The Mysterious Island
by
Jules Verne
Part 1 out of 12
This etext was first prepared by Anthony Matonak
This updated edition was produced by David Widger
Extensive proofing was done by Trevor Carlson
The Mysterious Island
by Jules Verne
1874
PART 1--DROPPED FROM THE CLOUDS
Chapter 1
"Are we rising again?" "No. On the contrary." "Are we descending?" "Worse
than that, captain! we are falling!" "For Heaven's sake heave out the
ballast!" "There! the last sack is empty!" "Does the balloon rise?" "No!"
"I hear a noise like the dashing of waves. The sea is below the car! It
cannot be more than 500 feet from us!" "Overboard with every weight!
. . . everything!"
Such were the loud and startling words which resounded through the air,
above the vast watery desert of the Pacific, about four o'clock in the
evening of the 23rd of March, 1865.
Few can possibly have forgotten the terrible storm from the northeast, in
the middle of the equinox of that year. The tempest raged without
intermission from the 18th to the 26th of March. Its ravages were terrible
in America, Europe, and Asia, covering a distance of eighteen hundred
miles, and extending obliquely to the equator from the thirty-fifth north
parallel to the fortieth south parallel. Towns were overthrown, forests
uprooted, coasts devastated by the mountains of water which were
precipitated on them, vessels cast on the shore, which the published
accounts numbered by hundreds, whole districts leveled by waterspouts which
destroyed everything they passed over, several thousand people crushed on
land or drowned at sea; such were the traces of its fury, left by this
devastating tempest. It surpassed in disasters those which so frightfully
ravaged Havana and Guadalupe, one on the 25th of October, 1810, the other
on the 26th of July, 1825.
But while so many catastrophes were taking place on land and at sea, a
drama not less exciting was being enacted in the agitated air.
In fact, a balloon, as a ball might be carried on the summit of a
waterspout, had been taken into the circling movement of a column of air
and had traversed space at the rate of ninety miles an hour, turning round
and round as if seized by some aerial maelstrom.
Beneath the lower point of the balloon swung a car, containing five
passengers, scarcely visible in the midst of the thick vapor mingled with
spray which hung over the surface of the ocean.
Whence, it may be asked, had come that plaything of the tempest? From
what part of the world did it rise? It surely could not have started during
the storm. But the storm had raged five days already, and the first
symptoms were manifested on the 18th. It cannot be doubted that the balloon
came from a great distance, for it could not have traveled less than two
thousand miles in twenty-four hours.
At any rate the passengers, destitute of all marks for their guidance,
could not have possessed the means of reckoning the route traversed since
their departure. It was a remarkable fact that, although in the very midst
of the furious tempest, they did not suffer from it. They were thrown about
and whirled round and round without feeling the rotation in the slightest
degree, or being sensible that they were removed from a horizontal
position.
Their eyes could not pierce through the thick mist which had gathered
beneath the car. Dark vapor was all around them. Such was the density of
the atmosphere that they could not be certain whether it was day or night.
No reflection of light, no sound from inhabited land, no roaring of the
ocean could have reached them, through the obscurity, while suspended in
those elevated zones. Their rapid descent alone had informed them of the
dangers which they ran from the waves. However, the balloon, lightened of
heavy articles, such as ammunition, arms, and provisions, had risen into
the higher layers of the atmosphere, to a height of 4,500 feet. The
voyagers, after having discovered that the sea extended beneath them, and
thinking the dangers above less dreadful than those below, did not hesitate
to throw overboard even their most useful articles, while they endeavored
to lose no more of that fluid, the life of their enterprise, which
sustained them above the abyss.
The night passed in the midst of alarms which would have been death to
less energetic souls. Again the day appeared and with it the tempest began
to moderate. From the beginning of that day, the 24th of March, it showed
symptoms of abating. At dawn, some of the lighter clouds had risen into the
more lofty regions of the air. In a few hours the wind had changed from a
hurricane to a fresh breeze, that is to say, the rate of the transit of the
atmospheric layers was diminished by half. It was still what sailors call
"a close-reefed topsail breeze," but the commotion in the elements had none
the less considerably diminished.
Towards eleven o'clock, the lower region of the air was sensibly clearer.
The atmosphere threw off that chilly dampness which is felt after the
passage of a great meteor. The storm did not seem to have gone farther to
the west. It appeared to have exhausted itself. Could it have passed away
in electric sheets, as is sometimes the case with regard to the typhoons of
the Indian Ocean?
But at the same time, it was also evident that the balloon was again
slowly descending with a regular movement. It appeared as if it were,
little by little, collapsing, and that its case was lengthening and
extending, passing from a spherical to an oval form. Towards midday the
balloon was hovering above the sea at a height of only 2,000 feet. It
contained 50,000 cubic feet of gas, and, thanks to its capacity, it could
maintain itself a long time in the air, although it should reach a great
altitude or might be thrown into a horizontal position.
Perceiving their danger, the passengers cast away the last articles which
still weighed down the car, the few provisions they had kept, everything,
even to their pocket-knives, and one of them, having hoisted himself on to
the circles which united the cords of the net, tried to secure more firmly
the lower point of the balloon.
It was, however, evident to the voyagers that the gas was failing, and
that the balloon could no longer be sustained in the higher regions. They
must infallibly perish!
There was not a continent, nor even an island, visible beneath them. The
watery expanse did not present a single speck of land, not a solid surface
upon which their anchor could hold.
It was the open sea, whose waves were still dashing with tremendous
violence! It was the ocean, without any visible limits, even for those
whose gaze, from their commanding position, extended over a radius of forty
miles. The vast liquid plain, lashed without mercy by the storm, appeared
as if covered with herds of furious chargers, whose white and disheveled
crests were streaming in the wind. No land was in sight, not a solitary
ship could be seen. It was necessary at any cost to arrest their downward
course, and to prevent the balloon from being engulfed in the waves. The
voyagers directed all their energies to this urgent work. But,
notwithstanding their efforts, the balloon still fell, and at the same time
shifted with the greatest rapidity, following the direction of the wind,
that is to say, from the northeast to the southwest.
Frightful indeed was the situation of these unfortunate men. They were
evidently no longer masters of the machine. All their attempts were
useless. The case of the balloon collapsed more and more. The gas escaped
without any possibility of retaining it. Their descent was visibly
accelerated, and soon after midday the car hung within 600 feet of the
ocean.
It was impossible to prevent the escape of gas, which rushed through a
large rent in the silk. By lightening the car of all the articles which it
contained, the passengers had been able to prolong their suspension in the
air for a few hours. But the inevitable catastrophe could only be retarded,
and if land did not appear before night, voyagers, car, and balloon must to
a certainty vanish beneath the waves.
They now resorted to the only remaining expedient. They were truly
dauntless men, who knew how to look death in the face. Not a single murmur
escaped from their lips. They were determined to struggle to the last
minute, to do anything to retard their fall. The car was only a sort of
willow basket, unable to float, and there was not the slightest possibility
of maintaining it on the surface of the sea.
Two more hours passed and the balloon was scarcely 400 feet above the
water.
At that moment a loud voice, the voice of a man whose heart was
inaccessible to fear, was heard. To this voice responded others not less
determined. "Is everything thrown out?" "No, here are still 2,000 dollars
in gold." A heavy bag immediately plunged into the sea. "Does the balloon
rise?" "A little, but it will not be long before it falls again." "What
still remains to be thrown out?" "Nothing." "Yes! the car!" "Let us catch
hold of the net, and into the sea with the car."
This was, in fact, the last and only mode of lightening the balloon. The
ropes which held the car were cut, and the balloon, after its fall, mounted
2,000 feet. The five voyagers had hoisted themselves into the net, and
clung to the meshes, gazing at the abyss.
The delicate sensibility of balloons is well known. It is sufficient to
throw out the lightest article to produce a difference in its vertical
position. The apparatus in the air is like a balance of mathematical
precision. It can be thus easily understood that when it is lightened of
any considerable weight its movement will be impetuous and sudden. So it
happened on this occasion. But after being suspended for an instant aloft,
the balloon began to redescend, the gas escaping by the rent which it was
impossible to repair.
The men had done all that men could do. No human efforts could save them
now.
They must trust to the mercy of Him who rules the elements.
At four o'clock the balloon was only 500 feet above the surface of the
water.
A loud barking was heard. A dog accompanied the voyagers, and was held
pressed close to his master in the meshes of the net.
"Top has seen something," cried one of the men. Then immediately a loud
voice shouted,--
"Land! land!" The balloon, which the wind still drove towards the
southwest, had since daybreak gone a considerable distance, which might be
reckoned by hundreds of miles, and a tolerably high land had, in fact,
appeared in that direction. But this land was still thirty miles off. It
would not take less than an hour to get to it, and then there was the
chance of falling to leeward.
An hour! Might not the balloon before that be emptied of all the fluid it
yet retained?
Such was the terrible question! The voyagers could distinctly see that
solid spot which they must reach at any cost. They were ignorant of what it
was, whether an island or a continent, for they did not know to what part
of the world the hurricane had driven them. But they must reach this land,
whether inhabited or desolate, whether hospitable or not.
It was evident that the balloon could no longer support itself! Several
times already had the crests of the enormous billows licked the bottom of
the net, making it still heavier, and the balloon only half rose, like a
bird with a wounded wing. Half an hour later the land was not more than a
mile off, but the balloon, exhausted, flabby, hanging in great folds, had
gas in its upper part alone. The voyagers, clinging to the net, were still
too heavy for it, and soon, half plunged into the sea, they were beaten by
the furious waves. The balloon-case bulged out again, and the wind, taking
it, drove it along like a vessel. Might it not possibly thus reach the
land?
But, when only two fathoms off, terrible cries resounded from four pairs
of lungs at once. The balloon, which had appeared as if it would never
again rise, suddenly made an unexpected bound, after having been struck by
a tremendous sea. As if it had been at that instant relieved of a new part
of its weight, it mounted to a height of 1,500 feet, and here it met a
current of wind, which instead of taking it directly to the coast, carried
it in a nearly parallel direction.
At last, two minutes later, it reproached obliquely, and finally fell
on a sandy beach, out of the reach of the waves.
The voyagers, aiding each other, managed to disengage themselves from the
meshes of the net. The balloon, relieved of their weight, was taken by the
wind, and like a wounded bird which revives for an instant, disappeared
into space.
But the car had contained five passengers, with a dog, and the balloon
only left four on the shore.
The missing person had evidently been swept off by the sea, which had
just struck the net, and it was owing to this circumstance that the
lightened balloon rose the last time, and then soon after reached the land.
Scarcely had the four castaways set foot on firm ground, than they all,
thinking of the absent one, simultaneously exclaimed, "Perhaps he will try
to swim to land! Let us save him! let us save him!"
Chapter 2
Those whom the hurricane had just thrown on this coast were neither
aeronauts by profession nor amateurs. They were prisoners of war whose
boldness had induced them to escape in this extraordinary manner.
A hundred times they had almost perished! A hundred times had they almost
fallen from their torn balloon into the depths of the ocean. But Heaven had
reserved them for a strange destiny, and after having, on the 20th of
March, escaped from Richmond, besieged by the troops of General Ulysses
Grant, they found themselves seven thousand miles from the capital of
Virginia, which was the principal stronghold of the South, during the
terrible War of Secession. Their aerial voyage had lasted five days.
The curious circumstances which led to the escape of the prisoners were
as follows:
That same year, in the month of February, 1865, in one of the coups de
main by which General Grant attempted, though in vain, to possess himself
of Richmond, several of his officers fell into the power of the enemy and
were detained in the town. One of the most distinguished was Captain Cyrus
Harding. He was a native of Massachusetts, a first-class engineer, to whom
the government had confided, during the war, the direction of the railways,
which were so important at that time. A true Northerner, thin, bony, lean,
about forty-five years of age; his close-cut hair and his beard, of which
he only kept a thick mustache, were already getting gray. He had one-of
those finely-developed heads which appear made to be struck on a medal,
piercing eyes, a serious mouth, the physiognomy of a clever man of the
military school. He was one of those engineers who began by handling the
hammer and pickaxe, like generals who first act as common soldiers. Besides
mental power, he also possessed great manual dexterity. His muscles
exhibited remarkable proofs of tenacity. A man of action as well as a man
of thought, all he did was without effort to one of his vigorous and
sanguine temperament. Learned, clear-headed, and practical, he fulfilled in
all emergencies those three conditions which united ought to insure human
success--activity of mind and body, impetuous wishes, and powerful will. He
might have taken for his motto that of William of Orange in the 17th
century: "I can undertake and persevere even without hope of success."
Cyrus Harding was courage personified. He had been in all the battles of
that war. After having begun as a volunteer at Illinois, under Ulysses
Grant, he fought at Paducah, Belmont, Pittsburg Landing, at the siege of
Corinth, Port Gibson, Black River, Chattanooga, the Wilderness, on the
Potomac, everywhere and valiantly, a soldier worthy of the general who
said, "I never count my dead!" And hundreds of times Captain Harding had
almost been among those who were not counted by the terrible Grant; but in
these combats where he never spared himself, fortune favored him till the
moment when he was wounded and taken prisoner on the field of battle near
Richmond. At the same time and on the same day another important personage
fell into the hands of the Southerners. This was no other than Gideon
Spilen, a reporter for the New York Herald, who had been ordered to follow
the changes of the war in the midst of the Northern armies.
Gideon Spilett was one of that race of indomitable English or American
chroniclers, like Stanley and others, who stop at nothing to obtain exact
information, and transmit it to their journal in the shortest possible
time. The newspapers of the Union, such as the New York Herald, are genuine
powers, and their reporters are men to be reckoned with. Gideon Spilett
ranked among the first of those reporters: a man of great merit, energetic,
prompt and ready for anything, full of ideas, having traveled over the
whole world, soldier and artist, enthusiastic in council, resolute in
action, caring neither for trouble, fatigue, nor danger, when in pursuit of
information, for himself first, and then for his journal, a perfect
treasury of knowledge on all sorts of curious subjects, of the unpublished,
of the unknown, and of the impossible. He was one of those intrepid
observers who write under fire, "reporting" among bullets, and to whom
every danger is welcome.
He also had been in all the battles, in the first rank, revolver in one
hand, note-book in the other; grape-shot never made his pencil tremble. He
did not fatigue the wires with incessant telegrams, like those who speak
when they have nothing to say, but each of his notes, short, decisive, and
clear, threw light on some important point. Besides, he was not wanting in
humor. It was he who, after the affair of the Black River, determined at
any cost to keep his place at the wicket of the telegraph office, and after
having announced to his journal the result of the battle, telegraphed for
two hours the first chapters of the Bible. It cost the New York Herald two
thousand dollars, but the New York Herald published the first intelligence.
Gideon Spilett was tall. He was rather more than forty years of age.
Light whiskers bordering on red surrounded his face. His eye was steady,
lively, rapid in its changes. It was the eye of a man accustomed to take in
at a glance all the details of a scene. Well built, he was inured to all
climates, like a bar of steel hardened in cold water.
For ten years Gideon Spilett had been the reporter of the New York
Herald, which he enriched by his letters and drawings, for he was as
skilful in the use of the pencil as of the pen. When he was captured, he
was in the act of making a description and sketch of the battle. The last
words in his note-book were these: "A Southern rifleman has just taken aim
at me, but--" The Southerner notwithstanding missed Gideon Spilett, who,
with his usual fortune, came out of this affair without a scratch.
Cyrus Harding and Gideon Spilett, who did not know each other except by
reputation, had both been carried to Richmond. The engineer's wounds
rapidly healed, and it was during his convalescence that he made
acquaintance with the reporter. The two men then learned to appreciate each
other. Soon their common aim had but one object, that of escaping,
rejoining Grant's army, and fighting together in the ranks of the Federals.
The two Americans had from the first determined to seize every chance;
but although they were allowed to wander at liberty in the town, Richmond
was so strictly guarded, that escape appeared impossible. In the meanwhile
Captain Harding was rejoined by a servant who was devoted to him in life
and in death. This intrepid fellow was a Negro born on the engineer's
estate, of a slave father and mother, but to whom Cyrus, who was an
Abolitionist from conviction and heart, had long since given his freedom.
The once slave, though free, would not leave his master. He would have died
for him. He was a man of about thirty, vigorous, active, clever,
intelligent, gentle, and calm, sometimes naive, always merry, obliging, and
honest. His name was Nebuchadnezzar, but he only answered to the familiar
abbreviation of Neb.
When Neb heard that his master had been made prisoner, he left
Massachusetts without hesitating an instant, arrived before Richmond, and
by dint of stratagem and shrewdness, after having risked his life twenty
times over, managed to penetrate into the besieged town. The pleasure of
Harding on seeing his servant, and the joy of Neb at finding his master,
can scarcely be described.
But though Neb had been able to make his way into Richmond, it was quite
another thing to get out again, for the Northern prisoners were very
strictly watched. Some extraordinary opportunity was needed to make the
attempt with any chance of success, and this opportunity not only did not
present itself, but was very difficult to find.
Meanwhile Grant continued his energetic operations. The victory of
Petersburg had been very dearly bought. His forces, united to those of
Butler, had as yet been unsuccessful before Richmond, and nothing gave the
prisoners any hope of a speedy deliverance.
The reporter, to whom his tedious captivity did not offer a single
incident worthy of note, could stand it no longer. His usually active mind
was occupied with one sole thought--how he might get out of Richmond at any
cost. Several times had he even made the attempt, but was stopped by some
insurmountable obstacle. However, the siege continued; and if the prisoners
were anxious to escape and join Grant's army, certain of the besieged were
no less anxious to join the Southern forces. Among them was one Jonathan
Forster, a determined Southerner. The truth was, that if the prisoners of
the Secessionists could not leave the town, neither could the Secessionists
themselves while the Northern army invested it. The Governor of Richmond
for a long time had been unable to communicate with General Lee, and he
very much wished to make known to him the situation of the town, so as to
hasten the march of the army to their relief. Thus Jonathan Forster
accordingly conceived the idea of rising in a balloon, so as to pass over
the besieging lines, and in that way reach the Secessionist camp.
The Governor authorized the attempt. A balloon was manufactured and
placed at the disposal of Forster, who was to be accompanied by five other
persons. They were furnished with arms in case they might have to defend
themselves when they alighted, and provisions in the event of their aerial
voyage being prolonged.
The departure of the balloon was fixed for the 18th of March. It should
be effected during the night, with a northwest wind of moderate force, and
the aeronauts calculated that they would reach General Lee's camp in a few
hours.
But this northwest wind was not a simple breeze. From the 18th it was
evident that it was changing to a hurricane. The tempest soon became such
that Forster's departure was deferred, for it was impossible to risk the
balloon and those whom it carried in the midst of the furious elements.
The balloon, inflated on the great square of Richmond, was ready to
depart on the first abatement of the wind, and, as may be supposed, the
impatience among the besieged to see the storm moderate was very great.
The 18th, the 19th of March passed without any alteration in the weather.
There was even great difficulty in keeping the balloon fastened to the
ground, as the squalls dashed it furiously about.
The night of the 19th passed, but the next morning the storm blew with
redoubled force. The departure of the balloon was impossible.
On that day the engineer, Cyrus Harding, was accosted in one of the
streets of Richmond by a person whom he did not in the least know. This was
a sailor named Pencroft, a man of about thirty-five or forty years of age,
strongly built, very sunburnt, and possessed of a pair of bright sparkling
eyes and a remarkably good physiognomy. Pencroft was an American from the
North, who had sailed all the ocean over, and who had gone through every
possible and almost impossible adventure that a being with two feet and no
wings would encounter. It is needless to say that he was a bold, dashing
fellow, ready to dare anything and was astonished at nothing. Pencroft at
the beginning of the year had gone to Richmond on business, with a young
boy of fifteen from New Jersey, son of a former captain, an orphan, whom he
loved as if he had been his own child. Not having been able to leave the
town before the first operations of the siege, he found himself shut up, to
his great disgust; but, not accustomed to succumb to difficulties, he
resolved to escape by some means or other. He knew the engineer-officer by
reputation; he knew with what impatience that determined man chafed under
his restraint. On this day he did not, therefore, hesitate to accost him,
saying, without circumlocution, "Have you had enough of Richmond, captain?"
The engineer looked fixedly at the man who spoke, and who added, in a low
voice,--
"Captain Harding, will you try to escape?"
"When?" asked the engineer quickly, and it was evident that this question
was uttered without consideration, for he had not yet examined the stranger
who addressed him. But after having with a penetrating eye observed the
open face of the sailor, he was convinced that he had before him an honest
man.
"Who are you?" he asked briefly.
Pencroft made himself known.
"Well," replied Harding, "and in what way do you propose to escape?"
"By that lazy balloon which is left there doing nothing, and which looks
to me as if it was waiting on purpose for us--"
There was no necessity for the sailor to finish his sentence. The
engineer understood him at once. He seized Pencroft by the arm, and dragged
him to his house. There the sailor developed his project, which was indeed
extremely simple. They risked nothing but their lives in its execution. The
hurricane was in all its violence, it is true, but so clever and daring an
engineer as Cyrus Harding knew perfectly well how to manage a balloon. Had
he himself been as well acquainted with the art of sailing in the air as he
was with the navigation of a ship, Pencroft would not have hesitated to set
out, of course taking his young friend Herbert with him; for, accustomed to
brave the fiercest tempests of the ocean, he was not to be hindered on
account of the hurricane.
Captain Harding had listened to the sailor without saying a word, but his
eyes shone with satisfaction. Here was the long-sought-for opportunity--he
was not a man to let it pass. The plan was feasible, though, it must be
confessed, dangerous in the extreme. In the night, in spite of their
guards, they might approach the balloon, slip into the car, and then cut
the cords which held it. There was no doubt that they might be killed, but
on the other hand they might succeed, and without this storm!--Without
this storm the balloon would have started already and the looked-for
opportunity would not have then presented itself.
"I am not alone!" said Harding at last.
"How many people do you wish to bring with you?" asked the sailor.
"Two; my friend Spilett, and my servant Neb."
"That will be three," replied Pencroft; "and with Herbert and me five.
But the balloon will hold six--"
"That will be enough, we will go," answered Harding in a firm voice.
This "we" included Spilett, for the reporter, as his friend well knew,
was not a man to draw back, and when the project was communicated to him he
approved of it unreservedly. What astonished him was, that so simple an
idea had not occurred to him before. As to Neb, he followed his master
wherever his master wished to go.
"This evening, then," said Pencroft, "we will all meet out there."
"This evening, at ten o'clock," replied Captain Harding; "and Heaven
grant that the storm does not abate before our departure."
Pencroft took leave of the two friends, and returned to his lodging,
where young Herbert Brown had remained. The courageous boy knew of the
sailor's plan, and it was not without anxiety that he awaited the result of
the proposal being made to the engineer. Thus five determined persons were
about to abandon themselves to the mercy of the tempestuous elements!
No! the storm did not abate, and neither Jonathan Forster nor his
companions dreamed of confronting it in that frail car.
It would be a terrible journey. The engineer only feared one thing; it
was that the balloon, held to the ground and dashed about by the wind,
would be torn into shreds. For several hours he roamed round the nearly-
deserted square, surveying the apparatus. Pencroft did the same on his
side, his hands in his pockets, yawning now and then like a man who did not
know how to kill the time, but really dreading, like his friend, either the
escape or destruction of the balloon. Evening arrived. The night was dark
in the extreme. Thick mists passed like clouds close to the ground. Rain
fell mingled with snow. it was very cold. A mist hung over Richmond. it
seemed as if the violent storm had produced a truce between the besiegers
and the besieged, and that the cannon were silenced by the louder
detonations of the storm. The streets of the town were deserted. It had not
even appeared necessary in that horrible weather to place a guard in the
square, in the midst of which plunged the balloon. Everything favored the
departure of the prisoners, but what might possibly be the termination of
the hazardous voyage they contemplated in the midst of the furious
elements?--
"Dirty weather!" exclaimed Pencroft, fixing his hat firmly on his head
with a blow of his fist; "but pshaw, we shall succeed all the same!"
At half-past nine, Harding and his companions glided from different
directions into the square, which the gas-lamps, extinguished by the wind,
had left in total obscurity. Even the enormous balloon, almost beaten to
the ground, could not be seen. Independently of the sacks of ballast, to
which the cords of the net were fastened, the car was held by a strong
cable passed through a ring in the pavement. The five prisoners met by the
car. They had not been perceived, and such was the darkness that they could
not even see each other.
Without speaking a word, Harding, Spilett, Neb, and Herbert took their
places in the car, while Pencroft by the engineer's order detached
successively the bags of ballast. It was the work of a few minutes only,
and the sailor rejoined his companions.
The balloon was then only held by the cable, and the engineer had nothing
to do but to give the word.
At that moment a dog sprang with a bound into the car. It was Top, a
favorite of the engineer. The faithful creature, having broken his chain,
had followed his master. He, however, fearing that its additional weight
might impede their ascent, wished to send away the animal.
"One more will make but little difference, poor beast!" exclaimed
Pencroft, heaving out two bags of sand, and as he spoke letting go the
cable; the balloon ascending in an oblique direction, disappeared, after
having dashed the car against two chimneys, which it threw down as it swept
by them.
Then, indeed, the full rage of the hurricane was exhibited to the
voyagers. During the night the engineer could not dream of descending, and
when day broke, even a glimpse of the earth below was intercepted by fog.
Five days had passed when a partial clearing allowed them to see the wide
extending ocean beneath their feet, now lashed into the maddest fury by the
gale.
Our readers will recollect what befell these five daring individuals who
set out on their hazardous expedition in the balloon on the 20th of March.
Five days afterwards four of them were thrown on a desert coast, seven
thousand miles from their country! But one of their number was missing, the
man who was to be their guide, their leading spirit, the engineer, Captain
Harding! The instant they had recovered their feet, they all hurried to the
beach in the hopes of rendering him assistance.
Chapter 3
The engineer, the meshes of the net having given way, had been carried off
by a wave. His dog also had disappeared. The faithful animal had
voluntarily leaped out to help his master. "Forward," cried the reporter;
and all four, Spilett, Herbert, Pencroft, and Neb, forgetting their
fatigue, began their search. Poor Neb shed bitter tears, giving way to
despair at the thought of having lost the only being he loved on earth.
Only two minutes had passed from the time when Cyrus Harding disappeared
to the moment when his companions set foot on the ground. They had hopes
therefore of arriving in time to save him. "Let us look for him! let us
look for him!" cried Neb.
"Yes, Neb," replied Gideon Spilett, "and we will find him too!"
"Living, I trust!"
"Still living!"
"Can he swim?" asked Pencroft.
"Yes," replied Neb, "and besides, Top is there."
The sailor, observing the heavy surf on the shore, shook his head.
The engineer had disappeared to the north of the shore, and nearly half a
mile from the place where the castaways had landed. The nearest point of
the beach he could reach was thus fully that distance off.
It was then nearly six o'clock. A thick fog made the night very dark. The
castaways proceeded toward the north of the land on which chance had thrown
them, an unknown region, the geographical situation of which they could not
even guess. They were walking upon a sandy soil, mingled with stones, which
appeared destitute of any sort of vegetation. The ground, very unequal and
rough, was in some places perfectly riddled with holes, making walking
extremely painful. From these holes escaped every minute great birds of
clumsy flight, which flew in all directions. Others, more active, rose in
flocks and passed in clouds over their heads. The sailor thought he
recognized gulls and cormorants, whose shrill cries rose above the roaring
of the sea.
From time to time the castaways stopped and shouted, then listened for
some response from the ocean, for they thought that if the engineer had
landed, and they had been near to the place, they would have heard the
barking of the dog Top, even should Harding himself have been unable to
give any sign of existence. They stopped to listen, but no sound arose
above the roaring of the waves and the dashing of the surf. The little band
then continued their march forward, searching into every hollow of the
shore.
After walking for twenty minutes, the four castaways were suddenly
brought to a standstill by the sight of foaming billows close to their
feet. The solid ground ended here. They found themselves at the extremity
of a sharp point on which the sea broke furiously.
"It is a promontory," said the sailor; "we must retrace our steps,
holding towards the right, and we shall thus gain the mainland."
"But if he is there," said Neb, pointing to the ocean, whose waves shone
of a snowy white in the darkness. "Well, let us call again," and all
uniting their voices, they gave a vigorous shout, but there came no reply.
They waited for a lull, then began again; still no reply.
The castaways accordingly returned, following the opposite side of the
promontory, over a soil equally sandy and rugged. However, Pencroft
observed that the shore was more equal, that the ground rose, and he
declared that it was joined by a long slope to a hill, whose massive front
he thought that he could see looming indistinctly through the mist. The
birds were less numerous on this part of the shore; the sea was also less
tumultuous, and they observed that the agitation of the waves was
diminished. The noise of the surf was scarcely heard. This side of the
promontory evidently formed a semicircular bay, which the sharp point
sheltered from the breakers of the open sea. But to follow this direction
was to go south, exactly opposite to that part of the coast where Harding
might have landed. After a walk of a mile and a half, the shore presented
no curve which would permit them to return to the north. This promontory,
of which they had turned the point, must be attached to the mainland. The
castaways, although their strength was nearly exhausted, still marched
courageously forward, hoping every moment to meet with a sudden angle which
would set them in the first direction. What was their disappointment, when,
after trudging nearly two miles, having reached an elevated point composed
of slippery rocks, they found themselves again stopped by the sea.
"We are on an islet," said Pencroft, "and we have surveyed it from one
extremity to the other."
The sailor was right; they had been thrown, not on a continent, not even
on an island, but on an islet which was not more than two miles in length,
with even a less breadth.
Was this barren spot the desolate refuge of sea-birds, strewn with stones
and destitute of vegetation, attached to a more important archipelago? It
was impossible to say. When the voyagers from their car saw the land
through the mist, they had not been able to reconnoiter it sufficiently.
However, Pencroft, accustomed with his sailor eyes to piece through the
gloom, was almost certain that he could clearly distinguish in the west
confused masses which indicated an elevated coast. But they could not in
the dark determine whether it was a single island, or connected with
others. They could not leave it either, as the sea surrounded them; they
must therefore put off till the next day their search for the engineer,
from whom, alas! not a single cry had reached them to show that he was
still in existence.
"The silence of our friend proves nothing," said the reporter. "Perhaps
he has fainted or is wounded, and unable to reply directly, so we will not
despair."
The reporter then proposed to light a fire on a point of the islet, which
would serve as a signal to the engineer. But they searched in vain for wood
or dry brambles; nothing but sand and stones were to be found. The grief of
Neb and his companions, who were all strongly attached to the intrepid
Harding, can be better pictured than described. It was too evident that
they were powerless to help him. They must wait with what patience they
could for daylight. Either the engineer had been able to save himself, and
had already found a refuge on some point of the coast, or he was lost for
ever! The long and painful hours passed by. The cold was intense. The
castaways suffered cruelly, but they scarcely perceived it. They did not
even think of taking a minute's rest. Forgetting everything but their
chief, hoping or wishing to hope on, they continued to walk up and down on
this sterile spot, always returning to its northern point, where they could
approach nearest to the scene of the catastrophe. They listened, they
called, and then uniting their voices, they endeavored to raise even a
louder shout than before, which would be transmitted to a great distance.
The wind had now fallen almost to a calm, and the noise of the sea began
also to subside. One of Neb's shouts even appeared to produce an echo.
Herbert directed Pencroft's attention to it, adding, "That proves that
there is a coast to the west, at no great distance." The sailor nodded;
besides, his eyes could not deceive him. If he had discovered land, however
indistinct it might appear, land was sure to be there. But that distant
echo was the only response produced by Neb's shouts, while a heavy gloom
hung over all the part east of the island.
Meanwhile, the sky was clearing little by little. Towards midnight the
stars shone out, and if the engineer had been there with his companions he
would have remarked that these stars did not belong to the Northern
Hemisphere. The Polar Star was not visible, the constellations were not
those which they had been accustomed to see in the United States; the
Southern Cross glittered brightly in the sky.
The night passed away. Towards five o'clock in the morning of the 25th of
March, the sky began to lighten; the horizon still remained dark, but with
daybreak a thick mist rose from the sea, so that the eye could scarcely
penetrate beyond twenty feet or so from where they stood. At length the fog
gradually unrolled itself in great heavily moving waves.
It was unfortunate, however, that the castaways could distinguish nothing
around them. While the gaze of the reporter and Neb were cast upon the
ocean, the sailor and Herbert looked eagerly for the coast in the west. But
not a speck of land was visible. "Never mind," said Pencroft, "though I do
not see the land, I feel it... it is there... there... as sure as the fact
that we are no longer at Richmond." But the fog was not long in rising. it
was only a fine-weather mist. A hot sun soon penetrated to the surface of
the island. About half-past six, three-quarters of an hour after sunrise,
the mist became more transparent. It grew thicker above, but cleared away
below. Soon the isle appeared as if it had descended from a cloud, then the
sea showed itself around them, spreading far away towards the east, but
bounded on the west by an abrupt and precipitous coast.
Yes! the land was there. Their safety was at least provisionally insured.
The islet and the coast were separated by a channel about half a mile in
breadth, through which rushed an extremely rapid current.
However, one of the castaways, following the impulse of his heart,
immediately threw himself into the current, without consulting his
companions, without saying a single word. It was Neb. He was in haste to be
on the other side, and to climb towards the north. It had been impossible
to hold him back. Pencroft called him in vain. The reporter prepared to
follow him, but Pencroft stopped him. "Do you want to cross the channel?"
he asked. "Yes," replied Spilett. "All right!" said the seaman; "wait a
bit; Neb is well able to carry help to his master. If we venture into the
channel, we risk being carried into the open sea by the current, which is
running very strong; but, if I'm not wrong, it is ebbing. See, the tide is
going down over the sand. Let us have patience, and at low water it is
possible we may find a fordable passage." "You are right," replied the
reporter, "we will not separate more than we can help."
During this time Neb was struggling vigorously against the current. He
was crossing in an oblique direction. His black shoulders could be seen
emerging at each stroke. He was carried down very quickly, but he also made
way towards the shore. It took more than half an hour to cross from the
islet to the land, and he reached the shore several hundred feet from the
place which was opposite to the point from which he had started.
Landing at the foot of a high wall of granite, he shook himself
vigorously; and then, setting off running, soon disappeared behind a rocky
point, which projected to nearly the height of the northern extremity of
the islet.
Neb's companions had watched his daring attempt with painful anxiety, and
when he was out of sight, they fixed their attention on the land where
their hope of safety lay, while eating some shell-fish with which the sand
was strewn. It was a wretched repast, but still it was better than nothing.
The opposite coast formed one vast bay, terminating on the south by a very
sharp point, which was destitute of all vegetation, and was of a very wild
aspect. This point abutted on the shore in a grotesque outline of high
granite rocks. Towards the north, on the contrary, the bay widened, and a
more rounded coast appeared, trending from the southwest to the northeast,
and terminating in a slender cape. The distance between these two
extremities, which made the bow of the bay, was about eight miles. Half a
mile from the shore rose the islet, which somewhat resembled the carcass
of a gigantic whale. Its extreme breadth was not more than a quarter of
a mile.
Opposite the islet, the beach consisted first of sand, covered with black
stones, which were now appearing little by little above the retreating
tide. The second level was separated by a perpendicular granite cliff,
terminated at the top by an unequal edge at a height of at least 300 feet.
It continued thus for a length of three miles, ending suddenly on the right
with a precipice which looked as if cut by the hand of man. On the left,
above the promontory, this irregular and jagged cliff descended by a long
slope of conglomerated rocks till it mingled with the ground of the
southern point. On the upper plateau of the coast not a tree appeared. It
was a flat tableland like that above Cape Town at the Cape of Good Hope,
but of reduced proportions; at least so it appeared seen from the islet.
However, verdure was not wanting to the right beyond the precipice. They
could easily distinguish a confused mass of great trees, which extended
beyond the limits of their view. This verdure relieved the eye, so long
wearied by the continued ranges of granite. Lastly, beyond and above the
plateau, in a northwesterly direction and at a distance of at least seven
miles, glittered a white summit which reflected the sun's rays. It was that
of a lofty mountain, capped with snow.
The question could not at present be decided whether this land formed an
island, or whether it belonged to a continent. But on beholding the
convulsed masses heaped up on the left, no geologist would have hesitated
to give them a volcanic origin, for they were unquestionably the work of
subterranean convulsions.
Gideon Spilett, Pencroft, and Herbert attentively examined this land, on
which they might perhaps have to live many long years; on which indeed they
might even die, should it be out of the usual track of vessels, as was
likely to be the case.
"Well," asked Herbert, "what do you say, Pencroft?"
"There is some good and some bad, as in everything," replied the sailor.
"We shall see. But now the ebb is evidently making. In three hours we will
attempt the passage, and once on the other side, we will try to get out of
this scrape, and I hope may find the captain." Pencroft was not wrong in
his anticipations. Three hours later at low tide, the greater part of the
sand forming the bed of the channel was uncovered. Between the islet and
the coast there only remained a narrow channel which would no doubt be easy
to cross.
About ten o'clock, Gideon Spilett and his companions stripped themselves
of their clothes, which they placed in bundles on their heads, and then
ventured into the water, which was not more than five feet deep. Herbert,
for whom it was too deep, swam like a fish, and got through capitally. All
three arrived without difficulty on the opposite shore. Quickly drying
themselves in the sun, they put on their clothes, which they had preserved
from contact with the water, and sat down to take counsel together what to
do next.
Chapter 4
All at once the reporter sprang up, and telling the sailor that he would
rejoin them at that same place, he climbed the cliff in the direction which
the Negro Neb had taken a few hours before. Anxiety hastened his steps, for
he longed to obtain news of his friend, and he soon disappeared round an
angle of the cliff. Herbert wished to accompany him.
"Stop here, my boy," said the sailor; "we have to prepare an encampment,
and to try and find rather better grub than these shell-fish. Our friends
will want something when they come back. There is work for everybody."
"I am ready," replied Herbert.
"All right," said the sailor; "that will do. We must set about it
regularly. We are tired, cold, and hungry; therefore we must have shelter,
fire, and food. There is wood in the forest, and eggs in nests; we have
only to find a house."
"Very well," returned Herbert, "I will look for a cave among the rocks,
and I shall be sure to discover some hole into which we can creep."
"All right," said Pencroft; "go on, my boy."
They both walked to the foot of the enormous wall over the beach, far
from which the tide had now retreated; but instead of going towards the
north, they went southward. Pencroft had remarked, several hundred feet
from the place at which they landed, a narrow cutting, out of which he
thought a river or stream might issue. Now, on the one hand it was
important to settle themselves in the neighborhood of a good stream of
water, and on the other it was possible that the current had thrown Cyrus
Harding on the shore there.
The cliff, as has been said, rose to a height of three hundred feet, but
the mass was unbroken throughout, and even at its base, scarcely washed by
the sea, it did not offer the smallest fissure which would serve as a
dwelling. It was a perpendicular wall of very hard granite, which even the
waves had not worn away. Towards the summit fluttered myriads of sea-fowl,
and especially those of the web-footed species with long, flat, pointed
beaks--a clamorous tribe, bold in the presence of man, who probably for the
first time thus invaded their domains. Pencroft recognized the skua and
other gulls among them, the voracious little sea-mew, which in great
numbers nestled in the crevices of the granite. A shot fired among this
swarm would have killed a great number, but to fire a shot a gun was
needed, and neither Pencroft nor Herbert had one; besides this, gulls and
sea-mews are scarcely eatable, and even their eggs have a detestable taste.
However, Herbert, who had gone forward a little more to the left, soon came
upon rocks covered with sea-weed, which, some hours later, would be hidden
by the high tide. On these rocks, in the midst of slippery wrack, abounded
bivalve shell-fish, not to be despised by starving people. Herbert called
Pencroft, who ran up hastily.
"Here are mussels!" cried the sailor; "these will do instead of eggs!"
"They are not mussels," replied Herbert, who was attentively examining
the molluscs attached to the rocks; "they are lithodomes."
"Are they good to eat?" asked Pencroft.
"Perfectly so."
"Then let us eat some lithodomes."
The sailor could rely upon Herbert; the young boy was well up in natural
history, and always had had quite a passion for the science. His father had
encouraged him in it, by letting him attend the lectures of the best
professors in Boston, who were very fond of the intelligent, industrious
lad. And his turn for natural history was, more than once in the course of
time, of great use, and he was not mistaken in this instance. These
lithodomes were oblong shells, suspended in clusters and adhering very
tightly to the rocks. They belong to that species of molluscous perforators
which excavate holes in the hardest stone; their shell is rounded at both
ends, a feature which is not remarked in the common mussel.
Pencroft and Herbert made a good meal of the lithodomes, which were then
half opened to the sun. They ate them as oysters, and as they had a strong
peppery taste, they were palatable without condiments of any sort.
Their hunger was thus appeased for the time, but not their thirst, which
increased after eating these naturally-spiced molluscs. They had then to
find fresh water, and it was not likely that it would be wanting in such a
capriciously uneven region. Pencroft and Herbert, after having taken the
precaution of collecting an ample supply of lithodomes, with which they
filled their pockets and handkerchiefs, regained the foot of the cliff.
Two hundred paces farther they arrived at the cutting, through which, as
Pencroft had guessed, ran a stream of water, whether fresh or not was to be
ascertained. At this place the wall appeared to have been separated by some
violent subterranean force. At its base was hollowed out a little creek,
the farthest part of which formed a tolerably sharp angle. The watercourse
at that part measured one hundred feet in breadth, and its two banks on
each side were scarcely twenty feet high. The river became strong almost
directly between the two walls of granite, which began to sink above the
mouth; it then suddenly turned and disappeared beneath a wood of stunted
trees half a mile off.
"Here is the water, and yonder is the wood we require!" said Pencroft.
"Well, Herbert, now we only want the house."
The water of the river was limpid. The sailor ascertained that at this
time--that is to say, at low tide, when the rising floods did not reach it
--it was sweet. This important point established, Herbert looked for some
cavity which would serve them as a retreat, but in vain; everywhere the
wall appeared smooth, plain, and perpendicular.
However, at the mouth of the watercourse and above the reach of the high
tide, the convulsions of nature had formed, not a grotto, but a pile of
enormous rocks, such as are often met with in granite countries and which
bear the name of "Chimneys."
Pencroft and Herbert penetrated quite far in among the rocks, by sandy
passages in which light was not wanting, for it entered through the
openings which were left between the blocks, of which some were only
sustained by a miracle of equilibrium; but with the light came also air--a
regular corridor-gale--and with the wind the sharp cold from the exterior.
However, the sailor thought that by stopping-up some of the openings with a
mixture of stones and sand, the Chimneys could be rendered habitable. Their
geometrical plan represented the typographical sign "&," which signifies
"et cetera" abridged, but by isolating the upper mouth of the sign, through
which the south and west winds blew so strongly, they could succeed in
making the lower part of use.
"Here's our work," said Pencroft, "and if we ever see Captain Harding
again, he will know how to make something of this labyrinth."
"We shall see him again, Pencroft," cried Herbert, "and when be returns
he must find a tolerable dwelling here. It will be so, if we can make a
fireplace in the left passage and keep an opening for the smoke."
"So we can, my boy," replied the sailor, "and these Chimneys will serve
our turn. Let us set to work, but first come and get a store of fuel. I
think some branches will be very useful in stopping up these openings,
through which the wind shrieks like so many fiends."
Herbert and Pencroft left the Chimneys, and, turning the angle, they
began to climb the left bank of the river. The current here was quite
rapid, and drifted down some dead wood. The rising tide--and it could
already be perceived--must drive it back with force to a considerable
distance. The sailor then thought that they could utilize this ebb and flow
for the transport of heavy objects.
After having walked for a quarter of an hour, the sailor and the boy
arrived at the angle which the river made in turning towards the left. From
this point its course was pursued through a forest of magnificent trees.
These trees still retained their verdure, notwithstanding the advanced
season, for they belonged to the family of "coniferae," which is spread
over all the regions of the globe, from northern climates to the tropics.
The young naturalist recognized especially the "deedara," which are very
numerous in the Himalayan zone, and which spread around them a most
agreeable odor. Between these beautiful trees sprang up clusters of firs,
whose opaque open parasol boughs spread wide around. Among the long grass,
Pencroft felt that his feet were crushing dry branches which crackled like
fireworks.
"Well, my boy," said he to Herbert, "if I don't know the name of these
trees, at any rate I reckon that we may call them 'burning wood,' and just
now that's the chief thing we want."
"Let us get a supply," replied Herbert, who immediately set to work.
The collection was easily made. It was not even necessary to lop the
trees, for enormous quantities of dead wood were lying at their feet; but
if fuel was not wanting, the means of transporting it was not yet found.
The wood, being very dry, would burn rapidly; it was therefore necessary to
carry to the Chimneys a considerable quantity, and the loads of two men
would not be sufficient. Herbert remarked this.
"Well, my boy," replied the sailor, "there must be some way of carrying
this wood; there is always a way of doing everything. If we had a cart or a
boat, it would be easy enough."
"But we have the river," said Herbert.
"Right," replied Pencroft; "the river will be to us like a road which
carries of itself, and rafts have not been invented for nothing."
"Only," observed Herbert, "at this moment our road is going the wrong
way, for the tide is rising!"
"We shall be all right if we wait till it ebbs," replied the sailor, "and
then we will trust it to carry our fuel to the Chimneys. Let us get the
raft ready."
The sailor, followed by Herbert, directed his steps towards the river.
They both carried, each in proportion to his strength, a load of wood bound
in fagots. They found on the bank also a great quantity of dead branches in
the midst of grass, among which the foot of man had probably never before
trod. Pencroft began directly to make his raft. In a kind of little bay,
created by a point of the shore which broke the current, the sailor and the
lad placed some good-sized pieces of wood, which they had fastened together
with dry creepers. A raft was thus formed, on which they stacked all they
had collected, sufficient, indeed, to have loaded at least twenty men. In
an hour the work was finished, and the raft moored to the bank, awaited the
turning of the tide.
There were still several hours to be occupied, and with one consent
Pencroft and Herbert resolved to gain the upper plateau, so as to have a
more extended view of the surrounding country.
Exactly two hundred feet behind the angle formed by the river, the wall,
terminated by a fall of rocks, died away in a gentle slope to the edge of
the forest. It was a natural staircase. Herbert and the sailor began their
ascent; thanks to the vigor of their muscles they reached the summit in a
few minutes; and proceeded to the point above the mouth of the river.
On attaining it, their first look was cast upon the ocean which not long
before they had traversed in such a terrible condition. They observed, with
emotion, all that part to the north of the coast on which the catastrophe
had taken place. It was there that Cyrus Harding had disappeared. They
looked to see if some portion of their balloon, to which a man might
possibly cling, yet existed. Nothing! The sea was but one vast watery
desert. As to the coast, it was solitary also. Neither the reporter nor Neb
could be anywhere seen. But it was possible that at this time they were
both too far away to be perceived.
"Something tells me," cried Herbert, "that a man as energetic as Captain
Harding would not let himself be drowned like other people. He must have
reached some point of the shore; don't you think so, Pencroft?"
The sailor shook his head sadly. He little expected ever to see Cyrus
Harding again; but wishing to leave some hope to Herbert: "Doubtless,
doubtless," said he; "our engineer is a man who would get out of a scrape
to which any one else would yield."
In the meantime he examined the coast with great attention. Stretched out
below them was the sandy shore, bounded on the right of the river's mouth
by lines of breakers. The rocks which were visible appeared like amphibious
monsters reposing in the surf. Beyond the reef, the sea sparkled beneath
the sun's rays. To the south a sharp point closed the horizon, and it could
not be seen if the land was prolonged in that direction, or if it ran
southeast and southwest, which would have made this coast a very long
peninsula. At the northern extremity of the bay the outline of the shore
was continued to a great distance in a wider curve. There the shore was
low, flat, without cliffs, and with great banks of sand, which the tide
left uncovered. Pencroft and Herbert then returned towards the west. Their
attention was first arrested by the snow-topped mountain which rose at a
distance of six or seven miles. From its first declivities to within two
miles of the coast were spread vast masses of wood, relieved by large green
patches, caused by the presence of evergreen trees. Then, from the edge of
this forest to the shore extended a plain, scattered irregularly with
groups of trees. Here and there on the left sparkled through glades the
waters of the little river; they could trace its winding course back
towards the spurs of the mountain, among which it seemed to spring. At the
point where the sailor had left his raft of wood, it began to run between
the two high granite walls; but if on the left bank the wall remained clear
and abrupt, on the right bank, on the contrary, it sank gradually, the
massive sides changed to isolated rocks, the rocks to stones, the stones to
shingle running to the extremity of the point.
"Are we on an island?" murmured the sailor.
"At any rate, it seems to be big enough," replied the lad.
"An island, ever so big, is an island all the same!" said Pencroft.
But this important question could not yet be answered. A more perfect
survey had to be made to settle the point. As to the land itself, island or
continent, it appeared fertile, agreeable in its aspect, and varied in its
productions.
"This is satisfactory," observed Pencroft; "and in our misfortune, we
must thank Providence for it."
"God be praised!" responded Herbert, whose pious heart was full of
gratitude to the Author of all things.
Pencroft and Herbert examined for some time the country on which they had
been cast; but it was difficult to guess after so hasty an inspection what
the future had in store for them.
They then returned, following the southern crest of the granite platform,
bordered by a long fringe of jagged rocks, of the most whimsical shapes.
Some hundreds of birds lived there nestled in the holes of the stone;
Herbert, jumping over the rocks, startled a whole flock of these winged
creatures.
"Oh!" cried he, "those are not gulls nor sea-mews!"
"What are they then?" asked Pencroft.
"Upon my word, one would say they were pigeons!"
"Just so, but these are wild or rock pigeons. I recognize them by the
double band of black on the wing, by the white tail, and by their slate-
colored plumage. But if the rock-pigeon is good to eat, its eggs must be
excellent, and we will soon see how many they may have left in their
nests!"
"We will not give them time to hatch, unless it is in the shape of an
omelet!" replied Pencroft merrily.
"But what will you make your omelet in?" asked Herbert; "in your hat?"
"Well!" replied the sailor, "I am not quite conjuror enough for that; we
must come down to eggs in the shell, my boy, and I will undertake to
despatch the hardest!"
Pencroft and Herbert attentively examined the cavities in the granite,
and they really found eggs in some of the hollows. A few dozen being
collected, were packed in the sailor's handkerchief, and as the time when
the tide would be full was approaching, Pencroft and Herbert began to
redescend towards the watercourse. When they arrived there, it was an hour
after midday. The tide had already turned. They must now avail themselves
of the ebb to take the wood to the mouth. Pencroft did not intend to let
the raft go away in the current without guidance, neither did he mean to
embark on it himself to steer it. But a sailor is never at a loss when
there is a question of cables or ropes, and Pencroft rapidly twisted a
cord, a few fathoms long, made of dry creepers. This vegetable cable was
fastened to the after-part of the raft, and the sailor held it in his hand
while Herbert, pushing off the raft with a long pole, kept it in the
current. This succeeded capitally. The enormous load of wood drifted down
the current. The bank was very equal; there was no fear that the raft would
run aground, and before two o'clock they arrived at the river's mouth, a
few paces from the Chimneys.
Chapter 5
Pencroft's first care, after unloading the raft, was to render the cave
habitable by stopping up all the holes which made it draughty. Sand,
stones, twisted branches, wet clay, closed up the galleries open to the
south winds. One narrow and winding opening at the side was kept, to lead
out the smoke and to make the fire draw. The cave was thus divided into
three or four rooms, if such dark dens with which a donkey would scarcely
have been contented deserved the name. But they were dry, and there was
space to stand upright, at least in the principal room, which occupied the
center. The floor was covered with fine sand, and taking all in all they
were well pleased with it for want of a better.
"Perhaps," said Herbert, while he and Pencroft were working, "our
companions have found a superior place to ours."
"Very likely," replied the seaman; "but, as we don't know, we must work
all the same. Better to have two strings to one's bow than no string at
all!"
"Oh!" exclaimed Herbert, "how jolly it will be if they were to find
Captain Harding and were to bring him back with them!"
"Yes, indeed!" said Pencroft, "that was a man of the right sort."
"Was!" exclaimed Herbert, "do you despair of ever seeing him again?"
"God forbid!" replied the sailor. Their work was soon done, and Pencroft
declared himself very well satisfied.
"Now," said he, "our friends can come back when they like. They will find
a good enough shelter."
They now had only to make a fireplace and to prepare the supper--an easy
task. Large flat stones were placed on the ground at the opening of the
narrow passage which had been kept. This, if the smoke did not take the
heat out with it, would be enough to maintain an equal temperature inside.
Their wood was stowed away in one of the rooms, and the sailor laid in the
fireplace some logs and brushwood. The seaman was busy with this, when
Herbert asked him if he had any matches.
"Certainly," replied Pencroft, "and I may say happily, for without
matches or tinder we should be in a fix."
"Still we might get fire as the savages do," replied Herbert, "by rubbing
two bits of dry stick one against the other."
"All right; try, my boy, and let's see if you can do anything besides
exercising your arms."
"Well, it's a very simple proceeding, and much used in the islands of the
Pacific."
"I don't deny it," replied Pencroft, "but the savages must know how to do
it or employ a peculiar wood, for more than once I have tried to get fire
in that way, but I could never manage it. I must say I prefer matches. By
the bye, where are my matches?"
Pencroft searched in his waistcoat for the box, which was always there,
for he was a confirmed smoker. He could not find it; he rummaged the
pockets of his trousers, but, to his horror, he could nowhere discover the
box.
"Here's a go!" said he, looking at Herbert. "The box must have fallen out
of my pocket and got lost! Surely, Herbert, you must have something--a
tinder-box--anything that can possibly make fire!"
"No, I haven't, Pencroft."
The sailor rushed out, followed by the boy. On the sand, among the rocks,
near the river's bank, they both searched carefully, but in vain. The box
was of copper, and therefore would have been easily seen.
"Pencroft," asked Herbert, "didn't you throw it out of the car?"
"I knew better than that," replied the sailor; "but such a small article
could easily disappear in the tumbling about we have gone through. I would
rather even have lost my pipe! Confound the box! Where can it be?"
"Look here, the tide is going down," said Herbert; "let's run to the
place where we landed."
It was scarcely probable that they would find the box, which the waves
had rolled about among the pebbles, at high tide, but it was as well to
try. Herbert and Pencroft walked rapidly to the point where they had landed
the day before, about two hundred feet from the cave. They hunted there,
among the shingle, in the clefts of the rocks, but found nothing. If the
box had fallen at this place it must have been swept away by the waves. As
the sea went down, they searched every little crevice with no result. It
was a grave loss in their circumstances, and for the time irreparable.
Pencroft could not hide his vexation; he looked very anxious, but said not
a word. Herbert tried to console him by observing, that if they had found
the matches, they would, very likely, have been wetted by the sea and
useless.
"No, my boy," replied the sailor; "they were in a copper box which shut
very tightly; and now what are we to do?"
"We shall certainly find some way of making a fire," said Herbert.
"Captain Harding or Mr. Spilett will not be without them."
"Yes," replied Pencroft; "but in the meantime we are without fire, and
our companions will find but a sorry repast on their return."
"But," said Herbert quickly, "do you think it possible that they have no
tinder or matches?"
"I doubt it," replied the sailor, shaking his head, "for neither Neb nor
Captain Harding smoke, and I believe that Mr. Spilett would rather keep his
note-book than his match-box."
Herbert did not reply. The loss of the box was certainly to be regretted,
but the boy was still sure of procuring fire in some way or other.
Pencroft, more experienced, did not think so, although he was not a man to
trouble himself about a small or great grievance. At any rate, there was
only one thing to be done--to await the return of Neb and the reporter; but
they must give up the feast of hard eggs which they had meant to prepare,
and a meal of raw flesh was not an agreeable prospect either for themselves
or for the others.
Before returning to the cave, the sailor and Herbert, in the event of
fire being positively unattainable, collected some more shell-fish, and
then silently retraced their steps to their dwelling.
Pencroft, his eyes fixed on the ground, still looked for his box. He even
climbed up the left bank of the river from its mouth to the angle where the
raft had been moored. He returned to the plateau, went over it in every
direction, searched among the high grass on the border of the forest, all
in vain.
It was five in the evening when he and Herbert re-entered the cave. It is
useless to say that the darkest corners of the passages were ransacked
before they were obliged to give it up in despair. Towards six o'clock,
when the sun was disappearing behind the high lands of the west, Herbert,
who was walking up and down on the strand, signalized the return of Neb and
Spilett.
They were returning alone! . . . . The boy's heart sank; the sailor had not
been deceived in his forebodings; the engineer, Cyrus Harding, had not been
found!
The reporter, on his arrival, sat down on a rock, without saying
anything. Exhausted with fatigue, dying of hunger, he had not strength to
utter a word.
As to Neb, his red eyes showed how he had cried, and the tears which he
could not restrain told too clearly that he had lost all hope.
The reporter recounted all that they had done in their attempt to recover
Cyrus Harding. He and Neb had surveyed the coast for a distance of eight
miles and consequently much beyond the place where the balloon had fallen
the last time but one, a fall which was followed by the disappearance of
the engineer and the dog Top. The shore was solitary; not a vestige of a
mark. Not even a pebble recently displaced; not a trace on the sand; not a
human footstep on all that part of the beach. It was clear that that
portion of the shore had never been visited by a human being. The sea was
as deserted as the land, and it was there, a few hundred feet from the
coast, that the engineer must have found a tomb.
As Spilett ended his account, Neb jumped up, exclaiming in a voice which
showed how hope struggled within him, "No! he is not dead! he can't be
dead! It might happen to any one else, but never to him! He could get out
of anything!" Then his strength forsaking him, "Oh! I can do no more!" he
murmured.
"Neb," said Herbert, running to him, "we will find him! God will give him
back to us! But in the meantime you are hungry, and you must eat
something."
So saying, he offered the poor Negro a few handfuls of shell-fish, which
was indeed wretched and insufficient food. Neb had not eaten anything for
several hours, but he refused them. He could not, would not live without
his master.
As to Gideon Spilett, he devoured the shell-fish, then he laid himself
down on the sand, at the foot of a rock. He was very weak, but calm.
Herbert went up to him, and taking his hand, "Sir," said he, "we have found
a shelter which will be better than lying here. Night is advancing. Come
and rest! To-morrow we will search farther."
The reporter got up, and guided by the boy went towards the cave. On the
way, Pencroft asked him in the most natural tone, if by chance he happened
to have a match or two.
The reporter stopped, felt in his pockets, but finding nothing said, "I
had some, but I must have thrown them away."
The seaman then put the same question to Neb and received the same
answer.
"Confound it!" exclaimed the sailor.
The reporter heard him and seizing his arm, "Have you no matches?" he
asked.
"Not one, and no fire in consequence."
"Ah!" cried Neb, "if my master was here, he would know what to do!"
The four castaways remained motionless, looking uneasily at each other.
Herbert was the first to break the silence by saying, "Mr. Spilett, you are
a smoker and always have matches about you; perhaps you haven't looked
well, try again, a single match will be enough!"
The reporter hunted again in the pockets of his trousers, waistcoat, and
great-coat, and at last to Pencroft's great joy, no less to his extreme
surprise, he felt a tiny piece of wood entangled in the lining of his
waistcoat. He seized it with his fingers through the stuff, but he could
not get it out. If this was a match and a single one, it was of great
importance not to rub off the phosphorus.
"Will you let me try?" said the boy, and very cleverly, without breaking
it, he managed to draw out the wretched yet precious little bit of wood
which was of such great importance to these poor men. It was unused.
"Hurrah!" cried Pencroft; "it is as good as having a whole cargo!" He
took the match, and, followed by his companions, entered the cave.
This small piece of wood, of which so many in an inhabited country are
wasted with indifference and are of no value, must here be used with the
greatest caution.
The sailor first made sure that it was quite dry; that done, "We must
have some paper," said he.
"Here," replied Spilett, after some hesitation tearing a leaf out of his
note-book.
Pencroft took the piece of paper which the reporter held out to him, and
knelt down before the fireplace. Some handfuls of grass, leaves, and dry
moss were placed under the fagots and disposed in such a way that the air
could easily circulate, and the dry wood would rapidly catch fire.
Pencroft then twisted the piece of paper into the shape of a cone, as
smokers do in a high wind, and poked it in among the moss. Taking a small,
rough stone, he wiped it carefully, and with a beating heart, holding his
breath, he gently rubbed the match. The first attempt did not produce any
effect. Pencroft had not struck hard enough, fearing to rub off the
phosphorus.
"No, I can't do it," said he, "my hand trembles, the match has missed
fire; I cannot, I will not!" and rising, he told Herbert to take his place.
Certainly the boy had never in all his life been so nervous. Prometheus
going to steal the fire from heaven could not have been more anxious. He
did not hesitate, however, but struck the match directly.
A little spluttering was heard and a tiny blue flame sprang up, making a
choking smoke. Herbert quickly turned the match so as to augment the flame,
and then slipped it into the paper cone, which in a few seconds too caught
fire, and then the moss.
A minute later the dry wood crackled and a cheerful flame, assisted by
the vigorous blowing of the sailor, sprang up in the midst of the darkness.
"At last!" cried Pencroft, getting up; "I was never so nervous before in
all my life!"
The flat stones made a capital fireplace. The smoke went quite easily out
at the narrow passage, the chimney drew, and an agreeable warmth was not
long in being felt.
They must now take great care not to let the fire go out, and always to
keep some embers alight. It only needed care and attention, as they had
plenty of wood and could renew their store at any time.
Pencroft's first thought was to use the fire by preparing a more
nourishing supper than a dish of shell-fish. Two dozen eggs were brought by
Herbert. The reporter leaning up in a corner, watched these preparations
without saying anything. A threefold thought weighed on his mind. Was Cyrus
still alive? If he was alive, where was he? If he had survived from his
fall, how was it that he had not found some means of making known his
existence? As to Neb, he was roaming about the shore. He was like a body
without a soul.
Pencroft knew fifty ways of cooking eggs, but this time he had no choice,
and was obliged to content himself with roasting them under the hot
cinders. In a few minutes the cooking was done, and the seaman invited the
reporter to take his share of the supper. Such was the first repast of the
castaways on this unknown coast. The hard eggs were excellent, and as eggs
contain everything indispensable to man's nourishment, these poor people
thought themselves well off, and were much strengthened by them. Oh! if
only one of them had not been missing at this meal! If the five prisoners
who escaped from Richmond had been all there, under the piled-up rocks,
before this clear, crackling fire on the dry sand, what thanksgiving must
they have rendered to Heaven! But the most ingenious, the most learned, he
who was their unquestioned chief, Cyrus Harding, was, alas! missing, and
his body had not even obtained a burial-place.
Thus passed the 25th of March. Night had come on. Outside could be heard
the howling of the wind and the monotonous sound of the surf breaking on
the shore. The waves rolled the shingle backwards and forwards with a
deafening noise.
The reporter retired into a dark corner after having shortly noted down
the occurrences of the day; the first appearance of this new land, the loss
of their leader, the exploration of the coast, the incident of the matches,
etc.; and then overcome by fatigue, he managed to forget his sorrows in
sleep. Herbert went to sleep directly. As to the sailor, he passed the
night with one eye on the fire, on which he did not spare fuel. But one of
the castaways did not sleep in the cave. The inconsolable, despairing Neb,
notwithstanding all that his companions could say to induce him to take
some rest, wandered all night long on the shore calling on his master.
Chapter 6
The inventory of the articles possessed by these castaways from the clouds,
thrown upon a coast which appeared to be uninhabited, was soon made out.
They had nothing, save the clothes which they were wearing at the time of
the catastrophe. We must mention, however, a note-book and a watch which
Gideon Spilett had kept, doubtless by inadvertence, not a weapon, not a
tool, not even a pocket-knife; for while in the car they had thrown out
everything to lighten the balloon. The imaginary heroes of Daniel Defoe or
of Wyss, as well as Selkirk and Raynal shipwrecked on Juan Fernandez and on
the archipelago of the Aucklands, were never in such absolute destitution.
Either they had abundant resources from their stranded vessels, in grain,
cattle, tools, ammunition, or else some things were thrown up on the coast
which supplied them with all the first necessities of life. But here, not
any instrument whatever, not a utensil. From nothing they must supply
themselves with everything.
And yet, if Cyrus Harding had been with them, if the engineer could have
brought his practical science, his inventive mind to bear on their
situation, perhaps all hope would not have been lost. Alas! they must hope
no longer again to see Cyrus Harding. The castaways could expect nothing
but from themselves and from that Providence which never abandons those
whose faith is sincere.
But ought they to establish themselves on this part of the coast, without
trying to know to what continent it belonged, if it was inhabited, or if
they were on the shore of a desert island?
It was an important question, and should be solved with the shortest
possible delay. From its answer they would know what measures to take.
However, according to Pencroft's advice, it appeared best to wait a few
days before commencing an exploration. They must, in fact, prepare some
provisions and procure more strengthening food than eggs and molluscs. The
explorers, before undertaking new fatigues, must first of all recruit their
strength.
The Chimneys offered a retreat sufficient for the present. The fire was
lighted, and it was easy to preserve some embers. There were plenty of
shell-fish and eggs among the rocks and on the beach. It would be easy to
kill a few of the pigeons which were flying by hundreds about the summit of
the plateau, either with sticks or stones. Perhaps the trees of the
neighboring forest would supply them with eatable fruit. Lastly, the sweet
water was there.
It was accordingly settled that for a few days they would remain at the
Chimneys so as to prepare themselves for an expedition, either along the
shore or into the interior of the country. This plan suited Neb
particularly. As obstinate in his ideas as in his presentiments, he was in
no haste to abandon this part of the coast, the scene of the catastrophe.
He did not, he would not believe in the loss of Cyrus Harding. No, it did
not seem to him possible that such a man had ended in this vulgar fashion,
carried away by a wave, drowned in the floods, a few hundred feet from a
shore. As long as the waves had not cast up the body of the engineer, as
long as he, Neb, had not seen with his eyes, touched with his hands the
corpse of his master, he would not believe in his death! And this idea
rooted itself deeper than ever in his determined heart. An illusion
perhaps, but still an illusion to be respected, and one which the sailor
did not wish to destroy. As for him, he hoped no longer, but there was no
use in arguing with Neb. He was like the dog who will not leave the place
where his master is buried, and his grief was such that most probably he
would not survive him.
This same morning, the 26th of March, at daybreak, Neb had set out on the
shore in a northerly direction, and he had returned to the spot where the
sea, no doubt, had closed over the unfortunate Harding.
That day's breakfast was composed solely of pigeon's eggs and lithodomes.
Herbert had found some salt deposited by evaporation in the hollows of the
rocks, and this mineral was very welcome.
The repast ended, Pencroft asked the reporter if he wished to accompany
Herbert and himself to the forest, where they were going to try to hunt.
But on consideration, it was thought necessary that someone should remain
to keep in the fire, and to be at hand in the highly improbable event of
Neb requiring aid. The reporter accordingly remained behind.
"To the chase, Herbert," said the sailor. "We shall find ammunition on
our way, and cut our weapons in the forest." But at the moment of starting,
Herbert observed, that since they had no tinder, it would perhaps be
prudent to replace it by another substance.
"What?" asked Pencroft.
"Burnt linen," replied the boy. "That could in case of need serve for
tinder."
The sailor thought it very sensible advice. Only it had the inconvenience
of necessitating the sacrifice of a piece of handkerchief. Notwithstanding,
the thing was well worth while trying, and a part of Pencroft's large
checked handkerchief was soon reduced to the state of a half-burnt rag.
This inflammable material was placed in the central chamber at the bottom
of a little cavity in the rock, sheltered from all wind and damp.
It was nine o'clock in the morning. The weather was threatening and the
breeze blew from the southeast. Herbert and Pencroft turned the angle of
the Chimneys, not without having cast a look at the smoke which, just at
that place, curled round a point of rock: they ascended the left bank of
the river.
Arrived at the forest, Pencroft broke from the first tree two stout
branches which he transformed into clubs, the ends of which Herbert rubbed
smooth on a rock. Oh! what would they not have given for a knife!
The two hunters now advanced among the long grass, following the bank.
From the turning which directed its course to the southwest, the river
narrowed gradually and the channel lay between high banks, over which the
trees formed a double arch. Pencroft, lest they should lose themselves,
resolved to follow the course of the stream, which would always lead them
back to the point from which they started. But the bank was not without
some obstacles: here, the flexible branches of the trees bent level with
the current; there, creepers and thorns which they had to break down with
their sticks. Herbert often glided among the broken stumps with the agility
of a young cat, and disappeared in the underwood. But Pencroft called him
back directly, begging him not to wander away. Meanwhile, the sailor
attentively observed the disposition and nature of the surrounding
country. On the left bank, the ground, which was flat and marshy, rose
imperceptibly towards the interior. It looked there like a network of
liquid threads which doubtless reached the river by some underground drain.
Sometimes a stream ran through the underwood, which they crossed without
difficulty. The opposite shore appeared to be more uneven, and the valley
of which the river occupied the bottom was more clearly visible. The hill,
covered with trees disposed in terraces, intercepted the view. On the right
bank walking would have been difficult, for the declivities fell suddenly,
and the trees bending over the water were only sustained by the strength
of their roots.
It is needless to add that this forest, as well as the coast already
surveyed, was destitute of any sign of human life. Pencroft only saw traces
of quadrupeds, fresh footprints of animals, of which he could not recognize
the species. In all probability, and such was also Herbert's opinion, some
had been left by formidable wild beasts which doubtless would give them
some trouble; but nowhere did they observe the mark of an axe on the trees,
nor the ashes of a fire, nor the impression of a human foot. On this they
might probably congratulate themselves, for on any land in the middle of
the Pacific the presence of man was perhaps more to be feared than desired.
Herbert and Pencroft speaking little, for the difficulties of the way were
great, advanced very slowly, and after walking for an hour they had
scarcely gone more than a mile. As yet the hunt had not been successful.
However, some birds sang and fluttered in the foliage, and appeared very
timid, as if man had inspired them with an instinctive fear. Among others,
Herbert described, in a marshy part of the forest, a bird with a long
pointed beak, closely resembling the king-fisher, but its plumage was not
fine, though of a metallic brilliancy.
"That must be a jacamar," said Herbert, trying to get nearer.
"This will be a good opportunity to taste jacamar," replied the sailor,
"if that fellow is in a humor to be roasted!"
Just then, a stone cleverly thrown by the boy, struck the creature on the
wing, but the blow did not disable it, and the jacamar ran off and
disappeared in an instant.
"How clumsy I am!" cried Herbert.
"No, no, my boy!" replied the sailor. "The blow was well aimed; many a
one would have missed it altogether! Come, don't be vexed with yourself. We
shall catch it another day!"
As the hunters advanced, the trees were found to be more scattered, many
being magnificent, but none bore eatable fruit. Pencroft searched in vain
for some of those precious palm-trees which are employed in so many ways in
domestic life, and which have been found as far as the fortieth parallel in
the Northern Hemisphere, and to the thirty-fifth only in the Southern
Hemisphere. But this forest was only composed of coniferae, such as
deodaras, already recognized by Herbert, and Douglas pine, similar to those
which grow on the northwest coast of America, and splendid firs, measuring
a hundred and fifty feet in height.
At this moment a flock of birds, of a small size and pretty plumage, with
long glancing tails, dispersed themselves among the branches strewing their
feathers, which covered the ground as with fine down. Herbert picked up a
few of these feathers, and after having examined them,--
"These are couroucous," said he.
"I should prefer a moor-cock or guinea-fowl," replied Pencroft, "still,
if they are good to eat--"
"They are good to eat, and also their flesh is very delicate," replied
Herbert. "Besides, if I don't mistake, it is easy to approach and kill them
with a stick."
The sailor and the lad, creeping among the grass, arrived at the foot of
a tree, whose lower branches were covered with little birds. The couroucous
were waiting the passage of insects which served for their nourishment.
Their feathery feet could be seen clasping the slender twigs which
supported them.
The hunters then rose, and using their sticks like scythes, they mowed
down whole rows of these couroucous, who never thought of flying away, and
stupidly allowed themselves to be knocked off. A hundred were already
heaped on the ground, before the others made up their minds to fly.
"Well," said Pencroft, "here is game, which is quite within the reach of
hunters like us. We have only to put out our hands and take it!"
The sailor having strung the couroucous like larks on flexible twigs,
they then continued their exploration. The stream here made a bend towards
the south, but this detour was probably not prolonged for the river must
have its source in the mountain, and be supplied by the melting of the snow
which covered the sides of the central cone.
The particular object of their expedition was, as has been said, to
procure the greatest possible quantity of game for the inhabitants of the
Chimneys. It must be acknowledged that as yet this object had not been
attained. So the sailor actively pursued his researches, though he
exclaimed, when some animal which he had not even time to recognize fled
into the long grass, "If only we had had the dog Top!" But Top had
disappeared at the same time as his master, and had probably perished with
him.
Towards three o'clock new flocks of birds were seen through certain
trees, at whose aromatic berries they were pecking, those of the juniper-
tree among others. Suddenly a loud trumpet call resounded through the
forest. This strange and sonorous cry was produced by a game bird called
grouse in the United States. They soon saw several couples, whose plumage
was rich chestnut-brown mottled with dark brown, and tail of the same
color. Herbert recognized the males by the two wing-like appendages raised
on the neck. Pencroft determined to get hold of at least one of these
gallinaceae, which were as large as a fowl, and whose flesh is better than
that of a pullet. But it was difficult, for they would not allow themselves
to be approached. After several fruitless attempts, which resulted in
nothing but scaring the grouse, the sailor said to the lad,--
"Decidedly, since we can't kill them on the wing, we must try to take
them with a line."
"Like a fish?" cried Herbert, much surprised at the proposal.
"Like a fish," replied the sailor quite seriously. Pencroft had found
among the grass half a dozen grouse nests, each having three or four eggs.
He took great care not to touch these nests, to which their proprietors
would not fail to return. It was around these that he meant to stretch his
lines, not snares, but real fishing-lines. He took Herbert to some distance
from the nests, and there prepared his singular apparatus with all the care
which a disciple of Izaak Walton would have used. Herbert watched the work
with great interest, though rather doubting its success. The lines were
made of fine creepers, fastened one to the other, of the length of fifteen
or twenty feet. Thick, strong thorns, the points bent back (which were
supplied from a dwarf acacia bush) were fastened to the ends of the
creepers, by way of hooks. Large red worms, which were crawling on the
ground, furnished bait.
This done, Pencroft, passing among the grass and concealing himself
skillfully, placed the end of his lines armed with hooks near the grouse
nests; then he returned, took the other ends and hid with Herbert behind a
large tree. There they both waited patiently; though, it must be said, that
Herbert did not reckon much on the success of the inventive Pencroft.
A whole half-hour passed, but then, as the sailor had surmised, several
couple of grouse returned to their nests. They walked along, pecking the
ground, and not suspecting in any way the presence of the hunters, who,
besides, had taken care to place themselves to leeward of the gallinaceae.
The lad felt at this moment highly interested. He held his breath, and
Pencroft, his eyes staring, his mouth open, his lips advanced, as if about
to taste a piece of grouse, scarcely breathed.
Meanwhile, the birds walked about the hooks, without taking any notice of
them. Pencroft then gave little tugs which moved the bait as if the worms
had been still alive.
The sailor undoubtedly felt much greater anxiety than does the fisherman,
for he does not see his prey coming through the water. The jerks attracted
the attention of the gallinaceae, and they attacked the hooks with their
beaks. Three voracious grouse swallowed at the same moment bait and hook.
Suddenly with a smart jerk, Pencroft "struck" his line, and a flapping of
wings showed that the birds were taken.
"Hurrah!" he cried, rushing towards the game, of which he made himself
master in an instant.
Herbert clapped his hands. It was the first time that he had ever seen
birds taken with a line, but the sailor modestly confessed that it was not
his first attempt, and that besides he could not claim the merit of
invention.
"And at any rate," added he, "situated as we are, we must hope to hit
upon many other contrivances."
The grouse were fastened by their claws, and Pencroft, delighted at not
having to appear before their companions with empty hands, and observing
that the day had begun to decline, judged it best to return to their
dwelling.
The direction was indicated by the river, whose course they had only to
follow, and, towards six o'clock, tired enough with their excursion,
Herbert and Pencroft arrived at the Chimneys.
Chapter 7
Gideon Spilett was standing motionless on the shore, his arms crossed,
gazing over the sea, the horizon of which was lost towards the east in a
thick black cloud which was spreading rapidly towards the zenith. The wind
was already strong, and increased with the decline of day. The whole sky
was of a threatening aspect, and the first symptoms of a violent storm were
clearly visible.
Herbert entered the Chimneys, and Pencroft went towards the reporter. The
latter, deeply absorbed, did not see him approach.
"We are going to have a dirty night, Mr. Spilett!" said the sailor:
"Petrels delight in wind and rain."
The reporter, turning at the moment, saw Pencroft, and his first words
were,--
"At what distance from the coast would you say the car was, when the
waves carried off our companion?"
The sailor had not expected this question. He reflected an instant and
replied,--
"Two cables lengths at the most."
"But what is a cable's length?" asked Gideon Spilett.
"About a hundred and twenty fathoms, or six hundred feet."
"Then," said the reporter, "Cyrus Harding must have disappeared twelve
hundred feet at the most from the shore?"
"About that," replied Pencroft.
"And his dog also?"
"Also."
"What astonishes me," rejoined the reporter, "while admitting that our
companion has perished, is that Top has also met his death, and that
neither the body of the dog nor of his master has been cast on the shore!"
"It is not astonishing, with such a heavy sea," replied the sailor.
"Besides, it is possible that currents have carried them farther down the
coast."
"Then, it is your opinion that our friend has perished in the waves?"
again asked the reporter.
"That is my opinion."
"My own opinion," said Gideon Spilett, "with due deference to your
experience, Pencroft, is that in the double fact of the absolute
disappearance of Cyrus and Top, living or dead, there is something
unaccountable and unlikely."
"I wish I could think like you, Mr. Spilett," replied Pencroft;
"unhappily, my mind is made up on this point." Having said this, the sailor
returned to the Chimneys. A good fire crackled on the hearth. Herbert had
just thrown on an armful of dry wood, and the flame cast a bright light
into the darkest parts of the passage.
Pencroft immediately began to prepare the dinner. It appeared best to
introduce something solid into the bill of fare, for all needed to get up
their strength. The strings of couroucous were kept for the next day, but
they plucked a couple of grouse, which were soon spitted on a stick, and
roasting before a blazing fire.
At seven in the evening Neb had not returned. The prolonged absence of
the Negro made Pencroft very uneasy. It was to be feared that he had met
with an accident on this unknown land, or that the unhappy fellow had been
driven to some act of despair. But Herbert drew very different conclusions
from this absence. According to him, Neb's delay was caused by some new
circumstances which had induced him to prolong his search. Also, everything
new must be to the advantage of Cyrus Harding. Why had Neb not returned
unless hope still detained him? Perhaps he had found some mark, a footstep,
a trace which had put him in the right path. Perhaps he was at this moment
on a certain track. Perhaps even he was near his master.
Thus the lad reasoned. Thus he spoke. His companions let him talk. The
reporter alone approved with a gesture. But what Pencroft thought most
probable was, that Neb had pushed his researches on the shore farther than
the day before, and that he had not as yet had time to return.
Herbert, however, agitated by vague presentiments, several times
manifested an intention to go to meet Neb. But Pencroft assured him that
that would be a useless course, that in the darkness and deplorable weather
he could not find any traces of Neb, and that it would be much better to
wait. If Neb had not made his appearance by the next day, Pencroft would
not hesitate to join him in his search.
Gideon Spilett approved of the sailor's opinion that it was best not to
divide, and Herbert was obliged to give up his project; but two large tears
fell from his eyes.
The reporter could not refrain from embracing the generous boy.
Bad weather now set in. A furious gale from the southeast passed over the
coast. The sea roared as it beat over the reef. Heavy rain was dashed by
the storm into particles like dust. Ragged masses of vapor drove along the
beach, on which the tormented shingles sounded as if poured out in cart-
loads, while the sand raised by the wind added as it were mineral dust to
that which was liquid, and rendered the united attack insupportable.
Between the river's mouth and the end of the cliff, eddies of wind whirled
and gusts from this maelstrom lashed the water which ran through the
narrow valley. The smoke from the fireplace was also driven back through
the opening, filling the passages and rendering them uninhabitable.
Therefore, as the grouse were cooked, Pencroft let the fire die away, and
only preserved a few embers buried under the ashes.
At eight o'clock Neb had not appeared, but there was no doubt that the
frightful weather alone hindered his return, and that he must have taken
refuge in some cave, to await the end of the storm or at least the return
of day. As to going to meet him, or attempting to find him, it was
impossible.
The game constituted the only dish at supper; the meat was excellent, and
Pencroft and Herbert, whose long excursion had rendered them very hungry,
devoured it with infinite satisfaction.
Their meal concluded, each retired to the corner in which he had rested
the preceding night, and Herbert was not long in going to sleep near the
sailor, who had stretched himself beside the fireplace.
Outside, as the night advanced, the tempest also increased in strength,
until it was equal to that which had carried the prisoners from Richmond to
this land in the Pacific. The tempests which are frequent during the
seasons of the equinox, and which are so prolific in catastrophes, are
above all terrible over this immense ocean, which opposes no obstacle to
their fury. No description can give an idea of the terrific violence of
the gale as it beat upon the unprotected coast.
Happily the pile of rocks which formed the Chimneys was solid. It was
composed of enormous blocks of granite, a few of which, insecurely
balanced, seemed to tremble on their foundations, and Pencroft could feel
rapid quiverings under his head as it rested on the rock. But he repeated
to himself, and rightly, that there was nothing to fear, and that their
retreat would not give way. However he heard the noise of stones torn from
the summit of the plateau by the wind, falling down on to the beach. A few
even rolled on to the upper part of the Chimneys, or flew off in fragments
when they were projected perpendicularly. Twice the sailor rose and
intrenched himself at the opening of the passage, so as to take a look in
safety at the outside. But there was nothing to be feared from these
showers, which were not considerable, and he returned to his couch before
the fireplace, where the embers glowed beneath the ashes.
Notwithstanding the fury of the hurricane, the uproar of the tempest, the
thunder, and the tumult, Herbert slept profoundly. Sleep at last took
possession of Pencroft, whom a seafaring life had habituated to anything.
Gideon Spilett alone was kept awake by anxiety. He reproached himself with
not having accompanied Neb. It was evident that he had not abandoned all
hope. The presentiments which had troubled Herbert did not cease to agitate
him also. His thoughts were concentrated on Neb. Why had Neb not returned?
He tossed about on his sandy couch, scarcely giving a thought to the
struggle of the elements. Now and then, his eyes, heavy with fatigue,
closed for an instant, but some sudden thought reopened them almost
immediately.
Meanwhile the night advanced, and it was perhaps two hours from morning,
when Pencroft, then sound asleep, was vigorously shaken.
"What's the matter?" he cried, rousing himself, and collecting his ideas
with the promptitude usual to seamen.
The reporter was leaning over him, and saying,--
"Listen, Pencroft, listen!"
The sailor strained his ears, but could hear no noise beyond those caused
by the storm.
"It is the wind," said he.
"No," replied Gideon Spilett, listening again, "I thought I heard--"
"What?"
"The barking of a dog!"
"A dog!" cried Pencroft, springing up.
"Yes--barking--"
"It's not possible!" replied the sailor. "And besides, how, in the
roaring of the storm--"
"Stop--listen--" said the reporter.
Pencroft listened more attentively, and really thought he heard, during a
lull, distant barking.
"Well!" said the reporter, pressing the sailor's hand.
"Yes--yes!" replied Pencroft.
"It is Top! It is Top!" cried Herbert, who had just awoke; and all three
rushed towards the opening of the Chimneys. They had great difficulty in
getting out. The wind drove them back. But at last they succeeded, and
could only remain standing by leaning against the rocks. They looked about,
but could not speak. The darkness was intense. The sea, the sky, the land
were all mingled in one black mass. Not a speck of light was visible.
The reporter and his companions remained thus for a few minutes,
overwhelmed by the wind, drenched by the rain, blinded by the sand.
Then, in a pause of the tumult, they again heard the barking, which they
found must be at some distance.
It could only be Top! But was he alone or accompanied? He was most
probably alone, for, if Neb had been with him, he would have made his way
more directly towards the Chimneys. The sailor squeezed the reporter's
hand, for he could not make himself heard, in a way which signified "Wait!"
then he reentered the passage.
An instant after he issued with a lighted fagot, which he threw into the
darkness, whistling shrilly.
It appeared as if this signal had been waited for; the barking
immediately came nearer, and soon a dog bounded into the passage. Pencroft,
Herbert, and Spilett entered after him.
An armful of dry wood was thrown on the embers. The passage was lighted
up with a bright flame.
"It is Top!" cried Herbert.
It was indeed Top, a magnificent Anglo-Norman, who derived from these two
races crossed the swiftness of foot and the acuteness of smell which are
the preeminent qualities of coursing dogs. It was the dog of the engineer,
Cyrus Harding. But he was alone! Neither Neb nor his master accompanied
him!
How was it that his instinct had guided him straight to the Chimneys,
which he did not know? It appeared inexplicable, above all, in the midst of
this black night and in such a tempest! But what was still more
inexplicable was, that Top was neither tired, nor exhausted, nor even
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