for a close
and careful description of each country and of its inhabitants,
step by step. Even the lesser incidents of the story are
employed to emphasise the distinctive features of each land.
The explorers are almost frozen on the heights of the Andes,
and almost drowned in the floods of the Patagonian Pampas.
An avalanche sweeps some of them away; a condor carries off a lad.
In Australia they are stopped by jungles and by quagmires;
they hunt kangaroos. In New Zealand they take refuge amid hot
sulphur springs and in a house "tabooed"; they escape by starting
a volcano into eruption.
Here then are fancy and extravagance mixed with truth and information.
Verne has done a vast and useful work in stimulating the interest
not only of Frenchmen but of all civilised nations, with regard
to the lesser known regions of our globe. He has broadened knowledge
and guided study. During the years following 1865 he even, for a time,
deserted his favorite field of labor, fiction, and devoted himself
to a popular semi-scientific book, now superseded by later works,
entitled "The Illustrated Geography of France and her Colonies."
Verne has perhaps had a larger share than any other single individual
in causing the ever-increasing yearly tide of international travel.
And because with mutual knowledge among the nations comes mutual
understanding and appreciation, mutual brotherhood; hence Jules Verne
was one of the first and greatest of those teachers who are now leading
us toward International Peace.
In Search of the Castaways
or
The Children of Captain Grant
South America
CHAPTER I THE SHARK
ON the 26th of July, 1864, a magnificent yacht was steaming
along the North Channel at full speed, with a strong
breeze blowing from the N. E. The Union Jack was flying
at the mizzen-mast, and a blue standard bearing the initials
E. G., embroidered in gold, and surmounted by a ducal coronet,
floated from the topgallant head of the main-mast. The name
of the yacht was the DUNCAN, and the owner was Lord Glenarvan,
one of the sixteen Scotch peers who sit in the Upper House,
and the most distinguished member of the Royal Thames Yacht Club,
so famous throughout the United Kingdom.
Lord Edward Glenarvan was on board with his young wife, Lady Helena,
and one of his cousins, Major McNabbs.
The DUNCAN was newly built, and had been making a trial trip a few
miles outside the Firth of Clyde. She was returning to Glasgow,
and the Isle of Arran already loomed in the distance, when the sailor on
watch caught sight of an enormous fish sporting in the wake of the ship.
Lord Edward, who was immediately apprised of the fact, came up on
the poop a few minutes after with his cousin, and asked John Mangles,
the captain, what sort of an animal he thought it was.
"Well, since your Lordship asks my opinion," said Mangles, "I think
it is a shark, and a fine large one too."
"A shark on these shores!"
"There is nothing at all improbable in that," returned the captain.
"This fish belongs to a species that is found in all latitudes
and in all seas. It is the 'balance-fish,' or hammer-headed shark,
if I am not much mistaken. But if your Lordship has no objections,
and it would give the smallest pleasure to Lady Helena to see
a novelty in the way of fishing, we'll soon haul up the monster
and find out what it really is."
"What do you say, McNabbs? Shall we try to catch it?"
asked Lord Glenarvan.
"If you like; it's all one to me," was his cousin's cool reply.
"The more of those terrible creatures that are killed the better,
at all events," said John Mangles, "so let's seize the chance,
and it will not only give us a little diversion, but be doing
a good action."
"Very well, set to work, then," said Glenarvan.
Lady Helena soon joined her husband on deck, quite charmed at the prospect
of such exciting sport. The sea was splendid, and every movement of
the shark was distinctly visible. In obedience to the captain's orders,
the sailors threw a strong rope over the starboard side of the yacht,
with a big hook at the end of it, concealed in a thick lump of bacon.
The bait took at once, though the shark was full fifty yards distant.
He began to make rapidly for the yacht, beating the waves violently
with his fins, and keeping his tail in a perfectly straight line.
As he got nearer, his great projecting eyes could be seen inflamed
with greed, and his gaping jaws with their quadruple row of teeth.
His head was large, and shaped like a double hammer at the end of
a handle. John Mangles was right. This was evidently a balance-fish--
the most voracious of all the SQUALIDAE species.
The passengers and sailors on the yacht were watching
all the animal's movements with the liveliest interest.
He soon came within reach of the bait, turned over on his back
to make a good dart at it, and in a second bacon and contents
had disappeared. He had hooked himself now, as the tremendous
jerk he gave the cable proved, and the sailors began to haul
in the monster by means of tackle attached to the mainyard.
He struggled desperately, but his captors were prepared
for his violence, and had a long rope ready with a slip knot,
which caught his tail and rendered him powerless at once.
In a few minutes more he was hoisted up over the side of the yacht
and thrown on the deck. A man came forward immediately,
hatchet in hand, and approaching him cautiously, with one powerful
stroke cut off his tail.
This ended the business, for there was no longer any fear of the shark.
But, though the sailors' vengeance was satisfied, their curiosity
was not; they knew the brute had no very delicate appetite,
and the contents of his stomach might be worth investigation.
This is the common practice on all ships when a shark is captured, but
Lady Glenarvan declined to be present at such a disgusting exploration,
and withdrew to the cabin again. The fish was still breathing;
it measured ten feet in length, and weighed more than six hundred pounds.
This was nothing extraordinary, for though the hammer-headed shark
is not classed among the most gigantic of the species, it is always
reckoned among the most formidable.
The huge brute was soon ripped up in a very unceremonious fashion.
The hook had fixed right in the stomach, which was found to be
absolutely empty, and the disappointed sailors were just going to throw
the remains overboard, when the boatswain's attention was attracted
by some large object sticking fast in one of the viscera.
"I say! what's this?" he exclaimed.
"That!" replied one of the sailors, "why, it's a piece of rock
the beast swallowed by way of ballast."
"It's just a bottle, neither more nor less, that the fellow has got
in his inside, and couldn't digest," said another of the crew.
"Hold your tongues, all of you!" said Tom Austin, the mate
of the DUNCAN. "Don't you see the animal has been such
an inveterate tippler that he has not only drunk the wine,
but swallowed the bottle?"
"What!" said Lord Glenarvan. "Do you mean to say it is a bottle
that the shark has got in his stomach."
"Ay, it is a bottle, most certainly," replied the boatswain,
"but not just from the cellar."
"Well, Tom, be careful how you take it out," said Lord Glenarvan,
"for bottles found in the sea often contain precious documents."
"Do you think this does?" said Major McNabbs, incredulously.
"It possibly may, at any rate."
"Oh! I'm not saying it doesn't. There may perhaps be some secret in it,"
returned the Major.
"That's just what we're to see," said his cousin. "Well, Tom."
"Here it is," said the mate, holding up a shapeless lump he had managed
to pull out, though with some difficulty.
"Get the filthy thing washed then, and bring it to the cabin."
Tom obeyed, and in a few minutes brought in the bottle and laid it
on the table, at which Lord Glenarvan and the Major were sitting ready
with the captain, and, of course Lady Helena, for women, they say,
are always a little curious. Everything is an event at sea.
For a moment they all sat silent, gazing at this frail relic,
wondering if it told the tale of sad disaster, or brought some
trifling message from a frolic-loving sailor, who had flung it
into the sea to amuse himself when he had nothing better to do.
However, the only way to know was to examine the bottle,
and Glenarvan set to work without further delay, so carefully
and minutely, that he might have been taken for a coroner
making an inquest.
He commenced by a close inspection of the outside.
The neck was long and slender, and round the thick rim there
was still an end of wire hanging, though eaten away with rust.
The sides were very thick, and strong enough to bear great pressure.
It was evidently of Champagne origin, and the Major said immediately,
"That's one of our Clicquot's bottles."
Nobody contradicted him, as he was supposed to know;
but Lady Helena exclaimed, "What does it matter about the bottle,
if we don't know where it comes from?"
"We shall know that, too, presently, and we may affirm this much already--
it comes from a long way off. Look at those petrifactions all over it,
these different substances almost turned to mineral, we might say,
through the action of the salt water! This waif had been tossing
about in the ocean a long time before the shark swallowed it."
"I quite agree with you," said McNabbs. "I dare say this frail concern
has made a long voyage, protected by this strong covering."
"But I want to know where from?" said Lady Glenarvan.
"Wait a little, dear Helena, wait; we must have patience with bottles;
but if I am not much mistaken, this one will answer all our questions,"
replied her husband, beginning to scrape away the hard substances
round the neck. Soon the cork made its appearance, but much damaged
by the water.
"That's vexing," said Lord Edward, "for if papers are inside,
they'll be in a pretty state!"
"It's to be feared they will," said the Major.
"But it is a lucky thing the shark swallowed them, I must say,"
added Glenarvan, "for the bottle would have sunk to the bottom
before long with such a cork as this."
"That's true enough," replied John Mangles, "and yet it would
have been better to have fished them up in the open sea.
Then we might have found out the road they had come by taking
the exact latitude and longitude, and studying the atmospheric
and submarine currents; but with such a postman as a shark,
that goes against wind and tide, there's no clew whatever
to the starting-point."
"We shall see," said Glenarvan, gently taking out the cork.
A strong odor of salt water pervaded the whole saloon,
and Lady Helena asked impatiently: "Well, what is there?"
"I was right!" exclaimed Glenarvan. "I see papers inside.
But I fear it will be impossible to remove them," he added,
"for they appear to have rotted with the damp, and are sticking
to the sides of the bottle."
"Break it," said the Major.
"I would rather preserve the whole if I could."
"No doubt you would," said Lady Helena; "but the contents
are more valuable than the bottle, and we had better sacrifice
the one than the other."
"If your Lordship would simply break off the neck, I think we
might easily withdraw the papers," suggested John Mangles.
"Try it, Edward, try it," said Lady Helena.
Lord Glenarvan was very unwilling, but he found there
was no alternative; the precious bottle must be broken.
They had to get a hammer before this could be done, though,
for the stony material had acquired the hardness of granite.
A few sharp strokes, however, soon shivered it to fragments,
many of which had pieces of paper sticking to them.
These were carefully removed by Lord Glenarvan, and separated
and spread out on the table before the eager gaze of his
wife and friends.
CHAPTER II THE THREE DOCUMENTS
ALL that could be discovered, however, on these pieces of paper
was a few words here and there, the remainder of the lines being
almost completely obliterated by the action of the water.
Lord Glenarvan examined them attentively for a few minutes,
turning them over on all sides, holding them up to the light,
and trying to decipher the least scrap of writing,
while the others looked on with anxious eyes. At last he said:
"There are three distinct documents here, apparently copies
of the same document in three different languages.
Here is one in English, one in French, and one in German."
"But can you make any sense out of them?" asked Lady Helena.
"That's hard to say, my dear Helena, the words are quite incomplete."
"Perhaps the one may supplement the other," suggested Major McNabbs.
"Very likely they will," said the captain. "It is impossible
that the very same words should have been effaced in each document,
and by putting the scraps together we might gather some intelligible
meaning out of them."
"That's what we will do," rejoined Lord Glenarvan; "but let us
proceed methodically. Here is the English document first."
All that remained of it was the following:
62 _Bri gow
sink stra
aland
skipp Gr
that monit of long
and ssistance
lost_
"There's not much to be made out of that," said the Major,
looking disappointed.
"No, but it is good English anyhow," returned the captain.
"There's no doubt of it," said Glenarvan. "The words SINK, ALAND,
LOST are entire; SKIPP is evidently part of the word SKIPPER, and that's
what they call ship captains often in England. There seems a Mr. Gr.
mentioned, and that most likely is the captain of the shipwrecked vessel."
"Well, come, we have made out a good deal already," said Lady Helena.
"Yes, but unfortunately there are whole lines wanting,"
said the Major, "and we have neither the name of the ship nor
the place where she was shipwrecked."
"We'll get that by and by," said Edward.
"Oh, yes; there is no doubt of it," replied the Major, who always
echoed his neighbor's opinion. "But how?"
"By comparing one document with the other."
"Let us try them," said his wife.
The second piece of paper was even more destroyed than the first;
only a few scattered words remained here and there.
It ran as follows:
7 Juni Glas
zwei atrosen
graus
bringt ihnen
"This is written in German," said John Mangles the moment
he looked at it.
"And you understand that language, don't you?" asked Lord Glenarvan.
"Perfectly."
"Come, then, tell us the meaning of these words."
The captain examined the document carefully, and said:
"Well, here's the date of the occurrence first: 7 Juni means June 7;
and if we put that before the figures 62 we have in the other document,
it gives us the exact date, 7th of June, 1862."
"Capital!" exclaimed Lady Helena. "Go on, John!"
"On the same line," resumed the young captain, "there is
the syllable GLAS and if we add that to the GOW we found
in the English paper, we get the whole word GLASGOW at once.
The documents evidently refer to some ship that sailed out of
the port of Glasgow." "That is my opinion, too," said the Major.
"The second line is completely effaced," continued the Captain;
"but here are two important words on the third. There is ZWEI,
which means TWO, and ATROSEN or MATROSEN, the German for SAILORS."
"Then I suppose it is about a captain and two sailors,"
said Lady Helena.
"It seems so," replied Lord Glenarvan.
"I must confess, your Lordship, that the next word puzzles me.
I can make nothing of it. Perhaps the third document may throw
some light on it. The last two words are plain enough.
BRINGT IHNEN means BRING THEM; and, if you recollect, in the
English paper we had SSISTANCE, so by putting the parts together,
it reads thus, I think: 'BRING THEM ASSISTANCE.'"
"Yes, that must be it," replied Lord Glenarvan. "But where
are the poor fellows? We have not the slightest indication
of the place, meantime, nor of where the catastrophe happened."
"Perhaps the French copy will be more explicit," suggested Lady Helena.
"Here it is, then," said Lord Glenarvan, "and that is in a language
we all know."
The words it contained were these:
troi ats tannia
gonie austral
abor
contin pr cruel indi
jete ongit
et 37 degrees 11" LAT
"There are figures!" exclaimed Lady Helena. "Look!"
"Let us go steadily to work," said Lord Glenarvan, "and begin
at the beginning. I think we can make out from the incomplete
words in the first line that a three-mast vessel is in question,
and there is little doubt about the name; we get that from the fragments
of the other papers; it is the BRITANNIA. As to the next two words,
GONIE and AUSTRAL, it is only AUSTRAL that has any meaning to us."
"But that is a valuable scrap of information," said John Mangles.
"The shipwreck occurred in the southern hemisphere."
"That's a wide world," said the Major.
"Well, we'll go on," resumed Glenarvan. "Here is the word ABOR; that is
clearly the root of the verb ABORDER. The poor men have landed somewhere;
but where? CONTIN--does that mean continent? CRUEL!"
"CRUEL!" interrupted John Mangles. "I see now what GRAUS
is part of in the second document. It is GRAUSAM, the word
in German for CRUEL!"
"Let's go on," said Lord Glenarvan, becoming quite excited over his task,
as the incomplete words began to fill up and develop their meaning.
"INDI,--is it India where they have been shipwrecked?
And what can this word ONGIT be part of? Ah! I see--it is LONGITUDE;
and here is the latitude, 37 degrees 11". That is the precise
indication at last, then!"
"But we haven't the longitude," objected McNabbs.
"But we can't get everything, my dear Major; and it
is something at all events, to have the exact latitude.
The French document is decidedly the most complete of the three;
but it is plain enough that each is the literal translation of
the other, for they all contain exactly the same number of lines.
What we have to do now is to put together all the words we
have found, and translate them into one language, and try
to ascertain their most probable and logical sense."
"Well, what language shall we choose?" asked the Major.
"I think we had better keep to the French, since that was the most
complete document of the three."
"Your Lordship is right," said John Mangles, "and besides,
we're all familiar with the language."
"Very well, then, I'll set to work."
In a few minutes he had written as follows:
7 Juin 1862 trois-mats Britannia Glasgow
sombre gonie austral
a terre deux matelots
capitaine Gr abor
contin pr cruel indi
jete ce document de longitude
et 37 degrees 11" de latitude Portez-leur secours
perdus.
[7th of June, 1862 three-mast BRITANNIA Glasgow]
foundered gonie southern
on the coast two sailors Gr
Captain landed
contin pr cruel indi
thrown this document in longitude
and 37 degrees 11" latitude Bring them assistance
lost
Just at that moment one of the sailors came to inform the captain
that they were about entering the Firth of Clyde, and to ask
what were his orders.
"What are your Lordship's intentions?" said John Mangles,
addressing Lord Glenarvan.
"To get to Dunbarton as quickly as possible, John; and Lady Helena
will return to Malcolm Castle, while I go on to London and lay this
document before the Admiralty."
The sailor received orders accordingly, and went out to deliver
them to the mate.
"Now, friends," said Lord Glenarvan, "let us go on with
our investigations, for we are on the track of a great catastrophe,
and the lives of several human beings depend on our sagacity.
We must give our whole minds to the solution of this enigma."
"First of all, there are three very distinct things to be considered
in this document--the things we know, the things we may conjecture,
the things we do not know."
"What are those we know? We know that on the 7th of June
a three-mast vessel, the BRITANNIA of Glasgow, foundered; that two
sailors and the captain threw this document into the sea in 37
degrees 11" latitude, and they entreat help."
"Exactly so," said the Major.
"What are those now we may conjecture?" continued Glenarvan. "That the
shipwreck occurred in the southern seas; and here I would draw your
attention at once to the incomplete word GONIE. Doesn't the name
of the country strike you even in the mere mention of it?"
"Patagonia!" exclaimed Lady Helena.
"Undoubtedly."
"But is Patagonia crossed by the 37th parallel?" asked the Major.
"That is easily ascertained," said the captain, opening a map of
South America. "Yes, it is; Patagonia just touches the 37th parallel.
It cuts through Araucania, goes along over the Pampas to the north,
and loses itself in the Atlantic."
"Well, let us proceed then with our conjectures. The two sailors
and the captain LAND--land where? CONTIN--on a continent;
on a continent, mark you, not an island. What becomes of them?
There are two letters here providentially which give a clew
to their fate--PR, that must mean prisoners, and CRUEL INDIAN
is evidently the meaning of the next two words. These unfortunate
men are captives in the hands of cruel Indians. Don't you see it?
Don't the words seem to come of themselves, and fill up the blanks?
Isn't the document quite clear now? Isn't the sense self-evident?"
Glenarvan spoke in a tone of absolute conviction, and his
enthusiastic confidence appeared contagious, for the others
all exclaimed, too, "Yes, it is evident, quite evident!"
After an instant, Lord Edward said again, "To my own mind the hypothesis
is so plausible, that I have no doubt whatever the event occurred on
the coast of Patagonia, but still I will have inquiries made in Glasgow,
as to the destination of the BRITANNIA, and we shall know if it is
possible she could have been wrecked on those shores."
"Oh, there's no need to send so far to find out that,"
said John Mangles. "I have the _Mercantile and
Shipping Gazette_ here, and we'll see the name on the list,
and all about it."
"Do look at once, then," said Lord Glenarvan.
The file of papers for the year 1862 was soon brought,
and John began to turn over the leaves rapidly, running down
each page with his eye in search of the name required.
But his quest was not long, for in a few minutes he called out:
"I've got it! 'May 30, 1862, Peru-Callao, with cargo for Glasgow,
the BRITANNIA, Captain Grant.'"
"Grant!" exclaimed Lord Glenarvan. "That is the adventurous
Scotchman that attempted to found a new Scotland on the shores
of the Pacific."
"Yes," rejoined John Mangles, "it is the very man.
He sailed from Glasgow in the BRITANNIA in 1861, and has not
been heard of since."
"There isn't a doubt of it, not a shadow of doubt," repeated
Lord Glenarvan. "It is just that same Captain Grant. The BRITANNIA left
Callao on the 30th of May, and on the 7th of June, a week afterward,
she is lost on the coast of Patagonia. The few broken disjointed
words we find in these documents tell us the whole story.
You see, friends, our conjectures hit the mark very well;
we know all now except one thing, and that is the longitude."
"That is not needed now, we know the country. With the latitude alone,
I would engage to go right to the place where the wreck happened."
"Then have we really all the particulars now?" asked Lady Helena.
"All, dear Helena; I can fill up every one of these blanks
the sea has made in the document as easily as if Captain Grant
were dictating to me."
And he took up the pen, and dashed off the following lines immediately:
"On the 7th of June, 1862, the three-mast vessel, BRITANNIA, of Glasgow,
has sunk on the coast of Patagonia, in the southern hemisphere.
Making for the shore, two sailors and Captain Grant are about
to land on the continent, where they will be taken prisoners
by cruel Indians. They have thrown this document into the sea,
in longitude and latitude 37 degrees 11". Bring them assistance,
or they are lost."
"Capital! capital! dear Edward," said Lady Helena. "If those poor
creatures ever see their native land again, it is you they will have
to thank for it."
"And they will see it again," returned Lord Glenarvan; "the statement
is too explicit, and clear, and certain for England to hesitate
about going to the aid of her three sons cast away on a desert coast.
What she has done for Franklin and so many others, she will do to-day
for these poor shipwrecked fellows of the BRITANNIA."
"Most likely the unfortunate men have families who mourn their loss.
Perhaps this ill-fated Captain Grant had a wife and children,"
suggested Lady Helena.
"Very true, my dear, and I'll not forget to let them know that there
is still hope. But now, friends, we had better go up on deck,
as the boat must be getting near the harbor."
A carriage and post-horses waited there, in readiness
to convey Lady Helena and Major McNabbs to Malcolm Castle,
and Lord Glenarvan bade adieu to his young wife, and jumped
into the express train for Glasgow.
But before starting he confided an important missive to a
swifter agent than himself, and a few minutes afterward it
flashed along the electric wire to London, to appear next day
in the _Times and Morning Chronicle_ in the following words:
"For information respecting the fate of the three-mast
vessel BRITANNIA, of Glasgow, Captain Grant, apply to
Lord Glenarvan, Malcolm Castle, Luss, Dumbartonshire, Scotland."
CHAPTER III THE CAPTAIN'S CHILDREN
LORD GLENARVAN'S fortune was enormous, and he spent it entirely in
doing good. His kindheartedness was even greater than his generosity,
for the one knew no bounds, while the other, of necessity,
had its limits. As Lord of Luss and "laird" of Malcolm, he represented
his county in the House of Lords; but, with his Jacobite ideas,
he did not care much for the favor of the House of Hanover,
and he was looked upon coldly by the State party in England,
because of the tenacity with which he clung to the traditions
of his forefathers, and his energetic resistance to the political
encroachments of Southerners. And yet he was not a man behind
the times, and there was nothing little or narrow-minded about him;
but while always keeping open his ancestral county to progress,
he was a true Scotchman at heart, and it was for the honor of Scotland
that he competed in the yacht races of the Royal Thames Yacht Club.
Edward Glenarvan was thirty-two years of age. He was tall in person,
and had rather stern features; but there was an exceeding sweetness
in his look, and a stamp of Highland poetry about his whole bearing.
He was known to be brave to excess, and full of daring and chivalry--
a Fer-gus of the nineteenth century; but his goodness excelled every
other quality, and he was more charitable than St. Martin himself, for he
would have given the whole of his cloak to any of the poor Highlanders.
He had scarcely been married three months, and his bride
was Miss Helena Tuffnell, the daughter of William Tuffnell,
the great traveler, one of the many victims of geographical
science and of the passion for discovery. Miss Helena did
not belong to a noble family, but she was Scotch, and that
was better than all nobility in the eyes of Lord Glenarvan;
and she was, moreover, a charming, high-souled, religious young woman.
Lord Glenarvan did not forget that his wife was the daughter of a
great traveler, and he thought it likely that she would inherit
her father's predilections. He had the DUNCAN built expressly that
he might take his bride to the most beautiful lands in the world,
and complete their honeymoon by sailing up the Mediterranean,
and through the clustering islands of the Archipelago.
However, Lord Glenarvan had gone now to London. The lives of the
shipwrecked men were at stake, and Lady Helena was too much concerned
herself about them to grudge her husband's temporary absence.
A telegram next day gave hope of his speedy return, but in the evening
a letter apprised her of the difficulties his proposition had met with,
and the morning after brought another, in which he openly expressed
his dissatisfaction with the Admiralty.
Lady Helena began to get anxious as the day wore on.
In the evening, when she was sitting alone in her room, Mr. Halbert,
the house steward, came in and asked if she would see a young
girl and boy that wanted to speak to Lord Glenarvan.
"Some of the country people?" asked Lady Helena.
"No, madame," replied the steward, "I do not know them at all.
They came by rail to Balloch, and walked the rest of the way to Luss."
"Tell them to come up, Halbert."
In a few minutes a girl and boy were shown in. They were evidently
brother and sister, for the resemblance was unmistakable.
The girl was about sixteen years of age; her tired pretty face,
and sorrowful eyes, and resigned but courageous look, as well
as her neat though poor attire, made a favorable impression.
The boy she held by the hand was about twelve, but his face expressed
such determination, that he appeared quite his sister's protector.
The girl seemed too shy to utter a word at first, but Lady Helena quickly
relieved her embarrassment by saying, with an encouraging smile:
"You wish to speak to me, I think?"
"No," replied the boy, in a decided tone; "not to you,
but to Lord Glenarvan."
V. IV Verne
"Excuse him, ma'am," said the girl, with a look at her brother.
"Lord Glenarvan is not at the castle just now," returned Lady Helena;
"but I am his wife, and if I can do anything for you--"
"You are Lady Glenarvan?" interrupted the girl.
"I am."
"The wife of Lord Glenarvan, of Malcolm Castle, that put an announcement
in the TIMES about the shipwreck of the BRITANNIA?"
"Yes, yes," said Lady Helena, eagerly; "and you?"
"I am Miss Grant, ma'am, and this is my brother."
"Miss Grant, Miss Grant!" exclaimed Lady Helena, drawing the young girl
toward her, and taking both her hands and kissing the boy's rosy cheeks.
"What is it you know, ma'am, about the shipwreck? Tell me,
is my father living? Shall we ever see him again? Oh, tell me,"
said the girl, earnestly.
"My dear child," replied Lady Helena. "Heaven forbid that I
should answer you lightly such a question; I would not delude
you with vain hopes."
"Oh, tell me all, tell me all, ma'am. I'm proof against sorrow.
I can bear to hear anything."
"My poor child, there is but a faint hope; but with the help
of almighty Heaven it is just possible you may one day see
your father once more."
The girl burst into tears, and Robert seized Lady Glenarvan's
hand and covered it with kisses.
As soon as they grew calmer they asked a complete string of questions,
and Lady Helena recounted the whole story of the document,
telling them that their father had been wrecked on the coast
of Patagonia, and that he and two sailors, the sole survivors,
appeared to have reached the shore, and had written an appeal
for help in three languages and committed it to the care
of the waves.
During the recital, Robert Grant was devouring the speaker
with his eyes, and hanging on her lips. His childish imagination
evidently retraced all the scenes of his father's shipwreck.
He saw him on the deck of the BRITANNIA, and then struggling
with the billows, then clinging to the rocks, and lying at length
exhausted on the beach.
More than once he cried out, "Oh, papa! my poor papa!"
and pressed close to his sister.
Miss Grant sat silent and motionless, with clasped hands,
and all she said when the narration ended, was: "Oh, ma'am,
the paper, please!"
"I have not it now, my dear child," replied Lady Helena.
"You haven't it?"
"No. Lord Glenarvan was obliged to take it to London, for the sake
of your father; but I have told you all it contained, word for word,
and how we managed to make out the complete sense from the fragments
of words left--all except the longitude, unfortunately."
"We can do without that," said the boy.
"Yes, Mr. Robert," rejoined Lady Helena, smiling at the child's
decided tone. "And so you see, Miss Grant, you know the smallest
details now just as well as I do."
"Yes, ma'am, but I should like to have seen my father's writing."
"Well, to-morrow, perhaps, to-morrow, Lord Glenarvan will be back.
My husband determined to lay the document before the Lords
of the Admiralty, to induce them to send out a ship immediately
in search of Captain Grant."
"Is it possible, ma'am," exclaimed the girl, "that you have done
that for us?"
"Yes, my dear Miss Grant, and I am expecting Lord Glenarvan back
every minute now."
"Oh, ma'am! Heaven bless you and Lord Glenarvan," said the young girl,
fervently, overcome with grateful emotion."
"My dear girl, we deserve no thanks; anyone in our place would
have done the same. I only trust the hopes we are leading you
to entertain may be realized, but till my husband returns,
you will remain at the Castle."
"Oh, no, ma'am. I could not abuse the sympathy you show to strangers."
"Strangers, dear child!" interrupted Lady Helena; "you and your brother
are not strangers in this house, and I should like Lord Glenarvan
to be able on his arrival to tell the children of Captain Grant himself,
what is going to be done to rescue their father."
It was impossible to refuse an invitation given with such heart,
and Miss Grant and her brother consented to stay till
Lord Glenarvan returned.
CHAPTER IV LADY GLENARVAN'S PROPOSAL
LADY HELENA thought it best to say nothing to the children
about the fears Lord Glenarvan had expressed in his letters
respecting the decisions of the Lords of the Admiralty with regard
to the document. Nor did she mention the probable captivity
of Captain Grant among the Indians of South America. Why sadden
the poor children, and damp their newly cherished hopes?
It would not in the least alter the actual state of the case;
so not a word was said, and after answering all Miss Grant's questions,
Lady Helena began to interrogate in her turn, asking her about
her past life and her present circumstances.
It was a touching, simple story she heard in reply, and one
which increased her sympathy for the young girl.
Mary and Robert were the captain's only children. Harry Grant
lost his wife when Robert was born, and during his long voyages
he left his little ones in charge of his cousin, a good old lady.
Captain Grant was a fearless sailor. He not only thoroughly
understood navigation, but commerce also--a two-fold qualification
eminently useful to skippers in the merchant service.
He lived in Dundee, in Perthshire, Scotland. His father, a minister
of St. Katrine's Church, had given him a thorough education,
as he believed that could never hurt anybody.
Harry's voyages were prosperous from the first, and a few years after
Robert was born, he found himself possessed of a considerable fortune.
It was then that he projected the grand scheme which made him popular
in Scotland. Like Glenarvan, and a few noble families in the Lowlands,
he had no heart for the union with England. In his eyes the interests
of his country were not identified with those of the Anglo-Saxons,
and to give scope for personal development, he resolved to found
an immense Scotch colony on one of the ocean continents.
Possibly he might have thought that some day they would achieve
their independence, as the United States did--an example doubtless
to be followed eventually by Australia and India. But whatever
might be his secret motives, such was his dream of colonization.
But, as is easily understood, the Government opposed his plans,
and put difficulties enough in his way to have killed an ordinary man.
But Harry would not be beaten. He appealed to the patriotism
of his countrymen, placed his fortune at the service of the cause,
built a ship, and manned it with a picked crew, and leaving his
children to the care of his old cousin set off to explore the great
islands of the Pacific. This was in 1861, and for twelve months,
or up to May, 1862, letters were regularly received from him, but no
tidings whatever had come since his departure from Callao, in June,
and the name of the BRITANNIA never appeared in the Shipping List.
Just at this juncture the old cousin died, and Harry Grant's
two children were left alone in the world.
Mary Grant was then only fourteen, but she resolved to face
her situation bravely, and to devote herself entirely
to her little brother, who was still a mere child.
By dint of close economy, combined with tact and prudence,
she managed to support and educate him, working day and night,
denying herself everything, that she might give him all he needed,
watching over him and caring for him like a mother.
The two children were living in this touching manner in Dundee,
struggling patiently and courageously with their poverty.
Mary thought only of her brother, and indulged in dreams of a
prosperous future for him. She had long given up all hope of
the BRITANNIA, and was fully persuaded that her father was dead.
What, then, was her emotion when she accidentally saw the notice
in the TIMES!
She never hesitated for an instant as to the course she
should adopt, but determined to go to Dumbartonshire immediately,
to learn the best and worst. Even if she were to be told that
her father's lifeless body had been found on a distant shore,
or in the bottom of some abandoned ship, it would be a relief
from incessant doubt and torturing suspense.
She told her brother about the advertisement, and the two children
started off together that same day for Perth, where they took the train,
and arrived in the evening at Malcolm Castle.
Such was Mary Grant's sorrowful story, and she recounted it in so simple
and unaffected a manner, that it was evident she never thought her
conduct had been that of a heroine through those long trying years.
But Lady Helena thought it for her, and more than once she put her arms
round both the children, and could not restrain her tears.
As for Robert, he seemed to have heard these particulars
for the first time. All the while his sister was speaking,
he gazed at her with wide-open eyes, only knowing now how
much she had done and suffered for him; and, as she ended,
he flung himself on her neck, and exclaimed, "Oh, mamma!
My dear little mamma!"
It was quite dark by this time, and Lady Helena made the children
go to bed, for she knew they must be tired after their journey.
They were soon both sound asleep, dreaming of happy days.
After they had retired. Lady Helena sent for Major McNabbs,
and told him the incidents of the evening.
"That Mary Grant must be a brave girl," said the Major.
"I only hope my husband will succeed, for the poor children's sake,"
said his cousin. "It would be terrible for them if he did not."
"He will be sure to succeed, or the Lords of the Admiralty must
have hearts harder than Portland stone."
But, notwithstanding McNabbs's assurance, Lady Helena passed
the night in great anxiety, and could not close her eyes.
Mary Grant and her brother were up very early next morning,
and were walking about in the courtyard when they heard the sound of a
carriage approaching. It was Lord Glenarvan; and, almost immediately,
Lady Helena and the Major came out to meet him.
Lady Helena flew toward her husband the moment he alighted;
but he embraced her silently, and looked gloomy and disappointed--
indeed, even furious.
"Well, Edward?" she said; "tell me."
"Well, Helena, dear; those people have no heart!"
"They have refused?"
"Yes. They have refused me a ship! They talked of the millions that
had been wasted in search for Franklin, and declared the document was
obscure and unintelligible. And, then, they said it was two years now
since they were cast away, and there was little chance of finding them.
Besides, they would have it that the Indians, who made them prisoners,
would have dragged them into the interior, and it was impossible,
they said, to hunt all through Patagonia for three men--three Scotchmen;
that the search would be vain and perilous, and cost more lives than
it saved. In short, they assigned all the reasons that people invent
who have made up their minds to refuse. The truth is, they remembered
Captain Grant's projects, and that is the secret of the whole affair.
So the poor fellow is lost for ever."
"My father! my poor father!" cried Mary Grant, throwing herself
on her knees before Lord Glenarvan, who exclaimed in amazement:
"Your father? What? Is this Miss--"
"Yes, Edward," said Lady Helena; "this is Miss Mary Grant and her brother,
the two children condemned to orphanage by the cruel Admiralty!"
"Oh! Miss Grant," said Lord Glenarvan, raising the young girl,
"if I had known of your presence--"
He said no more, and there was a painful silence in the courtyard,
broken only by sobs. No one spoke, but the very attitude of both
servants and masters spoke their indignation at the conduct
of the English Government.
At last the Major said, addressing Lord Glenarvan: "Then you
have no hope whatever?"
"None," was the reply.
"Very well, then," exclaimed little Robert, "I'll go and speak to those
people myself, and we'll see if they--" He did not complete his sentence,
for his sister stopped him; but his clenched fists showed his intentions
were the reverse of pacific.
"No, Robert," said Mary Grant, "we will thank this noble lord
and lady for what they have done for us, and never cease to think
of them with gratitude; and then we'll both go together."
"Mary!" said Lady Helena, in a tone of surprise.
"Go where?" asked Lord Glenarvan.
"I am going to throw myself at the Queen's feet, and we shall
see if she will turn a deaf ear to the prayers of two children,
who implore their father's life."
Lord Glenarvan shook his head; not that he doubted the kind heart
of her Majesty, but he knew Mary would never gain access to her.
Suppliants but too rarely reach the steps of a throne;
it seems as if royal palaces had the same inscription
on their doors that the English have on their ships:
_Passengers are requested not to speak to the man at the wheel_.
Lady Glenarvan understood what was passing in her husband's mind,
and she felt the young girl's attempt would be useless, and only
plunge the poor children in deeper despair. Suddenly, a grand,
generous purpose fired her soul, and she called out:
"Mary Grant! wait, my child, and listen to what I'm going to say."
Mary had just taken her brother by the hand, and turned to go away;
but she stepped back at Lady Helena's bidding.
The young wife went up to her husband, and said, with tears in her eyes,
though her voice was firm, and her face beamed with animation:
"Edward, when Captain Grant wrote that letter and threw it into the sea,
he committed it to the care of God. God has sent it to us--to us!
Undoubtedly God intends us to undertake the rescue of these poor men."
"What do you mean, Helena?"
"I mean this, that we ought to think ourselves fortunate if we
can begin our married life with a good action. Well, you know,
Edward, that to please me you planned a pleasure trip;
but what could give us such genuine pleasure, or be so useful,
as to save those unfortunate fellows, cast off by their country?"
"Helena!" exclaimed Lord Glenarvan.
"Yes, Edward, you understand me. The DUNCAN is a good strong ship,
she can venture in the Southern Seas, or go round the world if necessary.
Let us go, Edward; let us start off and search for Captain Grant!"
Lord Glenarvan made no reply to this bold proposition, but smiled,
and, holding out his arms, drew his wife into a close, fond embrace.
Mary and Robert seized her hands, and covered them with kisses;
and the servants who thronged the courtyard, and had been witnesses
of this touching scene, shouted with one voice, "Hurrah for the Lady
of Luss. Three cheers for Lord and Lady Glenarvan!"
CHAPTER V THE DEPARTURE OF THE "DUNCAN"
WE have said already that Lady Helena was a brave, generous woman,
and what she had just done proved it in-disputably. Her husband
had good reason to be proud of such a wife, one who could
understand and enter into all his views. The idea of going
to Captain Grant's rescue had occurred to him in London when his
request was refused, and he would have anticipated Lady Helena,
only he could not bear the thought of parting from her.
But now that she herself proposed to go, all hesitation was at an end.
The servants of the Castle had hailed the project with loud acclamations--
for it was to save their brothers--Scotchmen, like themselves--
and Lord Glenarvan cordially joined his cheers with theirs,
for the Lady of Luss.
The departure once resolved upon, there was not an hour to be lost.
A telegram was dispatched to John Mangles the very same day,
conveying Lord Glenarvan's orders to take the DUNCAN immediately
to Glasgow, and to make preparations for a voyage to the Southern Seas,
and possibly round the world, for Lady Helena was right in her
opinion that the yacht might safely attempt the circumnavigation
of the globe, if necessary.
The DUNCAN was a steam yacht of the finest description.
She was 210 tons burden--much larger than any of the first
vessels that touched the shores of the New World, for the largest
of the four ships that sailed with Columbus was only 70 tons.
She had two masts and all the sails and rigging of an ordinary clipper,
which would enable her to take advantage of every favorable wind,
though her chief reliance was on her mechanical power. The engine,
which was constructed on a new system, was a high-pressure one,
of 160-horse power, and put in motion a double screw.
This gave the yacht such swiftness that during her trial
trip in the Firth of Clyde, she made seventeen miles
an hour, a higher speed than any vessel had yet attained.
No alterations were consequently needed in the DUNCAN herself;
John Mangles had only to attend to her interior arrangements.
His first care was to enlarge the bunkers to carry as much coal
as possible, for it is difficult to get fresh supplies _en route_.
He had to do the same with the store-rooms, and managed so well
that he succeeded in laying in provisions enough for two years.
There was abundance of money at his command, and enough remained to buy
a cannon, on a pivot carriage, which he mounted on the forecastle.
There was no knowing what might happen, and it is always well to be
able to send a good round bullet flying four miles off.
John Mangles understood his business. Though he was only
the captain of a pleasure yacht, he was one of the best skippers
in Glasgow. He was thirty years of age, and his countenance expressed
both courage and goodness, if the features were somewhat coarse.
He had been brought up at the castle by the Glenarvan family,
and had turned out a capital sailor, having already given proof,
in some of his long voyages, of his skill and energy and _sang-froid_.
When Lord Glenarvan offered him the command of the DUNCAN, he accepted
it with right good will, for he loved the master of Malcolm Castle,
like a brother, and had hitherto vainly sought some opportunity
of showing his devotion.
Tom Austin, the mate, was an old sailor, worthy of all confidence.
The crew, consisting of twenty-five men, including the captain
and chief officer, were all from Dumbartonshire, experienced sailors,
and all belonging to the Glenarvan estate; in fact, it was a regular clan,
and they did not forget to carry with them the traditional bagpipes.
Lord Glenarvan had in them a band of trusty fellows, skilled in their
calling, devoted to himself, full of courage, and as practiced in handling
fire-arms as in the maneuvering of a ship; a valiant little troop,
ready to follow him any where, even in the most dangerous expeditions.
When the crew heard whither they were bound, they could not restrain
their enthusiasm, and the rocks of Dumbarton rang again with their joyous
outbursts of cheers.
But while John Mangles made the stowage and provisioning
of the yacht his chief business, he did not forget to fit
up the rooms of Lord and Lady Glenarvan for a long voyage.
He had also to get cabins ready for the children of Captain Grant,
as Lady Helena could not refuse Mary's request to accompany her.
As for young Robert, he would have smuggled himself in somewhere
in the hold of the DUNCAN rather than be left behind. He would
willingly have gone as cabin-boy, like Nelson. It was impossible
to resist a little fellow like that, and, indeed, no one tried.
He would not even go as a passenger, but must serve in some capacity,
as cabin-boy, apprentice or sailor, he did not care which,
so he was put in charge of John Mangles, to be properly trained
for his vocation.
"And I hope he won't spare me the 'cat-o-nine-tails' if I don't
do properly," said Robert.
"Rest easy on that score, my boy," said Lord Glenarvan, gravely; he did
not add, that this mode of punishment was forbidden on board the DUNCAN,
and moreover, was quite unnecessary.
To complete the roll of passengers, we must name Major McNabbs. The Major
was about fifty years of age, with a calm face and regular features--a man
who did whatever he was told, of an excellent, indeed, a perfect temper;
modest, silent, peaceable, and amiable, agreeing with everybody on
every subject, never discussing, never disputing, never getting angry.
He wouldn't move a step quicker, or slower, whether he walked upstairs
to bed or mounted a breach. Nothing could excite him, nothing could
disturb him, not even a cannon ball, and no doubt he will die without
ever having known even a passing feeling of irritation.
This man was endowed in an eminent degree, not only with ordinary
animal courage, that physical bravery of the battle-field, which
is solely due to muscular energy, but he had what is far nobler--
moral courage, firmness of soul. If he had any fault it was his being
so intensely Scotch from top to toe, a Caledonian of the Caledonians,
an obstinate stickler for all the ancient customs of his country.
This was the reason he would never serve in England, and he gained
his rank of Major in the 42nd regiment, the Highland Black Watch,
composed entirely of Scotch noblemen.
As a cousin of Glenarvan, he lived in Malcolm Castle, and as a major
he went as a matter of course with the DUNCAN.
Such, then, was the PERSONNEL of this yacht, so unexpectedly
called to make one of the most wonderful voyages of modern times.
From the hour she reached the steamboat quay at Glasgow,
she completely monopolized the public attention. A considerable
crowd visited her every day, and the DUNCAN was the one topic
of interest and conversation, to the great vexation of the different
captains in the port, among others of Captain Burton, in command
of the SCOTIA, a magnificent steamer lying close beside her,
and bound for Calcutta. Considering her size, the SCOTIA might
justly look upon the DUNCAN as a mere fly-boat, and yet this
pleasure yacht of Lord Glenarvan was quite the center of attraction,
and the excitement about her daily increased.
The DUNCAN was to sail out with the tide at three o'clock on
the morning of the 25th of August. But before starting, a touching
ceremony was witnessed by the good people of Glasgow. At eight
o'clock the night before, Lord Glenarvan and his friends,
and the entire crew, from the stokers to the captain, all who were
to take part in this self-sacrificing voyage, left the yacht
and repaired to St. Mungo's, the ancient cathedral of the city.
This venerable edifice, so marvelously described by Walter Scott,
remains intact amid the ruins made by the Reformation;
and it was there, beneath its lofty arches, in the grand nave,
in the presence of an immense crowd, and surrounded by tombs
as thickly set as in a cemetery, that they all assembled to implore
the blessing of Heaven on their expedition, and to put themselves
under the protection of Providence. The Rev. Mr. Morton conducted
the service, and when he had ended and pronounced the benediction,
a young girl's voice broke the solemn silence that followed.
It was Mary Grant who poured out her heart to God in prayer
for her benefactors, while grateful happy tears streamed down
her cheeks, and almost choked her utterance. The vast assembly
dispersed under the influence of deep emotion, and at ten o'clock
the passengers and crew returned on board the vessel.
CHAPTER VI AN UNEXPECTED PASSENGER
THE ladies passed the whole of the first day of the voyage
in their berths, for there was a heavy swell in the sea,
and toward evening the wind blew pretty fresh, and the DUNCAN
tossed and pitched considerably.
But the morning after, the wind changed, and the captain ordered
the men to put up the foresail, and brigantine and foretopsail,
which greatly lessened the rolling of the vessel.
Lady Helena and Mary Grant were able to come on deck at daybreak,
where they found Lord Glenarvan, Major McNabbs and the captain.
"And how do you stand the sea, Miss Mary?" said Lord Glenarvan.
"Pretty well, my Lord. I am not very much inconvenienced by it.
Besides I shall get used to it."
"And our young Robert!"
"Oh, as for Robert," said the captain, "whenever he is not
poking about down below in the engine-room, he is perched
somewhere aloft among the rigging. A youngster like that
laughs at sea-sickness. Why, look at him this very moment!
Do you see him?"
The captain pointed toward the foremast, and sure enough there
was Robert, hanging on the yards of the topgallant mast,
a hundred feet above in the air. Mary involuntarily gave a start,
but the captain said:
"Oh, don't be afraid, Miss Mary; he is all right, take my word for it;
I'll have a capital sailor to present to Captain Grant before long,
for we'll find the worthy captain, depend upon it."
"Heaven grant it, Mr. John," replied the young girl.
"My dear child," said Lord Glenarvan, "there is something so
providential in the whole affair, that we have every reason to hope.
We are not going, we are led; we are not searching, we are guided.
And then see all the brave men that have enlisted in the service
of the good cause. We shall not only succeed in our enterprise,
but there will be little difficulty in it. I promised Lady Helena
a pleasure trip, and I am much mistaken if I don't keep my word."
"Edward," said his wife, "you are the best of men."
"Not at all," was the reply; "but I have the best of crews and the best
of ships. You don't admire the DUNCAN, I suppose, Miss Mary?"
"On the contrary, my lord, I do admire her, and I'm a connoisseur
in ships," returned the young girl.
"Indeed!"
"Yes. I have played all my life on my father's ships.
He should have made me a sailor, for I dare say, at a push,
I could reef a sail or plait a gasket easily enough."
"Do you say so, miss?" exclaimed John Mangles.
"If you talk like that you and John will be great friends,
for he can't think any calling is equal to that of a seaman;
he can't fancy any other, even for a woman. Isn't it true, John?"
"Quite so," said the captain, "and yet, your Lordship, I must confess
that Miss Grant is more in her place on the poop than reefing a topsail.
But for all that, I am quite flattered by her remarks."
"And especially when she admires the DUNCAN," replied Glenarvan.
"Well, really," said Lady Glenarvan, "you are so proud of your yacht
that you make me wish to look all over it; and I should like to go
down and see how our brave men are lodged."
"Their quarters are first-rate," replied John, "they are as comfortable
as if they were at home."
"And they really are at home, my dear Helena,"
said Lord Glenarvan. "This yacht is a portion of our old Caledonia,
a fragment of Dumbartonshire, making a voyage by special favor,
so that in a manner we are still in our own country.
The DUNCAN is Malcolm Castle, and the ocean is Loch Lomond."
"Very well, dear Edward, do the honors of the Castle then."
"At your service, madam; but let me tell Olbinett first."
The steward of the yacht was an excellent _maitre d'hotel_,
and might have been French for his airs of importance, but for all
that he discharged his functions with zeal and intelligence.
"Olbinett," said his master, as he appeared in answer to
his summons, "we are going to have a turn before breakfast.
I hope we shall find it ready when we come back."
He said this just as if it had been a walk to Tarbert or Loch Katrine
they were going, and the steward bowed with perfect gravity in reply.
"Are you coming with us, Major?" asked Lady Helena.
"If you command me," replied McNabbs.
"Oh!" said Lord Glenarvan; "the Major is absorbed in his cigar;
"you mustn't tear him from it. He is an inveterate smoker,
Miss Mary, I can tell you. He is always smoking, even while he sleeps."
The Major gave an assenting nod, and Lord Glenarvan and his
party went below.
McNabbs remained alone, talking to himself, as was his habit,
and was soon enveloped in still thicker clouds of smoke.
He stood motionless, watching the track of the yacht.
After some minutes of this silent contemplation he turned round,
and suddenly found himself face to face with a new comer.
Certainly, if any thing could have surprised him, this RENCONTRE would,
for he had never seen the stranger in his life before.
He was a tall, thin, withered-looking man, about forty years
of age, and resembled a long nail with a big head. His head
was large and massive, his forehead high, his chin very marked.
His eyes were concealed by enormous round spectacles, and in his
look was that peculiar indecision which is common to nyctalopes,
or people who have a peculiar construction of the eye,
which makes the sight imperfect in the day and better at night.
It was evident from his physiognomy that he was a lively,
intelligent man; he had not the crabbed expression of those grave
individuals who never laugh on principle, and cover their
emptiness with a mask of seriousness. He looked far from that.
His careless, good-humored air, and easy, unceremonious manners,
showed plainly that he knew how to take men and things on their
bright side. But though he had not yet opened his mouth,
he gave one the impression of being a great talker, and moreover,
one of those absent folks who neither see though they are looking,
nor hear though they are listening. He wore a traveling cap,
and strong, low, yellow boots with leather gaiters.
His pantaloons and jacket were of brown velvet, and their
innumerable pockets were stuffed with note-books, memorandum-books,
account-books, pocket-books, and a thousand other things equally
cumbersome and useless, not to mention a telescope in addition,
which he carried in a shoulder-belt.
The stranger's excitement was a strong contrast to the Major's placidity.
He walked round McNabbs, looking at him and questioning him with his
eyes without eliciting one remark from the imperturbable Scotchman,
or awakening his curiosity in the least, to know where he came from,
and where he was going, and how he had got on board the DUNCAN.
Finding all his efforts baffled by the Major's indifference,
the mysterious passenger seized his telescope, drew it out
to its fullest extent, about four feet, and began gazing at
the horizon, standing motionless with his legs wide apart.
His examination lasted some few minutes, and then he lowered
the glass, set it up on deck, and leaned on it as if it had been
a walking-stick. Of course, his weight shut up the instrument
immediately by pushing the different parts one into the other,
and so suddenly, that he fell full length on deck, and lay
sprawling at the foot of the mainmast.
Any one else but the Major would have smiled, at least,
at such a ludicrous sight; but McNabbs never moved a muscle
of his face.
This was too much for the stranger, and he called out,
with an unmistakably foreign accent:
"Steward!"
He waited a minute, but nobody appeared, and he called again,
still louder, "Steward!"
Mr. Olbinett chanced to be passing that minute on his way from the galley,
and what was his astonishment at hearing himself addressed like this
by a lanky individual of whom he had no knowledge whatever.
"Where can he have come from? Who is he?" he thought to himself.
"He can not possibly be one of Lord Glenarvan's friends?"
However, he went up on the poop, and approached the unknown personage,
who accosted him with the inquiry, "Are you the steward of this vessel? "
"Yes, sir," replied Olbinett; "but I have not the honor of--"
"I am the passenger in cabin Number 6."
"Number 6!" repeated the steward.
"Certainly; and your name, what is it?"
"Olbinett."
"Well, Olbinett, my friend, we must think of breakfast, and that
pretty quickly. It is thirty-six hours since I have had anything
to eat, or rather thirty-six hours that I have been asleep--
pardonable enough in a man who came all the way, without stopping,
from Paris to Glasgow. What is the breakfast hour?"
"Nine o'clock," replied Olbinett, mechanically.
The stranger tried to pull out his watch to see the time;
but it was not till he had rummaged through the ninth pocket
that he found it.
"Ah, well," he said, "it is only eight o'clock at present.
Fetch me a glass of sherry and a biscuit while I am waiting,
for I am actually falling through sheer inanition."
Olbinett heard him without understanding what he meant for the voluble
stranger kept on talking incessantly, flying from one subject to another.
"The captain? Isn't the captain up yet? And the chief officer?
What is he doing? Is he asleep still? It is fine weather, fortunately,
and the wind is favorable, and the ship goes all alone."
Just at that moment John Mangles appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Here is the captain!" said Olbinett.
"Ah! delighted, Captain Burton, delighted to make your acquaintance,"
exclaimed the unknown.
John Mangles stood stupefied, as much at seeing the stranger on board
as at hearing himself called "Captain Burton."
But the new comer went on in the most affable manner.
"Allow me to shake hands with you, sir; and if I did not do
so yesterday evening, it was only because I did not wish
to be troublesome when you were starting. But to-day, captain,
it gives me great pleasure to begin my intercourse with you."
John Mangles opened his eyes as wide as possible, and stood staring
at Olbinett and the stranger alternately.
But without waiting for a reply, the rattling fellow continued:
"Now the introduction is made, my dear captain, we are old friends.
Let's have a little talk, and tell me how you like the SCOTIA?"
"What do you mean by the SCOTIA?" put in John Mangles at last.
"By the SCOTIA? Why, the ship we're on, of course--a good ship
that has been commended to me, not only for its physical qualities,
but also for the moral qualities of its commander, the brave
Captain Burton. You will be some relation of the famous
African traveler of that name. A daring man he was, sir.
I offer you my congratulations."
"Sir," interrupted John. "I am not only no relation of Burton
the great traveler, but I am not even Captain Burton."
V. IV Verne
"Ah, is that so? It is Mr. Burdness, the chief officer,
that I am talking to at present."
"Mr. Burdness!" repeated John Mangles, beginning to
suspect how the matter stood. Only he asked himself
whether the man was mad, or some heedless rattle pate?
He was beginning to explain the case in a categorical manner,
when Lord Glenarvan and his party came up on the poop.
The stranger caught sight of them directly, and exclaimed:
"Ah! the passengers, the passengers! I hope you are going to introduce
me to them, Mr. Burdness!"
But he could not wait for any one's intervention, and going up to them
with perfect ease and grace, said, bowing to Miss Grant, "Madame;" then
to Lady Helena, with another bow, "Miss;" and to Lord Glenarvan, "Sir."
Here John Mangles interrupted him, and said, "Lord Glenarvan."
"My Lord," continued the unknown, "I beg pardon for presenting myself
to you, but at sea it is well to relax the strict rules of etiquette
a little. I hope we shall soon become acquainted with each other,
and that the company of these ladies will make our voyage in the SCOTIA
appear as short as agreeable."
Lady Helena and Miss Grant were too astonished to be able to utter
a single word. The presence of this intruder on the poop of the DUNCAN
was perfectly inexplicable.
Lord Glenarvan was more collected, and said, "Sir, to whom have I
the honor of speaking?"
"To Jacques Eliacin Francois Marie Paganel, Secretary of the
Geographical Society of Paris, Corresponding Member of the Societies
of Berlin, Bombay, Darmstadt, Leipsic, London, St. Petersburg, Vienna,
and New York; Honorary Member of the Royal Geographical and
Ethnographical Institute of the East Indies; who, after having
spent twenty years of his life in geographical work in the study,
wishes to see active service, and is on his way to India to gain
for the science what information he can by following up the footsteps
of great travelers."
CHAPTER VII JACQUES PAGANEL IS UNDECEIVED
THE Secretary of the Geographical Society was evidently an
amiable personage, for all this was said in a most charming manner.
Lord Glenarvan knew quite well who he was now, for he had
often heard Paganel spoken of, and was aware of his merits.
His geographical works, his papers on modern discoveries, inserted in
the reports of the Society, and his world-wide correspondence,
gave him a most distinguished place among the LITERATI of France.
Lord Glenarvan could not but welcome such a guest,
and shook hands cordially.
"And now that our introductions are over," he added, "you will allow me,
Monsieur Paganel, to ask you a question?"
"Twenty, my Lord, " replied Paganel; "it will always be a pleasure
to converse with you."
"Was it last evening that you came on board this vessel?"
"Yes, my Lord, about 8 o'clock. I jumped into a cab at the
Caledonian Railway, and from the cab into the SCOTIA, where I
had booked my cabin before I left Paris. It was a dark night,
and I saw no one on board, so I found cabin No. 6, and went
to my berth immediately, for I had heard that the best way
to prevent sea-sickness is to go to bed as soon as you start,
and not to stir for the first few days; and, moreover, I had
been traveling for thirty hours. So I tucked myself in,
and slept conscientiously, I assure you, for thirty-six hours."
Paganel's listeners understood the whole mystery, now, of his
presence on the DUNCAN. The French traveler had mistaken his vessel,
and gone on board while the crew were attending the service
at St. Mungo's. All was explained. But what would the learned
geographer say, when he heard the name and destination of the ship,
in which he had taken passage?
"Then it is Calcutta, M. Paganel, that you have chosen as your point
of departure on your travels?"
"Yes, my Lord, to see India has been a cherished purpose with me
all my life. It will be the realization of my fondest dreams,
to find myself in the country of elephants and Thugs."
"Then it would be by no means a matter of indifference to you,
to visit another country instead."
"No, my Lord; indeed it would be very disagreeable, for I have letters
from Lord Somerset, the Governor-General, and also a commission
to execute for the Geographical Society."
"Ah, you have a commission."
"Yes, I have to attempt a curious and important journey,
the plan of which has been drawn up by my learned friend
and colleague, M. Vivien de Saint Martin. I am to pursue
the track of the Schlaginweit Brothers; and Colonels Waugh
and Webb, and Hodgson; and Huc and Gabet, the missionaries;
and Moorecroft and M. Jules Remy, and so many celebrated travelers.
I mean to try and succeed where Krick, the missionary
so unfortunately failed in 1846; in a word, I want to follow
the course of the river Yarou-Dzangbo-Tchou, which waters Thibet
for a distance of 1500 kilometres, flowing along the northern
base of the Himalayas, and to find out at last whether this
river does not join itself to the Brahmapoutre in the northeast
of As-sam. The gold medal, my Lord, is promised to the traveler
who will succeed in ascertaining a fact which is one of the greatest
DESIDERATA to the geography of India."
Paganel was magnificent. He spoke with superb animation, soaring away
on the wings of imagination. It would have been as impossible to stop
him as to stop the Rhine at the Falls of Schaffhausen.
"Monsieur Jacques Paganel," said Lord Glenarvan, after a
brief pause, "that would certainly be a grand achievement,
and you would confer a great boon on science, but I should not
like to allow you to be laboring under a mistake any longer,
and I must tell you, therefore, that for the present at least,
you must give up the pleasure of a visit to India."
"Give it up. And why?"
"Because you are turning your back on the Indian peninsula."
"What! Captain Burton."
"I am not Captain Burton," said John Mangles.
"But the SCOTIA."
"This vessel is not the SCOTIA."
It would be impossible to depict the astonishment of Paganel. He stared
first at one and then at another in the utmost bewilderment.
Lord Glenarvan was perfectly grave, and Lady Helena and Mary showed their
sympathy for his vexation by their looks. As for John Mangles, he could
not suppress a smile; but the Major appeared as unconcerned as usual.
At last the poor fellow shrugged his shoulders, pushed down his spectacles
over his nose and said:
"You are joking."
But just at that very moment his eye fell on the wheel of the ship,
and he saw the two words on it:
Duncan.
Glasgow.
"The DUNCAN! the DUNCAN!" he exclaimed, with a cry of despair,
and forthwith rushed down the stairs, and away to his cabin.
As soon as the unfortunate SAVANT had disappeared, every one,
except the Major, broke out into such peals of laughter that
the sound reached the ears of the sailors in the forecastle.
To mistake a railway or to take the train to Edinburgh when you
want to go to Dumbarton might happen; but to mistake a ship
and be sailing for Chili when you meant to go to India--
that is a blunder indeed!
"However," said Lord Glenarvan, "I am not much astonished
at it in Paganel. He is quite famous for such misadventures.
One day he published a celebrated map of America, and put Japan in it!
But for all that, he is distinguished for his learning,
and he is one of the best geographers in France."
"But what shall we do with the poor gentleman?" said Lady Helena;
"we can't take him with us to Patagonia."
"Why not?" replied McNabbs, gravely. "We are not responsible
for his heedless mistakes. Suppose he were in a railway train,
would they stop it for him?"
"No, but he would get out at the first station."
"Well, that is just what he can do here, too, if he likes;
he can disembark at the first place where we touch."
While they were talking, Paganel came up again on the poop,
looking very woebegone and crestfallen. He had been making
inquiry about his luggage, to assure himself that it was all
on board, and kept repeating incessantly the unlucky words,
"The DUNCAN! the DUNCAN!"
He could find no others in his vocabulary. He paced restlessly
up and down; sometimes stopping to examine the sails,
or gaze inquiringly over the wide ocean, at the far horizon.
At length he accosted Lord Glenarvan once more, and said--
"And this DUNCAN--where is she going?"
"To America, Monsieur Paganel," was the reply.
"And to what particular part?"
"To Concepcion."
"To Chili! to Chili!" cried the unfortunate geographer.
"And my mission to India. But what will M. de Quatre-fages,
the President of the Central Commission, say?
And M. d' Avezac? And M. Cortanbert? And M. Vivien de
Saint Martin? How shall I show my face at the SEANCES
of the Society?"
"Come, Monsieur Paganel, don't despair. It can all be managed;
you will only have to put up with a little delay, which is relatively
of not much importance. The Yarou-Dzangbo-Tchou will wait for you
still in the mountains of Thibet. We shall soon put in at Madeira,
and you will get a ship there to take you back to Europe."
"Thanks, my Lord. I suppose I must resign myself to it;
but people will say it is a most extraordinary adventure,
and it is only to me such things happen. And then, too, there is
a cabin taken for me on board the SCOTIA."
"Oh, as to the SCOTIA, you'll have to give that up meantime."
"But the DUNCAN is a pleasure yacht, is it not?" began Paganel again,
after a fresh examination of the vessel.
"Yes, sir," said John Mangles, "and belongs to Lord Glenarvan."
"Who begs you will draw freely on his hospitality," said Lord Glenarvan.
"A thousand thanks, my Lord! I deeply feel your courtesy,
but allow me to make one observation: India is a fine country,
and can offer many a surprising marvel to travelers.
These ladies, I suppose, have never seen it. Well now,
the man at the helm has only to give a turn at the wheel,
and the DUNCAN will sail as easily to Calcutta as to Concepcion;
and since it is only a pleasure trip that you are--"
His proposal was met by such grave, disapproving shakes of the head,
that he stopped short before the sentence was completed;
and Lady Helena said:
"Monsieur Paganel, if we were only on a pleasure trip, I should reply,
'Let us all go to India together,' and I am sure Lord Glenarvan would
not object; but the DUNCAN is going to bring back shipwrecked mariners
who were cast away on the shores of Patagonia, and we could not alter
such a destination."
The Frenchman was soon put in possession of all the circumstances
of the case. He was no unmoved auditor, and when he heard
of Lady Helena's generous proposition, he could not help saying,
"Madame, permit me to express my admiration of your conduct throughout--
my unreserved admiration. Let your yacht continue her course.
I should reproach myself were I to cause a single day's delay."
"Will you join us in our search, then?" asked Lady Helena.
"It is impossible, madame. I must fulfill my mission.
I shall disembark at the first place you touch at,
wherever it may be."
"That will be Madeira," said John Mangles.
"Madeira be it then. I shall only be 180 leagues from Lisbon,
and I shall wait there for some means of transport."
"Very well, Monsieur Paganel, it shall be as you wish; and, for my
own part, I am very glad to be able to offer you, meantime,
a few days' hospitality. I only hope you will not find our
company too dull."
"Oh, my Lord," exclaimed Paganel, "I am but too happy
to have made a mistake which has turned out so agreeably.
Still, it is a very ridiculous plight for a man to be in,
to find himself sailing to America when he set out to go
to the East Indies!"
But in spite of this melancholy reflection, the Frenchman submitted
gracefully to the compulsory delay. He made himself amiable and merry,
and even diverting, and enchanted the ladies with his good humor.
Before the end of the day he was friends with everybody.
At his request, the famous document was brought out.
He studied it carefully and minutely for a long time, and finally
declared his opinion that no other interpretation of it was possible.
Mary Grant and her brother inspired him with the most lively interest.
He gave them great hope; indeed, the young girl could not help
smiling at his sanguine prediction of success, and this odd way
of foreseeing future events. But for his mission he would have made
one of the search party for Captain Grant, undoubtedly.
As for Lady Helena, when he heard that she was a daughter of
William Tuffnell, there was a perfect explosion of admiring epithets.
He had known her father, and what letters had passed between them
when William Tuffnell was a corresponding member of the Society! It was
he himself that had introduced him and M. Malte Brun. What a _rencontre_
this was, and what a pleasure to travel with the daughter of Tuffnell.
He wound up by asking permission to kiss her, which Lady Helena granted,
though it was, perhaps, a little improper.
CHAPTER VIII THE GEOGRAPHER'S RESOLUTION
MEANTIME the yacht, favored by the currents from the north
of Africa, was making rapid progress toward the equator.
On the 30th of August they sighted the Madeira group of islands,
and Glenarvan, true to his promise, offered to put in there,
and land his new guest.
But Paganel said:
"My dear Lord, I won't stand on ceremony with you. Tell me,
did you intend to stop at Madeira before I came on board?"
"No," replied Glenarvan.
"Well, then, allow me to profit by my unlucky mistake. Madeira is
an island too well known to be of much interest now to a geographer.
Every thing about this group has been said and written already.
Besides, it is completely going down as far as wine growing is concerned.
Just imagine no vines to speak of being in Madeira! In 1813,
22,000 pipes of wine were made there, and in 1845 the number fell
to 2,669. It is a grievous spectacle! If it is all the same to you,
we might go on to the Canary Isles instead."
"Certainly. It will not the least interfere with our route."
"I know it will not, my dear Lord. In the Canary Islands, you see,
there are three groups to study, besides the Peak of Teneriffe,
which I always wished to visit. This is an opportunity,
and I should like to avail myself of it, and make the ascent
of the famous mountain while I am waiting for a ship to take
me back to Europe."
"As you please, my dear Paganel," said Lord Glenarvan, though he could
not help smiling; and no wonder, for these islands are scarcely 250
miles from Madeira, a trifling distance for such a quick sailer
as the DUNCAN.
Next day, about 2 P. M., John Mangles and Paganel were walking on
the poop. The Frenchman was assailing his companion with all sorts
of questions about Chili, when all at once the captain interrupted him,
and pointing toward the southern horizon, said:
"Monsieur Paganel?"
"Yes, my dear Captain."
"Be so good as to look in this direction. Don't you see anything?"
"Nothing."
"You're not looking in the right place. It is not on the horizon,
but above it in the clouds."
"In the clouds? I might well not see."
"There, there, by the upper end of the bowsprit."
"I see nothing."
"Then you don't want to see. Anyway, though we are forty miles off,
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